Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...
July 14, 2011 9:05 AM Subscribe
I remember I went to NBC, and there were about 10 people in the room. [Kevin Reilly] and I looked at each other, and he said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "I want to build up this all-American quarterback, this hero. This wonderful, beautiful kid with his entire future ahead of him. His biggest decision in life was whether he was going to take a full ride to UT or Notre Dame. He's got the hot girlfriend. He's got the loving parents. And he's going to break his neck in the first game. We're going to create this iconic American hero, and we're going to demolish him." An oral history of Friday Night Lights.
Reading that paragraph, I was sure this was going to be about Pat Tillman.
posted by crunchland at 9:14 AM on July 14, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 9:14 AM on July 14, 2011 [6 favorites]
Berg: I was really worried. Connie and Kyle developed a very flirtatious, precocious relationship right off the bat. And Kyle, of course, is married. They announced they were going to drive to Austin together from L.A. to move out, and I threw myself in front of that bus. I said it was a horrible idea for multiple reasons. They ignored me. Connie dismissively told me she knew what she was doing and she didn't need my advice. I was convinced they would be having some torrid affair by the time they reached Santa Fe and Kyle's marriage would be over by the time they got to Austin. I was wrong about that, thank God.Wrong about both parts I wonder?
posted by AceRock at 9:16 AM on July 14, 2011
OH HELL YES.
When I first moved to Canada, I was spending way too much time devouring seasons of shows because when you're waiting for you PR card and can't work legally and don't speak the language, what else can you do? (Aside from going to school to learn said language, which I did do as well.) Eventually I ran out of shows I was interested in and solicited feedback from friends. My best friend said repeatedly, "Friday Night Lights." "I don't like football." "It's not just about football. I promise." "Really? I mean, I watch mostly British or supernatural stuff, so I'm not sure..." "DOWNLOAD THE FIRST SEASON."
I did. I liked it.
I'm the first person to admit I don't know jackshit about sports despite being born a Texan and a Southerner all my life. I didn't want to watch a show about something I have no interest in. But FNL isn't just about football; it's about small towns where football is religion as well as God is, where sometimes it's your only ticket out because no one encourages anything else, where your social status and standing depends solely on what you win, not how good a person you are. And it's about instigating change. Of taking the role you were handed and doing something else with it.
That said, I have to finish the seasons I haven't seen.
posted by Kitteh at 9:19 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
When I first moved to Canada, I was spending way too much time devouring seasons of shows because when you're waiting for you PR card and can't work legally and don't speak the language, what else can you do? (Aside from going to school to learn said language, which I did do as well.) Eventually I ran out of shows I was interested in and solicited feedback from friends. My best friend said repeatedly, "Friday Night Lights." "I don't like football." "It's not just about football. I promise." "Really? I mean, I watch mostly British or supernatural stuff, so I'm not sure..." "DOWNLOAD THE FIRST SEASON."
I did. I liked it.
I'm the first person to admit I don't know jackshit about sports despite being born a Texan and a Southerner all my life. I didn't want to watch a show about something I have no interest in. But FNL isn't just about football; it's about small towns where football is religion as well as God is, where sometimes it's your only ticket out because no one encourages anything else, where your social status and standing depends solely on what you win, not how good a person you are. And it's about instigating change. Of taking the role you were handed and doing something else with it.
That said, I have to finish the seasons I haven't seen.
posted by Kitteh at 9:19 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
Funny how when a show about football is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and suffers low ratings, it still lasts for 5 years. I guess Firefly was the art department of television.
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:19 AM on July 14, 2011 [22 favorites]
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:19 AM on July 14, 2011 [22 favorites]
this so great. I wonder what a Blake Lively Lyla would have been like. I like both actresses, so it would have been interesting, just different.
posted by sweetkid at 9:20 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by sweetkid at 9:20 AM on July 14, 2011
Honest question (I swear): Would I like FNL even if I'm pretty down on the apotheosis of sports in schools? I actually do like football, but the idea of the hero QB sticks in my craw, kind of like a me stuck in a locker.
I have heard endless raves about the show, and I only tend to watch one series at a time on Netflix. I'm leaning more towards Breaking Bad after the post yesterday, but I'd be curious to hear from other nerds who grew up in the shadow of cherished sportsmen and yet love this show.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:25 AM on July 14, 2011
I have heard endless raves about the show, and I only tend to watch one series at a time on Netflix. I'm leaning more towards Breaking Bad after the post yesterday, but I'd be curious to hear from other nerds who grew up in the shadow of cherished sportsmen and yet love this show.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:25 AM on July 14, 2011
The show had its hokey moments, especially in the early years: Landry's storyline in Season 2 (obviously), Jason Street's search for shark DNA, Lyla's weird Christian phase, etc.
But when the show was good, I think it's one of the very best things on television. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are absolute revelations on this show. I can't take my eyes off the screen whenever they're in a scene (especially when they're in a scene together). I can never say enough good things about them, or about some of the wonderful supporting cast (Buddy, Grandma Saracen, Smash's mother, Vince, etc.)
I also love what an incredible sense of place the show maintained. I grew up in a small southern town and I'm always amazed at some of the tiny details they get exactly right. The first season in particular is very good at this.
Love this show.
posted by soonertbone at 9:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
But when the show was good, I think it's one of the very best things on television. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are absolute revelations on this show. I can't take my eyes off the screen whenever they're in a scene (especially when they're in a scene together). I can never say enough good things about them, or about some of the wonderful supporting cast (Buddy, Grandma Saracen, Smash's mother, Vince, etc.)
I also love what an incredible sense of place the show maintained. I grew up in a small southern town and I'm always amazed at some of the tiny details they get exactly right. The first season in particular is very good at this.
Love this show.
posted by soonertbone at 9:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
I love good television, and there is a lot of good television out there, but this show really is something truly special. Sometimes I tear up just hearing the theme song, or talking about an episode after it airs. The acting and writing are both just perfect, so realistic and emotional, and everybody involved makes it look so easy.
I'm thrilled they've finally gotten some Emmy nominations this year, although it's a shame nobody paid attention until the show had been cancelled. This season was great, but no better than any of the previous four. They've all just been terrific. Er, except that weird murder thing in season 2.
posted by something something at 9:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm thrilled they've finally gotten some Emmy nominations this year, although it's a shame nobody paid attention until the show had been cancelled. This season was great, but no better than any of the previous four. They've all just been terrific. Er, except that weird murder thing in season 2.
posted by something something at 9:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
But FNL isn't just about football; it's about small towns where football is religion as well as God is, where sometimes it's your only ticket out because no one encourages anything else, where your social status and standing depends solely on what you win, not how good a person you are.
I think you hit it right on the head. And this is also the reason I couldn't ever last through an episode of the show. Every time I've seen FNL it's reminded me of my hometown where most people never get far away. Having been someone who paid for their own ticket out of there I can't help but remember the foolishness of it all.
I played football. It was fun to play. My town stunk it up when it came to sports yet there were bunches of people who had that opinion of "football is your legacy, this is the biggest moment of your life." The whole idea makes me sick even thinking about it and I count my lucky starts that I got the fuck out before it was too late.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:27 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
I think you hit it right on the head. And this is also the reason I couldn't ever last through an episode of the show. Every time I've seen FNL it's reminded me of my hometown where most people never get far away. Having been someone who paid for their own ticket out of there I can't help but remember the foolishness of it all.
I played football. It was fun to play. My town stunk it up when it came to sports yet there were bunches of people who had that opinion of "football is your legacy, this is the biggest moment of your life." The whole idea makes me sick even thinking about it and I count my lucky starts that I got the fuck out before it was too late.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:27 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Mister Fabulous, I still think that way of people who live back in my hometown. "Why the fuck don't you get out?" is a common underlying refrain in my head when I go back and have dinner with them.
Of course, I try not to do that because it makes me feel like an elitist asshole.
posted by Kitteh at 9:33 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Of course, I try not to do that because it makes me feel like an elitist asshole.
posted by Kitteh at 9:33 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yeah, this show really is amazing. I love it. Like something something, I also tear up with the theme song, on occasion. And often I can't really watch the show. I have to do something else to distract myself because it's so kind of... beautiful or emotional or whatever, I have to distance myself from it. It's totally without irony, I think that's it. And in the present cultural climate, I find it hard to handle. But still completely awesome.
posted by gaspode at 9:33 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gaspode at 9:33 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Thanks for the link.
I think FNL was the best network show ever done and I'd easily recommend it over many pay shows like Mad Men, Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and Six Feet Under. Season 2 is a bit of a wash but the other four are grand.
posted by dobbs at 9:34 AM on July 14, 2011
I think FNL was the best network show ever done and I'd easily recommend it over many pay shows like Mad Men, Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and Six Feet Under. Season 2 is a bit of a wash but the other four are grand.
posted by dobbs at 9:34 AM on July 14, 2011
I have heard endless raves about the show, and I only tend to watch one series at a time on Netflix. I'm leaning more towards Breaking Bad after the post yesterday, but I'd be curious to hear from other nerds who grew up in the shadow of cherished sportsmen and yet love this show.
But FNL isn't just about football; it's about small towns where football is religion as well as God is, where sometimes it's your only ticket out because no one encourages anything else, where your social status and standing depends solely on what you win, not how good a person you are.
In most ways, FNL isn't about football at all, but rather about people and relationships. I was a total nerd, had (and have) little but contempt for jocks in high school and college, and I adore FNL. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, probably second to The Wire and different but equal in many ways.
Maybe, maybe not? I saw the pilot after hearing tons of people tell me it was about "so much more than football! ... it's, like, not even about football!" and I was bored out of my goddamn skull because seriously it's completely about football and I give not a single shit about who wins these games or how it affects their lives.
Out of curiousity, did you watch more than just the pilot?
posted by The Michael The at 9:42 AM on July 14, 2011
But FNL isn't just about football; it's about small towns where football is religion as well as God is, where sometimes it's your only ticket out because no one encourages anything else, where your social status and standing depends solely on what you win, not how good a person you are.
In most ways, FNL isn't about football at all, but rather about people and relationships. I was a total nerd, had (and have) little but contempt for jocks in high school and college, and I adore FNL. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, probably second to The Wire and different but equal in many ways.
Maybe, maybe not? I saw the pilot after hearing tons of people tell me it was about "so much more than football! ... it's, like, not even about football!" and I was bored out of my goddamn skull because seriously it's completely about football and I give not a single shit about who wins these games or how it affects their lives.
Out of curiousity, did you watch more than just the pilot?
posted by The Michael The at 9:42 AM on July 14, 2011
I just wonder how much traffic GruntLand.com Russel Crowe's bands website is getting from typo traffic from Grantland.com's popularity
posted by matimer at 9:42 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by matimer at 9:42 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I honestly believe I've never seen a better portrayal of modern American middle-class life and marriage than the relationship written between Eric and Tammy Taylor.
And although they are an astonishing cast of subtle actors, I wish Taylor Kitsch could somehow also have a silent film career. He's physically beautiful, but more than that, he could probably act out whole soliloquies using only his eyes.
Can't imagine ever loving another show the way I've loved this one.
posted by melissa may at 9:44 AM on July 14, 2011 [9 favorites]
And although they are an astonishing cast of subtle actors, I wish Taylor Kitsch could somehow also have a silent film career. He's physically beautiful, but more than that, he could probably act out whole soliloquies using only his eyes.
