If you’ve ever wanted to meet the cast and crew behind Jericho, this is your big chance. Brad Beyer (Stanley Richmond), Clare Carey (Mary Bailey), Esai Morales (Major Beck), April Parker Jones (Darcy Hawkins) and Bob Stephenson (Jimmy Taylor) are scheduled to appear as well as writer/producer Matthew Federman and crewmen Mike Loomer and Eric “Dr. Booty” Kieltyka. This will be an amazing opportunity for one and all.

With the tough economic conditions facing many fans, registrations are currently lower than expected, and planners are trying to assess what the final numbers look like. In order to break even they are looking to have 50 to 75, so if you’re planning on going and have not yet registered, please do so right away.

The event is taking place April 24th thru 26th at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City, CA.

Learn more and register here:

http://welcomehometojericho.com/

-Rubberpoultry

Before I tell you the story, I want to say that I’m fully aware of just how lucky I am to have the opportunity to communicate with, know, and visit with these people. I pinch myself every time I think of it. I wish I could have brought everyone along, but, unfortunately, that would have been impossible. Instead, I thought I’d give you the run-down on what it was like and give you the skinny on what everyone is doing.

First off, I never expected this to be as big as it was. There are a few writers, producers, and crew with whom I stay in fairly close contact. I had about six or seven solid confirmations to the dinner invitation I sent out, so I fully expected that I’d be meeting with those folks. Word began to spread,however, and what started out as a small thing blossomed into a decent reunion of sorts for cast, crew, and writer/producers.

Unfortunately, Carol Barbee and Jon Steinberg couldn’t make it, but for good reason. Both have pilots being made for a chance on the fall schedule. Carol is actually working on two shows, Three Rivers (which is her pilot) for CBS, and Beautiful Life (on the CW), which she is executive producing. Jon wrote a pilot for Fox called Human Target, which is based on a DC Comics character. I’m very excited about both shows and hope that we see them go to series.

So, I arrived at the restaurant where we’d agreed to meet, and when I get there, Erik “Dr. Booty”  Kieltyka is sitting in the bar waiting for everyone to arrive. We had a great conversation, and right away, I felt right at home. My friend Mike Loomer arrived next, greeting me with a big bear hug. It was great to see and catch up with him in person. He’s awesome. Plain and simple.

If I recall correctly, Matthew Federman, Robbie Thompson, and Stephen Scaia walked in, which was especially cool, since I’ve gotten to know and even work with them a bit over the last half year or so. Things start to get blurry after this, but I believe series co-creator Josh Schaer arrived after that, and then a few minutes later, I believe Bob Stephenson walked in. I was totally shocked at that point, since I thought the group who had arrived up until that point was pretty much going to be it. All of those guys were great. I’m not sure what was more fun — interacting with all of them or observing the excitement they exhibited when seeing each other.

I don’t recall the exact order from here, but I about fell over when one by one, Lennie James, Michael Gaston, and Kenneth Mitchell walked in the room. Lennie is a riot, and greeted me by saying “We’ve met before.” I couldn’t believe he remembered. Michael Gaston said “So, you’re Rubberpoultry? I know you.” Meeting Kenneth was great. He’s very down-to-earth and easy to talk to.

I asked Jericho fan PMary (who helped organize the bilboard project, among many many other things) if she wanted to come since she lives in the area, and she was able to make it also. It was awesome to finally meet her in person. She was kind enough to shoot the pictures posted here.

The restaurant we were in was closing early, so we decided to look for another place that was open later. A couple of people from the group went out and investigated, and after finding a place, we walked to another restaurant. Along the way, we ran into Brad Beyer. Any Jericho fan would have about flipped to see five of the cast members and several well known writer/producers and crew walking through Universal Citywalk. It was quite a sight.

On the way over, I talked with series co-creator Josh Schaer about the formation of the show. It was fascinating to hear him describe he and Jon brainstorming in Jon’s living room about what we all got hooked on. He’s got some really cool projects in the works, and I hope we get to see them on our TV screens soon.

Once we arrived at the restaurant, I sat down, and Michael Gaston sat down to my right. Next to him was Kenneth Mitchell, and across from me was Lennie James. To my left was Josh Schaer.

I spent quite a bit of time in the beginning talking to Michael Gaston. It seems I was very lucky to have him there as he lives in New York, and was just in town for the week. He is always working on something, it seems. He’s been guest starring on a show I really love called Fringe. We talked about that some and a few of the other projects he’s been working on.

