Thursday, November 16, 2006

TV REVIEW: Jericho: "Crossroads"

One week before the "fall finale" of CBS's promising new series Jericho, and things are heating up in Kansas. When last we left the stalwart Green brothers (Eric and Jake), they had returned from Rogue River with the medicine needed to save their Dad, Johnston (the mayor). But...they'd run afoul of professional mercenaries who pillaged Rogue River (just 90 miles from Jericho).

In "Crossroads," this week's installment, the chickens come home to roost as the Ravenwood mercenaries, led by villainous D.B. Sweeney, arrive on the outskirts of Jericho with humvees and guns. Lots of guns. The town sets up a roadblock on a bridge, but Jake has tangled with Ravenwood before (in the Iraq War...) and knows they won't be stopped short of a violent confrontation. Jake wants to blow up the bridge leading into Jericho, an act which will stop the professional soldiers once and for all but also geographically isolate the town (and force those who live on the other side of the bridge - like farmer Stanley - to abandon their homes).

The idea of mercenaries run amuck in heartland America isn't quite as farfetched as it may seem, as this episode clearly reflects the situation in Iraq where our Federal Government has "outsourced" security to professional, hired soldiers rather than the military. These private contractors are not bound by the military standard of conduct, and can therefore do...whatever the hell they want want. Imagine being an Iraqi citizen trying to figure out the difference between an American soldier and one of these guys? Not fun. Indeed, some of these "outsource" soldiers were responsible for the atrocities that occurred at Abu Ghraib. So Jericho - like all good science fiction - extrapolates the "future" or an alternate reality based on ours. We recognize the world it depicts, and here we're being told something about Iraq (and also about contemporary America).

Meanwhile, Emily wakes up to realize it is her wedding day...though her fiancee Roger is still missing. Throughout the episode, Emily (Ashley Scott) "fantasizes" an alternate day. One where "the end of the world" didn't come, and she and Roger married. We are treated to snippets of the wedding preparations, the reception, and so forth, as Emily contrasts what is with what might have been. This is an interesting touch that doesn't get too maudlin, and helps to reveal to audiences how much the world of Jericho has changed in a month. (In the fantasy world, Stanley is watching a sports game on the telly, for instance.)

Trouble is also brewing for Eric. April is finally ready to tell him she's pregnant with his child, but before she can, he works up the courage to tell her he's leaving her for his mistress, Mary Bailey. This development is a little bit soap-operaish, if you ask me, but these days (the days of Lost, Battlestar Galactica...) sci-fi fans are frequently asked to accept soap opera plotting as a substitute for genuine genre thinking.. Contemporary producers have mistaken old General Hospital plots for "maturity" and for being "dark" or "angsty"...when in fact the stories of alcoholism, affairs, unwanted pregnancies, etc., are merely staples of the soap opera form. In some cases this development is acceptable (hey, Jericho IS about a small town and the lives of its citizens, so it gets a tentative pass on this front...), but Battlestar Galactica is supposed to be about the big issues (like the extermination of the human race and the search for a new home...) and Lost has bigger issues - like about a dozen or so mysteries - to contend with. I just wish those shows would get over themselves and actually tell science fiction stories; deal with science fiction concepts instead of As The World Turns-style intrigues, but then, I digress...

After stopping the mercenaries, Jake confronts his father (now recovered) and warns that the town needs a military, a "trained" and "sanctioned" security force. The Mayor agrees and gives his son the responsibility, handing him a U Ranger handbook. A wise decision or opening a Pandora's Box? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Truly, this brings up an interesting dilemma. The town of Jericho needs to be defended from marauding outsiders. But would you want a heavily armed (but inexperienced...) citizen police force marching your street? What's the balance? Hopefully, Jericho will tell us (and show us...) in the weeks ahead.

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