Can't imagine ever loving another show the way I've loved this one.
posted by melissa may at 9:44 AM on July 14, 2011 [9 favorites]
It becomes less and less about football as the seasons go on. This most recent season I doubt there is 10% of the screen time dedicated to the games. Practices are usually just backdrops for other more universal plot lines.
(its the biggest problem with the show from a ratings perspective - the subject chases away people who would admire it for its quality, while its not "sporty" and "uplifiting" enough to attract the sort of people who would watch a "sports drama")
posted by JPD at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2011
(its the biggest problem with the show from a ratings perspective - the subject chases away people who would admire it for its quality, while its not "sporty" and "uplifiting" enough to attract the sort of people who would watch a "sports drama")
posted by JPD at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2011
The book the show is based on is one of the best pieces of long-form sports journalism I've read in years.
posted by escabeche at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by escabeche at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
it does sort of rest on the premise that these people who worship football are in some way interesting to root for or identify with.
This is like the exact opposite of the point of the show actually. Football is just a construct they've used to pull together this tremendous drama about middle-class middle america that isn't trying to glamorize sports or america. Indeed some of the most agonizing moments of the show are about idiots being too focused on football. Like the worst hateable villain in the whole series is a prototypical football dad.
If there's a legit complaint its that the actors are too pretty
posted by JPD at 9:48 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
This is like the exact opposite of the point of the show actually. Football is just a construct they've used to pull together this tremendous drama about middle-class middle america that isn't trying to glamorize sports or america. Indeed some of the most agonizing moments of the show are about idiots being too focused on football. Like the worst hateable villain in the whole series is a prototypical football dad.
If there's a legit complaint its that the actors are too pretty
posted by JPD at 9:48 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Out of curiousity, did you watch more than just the pilot?
I watched a season or two and I feel exactly the same way. In what conceivable sense is the show not about football? It derives all of its suspense and narrative structure from the viewer's alleged interest in how the team or some player is going to perform in this game or that season. In my case, where other people have that interest, I have an enormous gaping void of apathy, so the show does not do very much for me.
posted by enn at 9:49 AM on July 14, 2011
I watched a season or two and I feel exactly the same way. In what conceivable sense is the show not about football? It derives all of its suspense and narrative structure from the viewer's alleged interest in how the team or some player is going to perform in this game or that season. In my case, where other people have that interest, I have an enormous gaping void of apathy, so the show does not do very much for me.
posted by enn at 9:49 AM on July 14, 2011
My best friend, who suggested the show to me emphatically, has often been known to text me with the sentence, "Tammy Taylor is who I want to be when I grow up."
The chemistry between Britton and Chandler is just astounding.
posted by Kitteh at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
The chemistry between Britton and Chandler is just astounding.
posted by Kitteh at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
I did not! I was so angry after the pilot that I looked no further, but I'd be really happy to give it another go if you think there might be another episode that might draw me in more! Like I said, I know plenty of great folk who like the show, so I want to like it, but have no idea which episodes, if any, might accomplish that. Please feel free to suggest some!
I think JPD's two most recent comments address this really well. The show really flows and develops the characters languidly and gracefully overtime. Football is really most prominent in the first season, and even then on a steady downward trend from the pilot onward. I couldn't say "watch S1E7 and S3E12" or something. Just keep watching. And hey, if you still don't like it, no worries! Lots of great TV out there.
posted by The Michael The at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011
I think JPD's two most recent comments address this really well. The show really flows and develops the characters languidly and gracefully overtime. Football is really most prominent in the first season, and even then on a steady downward trend from the pilot onward. I couldn't say "watch S1E7 and S3E12" or something. Just keep watching. And hey, if you still don't like it, no worries! Lots of great TV out there.
posted by The Michael The at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011
If there's a legit complaint its that the actors are too pretty
Except Landry. That kid is awesome, but he is anything but pretty.
posted by The Michael The at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Except Landry. That kid is awesome, but he is anything but pretty.
posted by The Michael The at 9:51 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Of course, I try not to do that because it makes me feel like an elitist asshole.
I do the same by not going back. I've only been back three times in four years and don't step foot into most of the places I'd be noticed.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:52 AM on July 14, 2011
I do the same by not going back. I've only been back three times in four years and don't step foot into most of the places I'd be noticed.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:52 AM on July 14, 2011
Honest question (I swear): Would I like FNL even if I'm pretty down on the apotheosis of sports in schools?
Yes, not because it's intensely critical of sport-in-schools (it is, but only sometimes), but because it's just damned good at what it does. The show, when it's "on" (and it usually is), is one of the best dramas that TV has ever seen. Watch three episodes and try not to get dragged in. And here's the key: what drags you isn't some high-concept crazy teenager shit (crime, drugs, tragedy etc -- not that it doesn't touch on this stuff), but complex, believable characters who never quite do what you're expecting and almost always find a way to NOT become assholes to each other. There really are no sustained villains in Friday Night Lights.
All this with the caveat that the young actors are pretty much all way too good looking and the absurd-to-the-point-of-cliche soap-opera convention that "no kiss ever goes unpunished", but then, it is entertainment.
posted by philip-random at 9:52 AM on July 14, 2011
Yes, not because it's intensely critical of sport-in-schools (it is, but only sometimes), but because it's just damned good at what it does. The show, when it's "on" (and it usually is), is one of the best dramas that TV has ever seen. Watch three episodes and try not to get dragged in. And here's the key: what drags you isn't some high-concept crazy teenager shit (crime, drugs, tragedy etc -- not that it doesn't touch on this stuff), but complex, believable characters who never quite do what you're expecting and almost always find a way to NOT become assholes to each other. There really are no sustained villains in Friday Night Lights.
All this with the caveat that the young actors are pretty much all way too good looking and the absurd-to-the-point-of-cliche soap-opera convention that "no kiss ever goes unpunished", but then, it is entertainment.
posted by philip-random at 9:52 AM on July 14, 2011
Also, Greg Nog, keep in mind the pilot is what they used to sell the show to the network. It's the most "typical network TV" episode of the entire run.
posted by The Michael The at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by The Michael The at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011
Add me to the evangelists for this show. It's not about football, it's about people and their relationships. And its not about a QB hero - it's about flawed kids who want to be the QB hero, and try, and fail, and try, and fail. It's about kids and their passions, and about parents and THEIR passions, and the way that doesn't always intersect to make great families, but other times totally does. It's so incredibly realistic (aside from that season 2 stupidity) and heartfelt and true. It's about Matt Saracen taking care of his grandma while trying to get through high school and fall in love and play football, because that's his escape from the adult-ness of taking care of his grandma. It's about dealing with classicm and racism and love and hate and.... man, it's just beautiful. I can't believe it's over.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011 [8 favorites]
Except Landry. That kid is awesome, but he is anything but pretty
true true. and most importantly most of the pretty people can actually act.
(I'm not looking at you Lyla Garrity)
posted by JPD at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011
true true. and most importantly most of the pretty people can actually act.
(I'm not looking at you Lyla Garrity)
posted by JPD at 9:53 AM on July 14, 2011
It derives all of its suspense and narrative structure from the viewer's alleged interest in how the team or some player is going to perform in this game or that season.
That's not quite correct. You only have to care about the characters and buy that they have an interest in how the team or players perform. Luckily, the writers and actors make it super easy to care about the characters.
If all you feel is apathy towards football (as opposed to hatred or bitterness towards it) then you should be able to get past the football stuff to what is really the core of the show: the characters and their relationships.
posted by AceRock at 9:56 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
That's not quite correct. You only have to care about the characters and buy that they have an interest in how the team or players perform. Luckily, the writers and actors make it super easy to care about the characters.
If all you feel is apathy towards football (as opposed to hatred or bitterness towards it) then you should be able to get past the football stuff to what is really the core of the show: the characters and their relationships.
posted by AceRock at 9:56 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm a big sci-fi fan and I flat-out adored Firefly. I am NOT a football fan, but I flat-out adored Friday Night Lights. That said --
Jon_Evil: Funny how when a show about football is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and suffers low ratings, it still lasts for 5 years. I guess Firefly was the art department of television.
Let me try to trace your thought process, here.
"I loved Firefly and it got cancelled way too early, and I'm still bitter. Here's a post about a show that didn't get cancelled way too early. Hmmm, both it and Firefly had devoted fan-bases and critical acclaim, so the deciding factor in why one died and one lived must be... FOOTBALL! Hah! This is the perfect place for me to sneer at football!"
Because I can't parse it any other way.
The reasons for Firefly's mid-first-season cancellation are in no way comparable to the reasons for Friday Night Lights five-season run. It's ridiculous to even put them in the same sentence (unless that sentence is about "great television" or "TV shows that start with the letter 'F'").
Have you seen an episode of Friday Night Lights? Or are you just basing your bitching on the fact that you know it has football in it? Because you're pretty misinformed if you think it's "about" football. That's what I thought, too, until I was convinced to give it a shot.
posted by tzikeh at 9:57 AM on July 14, 2011 [11 favorites]
Jon_Evil: Funny how when a show about football is critically acclaimed with a devoted fan base and suffers low ratings, it still lasts for 5 years. I guess Firefly was the art department of television.
Let me try to trace your thought process, here.
"I loved Firefly and it got cancelled way too early, and I'm still bitter. Here's a post about a show that didn't get cancelled way too early. Hmmm, both it and Firefly had devoted fan-bases and critical acclaim, so the deciding factor in why one died and one lived must be... FOOTBALL! Hah! This is the perfect place for me to sneer at football!"
Because I can't parse it any other way.
The reasons for Firefly's mid-first-season cancellation are in no way comparable to the reasons for Friday Night Lights five-season run. It's ridiculous to even put them in the same sentence (unless that sentence is about "great television" or "TV shows that start with the letter 'F'").
Have you seen an episode of Friday Night Lights? Or are you just basing your bitching on the fact that you know it has football in it? Because you're pretty misinformed if you think it's "about" football. That's what I thought, too, until I was convinced to give it a shot.
posted by tzikeh at 9:57 AM on July 14, 2011 [11 favorites]
One more comment and I'll step out gracefully:
Berg: People weren't reacting to the football. It was expensive, but people weren't reacting to it. How many 40-yard bombs can you throw? It was probably the least interesting part of the show. Watching Buddy Garrity try to stay sober and get a JumboTron named after him was much more interesting to me. I don't get a lot of kids coming up to me to say, "Oh, the football rocks." The show will be remembered more as one about a marriage than one about football.posted by The Michael The at 9:57 AM on July 14, 2011 [6 favorites]
I guess Firefly was the art department of television.
Jesus, it's been years. Move ON dot org.
posted by Justinian at 9:59 AM on July 14, 2011 [17 favorites]
Jesus, it's been years. Move ON dot org.
posted by Justinian at 9:59 AM on July 14, 2011 [17 favorites]
I enjoyed it all right, mostly, but:
1. The show is about football. It's not ONLY about football, but it's also about football.
2. Coach Taylor is a jerk. I guess he's a good coach, but his initial reaction to anything his wife does with a career is a jerk reaction, even if later he feels bad and acts less jerky. (See: Tami gets a job as a guidance counsellor, Tami gets a job as a principal, Tami gets a job as a college dean.) I don't mind watching shows about jerks, but I like when the show acknowledges that I am doing this.
