Jeremiah (TV series)

Jeremiah
Jeremiah's intertitle for season two
Created by	J. Michael Straczynski
Starring	Luke Perry, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Sean Astin, Peter Stebbings, Ingrid Kavelaars, Byron Lawson, Kim Hawthorne
Theme music composer	Tim Truman
Country of origin	United States, Canada
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	35
Production
Running time	approx. 45 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	March 3, 2002 – January 19, 2004

Jeremiah is an American television series starring Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner that ran on the Showtime network from 2002 to 2004. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly virus.

Developed by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and executive produced by Straczynski and Sam Egan, the series is loosely based on Belgian writer Hermann Huppen's comic book series of the same name. Aside from the names of the two main characters, the general personality of the protagonist, and the post-apocalyptic setting, however, there are no other similarities between the comics and the series.

The series ended production in 2003 after creative differences emerged between MGM and Straczynski. Episodes for the final half of the second season didn't begin airing in the United States until September 3, 2004.

The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Premise

The year is 2021, 15 years after a plague has killed nearly everyone over the age of puberty (both the event and the virus itself are referred to as "The Big Death"). The children who survived are now grown, and find themselves faced with two choices: either continue to scavenge off the diminishing remains of the old world, or begin trying to rebuild.

Synopsis

The overarching plot of Season 1 involves Jeremiah's search for the mysterious "Valhalla Sector", a place his father told him would hold hope for the survivors of the Big Death. Along the way, Jeremiah has multiple encounters with Thunder Mountain, a highly organized group of survivors based out of the remains of NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain, who are attempting to unify the scattered communities of survivors in order to rebuild the world.

Jeremiah eventually discovers Valhalla Sector, the well-equipped remnants of the U.S. Government who are based out of a heavily fortified mountain enclave in West Virginia. Having survived the original Big Death in their sealed bunker, Valhalla Sector is attempting to replicate the virus responsible for the Big Death to wipe out the disorganized surface survivors and claim control of the world. The second half of Season 1 deals with the efforts of Jeremiah and Thunder Mountain to stop Valhalla Sector.

After the final defeat of Valhalla Sector in the opening episodes of Season 2, a new threat emerges in the form of a crusading army from the East led by a mysterious prophetic figure known as "Daniel". Season 2 deals with the impending conflict between the unifying survivor communities under Thunder Mountain, and the advancing Army of Daniel.

Characters

Most of the characters are survivors of the virus who are now in their late twenties or younger.

Character	Actor	Description
Jeremiah	Luke Perry	While roaming the country on a quest to locate a mysterious place called Valhalla Sector, which his father claimed might hold some hope for the survivors of the big death, Jeremiah comes in contact with a group who not only has information on Valhalla Sector, but also the resources to rebuild the world. In Season Two Jeremiah is put in charge of rebuilding the town Millhaven.
Kurdy Malloy	Malcolm-Jamal Warner	Jeremiah's partner, a tough and cynical man, yet also passionate. He and Jeremiah discover the secrets of Thunder Mountain.
Markus Alexander	Peter Stebbings	The leader of Thunder Mountain, a colony located inside the former NORAD headquarters in Cheyenne Mountain. He seeks to form alliances with other survivors and to forge a new world.
Mister Smith	Sean Astin	This quirky, colorful character partners with Kurdy in Season Two. He claims to be a messenger from God.
Erin	Ingrid Kavelaars	Markus' second-in-command at Thunder Mountain.
Lee Chen	Byron Lawson	Chen is the humorless and paranoid head of security at Thunder Mountain, but his loyalties may lie elsewhere.
Meaghan Lee Rose	Suzy Joachim	Meaghan is the oldest woman known to be alive in the world. She is a carrier of the plague that nearly wiped out mankind, though it has not killed her. She lives in a biohazard containment room in Thunder Mountain.
Ezekiel	Alex Zahara	A mysterious figure who gives Jeremiah cryptic prophecies about his future and protects him from danger.
Theodora "Theo" Coleridge	Kim Hawthorne	Theo rules Clarefield, Colorado as a ruthless warlord, until her reign is overthrown. However, she will still become a strong voice in the new world.
Elizabeth Munroe	Kandyse McClure	Elizabeth is a resident of Thunder Mountain, and Jeremiah and Kurdy first arrived there to bring news of her boyfriend's death. Kurdy is attracted to her.
Devon	Robert Wisden	Jeremiah's father and a resident of Valhalla Sector. Jeremiah thought he died in the Big Death, but he was taken to Valhalla Sector and survived. He is a scientist who understands the Big Death and may hold the key to its cure.
Liberty "Libby" Kaufman	Joanne Kelly	Libby is Devon's assistant in Valhalla Sector who takes Jeremiah under her wing and apparently falls in love with him.

DVD Release

On January 1, 2004, MGM Home Entertainment released season one of Jeremiah on DVD. Season two has yet to be released on DVD, though it is currently available on Apple's iTunes, Netflix's "Play Now", and on many P2P networks.

DVD Name	Additional Information
Season One	Audio commentary Deleted scenes Behind-the-scenes featurette Production sketches Photo gallery
Episodes
20
Release Date
January 20, 2004

Locations in Jeremiah

Name	Locations	Group
Thunder Mountain	Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado	New America Alliance (Western Alliance)
Valhalla Sector	Commonwealth of Virginia or West Virginia	United States of America, remnants of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Executive Branch.
Milhaven	State of Colorado	Valhala Sector. Later Western Alliance
Clarefield	State of Colorado	New America Alliance (Western Alliance)

See also

• List of Jeremiah episodes
• Jeremiah (comics)
• Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
• Other post-apocalypse fiction based on the death of all adults:
  • Star Trek: The Original Series (October 27, 1966), Episode 08 - "Miri". The Enterprise discovers an exact duplicate of Earth, where the only survivors of a deadly plague are the planet's prepubescent children.
  • The Girl Who Owned a City (1975), young adult novel set in Chicago
  • Empty World (1977), young adult novel set in England
  • The Odyssey (1992–1995), television series filmed in Canada
  • The Tribe (1999–2003), television series filmed in New Zealand
  • 2030 CE (2002–2003), television series filmed in Canada
  • Gas-s-s-s, a 1971 movie set in the United States
  • Shade's Children (1997), an award-winning young adult novel by Garth Nix.

External links

• Jeremiah at IMDb
• Abyss Hubbe Jeremiah Site
• Official site Platinum Studios
• Worlds of JMS