REVIEWS: "Jericho" could mushroom, "Kidnapped" steals your breath

At right: CBS's mad marketers strike again. The same folks who put the CBS logo on zillions of eggs this summer put a "Jericho" ad in a Kansas field. Click here to see the wide shot.

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In the opening scenes of “Jericho,” a young man named Jake returns to town, and all day long the locals ask why he’s been away from Kansas so long.

By sundown, no one’s going to care.

“Jericho,” a gripping, one-of-a-kind drama that begins at 7 CT tonight on CBS, is the story of a small town whose cares are violently swept away by an atomic cloud that appears on the horizon.

Over the years movies and miniseries have aired about people surviving nuclear or biological holocaust. “Jericho” audaciously proposes to make it a weekly thriller.

I think it just might work. “Jericho’s” first two hours are well-paced; next week’s episode actually improves on tonight’s premiere. There are strong performances from Ashley Scott as Jake’s onetime sweetheart and Lennie James as Mr. Hawkins, a newcomer to the western Kansas town of Jericho.

Jake is played by Skeet Ulrich, and while he’s the show’s central figure, more time is spent establishing the others. Still, it’s clear he’ll be the one who keeps his head when others are losing theirs.

But like any modern TV character, he has a mysterious past. Some people on the West Coast may want to do him harm. If they’ve survived the bomb, one suspects they will be hitching a ride to Kansas.

I complain about the lack of diversity on TV, but it’s to this show’s advantage that James is the only black male in the cast. As we all learned after 9/11, news of an attack makes people suspicious of anyone who doesn’t look and act just like themselves. The cagey and intelligent Hawkins will clearly be the surrogate for everyone who has served as a convenient scapegoat for an act of terror they had no hand in.

The weak link of the show seems to be Gerald McRaney’s character as the mayor of Jericho. He’s also Jake’s dad, and we hear him in the opening minutes upbraid his son for “what you’ve put this family through.” No doubt “Jericho” will explore that story, too, though I’m not sure I care.

Also, I could do without any more speechifying from Hizzoner. The mayor stands up at the end of the hour, with a few of the townsfolk at each other’s throats, and gives one of those what-are-we-fighting-for speeches: “Are we going to use our imaginations to create problems or solve them?”

Here’s hoping the people behind “Jericho” use their imaginations and don’t turn this into “Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Apocalypse.” This show could go in so many more interesting directions: Prisoners are on the loose; the economy is in ruins; people have just had their worst fears realized. And CBS is going to devote 22 nights this season to letting that drama play out.

I have heard three theories as to why this show will fail before those 22 episodes are made. One is that “Jericho” is exploring themes too dark and depressing for people to enjoy. I say, watch the first two hours.

Others say it’s in Kansas and  no one is running around in skimpy clothing, À la “Lost.” I say, watch the first hours.

And people in New York remind me that CBS has not had a hit at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in a long, long time.

Well, then, it’s your duty to watch the first two hours.

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Here's the question surrounding "Kidnapped,” a thriller about a boy taken hostage: Is there enough show here to tide you over until “24” comes back?

Sleek, action-packed and heavy on the acting talent, “Kidnapped” debuts at 9 CT tonight on NBC (KSHB-41) in a privileged time period, taking over for “Law & Order,” which moves to Friday nights at 9.

It stars Dana Delany as the wife of a millionaire who becomes a woman possessed when her beloved child is taken in a daring abduction. Jeremy Sisto, Delroy Lindo and Mykelti Williamson are the guys who will hunt down the kidnappers. Oh, and the fellow playing the abductee’s somewhat aloof father is merely Oscar winner Timothy Hutton.

Clearly, a cast like this can take a show places. It also becomes clear in tonight’s opener, from its dramatic abduction scene to the distraught family’s first contact with the bad guys, that this show is built for speed.

But is it built to last? Like many new shows, “Kidnapped” is a serial, and the case will presumably be resolved sometime during the May sweeps. How many twists and turns can one family be put through before we go, “Enough already?”

Still, the show should have no problem finding an audience. And its timing is wonderful. After all, we won’t ever again be able to watch Mel Gibson in “Ransom” screaming, “Give me back my son!” without giggling.

Comments

[Rhonda Johnston]

I really enjoyed Jericho last night except for a few minor problems. Number one: What's up with Hollywood's idea of what Kansas looks like? As a lifelong resident I was jarred by the landscape in the first half of the show. It was lovely, but it certainly wasn't Kansas or even "Kansas-like". Oh, well, I know most of the nation doesn't care, and I doubt that the scenery will play a large role in the show as it develops. Number two was Gerald McRaney (as you mentioned). Has he forgotten how to act or are his lines that bad? He certainly brought the show to a halt every scene he was in. Again, I'll have to hope he either gets better or we see less of him as the show progresses.

Regardless, it was a very exciting and interesting show. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season.

[Aaron]

McRaney's lines were that bad. And he's not that good (it says a lot about HBO, David Milch and his crew that his "Deadwood" character was kinda compelling). Fortunately, he's all but absent from episode two. I wonder if that was a CBS casting call. A really poor choice. And it was Gov. Sebelius herself, god bless er, who noted last week that there is no place you can stand in the state of Kansas and see mountains.

[Rhonda Johnston]

Skeet Ulrich's drive from Denver to Jericho was particularly interesting considering it looked nothing like Kansas (or Eastern Colorado). We did a double-take when the scene showing the "Welcome to Kansas" sign had a lovely city in the background complete with skyscrapers. Looked like you could see KC from the Kansas/Colorado border. That's a trick.

[Marti]

I agree. The landscape ws all wrong, whereas McRaney's speech (actually his whole performance) was as flat as Kansas actually is. The "mysterious past" was a bit of a draw and I did find it interesting that the black man seemed to keep his head about him better than any of the feuding white folks. I'll give it another shot.

[Mo Ryan]

Regarding the landscape, it could have been worse (maybe). Skeet Ulrich swung through Chicago on a promotional thingie, and said that when the show was pitched to him, the producers wanted to film it in Calgary. He said no way, so I think they're filming it in some remote part of the Valley in LA.

Here in Chicago, btw, we had a good laugh when the O'Hare Airport on "The Loop" had mountains in the background.

[TTC]

Oh geez, don't tell me you're all so jaded as to need an factually errorless TV SHOW in order to be entertained.

It's called willing suspension of disbelief and it is the key element in being entertained. These shows cannot possibly sustain a perfect facade without eventually collapsing under the weight of having everything perfect and no show would last past the first episode.

It almost seems like the nitpickers feel that they deserve perfection in order to keep thier interest instead of being satisfied with what they are given.

Finally, if the small errors bother you that much, don't watch it.

[Garry]

Sorry, but to suspend my disbelief, I have to actually care about the story.
I really doubt that any of these serial shows will survive.
"Kidnapped" had a shootout on a Manhattan street, but there isn't any news coverage of it.
Come on, get real!

[me]

Jericho is way too depressing. Who wants to sit down every week and contemplate a nuclear disaster? Not me! The show will not last.

[Dean]

I agree with Mo Ryan completely.

[Grace]

I LOVE JERICHO and ADORE GERALD MCRANEY!!
Wait until you see the episodes in March. I think you will change your mind about Gerald McRaney not being good or having a good part in this show.
Let me know ok?