Friday Night Lights Freak
January 3, 2007 by Kath Skerry
I spent some time over the holidays getting caught up on some shows that alluded me since the fall season began. The shows I chose were lauded by many of you as being some that TV had to offer. Since I trust your opinion, I had to check them out. To be honest, I’m not going to really spend much time talking about Heroes and 30 Rock, because I feel like I’m preaching to the choir. You all watch those shows and seem to really love them. As do I. I’m almost caught up with both of them, and look forward to watching the new eps when they air.
So that brings me to perhaps the best part of the Christmas holidays, and that was watching Friday Night Lights. I mean, um, spending time with my family and THEN watching Friday Night Lights.
I had read all the reviews and knew it was something special, but I just couldn’t seem to keep up with it during the regular season when it first aired. Tuesday nights were busy and getting a new show in was just not in the cards. But thanks to Al Gore and his wonderful internet, and the folks at NBC.com, I was able to watch the entire season online and now I’m completely caught up.
So what do I think of Friday Night Lights? I think it’s fanfreakingtastic!! Honestly, it’s so much better than I expected it to be. Again, I had heard the critical praise, but I just wasn’t sure it could live up to the hype. Well it does. The characters, the storylines, the actors – just wonderful.
FNL’s genius is in its simplicity. The characters are simple minded and I don’t mean that to imply they are dumb, as much as I mean they are happy for the simple things life offers them. Family, God, Country, Football…although maybe not in that order. Football makes them happy and gives their community a real identity. The community of Dillon, Texas supports one another, and that support is magnified by their love of football.
The documentary style approach to the show allows for a certain level of intimacy which is enhanced by the candid and very real conversations and problems of the characters. Again, the beauty is in the realness of it all. Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler’s portrayals of the Mrs. and Coach Taylor are the key to the show. The Coach and his wife serve as matriarch and patriarch to Dillon, a role they didn’t ask for but assume all the same. They are the people the town, and more importantly, the young people of the town turn to in time of need. They are good people….flawed as we all are, but good all the same.
And who are the young people of this town? Well they are the men and women of Dillon High School. They are the footballers, cheerleaders, and that special group of kids that aren’t part of either aforementioned group. Jason Street, the set for life Quarterback who’s sudden paralysis seems to ruin not only his dreams but the dreams of the community. The love of his life, Lyla Garrity whose complicated affair with his best friend Tim Riggins fractures more than just Lyla and Jason’s relationship. Brian “Smash” Williams whose love of the game and his need to provide for his family leads him into the world of steroids. Every school needs one…Tyra, the misunderstood and bitter “sure thing” who wants nothing more than to break out of the small Texas town. And then of course there is Matt and Landry…
Matt Saracen and Landry Clarke could be my two new favorite BFFs on the small screen. Matt Saracen is the painfully shy back up Quarterback who is suddenly pulled from obscurity when Jason Street is injured. Zack Gilford, who plays Matt, is one hell of an actor. He has this vulnerability that permeates through his skin and is really mesmerizing to watch. He plays this insecure kid whose need to do the right thing always seems to win out – even if doing the right thing means ending his dream date early when his senile grandmother needs his attention. Matt Saracen represents the heart of Dillon, Texas and it’s going to be interesting to see how his new role as QB 1 for the Panthers affects him.
And Landry Clarke? Landry is Matt’s best friend. A non-footballer, Landry serves to keep Matt grounded and to remind him that their is more to life than just football. Landry is the one person that Matt truly feels comfortable around. Oh and he’s funny as all get out. But again, will Matt’s new role on the team fracture their long standing friendship? I guess we’ll see.
All of these characters and their stories comes together in such a beautiful way, that I feel you are really missing out if you are missing this show. I jumped on the bandwagon late, but at least I jumped, and I’m so glad I did.
I hope that if you aren’t already watching Friday Night Lights already you’ll give it a shot. The show is back TONIGHT in its new timeslot of 8/7c on NBC (yeah, don’t ask me why a show called FRIDAY NIGHT Lights is on Wednesday…I don’t get it either.) If you haven’t watched the show before and don’t have time to catch up online, it’s ok….I would still suggest you watch tonight. The information above should give you a basic idea of the characters, and of course there is more information on NBC.com. As I said before, it’s a simple story and I think you will be able to walk right into it and get the show right away. And of course, you could always email me and ask any questions you want.
So will you give the show a shot tonight? I’m looking forward to hearing from the newbies tomorrow.
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Filed under Friday Night Lights, TV News
I totally agree with you about this series. I jumped on this bandwagon late as well, but I spent the holiday break catching up on all the episodes. Matt Saracen is definitely my new favorite boy on tv. I think I am just going through some VM and Logan withdrawl.
I’ve been telling all my friends to watch, and hope that they will. There are two minute replays of each episode, so you can spend just about 25-30 minutes watching updates of each (with the pause for the oh so necessary advertising).
Friday Night Lights has found one new viewer in me, that’s for sure!
We caught FNL the week before christmas and thought, why aren’t we watching this show? It’s so good. Thankfully Bravo ran a marathon of the entire season which we DVR’d.