It's not a bad show -- it's a good show, if not exacty my cup of tea -- but I do not understand the people calling it the best network show ever.
posted by jeather at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
1. The show is about football. It's not ONLY about football, but it's also about football.
2. Coach Taylor is a jerk. I guess he's a good coach, but his initial reaction to anything his wife does with a career is a jerk reaction, even if later he feels bad and acts less jerky. (See: Tami gets a job as a guidance counsellor, Tami gets a job as a principal, Tami gets a job as a college dean.) I don't mind watching shows about jerks, but I like when the show acknowledges that I am doing this.
It's not a bad show -- it's a good show, if not exacty my cup of tea -- but I do not understand the people calling it the best network show ever.
posted by jeather at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
It was probably the least interesting part of the show.
i would focus on my knitting during the football game scenes, more often than not. but i loved the show overall.
posted by JBD at 10:01 AM on July 14, 2011
i would focus on my knitting during the football game scenes, more often than not. but i loved the show overall.
posted by JBD at 10:01 AM on July 14, 2011
This if one of my favorite shows of all time – my wife-to-be and I are both planning on getting "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" tattoos.
I'm wearing a crucifictorious shirt as I type this.
posted by CharlesV42 at 10:03 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
I'm wearing a crucifictorious shirt as I type this.
posted by CharlesV42 at 10:03 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
If all you feel is apathy towards football (as opposed to hatred or bitterness towards it) then you should be able to get past the football stuff to what is really the core of the show: the characters and their relationships.
I don't really understand the appeal of the characters either. The coach and his wife felt like pure Mary Sues — nothing but wish fulfillment. The plot stuff was boring because it was about a sport I don't know or care about and the character "development" was boring because you knew that the protagonist was always going to choose the course of action most in accordance with the weird, reactionary, kind of unpleasant southern ideals about "honor" that the show's creators seem to hold. Hard to care about, for me.
posted by enn at 10:04 AM on July 14, 2011
I don't really understand the appeal of the characters either. The coach and his wife felt like pure Mary Sues — nothing but wish fulfillment. The plot stuff was boring because it was about a sport I don't know or care about and the character "development" was boring because you knew that the protagonist was always going to choose the course of action most in accordance with the weird, reactionary, kind of unpleasant southern ideals about "honor" that the show's creators seem to hold. Hard to care about, for me.
posted by enn at 10:04 AM on July 14, 2011
FNL is network television, in all its glory and suckitude.
It all starts with someone else's work, wrapped up in a neat tagline: "Small-town life, with football as the center," then gets shopped around and retold as what it isn't: "Well, it's not really about football." The pilot is amazing, but it isn't what the show really is. Some people love it, some people hate it, most people watch something else (seriously, even "American Idol" only pulls in ten percent of the country).
It gets changed by nervous networkies: "Landry kills a dude." This essentially kills the show. Ultimately, the creators go to cable and do it right.
And when it's gone, people will remember it a little more fondly than it deserves, but it'll still hold up in twenty years.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on July 14, 2011
It all starts with someone else's work, wrapped up in a neat tagline: "Small-town life, with football as the center," then gets shopped around and retold as what it isn't: "Well, it's not really about football." The pilot is amazing, but it isn't what the show really is. Some people love it, some people hate it, most people watch something else (seriously, even "American Idol" only pulls in ten percent of the country).
It gets changed by nervous networkies: "Landry kills a dude." This essentially kills the show. Ultimately, the creators go to cable and do it right.
And when it's gone, people will remember it a little more fondly than it deserves, but it'll still hold up in twenty years.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on July 14, 2011
soonertbone: "The show had its hokey moments, especially in the early years: Landry's storyline in Season 2 (obviously), Jason Street's search for shark DNA, Lyla's weird Christian phase, etc. "
Wait. Wait, what? Does this show share a universe with Deep Blue See?
If so, I may need to give it a shot.
posted by brundlefly at 10:05 AM on July 14, 2011
Wait. Wait, what? Does this show share a universe with Deep Blue See?
If so, I may need to give it a shot.
posted by brundlefly at 10:05 AM on July 14, 2011
Coach Taylor is a jerk. I guess he's a good coach, but his initial reaction to anything his wife does with a career is a jerk reaction,
Yes - that's why the show is great. He's one of the hero's in the show, but its clear in some part of his body the sterotypical texas football coach who wants his wife to be the coaches wife first, mom second, and doesn't give a fuck what comes next. And yes - you get angry at him every time he doesn't get how he's supposed to be excited for Tammy. And what makes it great is the fight they have and the fact that Tammy never rolls over.
(The TV part is that he always ends up making the decision you want him to make, even if its ugly first)
enn I'm utterly convinced you've never watched the show, or if you did you were too biased in your dislike of football to ever give it a chance.
posted by JPD at 10:07 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
Yes - that's why the show is great. He's one of the hero's in the show, but its clear in some part of his body the sterotypical texas football coach who wants his wife to be the coaches wife first, mom second, and doesn't give a fuck what comes next. And yes - you get angry at him every time he doesn't get how he's supposed to be excited for Tammy. And what makes it great is the fight they have and the fact that Tammy never rolls over.
(The TV part is that he always ends up making the decision you want him to make, even if its ugly first)
enn I'm utterly convinced you've never watched the show, or if you did you were too biased in your dislike of football to ever give it a chance.
posted by JPD at 10:07 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
I could never get over the moving camera/shaking camera thing the show did.
How a show about football, in Texas, that realistically portrayed small-town people that was loved by critics failed I'm not sure. Perhaps the camera thing?
posted by skepticallypleased at 10:09 AM on July 14, 2011
How a show about football, in Texas, that realistically portrayed small-town people that was loved by critics failed I'm not sure. Perhaps the camera thing?
posted by skepticallypleased at 10:09 AM on July 14, 2011
JPD, I really have no dislike for football at all, just indifference. Like I said, I watched season one and part or all of season 2 (don't remember with certainty, it's been a couple years). Maybe it gets better but there are only so many bad seasons of a show I'm going to watch to get to the good ones.
posted by enn at 10:12 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by enn at 10:12 AM on July 14, 2011
Sports is all about the creation of heroes.
FNL is good at showing how a community built around pumping up one crop after another of short-lived heroes keeps itself going.
On the other hand, what makes FNL great is that it doesn't seem like it's following such a neat schematic-- it does a bizarrely good job of miniaturist rendering. The types boil down very quickly into people, and the heroes seem less important than the people in the stands: It's less about Jason the Hero than Buddy the Has-Been.
>Jason Street's search for shark DNA, Lyla's weird Christian phase
Actually, I thought these were both perfect touches. (The murder... well, that was... off.)
The bit that sold me was quick and off-hand: Smash's mother kicking Tyra out of her house for endangering her son with her race-mixin' ways, played against Smash's blandly apolitical Race Doesn't Matter stance.
posted by darth_tedious at 10:17 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
FNL is good at showing how a community built around pumping up one crop after another of short-lived heroes keeps itself going.
On the other hand, what makes FNL great is that it doesn't seem like it's following such a neat schematic-- it does a bizarrely good job of miniaturist rendering. The types boil down very quickly into people, and the heroes seem less important than the people in the stands: It's less about Jason the Hero than Buddy the Has-Been.
>Jason Street's search for shark DNA, Lyla's weird Christian phase
Actually, I thought these were both perfect touches. (The murder... well, that was... off.)
The bit that sold me was quick and off-hand: Smash's mother kicking Tyra out of her house for endangering her son with her race-mixin' ways, played against Smash's blandly apolitical Race Doesn't Matter stance.
posted by darth_tedious at 10:17 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Its hard to believe you, enn, when you say you've watched a lot of the show when every single one of your criticisms rings completely false. Other people are talking about how well developed the characters in the show are and you describe them as Mary Sues.
posted by AceRock at 10:20 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by AceRock at 10:20 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
The bit that sold me was quick and off-hand: Smash's mother kicking Tyra out of her house for endangering her son with her race-mixin' ways, played against Smash's blandly apolitical Race Doesn't Matter stance.
Smash's mom. Made of win. Along with Smash. When he's injured and sidelined from college ball -- so much pain there.
posted by sweetkid at 10:20 AM on July 14, 2011
Smash's mom. Made of win. Along with Smash. When he's injured and sidelined from college ball -- so much pain there.
posted by sweetkid at 10:20 AM on July 14, 2011
Jesus, it's been years. Move ON dot org.
Seriously. I fucking loved Firefly and I never watched FNL but that comment was still annoying. There's no reason to bring up Firefly in this discussion. Stuff like this or HNBF or wishing cast members' new shows fail just make me ashamed to be a Browncoat sometimes.
posted by kmz at 10:22 AM on July 14, 2011
Seriously. I fucking loved Firefly and I never watched FNL but that comment was still annoying. There's no reason to bring up Firefly in this discussion. Stuff like this or HNBF or wishing cast members' new shows fail just make me ashamed to be a Browncoat sometimes.
posted by kmz at 10:22 AM on July 14, 2011
Weird, I would have thought that being a Browncoat would be what made you ashamed to be a Browncoat.
posted by Justinian at 10:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 10:26 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
The scene where Tammy Taylor talks to her daughter about sex is the most real portrayal of that discussion that I've ever seen on television. Having only experienced that conversation in real life from the daughter's perspective, I felt like I finally understood what the parent must be feeling and how deeply afraid they must be of their child getting hurt.
I agree with gaspode above that this show is sometimes too much to take. It's just so good. (Oh, and I hate football with a burning passion.)
posted by jrichards at 10:29 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I agree with gaspode above that this show is sometimes too much to take. It's just so good. (Oh, and I hate football with a burning passion.)
posted by jrichards at 10:29 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Man, my earlier comment was just a big o.O about "Seriously, Firefly? That's related how?" Instead of about FNL and how completely fucking awesome it is.
I'll be blunt: I'm a big-city, East-Coast, lefty-liberal atheist with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending upon how you view it) disdain for pretty much everything the show is ostensibly "about": high-school football in small-town Texas. Friends would say, "No, really, you'd love it," and I'd say "I'm sorry--have you met me?" It had to have been at least two seasons of people telling me I'd love it before I even gave it a shot. And even then it was because I was stuck at home with a bad cold one week, and my roommate had the first three seasons on DVD, and I thought I'd watch three episodes just so that I could say "not for me" with experience to back that up. BTW, if you've only ever seen the pilot, you really don't have a sense of the show as a whole.
(Tangent--that's true of pretty much every show, which is why I give all but the most dire examples around three-to-six episodes before giving them up. And even that's not always going to net me a 100% rating [c.f. Fringe])
I'm sure those of you who are FNL fans know what happened next. I'd finished the first three seasons in four days. I'd never been happier to be a DirecTV subscriber than when I realized I'd be getting Season 4 well before anyone who had to wait for it to air on NBC.
I'm with everyone above who says that sometimes just hearing a few bars of the theme can make me tear up. Yes, they had missteps, and we all probably agree on what they were, but even within those missteps there was some fine work being done by the actors (99% of them--don't look at me, Minka Kelly), and the show is so brilliantly shot. Dillon itself is a well-developed, complex character. Eric and Tami Taylor's marriage is so beautifully crafted by the writers and actors that you... it's so trite to say "you forget that it's fiction," but that's as close as I can get to what I mean.
Oh, *another* thing the show did better than any other show that concerned high school was let go of beloved characters who graduated, or whose character arc demanded that they leave town, while bringing in new characters and making them equally as compelling in completely different ways.
Fuck, now I'm kind of getting teary, and I could go on writing for ages and ages, but all I'd end up doing is listing every single thing about the show, and then saying how great it was.
