"Jericho" fans, I know, are eagerly awaiting developments for the coming season -- for which CBS has given only a seven-episode commitment -- and what we're hearing from executive producer Carol Barbee this morning suggests that things are about to start moving even faster.

That's because she's being forced to take her season 2 pitch and boil it down to a "lean and mean" seven-episode arc.

The good news, at least for those of us who prefer to keep the Jericho in "Jericho," is that the stories will probably be more focused on the town than Barbee had originally planned. Her original Season 2 pitch to CBS would have had the show focused in three locations, only one of which was the small Kansas town.

Gerald McRaney's character? Still dead. Though Barbee, sounding rather like a producer on "Lost," suggested that no one ever really dies on "Jericho," thanks to the magic of flashbacks.

Though "Jericho's" now loosely slotted for midseason -- don't worry, guys, something always dies -- the seven episodes will be finished by the end of September, according to Barbee, who acknowledges that the show probably won't be on the air until then and thus she and the cast will have no idea whether those seven will be the last.

(Hint to all you nuts online: Lobbying TV critics, many of whom already like the show, is wasted energy at this point. Start beating the bushes for Nielsen families instead.)

The season premiere will open with the battle that began in the season finale and then jump ahead a couple of weeks, said Barbee.

As for other TV producers who might find their shows on the bubble, "I highly recommend inserting the name of some food product, some highly mailable food product," said Barbee.