CBS
CBS CBS In the first episode of "Jericho" a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon and the residents of a fictional Kansas town are plunged into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they are the only Americans left alive. ABC TBS Jordana Spiro stars in "My Boys."
As thoughts switch to terror, so do channels ontv
TV Goddess
Published: November 24, 2006
Last Modified: November 24, 2006 at 06:48 AM
Nuclear disaster. The characters on "Heroes" are trying to prevent a global calamity that would first strike New York, while the citizens of the small Kansas town of "Jericho" are desperately dealing with the fallout from a widespread attack that apparently has destroyed most of the country.
Who knew viewers would find such a dark and disturbing theme appealing?
NBC's "Heroes" and CBS's "Jericho" are the only two new serialized dramas to really catch on this fall, and they're among the few rookie shows to click at all with viewers. Not so surprising, however, is that they are less popular in the New York area -- where they've been living for five years with a real gaping pit known as Ground Zero.
But why are folks in mainstream America gravitating to such unnerving fictional scenarios? Perhaps it's because the precarious state of the world is never far from their minds anyway, theorizes "Heroes" star Adrian Pasdar, who plays politician Nathan Petrelli in the superheroes-living-among-us series.
"You can't help but be concerned with that on a daily basis, whether it's at the local kiosk or turning on the TV ... you just can't get away from it," Pasdar said. "I think people have accepted that as a basic intrusion in their lives, whether they want it or not. So, it's a choice to watch a show like this, which gives you a sense of the state of the world but also of people taking extraordinary steps to try to make it a better place."
"Jericho" executive producer Jon Turteltaub, a feature film director ("National Treasure") who's venturing into television with this CBS series, recently told Reuters he wanted to create tales about how survivors, isolated in a small (fictional) Kansas town, react in a crisis.
"I think what we have all really focused on is less the nuclear message and more of the sociology of how to behave when everything goes wrong," Turteltaub said. "Most of us are pretty wonderful during the good times, but our true character comes out when we're confronted with tragedy and disasters. True leadership appears, and really hard choices have to be made."
Not surprising, "Jericho" is popular in these markets: Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; Columbus, Ohio; Las Vegas; Kansas City; Buffalo, N.Y.; Oklahoma City; Cincinnati and Indianapolis. The more hopeful "Heroes" fares better all around. It is the No. 1 new series with adults 18 to 49, 18 to 34, and 25 to 54.
As Pasdar recently put it, "When times are as dire as they are around the world, and every corner of the globe seems to be under some threat, imminent or immediate, it just seems that this kind of escapism takes root and grows wings faster, in times of trouble. This kind of show speaks to people's sense of fantasy and escapism in a real way, and on top of that, it doesn't add in the fantastic element of spandex and capes."
-- Virginia Rohan
The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record
The Amazing Race
7 p.m. Sunday, CBS: This week we find the four remaining teams racing through Morocco. The reason to keep watching? To root against the racist beauty queens and to see if Rob's head will, indeed, explode. Oh, and that amazing host.
Show Me the Money
7 p.m. Wednesday, ABC: Since our TVs clearly need more William Shatner and more game shows, ABC put the two together and brought us yet another annoying reason to turn off our sets -- or watch people win and lose big money!
Men in Trees
9:01 p.m. Thursday, ABC: This fish-out-of-water tale set in Alaska has gotten better each week, and ABC gave it the coveted time slot behind "Grey's Anatomy" because of that. This week, its first in that time period, we begin a two-parter in which Marin is back in New York for Thanksgiving, missing Elmo and Jack. Maybe she will finally decide this move is permanent. She has to eventually, after all, for the show to continue as it is.
Big Day
8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC: An entire season spent on one wedding day? Anyone who has any experience with actual weddings probably won't want to sit down and watch the same again and for a season -- so the network shouldn't get its hopes too high that viewers will flock to this midseason comedy.
My Boys
9 p.m. Tuesday, TBS: This original series about a female sportswriter in Chicago has potential, but it needs to stop thinking that having a female as a sportswriter is such a big deal or it could just look like it's patting itself on the back. The ensemble cast shows promise, though, and it could turn out to be funnier than expected.
-- DeAnn Welker
class="phs_referHed_16">Heroes
airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on NBC Channel 2.
Web: www.nbc.com/heroes
Jericho
airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS Channel 11.
Web: www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho
