'Jericho' fans gone nuts

I mean that in a good way, of course. The same "Jericho" fans who sent bags of nuts to CBS executives -- and secured a long-shot second season for the show -- are putting time and money into a new campaign to resurrect the canceled series. They've collected some $30,000 to place ads in "Variety" and the "Hollywood Reporter," they put up a billboard near the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, and now they're running a 30-second spot on Time-Warner cable in Los Angeles. You can see the ad on their website, savejerichoagain.com. Here's the YouTube link:

Changing CBS's mind will be a long shot, to say the least: The show lost viewers when it returned for a seven-episode run last winter, possibly because its dim take on nuclear holocaust didn't square with our good-will-always-prevail pop culture. The fans' best hope is pickup from a cable channel, which is less likely to run from bleakness, and doesn't need as many viewers to constitute a hit. The Jericho nuts, meanwhile, are impressively optimistic. Here's an e-mailed testimonial from Barney, a Boston-area fan and father of four:

"I do not usually get involved in TV boards or chat rooms. I have no time with the kids' schedule. But I took the time for this because I am tired of Networks like the rest of corporate America sacrificing quality products for immediate return on investment."