Tuesday, July 15, 2008

a little school spirit


Friday Night Lights (2006) SEASON 1

Status: It’s kind of a weird one. Season 3 is coming this fall, but with less episodes than a regular season, and it’ll air on cable/direct tv/something first, and then repeat on NBC some weeks later. So, it’s not totally cancelled—just kind of on a slow death march.

Genre: drama (family/teen/sports)

DVD extras: not great. A making-of documentary that is OK (and for some reason, not placed on the last disc—but watch it last if you don’t want to be spoiled). A few deleted scenes. The best thing about the DVD is that it’s cheap (probably why it’s lacking a lot of extras).

Basics: The first season of Friday Night Lights accomplishes something that few television dramas are able to do: It betters the 2004 film on which the series is based. Set in Dillon, Texas, where football--even on the high school level--is everything, Friday Night Lights is a compelling drama with a football subplot. Poignantly and effectively touching on racism, rape, steroids, jealousy, infidelity, and life-changing injuries, the series presents the inhabitants of Dillon as real people who are flawed, but remarkable in their ordinariness.

The story arc of the season is: Coach Taylor is the new head-coach of the Dillon High Panthers. He has to have a winning team because his job and the spirit of the entire town depends on him. Meanwhile, his wife has to deal with becoming the “head coach’s wife” and his daughter falls in love with the new, young, quarterback. The players on the team are more than just high school kids because of the responsibility to the town their uniforms come with, but they still have to deal with heartaches, alcoholism, absent parents, steroids, etc. It follows a small town on its quest for state championship.

The good: Incredibly real, heartfelt, fascinating, and well-acted. The actors are all really good looking. And I am pretty much in love with Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler). Total love. But since he has the awesome Connie Britton as a wife (uh, in the show), I’ll settle for Matt Saracen. More age appropriate anyway.

The bad: Stupid shaky camera shit. It suppose to give the show a gritty, realistic look, but it just distracts me. Either I got used to it though, or they calmed down a little after the first few episodes. I can see when the shaky feel works in certain instances, but in general I love me a well-done tracking shot.

The ugly: It’s only problem is that it started to fall apart the second season. For some reason they skipped half a school year, FORGOT about FOOTBALL, broke up the best couples, and added a MURDER plotline. Don’t worry, the first season finale ends satisfyingly enough. Like VM, make up what you think will happen after the last episode because it’s better than the reality.

Why it’s awesome: It’s just a really well done show. It actually made me like football. Even if you don’t like football, you can enjoy this show. Actually, if you do like football you’ll probably be a little disappointed because it’s more drama than sports.

Best episodes: The pilot was like a mini-movie. “I Think We Should Have Sex” was a definite highlight. The “Mud Bowl” and the last episode, “State”, were exhilarating.

In conclusion, it fails really because there’s no audience for this show. Either you’re living this show and don’t need to watch it on your TV every week, or you’re not, and subsequently have no interest in the world it portrays. But honestly, it’s a quality show, so if you have 22 hours to spare, give it a chance. It's even better than the movie, and it’s only $20 at Target! Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.


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I tend to get obsessive about things for a while, then get over it, and start to wonder what was wrong with me in the first place. Also, having no section for "Favorite TV Shows" makes absolutely no sense to me. That should tell you a lot right there.