(S01E01) I had a first look at this one a couple weeks back, and now we are finally to the premiere. Friday Night Lights has taken a back seat to both Studio 60 and Heroes where the NBC promotional department is concerned but it is one of the new series that deserves to find its audience.
Right from the start this episode sets the tone for the show. I really like the radio voice over as we peek into various scenes around the town. It takes its time and isn't in a hurry to force too much at the viewer. It also showcases what is the Friday Night Lights look. Lots of handheld camera, shooting on location, and a very real and gritty vibe to everything. It's different, and refreshing.
One of the tough things about starting out a huge ensemble show like this is introducing all of these characters. I think it's done very well here. Matt and Landry driving to practice gives a quick look at how those two are. And that one little scene with Riggins and Tyra tells us a lot about who they are going to be on the show in very few words. The best idea they had though was the television interview. It manages a ton of exposition in a believable way, in a short period of time. By the end of that scene we know Smash, Riggins, Jason Street, and Coach Taylor.
Something else the show gets right is the balance of football and the lives of the characters. Taking the time for the scene at the Taylor house where Tami goes on about his and her closets and Julie compares Dillon to Moby Dick grounds things. None of that will mean anything in the big picture, but it offers color and feel. The obsession with football in the little town is interesting, but what will make or break the show are the relationships of the characters. Football is merely the setting.
The opening of the car dealership was great. So much good stuff going on. The mayor talking to Jason cracked me up. "You listen to early Black Sabbath? It'll make you mean." The woman hitting on Riggins was funny as well. A little trivia, the booster that cornered Eric was played by Mack Brown, coach of the University of Texas National Championship team. He actually did a pretty nice acting job. And it was important to drive home just how much pressure is on Eric.
The show isn't going to feature a game in every episode. Peter Berg has said he plans on one game every four or five episodes. That seems right. Every week would overpower the show and take time away from telling the stories that need to be told. That said, the game in this episode looked fantastic. The plays on the field, the coaches in the locker room, the crowd, the cheerleaders, they were all solid.
It wasn't really a secret going in that Street was going to get hurt, but even knowing it, that whole thing was very powerful. Cutting the hospital scenes in with the football while the music played over it all was just riveting television. The time lines were a little whacky, sure, but it worked. And the way that one piece of music just went on and built up to the end was great. Saracen throwing the big pass with no time on the clock was a little Hollywood, but stranger things have happened.
Coach Taylor's speech at the end of the show tied everything up nicely. And it leads into what we are going to see next week. Street is out, but the season has to continue. As the town deals with his injury we'll start to get more into the rest of the characters. This was a very good start for a new show. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of Friday Night Lights.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-04-2006 @ 8:16AM
eugene said...
FNLs is head and shoulders over Heroes. The plot of the pilot was a little more than predictable, but a necessary thing in a show like this (based on a book/movie). It sets up the character arcs for the season. I thought some of the scene cuts were a little abrupt though, took me out of the show a few times. I was very impressed with the level of acting by all the actors playing the students.
I had a few nitpicking problems: I can think of ways it would happen, but the reporter mentioning alcohol on the breath of riggins when riggins was clearly downwind in a more than strong breeze, or even the fact that it was mentioned in the interview seemingly on record... how much the counter plays were killing dillon after they had so many scenes where they talked about focusing on the counters... finally, the last two plays. Smash gets a first down, runs out of bounds. It's been awhile since I've played high school football. And I know different states/leauges have their own rules. But are we to assume that this league uses a running clock? So going out of bounds only stops the clock enough to reset the ball.
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10-04-2006 @ 8:59AM
Elliott said...
While I don't plan on becoming the next Al Bundy, my fondest memories of highschool are of playing Varsity Football. I was very curious about the show and I liked it alright. I didn't like the "Laguna Beach" feel of the scenes with the I-want-your-boy blonde or the Hollywood feel of the final play, but it was still a very solid pilot.
"Matt and Landry driving to practice gives a quick look at how those two are." - I think I may have missed this scene. I didn't understand the character of Landry. Is he on the JV team or something? I haven't read the book or seen the movie.
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10-04-2006 @ 9:25AM
John Howard said...
