Jericho 11/15

Cafe Society
21

Well, there was at least 3 minutes, maybe even 4, of semi-interesting stuff in there.

Hawkins: “Remember, the last thing you should do before you shoot is breathe” - huh? If you’re trying to shoot well, the last thing you do is empty your lungs and stop breathing. Pointless statement anyway - anyone who’s going to benefit from proper shooting technique already knows this, and for someone who doesn’t know how to shoot, subtle stuff like that isn’t going to matter.

So, they had the second and third chance they had to kill the ravenwood guys, and passed them up. This show is the fluffiest show post-apocalyptic fiction of all time. We can’t dare show anything gritty in a world of nuclear warfare and roving gangs.

First standoff, with about 15 guys behind cover with rifles and shotguns, against a more exposed 6 Ravenwood guys? Kill them, easily. Take their equipment. Make them want to avoid the area. Guys may come to investigate, but they’re in a weaker position if they do. There shouldn’t have been negotiations or anything like that. They were clearly deliberately coming to Jericho to loot the town, and maybe worse. Heading them off in a standoff and letting them escape just makes them come back more prepared. You have the advantage - kill them.

It was even worse the second time around. This time, they were more prepared and had them surrounded, and yet let them go.

Blah. You’ve got a bunch of hunting rifles and I’m sure a bunch of people in that town are good shots. So put up the road block, and put marksmen 100+ yards away in covered positions to eliminate them if they get out to clear it. They had the advantage of knowing when and where the Ravenwood guys would try to break through, advantage in numbers, and advantage in rifle range - so use it to ambush them and eliminate the threat.

Blowing the bridge indeed would’ve been stupid. You can’t cut your city off from the farms. And there’s no need - if those guys are going to be stupid enough to try to cross the bridge despite it being defended, you can just kill them when they try.

Blah. Fluffy happy fun land soap opera nuclear apocalypse.

22

Oh, I didn’t catch the previews - are there actually apparently foregin troops parachuting into Kansas? I went over this in a previous thread, but if so, that would be among the DUMBEST THINGS EVER ON TV. And that’s saying a lot.

23

If you dislike it, best to stop watching it and cease putting yourself through what’s obviously torture for you. Of course, then you’d be unable to continue making snarky remarks about the show, so I guess you have to weigh the benefits…

24

Kinda going with the flow. These threads are predominately people bashing and having fun with it… if it was more positive, I’d show more restraint in pissing on people’s parades, but that’s not the case here.

I have kept watching in the hopes that it would get better, though. Post-apoc mainstream fiction just has too much potential and comes along too rarely to ignore it entirely. I reaaaaally wanted it to be good, and my tolerance for bad stuff is fairly high.

I’ve gotten into the habit of watching it on my computer, and when a soap opera scene comes on, I flip to another foreground task until I hear non-soap opera stuff. This way, I can watch the episode with about 8 minutes of my full attention.

25

I agree, and the Good Bad Guy whose name escapes me thought so, too. Our Heroes are still nice guys and haven’t learned yet that some people need killing.

[SenorBeef]
are there actually apparently foregin troops parachuting into Kansas?
[/SenorBeef]

“There are certain areas of New York I wouldn’t advise anyone to invade.”
-Richard Blaine.

26

My first thought while watching: “Oh fantastic, an Emily-centered episode.”

When Eric drove away, I was MST3King, “Stop! If we blow the bridge . . . we’ll have to come get you with the boat, which will be somewhat inconvenient!”

I agree with SenorBeef, this show would improve so much if it embraced the inherent grittiness of its premise. In Stanley’s place, trying to convince my 17-year-old sister not to stay at the house in the path of murderous mercenaries, my first argument would be, “OK, maybe you don’t fear death. Do you fear being gang raped and possibly taken as a sex slave?” Once we know that the representatives of government force have gone sociopathic, it gets very scary. But in this show, there’s only an open threat to take supplies and a vague menacing undertone.

I love how they are painting Gray as the heavy - every idea he advocates is to be treated as obviously stupid and evil, when most of the time he makes a lot of sense! Ever since Mayor Dad “heroically” gut-punched him for questioning authority, I’ve been wondering if this show is toeing the line that patriotism=blind obedience, or if it’s satirizing that idea. Given the quality overall, I doubt they have that level of subtlety, though.

27

Oh, and I’m guessing Sofia Coppola, who has always been credited as a guest starwill get it next week. It’s probably too much to hope that Emily bites it.

28

He was attempting to lull them into a false sense of security.
Like Gold Hat in The Treasue of the Sierra Madre.
At any moment I was expecting:
“Oh no, we are gathering food and mediciene to help friendly people. Badges? We no got no badges! I don’t got to show you no stinkin’ badges!”

29

For me, the silliest thing in an episode filled with silly things was the idea that blowing the bridge utterly cuts off people on the other side. I mean, that was one enormous unfordable unboatable unswimmable river, yikes-siree!

30

Don’t you mean

[spoiler]Alicia Coppola

[/spoiler] ?

31

Episode didn’t really bother me except for the piss poor defense of the bridge. Instead of wiring the entire bridge, put one of the charges in one of the cars near the end. As ravenwood goes around it, detonate the bomb. Any survivors are going to be easy to finish off.

I was watching the episode with a friend who is on the local police force. When Hawkins tells them to check their clips, my friend starts yelling at the screen, “it’s magazines, not clips!”. So people who watch one episode of the show with no prior history get to enjoy the mistakes in the show.

32

This is right, but I can’t recall Hollywood (or the media, or 95% of people) getting this right, so I don’t even chalk that up to being a Jericho error.

33

Plenty of people call them clips even if they know better. I have called them clips despite 18 years and counting of military experience. I have also called my weapon a gun on many occasions. Doesn’t really matter. The guys he was talking to knew exactly what he meant. I don’t see this as a mistake.

What I do see as a mistake is putting your new militia into the hands of a life long fuckup who you think has probably been in prison for the last few years. Just throw a book at him and everything will be all right. I know Jake probably has a lot more experience than we have been told so far but his father doesn’t know this. This is a midwest farming community and there are no military veterans there? And it took till now to decide they needed more than Barney Fife to protect them? I am still enjoying the show but I don’t take it too seriously.

34

Yes. [Cleese]I’m sorry, I have a cold.[/Cleese]

35

Clips/Magazines thing was below my radar so I didn’t notice it. I was laughing about having a friend watch the show and find things he found inacurrate. This show brings people together. Maybe it should be shown at the next meeting of the United Nations.

36

If the previews truly imply the all-star dumbness that they seem to, I’m going to have a rather long post in a few days.