Last note: awards. Basically, well, fuck the Emmys--but part of that is very much the same thing that happened with Homicide and The Wire--they don't film in town. If you're not in town, nobody remembers you. Schmooze or lose. And every year I get bitter about the Emmys (and the Oscars) for one thing or another, and it's just a joke that the first time Chandler and Britton were nominated was for fourth season, but the #1 biggest slight has to be a lack of nomination (and WIN) for Zach Gilford, who played Matt Saracen, for his performance in "The Son."
Fuck the Emmys; he should have won an Oscar for that. I don't give a shit that those are only for movies. Fling that episode up on a few screens in NY and LA and get that boy a statue. (N.B. You'll need a time machine to have it qualify.)
DAMMIT, I miss this show so much--this show I should have, by all rights, hated. Coach and Mrs. Coach, Julie, Riggs, Landry, Tyra, Grandma, Buddy, Smash, Vince, Jess, Matt-My-Favorite-Saracen. Yesterday, I took a dig at Klosterman's "Lost was the best show on network television" statement in the Breaking Bad thread. There are several shows that title could go to that I'd be good with, but Friday Night Lights is the top of that list for me.
posted by tzikeh at 10:34 AM on July 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
I'll be blunt: I'm a big-city, East-Coast, lefty-liberal atheist with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending upon how you view it) disdain for pretty much everything the show is ostensibly "about": high-school football in small-town Texas. Friends would say, "No, really, you'd love it," and I'd say "I'm sorry--have you met me?" It had to have been at least two seasons of people telling me I'd love it before I even gave it a shot. And even then it was because I was stuck at home with a bad cold one week, and my roommate had the first three seasons on DVD, and I thought I'd watch three episodes just so that I could say "not for me" with experience to back that up. BTW, if you've only ever seen the pilot, you really don't have a sense of the show as a whole.
(Tangent--that's true of pretty much every show, which is why I give all but the most dire examples around three-to-six episodes before giving them up. And even that's not always going to net me a 100% rating [c.f. Fringe])
I'm sure those of you who are FNL fans know what happened next. I'd finished the first three seasons in four days. I'd never been happier to be a DirecTV subscriber than when I realized I'd be getting Season 4 well before anyone who had to wait for it to air on NBC.
I'm with everyone above who says that sometimes just hearing a few bars of the theme can make me tear up. Yes, they had missteps, and we all probably agree on what they were, but even within those missteps there was some fine work being done by the actors (99% of them--don't look at me, Minka Kelly), and the show is so brilliantly shot. Dillon itself is a well-developed, complex character. Eric and Tami Taylor's marriage is so beautifully crafted by the writers and actors that you... it's so trite to say "you forget that it's fiction," but that's as close as I can get to what I mean.
Oh, *another* thing the show did better than any other show that concerned high school was let go of beloved characters who graduated, or whose character arc demanded that they leave town, while bringing in new characters and making them equally as compelling in completely different ways.
Fuck, now I'm kind of getting teary, and I could go on writing for ages and ages, but all I'd end up doing is listing every single thing about the show, and then saying how great it was.
Last note: awards. Basically, well, fuck the Emmys--but part of that is very much the same thing that happened with Homicide and The Wire--they don't film in town. If you're not in town, nobody remembers you. Schmooze or lose. And every year I get bitter about the Emmys (and the Oscars) for one thing or another, and it's just a joke that the first time Chandler and Britton were nominated was for fourth season, but the #1 biggest slight has to be a lack of nomination (and WIN) for Zach Gilford, who played Matt Saracen, for his performance in "The Son."
Fuck the Emmys; he should have won an Oscar for that. I don't give a shit that those are only for movies. Fling that episode up on a few screens in NY and LA and get that boy a statue. (N.B. You'll need a time machine to have it qualify.)
DAMMIT, I miss this show so much--this show I should have, by all rights, hated. Coach and Mrs. Coach, Julie, Riggs, Landry, Tyra, Grandma, Buddy, Smash, Vince, Jess, Matt-My-Favorite-Saracen. Yesterday, I took a dig at Klosterman's "Lost was the best show on network television" statement in the Breaking Bad thread. There are several shows that title could go to that I'd be good with, but Friday Night Lights is the top of that list for me.
posted by tzikeh at 10:34 AM on July 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
>Jason Street's search for shark DNA, Lyla's weird Christian phase
Actually, I thought these were both perfect touches. (The murder... well, that was... off.)
I agree. The murder was dumb and, deftly as the writers tried to handle it, wreaked of the most cliched sort of southern-gothic, which is generally what FNL does not do. It was a serious speed bump at the beginning of Season 2 that threatened to drag the whole season down with it, and it even gets discussed by the creators in some of DVD commentary as not necessarily the best thing they ever did with the show.
But the show (as a dramatic, creative, narrative entity) survived it precisely because of such out there, entirely unpredictable (but believable) twists as the shark DNA and Lyla's Jesus phase.
And enn, sometimes you've just got to step back from your position and accept that maybe a show isn't objectively bad, it's just not for you (ie: it pushes certain annoyance buttons that are uniquely yours). Such was certainly the case for me with Six Feet Under, a show I've long since learned to stop speaking ill of in mixed company.
posted by philip-random at 10:39 AM on July 14, 2011
Actually, I thought these were both perfect touches. (The murder... well, that was... off.)
I agree. The murder was dumb and, deftly as the writers tried to handle it, wreaked of the most cliched sort of southern-gothic, which is generally what FNL does not do. It was a serious speed bump at the beginning of Season 2 that threatened to drag the whole season down with it, and it even gets discussed by the creators in some of DVD commentary as not necessarily the best thing they ever did with the show.
But the show (as a dramatic, creative, narrative entity) survived it precisely because of such out there, entirely unpredictable (but believable) twists as the shark DNA and Lyla's Jesus phase.
And enn, sometimes you've just got to step back from your position and accept that maybe a show isn't objectively bad, it's just not for you (ie: it pushes certain annoyance buttons that are uniquely yours). Such was certainly the case for me with Six Feet Under, a show I've long since learned to stop speaking ill of in mixed company.
posted by philip-random at 10:39 AM on July 14, 2011
I grew up in a small town that could have been the basis for Dillon. In my opinion, there's never been a more accurate portrayal of small town Texas on screen. (King of the Hill comes closest.)
The show's appealing on an emotional level even if you don't have the same context for it that I do. But having grown up there, watching the show is an entirely different experience. I was in the high school band and attended every football game during my high school years. They get it right -- the town's loyalty to the football team. It's not even loyalty; it's like the entire town's worth and self-esteem rides on whether the team wins or loses.
The relationships in the show are complex and are a joy to watch. Where it really becomes a thing of beauty, though, is in the B roll. The shots of "Go Panthers!" shoe polished on shop windows, on kids hanging out of cars with blue and white streamers on the antennas, yard signs with a football player's number on them -- these silent little bits transform the show from Hollywood fluff to a goddamn ethnography of small Texas towns.
They got it so right, it's easy to miss how right it is.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:39 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
The show's appealing on an emotional level even if you don't have the same context for it that I do. But having grown up there, watching the show is an entirely different experience. I was in the high school band and attended every football game during my high school years. They get it right -- the town's loyalty to the football team. It's not even loyalty; it's like the entire town's worth and self-esteem rides on whether the team wins or loses.
The relationships in the show are complex and are a joy to watch. Where it really becomes a thing of beauty, though, is in the B roll. The shots of "Go Panthers!" shoe polished on shop windows, on kids hanging out of cars with blue and white streamers on the antennas, yard signs with a football player's number on them -- these silent little bits transform the show from Hollywood fluff to a goddamn ethnography of small Texas towns.
They got it so right, it's easy to miss how right it is.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:39 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
And enn, sometimes you've just got to step back from your position and accept that maybe a show isn't objectively bad, it's just not for you (ie: it pushes certain annoyance buttons that are uniquely yours).
I'm pretty sure that is exactly what I said.
posted by enn at 10:41 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure that is exactly what I said.
posted by enn at 10:41 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
It derives all of its suspense and narrative structure from the viewer's alleged interest in how the team or some player is going to perform in this game or that season.
This is interesting, because it's completely not my experience of the show (I'm consuming it with great slowness, so I'm only somewhere in season 2). I ignored it at first, because I think football is boring. Then a lot of people I know were all "Holy cow, what a great show!" Then I got really curious about what Connie Britton was like as an actor, because we went to college together and she was always very nice and stuff but I had no idea how phenomenal she was until I started watching.
I feel no suspense about what happens to the team or with regard to the games themselves. The suspense and interest I have in it revolves around what suspense the characters endure. They are, on the whole, so well-written and so well portrayed that I need to know what happens to them, and how they feel about what happens to them. Football is largely a metaphor and a backdrop.
It also gives me a glimpse into a world that's very different from any I've ever lived in, and it's one that feels very true and respectful of that world. Amazing job all around.
posted by rtha at 10:52 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
This is interesting, because it's completely not my experience of the show (I'm consuming it with great slowness, so I'm only somewhere in season 2). I ignored it at first, because I think football is boring. Then a lot of people I know were all "Holy cow, what a great show!" Then I got really curious about what Connie Britton was like as an actor, because we went to college together and she was always very nice and stuff but I had no idea how phenomenal she was until I started watching.
I feel no suspense about what happens to the team or with regard to the games themselves. The suspense and interest I have in it revolves around what suspense the characters endure. They are, on the whole, so well-written and so well portrayed that I need to know what happens to them, and how they feel about what happens to them. Football is largely a metaphor and a backdrop.
It also gives me a glimpse into a world that's very different from any I've ever lived in, and it's one that feels very true and respectful of that world. Amazing job all around.
posted by rtha at 10:52 AM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
skepticallypleased: How a show about football, in Texas, that realistically portrayed small-town people that was loved by critics failed I'm not sure.
Please define "failed." Unless you mean "wasn't a mega-hit that drew big advertising bucks and had all *my* friends talking," then FNL's run is the opposite of failure. It aired for five seasons. Some ridiculously small percentage of television shows ever make it past their first season.
Something else that I don't think has been addressed in the thread yet, that's a wonder to behold on American network television -- the show finished. It has an ending--an incredibly moving, satisfying, appropriate one--rather than just coming to a stop because it wasn't returning next season. The showrunners got to tell all of those interwoven stories, tell them well, and then leave each of them in a place that made sense, and they did it beautifully. Fuck but that's a rare pleasure on a network show.
posted by tzikeh at 10:55 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Please define "failed." Unless you mean "wasn't a mega-hit that drew big advertising bucks and had all *my* friends talking," then FNL's run is the opposite of failure. It aired for five seasons. Some ridiculously small percentage of television shows ever make it past their first season.
Something else that I don't think has been addressed in the thread yet, that's a wonder to behold on American network television -- the show finished. It has an ending--an incredibly moving, satisfying, appropriate one--rather than just coming to a stop because it wasn't returning next season. The showrunners got to tell all of those interwoven stories, tell them well, and then leave each of them in a place that made sense, and they did it beautifully. Fuck but that's a rare pleasure on a network show.
posted by tzikeh at 10:55 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Word, tzikeh. There's also an argument to be made (I ain't saying I'm making it, just that it's legitimately there) that the final season is the best season. It didn't have to limp to the finish line and be put out of its misery.
