Jericho: Season Three!

OOOoooOOooOoOoooOOOooooooo, Jericho comic!

The news isn't that new, but the Jericho panel at last weeks Comic Con in San Diego got me all excited for the new Jericho comic. According to this article over on CBR, the Jericho comic will be a continuation of the story, and has been dubbed 'Season Three' by Devil's Due Publishing, the comapany publishing and distributing the comic. They will pick up the story from the season two finale, and is sheparded by many of the original writers of the TV show. The other cool news is that the number of issues have been increased from four to six issues, giving us two more books of Jake/Hawkins/Stanley/Mimi/Beck/Heather, etc. goodness!

I was a casual comic book reader when I was a kid, mainly reading friends comics, but never was really a big fan. I got back on the comic train when a friend handed me 'The Watchmen' in the summer of 1990 (thanks, Mark & Rob!), and I was blown away. Someone turned me on to the X-Files comics at one point. My latest comic fun has been the Buffy and Firefly comics, a natural (for me) extension of my Joss love. So I am familiar with the joy of comics, and I am really excited to have a reason to go into my local comic book store and ask for Jericho.

BTW, if you think there isn't a comic store near you, I bet there is, and you can find it using the ComicShopLocator.

Some awesome quotes from the Comic Con panel (via CBR):

Dan Shotz looked to the audience and impassionedly said “Thank you for this!” He later enthusiastically said of the "Jericho" fans “You guys are the greatest marketing team in the world…you brought a major corporation to its knees and
made them bring back the show…you guys are the reason there is a Season Two, you guys are the reason for a Season Three in the comic book, and we have a lot more
to come because of you.”

Regarding the plot of the new series, Steinberg said “I think the show has been leading to a civil war, and rather than avoid it we decided to do it. So it’s a great big, giant war”. {Oh YAY!! - me]

Asked if we will we see a return of the Ravenwood paramilitary organization, Steinberg answered “Nobody’s off the table; they were our favorite villains”. [YAY! again - me]

Regarding acquiring the rights to do the comics, Zreik said “We couldn’t do this comic without the cast being on board, because we are using their images, and they all signed off and are excited."

BlackJack Fairgrounds - Jericho Roadshow

Welcome to the September Blog Carnival, Jericho Roadshow Edition! This months theme is 'Jericho Minstrels: Fan Fiction, Videos, Poems and Songs'. And we have a lot of fun stuff to get to, all thanks to the passion of the fans who love their show, Jericho. Many thanks to all the creative Rangers out there who help keep the spirit of Jericho alive!

First off, Fan Fiction! Those of us familiar with fandoms in general know all about fan fiction. We have several Rangers who have put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and taken us on some fun journeys through their stories. KrzyKat has given us the adventures of The JLA Squad (Jericho Liberation Alliance), out saving Jake, and helping keep Jericho safe from mysterious strangers. Xtemeroswellia over on LiveJournal has a nice little Jake/Heather story called "Worth The Wait" for all those Jeather fans out there (very satisfying!), and another LJ fan, Revelininsanity, has written a story about Gail Green finding out about Jake being held captive and a peek into her life away from Jericho called "The Sun Moving". Fascinating. Jericho Fan Fiction, a site I must admit I didn't even know existed (much to my dismay... what kind of Ranger am I?), is chock full of stories for all you fan fiction junkies. Fantasy_cat has written a post-Bonnie-death piece with Stanley and Mimi called "Surprise You". Also, there is Stephensmat's response to the Songfic challenge over on Jericho Fan Fiction, a story about Eric and Mary's beginnings called "Eyes On Me". Stephensmat also has some Dale/Skylar fic to check out. Heck, there is plenty over there to keep you busy. Check it all out, you will be pleased, I'm sure.

A poem! Raycheetah has channelled his inner Shakespeare and regaled us with a sonnet to accompany flowers to Nina Tassler called "Transmission From Jericho", reminding her that we are still here, and still thinking of her. Lovely!

