By Kenn Gold
The fictional town of Jericho, from the hit CBS series, is located near the intersections of three major highways (I-70, Highawy 40, and Highway 83) in Kansas. The town closest to this in the real world is Oakley, and that became the location for the first annual Jericho convention, Jerichon, held September 14 to 16, 2007.
Approximately 70 Jericho fans descended on the town, and were welcomed by the citizens of Oakley, the local city government, and the local merchants.
Shaun Daily, who hosts the Las Vegas based internet talk show, ShaunOMac Radio which is hosted on BlogTalkRadio.com attended the event, and broadcast his show live from “Jericho Field”, “Bailey’s Tavern” and other areas around the town. At the opening ceremony on Friday night, Oakley’s mayor read a proclamation declaring that the town would be renamed Jericho for the weekend. Friday was also Blogtalkradio day at the convention, and the hosts of BTR’s The Two Doctors and Bionic Angels were also on hand to assist Shaun with the logistical aspects of his live broadcast from the remote location. The cast of Jericho was unable to attend the event due to tight filming schedule for the final two episodes, but Daily presented the mayor with a very special gift from them. The mayor was given the back from one of the on-set chairs, which had the Jericho logo on one side, and series star, Skeet Ulrich’s name on the other.
Later in the night, the convention moved to The Bluff tavern, which had been renamed Bailey’s for the weekend. The radio show went live from the tavern, with the blessing of owner, Bradley Scortz. Though, since the tavern had only a single phone line, the live broadcast was interrupted at times so that credit card transactions could be run.
The 2nd day of Jerichon opened with the Logan County Health Care Charity Bike-a-thon, organized by Oakley’s Thomas Annis, who goes by FlagBoy on the Jericho chats. The Bike-a-thon was followed by a series of technical workshops on topics such as the effect of an EMP on the US power grid, and the effects of a real nuclear war. Later in the day, a presentation by the Kansas National Guard’s Col. Peck on their deployment and handling of real world natural disasters was given to the attendees. The National Guard presentation was followed by a debate between CBS board regulars, Clarke and xrammyx on who was the right woman for Jake; Emily or Heather, though a third possibility; Jake single, emerged during the debate championed by CBS board regular sarok, who is better known as the water lady. Stephanie, sarok’s alter ego, is the person responsible for the campaign to send bottled water to the cast, and is also a nightly regular on Shaun’s show.
On Saturday night, festivities again moved to Jericho field for the last perfect day barbecue, and a dance under the stars. Though festivities were interrupted at 9:02, the time the EMP struck Jericho and froze all running electronic devices. The convention organizers pulled the power on the field, and everything went dark. But in the distance (actually projected onto a nearby building) mushroom clouds appeared over the horizon, and rumbling sounds emanated from the speakers located on the field. Though unplanned, just as ShaunOMac Radio was announcing the power outage and mushroom cloud with Clarke as his co-host for the night, the live feed went down, and more than 3000 fans across the internet were left wondering what was going on at the convention.
Various script auctions and giveaways were run at the Saturday night festivities, to raise money for both the convention itself, and for the DVD’s for Troops effort. Schumi and xwarp, fresh from a trip to the Jericho set brought 3 scripts for the auction, trading cards with the cast of Jericho, and shell casing props from the season one finale episode for each attendee. ShaunOMac Radio was again on the air live from Jericho field and was joined by the dynamic nine year old Shelby, a young Jericho fan who recently launched her Jerichoforkids.com web site. Additionally, Shelby, on her own initiative, ran a raffle for an autographed script, which raised over $300 for the DVD effort.
Sunday morning began with a breakfast at the VFW, in which the locals again mingled with Jericho fans. The conventions closing ceremony was held back at the field later in the morning, with a surprise call in guest on ShaunOMac’s finale show. Series creator Jonathan Steinberg called in, and the radio show was piped through the loud speakers via Rammy’s cell phone, as Jon answered questions from the fans, and assured the attendees that everyone with the show was following what was going on in Oakley, and wishing they were there.
The town of Oakley opened its arms and its heart, in a way that went far beyond what was required. Many of the local merchants had signs in their businesses welcoming Jericho fans, and every local who attended any of the festivities was friendly and open, though maybe a little curious as to what the fuss was about. The show Jericho certainly obtained a few new fans from the ranks of Oakley’s citizens, who wanted to see what was causing the faithful to come to town.
Several people among the Oakley residents especially stood out in the efforts they went to towards making the convention and the broadcast of ShaunOMac Radio a success. Jamie Bell, convention organizer for Oakley, and Thomas Annis were there at every turn offering support to the convention attendees and to the live radio broadcasts, having phone lines installed, dealing with long distance issues, making cables and so on. ‘Whatever you need!’, was the honest and heartfelt catch phrase for these two for the weekend.
Jerry Robben, a loan officer at The Farmer’s State Bank of Oakley, shuffled guests around in the Jericho Sherriff’s car, and talked about the history of the area and the town at every possible opportunity, giving lots of insight into what made Oakley such a nice place to visit. Also, Bradley Scortz, owner of The Bluff, opened his establishment up twice to the conference attendees, who got the experience of mingling with the locals in the renamed Bailey’s. Brad didn’t once complain about the fact that the radio show was using his single phone line, and interfering with his business for the night. The Bluff serves excellent food at surprisingly low prices, and is worth the few miles trip off the highway.
The convention organizers, The Guardians of Jericho, took a chance holding the convention in the small town of Oakley, rather than hosting the event in Los Angeles where it would have been more likely to have cast participation. The experience was positive though, and offered a unique perspective into what the citizens of Jericho would be like, and what the daily experiences in their lives would be.
Interestingly, probably the most informative aspect of the entire convention was local Jerry Robben’s take on the fictional battle with New Bern. He commented that that was the one aspect of the show that bothered him, because that would never happen in real life. The residents of real rural Kansas would come together in a disaster rather than fighting amongst themselves. From the welcome and outgoing nature of those that interacted with the fans, there is absolutely no doubt that his assessment is correct.
If you consider yourself a fan of Jericho, or even have a remote curiosity in the show and find yourself driving on I-70 in Kansas near exits #70 or #76. There is only one thing to do. Take the few extra minutes to buy your lunch or gas in the town of Oakley, and get the experience of the reality of what it would be like to live in a pre-apocalyptic Jericho. It is well worth the time and an experience that is worth the short drive off the interstate.