Three episodes from the end I was thinking, "Christ, how are they going to pull this all together?" and I'd like to say that I thought about that during the final episode and chuckled at my own foolishness for thinking they couldn't pull it off, but I was too busy being intubated on account of drowning in a hundred buckets of my own tears.
posted by superfluousm at 11:00 AM on July 14, 2011
Three episodes from the end I was thinking, "Christ, how are they going to pull this all together?" and I'd like to say that I thought about that during the final episode and chuckled at my own foolishness for thinking they couldn't pull it off, but I was too busy being intubated on account of drowning in a hundred buckets of my own tears.
posted by superfluousm at 11:00 AM on July 14, 2011
I guess Firefly was the art department of television.
And, yet again, my theory that every single internet discussion of a cancelled TV show (or, now, apparently, a low rated one) must end up mentioning Firefly and complaining about its cancellation is proven true.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 11:02 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
And, yet again, my theory that every single internet discussion of a cancelled TV show (or, now, apparently, a low rated one) must end up mentioning Firefly and complaining about its cancellation is proven true.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 11:02 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
superfluousm - I think I might agree re: fifth season being the best season--but in a weird way. It couldn't be the best season without what had come before, if that makes sense. So it's the best season of five seasons because of the first four seasons.
"Christ, how are they going to pull this all together?"
Absolutely - but one of the nice things is that you can tell a story, and finish a story, without wrapping that story up in a big bow. And see, and this is where I get into "I know the show is over so all 'spoilers' are really not, but there are people in this thread asking if they should start watching, so how can I say this without ruining the whole final arc?" territory. AUGH.
I was too busy being intubated on account of drowning in a hundred buckets of my own tears.
I cannot think of another tv show that has moved me to tears so often, through writing, through acting, and goddammit fuck you, Snuffy Walden. Fuck you right in the ear.
Oh, what the hell. Once I finish my Seasons 1-3 Breaking Bad power-cram re-watch marathon before this Sunday, I'm gonna watch FNL all over again. Clear eyes, full hearts... we'll get to that later.
posted by tzikeh at 11:13 AM on July 14, 2011
"Christ, how are they going to pull this all together?"
Absolutely - but one of the nice things is that you can tell a story, and finish a story, without wrapping that story up in a big bow. And see, and this is where I get into "I know the show is over so all 'spoilers' are really not, but there are people in this thread asking if they should start watching, so how can I say this without ruining the whole final arc?" territory. AUGH.
I was too busy being intubated on account of drowning in a hundred buckets of my own tears.
I cannot think of another tv show that has moved me to tears so often, through writing, through acting, and goddammit fuck you, Snuffy Walden. Fuck you right in the ear.
Oh, what the hell. Once I finish my Seasons 1-3 Breaking Bad power-cram re-watch marathon before this Sunday, I'm gonna watch FNL all over again. Clear eyes, full hearts... we'll get to that later.
posted by tzikeh at 11:13 AM on July 14, 2011
Clear eyes, full hearts... we'll get to that later.
YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW I CAN'T CRY AT WORK
posted by superfluousm at 11:20 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW I CAN'T CRY AT WORK
posted by superfluousm at 11:20 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm glad to hear that FNL ended strong but, between this and my recent watching of The Wire, I'm really tired of not watching these shows when the go out (and not getting to participate in any sort of fandom/discussions of them while they are still current) because I am so mistrustful that they won't completely go to shit before they finish and I'm going to be disappointed. Thanks Chris Carter.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:33 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:33 AM on July 14, 2011
I'm so grateful to read this thread and find so many people that love FNL as much as I do. It's all been said already, and better than I could probably say it, so I'll just say I LOVE THIS SHOW.
posted by claytonius maximus at 11:33 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by claytonius maximus at 11:33 AM on July 14, 2011
I'm a lifelong California liberal who's never given a crap about football, or the south, or JumboTrons, or sports in general. But when this show was enthusiastically recommended to me by a lesbian alt designer pal, a friend's 75-year-old world traveler grandma, as well as an author friend from the small-town south, I knew I had to give it a try. It's one of my all-time favorites, absolutely, and my husband's, too -- we've said again and again Eric and Tammy are the couple we strive to become. We watched the series finale a week ago, and thanks be to Applebee's, just like the very first season finale, it's totally worthy of this beautiful show.
Also, Explosions in the Sky makes an awesome writing soundtrack.
posted by changeling at 11:34 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, Explosions in the Sky makes an awesome writing soundtrack.
posted by changeling at 11:34 AM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
And Greg Nog, if you'd really like an episode rec that defines what's great about the show, minus the football, my vote is "The Son" in Season 4. It might not be as emotionally affecting if you haven't followed the characters for the prior seasons, but the performances of its actors, particularly Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen), are punch-you-in-the-gut unforgettable no matter what. It's got to be the most critically acclaimed episode other than the pilot.
posted by changeling at 11:40 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by changeling at 11:40 AM on July 14, 2011
Congratulations Metafilter, you've convinced me to watch this program.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:40 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 11:40 AM on July 14, 2011 [5 favorites]
It derives all of its suspense and narrative structure from the viewer's alleged interest in how the team or some player is going to perform in this game or that season.To say that Friday Night Lights is about football is like saying that The Wire is about drugs.
posted by scrump at 11:41 AM on July 14, 2011 [6 favorites]
Also, Explosions in the Sky makes an awesome writing soundtrack.
SPEAKING OF MUSIC:
Heard on TV compiles lists of every song in every episode of every tv series that they can.
Friday Night Lights, Season 1.
Start there.
*goes to rearrange her swapset tunes*
posted by tzikeh at 11:43 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
SPEAKING OF MUSIC:
Heard on TV compiles lists of every song in every episode of every tv series that they can.
Friday Night Lights, Season 1.
Start there.
*goes to rearrange her swapset tunes*
posted by tzikeh at 11:43 AM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yes - that's why the show is great. He's one of the hero's in the show, but its clear in some part of his body the sterotypical texas football coach who wants his wife to be the coaches wife first, mom second, and doesn't give a fuck what comes next. And yes - you get angry at him every time he doesn't get how he's supposed to be excited for Tammy. And what makes it great is the fight they have and the fact that Tammy never rolls over.
(The TV part is that he always ends up making the decision you want him to make, even if its ugly first)
It is great that Tami fights, but I wanted him to change or learn or something. Again, this isn't always necessary, but in the kind of show that FNL was, I want to have a less static main character. (I also hated how they treated the end of Julie's storyline.) There were great characters, too, but I just was too irritated by Eric to really love the show.
posted by jeather at 11:47 AM on July 14, 2011
(The TV part is that he always ends up making the decision you want him to make, even if its ugly first)
It is great that Tami fights, but I wanted him to change or learn or something. Again, this isn't always necessary, but in the kind of show that FNL was, I want to have a less static main character. (I also hated how they treated the end of Julie's storyline.) There were great characters, too, but I just was too irritated by Eric to really love the show.
posted by jeather at 11:47 AM on July 14, 2011
Seconding the shout out to the amazing EITS soundtrack. Misty eyes and chills whenever those guitar melodies are sprinkled in.
I'll simply add to the resounding chorus of deserving praise. There really is no other show out there that touches it.
And here I am getting sad just thinking of much I'll miss it. And yet I'm glad it found its conclusion.
posted by stroke_count at 11:49 AM on July 14, 2011
I'll simply add to the resounding chorus of deserving praise. There really is no other show out there that touches it.
And here I am getting sad just thinking of much I'll miss it. And yet I'm glad it found its conclusion.
posted by stroke_count at 11:49 AM on July 14, 2011
I'm really tired of not watching these shows when the go out (and not getting to participate in any sort of fandom/discussions of them while they are still current) because I am so mistrustful that they won't completely go to shit before they finish and I'm going to be disappointed. Thanks Chris Carter.
Don't forget JJ Abrams, Ron Moore, and Tim Kring!
(Honestly though, I'm incredibly glad that I got into a lot of fandoms after the shows had aired. That way I got to miss legendarily bitter fandom shitstorms like Buffy Season 6, Katara shipping wars, etc. And then you can follow something like markwatches or AV Club Classics to get something approximating realtime discussion.)
posted by kmz at 11:49 AM on July 14, 2011
Don't forget JJ Abrams, Ron Moore, and Tim Kring!
(Honestly though, I'm incredibly glad that I got into a lot of fandoms after the shows had aired. That way I got to miss legendarily bitter fandom shitstorms like Buffy Season 6, Katara shipping wars, etc. And then you can follow something like markwatches or AV Club Classics to get something approximating realtime discussion.)
posted by kmz at 11:49 AM on July 14, 2011
I just wonder how much traffic GruntLand.com Russel Crowe's bands website is getting from typo traffic from Grantland.com's popularity
cite, please.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
cite, please.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
Greg Nog, I'll be very very interested in your take on "The Son," as you'll be coming to it without the series in your back pocket. I'm always wary of recommending the best episodes of tv shows to get people hooked--oftentimes they're only the "best" if you've got what came before (kind of what I was saying above to superfluousm about S5 based on S1-4).
(My investment in newcomers liking shows I love definitely tips over into "I care more than I should" territory.)
posted by tzikeh at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
(My investment in newcomers liking shows I love definitely tips over into "I care more than I should" territory.)
posted by tzikeh at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
I am so mistrustful that they won't completely go to shit before they finish and I'm going to be disappointed. Thanks Chris Carter.
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING
posted by eugenen at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING
posted by eugenen at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2011
And, yet again, my theory that every single internet discussion of a cancelled TV show (or, now, apparently, a low rated one) must end up mentioning Firefly and complaining about its cancellation is proven true.
Man, sorry to bust up so many sore nerds. I just wanted to make a cheap joke on the internet.
posted by Jon_Evil at 11:55 AM on July 14, 2011
Man, sorry to bust up so many sore nerds. I just wanted to make a cheap joke on the internet.
posted by Jon_Evil at 11:55 AM on July 14, 2011
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING
The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats and we always defeat them and save the day. Nobody ever dies, and the X-Files ended with clear and logical plotting.
posted by kmz at 11:57 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats and we always defeat them and save the day. Nobody ever dies, and the X-Files ended with clear and logical plotting.
posted by kmz at 11:57 AM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
I heart this show. Most importantly for its portrayal of a middle-class marriage with kids and dual incomes. That relationship is so nuanced it makes my heart hurt sometimes.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:11 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by craven_morhead at 12:11 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
BTW, if you've only ever seen the pilot, you really don't have a sense of the show as a whole.
That was true for me with 'Mad Men.' I watched the pilot and said 'meh.' After two years of friends raving about it, I rented the first two season on DVD. I watched them over a weekend and realized how well written the episodes are. Another great show!
posted by ericb at 12:27 PM on July 14, 2011
That was true for me with 'Mad Men.' I watched the pilot and said 'meh.' After two years of friends raving about it, I rented the first two season on DVD. I watched them over a weekend and realized how well written the episodes are. Another great show!
posted by ericb at 12:27 PM on July 14, 2011
This LA Times article has some great insights into the show, particularly the portrayal of the Taylors' marriage.
"Although other TV series have used hand-held cameras to achieve a similar cinematic style, "Friday Night Lights" departed from all production norms. The actors, who never rehearsed and were not given marks, had the freedom to change dialogue and influence the story, which gave way to real conversations — not banter — and sometimes overlapping dialogue ... When NBC ordered the series and hired Katims as the show runner, he decided to follow Berg's artistic bent, even though it meant that sometimes Chandler would throw out entire monologues in favor of long silences. "
posted by changeling at 12:33 PM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
"Although other TV series have used hand-held cameras to achieve a similar cinematic style, "Friday Night Lights" departed from all production norms. The actors, who never rehearsed and were not given marks, had the freedom to change dialogue and influence the story, which gave way to real conversations — not banter — and sometimes overlapping dialogue ... When NBC ordered the series and hired Katims as the show runner, he decided to follow Berg's artistic bent, even though it meant that sometimes Chandler would throw out entire monologues in favor of long silences. "
posted by changeling at 12:33 PM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
I do not understand the people calling it the best network show ever.
