Pilot

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

After a nuclear disaster caused by several terrorist attacks wipes out most of North America, residents of a small Kansas town have to come to terms with a very different reality.
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Fan Episode Reviews (62)

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  • Wow… what a start to the series.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By wan_ching, Sep 28, 2008 Report Abuse
    I have decided to rent the dvd out. And wow did I love this episode a lot. Interesting character they bought in. Jake has a secret and I want to find out what it is. And who is Hawkins. Very interesting. Great use of sign language hope they show more of Bonnie. Caring brother too.

    The bus scene with Jake and Heather was great, in an emergency Heather was still able to keep calm, which I can be like her (I'm a preschool teacher here in New Zealand). How Jake didn't panic under another situation with the Stacy in the bus, that was really well done.

    I love Jake relationship with his mother, love how they get along, and Jake seem to still have a love interest in Emily, I do hope he will be Heather instead. But we see.

    Great first episode, nice introducing new characters, can't wait to watch more of this season, and I hope I will get to see second season

    I can't believe this show has ended so far I have watched 6 episode, and I love them well another series for me to buy and savour every moment of it.moreless

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  • What a good idea for a show.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By coutterhill, Aug 24, 2008 Report Abuse
    I've been living without cable for almost 3 years now, so all my television comes from the web. I stumbled upon this show and decided to check it out. From jump street I was hooked. I've watched 5 episodes today alone! This is a great idea for a show and it asks all kinds of questions along the way. Where was Jake? Who is Mr. Hawkins really? What is really going on?? It's so exciting and scary at the same time thinking that this could really be a possibility of happening. I love seeing Skeet Ulrich in something interesting. I only remember him from like 3 movies. I look forward to watching all of these episodes, I'm just sorry I'm only watching it now and it's cancelled. boo.moreless

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  • This episode was really a great way to introduce someone to Jericho. I mean the thrill is just awesome.

    8.9
    "Great"
    By chippu, Jul 11, 2008 Report Abuse
    So like is said all and all this is a great first episode. So the episode started with with Jake going to meet his parents. And after his dad refused to give money to him which his Grandfather gave he left. So he left and while he was on the heading out of Jericho he also sees the mushroom cloud in the sky, then all of a sudden BAM someone on the other side of the road hits him. On the other side the towns school bus is missing and Jake's father is trying to plan it out. And Gray is all over his but trying to make peoples confidence in Johnston go away. Then Jake saves the School bus. Dale's mother calls and her tragic death is recorded on tape. Serif sees a prison bus and he gets killed. At the end Emily finds something while going out of the city.moreless

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  • This episode is superb in terms of what would happen if a nuclear attack happened in the US!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By blaster097, May 31, 2008 Report Abuse
    Amazing episode i cant stop watching it! I watch it over and over again its that good. Its extremely accurate, showing what would/could happen in the case of a nuclear attack on the US. fights over gas, power going out. Compared to other people who made nuclear attack movies and shows, their work pales in comparison to this show/episode alone. amazing CGI work for the mushroom cloud (five times in appearence. Very catchy theme song, dramatic music that fits the show EXACTLY. The way the music is placed is amazing and it fits whats happening that very minute. The title is incredible with the morse code beeps. cool show and i keep watching this episode almost every day!moreless

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  • An excellent intro for a fascinating series. The prodigal son returns home just before a nuclear explosion destroys Denver.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By whiteraven2005, Mar 12, 2008 Report Abuse
    A fascinating and disturbing concept for a tv series and the writers do a fantastic job building this world and populating Jericho with it's townsfolk. Each episode deals with a different crisis facing the town and how the town must learn to stand together or die.

    Skeet Ulrich is perfectly cast as Jake the black sheep but shares the family traits: strength, courage, leadership and charisma. The Green family effectively run Jericho and though Jake left under a cloud, it's clear that his five years away have changed him into someone his family can be proud of. This show has something I love in a series: a close, loving (but never mushy) family. It's not easy to establish an intense complex family relationship in one episode, but the writers do a great job. I hope they build these relationships, I have a thing for brothers so I'd like to see Jake and Eric become close.

    I could easily go on about the fantastic casting of the others but that would take pages, suffice it to say this is an impressive line-up. Next we have the fascinating Robert Hawkins he and Jake are destined to be allies, they'll make a very effective team. Knowing far too much about the explosions and having gotten his family out just in time, he also possesses a truly remarkable ability to think ahead and improvise, which Jake also does, and it's clear that had Hawkins not been there, things would have gone far worse than they did.

    Others worth mentioning: there's funny farmboy Stanley and his delightful deaf sister Bonnie; scary sharp-tongued IRS lady Mimi; Jake's cheating brother Eric; Jake and Eric's formidable mother Gail; the boy's tough father Johnston there are many to choose from

    The entire sequence with the explosion was excellent, very disturbing. Jake shows impressive ingenuity and calm, saving the little girl's life and returning the bus to town. When things go bad, you see the best and worst in people and Jericho handled the crisis better than most, though for a while there it was close. People looting, fighting for gas if Jake hadn't returned at that moment, there would have been violence. Just returning the children to their parents is the calmer needed and people are then willing to be more reasonable. The one person who is easy to immediately dislike is Gray he's running for mayor so he should be thinking of the wellbeing of the town, not his political career. Instead of trying to help calm people down, he's stirring them up against Johnston. He's going to be a problem. Dale's news is released: it wasn't just Denver, Atlanta's gone too. As if there weren't enough immediate problems, there's prison escapees and the sheriff and some of his deputies are dead, which the town doesn't know yet. Johnston does the only thing he can do sends everyone home and arranges to meet tomorrow.

    The pilot quickly and strongly establishes the main characters before the explosion occurs. The casting is top-notch and there are a lot of familiar faces here. Then there's the fast pace and exciting action. The pilot really sets a standard which the rest of the series maintains.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: When Jake first returns home, Stanely embraces him in a big hug, clearly pinning Jake's arms down. However, from the reverse shot immediately after, Jake's arms are clearly free. Edit
    • Goof: The series takes place in Kansas, USA. In this episode the mushroom clouds are clearly visible from the mountains, however mountains are not visible from Kansas. Edit
    • Goof: The answering machine should not have recorded a dial-tone after the call ended. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Airdates: Australia: September 21 2006, Network Ten Denmark: October 3 2007, SBS Net Estonia: May 9 2007 Finland: August 22 2007 Germany: June 4 2007 Hungary: December 10 2006 Mexico: September 25 2007 Netherlands: May 19 2008 Sweden: July 12 2007 United Kingdom: January 12 2007, Hallmark Slovenia: September 24, 2008 on Kanal A Edit
    • This, the 'pilot' episode is also alternately titled "Pilot: The First 17 Hours," or, simply, "The First 17 Hours." Edit
    • In Australia, Jericho premiered on Network Ten just hours after each episode has aired in the US, this is a first of an Australian Network to premiere a program that had started broadcasting in the US. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Emily: Where have you been? Jake: The Navy. (Pause) Jake: Oh, why do I even bother? Emily: Seriously, where have you been? Edit
    • Johnston: We had all hoped this was an accident, but the unfortunate truth is there was another explosion in Atlanta. Edit
    • Heather: Okay... kids... Listen to me. If the bus stops again, we're going to need you to walk back to town and get help, okay? Lucas: I don't know where we are! Jake: Get to the stop sign. Turn left. Take a left. Lucas: Which way's left? Jake (dropping head and getting frustrated): Ahhh! Heather: Hold up your hands. Stick out your thumbs. The one that makes the L, that's your left. Edit

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Pilot

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