Friday Night Lights

[domino harvey]

Season Four is indeed almost as good as Season Three, and once the shock of change wears off, it's amazing how resilient the show is-- certainly Four belongs not only to old favorites like the Riggins brothers (When considering his path over five years, Billy Riggins alone might be the greatest defense for the longform dramatic TV format) and Landry and, most memorably perhaps, Matt, but newcomer Becky for instance is given one of the best, most emotional plotlines of the season and walks away with it. So certainly Four also approaches Three in terms of heightened emotional exhaustion and catharsis.

[mfunk9786]

Spoiler

The rapist getting killed

There were actually three storylines I found more absurd than the notorious one:

Spoiler

Buddy Garrity's The Blind Side; Smash's scholarship repeal; and the whole meth dealer thing from beginning to end

[Andre Jurieu]

There were actually three storylines I found more absurd than the notorious one:

Spoiler

Buddy Garrity's The Blind Side

I thought that one was just as bad as the stuff involving Landry and Tyra.

[domino harvey]

The drug dealer is way too accurate to be a false step. I think anyone who went to a liberal arts college in the midwest can back that up-- I've definitely met more than one of these guys, haha. I like Buddy's surrogate parenting attempt, but it's one of the plotlines the series pretends didn't happen in season three, so no worries there (and the series will pick a similar thread back up in Season Five, to better success).

[Professor Wagstaff]

For all the gripes that can be leveled against Tyra and Landry's season 2 storyline, I do think the acting of both Palicki and Plemons is incredibly strong and that both actors make the story more tolerable than if it were some of the weaker performers like Minka Kelly and Scott Porter in the same scenario (awful in their Mexico storyline). For me, the more cringe-inducing storyline is

Spoiler

Matt and Carlotta. Her abrupt exit from the show is a real Poochie the Dog "I have to go now, my planet needs me" moment.

[Andre Jurieu]

For me, the more cringe-inducing storyline is

Spoiler

Matt and Carlotta. Her abrupt exit from the show is a real Poochie the Dog "I have to go now, my planet needs me" moment.

Spoiler

Wow, Carlotta came from another planet?

Kidding aside, agreed on both points made above.

[mfunk9786]

The Tyra and Landry thing bothers me so much because it is easily the most realistic and justifiable romance on the show to this point, and because the writers have decided to make Tyra go between an incredibly self confident, caring, and self respecting woman and a complete bitch without explanation or justification. They built up what was a feeling and three-dimensional relationship in the second season between her and Landry and then decided "let's just nix that 'over the summer' like we did with Julie and Matt." At least there, we got an explanation and a realistic characterization of the circumstances, but here... it just feels like a wasted opportunity to let two actors with excellent chemistry have their moment in the sun after so much skirting around their chemistry during Season 2.

[swo17]

Complete series box coming Oct 4, MSRP $129.99

[domino harvey]

An oral history of Friday Night Lights

Edit: this is the best thing I've ever read \:D/

[Professor Wagstaff]

An oral history of Friday Night Lights

Great read. It's hard for me to imagine Dwight Yoakam as Coach Taylor and how radically different the show might have been with that casting.

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

The Ultimate Coach Taylor Pep Talk

[domino harvey]

Not quite as good as this compilation, y'all

[Andre Jurieu]

An oral history of Friday Night Lights

Edit: this is the best thing I've ever read \:D/

It's content like this that remind me that Simmons still does some great stuff occasionally. Glad his new site provides him more flexibility, though I worry his ego will get the best of him eventually.

[tarpilot]

Currently making my way through the series for the first time. After a second season that I found as disappointing as all the naysayers naysayed, season 3's "Hello, Goodbye" is probably one of the best single episodes of television I've ever seen and gets the show fully back in my good graces.

Spoiler

"Where you at?"

Greatest final shot/line combo in anything ever?

[Zumpano]

Damn you guys. After reading the first page of this thread, I managed to talk my girlfriend into starting this with me ("But, I don't wanna watch something about football!"), and we're hooked. I'm about 8 episodes in and am trying to catch up quickly so I can get to where Mfunk is, so I can join in on the conversation (which I don't think will be hard, since I'm knocking back about two episodes a night).

Now the girlfriend sends me texts during the day: "I can't wait to watch Friday Night Lights tonight!"

Thanks guys for the strong recommendation/hyperbole.

[Alphonse Doinel]

Enjoy. I just finished rewatching the entire series, and you're in for a treat—especially the last three seasons.

To me, this was NBC's way of making up for the utter mistake they made by not giving Freaks and Geeks more of a shot.

[mfunk9786]

I am still on the second episode of the 3rd season and haven't watched for a few weeks. You should have no problem catching up with me. You should keep us posted on your thoughts, and perhaps your catching up will motivate me to start watching again!

[Andre Jurieu]

To me, this was NBC's way of making up for the utter mistake they made by not giving Freaks and Geeks more of a shot.

That's a particularly interesting opinion/viewpoint, considering the two shows focus the majority of their attention on two (allegedly) very different segments/cultures within the contemporary adolescent community. The presumed disparity between the two sects probably didn't allow for a great deal of cross-over between the audiences of the shows, though they really do share a great deal in common in there depiction of high-school struggles.

[Alphonse Doinel]

To me, this was NBC's way of making up for the utter mistake they made by not giving Freaks and Geeks more of a shot.

That's a particularly interesting opinion/viewpoint, considering the two shows focus the majority of their attention on two (allegedly) very different segments/cultures within the contemporary adolescent community. The presumed disparity between the two sects probably didn't allow for a great deal of cross-over between the audiences of the shows, though they really do share a great deal in common in there depiction of high-school struggles.

My comment was more about NBC taking a chance on a show that was clearly brilliant, yet struggled to find an audience. I imagine it has more to do with TV as a medium changing since Freaks was cancelled, but I'm sure they didn't want to relive that one.

As different as they are, I think they both succeed for a lot of the same reasons. The main one being the freedom the actors were given, since both these shows succeed because of just how much you love the characters.

[swo17]

[domino harvey]

Why on earth would you put fifth season Tyra on the cover? Vom

[swo17]

Pssst, some people aren't that far yet.

Spoiler

In Season 5, Tyra becomes a werewolf.

Spoiler

[mfunk9786]

Everyone knows that short haircut volleyball Tyra is the best

[Andre Jurieu]

Everyone knows that short haircut volleyball Tyra is the best

Yeah, that might have been the show's low-point. It made the Top Gun volleyball scene look realistic (and those guys were in jorts for cryin' out glavin!).

[Zinoviev]

NYRB on Friday Night Lights