Now I’m watching it again. It hit me that “Jericho” was really a show before it’s time (like a lot of shows that are cancelled early usually are). If it had been aired now in the days of post-apocalytic/dystopian worlds fiction rising in popularity, and “Walking Dead” having a huge following of the TV show and graphic novel I think it would have gone for longer. So far, in re-watching the first season, I can only say that 2 episodes haven’t kept my entire attention. Every other episode is exciting, has some sort of action, and character development.
Can you say the same for “Walking Dead”? It’s like WD wants to be like Jericho, but it’s missing an ingredient. “Jericho” may not have a heavy philosophy attached to it, but characters do explore personal and moral dilemmas which audience members can relate to.
Plus, nuclear inhalation is a lot more likely than zombies so there’s always a sense of “omg what would we do if this happened tomorrow?”