# Jericho (New TV Show) - ComicCon Review (Spoilers)



## Mistwell (Jul 24, 2006)

I watched the pilot episode of this upcoming CBS show.

In my opinion, it was the best new show I saw at ComicCon this year, and very much worth watching.

The official website:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/upfront_2006/jericho.shtml

Their summary:



> Things are quiet and peaceful in small-town Jericho, Kansas, but when a baffling explosion occurs in the distance, Jericho's residents are plunged into social, psychological and physical chaos. No one knows what to think, and fear of the unknown takes over the town, especially because its isolation cuts it off from outside help. When nearly everything they know seems gone, will the residents of JERICHO band together to face their unfamiliar and mysterious new world? Skeet Ulrich ("Scream," "As Good as It Gets" "Miricles") stars as Jake Green.  Ashley Scott as Emily Sullivan. Sprague Grayden as Heather Lisinski. Kenneth Mitchell as Eric Green. Lennie James as Robert Hawkins. Michael Gaston as Gray Anderson.  Erik Knudsen as Dale Turner. Gerald McRaney as Mayor Green. Pamela Reed as Gail Green.




The blog for this show is at MySpace.com under StuckInJericho, which I believe is written by the lead writer on the show.

This was the second of two panels I saw that were "network responses" to the success of the show Lost. The first was Heros (from NBC). Both panels quite often compared and contrasted themselves to Lost. Heros compared themselves to Lost in that all the characters are secretly connected to each other, and something strange is going on with that connection and the people who know about it. Jericho played more on the idea of being stranded without contact from the rest of mankind. But both were explicitly "Lost-like", or at least that is how the networks were spinning it.

Jericho, so far, is the better of the two new shows in my opinion (even though I am in theory the target audience of Heros, since I am a comic book fan).

Jericho is about a small town in Kansas that witnesses what appears to be a nuclear mushroom cloud in Denver, and later hears about what may be a similar event in Atlanta.  Their power goes out, and outside communications (though they are trying some short-wave communications through a mad-man who lives in town and owns the only short-wave radio around).  Though geiger counters do not register radiation (so far), birds are dead on the highway well outside of town, and actual blasts of force seem to have been felt by a couple of buses on the highway nearby.  News reports before these events did involve discussions of possible war, and an emergency meeting of Congress with the President addressing congress about this unknown and unspecified emergency war issue.

Initially the town has to deal with the immediate panic that happens with all these rumors and sightings.  Then some injuries, as a bus of school kids is damaged, and about 9 people overall killed (none by the blast, all by events caused by the blast like car accidents).  In addition, a prison transport bus is knocked down, and the prisoners escape.

The show involves two mysterious figures.  The first is the lead actor, who has just returned after a 5 year absence from the town of Jericho.  He offers three or four different explanations of where he has been for the past 5 years, most involing the military in some way (Army, Navy, Military School, somwhere in San Diego, etc..).  He is reluctant to explain why he returned beyond the fact that he was asking for money for something that he didn't want his parents to know about.

The other is a supposed ex-cop from a big city who turns up only hours before the "nuclear" blasts occur.  He seems to know a lot about different things, and someone asks him if he was a science teacher.  He seems a bit more prepared for this "disaster" than he should be, suggesting things here and there as the show progresses that seem a wee bit too obscure for him to have thought of off-hand.  Is he an escaped prisoner? Is he from the miltary and part of an expriment they are running?  Is he what he seems?  It's unclear.

Spoilers beyond this episode included a hint that there are towns and or other people near-by that are also okay, such as perhaps a native american reservation.  The issue of radiation sickness will be dealt with in the second episode, and they assured us that zombie-like disease-ridden people were NOT going to appear at any time in the episodes.

They do have the plot fairly well planned out in advance, though the writer didn't say how far.

The show was shot mostly in Calgary, Canada, as that is a good place to get shots of open planes.

The book "The Stand" served as inspiration for the writer.  Events such as Katrina, 9-11, the LA Riots, and the Tsunami also inspired both the writers and the actors (and several actors were involved personally in some of those disasters and drew on their experiences)/

Overall again I really liked this show, and plan on watching when it gets released.  The acting was good, the directing was good, the pace was good, it all worked for me.


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## Crothian (Jul 24, 2006)

While I like the idea, I fear it will turn into Lost a show that just seems to have few answers and goes no where.


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## Bront (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm looking forward to it.  Having a plan is a good starting point.


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## Mistwell (Jul 24, 2006)

Here are some pictures from the panel (click on thumbnail for full view):


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## Ed_Laprade (Jul 24, 2006)

Ok, it took me all of ten seconds to figure out what to do. Get together a convoy of several cars, with a/the giger counter, and spread out as far as they can while remaining in visual contact, and go. They'll eventually run into *something*! They'll need walkie talkies or something as well, if their cell phones aren't working. (And if the electricity isn't out permanently, things aren't that bad.)


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## Mistwell (Jul 24, 2006)

Ed_Laprade said:
			
		

> Ok, it took me all of ten seconds to figure out what to do. Get together a convoy of several cars, with a/the giger counter, and spread out as far as they can while remaining in visual contact, and go. They'll eventually run into *something*! They'll need walkie talkies or something as well, if their cell phones aren't working. (And if the electricity isn't out permanently, things aren't that bad.)




1. Electricity is probably out for good.  They have some generators, but those will run out quick.  No cell phones of course.  And nothing to charge walkie talkies with once their batteries run out.

2. No gas station refills either.  You run out of gas, and you may be stranded.

3. They already found a massive amount of dead birds on the road in their first attempt to leave town on the highway.  And, they do not currently have the time or resources to go exploring much, as they have riots and injuries to deal with first.  Eventually they will.

4. The writer already revealed that there are other people nearby that they will find, such as an indian reservation.


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## Jamdin (Jul 24, 2006)

This series is already high on my do not miss list after watching the trailer for it and I can't wait for this fall.


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## Mistwell (Jul 24, 2006)

By the way I thought I would mention that the girl in the first photo I posted (dark hair, I think her name is Sprague Grayden, who played Judith on Joan of Arcadia), is a big sci-fi geek.  She said the producers told her to not characterize the show as sci-fi because they think it will be bad for publicity, but that she feels this show is solidly sci-fi and that it's something to be proud of.  She is a battlestar galactica fan, and grew up on star trek, and was loving the convention.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 24, 2006)

She was great on Joan of Arcadia (a show that really should have been marketed as the supernatural show that it was -- too many people thought it'd be Highway to Heaven, so down the ratings toilet it went). Nice to see her back this year.


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## wingsandsword (Jul 25, 2006)

We can hope it doesn't turn out like Lost or Twin Peaks, shows that start out cool and intriguing, but it turns out later that just more and more questions pile up without answers.

X-Files almost went that route, but at least they started to provide something approaching answers occasionally.

We can hope that they have an actual, coherent answer for what is going on, and that while questions pop up, there will be answers, and looking back in retrospect those answers will make sense and be things that could have been plausibly deduced from the clues given.

If they do all that, then it could be a very good show.


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## CrusaderX (Jul 25, 2006)

This show sounds cool.  I'll definitely check it out.


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## Crothian (Jul 25, 2006)

wingsandsword said:
			
		

> X-Files almost went that route, but at least they started to provide something approaching answers occasionally.




X-files also had the ability to have stand alone episodes.  Lost and the three shows like it that all died last year are unable to have those and I think that hurts it.  This show doesn't seem like it will either.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 25, 2006)

Any show can have standalone episodes, if the writers want to. Surface, especially, could have had fun telling a one-off story about someone encountering the sea creatures.


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 25, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Any show can have standalone episodes, if the writers want to. Surface, especially, could have had fun telling a one-off story about someone encountering the sea creatures.




Threshold was very much stand alone episodes. It was mostly a monster of the week show.

As for Jericho I disagree about the feul issue to some extent. As a farming community the farms should all have some fuel on hand with some probably having tons of it (All that farm equipment doesn't just drive to the gas station for refills). Even without the fuel storage you just need two full cars to go exploring. Siphon the gas out of one into gallon jugs and put them in the other. That should give you a 350-450 mile range to drive and get back which is more than enough to get to Denver from the middle of Kansas (if you are on the Eastern side you should be going to Kansas City or St. Louis to find out what is going on). 

As for the Short Wave radio you just take it from the crazy guy and let a normal person run it.


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## Abraxas (Jul 25, 2006)

> As for Jericho I disagree about the feul issue to some extent. As a farming community the farms should all have some fuel on hand with some probably having tons of it (All that farm equipment doesn't just drive to the gas station for refills). Even without the fuel storage you just need two full cars to go exploring. Siphon the gas out of one into gallon jugs and put them in the other. That should give you a 350-450 mile range to drive and get back which is more than enough to get to Denver from the middle of Kansas (if you are on the Eastern side you should be going to Kansas City or St. Louis to find out what is going on).




There would probably be a crop duster within walking distance, or horses.
I just can't see small town folk becoming paralyzed by this - start moving in the direction away from the explosion and toward another town. Its only big city folk, where people are packed in like rats and have cell phones attached to their skulls 24/7 that this wouldn't be a solution.

The brief blurb on the link puts it on my to be ignored list.


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## Mistwell (Jul 25, 2006)

wingsandsword said:
			
		

> We can hope it doesn't turn out like Lost or Twin Peaks, shows that start out cool and intriguing, but it turns out later that just more and more questions pile up without answers.
> 
> X-Files almost went that route, but at least they started to provide something approaching answers occasionally.
> 
> ...




