Consistently low ratings have doomed the post apocalyptic Jericho TV series, which will end its CBS run next week.  The show's producers, who had prepared two endings, a cliffhanger and one that provided more closure, have been told by the Network to use the latter.  The reaction of Jericho's dedicated fans will no doubt be severe, but unlike last year, it is unlikely that any amount mailed-in items will be able to revive the series, at least on CBS.  Last year Jericho fans inundated the CBS offices with peanuts (in a reference to a line of dialog from the first season's final episode, which was a direct reference to the Battle of the Bulge, see "CBS Surrenders to Nuts"), and the network authorized the production of seven additional episodes of the series as a mid-season replacement.  But in spite of the fact that the new season of Jericho debuted in the midst of a writers' strike, ratings remained low with most recent episode only averaging a 1.9 in the critical 18 to 49 demographic. 

It is possible that Jericho might be able to continue on cable -- the Sci Fi Channel is showing reruns of the series (see "Sci Fi Gets Jericho"), but the cost of producing the elaborately-produced, hour-long, big-cast science fiction series works against the possibility of it getting picked up in the low budget universe of free cable networks.