Customer Reviews

Jeremiah - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Why only four stars? Well, I have to knock it down a bit for Sam Egan's episodes because while they did improve as the season went on, they just could never compare to JMS'. I hope in the coming seasons a writer will be able to jump on board and pick up the reins where JMS left off and keep the momentum going. Also, I was a bit disappointed to see that it is not being presented in Widescreen as that would have been the smarter move for MGM to make.

The premise might not be for everyone as it is a dark and grim view of our future but the underlying message is about hope. The characters in this series are at a crossroads -- they can continue to prey off the remains of the "old world" until there is nothing left or they can try to rebuild their world into something better than what came before them.

Season one was a bit of a bumpy ride and perhaps had a slow start but it was worth it in the end. I followed this show after being a fan of Babylon 5 for many years and knew it was going to be worth it if I just held out long enough. Boy, was I was right!

It was fun to pay attention to the little details that were semi-hidden on the first viewing, only to discover that they all contributed to the greater arc of the show. Even the "bad" episodes all tied into the larger picture and became part of a wonderful tapestry called, JEREMIAH.

Some of my favorite episodes that had my head spinning for days at the numerous possibilities presented were FIREWALL, TRIPWIRE and the two-part season finale, THINGS LEFT UNSAID.

If you haven't had a chance to see this show, I strongly urge you to check out this series, as it is one of the most thought-provoking and intelligent shows produced. Give it a season and if you aren't hooked by the end, return it or donate it to your local library. However, I have a feeling that you will either tune into Showtime to see season two or you will be anxiously awaiting the next season's set to arrive at your door.

Call me weird, but this show is almost a study of human nature. It vividly portrays the many possible ways humans will react when they have lost everything. Some will turn to crime, victimizing everyone so as to better their own condition. Others will turn to despair, and simply lead lives that ultimately amount to nothing. And sadly, very few will try to help their fellow human beings, at a cost to them.

It is sad to think that if the show's premise really did happen, we would have more "raiders," "psychos," and "animals" than we would have people like Jeremiah.

Anyway, I came upon this show on a Sam Goody store. I was browsing their dvd tv section, when I saw this boxset. I had never even heard of this show before, but I took a chance and bought it on an impulse buy. Let me tell you, it was the best 70 something dollars I've spent.

One of the best sci-fi series in a while, it is smart and well written. All the episodes, while seemingly loosely connected, actually weave a deep story arc about the rebuilding of a civilization gone wrong.

I'm wondering if the "reviewer" Upright Ape has even seen this series. What makes me wonder is when he refers to this series as having pretty FX. I mean, this series is probably the only sci-fi series that doesn't really have much in the way of special FXs. I mean, unless he's calling the big explosion in episode 3 a major FX? As for sayng this series is a knock off of a knock off, is like calling Star Trek a knock off of any other space fairing piece of sci-fi that came before it. If that's the case, I can say that Star Trek is a knock off of the old Lensman series, which most modern sci-fi is derived from.

He then goes on to mention some rather obscure (at least to me) series and book, and then says this is the most overused theme in sci-fi? I'm sorry, but while I do agree that the basic premise of Jeremiah has been used before (what in sci-fi has never been done before?) the series, as a whole has a very unique way of portraying the after effects and the goals of the people living in this world. The fact that the eldest were killed by a virus is only the setting of the story. It's like saying that any space show is merely a knock off of another, which we all know is quite fallacious, since while the setting might be space, each show creates their own universe that is radically different from any other.

I think jeremiah (based on a series of graphic novels by hermann huppen) is an excellent show, and another example of JMS at his best. Although some of season 1 fell a little flat (mostly scripts NOT written by JMS), it is still an excellent show for any that like long, arc based entertainment. I was actually impressed with Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and I never thought in a million years I would say that. The stories are entertaining, and sometimes frightening (Firewall, Tripwire, etc.) Most importantly, it sets the stage for what has so far been an outstanding season 2. As a HUGE JMS fan, I can't wait for this set to hit shelves.

In this series by the creators of Babylon 5 (which I liked much less than Jeremiah), Luke Perry plays Jeremiah, a kind of lost, disaffected mid-20s guy who 15 years earlier lived through what's come to be known as the Big Death - a bioweapon hormone-based virus that 15 years earlier wiped out everyone who was past puberty. So it was that civilization was totally engulfed in post-apocalyptic chaos, since the only people who were left living were the children.

Things haven't changed much in 15 years. In fact, with supplies from "Before" rapidly waning, things may actually be getting worse. There's no electricity or running water or long-distance communication any more, batteries and gasoline are worth their weight in gold, food is hard to come by, and society is basically total anarchy. They're living off the scraps of the world "before."

In the midst of all of this, Jeremiah's on a quest to find the place that his parents told him they were heading to for safety before they disappeared 15 years earlier. He assumes they're dead like all the other adults, but still wants to know "how their story ends."

In the pilot he meets Kurdy, who is played to pitch perfection by Malcolm Jamal Warner as this slightly younger, very lonely guy and they sort of form a team, realizing there's strength in numbers. He's looking for something too - he just isn't sure what that might be yet.

The series is about the really gritty, harsh world they live in, the political battles between the various factions that want to take over, and the hope of a better tomorrow. The story telling is very intimate. The scripts are often punctuated by quiet, revealing moments for the characters, and the show makes no bones about how much the inhabitants of this world constantly suffer, so it's really harrowing at times, but the characterization and acting and plot are extremely gripping.