Video? Have we got videos for you! As most of you know, our Rangers are prolific video makers (just type 'Jericho' into the YouTube search and you'll see what I mean), and we have some great submissions this month.

Bombwatcher, maker of all those awesome siggies over on the CBS boards, has given us a video in tribute to all the great actors on Jericho called Some Gave All. Stanley and Mimi are the sweet subjects of Ldyoutlw's Between Your Heart and Mine. Xwarp has taken a silly look at our favorite deputies Jimmy and Bill with Cops In Jericho, and Ka4ist gives us Robert Hawkins: CBA(Certified Bad Ass), which is a hoot! And finally, Gwen has found these sweet vids of Pamela Reed (Mamma Green) reading the children's story "Stellaluna", Part One and Part Two. Very cute.


Larissa has started up a Jericho podcast! It's called Future Traditions, and she has various other Jericho related tidbits for you to chew on.

Maybei has pointed to the The Nut House over at Radio Free Jericho with some fun stuff going on, including a screencap story called Emily Bakes A Cake. A little gentle ribbing of our favorite blonde bombshell of Jericho. Also over at RFJ is a spiffy stationary design by Jojocat1 to use for sending your letters to CBS/Paramount, and they also have some fun Jericho e-cards to send to your friends for Halloween, or just because (including some of the motivators made by me!).


As you can see, we have a great depth of creative Rangers out there on the Internet, entertaining us with their stories and songs and pictures. I hope that this sample has inspired you to sit down at your own computer and share your love for Jericho with everyone!

Honestly people, if this face doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!

Special thanks to Gwen over at Jericho-Kansas, Inc. for all her hard work and keeping the Blog Carnival going. Thank you so much for letting me host this month. It was my pleasure. October's edition of BlackJack Fairgrounds will be Cast and Crew interviews, and I know there is a great treasure chest full of them across the Internet. For info on past and future hosts, you can go here.

Black Jack Fairgrounds Blog Carnival

Far be it from me to turn down a reason to post a picture of Skeet (aka Jake Green in Jericho). Welcome to this week's Black Jack Fairgrounds. I am Erika, and I will be your host.

Those old crones Margie & Edna have posted a little something about where to watch Jericho, on a typically circuitous route, through the strawberry patch. Thanks ladies for pitching in!

Jane has renamed the Famous JerichoMonster blog to simply The Monster, commenting on all television, and the frustrating practices the networks employ to decide on our favorite shows fates. Here she comments on the latest Jericho fan nutty protest, shelling Nielsen with two palettes of nuts, protesting their antiquated ratings system. This latest protest was orchestrated by Jericho message board regular NorsU, and the effort has gotten some media attention as seen here and here. Jon over at El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso has given his take on the annoying Nielsen system: Jericho’s Nutty Fans Protest Nielsen’s Ratings System. When will they learn, we will not go down quietly?


Also, the letter writing campaign to CBS Paramount continues. Info here and here for the two of you who may not have the addresses memorized by now (hee!).

Radio Free Jericho has got all kinds of fun stuff going on to keep the fans happy and motivated. Check out the silly Emily Bakes saga in the Nut House or hone your survival skills at the recently revamped Survival of the Fittest section to prepare for the next who-knows-what. Schumi's Useless Fact of the Day culls fascinating and funny tidbits from her very large brain, and Clare Carey, aka Mary Bailey, owner of Jericho's favorite watering hole, Bailey's, answers
fan questions here. Thanks, maybei, for helpfully pointing out the going's on over there.

Outlaw, one of our more creative Rangers, has started up his own online series that is a companion to the goings on in Jericho, called Grapevine, TX. He has posted his awesome trailer, along with another great promo by the equally creative Darthleland over on YouTube. Looking forward to seeing the show guys.


Jeritopia, chat room extraordinaire, is still hosting several weekly chats, including the Great Jericho ReWatch chat on Tuesdays, and the Monthly Birthday Bash, this month celebrating May birthdays on Sunday, May 18th at 9pm ET. Come on over and join the fun! No really! I was never a chat room type, but this place is loads of fun.

