"Friday Night Lights": Ready To Talk?
Posted October 6th, 2007 by Rich Heldenfels
I spent much of last night watching Indians-Yankees. But, as you know, I saw the season premiere of "Friday Night Lights" quite some time ago. And I have been waiting for all of you to see it, so we can discuss one of the plot elements. Discussion begins after the jump …
So here's the thing that worried me: Landry killing the man who attacked Tyra. For starters, the killing was an enormous act for a show that has far more often focused on close-up, personal dramas. Beyond that, though, because this is "Friday Night Lights," I would have expected Landry to call the law immediately. He's that kind of guy, and no amount of pleading from Tyra would have deterred him. Or, it might have delayed his making the call, but it would not have led him to the disposal of the body. It's all melodrama, and out of keeping with the show.
Having seen the next couple of episodes, I will tell you that the killing does not go away. It has an impact on the characters. But I have reservations about the specifics of that impact, which we can talk about as the show goes along. And it hangs over the show like a big, ugly shadow, and makes me wonder how else things might go wrong down the line.
As I've said before, this is even more agonizing because so much of "FNL" is still excellent. But enough about me. What do you other viewers think?
October 7th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Hated it, hated it, hated it. So out of sync with everything the show's been about, not to mention it's ruined the sweet, awkward little mating dance between Tyra and Landry (the phone call from the bathroom was priceless).
I thought the Street paralysis story veered a little too close to "movie of the week" material at times — his recovery time between accident and wheelchair rugby was ridiculously accelerated — but they always managed to rescue it with authentic emotions and situations. I'm afraid there's no good way to rescue this one. Having preached the gospel of this show to everyone I know, I hate to see them jump off this cliff now.
October 7th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Aside from the white elephant in the room, I thought it was a good return. I think I'm probably the only one who agrees with the new coach kicking Buddy out of the practice (though perhaps he could've done it a little better than he did, and I'm waiting for him to kick out Coach Taylor should he pay a visit, to watch the ensuing fireworks there).
I'm also very happy that the marketing department at NBC decided to offer Tim Riggins jerseys on sale at nbc.com as opposed to Tim Riggins bobble-heads.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:58 am
There's at least one great scene with Street coming up in the next two episodes, and a plot development with Riggins and Street that may spark some more debate. The Buddy thing also goes in some interesting directions. I really can't stop watching, but that's a pretty big white elephant…
October 8th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
By the way, my colleague Dan Fienberg has a long rant about "FNL" here: http://fienprint.blogspot.com/2007/10/so-about-that-friday-night-lights.html