The Trials and Tribulations of the not-so-New Bear Icon

The TV show Jericho left the airwaves Tuesday Night.

I'm sure most people didn't even know it was still on, after a seven-episode reprieve ignited by a fan mail-in and the need to have television with already written scripts. The show may be one of the more depressing series in all of television, but was also very critical of the handling of the Iraq war in a very twisted way.

The show explored the aftermath of a great terrorist calamity, nuclear bombs going off in most of the major cities of the US. The questions stayed for many episodes, who did it, why, and what was to gain for it? Was it the Chinese? Islamic radicals? What was the tie between the bombings and this little sleepy Kansas town that seemed far away from the targeted cities?

The answers (spoiler alert) came mostly in the second season, more of a coda to the first season, showing that the leaders of a Haliburton type organization, not liking the current state of US affairs after already "running" Iraq, decide to place the country into chaos and take over with their own self-appointed president and bringing in their own Blackwater-like militia.

The first season was paced too slowly over the corse of 22 episodes, and lost viewers quickly. Still, the show took some chances, not only killing off major characters often, including several townspeople dying in the middle of winter of starvation and lack of heat, but also outwardly criticizing the Bush administration, albeit from the perspective of the aftermath of the continuance of current policy. One could see Dick Cheney working to keep control in some way like this.

Still, even with the serious side, with people scratching to survive until the Halliburton overlords come in to rebuild (again, mirroring Iraq), there was several problems, like the bagboy who inherited the grocery store after the grocer he worked for was killed over food became a smuggler himself. Skeet Ulrich's character seemed to be able to fly, drive a tank, and do almost superhuman feats. A few different love stories were attempted, one where the chapel of the tiny Kansas town was filled with burning candles, just days after all the electricity was lost. Seemingly bad judgement when no one seemed capable of going out to the electric plant to work on it (or see that there wasn't fuel for it.)

In the end, the last seven episodes tried to explain much of the background that was only speculated in the first season. The pacing went up several notches with the producers knowing that were likely to only get the one chance. Fans wanted to know who was responsible, and that's what the writers delivered.

While I love episodic, serialized, television, it seems like it just doesn't sell to a mass audience. Networks can't take the time to let the show build, or allow it to finish a story line. They also end up breaking up the episodes too much, where you go several weeks before the show comes back. This not only hurst Jericho, which had several long hiatuses, but also hurt shows like Invasion, which also suffered because of interminably slow pacing, but also since it was always in reruns.

It's much easier to pick up an episode or two of CSI or Law and Order that doesn't have a consistent storyline. Besides a few actors, what's that different between season two and season 18?

Lost would be right this year if it wasn't for the writer's strike puting in a monthlong break in the season. Create shorter seasons and run the episodes together as a series. It's much more like the 13 episode runs of british television. With short attention spans, this should be the way to run shows, and not like the television year of old, trying to string 20 or so episodes over a 40 week period.

There should be room for shows like Jericho, Wonderfalls, Firefly, Invasion and even Sports Night, but perhaps these shows shouldn't be made for the major networks. maybe something new is needed. Perhaps they should be sold more like comic books...you pick up the episode on demand, maybe the first week, or maybe sometime later. It's not like we'll take the book out of the bin when the run is over.

Perhaps these stories should be sold more like graphic novels. In DVD sets they almost are, and I know many people have watched Lost and 24 as DVD sets after their first run on TV. Perhaps they shouldn't be on TV at all, but just sold to the public ala carte. Delivered directly through Tivo, or your on demand cable box rather than broadcast. It's close, with box sets and iTunes, but it's not quite there yet.

Sure it would take a different type of marketing to get you to pick up a series that isn't just flown over the airwaves, but as much as music isn't on TV anymore and people still manage to discover artists not found on the radio, perhaps shows like Jericho could survive outside the need to please the lowest common denominator.

Just a mild question here. Of most of the books that I've purchased over the last year...which would be around 24, I tend to go through two a month, I find that the paperbacks are mostly the larger sized ones. Instead of the old, familiar pocket book which was about 6"x4" now books are often bigger and glossier, around 8"x6".

The last book I bought in the smaller size was Anne and Todd McCaffrey's latest Dragonriders of Pern book. i've read every one. It seems that many of the Sci-Fi books are still in the smaller size, but history and fiction are being produced not as pocket books, but just lighter-bound big books with larger type. Is this to avoid having to print large-print books? Is it to advertise, thinking that the cover of a larger book would be more noticeable?

The big problem is you can't just carry one of these books in your pocket. My current read, Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends is something I can barely fit in my coat pocket. Same goes with David Sedaris' Naked and Son of a Witch by David Gregory. History books like David McCllough's John Adams are pretty huge for a paperback. Perhaps I too and drawn to the larger books on the shelf?

Of course, with larger books, come larger prices. A Satr Trek paperback will run $8.00 while Sarah Vowell's Assasination Vacation will run you $12.00. Me thinks they are gouging - bigger book, same or fewer words, higher price. The American way, I suppose.