RubberPoultry has been keeping every one's spirits up with his graphic skillz, most recently with his Jericho Linen collection. He also just posted a quick note from Karim Zreik, giving us all hope that there is still some kind of life yet for Jericho.


Whew! Hows about that folks? The Jericho Rangers are a busy bunch. Thanks to all for submitting your stuff. Extra special thanks to Amy Vernon over at Remote Access for being such a great Jericho fan and for asking me to host this week. It was fun. And don't forget to keep your eye out for more Jericho goodness in the next few weeks, and here is where you can submit your posts!. Gwen over at Jericho-Kansas.com is our next host on May 29th. C'mon guys, give her some love!

Don't Say It's Over!

Is it really time to eulogize Jericho? I, for one, am not ready. So please excuse the randomness of this post, I am still working through the grieving process, and I'm not sure which stage I am actually working through yet.

Season Two as a whole: Wow! Given the truncated season, and the slashed budget and a shortened shooting schedule, they really gave us something to behold. Not only did they pick up and run with a compelling storyline, but they gave us action, thrills, tears and satisfying character growth. Jake grew up, Stanley was deeper and more layered than we had ever seen, Heather showed us her steely side, and even Stupid Ol' Eric grew a pair and showed us that he is Johnston's son after all.

The writers and producers gave us a tight, focused seven episodes, and had us on the edge of our seats for an hour every Tuesday night for almost two months. It was a great ride, and highly satisfying.

The impact of Jericho: This show had an enormous impact on me. If someone had told me a year ago that a TV show would lead me to a rousing SOS campaign, and introduce me to a great bunch of folks, I would have rolled my eyes and shook my head. As I've said before, I was a cynical bastard when it came to believing in people, but I have a new group of pals that are kind and thoughtful and actually do their best to help each other. Just like those crazy Jerichoians. Looking back, I shouldn't be that suprized that a show that touted loyalty, family, and stepping up when times are tough would attract exactly those kind of people. Schmaltzy and starry-eyed? Maybe. But really, I have met some awesome souls, and I don't care how cheezy it sounds, it is the truth, and I love it!

Why was no one watching this show??!!!!: Honestly, such a great show. My friends and I would shake our heads at the end of each episode of season two, knowing the ratings, and declare this statement time and time again. I understand the people who were scared off by the beginning of the first season, the show took some time to get its legs. But once things got rolling, it was smart and asked very interesting questions of how people react to great adversity. I am a fan of the history of our country. HBO is airing an excellent take on the American Revolution right now, putting David McCullough's awesome book 'John Adams' the TV as a lovely mini-series (no really, check it out, it's gooooood). After watching the first two installments, I thought to myself, Jericho has stolen some of these stories, and retold them in a modern and interesting way. Watching characters struggle with making the tough choices while doing their best to keep their humanity is good stuff. One of the only things that makes me truly happy, is the knowledge that people are still discovering this show, and most of them, no matter how cranky and fight-y they are about it at the beginning, eventually find themselves cheering and getting sucked in like the rest of us Nuts. That is most satisfying, indeed.

No, really, why weren't people watching this show?: Please take the Nielsen numbers with a big, fat, grain of salt. Because for some reason, this show appealed to the Internet types. Jericho has had good numbers on iTunes, Unbox and various other alternate viewing platforms. The numbers of streaming episodes on CBS.com were high. Two weeks ago or so, Jericho was #15 in the Top 20 of all shows DVRd (that's what my Entertainment Weekly told me!). So first of all, the numbers were generally higher than the old-fashioned, creaky Nielsen numbers would tell us.

