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Original air date: September 19, 2006

Opening Morse Code Translation:
Jericho Pilot

Synopsis: After mushroom clouds appear on the horizon, fear of the unknown propels Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communication and power is shut down. The town starts to come apart at the seams as terror, anger and confusion bring out the very worst in some residents. Jake Green, the prodigal son of the town's mayor, becomes a reluctant hero when a school bus crashes as a result of the explosion.

Confirmed attacks:

• Denver, Colorado (assumed by the mushroom cloud to the west) - however, Denver being seen from Kansas is highly unlikely.

• Atlanta, Georgia: Confirmed by answering machine message left by Dale's mother.

Read a more detailed time line of the attack:


Episode Recap:
The first episode of Jericho begins with Jake Green sitting on an Amtrak train, watching the scenery on his way somewhere. He gets off the train in Denver, where a classic muscle-type car covered with a tarp is waiting for him at a parking garage, charged up and ready to go. As Jake drives, we learn that he is traveling generally eastward and that his destination is Jericho, a small town located in rural western Kansas. Before entering the town proper, Jake stops by the Richmond farm, owned by Stanley Richmond. Stanley and Jake used to be close friends, but five years ago Jake suddenly left town. Since then, he has not made any contact with Stanley or Jericho. Stanley and his younger sister Bonnie (who is hearing-impaired) are selling pies and veggies when they see Jake drive up. Stanley enthusiastically hugs Jake and asks where he has been. Jake reluctantly replies that he's been in the army. Stanley explains the bad news that his farm is being audited by a snobby IRS agent named Mimi Clark and that it is not going well. Stanley wants to spend the day with Jake, but Jake is in a hurry to see his grandfather.

In the town square, Jake runs into many old friends. He sees Emily Sullivan and Gracie Leigh. Gracie Leigh is a middle-aged storekeeper and has a teenage boy named Dale working for her. Dale is unpopular with the "cool" kids in town. Gracie fills Jake in on some of the town gossip, including details on a new family (the Hawkins family) who have recently moved to town. She is shocked that they were able to pay cash for their home.

Jake then goes to see his family. His father Johnston Green is mayor of Jericho, married to his mother, Gail. Eric is Jake's younger brother. After the greetings are exchanged the family sits in the living room to talk. Johnston brings up some trouble that happened in the past which caused Jake to leave town. Jake lets it be known that he hasn't come to stay, but to ask for the money which his grandfather willed to him. Johnston denies Jake access to the money, as he wants Jake to prove that he will be responsible with it. Eric acts officious and brown-noses Johnston, which causes Jake to become frustrated and defensive with both of them. It is clear that Jake and his father have a difficult relationship, connected to the trouble Jake caused in the past. Johnston walks out of the room saying he doesn't want to discuss it any further and Jake starts to follow him, saying in a sarcastic tone, "can I talk to my mayor, then??"Gail, attempting to smooth things over, says, "let's go see your grandfather." We learn that their destination is a cemetery and that Jake's grandfather is buried there. Gail and Jake talk briefly about his plans and Gail urges him to confide in Johnston. Jake does not think this a workable option. As Gail hugs Jake to say goodbye, she tries to sneak money into his pocket. She thinks she has gotten away with it, but at the last moment he hands the money back to her and gently teases her, saying "you have clumsy hands." Jake then hits the road.

A bit later that afternoon, Jimmy, a sheriff's deputy, is getting ready to watch a special bulletin on TV from Congress about the threat of terrorism. Jimmy's children (a boy about 8 yrs. old and a girl around 6) are restless and bored, saying, "do we HAVE to watch this?" Jimmy catches his wife's eye and, finding unspoken agreement there, sends the kids out to play. They decide to play hide-and-seek and Jimmy's daughter begins counting. She easily finds her brother standing on the roof of the house and exclaims that he needs to hide better. Her brother ignores her, mesmerized by something he sees in the distance... which, shockingly, turns out to be a mushroom cloud.

Over at the Richmond farm, Stanley comes out onto the porch and finds Bonnie on the verge of tears,staring at something on the horizon... which turns out to be that same mushroom cloud. Stanley grabs Bonnie and pulls her away from watching the cloud. They head into town to try to get more information and find it in a panic. Johnston struggles to keep order while being criticized by his political rival, Gray Anderson.

Jake, on the road back to Denver, also sees the mushroom cloud and stares unbelievably at it. The driver of a car traveling the other direction, also distracted by this shocking sight, crosses the center line and collides with Jake. Knocked unconscious by the crash, Jake awakens some time later with a badly injured leg and a cut on the head. He weakly gets out of his totaled car and finds that the passengers in the other car--an older couple apparently on vacation--are dead.

Dale comes home to the trailer where he and his single mom live and finds a message on the answering machine from his mother. She advises Dale that she's decided to stay in "town" a while longer with her boyfriend. While she's leaving the message, her boyfriend is known to be looking out the window and suddenly he exclaims in disbelief. We then hear Dale's mom exclaiming in disbelief, then the sound of an explosion and breaking glass. The message goes dead.

