Jolie RobersonJericho: Federal Response
October 20th 2006 02:45
This week’s episode of Jericho, Federal Response, was a marked improvement on previous weeks. There was a significant lack of cheesy moments, and the tension was built up successfully. There was also some nice character development.
The whole teaser section was done quite well, particularly compared to previous weeks. I liked everyone’s startled reaction to the phones ringing. No one knows who’s left in the outside world, therefore no one knows who is on the other end.
Is it wrong that I loved when Emily was hit by the voltage? I couldn’t stop laughing – her character is so self-righteous and annoying, hopefully some sense was shocked into her.
Thankfully Heather wasn’t hit. I can’t help but like her – she reminds me of some of the great teachers I had when I was a kid.
The whole fire storyline was handled quite well. The realisation that they had too few resources to fight all the fires was quite realistic, and it was a particularly touching moment when Eric and April had to decide whether to save their house. Also, while I had no concern that the writers would kill off the three characters within the burning library, the scene was actually quite tense. However, sometimes I think the show could do with a dose of Joss Whedon, with no character being safe. Alternatively, they could go for a J.J. Abrams style, where anyone can die but will, in due time, return from the dead.
It was nice to see that someone in town has finally noticed Hawkins is up to something, considering the shiftyness that the audience has had to deal with. Of course, the person who realised had to be the magnificent Jake, our very own deus ex machina. I did like them working together to put our the fire, and the banter about being a pool boy, even if their efforts to save the house were completely pointless.
Poor Dale just can’t seem to catch a break. Not only is he an orphaned social pariah, now his home in the trailer park is gone. Mind you, if he can cart an entire train load of food 5 miles on his own, then he should be able to build himself a house to rival Skylar’s in about two hours.
The most annoying moment for me was the scene where Jake is about to admit where he’s been. Of course, daddy, whose really just a big ol’ softy inside despite his crusty exterior, says it doesn’t matter. Nice moment for father-son bonding and forgiveness, but infuriating for viewers who will now probably have to endure more months of hints and foreshadowing until Jake’s past life is finally revealed.
Stanley, despite being written as a dimwitted character, is still one of the most intelligent people there. He asked Jake the seemingly unaskable – how does he know how to do all this stuff? The rest of the town are a bit like the castaways from Lost – you just wish that they would ask some pertinent questions every once in a while.
The IRS auditor also finally has a name - Mimi. It’s only taken, what, 5 episodes to discover this? I liked her little heart to heart with Mary. And, just to prove Mimi right, Eric and April were brought closer together by the fact she was going to divorce him. What the hell?
Much like episodes gone by, the moment that sucked me in was the ending. The appearance of the President’s podium and the launching of the missiles were awesome. Once again, despite the show’s flaws, I await next week with anticipation.
*This image is a screencap courtesy of Wikipedia from the Jericho (Federal Response episode) page, and is used under Fair Dealing for review and criticism.
The whole teaser section was done quite well, particularly compared to previous weeks. I liked everyone’s startled reaction to the phones ringing. No one knows who’s left in the outside world, therefore no one knows who is on the other end.
Screencap from 'Federal Response'*
Thankfully Heather wasn’t hit. I can’t help but like her – she reminds me of some of the great teachers I had when I was a kid.
The whole fire storyline was handled quite well. The realisation that they had too few resources to fight all the fires was quite realistic, and it was a particularly touching moment when Eric and April had to decide whether to save their house. Also, while I had no concern that the writers would kill off the three characters within the burning library, the scene was actually quite tense. However, sometimes I think the show could do with a dose of Joss Whedon, with no character being safe. Alternatively, they could go for a J.J. Abrams style, where anyone can die but will, in due time, return from the dead.
It was nice to see that someone in town has finally noticed Hawkins is up to something, considering the shiftyness that the audience has had to deal with. Of course, the person who realised had to be the magnificent Jake, our very own deus ex machina. I did like them working together to put our the fire, and the banter about being a pool boy, even if their efforts to save the house were completely pointless.
Poor Dale just can’t seem to catch a break. Not only is he an orphaned social pariah, now his home in the trailer park is gone. Mind you, if he can cart an entire train load of food 5 miles on his own, then he should be able to build himself a house to rival Skylar’s in about two hours.
The most annoying moment for me was the scene where Jake is about to admit where he’s been. Of course, daddy, whose really just a big ol’ softy inside despite his crusty exterior, says it doesn’t matter. Nice moment for father-son bonding and forgiveness, but infuriating for viewers who will now probably have to endure more months of hints and foreshadowing until Jake’s past life is finally revealed.
Stanley, despite being written as a dimwitted character, is still one of the most intelligent people there. He asked Jake the seemingly unaskable – how does he know how to do all this stuff? The rest of the town are a bit like the castaways from Lost – you just wish that they would ask some pertinent questions every once in a while.
The IRS auditor also finally has a name - Mimi. It’s only taken, what, 5 episodes to discover this? I liked her little heart to heart with Mary. And, just to prove Mimi right, Eric and April were brought closer together by the fact she was going to divorce him. What the hell?
Much like episodes gone by, the moment that sucked me in was the ending. The appearance of the President’s podium and the launching of the missiles were awesome. Once again, despite the show’s flaws, I await next week with anticipation.
Overall Rating
*This image is a screencap courtesy of Wikipedia from the Jericho (Federal Response episode) page, and is used under Fair Dealing for review and criticism.
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Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
For me, the jury is still out on this show. I'll watch a few more episodes to see how it progresses though. But I'm reserving judgement for now
Comment by Nina
I'm going to keep watching for the time being. This show has a lot of potential, so I'm going to give it a bit of time to find its feet.