Did you just seriously say, with a straight face, that x-files provided something approaching answers while Lost has not?

Wow.  We are worlds apart in perspective.  That is, unless you stopped watching Lost before the drove of answers started to pile up this last season (in it's second season, as opposed to it's 5th season).


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## Mistwell (Jul 25, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> Threshold was very much stand alone episodes. It was mostly a monster of the week show.
> 
> As for Jericho I disagree about the feul issue to some extent. As a farming community the farms should all have some fuel on hand with some probably having tons of it (All that farm equipment doesn't just drive to the gas station for refills). Even without the fuel storage you just need two full cars to go exploring. Siphon the gas out of one into gallon jugs and put them in the other. That should give you a 350-450 mile range to drive and get back which is more than enough to get to Denver from the middle of Kansas (if you are on the Eastern side you should be going to Kansas City or St. Louis to find out what is going on).




And they may well do that.  But in the pilot, they were not near that level of organization yet.  It was more of a "try and get control of the panic" for that episode.



> As for the Short Wave radio you just take it from the crazy guy and let a normal person run it.




They did use it, we just didn't see the results in the pilot.  They don't need to take it from the crazy guy...they persuaded him to allow them to use it, by agreeing with the crazy guy that this was all about an alien attack.


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## Steverooo (Jul 25, 2006)

One thing that was brought up in one of the trailers, that the arguers, here, have so far ignored, is that, if you see a nuke going off, and can't (for the time being, anyway) contact the outside world, then you have to assume that the US is under attack, either from an enemy country, or terrorists.  As one of the guys in Jericho points out, "We may not want whoever is out there to know that we're still here!"

So, you can send out scouts, but any scouts captured by the mysterious "Enemy" can be tortured into leading them right back to you...  That would certainly cause some dissension among the folks debating whether or not to send out a search team.

Eventually, someone would have to go.  Initially, however, they might prefer to try the radio, internet, and other means of information gathering.

There are also the dead birds.  What killed them?  Concussion?  Radiation?  Jericho probably doesn't stock Potassium Iodide, so the explorers have no protection from radioactive particles in the air, falling on their food & into their water, etc.  They can rig some protective wraps out of materials on hand, but do you want to go out under those conditions?  Especially with all the stuff going on "at home"?

I don't know.  I don't see going off into the probbly-radioactive wasteland as the best idea, as compared with sitting where we think we're safe, calming things down, and listening to the radio...  YMMV.  Again, eventually, they'll have to do that, but certainly not in the opening episode!


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## Steverooo (Jul 25, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> 1. Electricity is probably out for good.  They have some generators, but those will run out quick.  No cell phones of course.  And nothing to charge walkie talkies with once their batteries run out.




Was it a nuke, or not?  Do we really know, for sure?

If it WAS a nuke, then there was an EMP, and anything electronic (as opposed to electrical) is fried, and you'll need new chips (generally) to repair it.  (In some cases, depending upon the chip and damage, a knowledgable person might be able to repair it...  I couldn't, but it is sometimes possible.)

If it wasn't really a nuke, then I don't know why power is out, unless the lines are down (which is very possible, in an explosion).  Phones operate under their own power, so the electricity has no effect on them.  If the phone company has no power, though, no phones.  Cell nets I don't know anything about.

Batteries are really no problem.  even a small town probably has hundreds, in the stores, and more almost dead ones laying all about, throughout the town.  And that's without any recharging (I have quite a few crank- or solar-powered rechargers, as well as the kind that plug into the wall, and that's without using a 12-volt battery to recharge a bunch of 1.5 volts).



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> 2. No gas station refills either.  You run out of gas, and you may be stranded.




Not really.  The gas stations still have gas, the PUMPS just won't work without power (no electricity).  You can syphon a bit of fuel out of the hose, without any special gear.

With a little preparation time, and a working vehicle, I could haul a battery and an inverter up to the station, find the guy who runs the place, and get the voltage/amperage that the pump needs, and then power the pump from the batteries/alternater & inverter, and get all the fuel that we had storage containers for...  As long as the vehicle ran, we could charge the batteries from the alternater...

Unlike the electronics, the EMP wouldn't fry copper coils of wiring.  Motors, light bulbs, etc., should still work, if you have power to run them.  Does the ol' "crazy guy" have solar panels?    Let's hope SOMEONE in Jericho does!


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 25, 2006)

Steverooo said:
			
		

> One thing that was brought up in one of the trailers, that the arguers, here, have so far ignored, is that, if you see a nuke going off, and can't (for the time being, anyway) contact the outside world, then you have to assume that the US is under attack, either from an enemy country, or terrorists.  As one of the guys in Jericho points out, "We may not want whoever is out there to know that we're still here!"




A nuke in Denver tends to indicate an ICBM strike from a major power, terrorists, or possibly just an accident. If it is an ICBM strike then in all likelyhood there would be many more than the one cloud seen as the enemy would likely be striking military facilities as well. There would also probably be some indication in the news that tensions were running high with another major power. With only one cloud the terrorist or accident theory have stronger likelyhood. With either the terrorist or accident theory then in all likelyhood there is only one or a very small number of cities hit at once and most of the rest of the country wouldn't be in a post apololyptic scenario yet. If the concearn is about the actual enemies knowing about Jericho then I don't buy it at all.



			
				Steverooo said:
			
		

> So, you can send out scouts, but any scouts captured by the mysterious "Enemy" can be tortured into leading them right back to you...  That would certainly cause some dissension among the folks debating whether or not to send out a search team.




See above. My question is what "Enemy" are they trying to keep secret from? Without more mushroom clouds I doubt that the US is some post-apocalyptic nightmare or that there are Russian/Chinese/Alien troops running all around Kansas.



			
				Steverooo said:
			
		

> Eventually, someone would have to go.  Initially, however, they might prefer to try the radio, internet, and other means of information gathering.




CB radio/Shortwave radio. The other means of communication are probably down with the power. It looks like a pretty big town though so someone will likely make a drive sooner rather than later. There would also likely be a minor exodus and influx as people try to leave to get to relatives and the surrounding farmers all come into town to see what is going on. 



			
				Steverooo said:
			
		

> There are also the dead birds.  What killed them?  Concussion?  Radiation?  Jericho probably doesn't stock Potassium Iodide, so the explorers have no protection from radioactive particles in the air, falling on their food & into their water, etc.  They can rig some protective wraps out of materials on hand, but do you want to go out under those conditions?  Especially with all the stuff going on "at home"?




Sure why not. Its not like Denver isn't upwind anyway and anything radioactive in that cloud will be heading right to Jericho. If radiation is a concearn the best bet would be to drive north or south depending on the wind direction. Maybe head down to Oklahoma City (about the same distance) and see what is going on. If all the cities are hit then pool the gas and cars and convoy up to Canada since it won't be long until Jericho is just as contaminated as everything else.  



			
				Steverooo said:
			
		

> I don't know.  I don't see going off into the probbly-radioactive wasteland as the best idea, as compared with sitting where we think we're safe, calming things down, and listening to the radio...  YMMV.  Again, eventually, they'll have to do that, but certainly not in the opening episode!




See above. OK heading to Denver is a bad idea but what about heading to Oklahoma City, Witchita, Omaha, Kansas City all of which are away from Denver. As above, if Denver is a radioactive wateland then Jericho won't be much longer with the winds heading from west to east. The longer you stay and decide what to do the more radiation you will get. My guess would be that with only one cloud seen it is limited in nature and heading north or south as soon as possible would be a good idea. If it is nukes all across America it doesn't much matter as it is now radioactive-postapocolyptic endgame anyway and pretty much everyone is screwed no matter where you are.

The way I see it is that this is trying to be another Lost with drama and unsolved mysteries. However right now I can see too many holes in just the preview to really be interested. Oh and if it/they are not nukes but some non-radioactive super science bombs then I am out as well.


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## KaosDevice (Jul 25, 2006)

Being a Kansas boy I am looking forward to this. (And just about anything that shows something apocalyptic happening to my home state, dunno why). With all the talk about fuel, etc. is forgetting that there are a number of working ranches around the state with horses for the riding. Saddle up and head out!


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## WayneLigon (Jul 25, 2006)

I'll definately check it out. I have no problem with characters that don't behave like a bunch of RPG PC's who act with calm hive-like Special Forces efficiency when confronted with unknown danger.


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## Arnwyn (Jul 25, 2006)

The concept sounds fascinating, and I'll be sure to at least give it a try.

Hopefully they don't drag out unanswered questions for _too_ long, though.


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## Mark Chance (Jul 25, 2006)

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> I'll definately check it out. I have no problem with characters that don't behave like a bunch of RPG PC's who act with calm hive-like Special Forces efficiency when confronted with unknown danger.




Hear, hear!

I'm also both amused and annoyed by people who say things like, "Well, if that happened to me, alls I'd have to do is...." It's not too much presumption to say that 99% of everyone would be utterly paralyzed and irrational if confronted with the horror of a nuclear attack. This probably most especially applies to those who think that RPG PC solutions to crises are viable.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 25, 2006)

Mark Chance said:
			
		

> Hear, hear!
> 
> I'm also both amused and annoyed by people who say things like, "Well, if that happened to me, alls I'd have to do is...." It's not too much presumption to say that 99% of everyone would be utterly paralyzed and irrational if confronted with the horror of a nuclear attack. This probably most especially applies to those who think that RPG PC solutions to crises are viable.



