I just finished watching the first season of “Friday Night Lights” and I’m blown away. I can’t believe how good this was. I’m hesitating to go on in case the latter seasons aren’t as good. I put off watching this for a long time because it just didn’t sound like my cup of tea, I mean Texas high school football drama? Sounds bleargh all the way around. But just unbelievably good as it turns out.
Edited to add, at OP’s request:
“Please, no spoilers for anything that happens after season 1, including casting, plot developments, character appearances or absences, or any information at all that might reveal anything about what happens after season 1.”
It’s a very very good show. A lot of fans here, I believe.
The second season has some questionable storylines as they tried to pander to get higher ratings but then from season 3 on it gets back on solid track and has a great finale.
I watched all the seasons on Netflix this past year. Like Bob said, it kind of slows down in a few places but it’s definitely worth watching the entire series. I thought it was very well done.
Hi Acsenray. I was a latecomer to the **Friday Night Lights **party too. We finished season 1 just before Christmas, and have watched 3 episodes of season 2. Not disappointed yet!
I like how the characters are evolving, and how new story threads are emerging. I haven’t read a single spoiler–hell, I don’t even know how many seasons or episodes remain. I’m only sure of two things: the series eventually comes to some conclusion (because it isn’t on anymore), and Kyle Chandler is my TV boyfriend–damn he wears shorts well.
Agreed. There was one really unfortunate storyline in the second season, and a couple of others that went nowhere. The Wikipedia article mentions that this season ended abruptly because of a writers’ strike.
And yes, it’s a great show, and I say that as someone who has little interest in football. It’s a lot more than that.
I’ve always liked Connie Britton, but she’s just amazing in this show. The other characters I really like are Landry and Kyra. I also really like Tim’s brother, Billy. The only character that I have trouble watching is Lyla. I’m considering re-watching season 1 before going on to season 2 but I don’t know whether I can stand watching the Lyla scenes again. Even Jason gets unwatchable when he’s with Lyla.
I just noticed a continuity gaffe. In the opening sequence of the pilot episode, the host of the Panthers radio show refers to the first opponent of the season as the Westerby Mustangs, but when they are actually shown, they are the Westerby Chaps (I assume it’s short for Chapparals).
I also wondered why the Dillon Panthers’ team logo is a stylized “P” (for “Panthers”) when all the other teams’ logos are based on their school names rather than their team nicknames. After looking up the original nonfiction book “Friday Night Lights,” I realized it must be an homage to the actual Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, Texas, and sure enough, Permian’s logo is the exact “P” logo used on the show, although the real Permian uniforms seem to be black-colored rather than Dillon’s bright blue.
As previously mentioned, season 2 is meh as the network was pressuring the writers to add more typical “teen drama” plot lines, and then the writers strike happened. The strike was probably for the best in this case. The series gets back on track after that. Even so, there are still some great performances from the quality actors in season 2 so it’s not a total waste.
Ha, some of my favorite things about the series get illustrated better in later seasons, so I’ll keep them to myself.
I’m so glad I came to this series knowing absolutely nothing about it other than critical acclaim. I had no idea what was going to happen in the first episode so it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Episode 2 starts with the sermons of the two preachers. Their words seemed so hollow and meaningless to me. I wonder if that was the intended effect, or if any of the characters might have perceived them as I did or whether they were completely in tune with them.
As indicated the second season, while still very, very good has some questionable plotlines but then it’s back to top notch drama. Although, in order to complete the stories at the end, the producers agreed to a deal that really only allowed them half the episodes to complete the arc of one season. This makes some of the later episodes feel rushed but it’s amazing how well they dealt with the constraint.
I like how the show looks and that was achieved by teaching the film crews to follow the actors instead of blocking the cast’s movements.
I think the Taylor’s are about the most realistic family portrait I have seen on TV.
Wait until you get to the last episode. It features an absolute piece of genius writing/directing - just one of the great storytelling moments in history IMHO.
Years ago I read a piece by a journalist who only reviewed FNL to rip into it. He was from a town much like Dillon and he hated the jocks on the football team who made life miserable for him and his friends. He said that after watching FNL he realised that those guys were no better off than him, that they too were just trying to get by, and had just as many demons. Can’t ask much more from TV.
I have made it popular amongst people I know. I tell guys to watch it with their wives or girlfriends - it’s just a teen drama with superior acting, writing and direction with a bit of football thrown in. Was it ever marketed as this?
Yep, and they also had the actors do a lot of improvising with the dialogue, framed around whatever the purpose of the scene was. It’s the reason so much of it feels so natural.
FNL isn’t about football (well, a little obviously), it’s about life in a small town and it nails it.
I think I found another sly reference to the real Permian. In episode 4, when Voodoo joins practice, Buddy starts singing “Got my voodoo workin’,” which is a play on “Got my mojo workin’.”
I just want to chime in and say good choice, and warn that season 2 is absolutely the worst season of the series. It gets a lot better again after that, and actually isn’t all that bad if you take out a couple of poorly thought out plot lines.
Let us know when you come across the plot line that sinks the season. I am curious to see what you think. You’ll know it when you get to it.
Another thing about this show is that its ratings were always weak, so in order to continue past the second season, NBC made a deal with DirecTV to first air the third, fourth and fifth seasons on DirecTV in the autumn and then on NBC in the spring.
I’m watching Season 1 a second time before moving on, and I have a few more observations:
Minutia: The Austin Mead(e?) Tiger’s helmet logo is “A.C.M.” I wonder what the C is for.
The big racism episode—I’m dissatisfied with the resolution. Coach Mac is smart enough to stop the Dunston Valley cops from seizing Smash on trumped-up charges (and doing who-knows-what to him in custody), and this somehow balances out his apparently latent racist views? Smash seems to take back his “I know who you are” (albeit without saying anything explicitly), but just because Mac isn’t willing to let Smash be persecuted by cops doesn’t mean he no longer has a race problem.
Plotlines that seem to go nowhere—
– Kyra’s one-night stand with the guy from Los Angeles. What was the point of that, exactly?
– Kyra and Billy’s party business. I liked the business/friendship interaction between the two of them.
Rethinking Voodoo: Okay, so in the Arnett Mead(e?) game, Voodoo pisses off Coach Taylor by ignoring his play instructions twice. Clearly this is meant to show that Voodoo is a prima donna, not a team player, asshole, etc.
So, watching this a second time, I start thinking: Why is it that a quarterback is supposed to take orders from the sideline coach? I’ve never liked the “12th man” role that football coaches have come to take on in modern times. The game should be played by the players on the field and the captain on the field should be the one to make decisions. A coach’s role should be to prepare players to play, but once play starts, I hate the idea that the players are manipulated by a non-player. So, in the context of what football has become in our time, and in the context of the story, yeah, Voodoo was in the wrong, but in the bigger picture, I think he’s right. Once the coin is tossed, the field captain should be the one responsible for making decisions in a game, not a coach.
One of my favorite moments is following Billy’s fight with Tim and Jason’s punch, Tim’s return home and Billy’s offering of frozen peas, and half his grilled cheese and beer. The Rigginses are all kinds of messed up but Billy is doing his best to care for his baby bro. I teared up.