"Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society."
(William Makepeace Thackeray)

There's been a lot of tension over the past few weeks. Just like during the original Save Jericho campaign, long hours of writing letters, making phone calls, sending emails and trying to find ways of promoting JERICHO has taken a toll on us. We're tired. We're testy. We snap at one another. We find fault in our fellow Rangers. We fight amongst ourselves. We growl and grumble, and we're afraid we'll lose the war with CBS. In short, we've fallen into one of the biggest pitfalls a large, diversified group can find during stressful times.

Not many of us remembered our sense of humor.

Ironic that humor is one of the many things we like best about JERICHO. Personally, I love how the writers always manage to temper tense, dramatic moments with humor. JERICHO is a good balance of humor and pathos, comedy and drama. No matter how bad things get, something happens to make us laugh, usually at the exact moment it's needed. The writers use those humorour moments to give the audience a break from all the excitement, and why not? Life isn't always serious, even in the midst of nuclear destruction. As someone said back in the 60s, "There's always a little heaven in a disaster area." (Bonus points if you know where that quote comes from!)

Examples are found all through JERICHO. In WHY WE FIGHT, in the midst of prepping for battle with New Bern, Johnston is told Hawkins has a satellite connection. The former mayor utters a hilarious line about going to war with the nearest "Costco." In CASUS BELLI, there's Sean the "Vibe Guy," and his "internet" solution. In RED FLAG, Stanley makes "what critics call the world's best Tango Margarita." And, you can't top "Mimi vs The Chicken" scene in the middle of the emotionally charged A.K.A.

Not only is there humor in JERICHO, but there were humorous moments throughout our entire Save Jericho campaign. We got a good laugh from videos of NutsOnline's peanut deliveries to CBS, and don't forget videos like "The NUTS-Team," "Dukes of Jericho" and "Dear CBS." The humor threads on JRP, RFJ and the CBS forums ran the gamut, and kept us smiling. Even the forum members related stories about every day life, their families, pets, neighbors and friends -- all in the name of keeping our spirits running high. We could laugh at ourselves, and enjoy all those little things that make life worth living.

Though the first battles are over, let us not forget those moments when we smiled and laughed together. The good times when we were united in our cause. Days when we stood beside our fellow Jericho Rangers, working together for the same goals. Wo what if things have gotten rough again? We don't have to let the hard times destroy what we've built through camaraderie and connection with one another. Sure things are tense again, but this time let's not turn on one another. Instead, let's smile and remember the reason we started this in the first place. Let's not take ourselves so seriously we can't remember how to laugh. Keeping JERICHO on the air is serious, but let's not make so serious it becomes a burden to bear. Let's let it remain a labor of love.

"Humor is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man's superiority to all that befalls him." (Romain Gary, Promise at Dawn)