Not to mention, have you ever seen the average RPGer in a crisis? I have, and almost all of them go as much to pieces as anyone else. Playing a Special Forces op with nerves of steel doesn't make you one. Not even close.


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## Crothian (Jul 25, 2006)

Mark Chance said:
			
		

> Hear, hear!
> 
> I'm also both amused and annoyed by people who say things like, "Well, if that happened to me, alls I'd have to do is...." It's not too much presumption to say that 99% of everyone would be utterly paralyzed and irrational if confronted with the horror of a nuclear attack. This probably most especially applies to those who think that RPG PC solutions to crises are viable.




While it is true that RPGs are not realistic neither is TV.  They will have plot holes and ignore things people see as obvious so the show goes the way they want the show to go.


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## Shalimar (Jul 26, 2006)

It sounds a lot like the Stirling trilogies "Island on the Sea of Time" and the "Dies the Fire".  Both outstanding sets of books.  They both start at the same point, 1998, a blinding flash of light occurs, and things go to hell.  In Dies the Fire, everything technological dies right along with the flash of light, electricity, explosive chemical reactions, etc, sending the modern world back to the technology level of the middle ages.  In the "Island on the Sea of Time" the flash occurs, and the Island of Nantucket is completely cut off from the main land (by about 3,000 years).  In both sets of novels the people have to deal with the sudden dramatic upheavals.  I think it makes for a really neat story, and it definitely puts Jericho on my must watch list.


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## WayneLigon (Jul 26, 2006)

Shalimar said:
			
		

> It sounds a lot like the Stirling trilogies "Island on the Sea of Time" and the "Dies the Fire".  Both outstanding sets of books.




Wow, those sound really cool. I'll have to add those to my want list.


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## Vigilance (Jul 26, 2006)

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> I'll definately check it out. I have no problem with characters that don't behave like a bunch of RPG PC's who act with calm hive-like Special Forces efficiency when confronted with unknown danger.




Yeah the idea that anyone would see a mushroom cloud, completely lose power, have no contact with the outside world and calmly say "well there was only one nuke that we know of, probably terrorists, let's leave our homes and drive north".

Yeah... *THAT* is what normal people would do. 

Not.

I certainly have seen plenty of people acting calmly during disaster footage, boldly striking out into the unknown at the first sign of serious danger demanding information.

Actually what I usually see is people staring around stunned, crying, and meandering aimlessly. 

Chuck


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## Abraxas (Jul 26, 2006)

> Yeah the idea that anyone would see a mushroom cloud, completely lose power, have no contact with the outside world and calmly say "well there was only one nuke that we know of, probably terrorists, let's leave our homes and drive north".
> 
> Yeah... *THAT* is what normal people would do.



Of course it is perfectly normal in a small town in rural Kansas for someone to have a geiger counter   



> Actually what I usually see is people staring around stunned, crying, and meandering aimlessly.



and trying desparately to get somewhere where somebody knows whats going on.


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 26, 2006)

Vigilance said:
			
		

> Yeah the idea that anyone would see a mushroom cloud, completely lose power, have no contact with the outside world and calmly say "well there was only one nuke that we know of, probably terrorists, let's leave our homes and drive north".
> 
> Yeah... *THAT* is what normal people would do.
> 
> Not.




People certainly are free to stay. I'm just saying I would get out from under the fallout that is heading my way. It doesn't matter if it is war or terrorists, either way the radiation is coming.


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## Vigilance (Jul 26, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> People certainly are free to stay. I'm just saying I would get out from under the fallout that is heading my way. It doesn't matter if it is war or terrorists, either way the radiation is coming.




This is assuming you were reacting calmly and rationally. A big if.

Also, look at the synopsis of the show again in the first post. There is a blast in Denver, they hear of a similar event in Atlanta, the President is meeting in emergency session with Congress and THEN power goes out, as well as a complete information blackout.

You're really going to just head north and hope for the best in a circumstance like that?

Maybe YOU would. But to say it's a huge plot hole that the entire town doesn't pick up and head for Canada is a bit of a nit, don't you think?


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## Crothian (Jul 26, 2006)

Isn't denver like 180 miles or so from kansas?  Can one actually see a mushroom cloud from that far?


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## Vigilance (Jul 26, 2006)

I wasn't under the impression they were physically seeing it. But even so... seems like a little literary license might be in order at some point.


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 26, 2006)

Vigilance said:
			
		

> This is assuming you were reacting calmly and rationally. A big if.
> 
> Also, look at the synopsis of the show again in the first post. There is a blast in Denver, they hear of a similar event in Atlanta, the President is meeting in emergency session with Congress and THEN power goes out, as well as a complete information blackout.
> 
> ...




Once more if I am downwind of a mushroom cloud that I can see then yes I am out of there. Staying put is just asking for radiation posioning. I will happily take my chances heading north. I will be freaking out and probably making some irational discissions but getting away from there will be a top priority. 

I realize that people staying put is the premise of the series but some premises I just can't except when they fly to much in the face of reality.


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## Vigilance (Jul 26, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> Once more if I am downwind of a mushroom cloud that I can see then yes I am out of there. Staying put is just asking for radiation posioning. I will happily take my chances heading north. I will be freaking out and probably making some irational discissions but getting away from there will be a top priority.
> 
> I realize that people staying put is the premise of the series but some premises I just can't except when they fly to much in the face of reality.




Uhuh, and air never travels north? Isn't there a little thing called the jet stream that frequently passes south, then turns north?

What I am saying is, even if only TWO ICBMs strike the US and none strike Canada or Mexico, you are not getting away from the fallout. 

So you can have known surroundings and fallout, or you can hit the road, with less idea about how you are going to get gasoline, the strong possibility that you will soon be on foot, no real idea where your next meal is coming... and you will have fallout.

The idea that "I can outrun the fallout" is just not correct.


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## RangerWickett (Jul 26, 2006)

I figure most people would wait for the government to show up. Some people would explore, though.


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## Steverooo (Jul 26, 2006)

*EMPs*

Well, I don't presume to know (or care) what BJ would do, in the event of a nuke, nor what the weather patterns around Denver are, or whether or not they blow towards Jericho, Kansas (if there even is one).  This I DO know: I don't have a car, so I'd be one of the people cutting up trash bags and taping them over the windows, and trying to get by where I'm at.

Also, I am going to actually wait and SEE the show, before I make any judgement calls about how gaping the plot holes are.  IF they see a mushroom cloud, AND the prevailing winds are blowing the cloud their direction, then staying put is dumb, yes, but that's presuming a lot that I don't think we really know, yet.  So I'll just wait and see,,,

So, does anyone here know how and why EMPs fry the electronics?  I'm no physicist (don't play one on TV, nor even in an RPG), but my understanding is that radiation ionizes parts of the ICs (Integrated Circuit chips), making their function irratic, at best.  Thus, anything with ICs is effectively "burned out".  Is that about right?

Also, it's my understanding that simple electrical circuits (light bulbs, house wiring, pumps, motors, etc.) should all be okay.  Right?

So why is the power off?  Generaters still work.  Power distribution systems should still work.  Control panels without gayges won't, but those with'em will still work.  Seems to me that only switching gear will be out, and manual switches will still function...  Shouldn't power be back on, pretty quick?

(Yes, yes, lots of modern control systems are computerized, but the overrides are almost all manual - so where's the problem?  What am I missing, here?)

Also, once the EMP is past, why wouldn't communications work?  Sure, the IC-bearing walkie-talkies would have ceased to function, but the Ham sets don't have any ICs to "burn", so...?  Does radioactivity in the air cause some problem?  (I've never read anything like that.)

So why no communications?  Even if only one guy in all Jericho has a Ham set, there should be plenty of other Hams out there, similarly equipped...  I hope this doesn't all turn out to be some sort of "Emergency Preparedness Drill"!


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## Vigilance (Jul 26, 2006)

I the reason the power would be out would be all the routing stations and lines that would be physically evaporated and/or destroyed, but I'm just guessing. 

Large power plants might even be directly targeted in a serious military strike, but as we have seen with blackouts, even one missing link in the chain can cause a lot of havoc.

So my guess is that if a lot of places were destroyed, then a LOT of those links would be missing.

As for communications, Im sure there would be a Ham network, which would probably hook you up with a lot of people you don't know, can't trust and who in many cases know just as little as you.

Though I'm sure that would be more comforting than static and silence


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 26, 2006)

I am ok with the power outage. The EMP would fry the Denver area but that is not the cause of the blackout (well it sort of is). What happens is that the power grid is very delicately balanced. If one entire portion goes out, say an entire city, this does not neccesarily stop electricity production elsewhere. All the electricity which is supposed to be used in that area is suddenly not being used and builds up causing systems to hopefully either cuircut break or fry entirely. This then causes another section of the grid to fail causing another surge in the next portion and so on and so on. This was seen recently with the eastern power failure in Ohio that took out parts of Canada and New York. Power plants then shut down as well, but unfortunately power plants also require outside electricity to start back up so it takes alot of work to isolate areas of the grid and get power back up in them. The last major blackout took days and that was without having to deal with a war at the same time. The US system is broken into at least two major grids seperated by the Mississippi but if both Denver and Atlanta are hit then I see no reason that there couldn't be a blackout accross the entire US.


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## KaosDevice (Jul 26, 2006)

Crothian said:
			
		

> Isn't denver like 180 miles or so from kansas?  Can one actually see a mushroom cloud from that far?





