Today’s TV: Jeremiah

Some people complain there isn’t enough on TV but I am definitely not one of them. And then new shows come on. Like Jeremiah, the cool new post-apocalyptic Showtime series from Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. Opening premise: our world is destroyed as all those people over the age of 13 die when a superbug is released from a lab (or on purpose, this episode doesn’t address the issue and I expect JMS is keeping it in his backpocket) but the kids live. The show opens 20 years later with Luke Perry (Jeremiah) and Malcom Jamal Warner (Kurdy), both all grown up, meeting and finding they need to partner up for survival. Not going to recap the story here further but suffice to say that they find a thriving community living under Cheyenne Mountain, using all the facilities of the NORAD HQ to prepare to relight a tech civilization. The duo take off again at the end, this time as agents of “The end of the world.” The appeal here is that not everything is predictable even when I’ve read dozens of stories with post-apocalyptic premises. The writing is good, the visuals are worth watching, and there’s decent acting. Not surprising for a JMS show, the website is pretty decent, with all the credits, drawings, interviews, and behind the scenes features. Oh yeah, the series is recommended too.