"Out of every fruition of success, no matter what, comes forth something to make a new effort necessary." (Walt Whitman)

A scant 3-weeks to the day the SAVE JERICHO campaign began, it ended in victory. Twenty-one days from the start to a rather gracious capitulation by CBS. It wasn't a perfect victory; our work had just begun. CBS gave JERICHO a second chance, but they cleverly placed the burden of proof on our shoulders. It was up to the fans to get new fans and improve the numbers watching JERICHO on TV.

CBS ran encore episodes throughout the summer, which was supposed to help us get more viewers for JERICHO. CBS even advertised those reruns -- at first. Then the advertisement stopped. As if that wasn't enough, CBS preempted JERICHO for pre-season football, movies and specials. They did the same to GHOST WHISPERER, but moved GW to a Saturday night slot so they wouldn't let down the fans.

So, why didn't they move JERICHO? A good question which remains unanswered.

Hard enough to get new viewers, but doubly difficult when the show is preempted. Triply difficult when there's no advertisement. CBS called our bluff by resurrecting the show for 7 episodes; they shows us they COULD advertise it properly. They then let us down. Why? Even Nina Tassler said in her last letter they were getting more than two million new viewers each week, and JERICHO numbers were consistant each week -- especially for summer reruns! That's pretty incredible, all things considered.

But CBS hasn't been consistant, but nor have JERICHO fans. We haven't exactly used these past three months to the best advantage, although we have been doing things to promote the series. We didn't necessarily use our time wisely. We let momentum slip, we let enthusiasm get sidetracked as we basked in the afterglow of success. It seemed like such a long time, but the days have gone by quickly, and now shooting on those seven episodes is almost over. What then?

If it's January before the new season begins, that gives us a bit more time to put butts in the seats, to coin a phrase. If it's October or November? Not such a long time, and there's still a LOT of work to be done if we want more than seven new episodes. That's essentially a 7-hour miniseries, and I don't know about you, but I want more.

We need to increase our current numbers. We should keep writing CBS, thanking them for the new season, and letting them know we'll continue supporting for JERICHO as long as it takes to get a third season. We have message boards, blogs and websites on our side. The Internet is our strongest weapon, and we need to hone this tool in order to get new viewers. We fought hard to keep JERICHO on the air, but we must fight even harder to keep it there. For each one who signed a petition, wrote a letter, made a phone call or sent nuts in the original campaign, there is a vast number who never heard of JERICHO. CBS believed they have upheld their end of the bargain, but it's up to us to prove we can do this without their aid. If we told the entire world about our fight to get JERICHO back, we can sure tell the same world that JERICHO will not go quietly into that dark night.

Let's get back to work, folks. The war isn't over; the hardest fighting is yet to come!

"I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world, and that in this new opportunity so see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general pace, or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by televison." (E B White, Removal in One Man's Meat, 1938)