READER MARIO FANTE WRITES:

Given all your excellent posts on disaster preparedness and emergency kits, you might be interested to know that the only show on television that dealt realistically with the problems of Americans recovering from a massive disaster in the U.S. – Jericho – has been cancelled after only one very promising season.

Every episode was not only better than any given installment of 24 (from any season), but each week it showed what challenges Americans would have to overcome if the country fell apart overnight (with 24 major cities being nuked at once). No sensationalism, just clearly showing what stresses and problems they’d have to face (in addition to a compelling backstory and subplot mystery about who attacked us and why), and how this particular Kansas town tried to survive in the aftermath and rebuild.

I was hooked on this show from the start. It had some of the best writing on TV, great actors, and memorable, fully-developed characters, and a Firefly-like devoted following. I loved it, and am sad to see it go. All the episodes are still online last I checked, in case you’ve never seen it.

Maybe it’s not your thing, but there’s an online petition to save it that went up just a few hours ago, and already has north of 17,000 signatures. CBS’ website went down for a while, possibly under the burden of distraught fans, and they’ve been getting calls all day about it.

Thanks and best regards.

I’m afraid I never saw it, but that’s no evidence of its viability — I don’t watch much TV, really. At a guess, that’s the show’s weakness — the kind of people who might have been its biggest fans are all busy online. . . .