Here are the last few reviews I was able to pull from Nexus. My general reaction is that you can't accuse some of these
reviewers of being unfamiliar with science fiction and many of them seem
quite familiar with JMS and B5.
Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
HEADLINE: Sci-fi 'Jeremiah' suffers from lack of energy
BYLINE: STEVE MURRAY
SOURCE: AJC
BODY:
TV REVIEW "Jeremiah" 8 p.m. Sunday on Showtime (6157222); moves to 10:45 p.m.
Friday (16341953). Grade: C
If this is the future, why does it seem so familiar? Based on a comic book, Showtime's new sci-fi series "Jeremiah" stars Luke Perry in the lead role, a scruffy loner living in a world devastated by a virus called the Big Death that killed everyone above the age of puberty.
That was 15 years ago. Jeremiah is trying to make sense of a world where fellow survivors barter food for bullets and energy plants have long gone black. Think "Mad Max" and "A Canticle for Leibowitz," only not as interesting. In a frontier town, Jeremiah strikes up an uneasy partnership with fellow traveler Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner). It's not a memorable matchup. The actors sometimes seem to be competing to see who can give the least charismatic performance (Perry wins).
Their low wattage grows more evident with the arrival of Theo, a combination of den mother, vamp and ruthless commandant of her little town. Played by Kim Hawthorne with crackling seductiveness and a trigger temper, she's the most mesmerizing character onscreen --- switching from admirable to evil in seconds. Once the plot ditches Theo, "Jeremiah" suffers a major energy
shortage.
That's when Jeremiah and Kurdy join up with a couple of mysterious guys who seem to know about the Valhalla Sector, a fabled place where they might find the answers to the world's woes. These two are called Matthew and Simon, disciples of a genial messiah, Marcus Alexander (Peter Stebbings). Marcus
rules a clean and brightly lit underground fortress full of sweet, thoughtful, environmentally correct people who grow vegetables and African violets. Everyone is clean and cute.
If you're anything like me, you can't wait for Jeremiah and Kurdy to return to the bloody, muddy streets and topless rave-club-brothel of Theo's town. And you'll wish the show was named "Theo" instead.
The Boston Herald
March 1, 2002 Friday ALL EDITIONS
HEADLINE: TV & Radio; Apocalpytic now; Showtime's 'Jeremiah' walks a wasteland of sci-fi cliches
BYLINE: By BRANDON M. EASTON
BODY:
"Jeremiah."
Series premiere Sunday at 8 p.m. on Showtime. Regular episodes to air Fridays
at 10:45 p.m.
2 1-2 stars (out of four)
Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery or a symptom of a creative decline? This is a question viewers undoubtedly will be asking after viewing "Jeremiah," a new Showtime series premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. and adapted for the small screen by sci-fi kingpin J. Michael Straczynski, best known for creating the award-winning TV series "Babylon 5."
"Jeremiah" is based on a critically acclaimed graphic novel series by Belgian
author Hermann Huppen. The story is set in a lawless, post-apocalyptic wasteland created by an epidemic called the "Big Death" - an ailment that struck down everyone except pre-pubescent children.
If this setup sounds familiar, wait until you hear the rest of the plot.
Luke Perry ("Beverly Hills 90210," "Oz") stars as title character Jeremiah, a man on a quest to find his father, who may have escaped to an adult sanctuary known as the "Valhalla Sector." Joining him is Kurdy, a fellow drifter, played with surprising confidence by "Cosby Show" alum Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
After a predictable opening sequence strongly reminiscent of Stephen King's
"The Stand," Jeremiah and Kurdy find themselves in a decadent barter town run
by a band of outlaws and led by a beautiful but deadly woman named Theo (Kim Hawthorne). Hawthorne seems intent on reprising the Tina Turner role from "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."
Jeremiah and Kurdy discover that Theo and her gang have been torturing prisoners to discover the location of a hidden base filled with valuable resources such as food and gasoline. After a brief skirmish, Jeremiah and Kurdy escape into the wilderness to track down the secret station - and ultimately begin rebuilding society.
"Jeremiah" is not horrible by any standard. But like Straczynski's other work, you can see how much the series has been influenced by past movies, TV and books to the point where it appears to be an endless homage to old school sci-fi.
Straczynski's talent lies in crafting a powerful story within a familiar framework, thereby making a tired concept feel new. Still, the world in "Jeremiah" is a patchwork of social concerns and passe sci-fi. The infamous "Big Death" is nothing but an allegory for the AIDS crisis. The twist about children being spared from the apocalypse is close to the plot of the 1984
cult film "Night of the Comet." Viewers will be hard-pressed to avoid comparisons to the "Mad Max" series within the first 45 minutes of the pilot.
Perry and Warner are likable and believable as our hard-traveling heroes. They both play very human characters with an undercurrent of heroism. In a world with no morality or justice, these two attempt to be each other's moral compass.
Perry brings a vulnerability to the character, one who is only beginning to deal with the tremendous losses he has suffered - the disappearance of his parents and the brutal murder of his younger brother. Warner's Kurdy - who is annoying at first - is revealed to be a deep soul who searches for love and guidance in a world where all parents have died.
