Jericho: Rogue River
The latest episode of Jericho, Rogue River, was an improvement on the preceding weeks. While the evidence that the townspeople are idiots is still mounting, it was good to see the world outside Jericho, as well as a little bit of action. Of course, action packed episodes always take place in towns with interesting names - when was the last time there was a gunfight or explosion at Mount Monotonous or Lackluster Lake?
The main plot of Jake (Skeet Ulrich) and Eric (Kenneth Mitchell) heading to Rogue River was interesting, as it gave an insight into what is happening outside of the saccharine walls of Jericho. As Jake said, this is the world they live in now – law and order is scant at best; the true nature of people rears its ugly head. The writers may not have taken up my suggestion of giving the Mayor (Gerald McRaney) Captain Trips, but the whole thing is certainly reminiscent of the novel The Stand. What happens when the survivors have access to the weapons left for the taking? The world becomes an unstable and dangerous place. If Jericho is Boulder, then who is Randall Flagg?
It was great to actually see some action this week, but Jake was certainly back to his usual Mary Sue antics. I secretly hoped that the guy from Ravenwood would shoot him, just to see if the bullets would, in fact, bounce off. Speaking of Ravenwood, Jake mentioned knowing about them from time spent in Iraq. While this statement could be true, we know that Jake has lied about his past before, so I’m not prepared to accept this as the answer to the mystery just yet.
I also enjoyed Jake telling Eric to be a man and leave April (Darby Stanchfield) – I’ve wanted someone to say that for weeks. However, now April is pregnant, another development that tends to happen in TV-land as soon as anyone has the intention to leave his wife. This means we’ll have to deal with more of annoyingly-conflicted Eric, and annoyingly-whiny Mary (Clare Carey).
Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) and his family being interrogated by Gray (Michael Gaston) was quite well done. Gray was quite stupid throughout, but little else can be expected from an authority figure in Jericho. The anvils were also falling regarding the secrets in the basement. However, there was some great work with Robert subtly playing Gray and stroking his ego, while Allison (Jazz Raycole) was amusing with her frustration and accusations of racism. As for whether Robert is actually FBI, at the beginning of every episode, there is a Morse Coded message – apparently the one for this week was ‘Rob not FBI,’ so I think we can safely assume that he is not.
There was far too much Emily (Ashley Scott) in the episode, but thankfully Gail’s (Pamela Reed) corny sentiments were kept to a minimum. I still can’t help but like Heather (Sprague Grayden) – her little quirks make her talented character a tad more believable.
I was also very happy to see Aasif Mandvi, a regular correspondent for the Daily Show, make an appearance as the doctor. I hope he will appear again, as I’d like to see someone other than April treat a patient – and no, Jake doesn’t count.
As for next week, the previews made it appear that the next episode will be Emily-centric. However, you know how I feel about the misinformation fed to us by Network Ten promo monkeys, so hopefully next week I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
*Screencap courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and commentary
Jake and Eric at Rogue River*
It was great to actually see some action this week, but Jake was certainly back to his usual Mary Sue antics. I secretly hoped that the guy from Ravenwood would shoot him, just to see if the bullets would, in fact, bounce off. Speaking of Ravenwood, Jake mentioned knowing about them from time spent in Iraq. While this statement could be true, we know that Jake has lied about his past before, so I’m not prepared to accept this as the answer to the mystery just yet.
I also enjoyed Jake telling Eric to be a man and leave April (Darby Stanchfield) – I’ve wanted someone to say that for weeks. However, now April is pregnant, another development that tends to happen in TV-land as soon as anyone has the intention to leave his wife. This means we’ll have to deal with more of annoyingly-conflicted Eric, and annoyingly-whiny Mary (Clare Carey).
Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) and his family being interrogated by Gray (Michael Gaston) was quite well done. Gray was quite stupid throughout, but little else can be expected from an authority figure in Jericho. The anvils were also falling regarding the secrets in the basement. However, there was some great work with Robert subtly playing Gray and stroking his ego, while Allison (Jazz Raycole) was amusing with her frustration and accusations of racism. As for whether Robert is actually FBI, at the beginning of every episode, there is a Morse Coded message – apparently the one for this week was ‘Rob not FBI,’ so I think we can safely assume that he is not.
There was far too much Emily (Ashley Scott) in the episode, but thankfully Gail’s (Pamela Reed) corny sentiments were kept to a minimum. I still can’t help but like Heather (Sprague Grayden) – her little quirks make her talented character a tad more believable.
I was also very happy to see Aasif Mandvi, a regular correspondent for the Daily Show, make an appearance as the doctor. I hope he will appear again, as I’d like to see someone other than April treat a patient – and no, Jake doesn’t count.
Overall Rating
As for next week, the previews made it appear that the next episode will be Emily-centric. However, you know how I feel about the misinformation fed to us by Network Ten promo monkeys, so hopefully next week I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
*Screencap courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and commentary
I didn't know that about the Morse Code at the beginning. Hmm... This show isn't the best, but if it's got little gems like that in each episode it's pushed itself higher in my TV-rank.
I didn't know about the Morse Code until last week. The first few episodes were just the title, then more recently have been about something that happens in the episode. I think this is the first week that it's given us a bit of extra information not explicitly included in the episode (though with Allison going into the basement beforehand, it was likely that it was a fake badge that she planted)
Celebrity Obsession
Celebrity Obsession
I hadn't thought about the child being the symbol of hope. Very insightful, and unfortunately I think you're spot on.
That's going to irritate me too.
You know, it could be a really good show, but they just need tone down the cornyness way down and throw out the cliche book.