Storm Clouds Send Jericho Residents Underground

Posted on September 28, 2006

Jericho improved in episode #2 even though the overall premise got more depressing. We watched as Jericho residents took refuge from an incoming storm. Did the rain in the storm contain radiation as the town's residents feared? We won't find out until next week but we watched as some of them used duct tape and plastic sheeting to board their windows -- Chertoff would be so proud!

We checked the Homeland Security website's page about nuclear explosions. We didn't see anything about radiation being contained in rain, but the website does have some tips for how to protect yourself. It says there are three protective factors: distance, shielding, and time.

It sounds like the residents of Jericho are doing the right thing by going down into the shelters for protection. Collapsing the entrance to the mine should also offer radiation protection. Even so, two weeks will be a long time to stay buried in the mine field. We hope they have enough to eat and drink.

We were glad to see Robert Hawkins featured more prominently in episode #2. Once again he had all the answers. His wife even said aloud, "you always know what's going on." Of course he knew. It did get depressing there in the end when Hawkins was pressing red thumbtacks onto a map of the United States to indicate the cities that had been hit. Apparently, the message he received using the ham radio was very informative. Overall, Jericho was much better this week. The pace was much quicker and there were some great action sequences. We will tune in again.

The website includes a webisode, called Beyond Jericho, of some survivors in an urban area that is not Jericho. The webisode features two kidnappers and their slightly annoying blonde victim. We won't spoil it for you except to say it is clear that the relationship between kidnapper and kidnappee can change very quickly. In the TV.com forums some people are saying they have removed the Beyond Jericho webisode. Hopefully, it will return later. Our review of the premiere episode can be found here.