But other than that, why didn't this show have higher 'live' numbers? I mostly blame CBS. The show was actually doing pretty well in its first season before a poorly-timed hiatus, and practically ignored return, against American Idol, killed the ratings. I know plenty of people who thought it had been cancelled, or who just plain forgot it was back on. And while the show got lots of press after the Nuts Campaign brought it back, and the bloggers made some noise when it returned, CBS waited much too long to air Season Two in a bleak, writer's strike induced wasteland. They promoted the shit out of it on their own network, but we didn't see ANY magazine covers, billboards, talk show visits or blitz of any kind trumpeting its return. If you weren't a regular viewer of CBS (kinda like me), you probably didn't know it was on.

Some are lamenting the viewing audience as a whole. Saying that your average TV viewer just wasn't interested. Hmmmm... I'm not buying that. One of the most complex, interesting, genre-busting shows on TV has a huge audience, and its name is Lost. That show has numbers that networks kill for. It has a passionate, loyal base, and is a complicated, conspiracy driven serial. I used to get mad at people comparing Lost to Jericho, but they do have some similarities, and somehow, ABC figured out how to not only market the show effectively, but engage that rabid fan base and expand upon it. Personally, I think the real problem, is that CBS was fat and happy as the ratings leader, and didn't have a stake in nurturing a newbie, no matter how promising it was. They already had all the money, while ABC was struggling when Lost came along, saw the gem they had, and busted their asses to make it work.

What's next?: There are still a lot of Jericho fans (me included), who aren't ready to give up hope. Many of the fan built message boards, and the CBS boards, are full of motivated, passionate fans throwing out any idea to try and save the show again, hoping something will stick. I love it. It makes me happy that so many are still moved by this show. I am getting out my snail mail to Paramount, letting them know that I will follow this show, and to give the producers the option to take the show somewhere else. Executive Producer Carol Barbee has said that she is shopping the show, and there is some interest out there. Maybe a long shot, but Jericho was all about hope, in my opinion, so I am on board. If you'd like to voice your opinion, send your cards and letters to:

CBS-Paramount Network Television

4024 Radford Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604

Final thoughts: It's always nice to have a show that you adore. I am lucky enough to have a few of them. But I am a TV junkie. It is always sad to have a show you adore not given its due. The years are littered with shows I loved that never got a chance. This is the first time I was engaged enough to participate in a SOS campaign. Glad I did. No matter what happens next, I have learned some stuff, I have seen some amazing acts of love because of this show, and I have the ability to always say, I was part of that. Yes, it's just a TV show. But it is also a bunch of people. The fans, the cast and crew, the bloggers, the cheerleaders. Even the people who hated the show, even the people who attacked my friends, all of them affected me, and many others, and being affected by anyone in this world is important and a great part of life. It helps you put a focus on what you want your life to be, and that should be an ever evolving thing. That is what I got from Jericho. Pretty cool, yo.

Just because I can, a little quick trip to the shallow end, because even though I like to think I am above all the fluff of the world, sometimes the shallow end makes us all feel better. Hee!

What's Goin' On

So, there are all kinds of things running through my head tonight. Many of them spurred on by, what else, television.

Tomorrow is the season premiere of Jericho. I am beyond excited. The past year has been a really interesting ride for me. I jumped on the SaveJericho train almost right from the beginning, and I have found a whole community of passionate and humble fans. They have encouraged me and commiserated with me, and I can truly say that I have made some new friends because of all of this. Everyone worked so hard to save the show, and then continued with great ideas for promoting and getting the word out. The fans voices have been loud and strong, and we have been rewarded with not only seven new episodes, but the pleasure of cast and crew members reaching out to us through message boards and chat rooms. It is a great feeling, and I can't wait for it all to start.

This weekend I spent watching Band of Brothers on The History Channel. This was a ten part mini-series originally shown on HBO back in 2001. I caught a few installments back then, but never really had a chance to see them all. This season, I became a fan of the show Life, which stars Damian Lewis, who also had a major role in BoB as Captain Dick Winters. Yes, I wanted to check it out because of him. Yes, he is one of my new TV boyfriends (what?), and he was great. But I gotta say, once I got rolling on this series, the thing that really stood out was the whole story. WWII is an amazing time in our history, and the story of Easy Company is remarkable. I can't really shake what I got from this show. And I spent a good chunk of today thinking of our soldiers over in Iraq and Afghanistan. How anyone who has been to war can come home and get on with some semblance of a normal life is beyond me. I have a deeper respect for anyone who has been in a combat situation. War is horrifying and numbing, and to run into the fire is nothing more than heroic. Forget the politics, forget the reason they are there, these kids deserve everything we can give them, both on the front, and here back at home.