The show was pretty good, but whoever wrote the script for the football game needs to be fired. Way too unrealistic. They should have had them build a big lead, then struggle to hold it after Street went down, or had them win easily and let Street's injury be the story. Teams that are as good as this team was built up to be don't drop that many passes (then suddenly catch them when the backup comes in), and a guy who is as bad as the backup was built up to be doesn't make that throw at the end. At least not without some time to get confortable. If they absolutely had to have the backup rally the team, then the injury should have happened much sooner, and they should have fallen behind because of his mistakes, then as he got into the game and the team adjusted to playing without Street, they could have made the comeback. The way it played out was just horrible. Hopefully, the games will be written better in the future. Preferably by someone who has actually watched a football game before.
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10-04-2006 @ 10:36AM
Dave T. said...
wow guys that's some dissection of the football. I didn't even pay much attention and I run a NFL blog on top of Firejeffzucker.com
Anyway, it is TV not live sports. So I'd give it a bit of a break. I did find it funny though that this backup is just like the guy who was backup QB for my HS team. He was really nerdy, then kind of grew up and even went to play college ball (although I'm not sure if he ever played). But he did not look like the typical HS QB that's for sure.
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10-04-2006 @ 10:53AM
MrsEldubya said...
I enjoyed the show because it was different than alot of the new shows this season. I definitely plan to keep watching and I'm glad to have another show on Tues night to watch. We follow alot of football so we are familiar with boosters and rabid fans. Yeah, the come from behind win with the inexperienced QB was a tad dramatic but it's still a good show. I liked the coach when he said "throw to our guys" as his pep talk too. Good show and worth watching.
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10-04-2006 @ 10:58AM
Mike said...
It was so-so. I can't stand that handheld camera/mtv-ish shakey-cam look. It would have been ok if they just did it during game scenes but during the whole episode is annoying. The entire episode was extremely predictable also. With all the pressure from the town on the new coach, the looking for a new house and everyone and their grandma giving advice to the kids it would have been a more interesting story if they had lost their first game. The following episodes would then be about the town's disappointment and anger at the new coach, how he would plan to win the 2nd game and re-earn the trust of the town. But they didn't go that way, instead they did a typical hollywood fluff piece.
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10-04-2006 @ 11:04AM
Brian said...
Although I liked the movie FNL, I was reluctant to add this show to my Tivo season passes. As it turns out, it was a last second add when I saw it getting good reviews on the Internet. No longer knowing what to expect, I watched the pilot objectively and was very impressed by the *quality* of the show. From production value, to acting, to initial plot threads, to it's docudrama style of filming this show shoots out the gate more like a returning show than a newbie hopeful. But I have to wonder if this show can 1) hold onto this level of quality in coming weeks and perhaps more importantly, 2) if FNL can maintain it's audience when football season is over early next year. We'll see, but color me impressed so far.
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10-04-2006 @ 11:30AM
Brett said...
eugene, I have to say I didn't even think about Smash running out of bounds. Now that you mention it, my understanding of football says that should stop the clock. But then, I have no idea how Texas HS rules work.
Elliot, Landry is Matt's best friend. The scene you missed was of him driving Matt to practice and the two of them bantering. It was quick but showed what their relationship is like.
MrsEldubya, you put it very well. This show is different, and that is a big part of why I like it so much as well.
Mike, I totally get the handheld camera thing. I like the feel it brings to the show, but it's certainly not going to be for everyone.
And Brian, I wondered about whether they will be able to maintain this level as well. It's something I brought up in the early look. Shooting a pilot is different than shooting episode 13 with a deadline looming and work already begun on episode 14. For now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope the show can keep it up.
Thanks for all the great comments everyone!
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10-04-2006 @ 11:33AM
BD said...
Having seen a fair amount of football in my life, I didn't think the Panthers' comeback was unreasonable as we're painting it here. We're talking about high school kids, not pros, and they can more easily drift in and out of focus. You drop passes because you lose focus, because you're thinking about the hit or because you're scared of dropping it. It's plausible that the team would have regained its focus after Street's injury.
And just because they won, don't think the pressure is off. I'd bet a few of the radio callers next week are still taking the coach to task, asking why they needed a last-minute comeback to beat an inferior team. And what was up with the defense?