Me either. But then again, I'd reserve that title for something along the lines of Homicide: Life on the Streets.
Pembleton rules!
posted by eoden at 12:42 PM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Me either. But then again, I'd reserve that title for something along the lines of Homicide: Life on the Streets.
Pembleton rules!
posted by eoden at 12:42 PM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
This bit from that LA Times article is wonderful:
When asked how they feel when viewers hail the Taylor partnership as the best representation of marriage on television, [Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton's] brotherly-sisterly bandying begins, reminding us why we're going to miss them....
Chandler: It's a lie. The best portrayal of a marriage on TV, after I've gone through this entire diatribe about marriage, is "All in the Family." When Edith goes "Archie!" — that was the best marriage ever.
Britton: I would have to disagree with you. I think [the reporter] means something different.
Chandler: That's the way marriage should be! That's the way mine is.
Britton: When people say to us it's the best portrayal of a marriage, I think they feel it's resonant with them. I don't think there are a ton of people who feel that marriage resonated, Kyle.
Chandler: It's the best marriage ever.
Britton: They feel guided by our marriage. Was that show entertaining to watch? Yes.
Chandler: You don't see my lounge chair in the Smithsonian, do you?
Britton: What's really flattering and astonishing is when people come up and say, "You make me want to be a better wife and a better mother." I think that's kind of astounding.
Chandler: No one has ever said that to me.
Britton: I certainly would hope not.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:43 PM on July 14, 2011 [17 favorites]
When asked how they feel when viewers hail the Taylor partnership as the best representation of marriage on television, [Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton's] brotherly-sisterly bandying begins, reminding us why we're going to miss them....
Chandler: It's a lie. The best portrayal of a marriage on TV, after I've gone through this entire diatribe about marriage, is "All in the Family." When Edith goes "Archie!" — that was the best marriage ever.
Britton: I would have to disagree with you. I think [the reporter] means something different.
Chandler: That's the way marriage should be! That's the way mine is.
Britton: When people say to us it's the best portrayal of a marriage, I think they feel it's resonant with them. I don't think there are a ton of people who feel that marriage resonated, Kyle.
Chandler: It's the best marriage ever.
Britton: They feel guided by our marriage. Was that show entertaining to watch? Yes.
Chandler: You don't see my lounge chair in the Smithsonian, do you?
Britton: What's really flattering and astonishing is when people come up and say, "You make me want to be a better wife and a better mother." I think that's kind of astounding.
Chandler: No one has ever said that to me.
Britton: I certainly would hope not.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:43 PM on July 14, 2011 [17 favorites]
Does this show share a universe with Deep Blue See?
Underwater Pope!
posted by eoden at 12:43 PM on July 14, 2011
Underwater Pope!
posted by eoden at 12:43 PM on July 14, 2011
The dialogue makes me want to barf with joy. Howwwwww are they not real and married in real life? I would just feel better about the world if they were real.
posted by superfluousm at 12:48 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by superfluousm at 12:48 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Two points for LA Times: one for having pagination at all, and two for putting the "next page" link below some ads. I honestly thought I'd somehow spaced out and missed the whole passage you quoted above.
posted by davextreme at 12:58 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by davextreme at 12:58 PM on July 14, 2011
Heard on TV compiles lists of every song in every episode of every tv series that they can.
Whoa. What a great website. Thanks for posting it.
posted by ericb at 1:07 PM on July 14, 2011
Whoa. What a great website. Thanks for posting it.
posted by ericb at 1:07 PM on July 14, 2011
Here's why this show got low ratings, and deserved them:
1. Its writing is full of treacle like "clear eyes and full hearts"--expressions devoid of meaning that are simply intended to be poignant and moving. What the hell does "full hearts" mean? A google search of the phrase only returns fan sites of FNL. I understand warm-hearted, big-hearted, open-hearted, hard-hearted, and cold hearted. But full hearted? I've never heard that phrase. They meade it up for the show. And "clear eyes"? As opposed to cloudy eyes? or Blurry eyes? Do you mean "open eyes?" Is this phrase supposed to mean "we have heart" and we see things clearly? Then either write it straight or use an idiom people recognize. Jesus, network television is full-assed.
2. "His biggest decision in life was whether he was going to take a full ride to UT or Notre Dame. He's got the hot girlfriend. He's got the loving parents. And he's going to break his neck in the first game. We're going to create this iconic American hero"
One problem: that guy you described isn't anyone's idea of the iconic American hero, at least not since the 80's. The high school quarterback was the iconic hero in the 50's but by the 80's enough outsiders found a place in Hollywood and elsewhere that the HS QB was recast as the asshole. The iconic American hero is the underdog. If you build up the QB with this great life and then break his neck, the audience is going to cheer. Fuck him and his stupid destiny.
3. This show beat viewers over the head with high school and football as a metaphor for working class America. You know who that appeals to? Conservatives. Conservatives love football, especially high school football. They love the idea that there is still a place where grown men can yell at kids and call them pussies when they complain about head and knee injuries.
4. Football is not a good metaphor for working class America. It's the metaphor that people who aren't working class think is a good metaphor for the working class. You know what show represents middle class America? Anything on TruTV or A&E. Those pawn shop shows, those storage unit auction shows, and the hoarding shows. That's middle class America--broken, busted, neurotic and picked over, not square jawed jocks, steely-eyed coaches, and the women who love them.
You know how you know this show is bad? Forget the ratings. You know a show is bad is when no one is illegally downloading it. (By way of comparison.)
posted by Pastabagel at 2:25 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
1. Its writing is full of treacle like "clear eyes and full hearts"--expressions devoid of meaning that are simply intended to be poignant and moving. What the hell does "full hearts" mean? A google search of the phrase only returns fan sites of FNL. I understand warm-hearted, big-hearted, open-hearted, hard-hearted, and cold hearted. But full hearted? I've never heard that phrase. They meade it up for the show. And "clear eyes"? As opposed to cloudy eyes? or Blurry eyes? Do you mean "open eyes?" Is this phrase supposed to mean "we have heart" and we see things clearly? Then either write it straight or use an idiom people recognize. Jesus, network television is full-assed.
2. "His biggest decision in life was whether he was going to take a full ride to UT or Notre Dame. He's got the hot girlfriend. He's got the loving parents. And he's going to break his neck in the first game. We're going to create this iconic American hero"
One problem: that guy you described isn't anyone's idea of the iconic American hero, at least not since the 80's. The high school quarterback was the iconic hero in the 50's but by the 80's enough outsiders found a place in Hollywood and elsewhere that the HS QB was recast as the asshole. The iconic American hero is the underdog. If you build up the QB with this great life and then break his neck, the audience is going to cheer. Fuck him and his stupid destiny.
3. This show beat viewers over the head with high school and football as a metaphor for working class America. You know who that appeals to? Conservatives. Conservatives love football, especially high school football. They love the idea that there is still a place where grown men can yell at kids and call them pussies when they complain about head and knee injuries.
4. Football is not a good metaphor for working class America. It's the metaphor that people who aren't working class think is a good metaphor for the working class. You know what show represents middle class America? Anything on TruTV or A&E. Those pawn shop shows, those storage unit auction shows, and the hoarding shows. That's middle class America--broken, busted, neurotic and picked over, not square jawed jocks, steely-eyed coaches, and the women who love them.
You know how you know this show is bad? Forget the ratings. You know a show is bad is when no one is illegally downloading it. (By way of comparison.)
posted by Pastabagel at 2:25 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Oh and one more thing. All the guys I knew who were star athletes in high school and tyrants and brutes for fathers pushing them to practice, train, attend camps, etc. Every single one. Think Tiger Moms, but with shoving and hitting. No star QB with a full ride to his choice of schools has "loving parents". I would have thought this stereotype died with Emilio Estevez in the Breakfast Club, but alas.
posted by Pastabagel at 2:29 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by Pastabagel at 2:29 PM on July 14, 2011
Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
posted by pickinganameismuchharderthanihadanticipated at 2:32 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by pickinganameismuchharderthanihadanticipated at 2:32 PM on July 14, 2011
Oh and one more thing. All the guys I knew who were star athletes in high school and tyrants and brutes for fathers pushing them to practice, train, attend camps, etc. Every single one.
OMG PASTABAGGLE YOU'RE SO RIGHT EVERY QB'S DAD IN FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS IS A NICE ONE
JD MCCOY = THE NICEST
MATT SARACEN'S IRAQ DAD = ALSO THE NICEST
posted by superfluousm at 2:38 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
OMG PASTABAGGLE YOU'RE SO RIGHT EVERY QB'S DAD IN FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS IS A NICE ONE
JD MCCOY = THE NICEST
MATT SARACEN'S IRAQ DAD = ALSO THE NICEST
posted by superfluousm at 2:38 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
All the guys I knew who
Therefore, it's impossible for any other scenario to be true.
You know a show is bad is when no one is illegally downloading it. (By way of comparison.)
Have you *seen* the seriously atrocious things - all media types - that are on the torrents? For god's sake, that's possibly the worst way to judge the quality of...anything. When I really love a show, I buy the damn thing. Other people also do this. Also? The stats on the private tracker that...a friend of mine uses are quite different.
This show beat viewers over the head with high school and football as a metaphor for working class America. You know who that appeals to?
Apparently, a bunch of people on mefi, some of whom grew up in small Texas towns. Are we supposed to automatically hate a show because people some of us might not like or agree with also like the show, maybe for the same reasons, and maybe for different ones?
posted by rtha at 2:57 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Therefore, it's impossible for any other scenario to be true.
You know a show is bad is when no one is illegally downloading it. (By way of comparison.)
Have you *seen* the seriously atrocious things - all media types - that are on the torrents? For god's sake, that's possibly the worst way to judge the quality of...anything. When I really love a show, I buy the damn thing. Other people also do this. Also? The stats on the private tracker that...a friend of mine uses are quite different.
This show beat viewers over the head with high school and football as a metaphor for working class America. You know who that appeals to?
Apparently, a bunch of people on mefi, some of whom grew up in small Texas towns. Are we supposed to automatically hate a show because people some of us might not like or agree with also like the show, maybe for the same reasons, and maybe for different ones?
posted by rtha at 2:57 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I grew up in a small Tennessee town a lot like Dillon and hated football. I didn't identify with the jocks, the cheerleaders, the popular people, etc. I wasn't completely "out," but I definitely wasn't "in" either. Elementary school, middle school, junior high, and high school were hell for me.
My family was working class.
I am extremely liberal.
I LOVE "Friday Night Lights."
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 3:22 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
My family was working class.
I am extremely liberal.
I LOVE "Friday Night Lights."
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 3:22 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Metafilter: I would have thought this stereotype died with Emilio Estevez in the Breakfast Club, but alas.
posted by Kitteh at 3:26 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by Kitteh at 3:26 PM on July 14, 2011
If you build up the QB with this great life and then break his neck, the audience is going to cheer. Fuck him and his stupid destiny.
um. wow. okay.
I'd guess one reason fewer people are illegally downloading it because it's readily available on Netflix streaming, Hulu, etc., unlike HBO shows, for example.
