T.V. Show Jerico

[Fozzy_Bear]

While watching this, I remembered from back in the cold war when a TV network made a big deal out of a mini-series with a similar (post limited strike) plot. (wish I could remember the name of it OTTOMH)

Most specifically, I remember them having a panel discussion after the final episode and inviting a Russian diplomat to the talks. His comments stand out in my mind.

He spoke about seeing an American's idea of TEOTWAWKI (obviously paraphrased here) and criticized it because, as he put it, "Things were far worse than THAT in Russia after WWII"

With that as a context, I just couldn't help thinking how much people thought being without electricity was the end of the world... I'm sure I can't imagine how bad that real situation would be, which truly scares me since I can imagine some pretty bad stuff.

All else being equal, I'd much rather watch Firefly reruns.


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[Ben Shepherd]

Some of us have Jerico and Firefly on DVD........

Good stuff on snowy days.

 

[expvideo]

I'm jealous

 

[Thin Black Line]

well, everyone outside of the survivalist compound didn't

Are you referring to the compound where the hot blond's father was
running things? Those weren't "survivalists", they were an organised
crime ring who were already on the shady side before things went
SHTF.

I liked that element in the story because it reminded me of the kinds of
shady people in Kaplan's "The Coming Anarchy" who are ready and able to
operate in 3rd world countries and warzones around the world.

How else do you think we get pirated DVDs in the sandbox?

 

[Titan6]

An excellent irony: buying pirated copies of Jericho Season 1 & 2 in Iraq for $12 while the US economy tanks and the show is canceled.

 

[Intrepid Dad]

I liked how Robert Hawkins had an arsenal of weapons and they gathered all the towns people and handed out the rifles in preparation for an attack by New Bern (a neighboring town).

Funny thing is, no one asked how you use the dern thing. I guess being in rural Kansas does that for you.

 

[Caimlas]

I really liked the show, for the most part, and was disappointed to see the story's lack of progression in the later episodes; the 1st season finale was underwhelming, and IMO pretty poorly done/felt rushed and financially constrained (you're using -what- for a barricade? and couldn't they have just gone around and taken you from behind?)

The show had a great deal of good writing; unfortunately, it also had a lot of really bad, melodramatic writing - as if certain episodes were written by one guy, and others by another. I'm sure a lot of this was done to cater to the preference by many for drama and relationship stuff; IMO, it ruined the show. (You want drama, watch Desperate Housewives.)

I'm sad that it was canceled, but not all that much; if it were a better

I agree with hso on the firearms used, for the most part. There was a healthy mix. Yes, they started out with a bunch of shotguns and hunting rifles, but then Hawkins came to the rescue with ARs. It was a bit unrealistic, I think - maybe the kind of thing you'd see in the 1970s, but not today. Today, I'd say at least one out of 3 rifles used would be a semi-auto, most likely of the AR/AK/FAL/G3/M1* variants: someone who owns guns these days is going to have a semi-auto, whether it's something they got themselves 'for cheap', something they bought on a lark, or something that was passed down.

There seemed to be a bit of a "culture lag" in the show - IE, the rural life culture mimicked what urban types imagine rural life being, not what it is today. The gun stuff, IMO, doesn't hold true for people under 30 or so - it does for those over 50.

I think the show was canceled because it wasn't cohesive, and it was (as far as TV shows go these days) poorly written. The only plot line/character which was well developed and written was Hawkins', and occasionally the ones involving Jake, the Indian doctor, and Amy's dad. Of course, the Hawkins plot line was the one that they had to draw out as long as possible (as it was central to the show) so they put a lot of shlock in there in the meantime.

The most realistic thing that bothered me was the "Ravenwood" plot line. In a real SHTF scenario, if there were groups like that, they would be extremely dangerous. Additionally, it is bothersome that our government is so fond of doing business with Blackwater, etc. That part seemed really plausible

Ravenwood was extremely dangerous. They were in cahoots with the government faction which set off the nukes, if I recall correctly. They were the hired thugs of the new regime and helped bring about the collapse.

 

[mbt2001]

Jericho and the book Lucifer's Hammer (SHTF book, but not great) both brought up the same point, that I think bears repeating in case of a SHTF scenario. We saw it to an extent in Katrina...

That is that the Army / PD or Contractor's (anyone acting under the color of law) can be damned dangerous. That scene where they stood off Ravenwood was dangerous, not just because Ravenwood was equipped with auto's, grenades and armor but because they also had a LAWFUL purpose even though that lawful purpose seemed not to agree with common sense. According to what I understand, they didn't do anything against the law and the laws they broke could be spun to a Self Defense type scenario...

I think Jericho made a lot of people RETHINK their weapons.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I'm just hoping someone picks up "Lights Out" and makes a movie or series out of that

 

[ccsniper]

i just watched the first episode and will watch the rest

 

[Vertigo]

@ TexasRifleman:

I'm just hoping someone picks up "Lights Out" and makes a movie or series out of that

You read the book as well eh? What did you think of it, apart from just being an entertaining story.

greetz,

V.

 

[Cyborg]

EOTWAWKI Book

I was a fan of Jericho, too. Fan of Gerald McRaney (although I HATE him because he gets to go home to Delta Burke and I don't).

Excellent - and not well known - post-apocalypse bookis Dean Ing's 1983 novel "Pulling Through".

Written as an excellent science fiction novel about survival following a nuclear attack with a large nonfiction section with easy to follow illustrations and guides on building and engineering protective shelters, what works, ventilation systems, building a homemade Fallout meter, survival and fallout information, stocking your shelter, what you can expect, and more.

Of course it was written beofre the fall of the Iron Curtain so we were a lot more likely to HAVE a nuclear war back then.

mbt2001, I loved "Lucifer's Hammer" but then Niven and Pournelle don't do anything that isn't superb. "Footfall" is sort of a SHTF/EOTWAWKI book that thkes the Alien Invasion theme and does something new with it.

The BEST EOTWAWKI novel, IMO, was Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold". Ought to be required reading for any would-be survivalist.

Cyborg