As premises for television drama goes, "Jericho", at first glance, seemed more than a bit out of step with the times. Granted, terrorism is highly topical these days. And with President Putin of Russia kicking up a row over US missile shields in Poland and the Czech Republic, the ghost of Cold Wars past has rattled its chains, if only in a half hearted manner. But full on "The Day After", post-nuclear holocaust in the Heartland? In 2007?

But somehow the CBS show managed to meld its Cold War inspirations, most obviously the 1959 novel "Alas, Babylon" by American writer Pat Frank, where the inhabitants of a small Florida town have to come to terms with life following a nuclear war, a contemporary conspiracy theory sensibility, and just enough (or a tad too much, as some would claim) soap, to make for one of the more fascinating series currently battling it out with the 800 pound gorillas of reality TV.

But scripted television drama of this sort is not cheap to produce. And the network, as is too often the case, made some less than savvy scheduling decisions, and broke up the season halfway through with a lengthy hiatus. Ratings suffered, though not by much. But it was enough to convince CBS executives to axe the show just following the season finale, which of course ended in a massive cliffhanger.

But the fans of the show were not the sort to go gently into that good cancellation. Mere minutes after the first rumours surfaced on the impending death of the show, they were organising, at first through CBS' own Jericho message boards, and then through dedicated sites, such as Jericho Lives. But they knew that simply calling in and mailing irate messages to the network had a low probability of success, and would do little to get their campaign noticed. So they latched on to an idea that had worked in the past.

When the aliens among us show "Roswell" was heading for that great mothership in the sky, fans organised to inundate the network with bottles of Tabasco sauce, from a recurring plot point in the series. The show was subsequently renewed in no small part due to the dedication of the fans. The sci-fi series "Farscape" was cancelled on the heels of a fourth season finale cliffhanger. To illustrate that the show had a sizable number of female viewers, coveted by advertisers, and not just the usual suspects of "geeks", they mailed brassieres to the network, who responded by green lighting a mini series to bring closure to the story.

The Jericho fans decided to use a plot point from the season, maybe series finale, where the besieged townspeople answer an ultimatum by paraphrasing a WWII commander, by the Laconic message "Nuts!" So they started ordering shipments of nuts to the CBS offices. And more. And yet more. At the present time the network's New York offices have been snowed in by a staggering 50,000 pounds of peanuts.

That's the sort of legume barrage that would make an impression on most anybody. And it now looks like the fans may have swayed the executives. MSNBC reports that the show might be granted a second chance, in some form or another.

CBS, deluged with calls, messages and shipments of nuts signifying viewer displeasure, is reconsidering its decision, a source close to the production said Tuesday.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. A decision on whether to bring the show back, probably for a midseason run, is imminent, the source said.

One could make a strong case that the fans, if the rumours turn out to be true, have simply done the network a giant favour.

In the age of Tivo, DVDs, iTunes, and file sharing, the risk is ever greater for networks that alienating viewers, by getting them hooked on a show, only to pull the rug out from under them, will not simply make them mildly disgruntled, but might drive them away from future shows alltogether. More and more viewers may simply decide that they won't risk the aggravation, and rather wait and see if a series runs its course, before catching the whole thing on DVD or through legal, or illegal, downloads. In addition, a show ending with an eternal cliffhanger stands to make next to nothing in the increasingly important DVD market. After all, very few would knowingly pick up a pricy season box of DVDs of a show they knew going in was missing an end.

Yes, some shows are simply not economically viable. But producers may have to reconsider the practise of cancelling them without offering the viewers some sort of closure, or risk a lot more than simply being pelted with peanuts.


[UPDATE]

CBS has officially renewed the show. CBS exec Nina Tassler has announced that Jericho will return to the network as a mid-season show. The catch is, that if the show is to survive beyond this order of episodes, the ratings need to climb. One can only hope that the campaign itself has raised the profile of the show and brought it to the attention of potential new viewers.

Miss Tassler's message says the following in full:

Wow!

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of “Jericho” for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more “Jericho,” we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that “Jericho” will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting “Jericho” on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of “Jericho” in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.