Don't these two make a nice pair?

I am not shy in letting people know that I am a proud Democrat, and a fervent Hillary Clinton supporter. Not that I rhave anything against Barack Obama, but I feel like Ms. Clinton is the best choice. Regardless of how this all turns out, we will get a quality candidate. But I gotta say, I thought sexism was more dead than it really is. Day after day I see and hear things about Ms. Clinton that is insanely offensive to me. The misogyny that is running rampant in this camapign is intolerable, and the fact that no one with a big voice is up on a soapbox denouncing this is disheartening. Someone told me that she was talking to some female coworkers of hers about it, and they said, 'That's just the way it is, it's never gonna change.' I was agast to hear this. There is plenty to do about it, starting with just talking about it. It's pretty eye opening to someone like me, who on a day to day basis doesn't feel the sting of sexism, but now I realize that it is boiling under the surface, and it frustrates me.

Anyway, that is what's rolling around in my head today. Wonder what will be there next.

Jericho! ... And other TV stuff

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jericho returns February 12th at 10pm! We are all very very excited. I hope you all tune in and see what all the hub-bub was about. CBS still has all of season one streaming on their site, or you can Netflix or rent or even buy the season one DVDs (they're so pretty!). If you don't have that kind of time or patience, CBS made a nice little promo to help you catch up. And if you still need some motivation, check out the extended season two promo full of Jericho goodness! C'mon, that promo is hot! Please join us in seven episodes of post-apocalyptic fun.

Now, on to other TV stuff...

This season gave us some good TV. The new standouts for me were Journeyman, Life, Reaper, Chuck and Dirty Sexy Money.

I gave up on cop shows after Homicide: Life on the Street went off the air. But Life has given a new turn of the old hat procedurals with a detective exonerated from a life sentence who has taken on the notion of Zen while trying to track down the bastards who framed him. Another smart, character driven show that uses the LAPD as it's backdrop, and stars one of my new TV boyfriends, Damian Lewis, who makes his troubled, vengeance driven character interesting and compelling. The supporting cast is excellent, and we care about them way before we find out any of the details of the conspiracy that drives the plot. In reality, this is not a cop show, but a show about two people who have been to hell and back, and now in recovery, doing their best to choose good. I adore this show and was thrilled to hear that NBC gave it a full season pick-up even though the ratings were a bit shaky. If you have got some time on your hands, NBC has all 13 episodes streaming on its site.

And then there is the dark horse, Journeyman. A new take on the time travel idea that was compared to Quantum Leap (even by me at the beginning), but carved a very different path in its 13 episodes. This is one of those shows that would have surely been pulled if it hadn't been for the writer's strike, and while it passed its official renewal date, NBC has yet to make that cancellation official. I dare hope that this strike just may give it another chance. There is the now requisite SaveJourneyman campaign, and NBC has just released all 13 episodes on their website. It is a smart and thought provoking hour and I highly recommend you giving it a look (especially the later episodes), before it disappears forever. If nothing else, it has a kicky little theme song and an Actual Opening Credit sequence! You know I love that.

I must also mention 30 Rock here. I enjoyed all my favorite returning shows this season, but 30 Rock kicked up a notch or two and is, dare I say, the funniest sit-com on TV right now. Tina Fey has got some crazy, hilarious characters inhabiting this world, especially the much lauded Alec Baldwin as NBC Exec Jack Donaghy. A show that is well worth a half hour of your time every week.

And now for the ugly stuff, the writer's strike.