Kenneth came straight over from shooting Ghost Whisperer. He’s been a regular on that show for a while now. He is playing a version of one of the main characters on the show. It seems one of the main character’s spirits jumps into his body from time to time. I haven’t watched much of GW, but I think next time it’s on, I’ll have to check it out.

Lennie is playing a NY lawyer in a new pilot written by Jericho writer Frank Military. Lennie is freaking hilarious. One funny moment of the night happened when everyone but him had gotten their food. He was getting more and more frustrated as everyone had their plates delivered. After asking the waiter several times if his food was coming, I said, “I can’t help but picture you as Hawkins, snapping that guy’s neck right now.” He laughed and then one-upped me, saying, “No, if I were Hawkins right now, he would have just fallen to the ground, and you would have never seen me move.” Everyone started laughing, and then he said, “Picture me sitting in the kitchen with the entire wait and kitchen staff passed out on the ground, with me sitting in the middle eating a burger” (or something to that effect).  It was a riot.

I made my way to the middle of the table at one point and got to talk to Matt Federman and Steve Scaia. They’re writing for a show called “Warehouse 13″ on Sci-fi. The show features a secret warehouse where supernatural objects are stored. They’ve also got a feature in the works and are awaiting word on a pilot they’ve written. I’ve read the script, and it’s an incredible show. Keep your fingers crossed!

On a strange but true personal note… I learned that Steve and I had likely been at the same place at the same time more than once. Steve and I grew up about 45 minutes away from each other, and we both graduated the same year. It also happens that we were both in marching band, and he remembered coming to the band competition that our school hosted each year. We definitely were both there, and may have even competed at several other competitions over the years. Small world, I guess.

Robbie Thompson has become a great friend over the last year via phone and e-mail, so I was really looking forward to meeting him. He wrote one of my favorite episodes of Jericho (A.K.A). Right now, he is working with Jon Steinberg on “Human Target” and has other things in development. Later this year, he has a series coming out on the Web called “Ark.” I was fortunate enough to work on some of the visuals, as well as the logo for the show. It’s a really cool project, and I can’t wait to see it finished.

My pal Mike Loomer has been working on The Jonas Brothers’ show and is somehow still sane! Next month, he’ll go back to work on Raising the Bar, which is a legal drama starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek. Unfortunately, with such a large group, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him as much as I’d hoped. 

If I recall correctly, Dr. Booty told me he was working on The Cleaner. That guy is a total party and was lots of fun to be around.

I made my way over to Bob Stephenson, and he told me that he’s starring in a new pilot, but I don’t think I ever caught the name of it. He’s a very approachable, extremely nice guy. Everyone was talking to him about all of his commercials. It was funny to hear them rib him about them.

One of the things I was most looking forward to was being able to thank Brad Beyer in person for doing the voice-over for our commercial. Brad is just as you’d expect him. Really nice, and extremely approachable. He is also very humble. He thanked me (and, in turn, all of us) for everything we’ve done for the show.

About two-thirds of the way through dinner, Dan Shotz showed up. He’s very busy, so the fact that he made it was awesome. Unfortunately, Karim, who was planning to be there, didn’t make it.

Dan is such a welcoming guy. He has always made me felt comfortable in person over the phone and via e-mail with whatever situation is at play. The rest of the group was razzing him a bit about the movie, and he commented that they definitely want to make it happen. I told him that their comments get everyone fired up. He acknowledged that and said they truly were working on it.

I was about to talk with him about Wondercon, but we got interrupted. I never got to return to the subject, but he told me to come by his office to visit and see what’s left of the main street sets, so I thought we might be able to talk about it then. Unfortunately, when I arrived he was out to lunch, so we didn’t get to talk. Of course, now I can confirm that it was indeed the comic book they were referring to. 

Dan’s assistant knew I was coming by, so I was able to wander around the sets (which are a combination of Jericho and Swingtown). There is still enough there for it to still feel like our small Kansas town. It’s amazing how much smaller it looks in person.

And I know everyone is wondering….where was Skeet? Apparently, he entertained the idea of coming, but ended up tending to his kids since it was near bedtime.

All in all, it was about exactly as you’d imagine it to be. Everyone was very friendly, and they all have great stories to tell. You could see the chemistry of the cast/crew/writers/producers from the start. They truly enjoy each other’s company, and as I mentioned, most of them keep in touch. I really hope that they have the chance to work on Jericho again. I know they’d like to.

It sounded like some of them are planning on coming to the Welcome Home to Jericho event, which is great news for fans. I wish I could make it, but, unfortunately, business has me tied up that weekend. A great time will be had by all.

