People have been telling me to watch this show forever, and I was never quite sure why I waited so long. It was recommended by trusted friends who know my tastes. The premise and setting always intrigued me. The show has been a critical darling from day one, and is much lauded by my go-to site, Television Without Pity, with whom I share deep love for other favorites "Battlestar Galactica," "Gossip Girl," and "My So-Called Life." Why did I only start watching now? Well, for one, I live in Nowheresville, USA and they don't carry much TV at my video store. For two, I didn't know Hulu was such a magical gift to television freaks until a month ago (thanks, Sarah) where you could find entire series of cancelled shows such as "Square Pegs" (cult 1980's show starring Sarah Jessica Parker), "Kitchen Confidential" and yes, the current series "Friday Night Lights." But I think the real reason I held out so long was because I knew this would happen: I would become an obsessed freak. My first love may be movies, but those things are only two hours and then they're over. Even if you watch them more than once, that's nothing compared to 4 seasons of 22 episodes of a television series. I've always been a little bit fanatical about my TV watching - it started when I was 16 and the first show to grab hold and never let go, "Dawson's Creek." Today I can frequently be found trolling fan sites, watching shipper videos, and forcing marathons on anyone I can get to watch a season of my latest TV fave.
And now we're here, a place where in the span of 3 weeks, I have probably learned more about this show than any of the people who recommended it ever knew, and where I will be forced to gush at length about it's brilliance in not one, but two posts (it will be up tomorrow - lots of pictures) because not only do I love the plot and characters, but the technical aspects are a marvel to behold and I must share. Are we ready?!!?
"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS":
THE PLOT: Based on the 1990 book by H.G. Bissinger, which was first made into the 2004 film starring Billy Bob Thornton, "Friday Night Lights" takes place in a small(ish) Texas town where football is king. Seriously, high school football is the most important thing that takes place all year. Obviously, this level of football mania puts quite a strain on the ulcer of Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), a first time head coach who spends
the entire first season placating the boosters (who are up his ass every single day), being pressured by the parents, battling his assistant coaches for control of his own team, mentoring his lot of troubled players, and dealing with a season in which just about every single thing that can go wrong, does go wrong. This is one very stressed out man. Luckily he has the most awesome wife in the world, Tami (Connie Britton), and the two of them form this amazing little unit of marital bliss, who frequently stop to give advice and pep talks to the wayward youth of Dillon, Texas (the wife's a guidance counselor and magic!). Now, lest you think this is all about football, don't fret. As Smash says in Season2, "Neither of us can be who we are without football. It's the keys to the ignition." That is the point. Lots of other stuff happens, but football is the lens through which the show is shaped. And it must be said, that I cried during each and every one of the first season episodes. That is high praise. But let's move on to the people!THE CHARACTERS: In addition to crusty Coach and the magically delicious Tami, there's an entire cast of troubled teens and disgruntled townsfolk. Coach and Tami have an artsy daughter Julie (Aimee Teagarden) who has a lot of disdain for football, but is one of the most realistic portraits
of teenagerdom I've ever seen. She's vulnerable and difficult and sarcastic and always trying to point out the hypocrisy of her parents actions, but you know she's a good kid and loves them. My personal favorite is 2nd string quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), a shy, bashful kid, responsible for
more than any 16-year-old should have to handle, who over the seasons quietly develops into a tough, direct man. (He's not quite there yet, but the writing of his character has really handled these changes effectively.) Others on the team include Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch, see more on him below), and Brian "Smash" Williams (Gauis Charles), the star running back and a cocky little thing with a million dollar smile, all bluster and show. I didn't get Smash at first, but the writers eventually fleshed out his character and revealed that beneath all of Smash's talk, his heart is true blue. Plus, Charles is a first-rate actor, and Smash's storylines are the most directly related to football of any of the characters.
Jason Street (Scott Porter) is the quarterback, the best in the nation, and he dates the scrumptious Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly), head cheerleader. At first glance, these characters seem like wholesome cardboard cutouts of beautiful people, but they face a lot of 
adversity in the first season and the actors have a chance to build a lot of layers into these goodie two-shoes. Matt's best friend is the all-together lovable Landry (Jesse Plemmons) who provides a majority of the comic relief in the first season. And we mustn't forget Tyra (Adrienne Pallicki), the resident "white trash" - stunninly beautiful and 8 feet tall, but white trash - who is brash and tough and badass. The acting amongst the teens isn't always top-notch, but they are aided by wonderful writing that renders some of their inexperience a little less noticable, and by Season 3, they have all grown into these characters. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to find another cast that is so uniformly lovable. I also have to give the show major kudos for it's supporting cast. All of the players on the team, the parents, the siblings, the important people in the town, are played by the same actors throughout and they add marvelous color to the show. Even if you only see them in the stands during a game for a spilt second, it really helps cement the reality of the show that they're there. (My favorites are Smash's mama, Corinna, and Buddy Garrity, whom I originally loathed, but now can't imagine the show without!)
