Lower Decks

We’re introducing a new family of posts relating to television here at Lower Decks. They won’t be reviews as much as random musings in response to episodes of different shows.  The first thing we’re going to apply “Thoughts On…” to is Jericho, due to the fact that it recently began airing on The CW and is thus easy to access.  If the response to “Thoughts on Jericho” is good we might expand to other shows (SCI FI will be showing repeats of Invasion and Moonlight in January of 2009).

Because “Thoughts On…” will be examining episode of television shows that have already aired to completion in the United States, be forewarned that these posts will contain spoilers.  So, if you haven’t seen Jericho and don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now.

Thoughts on Jericho – “Pilot”

Jericho, a drama series set in the alternative/speculative history category of science fiction, premiered on CBS on September 20th, 2006.  It was famously canceled after its first season and then renewed after outrage from viewers and fans only to be canceled again following a shortened second season.  And now it is back on the air in the form of repeats shown every Sunday on The CW.

Here are our some of our thoughts upon watching the first episode of Jericho, “Pilot,” for the second (or perhaps third) time:

• Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) didn’t seem at all concerned that he killed that man on the road after being distracted by the nuclear explosion.  He did bow his head a little when he saw the man’s lifeless body strapped into the driver’s seat but that was it.  Was the man’s death ever brought up again?
• When Gray Anderson (Michael Gaston) was breaking up the fight at the gas station, it seemed painfully obvious that he was trying to spin the goings-on in his favor with regard to the mayoral election.  Only Johnston Greene (Gerald McRaney) seemed to notice.  To be fair, the townspeople were a little agitated.
• Those kids on the bus seemed really, really depressed.  Especially that one kid who was told by Jake to hold the shoulders of the girl having trouble breathing.
• Even while listening to the tape of his mother’s death (was his father also killed or was that his mother’s boyfriend?), Dale Turner (Erik Knudsen) was still annoying.  Maybe if he showed a little emotion…
• Although Jake is depicted from the very start as a superman among men, at least when he was driving the bus back to town he seemed drowsy and pained.  After all, he had sustained a nasty injury in the car crash (see above).  But he still managed to save a girl’s life and make his way back to town while driving a bus (which isn’t something just anyone can drive).
• Having never learned that the United States has been attacked with nuclear weapons, we can’t say how we’d respond to the news.  The scene when Dale explained that his mother had been in Atlanta — and the gasps and noises of shock it elicited — didn’t play nearly as seriously as the show intended. But just how are you supposed to react in a moment like that?
• Heather Lisinski (Sprague Grayden) teaching the kids on the bus how to tell left from right by using their hands (the one that forms an L is your left, remember) was cute.
• Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) seems to know just a little bit too much about everything.  Even knowing what we know about the character now, it is still difficult to believe that he’s such a jack of all trades.

That’s it. Have any thoughts about this episode of Jericho?  Have at it in the comments.