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I was going to let this wait until my regular weekly column, but now that hundreds of "Jericho" fans have the attention of CBS, there is no better time than now to make sure it's clear that many of us here at Airlock Alpha want to see "Jericho" continue not just as a movie of the week, but as a series.

I didn't get into "Jericho" until well into the first season, and that was after it was told to us that the chances looked very good that the Big Eye Network was going to renew the show. I am like a lot of people -- I don't want to get into a show until I'm pretty sure that it will not be a one-hit wonder. You know, like "Desperate Housewives" or something.

Anyway, I watched the first episode of the show, and it held my interest enough to watch a second episode. That was good enough for me to watch a third.

Before I knew it, I was spending an entire weekend doing nothing but watching "Jericho" episodes, making sure I was all set to go when the series made its spring return.

I can't really say anything nasty about CBS, because its decision to cancel the show made sense. Ratings had dropped off after a somewhat lengthy hiatus, and results like that have a way of putting a show on the dreaded bubble, which "Jericho" sat on pratically the entire season.

But I think there is far more interest in the show than CBS may realize. I think judging by the very quick response by fans in a highly organized fashion that even caught me by surprise, the following for this show should be quite evident.

The funny thing about all this isn't the fact that CBS decided at the last minute to kill this show, or even the clever marketing of some of the show's supporter who sent peanuts and such to the network as part of its "Nuts To You, CBS!" What's funny to me is that I happen to mention that I was watching this show to my mom in Pennsylvania, and I was totally shocked when she told me that she watches that show every week. My mother, who hasn't watched the same show as me since I was sick at home with mono 18 years ago and got hooked on "The Young and the Restless," not only watched "Jericho," but was literally angry when I told her that CBS had pulled the plug. She then told me about how much she cried when Johnston Green died at the end of the final episode, and it was funny, because even though we were a thousand miles away, we both shared tears.

Zap2it reported last week that "Jericho" dropped from 10.7 million viewers its first 11 episodes, to just around 8 million for the final run. It also lost some of its key 18-49 demo ... but that shouldn't be a surprise for CBS, which normally has programming that is of interest to older demos anyway.

If you take a look at "Jericho's" overnight numbers, it's season finale earned a 5.3 rating/9 share. It was just a single rating point off of the show that took the hour, "Bones" on Fox, which had viewers preparing for the "American Idol" results show that would start in the next hour.

And no, "Jericho" did not win the night for CBS in terms of overnights. But how well did it do against other CBS shows? It was about half a rating point behind the season finale of "The Amazing Race" on Sunday night. It did better than both "How I Met Your Mother" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" on Monday. On Friday, "Ghost Whisperer" in its season finale had just a 6.1/12. "Close To Home" a 6.9/13. "Numbers"? A 6.5/12.

Sure, CBS also had other shows that are more powerhouse to what it looks for, but the buzz shows for CBS were certainly "Survivor: Fiji" and "Jericho." And buzz might not necessarily mean bigger ratings in the future, but it certainly means a much more stable rating in the long-term, as long as the stories stayed fresh.

I want to see more "Jericho," not as a telemovie, but as a second season. Hell, my mom -- who never makes her voice heard about anything on television -- wants CBS to renew this show. Make it a mid-season pickup if you have to. Or pull off some of the snoozers that you added to the schedule for fall, like the fictional wife-swapping of "Swingtown" or the "Cop Rock" wannabe "Viva Laughlin." Sometimes I wonder if CBS gets confused on what shows they are planning for CBS, and what shows they are planning for its other property, The CW (or as we like to call it around our own watercooler, The WC).

Find out how you can make a difference by reading our actual news story on this. And write the letters, make the phone calls. And please avoid the online petitions, those do absolutely nothing, and are just a waste of time.

The only way that "Jericho" will rise from the ashes is if the fans make their voices heard. Now more than ever, this is the time to do it.

Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com.