Millions of Americans watched the CBS drama Jericho last year, every Wednesday night at 8 PM EST. You weren't enough, though. CBS pulled the plug on Jericho after ratings declined following a long midseason hiatus which, hindsight being 20/20, the network acknowledged was a mistake.

What DID prove to be enough were the tens of thousands of Americans who flooded the Internet, the phone lines, and the post office with their outrage over the cancellation of a hard-hitting, intelligent, captivating drama. By now most of the country has heard about the tons of nuts CBS received at their offices, understandably inspired by Jake Green's cry of "Nuts!" in the face of overwhelming odds during the season finale.

Now, the hard-core fans know all about Season Two. You know who you are. You discuss Jericho on message boards and on Livejournal. You share every bit of news you hear with your friends. The producers of Jericho can count on you.

What the producers need are the rest of you. The millions who watched Season One, and the tens of millions who didn't, but are dying for quality scripted television programming in the wake of the writers' strike. The strike has had a devastating effect on everyone connected to television, from the writers to the producers to the fans. But one beneficiary has been Jericho. CBS wanted seven episodes. The writers delivered them before the strike began. And when the season premiere arrives on February 12th at 10 PM EST, it walks onto a battlefield with only a few other warriors left. (And a lot of reality TV, but how much of that can you take")

There might be few programming alternatives out there, but Jericho's most devoted fans want to make this even easier for you. Therefore, casual fans from Season One, this article is for you. Here's what you might not know. Here's what you might have forgotten.

In return, you have to come back. You have to be dedicated. Otherwise there won't be a Season Three. That you can count on.

You may remember that Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) tragically died in the season finale last spring. You may not know that while his widow Gail may not be following him into the afterlife, actress Pamela Reed is following McRaney off the show. Reed has stated that her character will have a sharply reduced role on the series, allegedly because she was the last cast member under the age of forty. TV networks are always favoring younger audiences over older ones, and it's generally perceived that a younger cast will help accomplish that. Granted, newest cast member Esai Morales is forty-five, but you can expect that with the stage set, the writers will continue to focus the series on its core of young(er) characters. (And don't cry for Reed - she's already found a new home on ABC's "Eli Stone".)

One complaint from fans last season was that the finale didn't resolve the armed conflict between neighboring towns Jericho and New Bern. New Bern had launched a full-scale assault on Jericho with mortar attacks. That was followed by an invasion of armed and trained men, and Jericho found itself outnumbered by a large margin.

New Bern had several reasons for their decision. One was simple survival. With the total collapse of trade and commerce, New Bern (and Jericho, for that matter) was no longer capable of self-sustainment. Faced with starvation, the residents of New Bern desperately planned to steal Jericho's food and farmland for themselves. That plan was conceived by new leader Phil Constantino (Timothy Omundsen), who also successfully stoked the town's anger toward Jericho. When Ravenwood mercenaries (a none-too-subtle reference to the real-life mercenaries of Blackwater) were thwarted in their attempt to plunder Jericho's resources, they headed for the nearest town. Constantino claimed that Jericho was guilty of failing to warn New Bern of the coming danger. (There was also an implication that Constantino was after power. Jake and Hawkins witnessed maps and plans that suggested he was going to divvy up the town's lands between his allies and cronies.)

The outcome of the battle was in doubt when the season ended, but the approach of military helicopters, as well as Season Two commercials, suggest that there isn't going to be a clear winner. That perhaps both sides will be forced to return to their respective corners, lick their wounds, and put down their guns. The arrival of the military may mean that New Bern doesn't have to worry about hunger any longer, but don't think the hatred will go away too. (And don't think that Jericho residents, especially Jake and Eric Green [Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell], will forgive Johnston's death any time soon.)

A high-school teenager.

Dale Turner (Erik Knudsen) evolved over the course of Season One from an outcast orphaned by the nuclear attacks, to a ticking time bomb wielding too much power for his own good. His inheritance of the town market from the murdered Gracie Leigh (Beth Grant) eventually made him the only merchant in Jericho, selling food only to who he chooses. He then exploited the New Bern conflict when farmers in the direct path of the invaders fled their lands. Told he could have their lands if he could defend them, Dale bought the loyalty of the town's refugee population with the promise of their own land. And thanks to his new relationship with town rich girl Skylar Stevens (Candace Bailey), he controls fifty percent of the Jericho salt mines. (To Skylar's credit, she became involved with him before he began amassing power, because of his kindnesses to her.)