 Western Kansas is unbelievably, mind bogglingly flat. Add to that the significant height that Denver has over any given town in the part of the state and the day was clear enough I wouldn't overrule it. Espescially if it was a cloud of large enough mega-tonnage.


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## buzzard (Jul 26, 2006)

OK a couple of things. 

First, Denver was always a major nuke target back in the Cold War. Given that we're past that, it might not be as much, but there are still a lot of defense contractors here as well as much of the U.S. Sattelite uplink facilities. The NORAD/Space Command HQ still resides in Colorado Springs (~70 miles from Denver or so). There are also plenty of military bases in the area. It is also about the biggest city for a whole lot of miles. I could see Denver defeinitely being a target of worth. 

As for EMP, as I understand it basically you get a wide frequency burst of electro magnetic energy. Electro magnetic waves can generally induce a current in a conductor pretty easily. This is how you make induction furnaces. What an EMP burst will do is cause a burst of current in any conductors. If they are fragile enough (computer chips for example), you will burn out the current pathways by overloading them. Large objects are more likely to be safe since they are more used to dealing with large amounts of current. 

Then we have the issue of Kansas, and generators. Well a lot of generators could probably either work as is on ethanol, or with some modification. Kansas, right now, puts out plenty of ethanol. Brazil, for example, runs to a large extent on bio fuels from their farms. 

buzzard


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## Henry (Jul 26, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> The US system is broken into at least two major grids seperated by the Mississippi but if both Denver and Atlanta are hit then I see no reason that there couldn't be a blackout accross the entire US.



Even if two major metros were hit geographically far apart, you wouldn't see TOTAL power blackout. However, five or six, spread evenly across the country, WOULD do it, for all but the most remote towns in Appalachian and Rocky Mountain valleys who have their own isolated generating stations. Even not counting those, there are actually, I've read in news articles, THOUSANDS of remote farmsteads which run totally off the grid, using combos of wind, solar and water power, but this is a relatively new phenomena within the past twenty years or so.

Now, I can see in the show, reports of a blast in two places, but there actually being MORE, and because of the news blackout, people in Jericho just don't know it yet. It would be a pretty dramatic moment for the series, I imagine, to find out -- _it ain't just Denver and Atlanta. New York's gone... and Los Angeles... and Miami... and Chicago... _

As for Farm Fuel... note that many farms store diesel fuel for the combines, tractors, back-hoes, etc. with small amounts of gasoline for both some tractors and for small gas engines that start the deisel engines. That won't do your car much good. Plus, farms frequently use "farm grade fuel" (can't remember the exact name they use at the pumps), but it's of lower octane rating than regular stuff, and not as clean, and runs the farm equipment it's designed for just fine - but would tear your car to hell for any length of time.

I agree with the gas stations, though -- if a town pulled together its resources, rationed the gas from the gas stations' tanks (you don't NEED working gas pumps to gas up your car - it just makes it easier), then I could see them doing pretty well for themselves, and one local Wal-mart would offer a HECK of a lot of survival equipment all in one place. 

So, lots to think about, and lots to hopefully expect, and I'm looking forward to it, myself.


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## WayneLigon (Jul 26, 2006)

Steverooo said:
			
		

> So, does anyone here know how and why EMPs fry the electronics?  I'm no physicist (don't play one on TV, nor even in an RPG), but my understanding is that radiation ionizes parts of the ICs (Integrated Circuit chips), making their function irratic, at best.  Thus, anything with ICs is effectively "burned out".  Is that about right?
> 
> Also, it's my understanding that simple electrical circuits (light bulbs, house wiring, pumps, motors, etc.) should all be okay.  Right?




EMP's fry electronics because the intense magnetic field creates an electrical surge. You hear about microprocessors all the time, but that's just because they are a particularly vulnerable component. The pulse will affect any unprotected electrical equipment just like a lightning strike will and more, because it actually induces a massive current. Metal pipes, phone lines, power lines, all that will transmit a sudden sharp current down itself until it reaches some vital component; It'll hurt any device that can be damaged by a huge voltage surge, physically frying materials and such. It'll destroy batteries, explode transformers, melt wiring, all that. Like a lightning strike, the effect on anything is unpredicatable. Some things might work, some might not.

In other words it's going to act just like a tremnedous electrical spike. Blackouts sometimes last days or longer depending on just what has happened. The US electrical grid is actually a great deal ore vulnerable than people think; look at the massive 2003 blackout caused by one station and it's cascading effects. And that's without the added chaos of nuclear war. 

If there are multiple points of overload and failure, you can pretty much count on the entire US power grid dying and not coming back. In the event of nuclear war, most of the techs and managers will probably flee their post in order to get to their families; some will not and they may keep order for a short time, but most people are going to leave their job and not come back. There might be a manual means of override, but if there's no-one there to throw the switch... 

Most EMPs don't damage a very large area. A nuclear device set off at about 300 km in the air will blanket the entire continental US and more with an EMP but the inverse square law prevents most of that from being damaging. The closer you are, the more damage will occur. 

Depending on exact circumstances, a nuclear explosion can disrupt HF radio communications because it affects the ionosphere. Enough disruption and I assume that for a time only line-of-sight communication would be possible.

It's possible to shield a device from an EMP. I'm pretty sure most military devices are sheilded in such a manner; some damage might occur but I think it mitigates a lot of the effect.

This is all presuming it _is _ a nuclear attack. From what Mistwell says, it seems open to debate as to what is really going on. If they are taking inspiration from The Stand, then who knows what could really be going on.


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## buzzard (Jul 26, 2006)

WayneLigon said:
			
		

> It's possible to shield a device from an EMP. I'm pretty sure most military devices are sheilded in such a manner; some damage might occur but I think it mitigates a lot of the effect.




Yes, most military equipment is shielded against EMP. In fact as a curious bit of information, the largest wooden structure in the world made without any nails or screws is at Kirland AFB in Albuquerque. This is used by Sandia National Laboratories to test military equipment for EMP hardness. It is a huge scaffolding large enough to hold a B-52 all made from wood, including the fasteners which are pegs in sockets. 

Before 9-11 people were able to get onto the base and see some of the funky stuff even if you weren't military or emploted by DOE. I don't believe this to be the case anymore.


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Steverooo said:
			
		

> Was it a nuke, or not?  Do we really know, for sure?




No, we do not.  It was a mushroom cloud seen in the distance in the general direction of Denver, and an answering machine message from Atlanta that suddenly went dead with the sound of someone exclaiming "Oh my god, what is that" and then the sound of a boom, glass breaking, and a dead line.

We do not know anything beyond that, other than some dead birds.



> If it WAS a nuke, then there was an EMP, and anything electronic (as opposed to electrical) is fried, and you'll need new chips (generally) to repair it.  (In some cases, depending upon the chip and damage, a knowledgable person might be able to repair it...  I couldn't, but it is sometimes possible.)




If it was a nuke, the EMP would not have likely reached the town of Jericho.  It's not THAT close.



> If it wasn't really a nuke, then I don't know why power is out, unless the lines are down (which is very possible, in an explosion).  Phones operate under their own power, so the electricity has no effect on them.  If the phone company has no power, though, no phones.  Cell nets I don't know anything about.




The power did not end simultaneously with the mushroom cloud.  It took some time (a half hour maybe?) before it went out.  We do not know why.  One character mentions that it might not be out, just overloaded from the loss of Denver generating stations.



> Batteries are really no problem.  even a small town probably has hundreds, in the stores, and more almost dead ones laying all about, throughout the town.  And that's without any recharging (I have quite a few crank- or solar-powered rechargers, as well as the kind that plug into the wall, and that's without using a 12-volt battery to recharge a bunch of 1.5 volts).




That's cool.  I've never seen a crank-based battery recharger.  That sounds useful.



> Not really.  The gas stations still have gas, the PUMPS just won't work without power (no electricity).  You can syphon a bit of fuel out of the hose, without any special gear.




Sure, they have some gas.  But for how long?  With no tank refills (and I mean the underground tanks) they will eventually run out.  And since they will need to eat, the farm equipment will need to use most of that to maintain the farms to feed the town probably.  But you're right, there is gas for now, and some travel is possible, and I think we will see that during the season.



> With a little preparation time, and a working vehicle, I could haul a battery and an inverter up to the station, find the guy who runs the place, and get the voltage/amperage that the pump needs, and then power the pump from the batteries/alternater & inverter, and get all the fuel that we had storage containers for...  As long as the vehicle ran, we could charge the batteries from the alternater...




I don't think it's an issue with the pumps.  This is a relatively small, relatively old town.  They may not even use an electronic pump.



> Unlike the electronics, the EMP wouldn't fry copper coils of wiring.  Motors, light bulbs, etc., should still work, if you have power to run them.  Does the ol' "crazy guy" have solar panels?    Let's hope SOMEONE in Jericho does!




I have not seen any solar panels ion the pilot.  But I am pretty sure there was no EMP that hit the town.


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> A nuke in Denver tends to indicate an ICBM strike from a major power, terrorists, or possibly just an accident. If it is an ICBM strike then in all likelyhood there would be many more than the one cloud seen as the enemy would likely be striking military facilities as well.




Based on the message from Atlanta, that was actually hinted at, that there was more than one strike.



> There would also probably be some indication in the news that tensions were running high with another major power.




They made a point of stressing early in the episode, on every TV, that some sort of military crises was taking place and the President had assembled an emergency joint session of Congress to talk about it. 



> With only one cloud the terrorist or accident theory have stronger likelyhood.




