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For Jericho fans anxiously awaiting confirmation of the rumors that their grassroots campaign to save the series had actually worked, today comes official word from on high: This morning, a tiny, white flag poked out of the gargantuan mound of peanuts that currently stands where CBS headquarters used to be. It was waved weakly (there was precious little oxygen for the executives trapped beneath to breath), and was followed by a rolled-up sheet of CBS letterhead, which eventually landed with a bounce at the feet of the small army of chanting Jericho activists hoisting placards at its base. This is what it read:

"Wow! Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said in a letter to "Jericho" boosters. [...]

"You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard," Tassler wrote, and seven episodes have been ordered for midseason 2007-08. "In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more `Jericho,' we will need more viewers."

Fans must do their part to rally interest while the network does its job, she said. [...]

Another positive outcome of the fan campaign: CBS is donating the protest peanuts to charities, including one that sends care packages to troops overseas.

We're having difficulty remembering a network-audience dialogue as universally beneficial as this one: Jericho fans get additional episodes and the impression that CBS actually listens to them, CBS gets some good P.R. and a new revenue source by repackaging the first season DVD set with the bonus episodes as Jericho: The Ultimate Saved From Cancellation Collection, and our soldiers get many, many, many boxes of salted peanuts, just the snack you first want to reach for in 110° Iraq summer weather.