The real foundation of the show is the marriage between Tami and Coach Taylor. It's realistic, but realistically ideal: they argue, they worry about their daughter a lot, they sometimes hurt each others feelings, but they always talk things out, put their family first, and come to each other with problems. That is at the heart of the marriage: that they are friends first. They're in love too, but when Coach is stressed about the team, he can go to Tami and ask her opinion and she will give it to him straight, with a lot of love, and respect for the man he is and how the decision affects him, not just the team or their family. These are two people who genuinely like each other and respect each other as people. It's hard to watch this family interact and not be kinda jealous. They emanate an endless warmth.
THE FOOTBALL: I'm not a football moron, but I can't say I love it. I'm one of the few people in America who *doesn't* watch the Superbowl. So imagine how surprised I was to find myself completely invested in the fictional games of an imaginary team on a television show. I'm on the edge of my seat during every game. It helps that the flow of the game, or the player that gets to make the big play usually correspond with that week's development of the characters personal lives, but that's okay. Like Smash said: "Football is the keys to the ignition." If there are people out there who know how unrealistic some of the plays, calls, decisions, or outcomes of the games are, I don't wanna know! Every show distorts reality to some degree, and so many of the other elements are spot-on real, I'm not gonna complain about idealizing the football games, especially when they are so entertaining. I know that not every game is gonna end with a crucial, last-minute play, but it makes the games a little more exciting. So for those of you who have dismissed the show because of the football aspect, don't fear. There's a lot more going on and the football can be enjoyed by non-footballers.
THE RELIGION: I tend to hate religion in movies and TV. Apart from my personal conflicts involving, in particular, Christianity, it so often feels like a plot device. Either a character (usually supporting) is so involved in their faith they become a caricature, reacting not like a person, but like an agent of the script, or I feel like I'm being preached to (like all those Hallmark movies). But "Friday Night Lights" has managed to incorporate deep and prominent faith within a community into it's show without feeling cheesy or manipulative. It feels as much a part of this show's reality as the football. The players kneel and pray before games, sometimes practices, and it feels like more than habit. We frequently see almost all of the main 
characters in a church on Sunday mornings, singing hymns and listening to sermons, and I think, "that's exactly where they would be." Several of the characters have Christianity embedded into their character's basic makeup: Landry in particular is a character that has a Christian screamo band called Crucifictorious (awesome! - check out the tee-shirt), frequently cites being "a Christian" as his reason for doing something nice or right (and it feels natural and true coming from him), and has a major moral quandry in Season 2 because he can't reconcile spiritual law with governmental law. Smash and Lyla are other characters that have deep faith and it feels as much a part of their character as their love lives or career asperations. So I applaud the show for helping me enjoy religion as a part of telling good stories.
THE RIGGINS: He's only one character in a fantastic show, but will you look at this man? I have yet to come across a single female who doesn't think he's just about the most beautiful man in the world. Don't be discouraged if you don't see it yet; I'd only seen pictures of him before and thought, "yeah, he's cute, whatever." But then I watched him in action. I don't know how he does it. He mostly growls his lines and makes searching looks with his eyes, usually with a sheaf of hair in his face, but the overall effect it rather intoxicating. His character is Riggins, and he is the resident bad boy. He drinks too much, doesn't live up to his potential, has slept with half the female population of Dillon, and doesn't do any of his own homework. But he's actually a pretty nice guy. (I love that in Texas, or at least the Texas of the show, even the "bad" kids like Riggins and Tyra say "Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir." So respectful. Great detail.) He's a first rate charmer, all tortured on the inside, and his friendship with best friend Jason Street is one of my favorite parts of the show. (I am really obsessed with the guy friendships - I'm all about Chuck/Nate on "Gossip Girl", Duncan/Logan on "Veronica Mars", and am waiting in earnest for the Cappie/Evan reunion on "Greek.") Even if you don't like the character (go ahead and try!), at least enjoy the prettiest in what is already a very damn pretty cast!Honorable Mention: Jesse Plemmons' face. Definitely stands out as different from all the models in the rest of the cast. He's still very attractive, but there's something about that really heavy brow, and those squinty eyes, not to mention he's the only one with realistic teenage acne, that is just unusally fascinating to watch. This guy can change his expression and the feeling in his eyes with only the tiniest shift. Such an expressive face.
(I got all these screencaps from Home of the Nutty's FNL Screencap page.)
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