Ask Matt

Matt Roush: Why would this be sour grapes? I'm happy for the fans that they got their show back. I would be happier if the show were so good that I could get as excited about its return myself. Jericho isn't a terrible show, and at times it can be a pretty exciting suspense drama, especially given how much action is packed into this compressed seven-episode mini-season. But the show's flaws and essential mediocrity are also exposed by the plot's move beyond the dynamics of the town's post-nuke survival (which was my favorite aspect of the first season) to a more conventional conspiracy thriller with thuddingly obvious parallels to the Revolutionary War. I wish I'd had more room in the review to single out Mimi and Stanley (Alicia Coppola and Brad Beyer), whom I consider to be the heart and soul of the show this season. They buck the show's trend of cardboard characterizations, and there's an event on Stanley's farm in Episode 4 that will galvanize the fans (I can't wait to see the reaction from that point on). As for my history with Jericho: I hated it when it premiered (back when it looked like it was going to be "The Adventures of SuperJake") but grew to appreciate it more as it went on, especially during the winter episodes, when so many tough moral choices had to be made. The war with New Bern made for an effective cliffhanger, but as you'll see, the show moves beyond that pretty quickly, not always to its benefit. And since you asked, not that I believe I have to see every episode of every series to form an opinion, I watched all six of the episodes CBS made available in advance. (I guess we'll all have to watch the finale together.) You don't have to agree with me, and I get a feeling most Jericho fans won't, but you can't accuse me of not doing my homework.