Signing off for now! Enjoy the set pics below…

-Rubberpoultry

I am so glad to finally be able to get this off my chest! The Jericho story will continue in (at least) comic book form, if not in other ways, too. This has been in the works since last year, and for whatever reason, the announcement finally came today. The best part of all is that the original production team will be involved in the project. That means Jon Turteltaub, Carol Barbee, Jon Steinberg, Dan Shotz, and Karim Zreik will all be developing the story.

I know for many fans that it’s not ideal, but it’s a start. We’ve been told several times that a movie is in development, and Dan confirmed this when I visited with him last week. We’ll follow this story as it unfolds.

Also coming soon will be a recap of my visit with the cast/crew/writers/producers, which included a set visit.

-Rubberpoultry

WELCOME HOME TO JERICHO CHARITY EVENT

RECEIVES EXCITING GUEST CONFIRMATIONS

Anticipation builds for ‘family-style reunion’ in L.A.

to benefit military members and their families

Welcome Home to Jericho!  Amid nuclear bombs, heartache, and strife, Jericho was – and always will be – a lot like home to many of us.  It’s a phenomenal show and a special place where we still hold dear precious things and embrace values like friendship, family, love, community, and teamwork when everything else in the world may be falling apart.  For the fans and many people associated with the show, it’s probably a feeling that transcends the fictional TV “Jericho” and translates to what the show brought to us in real life.

Since Jericho gave us such a wonderful gift and reminded us of the many tangibles that truly matter, we have decided to celebrate it as the “family” we have become with Welcome Home to Jericho: A Charity Event (WHTJ), benefiting the Southern California Chapter of Operation Homefront, on April 24-26 at The Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California. 

Hosted by Jericho Rangers For Our Troops (JR4OT) on behalf of Operation Homefront, the Welcome Home fundraising event will focus on best serving our troops and their families through efforts dubbed Operation Summer Camp and Operation Back-to-School.  So, while fellow fans come together to meet each other and some of the show’s cast, writers, producers, and crew, the event also will address funding for the children of deployed troops, as they and their parents have so clearly captured the hearts of Jericho cast and crew and fans worldwide.

Some of the latest developments in the planning of Welcome Home to Jericho include:

• TV and film star Esai Morales (Major Beck) has confirmed plans to appear at the charity event, barring any scheduling conflicts, to show support for the troops and to promote his new show “Caprica,” whose pilot is scheduled to debut on April 21.

He will be joined by actress April Parker-Jones (Darcy Hawkins), Jericho writer/producer Matt Federman, on-set dresser Mike Loomer, and on-set prop master Erik Kieltyka (also affectionately known as “Dr. Booty”).  ShaunOMac of TV Talk on BlogTalkRadio also will be on hand to cover the event as part of his show.

Event organizers will provide further details on guest appearances as confirmations are received.

• Musical group Five for Fighting, whose music graced Jericho episodes and whose commitment to troop efforts is well-established, has agreed to donate CDs and other signed paraphernalia as auction auctions to benefit Operation Homefront.

• Registration for the event and details of the weekend, including a Bailey’s Welcome Party, a “Stimi” Wedding Reception, and a Green Family Brunch, can be found at www.welcomehometojericho.com.  There is a limited capacity for attendees, so it’s imperative to go ahead and pre-register.  There also are a limited number of rooms blocked for Welcome Home to Jericho attendees at a special cut-rate price.  Details regarding room rates and reservations, travel deals, and other exciting offers can be found on the WHTJ site.

• Sponsorships for the event, as well as opportunities to make donations, are still available.  If interested, contact Sponsorship Chair Stephanie Sokenis at 516-932-8656 or at info@welcomehometojericho.com.

• Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk-WjFb0T0k to see the poignant video produced, with assistance from Shelby of the Jericho4Kids Web site, to demonstrate the basis and commitment for the Welcome Home to Jericho Charity Event .

 A special TV community called Jericho, some big-hearted, never-say-die fans, a number of caring professionals from the TV drama, and many committed members of military-supporting organization are all coming together in an unprecedented show of humanitarianism and compassion to recognize the sacrifices made by our military members and their families.  Please join us!  As we have said since this event’s inception:  it’s not a party without you; it’s not a family reunion without you; it’s not Jericho without you! 

Julie/Welcome2CHO

Jericho Rangers Present Operation Home Cooking is available for purchase at www.welcomehometojericho.com.

All proceeds go to Operation Homefront to benefit families of fallen soldiers.

