JerichoNet

February 12
Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) will be followed by Welcome2Cho for Season 2 Jake GreenWhy would I choose Jake Green as my character of interest?  Can you hear the peals of laughter reverberating all over the world?  Because that’s the universe that pretty much knows that I love me some Skeet Ulrich, and I adore this character Jake Green…..and not simply because it’s Skeet bringing Jake to life, though to my simple mind, that would be reason enough.  My friend MikesMom even joked that there may have to be a restraining order involved as a result of my adoration, but that is SO wrong. I love him; I wouldn’t hurt him.  I don’t have a t-shirt that states “Some days, it’s just not worth chewing through the restraints.”  OK, I admit it – I really do own THAT shirt, along with a Jake-in-a-Towel shirt. But I digress….. To be honest, I was first drawn to Jericho and Jake, because I have a Skeet thang (I’m from the South….that’s the way a lot of us talk, so ya’ll get ready for an occasional Southern-ism).  However, as much as I joke about Skeet, his mere presence would not be enough to hold me through a 22-episode serial drama, especially one punctuated by the aptly named three-month Hiatus from Hell, because I don’t have time. However, post-Nuts! and late-night/early morning (“Well, it’s only 2 a.m…….I could probably do at least one more episode, and still be a functioning employee in the morning) CBS Innertube viewing sucked me in and created a Jericho fan and, more importantly, a Jake fan.  Here’s Jake in a nutshell (not even trying to make a joke here): Called the “prodigal son” returning home after five years to Jericho, Kansas, just as nuclear bombs are being dropped who-knows-where, Jake Green is the black sheep eldest son of Mayor Johnston Green, wife Gail, and supposedly goody-two-shoes brother Eric.  With a big secret about where he’s been and what he’s been doing during his absence from Jericho, Jake weathers the many mixed reactions to his return and finds inner strength and sometimes employs his trademark recklessness to take charge and try to help the people of Jericho and, most importantly, the people he holds most dear to survive the chaos of this man-made catastrophe.  That involves trading liplock and/or amorous hugs and sideways glances with a couple of schoolteachers and a pseudo-Marine chick (which I never bought, anyway); losing and finding and losing and finding again pieces of weaponry; and, as put best by CBS, giving us the best of Jake in the form of ever-intense Skeet, crispy Skeet, weepy Skeet, wide-eyed Skeet, in-a-towel-Skeet, Skeet bombs, Skeet punches, Skeet, Skeet, Skeet.That’s who Jake is…but why do I love him?  He’s the hotter, more evolved, decidedly more intense and less comical version of the character from “My Name is Earl.”  Like Earl who wins the lottery and wants to make amends to people he’s wronged in the past, Jake wins the lottery, too – he survives, he has a family, friends, and a woman or two (or three) who loves him – a little bit of  a He Ho, you might say. And whether consciously or subconsciously, he’s committed to righting his wrongs from the past and making the amends needed to gain the forgiveness and respect of the ones he hurt the most.  Sometimes awkward, sometimes heroic, but always with little forethought, Jake jumps ahead of himself to take care of people he loves.  It’s a drive and a force that consumes him and controls most of his actions.  I totally relate to that devotion and the jumping in with emotion first and thought later.         He bucks the ‘prodigal’ son stereotype.  Labeled the ‘recklessly wasteful’ offspring, he proves that a lot of his past experiences and relationships and questionable acquired skills actually serve as a strength in the quest for survival in a world that’s not the same, anymore.  I mean….after a nuke scenario goes down, do you really want that guy who’s in touch with your feelings, or do you want the bad boy who can pack heat, drive like NASCAR, show no fear in the face of enemies, and still look great in his unbelievable scruffiness while doing it?  Post-nuke, I’m just saying….save me first, and then you can touch my feelings later. So, who’s prodigal now?        Jake and the story of Jericho touches something in all of us that yearns for a place that’s always safe.  For a lot of us, that place is home, where no matter how prodigal you may be, no matter what your flaws, you are loved and accepted.  I love that Jake, even with his past and his problems with his father and other people, comes to value his home and his family and the love, drama, pain, laughs, and everything else that goes along with it I see something in Jake that I personally believe I see in almost everyone.  That is, there is usually some good in everyone.  Lots of times, it’s masked under bluster, ego, vindictiveness, or pain, but, with some work on my part, I can usually find some goodness underneath it somewhere.  And when it’s hardest for me to find it and I want to reach a negative conclusion about somebody’s worth, I try to remember that people act like they do for a reason.  They’re scared, so they lash out in anger.  They’ve been damaged by some trauma, and they can’t trust other people.  Or they’ve simply had their feelings hurt, so they respond in kind.   It’s a lesson in not judging a book by its cover til you actually take some time and effort to read the book.  The Book of Jake, with all that has gone before him, hides the “purty”….until we start to see what he’s actually made of, and believe me, we find that it’s quite attractive, both inside and out.     

Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) will be followed by Welcome2Cho for Season 2 

Jake Green

Why would I choose Jake Green as my character of interest?  Can you hear the peals of laughter reverberating all over the world?  Because that’s the universe that pretty much knows that I love me some Skeet Ulrich, and I adore this character Jake Green…..and not simply because it’s Skeet bringing Jake to life, though to my simple mind, that would be reason enough.  My friend MikesMom even joked that there may have to be a restraining order involved as a result of my adoration, but that is SO wrong. I love him; I wouldn’t hurt him.  I don’t have a t-shirt that states “Some days, it’s just not worth chewing through the restraints.”  OK, I admit it – I really do own THAT shirt, along with a Jake-in-a-Towel shirt. But I digress….. 

To be honest, I was first drawn to Jericho and Jake, because I have a Skeet thang (I’m from the South….that’s the way a lot of us talk, so ya’ll get ready for an occasional Southern-ism).  However, as much as I joke about Skeet, his mere presence would not be enough to hold me through a 22-episode serial drama, especially one punctuated by the aptly named three-month Hiatus from Hell, because I don’t have time. However, post-Nuts! and late-night/early morning (“Well, it’s only 2 a.m…….I could probably do at least one more episode, and still be a functioning employee in the morning) CBS Innertube viewing sucked me in and created a Jericho fan and, more importantly, a Jake fan.  Here’s Jake in a nutshell (not even trying to make a joke here): 

Called the “prodigal son” returning home after five years to Jericho, Kansas, just as nuclear bombs are being dropped who-knows-where, Jake Green is the black sheep eldest son of Mayor Johnston Green, wife Gail, and supposedly goody-two-shoes brother Eric.  With a big secret about where he’s been and what he’s been doing during his absence from Jericho, Jake weathers the many mixed reactions to his return and finds inner strength and sometimes employs his trademark recklessness to take charge and try to help the people of Jericho and, most importantly, the people he holds most dear to survive the chaos of this man-made catastrophe.  That involves trading liplock and/or amorous hugs and sideways glances with a couple of schoolteachers and a pseudo-Marine chick (which I never bought, anyway); losing and finding and losing and finding again pieces of weaponry; and, as put best by CBS, giving us the best of Jake in the form of ever-intense Skeet, crispy Skeet, weepy Skeet, wide-eyed Skeet, in-a-towel-Skeet, Skeet bombs, Skeet punches, Skeet, Skeet, Skeet.

That’s who Jake is…but why do I love him? 

  • He’s the hotter, more evolved, decidedly more intense and less comical version of the character from “My Name is Earl.”  Like Earl who wins the lottery and wants to make amends to people he’s wronged in the past, Jake wins the lottery, too – he survives, he has a family, friends, and a woman or two (or three) who loves him – a little bit of  a He Ho, you might say. And whether consciously or subconsciously, he’s committed to righting his wrongs from the past and making the amends needed to gain the forgiveness and respect of the ones he hurt the most.  Sometimes awkward, sometimes heroic, but always with little forethought, Jake jumps ahead of himself to take care of people he loves.  It’s a drive and a force that consumes him and controls most of his actions.  I totally relate to that devotion and the jumping in with emotion first and thought later.        
  • He bucks the ‘prodigal’ son stereotype.  Labeled the ‘recklessly wasteful’ offspring, he proves that a lot of his past experiences and relationships and questionable acquired skills actually serve as a strength in the quest for survival in a world that’s not the same, anymore.  I mean….after a nuke scenario goes down, do you really want that guy who’s in touch with your feelings, or do you want the bad boy who can pack heat, drive like NASCAR, show no fear in the face of enemies, and still look great in his unbelievable scruffiness while doing it?  Post-nuke, I’m just saying….save me first, and then you can touch my feelings later. So, who’s prodigal now?       
  • Jake and the story of Jericho touches something in all of us that yearns for a place that’s always safe.  For a lot of us, that place is home, where no matter how prodigal you may be, no matter what your flaws, you are loved and accepted.  I love that Jake, even with his past and his problems with his father and other people, comes to value his home and his family and the love, drama, pain, laughs, and everything else that goes along with it
  • I see something in Jake that I personally believe I see in almost everyone.  That is, there is usually some good in everyone.  Lots of times, it’s masked under bluster, ego, vindictiveness, or pain, but, with some work on my part, I can usually find some goodness underneath it somewhere.  And when it’s hardest for me to find it and I want to reach a negative conclusion about somebody’s worth, I try to remember that people act like they do for a reason.  They’re scared, so they lash out in anger.  They’ve been damaged by some trauma, and they can’t trust other people.  Or they’ve simply had their feelings hurt, so they respond in kind.   It’s a lesson in not judging a book by its cover til you actually take some time and effort to read the book.  The Book of Jake, with all that has gone before him, hides the “purty”….until we start to see what he’s actually made of, and believe me, we find that it’s quite attractive, both inside and out.