A Man. And His Blog.

The second season aired between October 2007 and February 2008 on NBC

Friday Night Lights is deeply entrenched in the world of football and teamwork, but the series transcends sports and delves into rich, human relationships that at times are heartbreakingly real. A compelling drama, the show also features one of the strongest (and best looking) ensemble casts. The second season fulfills the promise of its debut. Full of drama, heart, and superb acting, the series is set in fictional Dillon, Texas – a town where everyone lives and breathes football. The first season had Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) accepting a college coaching job, while his pregnant wife Tami (Connie Britton) and their 16-year-old daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) stayed behind in Dillon. Unfulfilled by his diminished duties and cognizant of the fact that he no longer is the head guy who calls all the shots, Eric returns to the Dillon Panthers. Meanwhile, Julie breaks up with starting quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), who ends up finding love with a young nurse’s aide. Paralyzed football hero Jason Street (Scott Porter) tries to find his place in the world, moving out of his parents’ home and accepting, and then quitting, an assistant coaching job with the Dillon Panthers. And bad boy Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) gets thrown off the squad and ends up squatting in a meth dealer’s home before Coach Taylor temporarily takes him in. Ensured a spot on a university with an elite football program, ‘Smash’ (Gaius Charles) believes that he is unstoppable. When a run-in with some racist kids turns into a media frenzy, the school rescinds its invitation and Smash finds himself scrambling to get into any school, regardless of its football program. Season two also deals with the aftermath of Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki) and Landry Clarke (Jesse Plemons), who try to cover up a murder. Things don’t always end neatly, but that only adds to the drama of Friday Night Lights.

Episode 01: Hot Days Of Summer
A good season opener with lots of new stories, drama and emotions. I liked it a lot. And it was really a start of something new. First the upcoming relationship trouble between Julie (she is flirting with the Swede [Alejandro Rose-Garcia]) and Matt (who kind of knows that there is trouble in paradise, but he is doing nothing about it), then the problems in the Taylor family (Tami’s little breakdown: awesome acting by Connie Britton), then the conclusion of the assault story last season: Landry just killed him. But I don’t know what to make of it. He suddenly comes with the pipe and hits the guy and kills him – this is somehow out of character, but it is a good story, because it gives him and Tyra a reason to be in the story of the series, even though this one has nothing to do with the other stories. And I don’t know why the writers pulled Landry into the team. And finally we have a baptised Lyla (Minka Kelly). I don’t know if that is going too fast (even though we have several months lying between the season one finale and the season two opener) or if that is out of character as well. But let’s see what’s coming. Not that we have a 7th Heaven clone in FNL now… 8/10

Read the rest of this entry »

In the small town of Dillon, Texas, one night matters: Friday Night. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) has recently been hired as the head football coach for the Dillon High School Panthers, the town’s pride and joy. Friday Night Lights displays the stress that the town gives the high school players to win, and the hope that the team gives to a small town, and how a team has its low points, its high points, and how they come together as a team on their way to victory.

Episode 01: Pilot
It is pretty much the very short version of the movie with same name. But nevertheless the right pilot for a great series. Because it shows from the beginning, what you have to expect from it: real and authentic drama, great and likable characters. The documentary character of the show sets the rest – shot on location, hand camera, interview style (at the beginning). The cast is wonderful, the characters feel real, the setting is real, the soundtrack is great, the storytelling is wonderful. But the pilot has the problem to jump directly into the story without introducing the characters properly. And a few people who don’t know anything about football could be disappointed, because the last third only is football.
But for me, it is a great start to one of the best network TV shows after The West Wing ended. 9/10

Read the rest of this entry »