150 recipes from Jericho fans, family, and friends, including one from Jon Steinberg and one from Carol Barbee.

$14.00+$3.00 shipping.

Get your copy today!

Yep, you read that right…Jericho may be headed for the big screen.

Today, waves of excitement surged throughout the Jericho fan community as If Magazine reported in an interview with Jon Turteltaub that there is a Jericho theatrical movie in development. The article which you can read here, is the best news to come around in a long time for Jericho fans.

Jon Turteltaub stated, “We’re developing a feature for JERICHO. It would not require you to have seen the TV show, but it gets into life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be the bigger, full-on American version of what’s going on beyond the town in Jericho.” He also indicated that the cast would likely return if the movie comes to fruition.

After the story came my way through several emails and IMs, I immediately e-mailed Executive Producer Carol Barbee, and she confirmed that this story is indeed true. She said they have an incredible story developed, and we should all keep our fingers crossed as things move forward.

There has been speculation for some time that a movie was being developed, and from what I’ve gathered from chatting with some of the key players, it has been pursued at some level since the show was canceled. This interview takes things to a whole ‘nother level! Things like this don’t just slip out, and I believe there may be heavy momentum building toward seeing the story continued in theatrical form.

It’s a good day to be a Jericho fan!

Jason “Rubberpoultry” Moore

Those places also are providing a venue or two for fresh eyes who have become enamored of the series in its second (third?) life.  Take this comment posted yesterday on Save Jericho Again in regard to Redsox’s latest plan of attack: 

EKG said,

I thought Jason (Rubberpoultry) might send a message out to you for me since the last time I looked, the CBS site wasn’t working. So if you’re still out there, I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season!!! I also want to say that no matter what the future holds for Jericho, I hope you never ever lose that kind spirit I witnessed when you all saved the show the first time. Carry that with you in all you do! I really hope others have been inspired by you the way you did me because the world could use more people like that. We will always have the best fans anyone could ever ask for and we couldn’t possibly forget you - ever.

I have some things in the works that will hopefully get underway in 2009. Cross your fingers for me that we can get it off the ground! Of course if Jericho comes back, I will be glad to join in the fun there too if they’ll have me. I hope 2009 brings joy for you all. I know it’s tough times for many so I hope everyone stays positive and good things come to you. Here’s to making 2009 a special year!!!

Best regards,
Jennie Sword

What can you do to help Save Jericho Again?

Many of the fans started to work on the latest Save Jericho Again campaign in early November, when we were getting ready to launch the TV commercial that the fans funded on the UHD channel (NBC Universal’s High Definition Channel). We discovered that CBS had put Season One on Youtube and went about posting a paragraph on Myspace, FaceBook and Web boards all over the Internet that Jericho was alive and well on Youtube and was being shown on UHD.

On November 20, 2008, CBS Paramount and The CW surprised many when it scrapped its entire Sunday night line up and replaced it with Jericho at 7:00pm EST and a movie-of-the-week. With that announcement, many felt we had been given one more opportunity to show the executives and financial people at CBS Paramount and the other networks that Jericho was a valuable commodity worth continuing. A large group of us met at the UHD Board on November 20, 2008, and from that meeting, came up with Operation Phoenix: Jericho Rises from the Ashes.

This campaign is simple, but has a very real goal. We need to build a business case for continuing Jericho. How do we do that? First and foremost, we need every person we can in front of their television sets watching Jericho on the CW, especially Nielsen families. We also need people watching on Youtube, Netflix, buying DVDs and Itunes, and watching on the internet at places like Hulu.

We are putting together quantifiable stats and sending them to the executives at several of the networks, including CBS Paramount and NBC Universal.

Another important part of being counted and measured is continuing to step up the feedback and writing of letters and cards. Each week after the episodes air on the CW, we need to complete the feed back forms for the CW and CBS (both have Jericho in a drop pick list), and we are writing letters and sending them out on Mondays to Nancy Tellem at CBS and Bonnie Hammer at NBC.

On Thursdays, we are sending letters to Dawn Ostroff at the CW and D’Arcy Rudnay at Comcast. We believe that NBC Universal, which owns UHD and is showing Jericho and also owns SciFi, USA and other channels, is a logical home for Jericho. Comcast was in negotiations back in the summer with CBS Paramount to produce more episodes, so we are targeting them as well.

