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Pilot (Jericho episode)
Encyclopedia
"Pilot: The First Seventeen Hours" is the first episode of season one and the pilot
for the apocalyptic drama
television series Jericho
. The episode was broadcast by CBS
on September 20, 2006 to approximately 11.66 million viewers.
The pilot episode was filmed on location in Fillmore, California
, while the standing sets for the town of Jericho were built at Calvert Studios in Van Nuys, California.
and serving in both the Army
and Navy.
Jake's mother, Gail, who apparently knows where Jake has been, is very happy and relieved to see him. Jake discusses with his father, Mayor Johnston Green, the inheritance Jake's grandfather left him. Johnston refuses to release the money to Jake until Jake leads what Johnston calls "a more productive life". Afterwards, Jake goes to visit his grandfather's grave. Despite his mother's objections. Jake leaves Jericho that same day, telling his mother that he must return to San Diego
.
As Jake leaves town, the President
addresses a joint session of the United States Congress
about a rise in global violence. Simultaneously, all the television and radio stations and telephone communication go dead. At the same time, some residents of the town see a mushroom cloud
on the horizon, in the direction of Denver, Colorado
over a mountain range. On the highway, another driver, distracted by the cloud, drifts into the opposing lane, where Jake is driving, also distracted. The cars collide, killing the occupants of the other car and knocking Jake unconscious.
Meanwhile, a school bus is returning from a field trip, late because it had to stop for repairs, with the elementary-school-aged children of Jericho. Heather Lisinski, the teacher accompanying them, notices the mushroom cloud. The children are watching a deer running next to the bus for a few seconds; it then crosses in front of the bus and is hit, causing the bus to swerve off the road.
On the highway, Jake regains consciousness and finds that he has a leg injury. He finds the passengers in the other vehicle dead. He begins walking back toward town, and shortly afterwards encounters two children who have ventured from the bus in search of help. Jake makes it to the bus, where he finds the driver dead and Heather with a broken leg. Only one of the children is injured, but she is having significant difficulty breathing and is in mortal danger. Jake performs an emergency tracheotomy
, using straws from the children's juice boxes and band-aids to create a temporary airway. He then drives the bus back to town.
While searching for the children, Sheriff Dawes and Deputy Riley find a prison bus that has crashed. They mistake it for the school bus, and are both shot while investigating.
In town, Dale Turner discovers a message from his mother on his answering machine. The end of the message is interrupted by a large explosion heard in the background. Dale later plays the message for a group of adults at the Greens' house. Gail offers condolences to Dale, saying that she hadn't known Dale's mother was visiting Denver. Dale tells the group that his mother wasn't visiting Denver but rather was in Atlanta, Georgia
. Earlier, Mayor Green had tried to calm citizens by speculating that the Denver incident was isolated and possibly a military accident instead of a widespread enemy attack. Shortly after, Gail informs the mayor about the second explosion in Atlanta.
Residents swarm the gas station to fill up their cars and trucks. Electrical power fails. The situation comes close to a riot before Mayor Green arrives and calms the crowd, temporarily. The townspeople press the mayor for answers, and at one point he reveals that there was another explosion in Atlanta. The situation almost escalates again, but calms down when the school bus arrives with the children. Jake tells the crowd to help the children, and informs his brother that he drove past a prison bus that had crashed. With no means of communication and no power, Jerichoans are isolated from the outside world — not knowing what is left of that world, or how many others are still alive — and must find means of survival in the midst of panic and chaos.
The episode ends with Emily Sullivan, an old friend of Jake who is seemingly unaware of the day's events, driving on an isolated rural road. She is on her way to the airport to meet with her fiancé, who is returning from a trip. Feeling bumps in the road, she stops the car and gets out to see what the problem is. The road is covered with dead birds that seemingly just dropped from the sky.
airing of the pilot received 11.66 million viewers, and was second place for its time spot on the networks. The episode received 25% more viewers in the 18-49 age group for its time on CBS than the previous year.
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for the apocalyptic drama
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
television series Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
. The episode was broadcast by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 20, 2006 to approximately 11.66 million viewers.