OMG PASTABAGGLE YOU'RE SO RIGHT EVERY QB'S DAD IN FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS IS A NICE ONE
VINCE'S DAD = NICEST OF ALL
posted by changeling at 3:26 PM on July 14, 2011
um. wow. okay.
I'd guess one reason fewer people are illegally downloading it because it's readily available on Netflix streaming, Hulu, etc., unlike HBO shows, for example.
OMG PASTABAGGLE YOU'RE SO RIGHT EVERY QB'S DAD IN FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS IS A NICE ONE
VINCE'S DAD = NICEST OF ALL
posted by changeling at 3:26 PM on July 14, 2011
Football is not a good metaphor for working class America.
To say you are "cynical" would be an understatement.
You know how you know that no one will take your little rant seriously? Because you overlook some of the basic themes of the show, and I actually doubt you've even watched any of it.
Don't bring your preconceived notions about football here. Football isn't the point. And working class isn't the point, either. Plenty had already been said about working class.
It's about small town community. And coming of age. And what meaning life can have when you have almost no way out of an isolated, conservative place.
posted by stroke_count at 3:41 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
To say you are "cynical" would be an understatement.
You know how you know that no one will take your little rant seriously? Because you overlook some of the basic themes of the show, and I actually doubt you've even watched any of it.
Don't bring your preconceived notions about football here. Football isn't the point. And working class isn't the point, either. Plenty had already been said about working class.
It's about small town community. And coming of age. And what meaning life can have when you have almost no way out of an isolated, conservative place.
posted by stroke_count at 3:41 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Man, sorry to bust up so many sore nerds. I just wanted to make a cheap joke on the internet.
I'm not sore; in fact, I am delighted every time my theory is proven true. For it is my theory and I do love it so.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 3:50 PM on July 14, 2011
I'm not sore; in fact, I am delighted every time my theory is proven true. For it is my theory and I do love it so.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 3:50 PM on July 14, 2011
All the guys I knew who were star athletes in high school and tyrants and brutes for fathers pushing them to practice, train, attend camps, etc. Every single one. Think Tiger Moms, but with shoving and hitting.
This is a joke right? Literally one of the big turning points in show is when one of the QB's dad's gets physically abusive of his family in an Applebee's parking lot. And the Coach loses his job for breaking it up.
It appeals to conservatives? Fuck. The Female protagonist loses her job for not counseling a girl out of terminating a pregnancy - and the people who who complain are written to be assholes. One of the shows most negative characters is a soldier in Iraq. The last two seasons are set in the poor black school that the "rich" side of town won't properly fund.
One problem: that guy you described isn't anyone's idea of the iconic American hero, at least not since the 80's. The high school quarterback was the iconic hero in the 50's but by the 80's enough outsiders found a place in Hollywood and elsewhere that the HS QB was recast as the asshole. The iconic American hero is the underdog. If you build up the QB with this great life and then break his neck, the audience is going to cheer. Fuck him and his stupid destiny.
Dude that character is in a wheel chair 35 minutes into the first episode. To be replaced by a kid whose mom ran out on him, his dad ran off to Iraq, and he's babysitting the Grandma with Dementia. He's got a job flipping burgers at the local drive through. The town thinks so little of him the boosters go out and basically buy a player from post Katrina NOLA.then he wins a state championship and then he loses his QB spot senior year to a hot shot young QB he mopes around around until he runs off to Art school in Chicago - being the first character to get really and truly out of town and out of football. So exactly like that 50's archetype. And he's one of the heroes of the show.
They love the idea that there is still a place where grown men can yell at kids and call them pussies when they complain about head and knee injuries.
you are beaten over the head with Coach Taylor is the greatest coach who ever coached. He never yells at kids on the field. At no point do you see him doing the sort of sadistic bullshit football coaches are capable. I mean in my life I've known more than a few petty tyrants in too tight Bike shorts. He's played to be the antithesis of this. The show de-emphasizes the whole bullshit hazing side of high school sports.
The only thing you say that isn't insane is the triteness of the "Clear Eyes, Full Heart" line. It is trite and vapid and filled with naivete. THATS THE POINT.
posted by JPD at 4:28 PM on July 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
This is a joke right? Literally one of the big turning points in show is when one of the QB's dad's gets physically abusive of his family in an Applebee's parking lot. And the Coach loses his job for breaking it up.
It appeals to conservatives? Fuck. The Female protagonist loses her job for not counseling a girl out of terminating a pregnancy - and the people who who complain are written to be assholes. One of the shows most negative characters is a soldier in Iraq. The last two seasons are set in the poor black school that the "rich" side of town won't properly fund.
One problem: that guy you described isn't anyone's idea of the iconic American hero, at least not since the 80's. The high school quarterback was the iconic hero in the 50's but by the 80's enough outsiders found a place in Hollywood and elsewhere that the HS QB was recast as the asshole. The iconic American hero is the underdog. If you build up the QB with this great life and then break his neck, the audience is going to cheer. Fuck him and his stupid destiny.
Dude that character is in a wheel chair 35 minutes into the first episode. To be replaced by a kid whose mom ran out on him, his dad ran off to Iraq, and he's babysitting the Grandma with Dementia. He's got a job flipping burgers at the local drive through. The town thinks so little of him the boosters go out and basically buy a player from post Katrina NOLA.then he wins a state championship and then he loses his QB spot senior year to a hot shot young QB he mopes around around until he runs off to Art school in Chicago - being the first character to get really and truly out of town and out of football. So exactly like that 50's archetype. And he's one of the heroes of the show.
They love the idea that there is still a place where grown men can yell at kids and call them pussies when they complain about head and knee injuries.
you are beaten over the head with Coach Taylor is the greatest coach who ever coached. He never yells at kids on the field. At no point do you see him doing the sort of sadistic bullshit football coaches are capable. I mean in my life I've known more than a few petty tyrants in too tight Bike shorts. He's played to be the antithesis of this. The show de-emphasizes the whole bullshit hazing side of high school sports.
The only thing you say that isn't insane is the triteness of the "Clear Eyes, Full Heart" line. It is trite and vapid and filled with naivete. THATS THE POINT.
posted by JPD at 4:28 PM on July 14, 2011 [10 favorites]
Pirate Bay isn't where people get their TV torrents, PastaBagel.
posted by k8t at 6:21 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by k8t at 6:21 PM on July 14, 2011
<fx: catches up on thread & then runs off to start re-watching from S1E1...>
posted by genehack at 6:27 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by genehack at 6:27 PM on July 14, 2011
Well, I guess I wanted to state how it was not a larger hit, I can't understand. Supposedly 15million saw The Sopranos. 25million see 2.5 men. If FNL was truly high art that tackled "regular folks" and it was not able to gain more traction, that's sad our culture was not able to digest it better, more grandly.
posted by skepticallypleased at 7:00 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by skepticallypleased at 7:00 PM on July 14, 2011
k8t: Pirate Bay isn't where people get their TV torrents, PastaBagel.
QFT. The only people who get their torrents of television shows from Pirate Bay are people who don't know where to find torrents of tv shows.
Not that this will change pastabagel's mind about the show, but seriously, now.
posted by tzikeh at 7:08 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
QFT. The only people who get their torrents of television shows from Pirate Bay are people who don't know where to find torrents of tv shows.
Not that this will change pastabagel's mind about the show, but seriously, now.
posted by tzikeh at 7:08 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
Pastabagel, you never do anything half-heartedly, do you?
posted by armacy at 7:20 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by armacy at 7:20 PM on July 14, 2011
I am so glad that I am not the only person who gets sad just hearing the opening credits (and then continues on to sniffle through the rest of the show).
posted by janepanic at 7:31 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by janepanic at 7:31 PM on July 14, 2011 [2 favorites]
I almost cried with FNL love just reading this thread.
(Black, gay, coastal, hates watching sports here.)
I told a friend of mine tonight - about to become principal of a charter school in Milwaukee - that she's like a real-life Tami Taylor. She doesn't watch the show, so the compliment didn't transfer. I want to buy her the box set.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 10:02 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
(Black, gay, coastal, hates watching sports here.)
I told a friend of mine tonight - about to become principal of a charter school in Milwaukee - that she's like a real-life Tami Taylor. She doesn't watch the show, so the compliment didn't transfer. I want to buy her the box set.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 10:02 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
i love this show. we're watching the final season now on hulu plus and i'm going to be a whole mess of tears when i watch the finale on saturday. y'all.
posted by kerning at 10:25 PM on July 14, 2011
posted by kerning at 10:25 PM on July 14, 2011
i'm going to be a whole mess of tears when i watch the finale on saturday. y'all.
Yes. Yes, you are.
posted by tzikeh at 10:26 PM on July 14, 2011
Yes. Yes, you are.
posted by tzikeh at 10:26 PM on July 14, 2011
Y'all.
posted by tzikeh at 10:26 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by tzikeh at 10:26 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Its writing is full of treacle like "clear eyes and full hearts"--expressions devoid of meaning that are simply intended to be poignant and moving. What the hell does "full hearts" mean?
“Every man’s going to lose a battle in his life. But what makes him a man is in the midst of those battles, he does not lose himself.posted by kirkaracha at 10:31 PM on July 14, 2011 [9 favorites]
“His pride and character cannot be reflected on a scoreboard. When Jason Street went down in the first game of the season, everybody wrote us off. Everybody. We did not quit.
“It happens deep inside the human heart, gentlemen. When you look to the guy next to you, and you realize that no matter how difficult things are going to get out there, that he can trust you and you can trust him -- that there is no quit, that you’re going to fight out there to the bitter end – we call that clear eyes, don’t we?
“When you give everything that you’ve got, and then you realize you gave a little bit more that you didn’t even know you had, that you selflessly sacrificed for that guy next to you, we call that full hearts.
“Y’all are winners. There are no losers on that field today. This battle is not over. So let’s hear it one more time, together.
“Clear eyes. Full hearts.”
“Can’t lose!” the players shout.
Football is not a good metaphor for working class America.
I played high school football. Here's what I learned. I learned about teamwork and cooperation. I learned that everyone's got a job to do and everyone has to do their jobs for the team to succeed. I learned how to count on other people and to have them count on me. I think those things are valuable in middle class America and anyplace else.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:40 PM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
Y'all.
Yep, there's the best argument for not watching right there.
posted by eoden at 6:42 AM on July 15, 2011
Yep, there's the best argument for not watching right there.
posted by eoden at 6:42 AM on July 15, 2011
Y'all.
Yep, there's the best argument for not watching right there
I think that's what I call praising with faint damnation.
posted by Green With You at 8:50 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
Yep, there's the best argument for not watching right there
I think that's what I call praising with faint damnation.
posted by Green With You at 8:50 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
Yep, there's the best argument for not watching right there.
Please. "Y'all" made a regular appearance on Homicide. Frank Fucking Pembleton, God of the Box, used "y'all."
/Homicide forever.
posted by rtha at 10:13 AM on July 15, 2011
Please. "Y'all" made a regular appearance on Homicide. Frank Fucking Pembleton, God of the Box, used "y'all."
/Homicide forever.
posted by rtha at 10:13 AM on July 15, 2011
As a Canadian (ie: one who has no cultural context for y'all, positive or negative), let me just observe that, for me, y'all beats all other ways I know of addressing a bunch of folks at the same time.
"You guys."
"Everybody."
"All you good people."
"Friends, Romans, countrymen."
"Ladies and gentlemen."
