Jericho - Season 2: CBS

The show that came back from the ashes finally returns tonight, beginning a second season long after most people, and its own network, had declared it dead. In this season premiere, a peace is negotiated between the two warring towns, a new government is instituted - but things in this post-apocalyptic fantasy drama are anything but rosy. (David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com)

"Jericho" literally started with a bang, and if these seven episodes turn out to be its last stand, then the show is going out with one, too. Having earned a stay of execution thanks partly to fans organized via that new-fangled thing called the Internet, the post-apocalyptic drama returns with two alternate endings in the can — one if the series earns third-season renewal, another to offer greater closure. Either way — and it’s probably a long shot that ratings will keep the walls from tumbling down — the six hours previewed are a blast and then some. (Brian Lowry, Variety)

You will notice some differences because of budget cuts imposed on the series. Several key cast members are MIA and it looks at times as if half the town of Jericho was wiped out in that battle with Bern. (extras cost money.) But in some ways, the reduced budget and the condensed “season” have benefited the series as the writers tighten the focus on the primary players and the main storyline (who’s in control of the U.S. and should they be.) It makes for some intense storytelling. (Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News) 

For those of you who have been following the show “Battlestar Galactica,” some of what’s going on in Jericho is going to seem a little familiar, because let’s face it, every fictional occupation these days sounds a lot like a metaphor for Iraq. (One must salute the writers’ restraint in not placing the new capital precisely in Dick Cheney’s hometown of Casper.) (Aaron Barnhart, Kansas City Star/TV Barn)

Something very interesting has happened in Jericho. The plucky Kansas town has become a stand-in for Iraq. The first season of the CBS show "Jericho" (9 p.m. Tuesday, WBBM-Ch. 2) had its share of conspiracy theories and real-life parallels. But in Season 2, the show, brought back by fans who vociferously protested its cancellation, has become more topical and even more intriguing. (Maureen Ryan, The Chicago Tribune) 

The saga of human resiliency and tenacity is riveting; the characters vivid and credible; and the performances solid almost without exception. (Tom Jicha, South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Fans get their reward Tuesday (at 9 on Channel 13) with "Jericho" 2.0, an advanced, faster-paced version that is, honestly, way better. Partly because producers had to condense the story into those seven episodes – to pay off fans in case CBS cancels it for good – and partly because the show has started a new chapter in its story, "Jericho" has lost all of its pokiness and has grown into a genuinely intriguing action- mystery series. (Rick Kushman, Sacramento Bee – scroll down)

"Jericho" is good, an intriguing mix of soap opera, social drama, and conspiracy that deserves to be promoted as the thinking-man’s "24."…. [N]etwork TV isn’t famous for its subtlety. But if the plots in "Jericho" can be a little too transparent, the ideas are fun to chew on, in a what-if sort of way. (Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe)

Jericho is a rare example of what can be a pitfall of newspaper TV criticism. Geniuses like me watch an episode or two, make portentous pronouncements, and move on to the next course in the never-ending dinner party of television entertainment. "Dumb," I called it. Wrong. (Jonathan Storm, Philly Inquirer)  

Jericho is not on the road to Lost-like greatness; the characters are too thin and the writing is too bad in it, and Skeet Ulrich remains a gaping, angry hole in the center as Jake. But compared with the last season of Heroes–which has similar character-and-writing problems–it’s much more entertaining and cohesive. For whatever reason, it’s pared away many of its weaker elements and focused on the stronger ones (namely, an engrossing action story about what happens to America after you blow it up). I don’t know if this season will answer all our questions, but at least I’m less confused about why I like the show. (James Poniewozik, Time)

The peanuts were well-spent. (David Hinckley, New York Daily News) 

To watch the first 5 minutes of tonight’s season premiere, click here.