In a way, Dale has become the modern equivalent of a feudal lord. And if you were one of those kids who was ignored and belittled in school, how would you react to sudden power? The problem isn't that Dale is a bad person. It's that he has wealth and power, and the men to defend it. He hasn't come into conflict with the town yet, but when the New Bern situation calms down, how long do you think it will be before town leaders realize what they have in their midst? And that they may not be able to do anything about it?

It's not all hating and shooting and burning in Season Two. By the end of Season One we had four major romances building and brewing - Jake/Emily, Stanley/Mimi, Eric/Mary, and Dale/Skylar. The first two were the most unlikely. Jake and Emily (Ashley Scott) were sweethearts before Jake left town years before, but Emily was engaged to someone else when he came back. IRS agent Mimi (Alicia Coppola) came to Jericho to audit Stanley (Brad Beyer) for his farm's huge tax debts. Yet by the season's end, both couples were solid, enjoyable to watch, and the kind of pairings you can build a show around. (That being said, we’ll see if the return of the presumed-dead Heather Lisinski [Sprague Grayden] creates a romantic triangle between her, Jake, and Emily.)

Eric and Mary (Clare Carey) are a more problematic pairing, since Eric left his wife April to be with her. But from a karmic perspective, Eric may have paid deeply when both April and their unborn child died suddenly. Then he narrowly escaped death when he was imprisoned and tortured in New Bern. Audiences may be ready to support their love this season. As for Dale and Skylar, whatever else you may say about Dale (and I've already said plenty), their relationship is a healthy one. His feelings for her began well before the bombs went off, and Skylar eventually returned his affections when he became her strongest supporter after her parents, like his mother, died in a nuclear blast. She's not using him for his money; he's not dating her because she was popular and he wasn't. Skylar has the chance to become his conscience, and to pull him back from letting his power corrupt him. (That being said, Skylar's parents might not be dead, and if they ever make it back to Jericho, we'll see how thrilled they are about her dating Dale.)

That leaves a fifth couple - Robert (Lennie James) and Darcy (April Parker). Their marriage was a farce when they arrived, designed to help them blend in. Their real marriage shattered years ago because of his undercover work with the CIA, but he saved her and their children when the bomb conspiracy unfolded, and over time his feelings for them have reawakened. Darcy at first seemed receptive, but the arrival of his former lover Sarah (Siena Goines), as well as her attempt to betray him and kill them all, caused Darcy to take the kids and walk out. At the end of Season One, however, the door appeared to be open for a reconciliation. Robert Hawkins became one of the most compelling and popular characters on the show, and fans would love to see the show continue to explore his relationships to his family.

The producers have said that they're packing twenty-two episodes worth of action into just seven. While that may mean we're going to see less thought-provoking drama, analyzing the possible sociological and psychological impact of this kind of national breakdown, we're also going to see a LOT of action. And that may be just the sort of thing to pull in new viewers.

Besides the unfinished Jericho-New Bern conflict, we've also got the arrival of the military. Led by Colonel Hoffman [EDIT: Major Beck - see below] (Esai Morales), with Heather as his liaison, the army's official objective is to bring peace back to the area. But Hoffman is also operating under orders from the new government to find "terrorist" Robert Hawkins. Those orders come from Thomas Valente (Daniel Benzali), who Hawkins knows was a key player in the conspiracy that set off the nuclear bombs. Valente obviously wants Hawkins because he wants the unexploded bomb Hawkins has been sitting on. The longer that bomb remains hidden, the harder Hoffman will look. And since the town's icon Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) has joined forces with Hawkins, it's only a matter of time until Green and Hoffman lock horns.

Add to that Dale Turner's private army, and Phil Constantino's rebellious and resentful followers. How many sides can there be if everyone collides, and can any one win?

One final thing to keep in mind - Jericho has been moved from Wednesdays at 8 to Tuesdays at 10. The later time slot, when many younger viewers are in bed, may sound like a negative at first. But Jericho is actually benefiting from a strong lead-in, the reality show "Big Brother". It's also occupying the time slot formerly held by the drama "Cane", so CBS may be auditioning Jericho to replace "Cane" come fall. And lastly, let's face it. Jericho is a very serious drama and is probably not meant for the children who are in bed by 10 PM. Let the show compete against other adult programming.

You've got a little more than a week. Remember what happened. Remember how much fun you had watching it. Watch it again.

EDIT:  Esai Morales' character is actually named Major Beck.  Colonel Hoffman (Titus Welliver) was a military officer Heather encountered in the Season One finale, and his character will not be returning.  I was corrected on this by two separate readers, as well as the latest issue of TV Guide, and I apologize for the mistake.  I would also like to thank those two readers, and everyone else who commented so swiftly, for their dedication and passion.