Jericho: The Complete Series - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

Jericho: The Complete Series

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
It’s been a while and I actually was just thinking last month “isn’t it about time for CBS/Paramount to pull out a few more complete series repackagings? Well, we got our answer with a new set of boxsets in the form of Jericho the Complete Series and The Invaders: The Complete Series. Jericho is actually one of the FIRST boxsets from Paramount TV that wasn’t a reprinting of an already complete series boxset, as Jericho was released in it it’s original season boxsets only during 2007 and 2008 when the seasons finished airing. Surprising that they never popped for a complete boxset, but this clamshell cased re-packaging of both seasons one ups the individuals for once. Instead of the 6 disc season 1, and 2 disc season 2, we have a 9th disc, which includes some new bonus features that weren’t available when the series came out.

I remember watching Jericho religiously when it first aired in 2006. For a broadcast show it was incredibly intense and had a slightly modern take on Red Dawn meets internal terrorist. It was filled to the brim with an ensemble cast, and luckily didn’t spare any expense on the character development. Each and every person in the town got face time, and for the first season the show was going gangbusters. However, the show was canceled mid season, and the series had to wrap up with a few episodes still in the pipe. For a 7 episode second season, they did pretty good at keeping things tight and clean, but still they were forced to leave us on a semi cliffhanger. A move that GREATLY frustrated the fan base, as Jericho was one of the more unique sci-fi/drama/post apocalyptic shows of the time period.

The show is based in Jericho, Kansas, and we’re introduced to the characters just as a nuclear bomb is seen detonating somewhere near Denver. Phone lines are shut down. No communication to the outside world is present, and the survivors are huddling in fear, wondering if the radiation from Denver will sweep their way. Without contact from the rest of the nation, the town of Jericho will have to survive rioting, panic, cruelty, and a whole other host of problems that happens when the future is uncertain. Much of the first season is following little clues about what happened. All that is known at the beginning is that a bomb detonated in Denver and Atlanta, but as the season progresses we see that this is MUCH MUCH worse than they ever imagined.

Little bits of spoilers for season 2 right here, so if you haven’t seen season 1 just yet you MIGHT want to skip to the next paragraph. Season 1 ended us with a cliffhanger, and the heavily shortened season 2 delves much more into the political side of things. It seems that the big secret in season 1 was the CAUSE and EXTENT of the damage done. What had happened was a group of terrorists had detonated 22 nuclear bombs in the middle of a presidential address to congress in hopes of “resetting” the United States. What has happened is factions and stages have allied themselves together, forming little mini nations throughout. U.S. government troops are now foreign powers, and the city of Jericho is right in the middle of the hubbub as Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) and some of the rest of the Jericho natives look to hunt down and expose the hidden terrorists for who they are, and ally themselves with the state of Texas.

A few changes were made in season two, with the heavy ensemble cast getting dramatically cut to the bone in order to fit the remainder of the plot into such few episodes. The addition of D.B. Sweeney’s John Goetz character was a fantastic addition, as the Ravenwood merc was perfect to hate. The show DID show it’s weaknesses when Jake and Robert head off to Cheyenne, as that whole encounter with the big bad guys seemed like it was heavily compressed, and most likely meant to cover quite a few more episodes before the unfortunate cancellation happened. It’s taught, tense, and incredibly well done for having such short notice, but the series ends with several loose ends not tied up and a small cliffhanger that works for an ending, but really felt like the show needed more breathing room with another season. Another season which fans sadly won’t be able to get.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Jericho (for both seasons) looks about what one would expect for a 10-12 year old show from CBS on DVD. The 1.78:1 transfers are the identical transfer for the individually released seasons, so you should know what to expect there if you’ve already seen the old DVDs. It’s a good looking transfer in many ways, but also one that is rather soft much of the time. The show starts out with a warm honey colored glow to the series, but once the bombs drop the series dims the lighting a good bit, giving it a bleak and barren look that is translated on the DVD set. Lighting is dim, and the blacks can suffer a good bit, as well as facial details and background details as well. The discs are overall a solid presentation, but the source material seems to be a bit softer than modern shows and the hazy look robs the image of being razor sharp.





Audio:

Being that Jericho was a broadcast TV show back over a decade ago, the original airing mix was a 2.0 mix, and the DVDs have been given a choice of 5.1 or 2.0 Dolby digital. Personally, I think the 2.0 mix sounds a bit more natural, as the 5.1 mix is really just a 3.1 mix with some ambient noise and music lighting up the surround channels every once in a while. Either one you chose shows good dialog and some actual punchy LFE. However the 5.1 mix IS really neutered in the surround department, which leaves the front end of the room to handle all of the effects. It’s a competent track, but really one that doesn’t try too hard to do much besides the most basic job of carrying dialog and some moderate spacial shifting and panning.







Extras:

Season 1
• Building Jericho
• "What If?"
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentaries

Season 2
• Rebuilding Jericho
• Nut Job
• Deleted Scenes
• Commentaries
• Patriots and Tyrants: Alternate Unaired Ending from Season Finale

Bonus Disc
• Tick Tick Boom
• Behind the Scenes "Thank You:
• 100 Reasons to Watch Jericho
• Table Read
• Napalm Action Sequence
• Train Crash Sequence
• Cast Member's Memorable Moments

Final Score: ​

Jericho was a really unique show for the time, and one that was unceremoniously cut short in its second season. The series featured a fantastic group of supporting actors, including Gerald McRaney, James Remar, Pamela Reed, D.B. Sweeney and many more that you will most likely recognize from a dozen other shows. This new boxset is actually rather nice, with an included 9th disc of special features as well as all 8 discs of the 2 season run. Like usual, these are the identical pressings of the individual seasons put into a giant clamshell case, so for those looking to upgrade the only advantages of this set is slimming down space on the shelf, and the 9th disc of special features. For those who HAVEN’T seen the show, then this is the perfect opportunity s the box set is at record low pricing and makes for fun watching.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Ashley Scott
Created by: Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer, Jonathan E. Steinberg
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Studio: Paramount
Rated: NR
Runtime: 1312 Minutes
DVD Release Date: June 5th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch​

 

[Michael Scott]

apologies for the mixup for those who viewed the mixed up version with information for The Invaders. That issue has been fixed

 

[Asere]

I remember Jericho. Great show.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I can't remember this one but will try and check it out.