There is no other major, or even minor, city within visual distance of Jericho it appears.  It very well may have been thousands of nukes, and they just only saw the one.  They made a point of showing that Jericho was in the middle of nowhere in Kansas.



> With either the terrorist or accident theory then in all likelyhood there is only one or a very small number of cities hit at once and most of the rest of the country wouldn't be in a post apololyptic scenario yet. If the concearn is about the actual enemies knowing about Jericho then I don't buy it at all.




One character does mention that they should paint out the name of the town with black paint on their police cars before going out, since they don't want people to know that Jericho is still okay, in case there are enemies out there.



> See above. My question is what "Enemy" are they trying to keep secret from? Without more mushroom clouds I doubt that the US is some post-apocalyptic nightmare or that there are Russian/Chinese/Alien troops running all around Kansas.




We don't know.



> CB radio/Shortwave radio. The other means of communication are probably down with the power. It looks like a pretty big town though so someone will likely make a drive sooner rather than later. There would also likely be a minor exodus and influx as people try to leave to get to relatives and the surrounding farmers all come into town to see what is going on.




Yeah the writer hinted that there are other peope around that they will find soon, including probably an indian reservation.



> Sure why not. Its not like Denver isn't upwind anyway and anything radioactive in that cloud will be heading right to Jericho. If radiation is a concearn the best bet would be to drive north or south depending on the wind direction. Maybe head down to Oklahoma City (about the same distance) and see what is going on. If all the cities are hit then pool the gas and cars and convoy up to Canada since it won't be long until Jericho is just as contaminated as everything else.  See above. OK heading to Denver is a bad idea but what about heading to Oklahoma City, Witchita, Omaha, Kansas City all of which are away from Denver. As above, if Denver is a radioactive wateland then Jericho won't be much longer with the winds heading from west to east. The longer you stay and decide what to do the more radiation you will get. My guess would be that with only one cloud seen it is limited in nature and heading north or south as soon as possible would be a good idea. If it is nukes all across America it doesn't much matter as it is now radioactive-postapocolyptic endgame anyway and pretty much everyone is screwed no matter where you are.




The writers said they studied wind patterns and will deal with the issue of radiation fairly early in the show. That's not to say there will be radiation or not, just that they will offer an explanation of some sort. 



> The way I see it is that this is trying to be another Lost with drama and unsolved mysteries. However right now I can see too many holes in just the preview to really be interested. Oh and if it/they are not nukes but some non-radioactive super science bombs then I am out as well.




What holes are you seeing?  So far all that has happened is that they saw a mushroom cloud in the direction of Denver (no holes), and have an answering machine message indicating something may have happened in Atlanta (no holes) and the US was in the midst of some sort of unspecified emergency military issue (no holes) and the power went out for any of a variety of reasons (no holes).  So, what is your issue ALREADY with this show you have not even seen?


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Abraxas said:
			
		

> Of course it is perfectly normal in a small town in rural Kansas for someone to have a geiger counter
> 
> and trying desparately to get somewhere where somebody knows whats going on.




They do have a small number of geiger counters.  It takes them a while to dig out the box in the police station that has them.  And they look a bit old, and obviously kinda hard to test them.  But they do pull them out and try them and they detect no radiation.


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## Nellisir (Jul 26, 2006)

Shalimar said:
			
		

> It sounds a lot like the Stirling trilogies "Island on the Sea of Time" and the "Dies the Fire".  Both outstanding sets of books.




I liked the premise of the books; hated the execution.  I sold the "Island" trilogy as soon as I finished it, and didn't complete the first book in "Dies the Fire".  Stirling's superhuman survival characters just annoyed the crap out of me.

That's all.


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Crothian said:
			
		

> Isn't denver like 180 miles or so from kansas?  Can one actually see a mushroom cloud from that far?




They do not know for sure it is Denver.  It's in the direction of Denver, and there is a mountain there, and they see a relatively tiny mushroom cloud there, and some buses on the highway outside of town seem to feel some sort of blast but it's actually unclear if they felt a blast or if the drivers were just so distracted by the cloud and the radio dying that they accidentally crashed.  

It's not the kind of sky-dominating mushroom cloud we've seen in prior movies and TV shows.  It's quite far in the distance.  I will see if I can find a screen shot of it.


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## Nellisir (Jul 26, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> Sure, they have some gas.  But for how long?  With no tank refills (and I mean the underground tanks) they will eventually run out.  And since they will need to eat, the farm equipment will need to use most of that to maintain the farms to feed the town probably.  But you're right, there is gas for now, and some travel is possible, and I think we will see that during the season.




Gas is a limited sort of problem. They might exhaust their local supply in a week or two, but then one of two things are true.  Either there have been disasters, and there are other gas stations out there just waiting to be salvaged, or there weren't and something can be worked out with other towns in the area.



> I have not seen any solar panels ion the pilot.  But I am pretty sure there was no EMP that hit the town.



They'll need some way to generate power if the grid stays down.  Wind is probably the best bet in Kansas, and there must be windmills in the area.  Realistically there are probably at least a few people with solar panels too, but rural areas on tv are always populated by monochromatic hicks (or survival maniacs) with a level of technology fixed 10 -20 years in the past.


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Okay here we go, this should help answer some questions.  A short vid of the show that includes the blast, and some key scenes.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/upfront_2006/jericho.shtml


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 26, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




For  ICBMs I am talking about more than Atlanta and Denver. In adition to Denver, Colorado Springs should have been hit as well and at least two clouds fairly close to each other should have been seen. Colorado Springs is probably the more important target of the two with NORAD and Air Force Comand operating out of that area. Terrorists would hit Denver, enemy military would strike Colorado Springs. If it is ICBMs then I would also expect several other clouds to be seen hitting the US ICBM launch silos and possibly Witichita as well. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I am currious about this point. If it was another major power why wern't there more ICBM strikes visible. If not a ICBM power then who? There is enough 24 hour news and government leaks to those news chanels that if there were major tensions with a major power then the power would be known. We as an audience should know if it is Russia/China/North Korea/Iran/etc. and that info should give an idea of how widespread the conflict likely is. If it is Russia/China then we are looking at Post-Apocolypic posibilities, if it is Iran/North Korea we are probably talking a few large cities in terrorist strikes.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




If it was thousands of nukes then see above. Colorado Springs is just as visible as Denver from that distance. Given the military importance of the area far more than one should have been seen. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Western Kansas is fairly sparcely populated but there are county seats about every 40-60 miles apart so it wouldn't take to long to reach the other poulation centers (as small as they may be 2,000-5,000 people). Given the sparcity of towns in western Kansas it is not like everyone in Western Kansas wouldn't already know where everyone else is. This goes back to the question of who the enemy is. With only one cloud it wouldn't apear that a post-apocalyptic scenareo is going on. Wouldn't the instinct of the county government be to check in with its neighbors and see if there is word from the state level at one of them. Why is the entire town freaking out to the extent that they don't even trust thier neighboring towns to know they are alive? Is the town so xenophobic that even thier fellow Kansasins (or whatever the word is) can't know about them? Also what enemy is begining thier invasion in western Kansas? Seems like the last place an invading army would bother with.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




We should because the President was briefing Congeress on it and it was news. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




And the next town over in each direction that should still be there and that they have visited many times in the past. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That better be answered soon because that should be the first concearn of the local government. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Brown Jenkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Well the unspecified military emergency is one hole. A xenophobic fear of known neighbors is another. A lack of concearn over radiation, or the lack of fallout, is another. The fact that for the show to have long term potential it has to play up the Lost angle and trap them in a post-apocalyptic world or it just becomes small town drama as power and communications come back up in a matter of days/weeks/months if it is not. The fact that there is only one mushroom cloud visible to achieve this post-apocalyptc scenareo. 

My issue with this show is that I am burned out on shows that keep posing questions but don't give answers and the probability that this is one of those shows given the evidence so far. The reason I am participating in this thread though is that the topic of a what if scenareo we have been given is an interesting one though and I find this what if scenareo fun.


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## Mistwell (Jul 26, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> For  ICBMs I am talking about more than Atlanta and Denver. In adition to Denver, Colorado Springs should have been hit as well and at least two clouds fairly close to each other should have been seen. Colorado Springs is probably the more important target of the two with NORAD and Air Force Comand operating out of that area. Terrorists would hit Denver, enemy military would strike Colorado Springs. If it is ICBMs then I would also expect several other clouds to be seen hitting the US ICBM launch silos and possibly Witichita as well.




I don't think Witichita is anyone's high priority, or even medium priority target.  I've been there, and frankly I wouldn't waste the nuke.

As for Colorado Springs, I don't know.  It could well have also been hit.  We see one nuke peaking over the mountains.  I don't know the geography enough to know if you could have seen two.  Or, if the second one hit after the first one, the first one may have blocked view of the second one.  I don't think you or I have sufficent information to conclude that you WOULD have seen two, for sure.

[quoteI am currious about this point. If it was another major power why wern't there more ICBM strikes visible. If not a ICBM power then who? There is enough 24 hour news and government leaks to those news chanels that if there were major tensions with a major power then the power would be known.[/quote]

It might have been known.  We are only introduced to people who may well not care what the dispute was about.  We do not see anyone who was actively watching TV, and the emergency speech had not started yet.



> We as an audience should know if it is Russia/China/North Korea/Iran/etc. and that info should give an idea of how widespread the conflict likely is. If it is Russia/China then we are looking at Post-Apocolypic posibilities, if it is Iran/North Korea we are probably talking a few large cities in terrorist strikes.