A number of scared people gather at the Greens' house. Gail tries to reassure everyone that the explosion in Denver was surely an accident, but Dale then comes in with a cassette containing the answering machine message from his mother. The group listens in solemn silence, all assuming that Dale's mother is dead. Gail expresses heartfelt sympathy, saying she didn't realize Dale's mom was in Denver. He states that she wasn't in Denver--she was in Atlanta. Everyone is shocked, and Dale walks out. Johnston is having a hard time trying to find two sheriffs who are out on the road and missing. On top of all that, a lady reports that the school bus is missing.

Jake is walking back toward town when two children run up to him. They frantically ask him for help and lead him to where the school bus has crashed on the side of the road. Jake limps into the bus and finds the bus driver unconscious. The teacher, Heather Lisinski, who was supervising the children, is still alive, but she can't move; she suspects her leg is broken. Only one of the children is hurt, having badly bruised her neck on the seat in front of her when the bus crashed. She stops breathing due to swelling in the bruised area. Jake is forced to do a tracheotomy to save her life. He succeeds, amazing the other kids and impressing the wounded Heather.

Back in Jericho, a fight breaks out over gasoline and food. (While this is happening, Dale is helping Gracie protect the supplies in her store.)A mysterious newcomer, Robert Hawkins, helps the cops get some generators set up. He seems very capable and warns the cops to be cautious. The sheriff is condescending to Hawkins. Meanwhile, the fighting goes on until Gray Anderson breaks it up. Johnston arrives on the scene, but the people begin to rebel against him.

Just then, Jake comes into town driving the school bus of children he rescued. When Jake is about to be rushed to the medical clinic, Johnston talks to him. Johnston has been snubbing Jake the whole time, but now he tells Jakes that he did a great thing and his grandfather would be proud. Stanley, Robert Hawkins, and many others listen to Johnston give an encouraging speech.

Back outside of town, Emily stops her car on the side of the road after hitting many dead birds that have fallen in the road. She doesn't know about the mushroom cloud and is frightened, not knowing how or why the birds died. Meanwhile, Jericho's sheriff and a deputy are attacked and killed by criminals who have escaped from a crashed prison bus.

Possibly Important Notes:
Congress was assembled the morning of the attacks and awaiting a speech from the President in an emergency session on Capitol Hill about global violence (heard on radio in the opening scene, Part 1, 01:39).

That broadcast makes mention of possible recent military activity by the United States causing global unrest: "Recent attacks have pushed this administration to take extreme action, raising more fears than it's alleviating."

The last part of the broadcast seems to allude to the fact that the President's speech is highly controversial: "the President is taking a risky step by confronting what some political observers...."


Questions:
Q: Where has Jake been for five years?
A: Middle East.

Q: What was the fight about between Jake and his father?
A: The money Jake's grandfather left him.

Q: What's Hawkins' role in all this?
A: He seems to be working with an organization and somehow contributes and knows a lot about the attacks.

Q. Where did Jake learn to do a tracheotomy?
A. Military School

Q: What happened to the female sheriff's deputy that was working in the city hall office on communications during this episode??? We never saw her again.

Q: Why weren't Woody and his sister (Jimmy's kids) in school that day?
A: The attacks happened at 6:00PM. The times we see the kids, it is well into the evening and the kids have been out of school for at least 3 hours.

Quotes:
Hawkins: You might want to get some black spray paint. You know, cover that? (points to the side of the Sheriff's car) Look, I know you're telling people that it was an accident. And I hope it was. But if it was an attack, Sheriff, there's chaos out there, you might not want the wrong people knowing the Jericho is still here.
Sheriff Daws: With all due respect, Mr. Hawkins, this is not St. Louis.

Lucas: How did you learn how to do that?
Jake: uh.. military school.
Lucas: Were you a soldier?
Jake: (laughs) No, a screw up.

Trivia:
When the girl playing hide and seek with her brother counts down "5...4...3...2...1" just before the mushroom cloud appears, it's a reference to the well-known 1964 presidential campaign political ad called "Daisy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_(television_commercial)

Cast:

• Guest Starring: Alicia Coppola (Mimi Clark), Beth Grant (Gracie Leigh), Leon Russom (Sheriff), Alex Carter (Fire Chief), Vic Polizos (Shep Cale), Richard Speight, Jr. (Bill), Bruce Bohne (Old Man Oliver), Bob Stephenson (Jimmy), Candace Bailey (Skylar Stevens), Taylor Nichols (Norman Perry), Clare Carey (Mary Bailey), Darby Stanchfield (A Green)
• Co-Starring: Joseph Castanon (Woody), Al Vicente (EMT Crew Chief), Kristen Rodriguez (Lisa Whalley), Joey King (Sally), Mackenzie Hannigan (Lucas), Stevie Wash, Jr. (Danny), Ariel Winter (Julie), Madison Pettis (Stacy Clemons), Germaine De Leon (Alvie Clemons), Beau Dremann (Irate Father), Thom Williams (Burlyman), Robert C. Koch (Riley), Helena Barrett (Clerk), Princess Lucaj (Sara)

See also:

Music of Jericho
Morse Code
Plot Theories
Pilot Transcript