Jericho for Sale: Fans Not Willing to Give Up on Cancelled CBS Drama

Towering high above Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California is an example of today's dedicated television viewer. Fans of the former-CBS serial drama Jericho, self-named Rangers, have erected a billboard offering their favorite show "For Sale". While acquisition of a billboard may seem extreme for most fandoms, Jericho fans are known for their innovative ideas which have changed the way future fandoms might deal with the loss of a beloved TV show.

After CBS' first cancellation of Jericho at the conclusion of its freshman season, viewers banded together to send 20 tons of nuts to CBS studios. Their barrage was in line with a quote from the season finale in which the town's hero, Jake Green, led battered Jericho, Kansas into battle against a neighboring town with a battle cry of -- you guessed it!-- "Nuts". CBS acknowledged errors made in cancellation of the series and brought it back for seven mid-season episodes which debuted in February 2008. They put the responsibility of increasing the number of season two viewers on the shoulders of the dedicated fans; a move fairly unprecedented in television.

Mediocre ratings led to a second CBS cancellation (though pulling 6 million viewers in a notoriously difficult time slot should be viewed as impressive). Fans immediately began to send postcards and letters to CBS, as well as other venues they thought might be interested in airing the remaining Jericho story. Nut deliveries have been made to Nielsen, who many Jericho fans blame for their show's cancellation due to an outdated viewership counting system.