I don't see why we as an audience need to know this, at this point.  



> If it was thousands of nukes then see above. Colorado Springs is just as visible as Denver from that distance. Given the military importance of the area far more than one should have been seen.




See response above.



> Western Kansas is fairly sparcely populated but there are county seats about every 40-60 miles apart so it wouldn't take to long to reach the other poulation centers (as small as they may be 2,000-5,000 people). Given the sparcity of towns in western Kansas it is not like everyone in Western Kansas wouldn't already know where everyone else is.




I'm sure we do.  We go about 30 to 45 minutes after the incident, and most of it involves people grabbing food and water, and dealing with injured people.  I'm sure they know where other towns are.  They just don't have communication so far with them, but are actively trying.



> This goes back to the question of who the enemy is.




The main characters do not know.  I think that is part of the point of the show.  Something happened, it was serious, the President was about to tell people, we don't know exactly what it was, and so far in town nobody has said what it was.  I think you need to deal with the possibility that people may not know, but it might also be very serious.  There are several senarios I can think of that would account for that possibility.



> With only one cloud it wouldn't apear that a post-apocalyptic scenareo is going on.




See above.



> Wouldn't the instinct of the county government be to check in with its neighbors and see if there is word from the state level at one of them.




That was in fact the Mayor's first reaction, and the police.  But communications appear to be dead (even when they had electricity).  They are trying the short wave next.  They were about to send police officers to the next town I think, but those officers were killed in the prisoner escape (main characters do not know this yet).  Again, it's only 30 to 45 minutes into this.



> Why is the entire town freaking out to the extent that they don't even trust thier neighboring towns to know they are alive?




The characters are supposed to be human beings.  30-45 minutes into what appears to be a nuclear attack, they are behaving less than perfectly rationally.  The "trust" issue was not raised by people in the town.  It was raised by the mysterious "ex-cop", who knows way too much and seems very competent in a crises.



> Is the town so xenophobic that even thier fellow Kansasins (or whatever the word is) can't know about them?




No, in fact despite the apparent reasonableness of this stranger, they do not take his advice and do not paint over the name of their town on their police cars and are attempting to go to the next town.



> Also what enemy is begining thier invasion in western Kansas? Seems like the last place an invading army would bother with.




Indeed.  And the people of the town are not buying into that theory.  It was just something suggested by the stranger.



> We should because the President was briefing Congeress on it and it was news.




The briefing had not begone, and while the news in the background may have mentioned more specifics, I personally did not catch them nor did any main character so far as I can tell.



> And the next town over in each direction that should still be there and that they have visited many times in the past.




Of course they have.  Nobody said the geography is a mystery to anyone.



> That better be answered soon because that should be the first concearn of the local government.




The "local government" is a Mayor and a Sherriff.  And their first concern is stopping a riot and getting wounded inside and checking for radiation.



> Well the unspecified military emergency is one hole.




It's not a hole.  It's something that was not answered in the pilot, and that appears to be part of the point - something big has happened, suddenly, and people don't know what it was.  I can think of things that could be like that, that are not necessarily terrorist related.  I bet you can as well.



> A xenophobic fear of known neighbors is another.




Nobody is reacting like you seem to think they are except for one person, who is a stranger to the town.



> A lack of concearn over radiation, or the lack of fallout, is another.




Within 10 minutes they have geiger counters out.  Why do you insist on pretending that is a lack of concern?  The second episode deals with the issue.  How fast did you want them to move with this issue, two seconds?  I think your standards are harsher than you would accept on yourself.



> The fact that for the show to have long term potential it has to play up the Lost angle and trap them in a post-apocalyptic world or it just becomes small town drama as power and communications come back up in a matter of days/weeks/months if it is not. The fact that there is only one mushroom cloud visible to achieve this post-apocalyptc scenareo.




We have only one episode to go on.  I don't see how it is a plot hole that they have not revealed everything that could possibly be revealed in a single 1 hour episode, 15 minutes of which takes place before the nuke hits. 



> My issue with this show is that I am burned out on shows that keep posing questions but don't give answers and the probability that this is one of those shows given the evidence so far. The reason I am participating in this thread though is that the topic of a what if scenareo we have been given is an interesting one though and I find this what if scenareo fun.




All I know is the writer has it planned out for quite some time, and he seemed to have well-researched things and plotted things out and had good answers for questions posed to him.  That's a heck of a lot more than most writers seem to have these days for television shows.


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 27, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> I don't think Witichita is anyone's high priority, or even medium priority target.  I've been there, and frankly I wouldn't waste the nuke.




Wichita is the 51st largest city in the US, home to an McConnel air force base (1 of 3 US air refueling wings) and 5 airplane manufacturers. It  may be a boring place to live or visit but its military value with even 100 ICBMs would probably put it on the list. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> As for Colorado Springs, I don't know.  It could well have also been hit.  We see one nuke peaking over the mountains.  I don't know the geography enough to know if you could have seen two.  Or, if the second one hit after the first one, the first one may have blocked view of the second one.  I don't think you or I have sufficent information to conclude that you WOULD have seen two, for sure.




Colorado Springs  is 90 miles due south of Denver and at aproximately the same elevation. As such if it was hit it would appear as a seperate and distinct mushroom cloud. There is no place in western Kansas that this would not be true.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> It might have been known.  We are only introduced to people who may well not care what the dispute was about.  We do not see anyone who was actively watching TV, and the emergency speech had not started yet.
> 
> I don't see why we as an audience need to know this, at this point.




As an audience member it maters to me as it allows me to interprete what is going on. Sure they don't have to answer the question but this is such an obvious one that by not answering it the show is very much indicating that they are going down the Lost road. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> I'm sure we do.  We go about 30 to 45 minutes after the incident, and most of it involves people grabbing food and water, and dealing with injured people.  I'm sure they know where other towns are.  They just don't have communication so far with them, but are actively trying.




OK I will give you that there has not been much time yet to consider this. The concearn I have is the statements that they will encounter others from an indian reservation. This is what makes me wonder about why they mention this but not the other surrounding towns. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> The main characters do not know.  I think that is part of the point of the show.  Something happened, it was serious, the President was about to tell people, we don't know exactly what it was, and so far in town nobody has said what it was.  I think you need to deal with the possibility that people may not know, but it might also be very serious.  There are several senarios I can think of that would account for that possibility.




The stement was that there are rising tensions. This implies that there is something people know about and are discussing and not a complete surprise. Again by making this one of the mysteries of the show it is making this more like Lost.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> That was in fact the Mayor's first reaction, and the police.  But communications appear to be dead (even when they had electricity).  They are trying the short wave next.  They were about to send police officers to the next town I think, but those officers were killed in the prisoner escape (main characters do not know this yet).  Again, it's only 30 to 45 minutes into this.




Well that just has railroad written all over it. Given the size of Jericho whre are these escaped prisoners coming from? Why wern't deputies sent to different towns in different directions? This is just one of those things that make me groan.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> The characters are supposed to be human beings.  30-45 minutes into what appears to be a nuclear attack, they are behaving less than perfectly rationally.  The "trust" issue was not raised by people in the town.  It was raised by the mysterious "ex-cop", who knows way too much and seems very competent in a crises.




Well maybe the town isn't stupid then but the mysterious stranger who knows too much also strikes me as another trip down the Lost road. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> No, in fact despite the apparent reasonableness of this stranger, they do not take his advice and do not paint over the name of their town on their police cars and are attempting to go to the next town.
> 
> Indeed.  And the people of the town are not buying into that theory.  It was just something suggested by the stranger.




See above



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> The briefing had not begone, and while the news in the background may have mentioned more specifics, I personally did not catch them nor did any main character so far as I can tell.




See above



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Of course they have.  Nobody said the geography is a mystery to anyone.




Then the indian reservation and all the neighboring towns need to be accounted for in the first few episodes.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> The "local government" is a Mayor and a Sherriff.  And their first concern is stopping a riot and getting wounded inside and checking for radiation.




I would argue that getting in contact with the state police/national guard/govenors office would be equally important.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> It's not a hole.  It's something that was not answered in the pilot, and that appears to be part of the point - something big has happened, suddenly, and people don't know what it was.  I can think of things that could be like that, that are not necessarily terrorist related.  I bet you can as well.




Yes, and it is being done as a Lost clone this way. I would be perfectly happy with a straight up post-apocolyptic series about survival instead of wrapping everything in mysteries.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Nobody is reacting like you seem to think they are except for one person, who is a stranger to the town.




point taken



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> Within 10 minutes they have geiger counters out.  Why do you insist on pretending that is a lack of concern?  The second episode deals with the issue.  How fast did you want them to move with this issue, two seconds?  I think your standards are harsher than you would accept on yourself.




Having not seen the pilot, just the trailer, I am only that plus what I have read. So far the radiation issue has not been answered to my satifaction and actually given other statements it apears that for whatever reason they choose the writers have decided to either make it go away or make it part of the mystery. 



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> We have only one episode to go on.  I don't see how it is a plot hole that they have not revealed everything that could possibly be revealed in a single 1 hour episode, 15 minutes of which takes place before the nuke hits.




I expect a pilot to capture my sattention and make me want to watch. Setting up a Lost clone is not high on my viewing list. I will probably watch the pilot when it airs just in case it is better than I am giving it credit for.



			
				Mistwell said:
			
		

> All I know is the writer has it planned out for quite some time, and he seemed to have well-researched things and plotted things out and had good answers for questions posed to him.  That's a heck of a lot more than most writers seem to have these days for television shows.




