Jericho season one spent way, way too much time on the soap-opera aspects, including Eric Green leaving his uptight physician wife for a cool bartender. And there was a surfeit of clash-of-the-patriarchs moments: first Gray Anderson challenges Johnston Green for the mayorship, and then Anderson and Green have to face off with Phil Constantino, who rules a neighboring town with an iron grip. The only cool female character, the gearhead Heather, disappeared for several episodes.

Getting canceled may turn out to be the best thing to happen to Jericho. After a crazy peanut-mailing fan campaign, the network agreed to bring the show back for a seven-episode mini-season. The writers had to cram a whole season's worth of plot and character development into just a third of a normal season, which left a lot less room for noodling. And the scripts were completed long before the writers went on strike, so you'll actually get a fairly satisfying conclusion.

Despite the much shorter season, Jericho's second season actually has a much grander plot arc. The U.S. government has splintered into two different regimes, separated by the Mississippi river. To the East is the remnants of the original federal government, but the West is under the quasi-fascist Allied States of America. The ASA is revamping the U.S. flag and rewriting the history books to criticize the "weakness" of post-World War II America:

Not only that, but the new government depends heavily on private contractors for administration and muscle... including Jennings & Rall, the military goons for hire who trashed Jericho's neighbors and wreaked havoc in Iraq. The new government has lied about the reasons for the nuclear bombs that destroyed two dozen American cities, pinning the blame on Iraq and North Korea. In fact, we soon find out that domestic terrorists were responsible, and some of the ringleaders are now helping to run the new government.

So instead of being about small dramas within a post-apocalyptic town, Jericho season two is about the race to uncover the truth about the fascist bastards who nuked America and then mounted a takeover bid. In the next seven weeks, we'll get to see if they get away with it.

Says producer Carol Barbee, Jericho season two is about saving America and our way of life. A possible third season would be about saving the world. Not too ambitious, then. Luckily, Jericho season two is very newbie-friendly. In fact, you may like the show even better if you missed the sometimes slow-boiling season one. So we're keeping our fingers crossed for a ratings surge. [Sci Fi Wire]

Marsters' character, Captain John, is a dark foil to John Barrowman's Captain Jack. "He is what Jack used to be," Marsters explains. "Though I have a feeling that Jack was even meaner and nastier, if that's possible. I think it's my job to make that old life seem as seductive as I can, so it's a question of which path Jack will choose. He's just come back [from traveling on Doctor Who], and his team are mad at him. So is he going to be a responsible leader, or is he going to screw it up?"

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• Episode One: Captain Jack returns, as the Torchwood team reunites to fight a rogue Time Agent. The mysterious Captain John Hart is determined to wreak havoc, and needs to find something hidden on Earth. But with Gwen's life in danger, and cluster bombs scattered across the city, whose side is Jack on?
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• Episode Two: When a burglary turns into a slaughter, Torchwood suspects alien involvement. Who is Beth, and can she be as innocent as she seems? But when the investigation escalates into a city-wide assault, Jack realizes that the whole planet is in danger.
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• Episode Three: Toshiko falls for a handsome soldier, trapped out of his time, who unwittingly holds the key to saving the world. When an old hospital is haunted by ghosts from 1918, a crisis foreseen by Torchwood 90 years ago is about to reach its climax. Time zones are colliding and with life and death decisions to be made, will Torchwood be able to stop an explosive end for Cardiff?
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• Episode Four: Rhys discovers the truth about Torchwood and becomes part of the team as they investigate a mysterious alien meat supply. With Rhys in increasing danger Gwen is under pressure like never before. Will Rhys go too far? Will Jack ask too much of him? And can Torchwood save the alien from being used as cheap meat?
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• Episode Five: An alien with the power to change people's memories infiltrates Torchwood - can the team save themselves before it's too late? With Captain Jack caught up in memories of his lost family, and Gwen struggling to remember Rhys, it takes Jack's love of Ianto to reveal the truth. But there's always a price to pay.
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