Posted Feb 4th 2010 1:15AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E12) Facing the Lions, Coach Taylor said the word of the week was focus. He was wrong. The word of the week was choice. Everybody seemed to be facing impossible choices.
Bigger than right or wrong, yes or no, play or don't play. In this penultimate episode of
'Friday Night Lights,' the problems were everywhere, but solutions -- unfortunately -- were hard to come by. More on the big game, toothpicks, apologies and Habitat for Humanities after the jump.
Continue reading Review: 'Friday Night Lights' - 'Laboring'
Posted Jan 27th 2010 11:34PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E11) This was a rough episode of
Friday Night Lights, filled with frustrating actions, characters doing things that make you want to yell at the screen, situations that shouldn't be happening at all. But this is Dillon, Texas and there's a world of drama going on even in a town seemingly as mundane as this one. It's not really just about football. It's about life.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - Injury List
Posted Jan 21st 2010 12:25AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E10) There were some major developments in this episode of
Friday Night Lights, especially among the younger set. And if you think life is just peachy keen for kids in high school, they aren't the ones attending East Dillon High. If you prefer the lighter, sweeter side of
Friday Night Lights, this wasn't your night. Sadness was at every turn, none moreso that Becky and Vince and their very tough decisions.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - I Can't
Posted Jan 14th 2010 1:25AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E09) This is a really interesting time in television because there are not one or two or three excellent dramatic TV shows, there are a dozen I could name off the top of my head. Somewhat overlooked -- thanks to NBC -- is
Friday Night Lights.
Amid
Lost, 24, House, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Big Love, Damages, Sons of Anarchy, NCIS and others, the drama which some incorrectly think is just about Texas football, doesn't get its just desserts.
This was a typical episode of
Friday Night Lights, layered with character development and conflicts, emotions out of whack, and problems that seem to crop up out of nowhere. It's a lot like life. For more on the show and what Tami and Eric were talking about in bed, follow me after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - The Lights of Carrol Park
Posted Jan 7th 2010 1:28AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E08) Dreams. Tami and Eric have big dreams for Julie as she prepares to go to college. Tim Riggins has been dreaming of what he would do some day with 25 acres of Texas real estate. Luke's worried that his dream of getting a scholarship out of of Dillon is slipping away. And Buddy, well, he just wants to have football pride for the Lions like he did for his dream team, the Panthers. More on all that and more
Friday Night Lights after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - Toilet Bowl
Posted Dec 20th 2009 9:24AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Industry, Programming, OpEd, Lost, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Ratings, NCIS, TV Squad Lists, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Burn Notice, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Nurse Jackie, Glee, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family
What a year! Once we got over the WGA strike, the networks kicked it into high gear and got busy making TV. Except for NBC. Even
Jeff Zucker has admitted that NBCU has failed to respond to the need for new programming.
Fortunately, the other channels have been busy and there's been a lot of great television... and some that's just plain awful. But I'm a half-glass full kind of person and I have good feelings about 2009. However,
since I don't want to repeat my list from last year, I'll just mention that I could put these 2008 best choices --
Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, NCIS, The Big Bang Theory and
Mad Men -- on my list again. But I'm going to go for an all new list and, thankfully, I had plenty of 'bests' to choose from.
Best
1. Glee. If there was ever a show that was made just for my personal taste, this is probably it. I love the singing and dancing. I get the characters. It even tickles me that I had just as much angst with bullies in high school as these kids. Every episode hasn't been perfect, but it's perfectly fine that they keep striving.
Continue reading Best and Worst TV of 2009: Allison's list
Posted Dec 18th 2009 10:02AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Festivus, Friday Night Lights, Reality-Free, Parks and Recreation, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Modern Family, Lie to Me
On the sixth day of Festivus, TV gave to me ... six shows you should be watching.
Every fall TV season brings out a new crop of fresh shows and despite the fact that some of them are ridiculously good, they slip through the cracks and not many people watch them. Not all of these are new and not all of them are suffering in the ratings, but some could still use your eyeballs. So take this list as a gentle nudge to start tuning in if you haven't already, because all six of these shows really are appointment television right now.
Modern Family (ABC; Wednesdays 8:30) -- Easily the best new comedy of the Fall '09 season,
Modern Family has very quickly risen up most critics' lists and even nabbed a
Golden Globe nomination earlier this week. The show features a spectacular ensemble cast that tackles just about any family related issue from dating to divorce by putting one of the most unique spins on the genre in recent memory. With the show on hiatus until January, now would be a great time to catch up on the first half of the season and if you don't,
Fizbo the ass kicking clown, will, you know, kick your ass.
Continue reading The Twelve Days of Festivus: Six shows you should be watchin'
Posted Dec 17th 2009 1:28AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E07) Friday Night Lights is a show that's as much about subtle touches as it is about bone-crunching hits on the football field. This episode was all about pain, but not just the kind that requires a doctor's touch. Julie felt it, as did Landry, Becky, Vince and Tim in their own ways.