I have been having a hard time writing about this because I am so pro-union, and so anti-world-wide-conglomerate I was afraid that I would come off as a ranting loon. But just let me say this: the creative minds behind so many of my favorite shows should be getting money for their work. If the studios and networks are making money off of selling ads online, then so should the writers (and everyone else who worked on these projects). It seems so obvious, it makes these huge corporations look like greedy scum.

If you are still not sure what the writers are asking for, here's a video that explains it all. Then there are the execs, bragging about all the money they will make off the internet, while claiming to the writers they have no idea if the internet is feasible.

If you'd like to see what's going on with the strike, please go over to United Hollywood and look around. Thanks!

P.S. Before someone scolds me for linking to the network sites and encouraging people to stream episodes, let me say this: I am all for boycotting the sites as long as the writers aren't getting residuals for online content, but I adore some of these shows, and feel like if they get some activity online, maybe someone will notice that they are worth while and will keep them around. Does this conflict with what I just said about the money-grubbers? Yes, but we all know that the world isn't black and white, and this is my gray area.

Digg For Jericho

One of my fellow Jericho fans has designated Sunday, October 28th as Digg Day for Jericho. What's a Digg? Glad you asked. Digg is a website that posts articles from blogs all over the web. You may have seen the 'Digg' icons on some of your favorite sites. It takes you to the site where you can click and add your Digg. The sites with the most Diggs get put up on the sites top ten articles and get more exposure. You can search for top articles in different categories, or see what's new on the front page. During the Nuts for Jericho campaign, blog posts got hundreds of Diggs, helping keep the story in the forefront of the news. Now, we would like to make a little noise about how we feel about CBS' handling of the DVD release and when we will get to see the new seven episodes. More on Digg here or here

Digg-ing is easy and can be fun. You do need to register, like just about everything online these days, but they will never spam you. It's kind of a power to the people site. If you want to join in the fun, here is the link to the Digg sites.

So, what is going on in the world of Jericho? Beats me. CBS and Nina Tassler told the fans they needed to get more people to watch the show when it came back, a task that we have been happy to take on. BUT. And this is a BIG BUT. We do feel like a multi-million dollar corporation like CBS has much more to do themselves. They had an opportunity to made a big noise when the DVDs were released. I only saw a little side banner ad in my Entertainment Weekly. It was a whisper, when it could have been a boom. They have a whole network at their disposal. Hell, even the Sci Fi network had an exclusive online video interviewing cast members and producers at the DVD release party. THE SCI FI NETWORK! Maybe they should take the show.

As most of you know, I am also a huge fan of 24. They do not debut until January 13th. You know what FOX just did? They had a world wide tah-da, debuting the trailer for the seventh season this past Wednesday. They put it up on the jumbotron in Times Square! Now, I know that 24 is a huge, moneymaking extravaganza for FOX, but Jericho is hopefully due to debut in January. All the episodes have been shot. CBS could totally make a big noise, starting right now, and ramp up the excitement, feeding off the good will they got from the successful fan campaign. But we still don't even know when the show will be back on the air. How are we supposed to drum up viewers when we can't even tell them when to tune in?

The other potential stick in the plan is the looming writer's strike. CBS had said that as soon as one of their new shows tanked, Jericho was first in line to replace it. But when Viva Laughlin bit it after two episodes, they announced The Amazing Race would take it's place. Being a fan of that show, I am fine with that decision. It will run into the holiday season, and putting a show with many Emmy's and an established fan base is the smart move. Some have speculated that CBS will hold Jericho if the strike happens, and will be one of the few networks that has new, scripted shows to debut. 24 is debuting in January, Lost is debuting in February. There is still time to get us all a-buzz over Jericho. I hope that CBS doesn't drop the ball on this. There is only so much we can do.