So did the Lost writers and producers. So far I have learned not to trust them. Saying you have a cohearent strategy and actually producing one are very different things. 

Now all the show needs is an old man in a cave (very old reference).


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## Shalimar (Jul 27, 2006)

Nellisir said:
			
		

> I liked the premise of the books; hated the execution.  I sold the "Island" trilogy as soon as I finished it, and didn't complete the first book in "Dies the Fire".  Stirling's superhuman survival characters just annoyed the crap out of me.
> 
> That's all.




If your interested, I am currently recruiting for a game on the premise of the books in this thread "So Dies Civilization".

It'll use either D20 Modern or The Storyteller system.


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## Mistwell (Jul 27, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> Why wern't deputies sent to different towns in different directions? This is just one of those things that make me groan.
> 
> I would argue that getting in contact with the state police/national guard/govenors office would be equally important.




These are the points where I realized you are not actually discussing this show with me.  Because if you were, you couldn't have written those two paragraphs with a straight face.

Your town is rioting, some kids in a bus are dying, a bus of prisoners from another city has escaped, people are dying and injured all over (9 people died in the first episode), you have two deputies, but in your mind you SEND THEM BOTH AWAY, IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, TO DIFFERENT TOWNS, SO THEY CAN GATHER INFORMATION ON POLITICS.

If you and I are ever in a disaster together, remind me to run in the opposite direction from you. 

I really think you should not watch this show.  It cannot possibly be what you want it to be,  and so the only result will be disappointment for you.

By the way, my guess is that there was no nuke at all, and this is all some grand psychological experiment.  And I'm fine with that.


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## Nellisir (Jul 27, 2006)

Shalimar said:
			
		

> If your interested, I am currently recruiting for a game on the premise of the books in this thread "So Dies Civilization".
> 
> It'll use either D20 Modern or The Storyteller system.




A game about books and the end of civilization must feature "The Da Vinci Code", right?  Cause' I think that book, and its success, probably marks the end of civilization as we know it. 

Sorry.  Couldn't help myself.    

I'd be interested in the game, but don't can't dedicate the time to it that it'd deserve; so I'll have to decline.  Thanks for the invitation, though!

Cheers
Nell.


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## Arnwyn (Jul 27, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> the show is very much indicating that they are going down the Lost road.



Well, yeah... since Mistwell noted as much _in his very first post_.


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## Brown Jenkin (Jul 28, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> These are the points where I realized you are not actually discussing this show with me.  Because if you were, you couldn't have written those two paragraphs with a straight face.
> 
> Your town is rioting, some kids in a bus are dying, a bus of prisoners from another city has escaped, people are dying and injured all over (9 people died in the first episode), you have two deputies, but in your mind you SEND THEM BOTH AWAY, IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, TO DIFFERENT TOWNS, SO THEY CAN GATHER INFORMATION ON POLITICS.
> 
> ...




Since it seems you don't want to debate the issue anymore I am willing to agree to disagree with you.


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## Mistwell (Sep 21, 2006)

So I was wondering if people's opinions changed from earlier in this thread now that folks have seen it.

They cut a few scenes here and there in the TV pilot.  There was another scene with people trying to steal from the market, and the owner begging them not to.  I think another scene where the lead character sees the empty prisoner bus.  But, those are pretty minor cuts.


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## Blue Sky (Sep 21, 2006)

Interesting note: I live in Lawrence, KS, where they're filming parts of the show. The other major production in our town was The Day After, a movie about the fallout after nuclear war. Scary, huh?


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## Ranger REG (Sep 29, 2006)

Blue Sky said:
			
		

> Interesting note: I live in Lawrence, KS, where they're filming parts of the show. The other major production in our town was The Day After, a movie about the fallout after nuclear war. Scary, huh?



Sounds like a good place to experiment, observe, and study the general populace and their behavior and/or actions toward a nuclear incident.

Anyhoo... What's the deal with the mysterious black man, Robert Hawkins?
[sblock]In the second episode, we saw him deciphered morse code coming through one of the radio pieces in the police station or town hall. Yet when the mayor's wife asked her if anyone is coming through the communications, he claimed there is no outside contact.

He went home with the decoded message and started pinning places on his map. I assume there are the places that have also been struck with a nuclear explosion.

Question is: why did he keep that from the local authorities?[/sblock]


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## Brown Jenkin (Sep 29, 2006)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> So I was wondering if people's opinions changed from earlier in this thread now that folks have seen it.
> 
> They cut a few scenes here and there in the TV pilot.  There was another scene with people trying to steal from the market, and the owner begging them not to.  I think another scene where the lead character sees the empty prisoner bus.  But, those are pretty minor cuts.




I expressed my dislike for what I thought I saw coming. Turns out my first impressions were right. If other like it I leave the thread to them, but I just don't buy the premise.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 29, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> I expressed my dislike for what I thought I saw coming. Turns out my first impressions were right.



Meh. I'm hoping that post-production editing improves (like I do with WotC-published books).


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## JEL (Sep 29, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Sounds like a good place to experiment, observe, and study the general populace and their behavior and/or actions toward a nuclear incident.
> 
> Anyhoo... What's the deal with the mysterious black man, Robert Hawkins?
> [sblock]In the second episode, we saw him deciphered morse code coming through one of the radio pieces in the police station or town hall. Yet when the mayor's wife asked her if anyone is coming through the communications, he claimed there is no outside contact.
> ...




[sblock]It could be that he didn't want to panic the people who'd be crammed into a bomb shelter and stuck there for days[/sblock]


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## Ranger REG (Sep 29, 2006)

JEL said:
			
		

> [sblock]It could be that he didn't want to panic the people who'd be crammed into a bomb shelter and stuck there for days[/sblock]



[sblock]But why didn't he inform Mayor Green? It's one thing to keep it from the public, though everyone pretty much know that Atlanta was also struck due the phone message Dale's mother left, but to withold information from the authorities of Jericho?

It also seems that Jake is not the only one who lies what he does. The mysterious Robert Hawkins have so far claimed he's a science teacher and St. Louis cop.[/sblock]


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## Fast Learner (Sep 29, 2006)

[sblock]I'd think that he didn't tell Green because the man had just had a heart attack (or whatever). I agree with the "not further panicking folks" theory, at least for now.[/sblock]


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## Shalimar (Sep 29, 2006)

[sblock]I agree with the not telling the man who had just had a heart attack that half the country had been nuked.  Keeping him alive since he can bring people together is quite key.[/sblock]


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## Arnwyn (Sep 29, 2006)

[sblock]That second episode sucked. I complained (in the earlier thread) about the number of contrivances, and this episode was worse.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. (But I still love the whole 'nuclear war/day after' concept.) But a bad episode, overall. Blech.[/sblock]


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## JEL (Sep 29, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> [sblock]But why didn't he inform Mayor Green? It's one thing to keep it from the public, though everyone pretty much know that Atlanta was also struck due the phone message Dale's mother left, but to withold information from the authorities of Jericho?
> 
> It also seems that Jake is not the only one who lies what he does. The mysterious Robert Hawkins have so far claimed he's a science teacher and St. Louis cop.[/sblock]




[sblock]Actually, he didn't claim to be a science teacher.  The fire chief just made the comment, "Are you sure you're not a science teacher?"  [/sblock]


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## Taelorn76 (Sep 29, 2006)

JEL said:
			
		

> [sblock]Actually, he didn't claim to be a science teacher.  The fire chief just made the comment, "Are you sure you're not a science teacher?"  [/sblock]




[sblock] but he didn't deny it either[/sblock]

BTW this is a spoiler thread what's with all the sblocks


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## Ranger REG (Sep 29, 2006)

Taelorn76 said:
			
		

> BTW this is a spoiler thread what's with all the sblocks



Because it's fun.   

To *Anwyn:*
[sblock]Care to point out the errors in the second episode?[/sblock]


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## Arnwyn (Oct 2, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> To *Anwyn:*
> [sblock]Care to point out the errors in the second episode?[/sblock]



Nope, because I didn't say errors. Just contrivances.


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## Zaukrie (Oct 2, 2006)

I've seen a lot worse TV shows in my life. I'm guessing the people in the salt mine have some interesting times ahead of them, assuming they don't just get out through some hand of God thing.

BTW, what are all those people going to be eating 2-3 weeks from now when all the canned goods run out?


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## Brown Jenkin (Oct 2, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Because it's fun.
> 
> To *Anwyn:*
> [sblock]Care to point out the errors in the second episode?[/sblock]




There was one error that jumped at me. 

[sblock]When asked how long it takes weather to get from Denver to Jericho they said 2 hours. That puts the weather somewhere over hurricane speed (75+ mph) at around 100+ mph. The only other option is that it took 2 hours from that point plus the 24 hrs before hand. in which case the storm was moving fairly slow at 10 mph. The fallout probably should have started about dawn with normal weather.[/sblock]


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## Bonzi (Oct 2, 2006)

Zaukrie said:
			
		

> I've seen a lot worse TV shows in my life. I'm guessing the people in the salt mine have some interesting times ahead of them, assuming they don't just get out through some hand of God thing.
> 
> BTW, what are all those people going to be eating 2-3 weeks from now when all the canned goods run out?




If the only thing that was caved in was the mine entrance, it wouldn't take much time to dig that out with the right equipment (which I assume the mine will have).

