Jericho: The First Season

It took a while for this CBS small-town thriller series to find its groove, but once it did, Jericho became one of the most enthralling shows of the 2006-07 season. When the citizens of the tight-knit titular Kansas burg see a mushroom cloud in the distance—Denver's been vaporized—the residents prepare for the worst (no power, no food deliveries), but the situation turns out to be far more dire than they imagined. The news trickles in that more than 20 American cities have been nuked, as the nation faces its darkest hour. Skeet Ulrich hits his stride playing Jake, the prodigal son who returns home just before the bombs go off (Jake's shady past includes a stint with military contractor Ravenwood—read: Blackwater). Also highly intriguing is Lennie James as Hawkins, a government operative who might have had something to do with the bombs. The series' themes play like a terrifying nightmare arising out of the ideological road that the real U.S. is heading down, but in the end, the message here seems to be this: America is at its best when times are most trying, but only if the people don't forget what the country is all about in the first place. DVD extras include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a “making-of” featurette, and more. Stick with Jericho—past the uncertain first few hours of this 22-episode set—and you'll find it's worth it. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)