Here's the video they showed at Comic-Con to thank the fans. Please enjoy! For The Fans

The Open

I am a lazy tennis fan. I love the game, and spent many afternoons as a kid watching with the family, but I rarely get very excited each season until the quarters of Wimbledon. My good friend Rhonda is an active tennis fan. Once the Australian Open begins, she is off and running, and thankfully keeps me updated on what is going on. If I can get it together, I sometimes catch a few matches of the French Open, but usually completely space until things get rolling at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

The 2007 US Open has ended. It was a blast this year, even though Roger Federer wins again (will anyone ever beat this guy? Sheesh!). I was worried that after Andre Agassi retired last year, I wouldn't be as excited about tennis this year, but there are plenty of great tennis players out there, and there was lots of great tennis played at the Open. Tommy Haas, James Blake, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick showed up and played amazing, fun matches. There were some good ladies matches too (hmm, do you notice a bias towards cute boys here?).

Due to all the rain last year, and a very generous Cousin this year, I was able to go three times the first week. I finally got to see Venus and Nadal play (and Jim and I were stalked by a Praying Mantis during our visit to Ashe). Rhonda clued me in to Djokovic and Santoro, and we got to see both of them play the day we went. They both played matches later in the tournament that made me happy I had seen them in person. They are both very entertaining in their own ways.

This week at work I had a guy tell me he turned down free tickets to go to the Open because he wasn't really a tennis fan. I tell you all right now. If you have any appreciation for sports, and you get a chance to go, DO NOT TURN IT DOWN. The US Open is a celebration of the solo athlete, and makes us New Yorkers very proud. It is not a snooty, exclusive experience. The USTA has made it fairly accessible to just about everyone, and even if you end up in the nosebleeds in Ashe, or get grounds passes, you get to see lots of great tennis and experience a friendly and communal atmosphere. They even let the Day Session people stick around and watch the evening matches on the big screens. Trust me on this, there are all kinds who show up for the fun.

I very much missed my comrade in arms, Fran, during my visits to the Open this year. Fran, I hope you know how much I missed you this year. And hopefully, last year was not our last time trolling the grounds for the hottest, AHEM, I mean, the most talented players we can find. Two of our current favorites:

As Rhonda would say: America, F*** Yeah! (Hee!!)

Tooting of the horn...

I would like to publicly thank Amy over at Remote Access for asking me to do a recap of Jericho, episode One If By Land, and for liking my South Park Jack Bauer enough to post it on her 24 site, Blogs4Bauer. She is a big fan of television, and two of my favorite shows, 24 and Jericho.

Well, Hello Ladies...

Let me start this off by saying this is all conjecture. I don't have any hard stats on any of this.

I am suprized by all the female fans of Jericho. Hm, maybe suprized is not the right word. Let's go back.


I am suprized by all the female fans of 24. Hey, this is a show that is marketed towards men in that juicy 18-49 year old demo. There is lots of fighting and blowing stuff up and driving around in big cars and shooting bad guys. But most of my female friends love 24. I mean, when you mention 24, their eyes get dilated and you can see them get all excited. I have had this experience with all fans of 24, they can't wait to talk about how much they love (or, in some cases after season 6, how much they are disappointed by) the show. At first, with the Ladies, I thought it was the hotness factor. 24 is never short on men that are easy on the eye. But once you get past the 'Kiefer is so my TV boyfriend' conversation, these Ladies are real and actual fans of The Show. My favorite TV related internet site has just as many women, if not more women than men, posting on the 24 forums. I found this curious, but never really thought about it much.


Then came Jericho. And then went Jericho. And then came the Save Jericho campaign. I met a lot of wonderful fans on the Jericho message boards that have popped up on the Interwebs (man, I wish I knew who first used this word, I love it), and it slowly dawned on me that most of the people I had gotten to know were women. So now, I started to wonder if this is maybe just an internet thing. Maybe women are just more likely to post on the internet message boards, being the chatty, social creatures that we are. But then CBS started running the reruns of Jericho on Friday nights, and I took notice of the commercials running during the show (yes, I am watching the re-runs; does this suprize any of you?). Among the expected ads for cars and electronics, there were ads for make-up and kitchen-related stuff that was clearly meant for the Ladies of the household. Veerrry interesting. Because while Jericho isn't as obviously an action-adventure type show as 24, it is still very male skewed in a traditional, stereotypical sense. Apparently I am not the only one who noticed the large female fan base, and female appeal of the show (lovely looking actors, once again, not being the only reason to tune in).