For a change of pace, Tami wasn't getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop, and for Coach Taylor, things were looking up even though the sheriff was snooping around the locker of one of his players. And if you're wondering what happened after Matt left Dillon last week, read on.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - In the Bag
Posted Dec 16th 2009 10:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, House, Festivus, Celebrities, Friday Night Lights, TV Squad Lists, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, Glee
On the eighth day of Festivus, TV gave to me ... eight stars a shinin'!
There are a lot more than eight wonderful stars shining in the TV pantheon for 2009, but these eight are a remarkable bunch who have been exemplary this past year. They've left us with memories that'll last long after this Festivus has ended. So, in no special order, here are the eight stars a shining from the year gone by.
1. Jane Lynch. If the Emmy doesn't already have Jane Lynch's name engraved in a statuette for
Glee, it will by the time the awards are handed out. Lynch has been the perfect villain, the villain you love to hate. But if she were just a one-note nasty, it wouldn't work. Lynch has shown the other side of Sue Sylvester. Her "swing" date showed Sue in love, and her visit to her sister Jean was a soft earthquake emotion. Jane delivers week in and week out. Her star is glowing.
Continue reading The Twelve Days of Festivus: Eight stars a shinin'
Posted Dec 11th 2009 12:48AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E06) After
last week's episode -- a tour de force by Zach Gilford as Matt -- this show felt almost like a transition. The stories are in motion, the characters are in flux, and change is coming. It's inevitable given the relationships and the ages of most of the cast, so it would be disingenuous to be surprised by what's happening.
There were two songs that informed the major changes, Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and Patsy Cline's "Crazy." More on the tunes and the trials, not to mention that thirteen on eleven drill that's got the East Dillon Lions starting to roar on the field. Not winning the game, but at least winning respect. For more on all this stuff, follow me.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - Stay
Posted Dec 3rd 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E05) When you see an episode like this one, you feel bad that
Friday Night Lights has been flying under the radar when it comes to Emmy consideration. The performance by Zach Gilford as Matt was the best I've seen on TV since Aaron Paul blew me away with
Breaking Bad last summer. Hopefully someone will remember him next year when it's Emmy time, and this is the show that could win it for him. He was just that good. More after the jump on Matt, Vince, Becky and the other Dillon denizens.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - The Son
Posted Nov 22nd 2009 4:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, The Closer, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Burn Notice, Glee
Thanksgiving is coming and for many of us it's time to eat, drink and watch football. It's also a time to reflect on the things you're grateful for and since TV Squad is all about television, here's what I'm grateful for this holiday season, with regard to the tube.
Mad Men season finale
There was really nothing as satisfying in the entire year for me. Matt Weiner promised a game-changing episode and he delivered it with a whopper of a wrap up. Actually, nothing was really wrapped; it was more like the cards have been dealt and we're still waiting to see how the hands are played.
Continue reading What Allison is thankful for
Posted Nov 22nd 2009 10:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Casting, Reality-Free
One of the most integral and interesting characters on
Friday Night Lights may be out of the lineup for much of the rest of the season. And he may not be back for next season, either.
Taylor Kitsch could be out of Friday Night Lights after the next few episodes. Michael Ausiello is reporting that executive producer Jason Katims confirmed that Taylor's conflicting schedule with a big screen project has mucked up the works.
Taylor's playing the title character in
John Carter of Mars, a big screen adaptation of the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, which isn't slated to be released until 2012, but will require extensive filming. It doesn't look like he'll be able to fit more of
Friday Night Lights into the mix. And a lot of the predicament could be on the Disney side; will they free up his shooting schedule for John Carter to let him play Tim Riggins.
Continue reading Taylor Kitsch may be done with Friday Night Lights
Posted Nov 19th 2009 9:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E04) Life is what happens while you're busy making plans. Matt hasn't exactly been the architect of his future, but the Dillon former quarterback has been plugging along. This week found Saracen in the cross hairs emotionally. The Taylors, meanwhile, continue to struggle through the professional turmoil, and the younger set in Dillon has definite issues -- some good, some not-so-good.
Then there's Buddy Garrity. If he's not a Panther anymore, and he denounced his identity with the West Dillon team last week, what is he? As he told Eric, the beauty of boosterism is that it comes from the heart. Where's Buddy's heart now? More on that and the rest, after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - A Sort of a Homecoming
Posted Nov 12th 2009 1:10AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Friday Night Lights, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E03) There's so much that's right about
Friday Night Lights this new season that it probably sounds like I'm overdoing it with the positive notices. However, the way they've shaken up Eric and Tami's life together in Dillon has been terrific.
The gerrymandering for the town, sending Eric to coach a poor school with a tattered football squad is inspired storytelling. And Tami's not in a better place back at West Dillon because
she sent Luke Cafferty to East Dillon, the school he was supposed to be attending. The Boosters are not happy with Tami. Eric's not sleeping. What's going to happen now?
Continue reading Review: Friday Night Lights - In the Skin of a Lion
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