Love In Jericho

Is it true that opposites attract? It appears to be true in the match of Mimi and Stanley.

Mimi (Alicia Coppola) is from Washington DC, and works for the IRS. She graduated from Vassar and seems to come from a family with money. She came to Jericho to oversee the audit and foreclosure of the Richmond farm. Stanley (Brad Beyer) is a farmer who seems to be the all-American male. When he and Mimi meet sparks fly and not in a good way. After the blast, Mimi is stranded in Jericho so she stays at the hotel until it's closed then moves onto the Richmond farm with Stanley and Bonnie.
Mimi is the classic city girl and has been having difficulty adjusting to her new surroundings which leads to some of the most comedic moments of the show.

Stanley is devoted to his family farm and his sister, Bonnie, who is deaf. He has a big heart, as seen in his agreement to let Mimi move in. Stanley is incredibly stubborn and refuses to abandon the farm even when it seems like it's the only logical choice. Although Stanley can also be comical, Stanley's character has some definite serious moments as does Mimi's. Watching her try to talk herself into killing a chicken was a defining look into Mimi's character. It was also one of the best scenes ever.

In an article from the Orlando Sentinel the question is asked, " Why did the Stanley-Mimi relationship catch on?"

"It was a little levity in the face of disaster, and I think that everybody likes a good love story," Coppola said. "I'm hoping that people rooted for her [Mimi] to find something in this town. She found Stanley. It was a moment of light."

"Beyer marveled at the "interesting twist" of his character getting engaged "to the IRS woman who initially came to take away my farm."

"It's more interesting because it's these two people from two different worlds," Beyer added. "They've had a chance, under the circumstances, to get to know each other in a real intimate way."

"Those are pretty dire circumstances, aren't they?"

"In any other circumstance, it might not have happened," Beyer said.

Only in Jericho

The Impact of Jericho

Linda Haugsted's article makes me wonder exactly how much impact Jericho had on CBS.

Executives from CBS' interactive division announced yesterday that CBS' television content will be available through 400 sites on the Internet by the fall

"CBS is all about open, nonexclusive partnerships," CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith said. "Just CBS.com is not the answer" to reaching viewers, he added, so the network is devoted to going out where the viewers are, not forcing them to CBS.com."
Wonder if Jericho fans helped them conclude that they need to go where the viewers are? Wasn't that what we were saying during the Nuts campaign?

CBS has already partnered with 24 sites including TV.com, Comcast's The Fan, Slingbox and Brightcove to offer clips and other CBS content.
That parterning has already resulted in a big lift in unique viewership to CBS.com -- from 21 million unique users per month in May to the current 134 million -- from people linking in from partners.

Each partner displays the content in a way that best suits its demographic. "For instance, Comcast's users are more affluent and highly educated than the norm for Web users, so that site will pick clips that speak to that audience."

The network even bought all the possible keywords, such as series' stars’ names, to maximize searches for their fall shows on the various sites.
They also arranged with sites like YouRock.com, where online posters go to pick up applications and widgets like glitter writing. "At such sites, pollsters will be able to pick up applications such as show logos and other content to place on MySpace pages, for instance. People are doing this anyway, lifting grainy clips from YouTube and other destinations, executives said."


Smith said the network may reach out to fan-site producers to program CBS' Web-site content. He cited a fan clip he admired: a digest of every season of The Sopranos in seven minutes, now available on YouTube.
Hey, CBS, now about checking the Jericho board? We have some talented folks there who would love to contribute.
Now will you please just start counting all of us in the Internet???

To All Old and New Jericho Rangers

The following was written by DarkCrystal :

Dear Jericho Fans;

As a most humble representative of your ranks, it has come to my attention, and most certainly the attention of people actually watching the outcome of this fan based action, that somehow, you all think that this show is safe, and that the job is done.

It is not. No matter what kind of flowery spin the media or Nina Tassler or anybody puts on it, your show, the very show that you all spent time and money on to get back, is still in danger. It still needs your help.

This fandom is very unique. Most fandoms just get to sit around, make friends, talk to each other, talk about the characters and storylines and be what normal fans can be. Our fandom is not, and cannot be that way until we are past these seven episodes and virtually guaranteed a Season 3. We aren't given that chance to be normal, because we stepped forward and basically put ourselves out there to say that we were going to be faithful to this show, give us a chance, tell US what it will take to save this show, keep this show, and preserve this show. And we got it. But we only got part of it.

The show needs numbers. And now that the review episodes are gone, and the pilot episodes are gone, and now we are into the second half of the season without a rope, it's going to be more and more difficult to get people to watch and stay watching during those first thirty most vital minutes. CBS will do their part, as much as they deem fit, whether we like it or not. We HAVE to do our newly designated part to meet them halfway.