I was more stunned by how tiny Saracen looked out there. He looked like one of the pee-wee players.
This show will be walking a fine line. If Street doesn't recover, it could drift into the maudlin. As it was, it was the most impressive drama debut I've seen in years. Unfortunately, I also said that about Boomtown. (Well, it WAS! The show just went downhill when the suits showed up with their notes.)
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10-04-2006 @ 2:16PM
mattS said...
"So going out of bounds only stops the clock enough to reset the ball."
Actually, that's exactly what happened. In fact, the game announcers said something to that effect just after he went out of bounds. Now, whether or not they actually had enough time to get that last play off or not I don't know, but hey, it's TV.
Speaking of the announcers, I thought they were the least realistic part of the show. It's hard to fake on the spot emotion, and they didn't do it very well. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. And having Explosions In The Sky doing the soundtrack (as they did in teh movie) certainly helped.
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10-04-2006 @ 2:34PM
Shirley Vernon said...
I am a mature woman with children and grandchildren. I decided to tape this last night because one of my favorite shows was on at the same time. While watching it to today ,I really got excited. Wow!! a show that I can watch and not be embarrassed or gritting my teeth over the foul language and sexual plays. We raised our children in a small town and so many of your characters brought back memories of those days. I commend you on a great show and I intend to be an avid fan and "watcher" each week. Added bonus is Kyle Chandler!!!! Thanks again for thinking of the many Christians of America and how it makes all of us proud to see some DECENT TV shows on the air.
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10-04-2006 @ 4:11PM
cdmc said...
Another expensive NBC show that will sadly be canceled. Sad, because it had great production values. Canceled, because of dismal ratings and poor scheduling.
Friday Night Lights (FNL) had its strengths and weaknesses. NBC needs to maximize the latter and minimize the former if it wants this show to survive Tuesdays - which has overthrown Thursdays as the most competitive night this season.
Kyle Chandler and the adult actors, and of course the football, were the saving grace for the show. They delivered the goods. I always loved Kyle's naivete and subtlety even during his Early Edition days. The other adult actors provided the needed rapport and support to the lead.
However, this show devoted too much time to the unknowns. This is where it gets bad. The majority of these unknowns had meh acting. They were good-looking but I needed good acting. They single-handedly almost turned FNL into some cheap WB teen soap. NBC hoped to draw the fickle teen audience but it may have turned off the true NBC audience.
Still, I would prefer this show over NBC reality junks Biggest Loser and Fear Factor. Sadly, reality shows are cheaper than quality shows. NBC may not have the patience to let this show survive the November sweeps. I just hope that NBC sticks to what this show is really about - the football game - and to what this show should not be - One Tree Hill. The great ratings will just follow.
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10-04-2006 @ 6:36PM
Chris said...
I'll add too that I don't think the comeback at the end is THAT unreasonable. Don't forget, even though the kid is the scrawny backup quarterback he's still the 2nd string QB on one of the best HS football teams in the country. Depth breeds quality, not as much in HS as in college, but you aren't going to have an All-American QB on a team like this and JV kid as the backup. The kid is obviously on the team because he's quick and got a good arm and he's been playing football in Texas his entire life. While you know it was over-scripted and dramatic...how hard is it to imagine that you watch your hero get his neck broken and you're losing and you have to go in and save the entire season for this town. The kid was obviously about to puke and @#$ his pants and so he understandably blew the first few changes. He got his breath back and and got his head back into it and showed why he is the man (2nd man anyway). Of course it all happens a little 'too' fast and in 'not quite enough' plays but don't forget it's about the kids not about the football. Other than the strange out of bounds play I think they did a good job on the football. Honestly, I commented to my wife that for the first time they actually got kids to play on the football teams that look like High School atheletes instead of All-Pro NFL players.
Chris
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10-06-2006 @ 3:35AM
Ray said...
I was very disappointed in this show. Wow did they ever over do everything. Coaching, playing, relationships and most of all praying. What we forget was that "the preacher" the guy with the gold cross on his neck. He wants the over sexed and under dressed blond. No offense but remember she is only 16-17 yrs old. This show does belong on MTV or the new CW. Not on NBC. What a waste of time. To bad, this was a year for NBC to take back some share points. They have failed again. I won't be watching.
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