The list goes on and nothing on it is as 1.5 syllable succinct and as informal as y'all. I wish I could use it in everyday parlance without getting weird looks.
posted by philip-random at 10:26 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
"You guys."
"Everybody."
"All you good people."
"Friends, Romans, countrymen."
"Ladies and gentlemen."
The list goes on and nothing on it is as 1.5 syllable succinct and as informal as y'all. I wish I could use it in everyday parlance without getting weird looks.
posted by philip-random at 10:26 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
I wish I could use it in everyday parlance without getting weird looks.
I agree. "You all" is the best solution (aside from re-working when possible) for connoting plural you when it's not necessarily obvious.
Even though I grew up in Kentucky, I was a transplant and never (really) took the accent. I say "you all" (which was actually what a lot of people in Louisville say) without the contraction, and no one looks at me funny. (But that could be the haircut.)
posted by mrgrimm at 12:21 PM on July 15, 2011
I agree. "You all" is the best solution (aside from re-working when possible) for connoting plural you when it's not necessarily obvious.
Even though I grew up in Kentucky, I was a transplant and never (really) took the accent. I say "you all" (which was actually what a lot of people in Louisville say) without the contraction, and no one looks at me funny. (But that could be the haircut.)
posted by mrgrimm at 12:21 PM on July 15, 2011
My best friend, who suggested the show to me emphatically, has often been known to text me with the sentence, "Tammy Taylor is who I want to be when I grow up."
My wife would say this to me after just about every episode we watched.
And damn you kirkaracha, are you TRYING to make me cry at work?
The DirecTV version of the series finale that I watched had interviews with cast members after the end of the show. Had me blubbering all over again, dammit. I routinely praise this show to all of my friends, over and over and over again. I've said it here on MeFi before, and I'll say it again: hands down, my favourite show of the last ten years. HANDS. DOWN.
Except for Landry's murder plot, and Landry hooking up with Tyra. Bleh. Even Lyla Garrity I could handle, but not that. Thankfully it wasn't a *huge* part of the show.
posted by antifuse at 12:40 PM on July 15, 2011
My wife would say this to me after just about every episode we watched.
And damn you kirkaracha, are you TRYING to make me cry at work?
The DirecTV version of the series finale that I watched had interviews with cast members after the end of the show. Had me blubbering all over again, dammit. I routinely praise this show to all of my friends, over and over and over again. I've said it here on MeFi before, and I'll say it again: hands down, my favourite show of the last ten years. HANDS. DOWN.
Except for Landry's murder plot, and Landry hooking up with Tyra. Bleh. Even Lyla Garrity I could handle, but not that. Thankfully it wasn't a *huge* part of the show.
posted by antifuse at 12:40 PM on July 15, 2011
And pastabagel: the only conclusion I can come to after reading your diatribe is that either a) you didn't watch the show, ever; or b) your childhood/teenage years and preconceptions with regards to high school football/sports have SO skewed your perceptions as to make you COMPLETELY miss what the whole show was about. But since you seem to be ranting and raving about the content of the article, that would lead me to believe that I'm closer to the mark with a, above.
posted by antifuse at 12:49 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by antifuse at 12:49 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
WBUR had a Fresh Air interview with Kyle Chandler and a replay of another with Connie Britton this afternoon.
posted by ericb at 12:50 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ericb at 12:50 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Another NPR interview heard this afternoon: Behind The Scenes Of 'Friday Night Lights'.
posted by ericb at 12:52 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ericb at 12:52 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
‘Lights’ Will Always Shine Brightly
In the past five years, I’ve received more reader e-mail on “Friday Night Lights’’ than on any other TV show I’ve written about for the [Boston] Globe. The “American Idol’’ fanatics, the “In Treatment’’ freaks, the “Real Housewives’’ junkies, and the “Mad Men’’ yay-and-naysayers have all made themselves quite known, to be sure; but the “Friday Night Lights’’ zealots have definitely been the most steadfast. They’re among the most attached, passionate, and emphatic of all TV watchers.posted by ericb at 1:08 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
… And why wasn’t “Friday Night Lights’’ - a show about sports, youth, and America in a country obsessed with sports, youth, and itself - a mainstream hit? The usual thinking, which is partially right, is that too many viewers incorrectly believed that the series was for hardcore football lovers. Whether because of NBC’s promotional angles, or because of the Billy Bob Thornton movie the show was based on, too many potential viewers didn’t understand that TV’s “FNL’’ was a character drama with sports only in the background. A similar thing happened to FX’s “Terriers,’’ a great private eye show that got lost because of misleading promotion and a bad title.
But I think the biggest reason “FNL’’ never hit the Nielsen Top 10 - er, 50 - had more to do with the tone of the show, which was earnest and honest through and through. There was nothing hip or stylin’ about “Friday Night Lights,’’ nothing that would give it pop cultural buzz. It was the counter-programming to all the ironic stuff out there. As a culture, we’re addicted to the relief of irony, the way watching “The Real Housewives’’ or a wonderfully black comedy such as “30 Rock’’ or “Weeds’’ lets us off the hook when it comes to having personal feelings.
“Friday Night Lights’’ did not offer that kind of experience. It was a shamelessly soulful portrait of a financially strained town and its individuals, as they tried to create meaning in their lives despite the odds. With the inspiration of others - thanks, Taylors - the people of Dillon worked to find love and give love. “FNL’’ was ultimately a humanistic story about love in action. And love isn’t cool.
Funnily enough... My wife and I started watching FNL when we were traveling through southeast asia, Australia, and New Zealand back in spring 2007. I had downloaded (err... I mean legally gotten ahold of) season 1, because I loved the movie and hadn't gotten around to watching it during the regular season (we were living in Ireland, where it hadn't aired yet... not sure if it has even now). The way I convinced her to watch it, even though it was about football? Jason Katims. Because she was a HUUUUUUUUGE Roswell fan. :P
posted by antifuse at 1:20 PM on July 15, 2011
posted by antifuse at 1:20 PM on July 15, 2011
Friday Night Lights May Continue on the Big Screen.
Well. That would be... a gamble? I'm torn between a desperate desire to see more and a fervent wish that they'd let it go without risking a bad addition to the story.
posted by tzikeh at 1:38 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Well. That would be... a gamble? I'm torn between a desperate desire to see more and a fervent wish that they'd let it go without risking a bad addition to the story.
posted by tzikeh at 1:38 PM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ok, my last post on this (because I'm getting a bit too FNL-fevered and nostalgic already) - the god damned Every Single Y'all video had me tearing up! WTF is wrong with me?
posted by antifuse at 1:42 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by antifuse at 1:42 PM on July 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Thank you, metafilter. I did think it was a dumb show about football, but at least now I'll give it a shot.
posted by flatluigi at 4:48 PM on July 16, 2011
posted by flatluigi at 4:48 PM on July 16, 2011
I'm a million years late chiming in on this, because we just watched the finale last night and I didn't want to be spoiled before then, and I have very little substance to add to this discussion outside of what has already been said here.
But! I love this show. Love it passionately and without even a trace of irony or shame. It is the truest, the most honest, and the most sincere-but-not-treacly* television show that I have ever seen, and I have watched a shitload of TV in my 37 years upon this earth.
I am devastated that it's over, but I'm so grateful that, as pointed out above, its last season was just as strong as its first, and that it ended in a manner that is true to the entire series: with grace, with joy, with tears, and with love in all its many-faceted splendor.
* - PB's bitching about the supposed treacle of "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" just proves to me that PB hasn't seen this show. It's a testament to the acting skills of Kyle Chandler and the writing/guidance of Katims et al that a line that by all rights should be cheesy as hell comes across as naked, unapologetic hope and aspiration, completely free of cynicism. In fact, I think that the show's utter lack of cynicism is part of what makes it so special, and yet so alien to a lot of people. Which is a pretty huge bummer, when you really think about it.
posted by shiu mai baby at 9:48 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
But! I love this show. Love it passionately and without even a trace of irony or shame. It is the truest, the most honest, and the most sincere-but-not-treacly* television show that I have ever seen, and I have watched a shitload of TV in my 37 years upon this earth.
I am devastated that it's over, but I'm so grateful that, as pointed out above, its last season was just as strong as its first, and that it ended in a manner that is true to the entire series: with grace, with joy, with tears, and with love in all its many-faceted splendor.
* - PB's bitching about the supposed treacle of "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" just proves to me that PB hasn't seen this show. It's a testament to the acting skills of Kyle Chandler and the writing/guidance of Katims et al that a line that by all rights should be cheesy as hell comes across as naked, unapologetic hope and aspiration, completely free of cynicism. In fact, I think that the show's utter lack of cynicism is part of what makes it so special, and yet so alien to a lot of people. Which is a pretty huge bummer, when you really think about it.
posted by shiu mai baby at 9:48 AM on July 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
In fact, I think that the show's utter lack of cynicism is part of what makes it so special, and yet so alien to a lot of people. Which is a pretty huge bummer, when you really think about it.
Someone told me recently that Friday Night Lights was a Republican TV-show, by which they meant it existed to jam so-called Republican values down our throats -- things like doing-one's-duty, taking-one-for-team, loving-your-boss/coach/dad-whoever. I countered that yes, it did seem to be a show that celebrated certain "old-fashioned values", but what's really so bad about putting your community before yourself, honoring your parents (or at least empathizing with them), taking responsibility for your actions? And so on. It turned into an interesting discussion that finally boiled down to, "Well, maybe what we need is for all of America's elected officials to take two weeks off and watch all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, and then get to back work and look the other guys in the eye and know that they probably cried, too."
Here's hoping.
posted by philip-random at 10:49 AM on July 18, 2011 [5 favorites]
Someone told me recently that Friday Night Lights was a Republican TV-show, by which they meant it existed to jam so-called Republican values down our throats -- things like doing-one's-duty, taking-one-for-team, loving-your-boss/coach/dad-whoever. I countered that yes, it did seem to be a show that celebrated certain "old-fashioned values", but what's really so bad about putting your community before yourself, honoring your parents (or at least empathizing with them), taking responsibility for your actions? And so on. It turned into an interesting discussion that finally boiled down to, "Well, maybe what we need is for all of America's elected officials to take two weeks off and watch all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, and then get to back work and look the other guys in the eye and know that they probably cried, too."
Here's hoping.
posted by philip-random at 10:49 AM on July 18, 2011 [5 favorites]
Hey y'all, I finally sat down to start watching this show on Netflix streaming because of this thread. And now I am watching 3-4 episodes a night, and when Netflix was down on Sunday and I couldn't get my FNL fix...let's not talk about that...and I blame MetaFilter. I lived in Texas for 5 years and didn't exactly love it, I know nothing about football other than what I don't like about it, and I still LOVE this show. I admit the first 2-3 episodes had us saying "so which part isn't about football, exactly?", but the characters were so good, and the writing was so good, we stuck with it, and even my beloved husband has said more than once (like when Buddy Garrity becomes Not (Quite) The Stereotype You Think He Is, or the way the whole steroids thing is handled) that it's a damn good show. Just when you're starting to groan at bit that a storyline or character is going to follow the standard path, you're very pleasantly surprised. Thanks Mefi, I love this show.
also, Zach Gilford is a larval-stage Clancy Brown
posted by biscotti at 8:25 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
also, Zach Gilford is a larval-stage Clancy Brown
posted by biscotti at 8:25 AM on July 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
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posted by AceRock at 9:13 AM on July 14, 2011 [8 favorites]