Jeremiah

There are very few programs on television that are allowed to cover gritty aspects of the world in such a detailed manner. For the team that puts together "Jerimiah" however, they have the opportunity to do so because they have given themselves a new world to base these realities out of. By carefully keeping the series ever-real, and not allowing cheap humour to overtake it like so many programs have, they leave themselves with quite a credible piece of work to their name.

Wow. For anyone out there who is a die-hard sociological and/or post-Apocolyptic scifi fan, this series is for you. An excellent rendering of what, sadly, everyone calls a 'comic book,' this translation of a 'graphic novel' is captivating. The characters are believable, which makes the scenarios believable. Most importantly, we are drawn into the times, and we have heroes to root for. Jeremiah is intelligent and thought provoking, which will no doubt be unappealing to many. No, there are no fancy special effects, so that will disappoint many also, and every now and then we run into continuity questions, but the story-lines well make up for that. Luke Perry and Malcom-Jamal Warner deserve kudos for their acting skills (and made me forget their origins), as does anyone who plays a major or minor part in this series. For anyone who likes a good, intelligent story, a good drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat and rooting for good to best evil, you will relish this series. Yes, I gave it a 9 out of 10, as that is well-deserved.

I'm not exactly an expert on Sci-Fi shows and Jeremiah would be one of a handful that I've watched, and although I'm normally turned off by anything that has to do with Sci-Fi I decided to give this new Showtime series a chance. I wasn't disappointed with Jeremiah's pilot episode at all, it had a promising start and will hopefully maintain its level of originality. Luke Perry & Malcolm Jamal Warner's chemistry seems a little iffy at first, but they work well together. Theo's character is certainly a refreshing villainess that I could see myself loving to hate and the actress does a wonderful job in portraying her. Hopefully the ratings will be sweeter to Showtime in this venture than they were with Leap Years, although this time around I think they've conjured up the right formula to see that happen.

There have been plenty of post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows, and JEREMIAH stands out as a decent example of the genre. This brief series (two seasons) follows Luke Perry as Jeremiah who wanders around parts of what had been the U.S., trying to put things back together after a virus has wiped out most of humanity. He has to deal with all sorts of folks, including various bad guys who have decided that are now in charge. The show amounts to a sort of post-modern Western. Perry is quite convincing as an emerging leader in his typically understated way. Sean Astin is on hand for some episodes, and Malcolm Warner from The Cosby Show plays Jeremiah's closest ally. At times, it is painfully evident we're watching a low-budget Canadian-lensed show. But various plot twists and Perry's commanding presence keep things moving along.

The general theme gives the potential for a whole world of plot possibilities. The characters are very engaging, specially the buddy thing going with Jeremiah and Kurdy (Perry and Warner). Marcus, Mr. Smith, Lee, Erin ... all the characters were interesting. Even the extras, or the bad(?) guys. It's not just about surviving ... it's about moving on, hope, and building a future. Most of the time, it didn't come out too preachy, but JMS shows somehow tend to be that way.

Each season has an underlying plot that connects the episodes together, but each episode has it's own story. It has a powerhouse season ender for the 1st season, and a powerhouse opener for the 2nd season. I liked all the episodes, although the last episode of season 2 (of the series, in general) felt rushed, as the writers knew they had to end the season abruptly.

Acting was pretty good, but sometimes (not often), the dialog seems a bit corny, which makes it tough to act out with credibility, hehehe.

I was real disappointed that this wasn't renewed, while more shows with much less story to tell last pretty long. This is an excellent show that not enough people watched. If it somehow gets a 3rd season, I'd continue watching it. :)