Edit:  The food question is a good one.  Assuming all the crops are going to be wiped out with the rain and the topsoil contaminated, I think their only option will be to send out scavanging parties to hit other grocery stores in the general vicinty until they can remove the topsoil and plant new crop.


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## Taelorn76 (Oct 2, 2006)

Well I will tag this but it was in the previews for next week.
[sblock] They seem to send out a search party to gather info from the surrounding areas[/sblock]


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## JEL (Oct 2, 2006)

Brown Jenkin said:
			
		

> There was one error that jumped at me.
> 
> [sblock]When asked how long it takes weather to get from Denver to Jericho they said 2 hours. That puts the weather somewhere over hurricane speed (75+ mph) at around 100+ mph. The only other option is that it took 2 hours from that point plus the 24 hrs before hand. in which case the storm was moving fairly slow at 10 mph. The fallout probably should have started about dawn with normal weather.[/sblock]




I assumed it was about two hours from the time they could see the storm in the distance.

As for food, it's obviously fall and I didn't see any grain standing in the fields, so it's probably all in elevators.  Looks like they're going to be eating a lot of bread through the winter.


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## Tiberius (Oct 2, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> [sblock]But why didn't he inform Mayor Green? It's one thing to keep it from the public, though everyone pretty much know that Atlanta was also struck due the phone message Dale's mother left, but to withold information from the authorities of Jericho?
> 
> It also seems that Jake is not the only one who lies what he does. The mysterious Robert Hawkins have so far claimed he's a science teacher and St. Louis cop.[/sblock]




[sblock]He recently moved to town, seems to know way too much relevant information, and he had a map of the US with red pushpins ready to go. I think he's in on it, whatever it is.[/sblock]


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## Ranger REG (Oct 3, 2006)

Tiberius said:
			
		

> [sblock]He recently moved to town, seems to know way too much relevant information, and he had a map of the US with red pushpins ready to go. I think he's in on it, whatever it is.[/sblock]



[sblock]He's one of the few people in the world that would be prepared for a nuclear strike.

Not that's a bad thing to be prepared.

I think he wants to have greater leverage against the town, maybe setting himself up to take leadership, if not work the politics behind-the-scene.[/sblock]


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## JEL (Oct 6, 2006)

Well after this last episode, there can be no doubt that Hawkins is up to something.


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## Taelorn76 (Oct 6, 2006)

Right now that is the main reason I am watching the show. I want to find out what Hawkins is up to.


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## Ranger REG (Oct 7, 2006)

Taelorn76 said:
			
		

> Right now that is the main reason I am watching the show. I want to find out what Hawkins is up to.



[sblock]For some reasons, I LOVE the fact that Hawkins is going to be that enigmatic antagonist.    [/sblock]


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## Taelorn76 (Oct 7, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> [sblock]For some reasons, I LOVE the fact that Hawkins is going to be that enigmatic antagonist.    [/sblock]




[sblock] I like that part as well. what is drawing me in is the guy that turns everything into a polical attack, I can't remember his name. But I just want to see him get what coming to him.[/sblock]


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## JEL (Oct 8, 2006)

Taelorn76 said:
			
		

> [sblock] I like that part as well. what is drawing me in is the guy that turns everything into a polical attack, I can't remember his name. But I just want to see him get what coming to him.[/sblock]




The mine owner.  I can't remember his name either.  What I'm liking about his character is that they're not making him into a complete stereotype either.  He obviously cares for the town and has done some good things as well as be a dork.


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## Ranger REG (Oct 8, 2006)

Taelorn76 said:
			
		

> [sblock] I like that part as well. what is drawing me in is the guy that turns everything into a polical attack, I can't remember his name. But I just want to see him get what coming to him.[/sblock]



[sblock]The mine owner is Gray Anderson. While he does care for the town, he doesn't believe Mayor Green is the right man for the job.[/sblock]


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## MojoGM (Oct 9, 2006)

I just watched episode 3 on my ipod and have to say I like it so far.  Added it to my list of shows on Tivo, and will continue to watch until it gets cancelled (which seems to happen to most shows I like   )


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## Ranger REG (Oct 9, 2006)

MojoGM said:
			
		

> I just watched episode 3 on my ipod and have to say I like it so far.  Added it to my list of shows on Tivo, and will continue to watch *until it gets cancelled (which seems to happen to most shows I like   )*



I take it you must have liked the recently axed _Smith_ (on CBS) and the _Happy Hour_ sitcom (on FOX), yes?

 

_Smith,_ like NBC's _The Heist_ (starring a blondish Dougray Scott), didn't take for me. I'd rather watch _Boston Legal_ (although never did like the newcomer Craig Bierko's characters; too much like James Spader's character and I can only handle one of them in one show).


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## Truth Seeker (Oct 10, 2006)

Oh for the Love of Heavens!!! All you spies, secret agents...leave this thread!!!!


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## MojoGM (Oct 10, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> I take it you must have liked the recently axed _Smith_ (on CBS) and the _Happy Hour_ sitcom (on FOX), yes?
> 
> 
> 
> _Smith,_ like NBC's _The Heist_ (starring a blondish Dougray Scott), didn't take for me. I'd rather watch _Boston Legal_ (although never did like the newcomer Craig Bierko's characters; too much like James Spader's character and I can only handle one of them in one show).




Nothing so recent.  I'm still mourning the loss of Brisco County Jr.  And Strange Luck.  And The Invisible Man.  And John Doe.  Etc...

But I hope Jericho lasts.  I want to see what happens...


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## Shalimar (Oct 10, 2006)

If Jericho gets picked up, I'll be 2 for 2 on the new shows I have decided to watch.  Heros and Jericho are both very good so far, though Heros is really high on the icky factor.


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## David Howery (Oct 10, 2006)

I've watched all of it so far... reminds me of Lost, where you have an isolated group of people in a mysterious situation that is getting resolved little by little.. and, you can watch Jericho, switch channels when it's over, and watch Lost.... Wednsday night is pretty good TV.....


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## Ranger REG (Oct 11, 2006)

David Howery said:
			
		

> I've watched all of it so far... reminds me of Lost, where you have an isolated group of people in a mysterious situation that is getting resolved little by little.. and, you can watch Jericho, switch channels when it's over, and watch Lost.... Wednsday night is pretty good TV.....



I should be taping _Jericho_ because it is a good show at 7pm but my guilty pleasure won out (for _Dancing with the Stars_ result show).   

Was hoping they re-air it on Saturday, but CBS did not the past weekend.

[Yes, you can file this as "utterly disturbing."]


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## Banshee16 (Oct 12, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> I should be taping _Jericho_ because it is a good show at 7pm but my guilty pleasure won out (for _Dancing with the Stars_ result show).
> 
> Was hoping they re-air it on Saturday, but CBS did not the past weekend.
> 
> [Yes, you can file this as "utterly disturbing."]




I'm not sure what the appeal to watching Jerry Springer prance around a dancefloor is 

Banshee


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## Ranger REG (Oct 13, 2006)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> I'm not sure what the appeal to watching Jerry Springer prance around a dancefloor is
> 
> Banshee



Who says I'm watching _Jerry Springer_?


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## Ranger REG (Oct 13, 2006)

MojoGM said:
			
		

> But I hope Jericho lasts.  I want to see what happens...



Last I heard, the CBS show and NBC's _Heroes_ got a full-season pickup by their respective networks.


----------



## Fast Learner (Oct 13, 2006)

I think this was my last episode. The whole built-up drama about who will live, the baby or the dude, it was just too blatant an attempt to force suspense. Yes, I want to know what happens to everyone, but not well enough to keep slogging through it.


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## Ranger REG (Oct 13, 2006)

Fast Learner said:
			
		

> I think this was my last episode. The whole built-up drama about who will live, the baby or the dude, it was just too blatant an attempt to force suspense. Yes, I want to know what happens to everyone, but not well enough to keep slogging through it.



You want them to start dropping like flies?

The fourth episode shows we're just on Day 4. Go watch _Kidnapped._


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## JEL (Oct 14, 2006)

Fast Learner said:
			
		

> I think this was my last episode. The whole built-up drama about who will live, the baby or the dude, it was just too blatant an attempt to force suspense. Yes, I want to know what happens to everyone, but not well enough to keep slogging through it.




Odd.  I didn't see that as a drama point.  I think it was pretty well telegraphed from the start that the radiation victim was going to die and it never really tried to project much of a threat to the baby other than the power going out (and they just used the manual respirator).  I think the bit at the end when he does die is where the real drama was.

I'm not sure if we were supposed to take the teacher flipping out about static from a metal feul container serious or not.  I thought it was rather funny myself (I remember when gas cans were made of metal).

I am tired of the teenage angst subplot, but at least that doesn't take up much of the episodes.


----------



## Banshee16 (Oct 14, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Who says I'm watching _Jerry Springer_?




Hey, equal opportunity, dude...I'm not here to judge 

My own guilty pleasure was "So You Think you can Dance 2" this summer.  Of course, the dancer I liked, she didn't make it to the last episode.

Banshee


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## Ranger REG (Oct 14, 2006)

JEL said:
			
		

> I'm not sure if we were supposed to take the teacher flipping out about static from a metal feul container serious or not.  I thought it was rather funny myself (I remember when gas cans were made of metal).



Well, static electricity can generate spark to ignite gasoline, and with such a crude big tank on that truck, I don't think they want to take a chance, even if the chance is minimal.

And though most gas cans are metal, you don't want to keep such a can filled up and stored in your car for a long period of time. Best to store gas in cool temperature as warm gas will generate vapor that is just as flammable.


----------