Feedback Forms we are completing each week include:

CW Feedback Form http://cwtv.com/feedback/comments

CBS Feedback Form http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php

Also contact your local CW station and complete feedback form.

http://cid-ab5f4eb663bc6e9f.skydrive.live…./CW%20affliates

Click link list of all CW Affliates in U.S. in both Word and Excel.

Operation Phoenix: Jericho Rises from the Ashes Campaign Outline

#1

We need to continue to write to Bonnie Hammer during the UHD TV ad run, and we need to keep a presence on the UHD Board. Letters out en mass every Monday.

Ms. Bonnie Hammer

President USA and Sci Fi Networks

NBC Universal Inc.,

30 Rockefeller Plaza,

New York, New York 10112

bonnie.hammer@nbcuni.com

#2

We need to go to IMDb as often as we can during the entire run of the show

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=jericho

#3

We need to mobilize every Ranger we can find and start to get the word out that Jericho is on CW at 7:00pm Eastern. We will be dealing with Football through January, so we need to really get the word out through Face Book, My Space and Craigs List. We are also looking to include, flyers, bumper stickers, car and truck signs, posting to bulleting boards and places where people congregate: Jericho is back on CW network Sunday nights at 7:00pm! Dawn and others are looking to design posters and Cher is looking to do posters and Bumper stickers/T-Shirts. They could use some help.

#4

Watching Jericho each week live so we can get Nielsen numbers. We need to focus in on getting people in front of their sets each Sunday at 7:00pm.

#5

After watching each episode we need to send CBS and CW Feedback like never before (addresses above).

#6 

Cards and letters out to Nancy Tellem at CBS Paramount each Monday morning

Ms. Nancy Tellem

CBS Paramount Network Television

4024 Radford Avenue

Studio City, CA 91604

Part 8:

Letters and cards to Dawn Ostroff at the CW, and letters, cards, and e-mails go to D’arcy Rudnay at Comcast each Thursday morning

Ms. Dawn Ostroff

The CW Television Network

4000 Warner Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91522

Ms. D’Arcy Rudnay

Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications

Comcast Corporation

One Comcast Center

Philadelphia, PA 19103

darcy_rudnay@comcast.com

We are going to as many Internet sites as possible and posting Links to CBS Youtube Play list for Season 1, which was launched November 1, 2008. We need all the help we can get. We are looking at places like college community boards, gaming and science fiction boards, your personal Facebook and MySpace pages, TV boards, newspaper talk- back or blogs in the General Comment section or TV section to get the word out.

We have hit places like AOL, Youtube, Yahoo, AOL, etc., but are looking at posting locally so all Rrangers can help by getting the word out. We started on November 8, 2008 and in 30 days we went from 1,000 views to over 1 million views of the episodes. Here is the message:

Just wanted all of you to know that CBS has put Jericho on You Tube. It’s the first CBS series to be released this way.

Jericho is an alternate future story of what happens when America is attacked, and the government crumbles. The people of the small town of Jericho must deal with the unthinkable and find a way to survive. Jericho shows how people rise to the challenges around them, and in today’s world, their story is inspiring. Come check out this great series that was too good for commercial television, but is watched by millions worldwide via the Internet.

 http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D9B106198C36985E CBS Play List

 http://uk.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D9B106198C36985E  (for outside US)

You are also invited to come join the Jericho community at UniversalHD (UHD) which is currently airing Jericho :

http://boards.nbcuni.com/universalHD/index.php?showforum=29

On November 20, 2008 CBS Paramount and the CW Network Announced that starting on Sunday night, November 30, 2008 at 7:00pm EST, that Jericho would start running all 29 of the Season 1 and Season 2 episodes in order from the pilot to the Season 2 finale Patriots and Tyrants.

Please let everyone know that Jericho is now showing on the CW and for those who have UHD (NBC’s HD cable channel) you can watch Jericho during the week at 2:00 pm and on Saturday nights at 8:00pm EST.

http://lounge.cwtv.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4 CW Board-Lounge

CW Promotion videos showing on IMDB, Veoh and AOL. First ones we have seen:

http://www.imdb.com/video/cbs/vi1418396441/

http://video.aol.com/partner/cw/jericho-tr…A1aKkcaQkwhVRd3

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v169359972Gb4M4…viewType=tvshow

Monday, Dec. 15         8:37 a.m., 10:06 a.m., 5:48 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 16        2:17 p.m., 3:18 p.m., 4:14 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 17    9:55 a.m., 3:37 p.m., 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 18       3:11 p.m. 4:20 p.m., 6:20 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 19            10:35 a.m., 11:22 a.m., 12:40 p.m.

Julie/Welcome