I originally caught this when it aired on Showtime and bought the season on DVD, and I wasn't sorry. The world of the show is very realistic, and the dialogue is fascinating, because none of these characters went to school much, and they all talk and act like you'd expect people whose world ground to a traumatic halt as children to act. They're bratty, selfish, manipulative, never stupid (survival skills born of necessity and all that) sometimes painfully naive, and always hopeful that things will return to the way they were "before."

The DVD has hours of extras that show exactly how much thought has gone into building the mythos of this show. Showtime is just now going to start airing the second half of S2 in September 2004 (the last new episode aired November 2003) and no one is sure about a third season. But this is modern sci fi at its best and most gripping, and while the price is a bit steep at nearly $80, it's well worth it for the quality. Who would have thought that a show starring Dylan from "90210" and Cliff Huxtable's only son could be this good? =)

As a "nerd", I just love the "if nerds like it, it's bad" review. For what it's worth, some of the "nerds" out there happen to be quite intelligent, and read more, and have more knowledge about life, the universe, and everything, than some. J. Michael Stracynzki's take on a possible post-apocolyptic world is much more convincing than most of this sort of story. This isn't too surprising, considering the intelligence he's shown in everything else of his I've seen and read. Give the show a chance - it'll grow on you.

Watched Seasson I on Showtime, then bought the DVD. I liked it that much. Good acting and I enjoyed the storyline. However the BIG Question now - when is Season II being released on DVD????

The world ends not with a bang but a virus. The "Big Death" has wiped out 6 billion people made up of teenagers and adults and left a world full of orphaned children. Jeremiah is one of these orphaned children trying to find his way in a post-apocalyptic world created from the memory of a dead world. Jeremiah's goal in his new world and new life is to help as many people along the way as he can. His other goal is to find the mysterious "Valhalla Sector" that his father told him about before he died. Somehow it is tied into the tragedy of the past and the fate of the future.

J. Michael Strazyncski's latest series written and developed for Showtime is adapted from Herman Huppen's comic book of the same name. While the scope of "Jeremiah" is much smaller than "Babylon 5", the stories are just as well told and focus more on character than technology. Luke Perry as the title character provides a fresh spin on a character that could easily have fallen into cliche. Malcolm-Jamal Warner provides balance for Perry's altruistic attempt to try and right the wrongs of the world. The two have chemistry on screen and make even the weakest episodes interesting.

While "Jeremiah" has a way to go before it can follow in the rather large footsteps of "Babylon 5" and "Crusade", it's off to a promising start. Stracyznski wrote the pilot as well as roughly half 19 episodes included in this six disc first season boxed set. While the writing does occasionally fail to deliver, the series provides interesting and powerful entertainment as this new venue allows Stracyznski to tackle a number of subjects he wasn't able to with the broad canvas of "Babylon 5". One of the weaknesses of the first couple of episodes is the villain Theo. While it's interesting to see a woman cast as the "bad guy" in a series like this, the character isn't threatening enough.

The picture quality is pretty good overall. The first disc has the 90 minute pilot episode (which, by the way, is available as a free disc with some sets of "Stargate-SG1: Season Five"). I was surprised that the sound is presented only in Stereo Dolby Digital Surround and not in the 5.1 format that's so popular with many new series. The sound quality is fine if a bit less sophisticated and involving than other similar sets.

The extras are, curiously, on the first disc and are pretty slim. There's 1 audio commentary from Perry and Warner (nothing from creator/producer/writer JMS)on the pilot. Also included are deleted scenes for the 90 minute pilot, a stills gallery and a short featurette on the series that's pretty standard and was produced as a promo piece for Showtime.

The price is certainly right; unlike "Star Trek: The Next Generation" or "Babylon 5" the 19 episodes (including the 90 minute pilot)and slim extras are priced fairly low for 6 discs. But, then, fans could have recorded it off Showtime and gotten almost everything here with the exception of the extras. Perhaps next time MGM will get it right with "Jeremiah". As it is, the series is well worth viewing and shows considerable promise. I didn't care for the accordion fold-out packaging (which is similar to that for Fox's "Dark Angel" boxed sets). Let's hope JMS has a chance to complete this interesting series to the planned conclusion.

Jeremiah is set in a post-apokalyptic world where a virus has killed all adults. 15 years later, most people are fighting over the little crumbs that are left from the "old world", while some factions are trying to rebuild "their" versions of a new nation.
Jeremiah is all about hope in a hopeless world, about using and abusing power in order to build a society out of the ashes.
'Jeremiah' has complex characters, an interesting story arc and fantastic dialogs. And btw, I saw M-J Warner only on 'The Crosby Show' before watching this series and couldn't believe he is such a great actor!
To conclude, 'Jeremiah' is just one of the best shows I have seen on TV in a long time.

I loved this series and was one of the lucky few to see the complete season 2.

Will they ever release season 2 on dvd? I have purchased multiple copies of season 1 for friends and family and we would all enjoy the final season.

Hell, send me the master copies and I'll slap together some dvds for MGM to distribute. I know I'm not alone.

I enjoyed Jeremiah - The Complete First Season totally. I might be a little bit too much into Sci-Fi or Apocalypse type movies, but this series contains something more - some guesses on human nature in time of crises, and of course some cliches are also present. At the end it left me with a lot of yearning for the Second Season - which is still not available on DVD. It sort of feels like injustice has been committed.