The Nielsen ratings suck. We can't change them overnight to suit our needs. We have to play on that field, under those rules, because the ball is already in play. We have to finish the game under the existing rules, that is just how it has to be. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. NCIS has had no problem finding said Needles. CSI found those needles. Ghost Whisperer found needles to keep them from going over the brink. We have the opportunity and several chances to find those needles, something that they don't have to do, but we do.

The media is coming out with quotes and articles on Jericho again. Blogs are starting to kick into motion again. Don't just hang on what you want it to say, or one part you want to believe in, and disregard the rest. As ka4ist and others have stressed many times, read it. Reread it. Digest it. Read between the lines. Read how the words are carefully stated. And even if it is positive, don't get lax and figure that it's all good and taken care of. Because, the reality is, it's not. This is also the same corporation who rushed to announcement, without even having the actor's resigned, just to get us to stop nutting them. This is the same corporation who made no bones about it, that they would do what they could, but it was in the fan's hands to get people to watch, and that things were still reliant upon their system, nothing else. Nothing has changed, other than us as fans who have sat back and just figured the deed is done, and it will take care of itself. (Or at least that is what the general actions have conveyed.)

Participate. Those of us who were around for Save Jericho still have a job to do. Operation Watch Jericho is still in our hands. It's ok to have fun, make friends amongst us, and have some relaxation moments, but not a permanent siesta. We still are charged with the mission to get out there, motivate present fans to keep watching even if they can recite the script line for line. We have to get newbies to the seats, and unconfused about the storyline since they are REALLY coming in mid stride now. We are all ambassadors in this, and each and every one of us has to welcome the newbies into the mythology and intricacies of the show, and get them to sit and watch it. And to keep watching it. If they get hooked, gettng them to help spread the love afterwards will come naturally to them, as it has to us. For the present fans, they need to be attentive, follow through with the deal that was made with us to watch, watch it their way, and to finish this game with a desirable result.

We have to prove that we are not a bunch of splinter groups, and cliques, and that we still take the future of this show very seriously. We have to prove that we are still one fandom under Jericho. Indivisible. For the sanctity and preservation of a show that a lot of us worked hard on. Personal egos, have GOT to go. We came together to save the show. We aren't done yet.

In closing, many of you are my friends. Others I haven't gotten to know you yet, but hope that I do. But let's remember what we all came here to do: we all stepped forward on the internet for the show. And this show, regardless of everything, still needs our help, and it's still going to be a long haul between now and the end of the year, but what we do now, is STILL vital to the survival of the show.

The fat lady was only clearing her throat. She still has an entire opera to get through.
_________________

Tassler Talks Jericho

Nina Tassler, the CBS network's president of entertainment, made a few statements today and many were about Jericho. You can find all the links at my blog Arabelles Alley. I did want to mention a few of her comments.

1. She admitted the hiatus was a mistake.(We always said that).

2. Tassler also admits she went on the Jericho message board to read comments.
"You want an audience to care as much as these people care," she said. "I went on the message boards and read the emails. It seemed like a segment of the population felt they weren't being counted."
(That's still true. Nothing has changed. CBS still counts only Nielsen families.)

3. About those summer ratings we thought were bad she says,"We're seeing a number a little bit better than we hoped for. It's a really chance for new viewers to get informed. And old viewers to be reminded. So we'll see."

4. Tassler says Jericho fans "had a knowledge and awareness of the show that was so passionate and so detailed."

5. She says the " volume and intensity of the fan campaign" was what saved the show.

6. Tassler commented that the Nielsen's "didn't reflect the kind of fan loyalty" the show had either. ( They still don't).

7. As for online campaigns Tassler says, "People really revealed how involved they were. And you also got a chance to see the way people talk to each other. I mean, that's really unique. It's one thing when you've got an audience communicating to someone at the network. But you really had a chance to see the way they talked to each other, the way they communicated about characters, the way they talked about storylines. That gives you a very unique opportunity right now. So I think we are looking at a shift and a change."

Stay tuned tomorrow for comments from the stars and producers.

BlogCatalog Community Organ Donation Awareness Campaign

Today is the day BlogCatalog has asked bloggers to take part in their Donation Awareness Campaign. I am proud to be one of the bloggers who will be participating today.

Organ donation - it could mean the difference between life and death for another person.

Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history. For people whose organs are failing because of disease or injury, donated organs and tissue may offer the gift of sight, freedom from machines, or even life itself.

