for the uninitiated: jericho was a tv series that began in 2006, and tells the story of a small town in mid america and how it's residents struggle to survive after nuclear explosions destroy over two dozen cities, plunging the country into complete chaos. In addition to the storylines involving how the town coped, one character there just happened to know more about the attack than anyone else, and their storyline followed their attempt to uncover the truth and deal with those behind it.

The first season ended on a cliffhanger, with the town defending itself against an attack from another town who wanted it's resources. but unbeknown to all the combatants, help was on the way.

the show was then cancelled as the network that broadcast it adjudged the ratings too low to warrant it's return. but this inspired it's fans to act. And a campaign to get them to relent paid dividends. Thus jericho gained a second season, although this one was a mere seven episodes.

if you haven't seen the first season you may wonder how a show can inspire such devotion. and the answer is simple. good storytelling. both in the stories of some highly appealing characters, and in the gradual reveal of the truth about the attacks. and some pretty exciting action at times as well.

Now, the second season does try to bring in new viewers, and there is enough information at the start of the first episode to get you up to speed if you haven't seen it before. Having seen the first season I can't say how possible it will be for you to get into the show at this point. so you may prefer to start with season one.

so, for the fans: the seven episodes of season two are all here, spread over two discs. and they pretty much get through an entire season of story arc over the course of these [although the dvd does give tantalising hints about the other storylines that a full second season would have contained]. the lower budget for this season does mean that things were somewhat paired down, but the quality of the production is such that the only difference you'll really notice is in the cast, which is slightly paired down. only a select group of characters are in all the episodes. some of the others do show up at least once or twice over the course of the season, although one character from season one isn't present and we never find what happened to them.

the army of the new allied states of america, a grouping of states in the west of the country, now occupy the town, and thus there are some strong parables to current events in iraq here. but it's not heavy handed, and it's excellently done, forcing you to think for yourself. there's a shocking conclusion to episode four, and you won't forget it for as long as you live. and the ending of episode seven does manage to pretty much close off the show, whilst still leaving enough going on in case it could ever come back.

word of advice about episode four: DO NOT read the description for episode five on the inlay, as it does give something away.

the first disc contains the first four episodes, and the second disc contains episodes five to seven. there is no direct scene access, and the only subtitles are english for the hard of hearing. english is the only language track as well.

extras are pretty good. on disc one you will find deleted scenes from episodes one two and four. and all of these have commentaries. so watch the scenes, and then listen to find out why they were cut.

on disc two are deleted scenes from the other three episodes, also with commentaries. the ones for episode five contain an extended version of a key scene, which is well worth a look. the ones for episode six do give a longer scene for an appearance from a couple of characters who didn't get much of a look in this season, so that's worth watching. as are the scenes from episode seven, for a fascinating rough cut of a scene that required a lot of visual effects.

and on the second disc you will also find an alternate ending to episode seven. this ends on a cliffhanger, and would have set up a third season had it been broadcast. it's the last half of the final episode, albeit it with a couple of scenes for two characters playing out diffently to the broadcast version.

there are two documentaries: the twenty five minute rebuilding jericho. this is on disc two and is a good and interesting and entertaining look at the season. and the ten minute nut job. also on disc two, this is the fascinating and entertaining story of how the fan campaign got the show renewed.

there are also commentaries for all seven episodes, and for the alternate ending. all these are good and entertaning, although the ones on episodes two and five are the liveliest, and the one on episode one is the most informative. but they're all worth a listen.

an excellent package for a second season that it was nice to have. so long jericho. It was great to have you back. even if it was only for a little while

This DVD is a fantastic continuation from Series 1, moves very quick, sadly is only 7 episodes long due to CBS believing the ratings were too low. But dont let this put you off the series is full of great special effects, fantastic acting and great twists. The series closes in a great style with 2 alternate endings allowing for closer with the first ending, in a way which enotional satisfying, and a 2nd alternate ending which leades on into a 3rd series. Definately worth the price for an amazing final few episodes to the franchise!!!! will miss this little gem of a tv show!