"Jeremiah" is an ambitious adaptation, and Straczynski must be given kudos for attempting a work of this magnitude. If there is anyone capable of delivering quality long-term story arcs, it is Straczynski, who did it with "Babylon 5" and now with great acclaim on Marvel Comics' flagship title "The Amazing Spider-Man." He just has to stretch his imagination for something new.
Los Angeles Times
March 2, 2002 Saturday Home Edition
HEADLINE:
Television Review; Wincing at the Future in 'Jeremiah'
BYLINE: HOWARD ROSENBERG, TIMES STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Here's the premise for the new Showtime series, "Jeremiah":
It's been 15 years since a mysterious, devastating plague known as the Big Death hit Earth, killing billions while sparing only those under the age of puberty to make their way on a bleak, lawless planet that is now a desolate scrap heap. No food to speak of, no electricity, no security, no fun, no Britney Spears. Pretty grim, huh? If you think this virus is deadly, though, try watching the two-hour premiere.
Based on a comic series by Belgian Hermann Huppen and created by J. Michael Straczynski, "Jeremiah" has Luke Perry as a beacon of humanity in a futuristic society gone darkly over the edge, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner as his amiable pal, Kurdy. Jeremiah is a tough, courageous, independent, visionary loner who keeps alive memories of his dead father, in contrast to the less
idealistic, less intense Kurdy.
Prior to relocating to their regular Friday night time slot, Jeremiah and Purdy on Sunday clash with the notorious Theo (Kim Hawthorne), a bossy gangbanger who, despite being scrawny, somehow imposes her will through terror.
Why do all these big, ugly thugs tremble at the sight of her? Because she is demonically, mercilessly, brutally, sadistically ... sexy. You'll wince and
hide your eyes when she has some guy tied up, stands in front of him in her micro-mini and snarls while lecturing him on what it's like for a girl to reach puberty and have no one to, you know, have some fun with. Talk about torture.
Later, Jeremiah and Kurdy encounter a group of neo-Nazi skinheads who plan to kill "racial inferiors," then link up with an enlightened society living in an oasis of luxury while everyone on the outside suffers.
Perhaps the regular series will improve. "Jeremiah" begins, however, as a
slow-moving, ungainly morality tale encumbered by bad acting and a lead in
Perry who is un-magnetic and unpersuasive.
All of it adds up to a long night that feels like the Big Death.
"Jeremiah" premieres Sunday night at 8 on Showtime and will seen regularly on
Friday nights. The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children
under 14).
The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT)
March 2, 2002, Saturday
HEADLINE: 'Jeremiah' is no 'B5'
BYLINE: By Scott D. PierceDeseret News television editor
BODY:
"Jeremiah" has a couple of things in common with the sci-fi cult hit, "Babylon 5" -- both shows are set in the future, and both are created and produced by J. Michael Straczynski. But the similarities end there.
"This is, I think, overall, a much darker show, a much more serious show,"
Straczynski said of "Jeremiah," which premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
"The theory on this, and what brought me to it, was a chance to create a series which is a turn on what you normally see -- a post-apocalyptic series about hope, which is like trying to design a submersible cat. You know, the two don't work together really well usually." The premise of the show, which is based on a comic-book series by Herman Huppen, is that shortly after the dawn of the 21st century, a plague -- called the Big Death -- killed six billion people. Everyone who had reached puberty died, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Now it's about the year 2020, and once the adults were gone, 21st-century technology was too complicated for the kids to keep going.
"If you blow a transistor, you can't fix it yourself. You're screwed. And the higher level a society goes up in terms of technology, the more vulnerable you are if it all falls apart," Straczynski said. "So in our series, when the power goes off and the Palm Pilots don't work and the cars don't work and the ships aren't working anymore, it begins to gradually degrade over time."
Luke Perry ("Beverly Hills, 90210") plays Jeremiah, a loner who's searching for the mysterious Valhalla Sector, where his scientist father may have escaped to. He's joined by Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner of "The Cosby Show"), a funky guy who helps him navigate the strange new world where various groups struggle for control.
"We have one group that decides, 'We're going to run the world, and it's going to go our way.' The military, perhaps -- what's left over from that," Straczynski said. "You've got a religious cult over here that wants to do it their way. You've got the Skinheads. You really sort of divide the culture up. And the essence of the show is what will the future world look like, and who will decide that."
What critics have seen of "Jeremiah" is dark and rather unappealing -- Straczynski insists there's hope, but there doesn't appear to be much. Plus, the casting is weak -- we're talking Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, after all. And, frankly, it's fairly dull.
(It's also very R-rated -- which you've got to expect on Showtime -- with sex, foul language and violence.)
But Straczynski insists it's not as dark as it seems.
"It's a show that's about beginnings," he said. "It's 15 years after the Big Death, and . . . those who grew up after the Big Death have been riding on the ashes of what was left behind. And now they either keep that decline going or they rebuild the world. And this cusp is where our story takes place. So it's about rebuilding the world and what that world will look like."
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