Success Story! Alex Pratt of Los Angeles suffered from kidney disease for over 20 years. It was a huge burden on his wife and two children until he received his first transplant in 1993. Unfortunately, it only lasted 9 years, so he had to wait another four years for a second transplant. He would have never gotten a second chance if not for http://www.MatchingDonors.com and a paired donation program at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Donors Needed! In Australia, more than 1,700 people are waiting for organ transplants. In Latin America, more than 50,000. In Europe and the United States, more than 95,000. In China, more than 2 million. In Africa, there isn't enough organization to really know. Without an organ transplant, these people will die. There are many statistics and links to find a good story at Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_donation

For more information:

http://www.organdonor.gov/

http://www.organdonor.gov/donor/index.htm

Jericho On Facebook

Why is having a page on Facebook a good thing for Jericho?

Facebook is the second most visited website on the World Wide Web. It is surpassed only by MySpace. In June 2007 it was ranked between top 10–20 web sites, and was the number one site for photos in the United States.
It's the seventh most visited site in the United States.

# Users: Over 30 million
# Monthly new user average: 4 million
# Daily new user average: 150,000
# Page views: Over 15 billion per month
# Searches: Over 500 million per month

Facebook is like MySpace except I believe it's easier to set up. After you join you can add friends, photos, and set up networks.

1. Join

2. Same setup as MySpace. Edit your profile, add an avatar and pictures as you like, then write something on The Wall which is found on your page. It's basically a message you send out to the community.

3. You will also see a Mini-Feed on your page which displays 10 or more stories.It will show things like who your friends are, what network you've joined, etc.

4. Go to Groups and search for Jericho. You'll find a number of them including Jeff from Nutsonline. Click on Join Group and you're in. Nothing else to do.

5. If you join a group you can then go to their page, see members of the group, and click on their picture to ask them to add you as a friend. You can join many groups-not just Jericho- so we can spread the word everywhere.


As always, feel free to ask questions.

Digg Tutorial

1. Join

2. You can use the search feature at top right and type in Jericho. This will pull up everything that has Jericho in the title. Some will not be about our Jericho show so feel free to skip those. Just click on digg.

3. You may visit a website where you will see a Digg This button. It could be on the left or right. Some websites put the small Digg button at the end of their article so just look around.

4. If the Digg button shows a zero then you will be the first digger. This means you will have to submit the story by writing a short synopes and picking the category in which it belongs. It only takes a minute or so when you get used to it.

5.Once a submission has earned a critical mass of Diggs, it becomes “popular” and jumps to the homepage in its category. If it becomes one of the most popular, it qualifies as a “Top 10”. If a submission doesn't receive enough Diggs within a certain time period, it eventually falls out of the “Upcoming” section.
The system only works when users actively participate on a large scale, so make sure to do your part and Digg and content that matters to you!

6.Invite your friends or find them on Digg and add them to your friends list. Then your friends can track what you’re Digging and you can see what they Digg as well, enabling you to collectively find news together.
_________________

What's Next For Jericho Fans ?

I think it's very important that all Jericho fans read this article "Jericho Fans: Why Aren't You Using the Internet? (Cultural Learnings)". I believe it's true that we aren't using the internet as much as we did during the Nuts campaign. The board is not as busy as it once was. Many people think the fight is over and we need them back.

"I know that everyone is telling their friends, and this is great. But it was the internet that made this campaign a success: without Digg and without bloggers, I do not think Jericho would have returned. This wasn't a grassroots campaign, it was an internet campaign."
Myles is right. How did people learn about the Nuts campaign in the first place? It was via Internet. Michelle Malkin covered us and the campaign took off. Why? Because she is considered the blogger that everyone reads. We need her back.

"We’ve seen two weeks of repeats, and it seems to be like things have just reverted back to where they were before: no one seems to be talking about Jericho. While I know that many have taken a more grassroots approach at marketing the show to friends and family (Which is great), I think that this can only go so far. The way shows like Jericho become successful is through cultural consciousness."
We need more than telling family and friends. We need to take over the Internet like we did before.

Read what Myles says was the reason Save Jericho was successful and what our goals should be now. Here's my opinion on what we need to do:

1. Send feedback to CBS after every show. Give gender and ages of everyone who watched.
2. Digg everything you can. I have posted an explanation on the CBS board and will post it here tomorrow as well.
3. Sign up for Google Alerts and leave a comment on every blog and article you possibly can. I've also posted that explanation on the CBS board.
4. Make your own page on as many social networking sites as you can. Myspace, Facebook, Ning, Ziki. I'll be writing explanations for this soon.
5. Ask friends and family to join you online.
6. Post on as many forums as you can. Be subtle. I've posted on several CBS boards but not about Jericho. However, my signature is about Jericho so everybody sees it.

I'll have more tomorrow.