I certainly has lived up to all the hype. It made my 10 ten list 🙂
I’m so glad you’ve highlighted this wonderful show today, and I’m so excited for the new episode tonight. I also was a latecomer to the show and caught up with the episodes online. I really hope the show can gain some more viewers to get it to a second season. Even if you’re not into football, don’t worry – this show is really about small town life and the relationships among all the characters.
The one character GMMR didn’t mention was Julie Taylor, Coach’s daughter, who I think is great as well, especially in her relationship with Matt Saracen. I adore those two together and I am looking forward to seeing how their relationship progresses over the course of the show. I’m especially interested to see how Coach Taylor continues to deal with their relationship, especially with Matt being such a big part of the team.
I really have fallen in love with this show and I hope more and more people come to feel the same. It’s a quality family drama that has helped fill the void caused by Everwood’s cancellation.
It’s called FRIDAY NIGHT Lights because high school football games usually occur on… Friday nights.
Ha ha…I was being ironic Russ 🙂 Yeah, I know about Friday Night football, but I just thought it might be easier for people to remember the show if it aired on Friday.
mg, i totally agree with you that it has filled a void caused by the loss of Everwood. the relationships portrayed by the taylor family are honest, real, and sincere. have i said that i LOVE matt saracen? 😉
college games are never played on Friday.
and the show is on NBC, not ABC
Did I say college games were played on Friday? I missed that. And thanks for the heads up on the ABC typo.
It is a little confusing that it doesn’t air on Fridays, but if it did, it probably would get even less viewers than it does now since Friday isn’t a big TV night. I think if NBC does a better job promoting the show and its new timeslot, more people will hopefully tune in.
Will NBC air any NFL playoff games? They should take advantage of that and promote the show then. During last Sunday night’s game on NBC, they hardly showed any promos for it that I remember. Why does NBC insist on promoting shows like that new Grease reality show and Deal or No Deal but won’t spend enough on quality shows like FNL? At least NBC has stuck by it for a full season, so I’ll give them credit for that.
Thanks for highlighting this awesome show GMMR. I hope more people will tune in tonight. Matt Saracen is my new TV boyfriend.
Just like most of you I caught on to this show late. I saw part of an episode here or there, but never could fit it in to my viewing schedule. However, I also caught the BRAVO marathon over the holiday. I was glued to the couch. I kept trying to get up because I had errands to run, and I would stand watch a few more seconds, and then jut plop right back down, unable to pry myself away! I will definitely be watching tonight and every week in the future.
as a very recent high school grad I can tell you that high school games are played on Friday nights (hence the entire premise of the show) and NBC decided to air on a day other than that since the initial audience for the show was the exact same group of people that would be at Friday night games. phew that was long-winded and sounded sort of preachy, but I just wanted to help with the confusion.
Now if only Matt Saracen had been on my team…I would have gone to the games 🙂 He is probably the most adorbale thing to hit prime time. (too bad I have to flip between FNL and Beauty and the Geek tonight…it’s a guilt pleasure!)
Matt Saracen outdid himself this evening… Zack Guilford is an outstanding actor- the scene where he is talking to Coach Taylor in the backyard was amazing. I felt myself wanting to just give the kid a much needed hug through the television. Just absolutely outstanding.
I tell myself I’m not gonna cry every episode and then Matt Saracen goes and gets me EVERY TIME!! Zack is amazing in this role.
I am a late comer to the series as well. I did not have time in my schedule. I live in San Antonio, Texas and saw they were looking for extras on the set. Being an actor myself I decided that I should jump on the wagon and sign myself up for a day of filming. Well, that one day turned into the entire week of filming for episode 16. I am so ready for this to air so I can see if I got any time on screen. I am a reporter down on the field. There is a fight scene between the teams and the press goes wild with it. So, hope to keep you guys up to date and make sure we keep the ratings and veiwership going up or it will not be picked up next season.
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I am a newcommer on-line. I wanted to share my excitement about FNL.
I was so sick when this show was off during the writters strike. This is my favorite show on television. I can not wait till it comes on. You can go to on demand, tv entertainment, abc. There you are able to rent the entire first, second, and current seasons for a small fee for each episode. Keep watching so they continue to show FNL next season
Totally awesome show. Grew up and live in Texas, very true to life. I LOVE the less than dramatic, understated story lines that make the characters real. No one is perfect, everyone has their problems. Just like real life. Not to take away from the show…the characters are all enjoyable and they are probably some of the most “real” characters on tv, the ones you tend to wonder what will happen to them this week.
From a woman’s perspective…the football is great and a good reason in itself to watch, if you like football. BUT ~ the women’s issues are addressed too… natural birth (how many shows have emergency usually c/section births…the biggest drama here was dad almost didn’t make it in time), breastfeeding, post-partum period, dealing with CPS, all portrayed very realistically. Not preachy, doesn’t make you feel like you’re not living up to some ideal or something.
I like the ways they’ve dealt with race and politics and other issues too. They always seem to show the good and bad of both sides of any issue they deal with.
I’m making it sound kind of dreary, it’s really not…it’s one of the best shows on tv IMO.
Thanks for highlighting it. I was so glad to find out it was still on in 2009!