The pilot episode was filmed on location in Fillmore, California
Fillmore, California
Fillmore is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 15,002 at the 2010 census, up from 13,643 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, while the standing sets for the town of Jericho were built at Calvert Studios in Van Nuys, California.
Plot
Thirty-two year old Jake Green returns for a short visit to his small hometown of Jericho in northern Kansas following a mysterious five-year absence. While he was away, Jake had no contact with any of his family or friends, except possibly his mother Gail. Jake is evasive about his absence; he is asked where he has been by various Jericho residents, and he gives different answers - including claims to have been playing minor league baseballMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
and serving in both the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Navy.
Jake's mother, Gail, who apparently knows where Jake has been, is very happy and relieved to see him. Jake discusses with his father, Mayor Johnston Green, the inheritance Jake's grandfather left him. Johnston refuses to release the money to Jake until Jake leads what Johnston calls "a more productive life". Afterwards, Jake goes to visit his grandfather's grave. Despite his mother's objections. Jake leaves Jericho that same day, telling his mother that he must return to San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
As Jake leaves town, the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
addresses a joint session of the United States Congress
Joint session of the United States Congress
Joint sessions of the United States Congress are the gatherings together of both houses of the United States Congress...
about a rise in global violence. Simultaneously, all the television and radio stations and telephone communication go dead. At the same time, some residents of the town see a mushroom cloud
Mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
on the horizon, in the direction of Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
over a mountain range. On the highway, another driver, distracted by the cloud, drifts into the opposing lane, where Jake is driving, also distracted. The cars collide, killing the occupants of the other car and knocking Jake unconscious.
Meanwhile, a school bus is returning from a field trip, late because it had to stop for repairs, with the elementary-school-aged children of Jericho. Heather Lisinski, the teacher accompanying them, notices the mushroom cloud. The children are watching a deer running next to the bus for a few seconds; it then crosses in front of the bus and is hit, causing the bus to swerve off the road.
On the highway, Jake regains consciousness and finds that he has a leg injury. He finds the passengers in the other vehicle dead. He begins walking back toward town, and shortly afterwards encounters two children who have ventured from the bus in search of help. Jake makes it to the bus, where he finds the driver dead and Heather with a broken leg. Only one of the children is injured, but she is having significant difficulty breathing and is in mortal danger. Jake performs an emergency tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
, using straws from the children's juice boxes and band-aids to create a temporary airway. He then drives the bus back to town.
While searching for the children, Sheriff Dawes and Deputy Riley find a prison bus that has crashed. They mistake it for the school bus, and are both shot while investigating.
In town, Dale Turner discovers a message from his mother on his answering machine. The end of the message is interrupted by a large explosion heard in the background. Dale later plays the message for a group of adults at the Greens' house. Gail offers condolences to Dale, saying that she hadn't known Dale's mother was visiting Denver. Dale tells the group that his mother wasn't visiting Denver but rather was in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Earlier, Mayor Green had tried to calm citizens by speculating that the Denver incident was isolated and possibly a military accident instead of a widespread enemy attack. Shortly after, Gail informs the mayor about the second explosion in Atlanta.
Residents swarm the gas station to fill up their cars and trucks. Electrical power fails. The situation comes close to a riot before Mayor Green arrives and calms the crowd, temporarily. The townspeople press the mayor for answers, and at one point he reveals that there was another explosion in Atlanta. The situation almost escalates again, but calms down when the school bus arrives with the children. Jake tells the crowd to help the children, and informs his brother that he drove past a prison bus that had crashed. With no means of communication and no power, Jerichoans are isolated from the outside world — not knowing what is left of that world, or how many others are still alive — and must find means of survival in the midst of panic and chaos.
The episode ends with Emily Sullivan, an old friend of Jake who is seemingly unaware of the day's events, driving on an isolated rural road. She is on her way to the airport to meet with her fiancé, who is returning from a trip. Feeling bumps in the road, she stops the car and gets out to see what the problem is. The road is covered with dead birds that seemingly just dropped from the sky.
Reception
The CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
airing of the pilot received 11.66 million viewers, and was second place for its time spot on the networks. The episode received 25% more viewers in the 18-49 age group for its time on CBS than the previous year.
External links
- "The Pilot" at CBS.com
- "Pilot: The First 17 Hours", original script.