Obviously, 24 is not on the air right now (and who knows if it will ever make it back hearing about all those stops and starts of production), so I can't look in on their ads. I seem to recall the shows being heavy on Big Freakin' Car ads, though.


Anyway, I find all of this very interesting. After spending years deflecting odd looks when I confessed to liking action movies and being accused of being a Sci-Fi nerd because I've seen Star Wars a bajillion times and own at least four versions of the trilogy, looks like I am not a 'weird girl' after all. Looks like I have lots of female counterparts out there who like the rough and tumble stuff just as much as the boys. So maaaaybe, just maybe, we are all slowly inching away from the stereotypes and assumptions that we all have.

A Lady can dream, right?

Random

I know I am usually late to the party with things like this, and you all may already know about this site, but I made the South Park version of me, and that is it above. South Park Erika, freakin' hilarious...

Look, it's South Park Jack Bauer!

Weird toe... The other day I was walking to the subway after work, and I saw the weirdest thing. You know how some of us, including me, have their second toe longer than their big toe? Well, I saw a lady wearing flip-flops and her second toe was shorter that her third toe! It was totally freaky! She was walking right in front of me, and I really really wanted to get a pic (that's what camera phones are for, right?), but being New Yorkers, we were all walking too fast and I couldn't get a shot. To her credit, she was completely comfortable with her freaky little toes, as her piggies were well manicured and painted a brilliant red.












South Park Buffy and Angel, hee!

Being sick... Last week I was sick. Some kind of random, summer flu. I had a fever of 101, achey, very tired, and eating was just not pleasant. But I wasn't pukey, and I didn't have a sore throat or the sniffles or anything like that. It was so hot that I didn't even realize that I had a fever the first day until after 5pm, when it started cooling down outside, and I was still burning hot. By the time the fever broke on friday, I was so weak from not eating anything more than a couple pieces of toast, that I didn't get to work at all. I walked a block and a half to get a plain slice of pizza, and needed a nap by the time I got home.

As awful as it was to be sick, I realized on my way home from work today, that I was so very happy to be feeling healthy again. In fact, even though I am in the middle of serious PMS, I was all cheery and smirky because I just felt so good. So, being sick is a really cool way to be grateful for how good I really do have it here on this planet. Hopefully the next time I am ailing away on the couch, I can look forward to being well instead of wishing I was dead.

Oh my god, I really am having a good time with this South Park thingy.

You all know I can't do a random post without mentioning Jericho. This is South Park Jake Green (played by the lovely Skeet Ulrich). Looks like even though the summer re-run ratings for Jericho are "better than expected", as Nina Tassler of CBS says, they are only pulling about 3 million viewers. The really good news? About 2/3 of the viewers are new watchers. I am taking that as a positive.

Hey! The Yankees are on a tear! Kickin' ass and takin' names. This last half of the season is gonna be so much fun! Hmmm, let's see if I can get me a South Park Derek Jeter...



As some of you already know, we had one hell of a storm here in New York City on Wednesday. We even had a tornado right here in Brooklyn. I woke up at 5am to one of the scariest thunderstorms I have experienced in a long time. The subways flooded, and it took me over three hours to get to work. Maybe I've been watching too much Jericho (not possible!), but I thought, if something really horrible happens in this city, sticking around is probably a bad idea. Too many people in a small area. So, my new plan. If something catastrophic happens here, and I happen to live through it, the first order of business is to run like hell! I will not be one of those jack-asses who decides to stay and 'defend my home'. It may take a couple of days, but I am so outta here.

One last one. Fran sent me her version. I give you South Park Fran:

Okay, this post was really just an excuse to play with the South Park character maker. You should really go and play.