(S04E02) In case you think the Coach Eric Taylor has all the answers, this episode shows that's not always the way it is. In last week's show, the East Dillon Lions were so awful, Coach couldn't take it. He threw in the towel, which is a boxing term, but by forfeiting the game at half-time, that's what he did in football terms.
Things were hardly better for Tami at Dillon, although by comparison, her school looks like paradise. Eric's on the other side of paradise. More about that and the rest of the players, on field and off, after the jump.
Controversy raged last weekend as fans and media types reacted to a new DirecTV ad using the late Chris Farley in scenes from Tommy Boy. Now, some aggressive YouTubers are taking their shot at offending some people (with DirecTV execs at the top of the list).
But the video below, from a YouTube page, The Landline, lights up the satellite TV provider with an edgy send-up of the "dead talk cash" stunt with faked DirecTV ads featuring a pseudo Heath Ledger, John F. Kennedy, and someone else you'll recognize.
There's a conspiracy theory floating around that this is actually clever viral marketing from DirecTV itself -- since no publicity is bad publicity. But, if that were true, and word really got out, it'd be "deadly" to the company's business.
The other day I posted the DirecTV ad featuring footage of Chris Farley and new footage of David Spade, and I opined that it was a "worst commercial of the year" nominee. I also mentioned that it might be "too soon."
To clarify, when I said "too soon" I didn't mean that it was too soon after Farley's death (he died 12 years ago). I meant that it's odd seeing a young, contemporary celebrity in an ad (which DirecTV also did with Heather O'Rourke - that was worse), especially one where he is interacting with a costar who is doing the scene in the present day. My other point was "how the hell is this going to sell DirecTV to anyone?" (and "boy is this ad unfunny").
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in TV Squad's APB Podcast. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about Jamie Ray Newman, FlashForward, Friday Night Lights and Surviving Disaster.
They use dead celebs in ads all the time and it doesn't bother me, so why does the new DirecTV commercial with David Spade and Chris Farley irritate and disgust me so much?
For one, it's badly made. Unfunny and not very clever. Plus, it might be too soon, and the way that Farley died... it's just a very strange ad. I wonder why Spade even agreed to do it. (DirecTV has done this before.)
No, this is not going to be another post about the shoddy umpiring or spittle analysis or any of the other on-field matters that have been going on in baseball since the playoffs began. No, we're on a TV blog, so I'm going to just talk about the things that have annoyed me about FOX's and TBS's coverage of the ALCS and the NLCS. In no particular order:
1. The Fidelity-sponsored Fox Trak. The pitching tracker, which shows if a pitch actually hit the strike zone or not, has been around for years. But, the flight of the ball has been to this point represented by a red streak and a dot. Now that Fidelity Investments is sponsoring the tracker, the red streak/dot combo has been replaced by a green streak/green arrow combo that mimics Fidelity's "stay on the line" series of ads. What financial guidance has to do with balls and strikes, I'll never know.
With the return of Friday Night Lights right around the corner (it premieres on Wednesday, October 28, at 9PM on DirecTV's 101 Network), there's been a lot of talk about who's returning, who isn't, and just what the heck is gonna happen now that Eric (Kyle Chandler) is coaching the East Dillon Lions and not the Dillon Panthers anymore. There's been plenty of news, too, regarding new characters and how the good-bye arcs for favorites like Matt (Zach Gilford), Tyra (Adrianne Palicki), and Lyla (Minka Kelly) are going to play out
Well, DirecTV has finally released a short promo for the new season and guess what? Despite the fact that it features new footage (as opposed to a recycled season three montage), it gives us absolutely nothing.
But it is pretty damn cool to look at. The set up of a tornado-esque storm ripping apart Dillon and culminating in a rift across the football field while everyone just sort of casually watches and walks away is pretty poetic. You know what else would be poetic? Seeing Eric shove his fist down Joe McCoy's throat in the season four premiere. We can only hope.
If you like sports talk in the afternoon and get bored with the countless reruns of breaking news on ESPN's myriad channels, here's some good news. Dan Patrick is back on the air. In daytime, that is, and not on the worldwide leader in sports. Dan Patrick's radio show began simulcasting on DirecTV this week, bringing the entire DP team and their studio into view.
Broadcasting a radio show on TV is not new, of course. Don Imus did it for years on MSNBC until he put his foot so far in his mouth that he was kicked off the network. And Mike Francesca has a daily radio talk show airing on the Yes network. The idea of watching someone with a microphone in his face and earphones on is not radical.
Mere hours after the series premiered on the cable net, Showtime has renewed Nurse Jackie for a second season. Why so fast, you might wonder? Well, Showtime could point to the biggest premiere since 2004, but because it was on pay cable the total number of viewers is less than two million. Those are the kind of numbers that would get it canceled on USA or TNT, not to mention ABC or CBS, but for Showtime it's excellent.
Excellent is also what a majority of TV critics and bloggers -- including Jane -- had to say about the Edie Falco dark comedy. Some were more effusive than others, but for all intents and purposes, the press was pro-Jackie from the get-go. But not everyone loved the show. Nurses complained loudly about the depiction of their profession.
I was skeptical of the DirecTV arrangement before they did it this season, because I was afraid it would ruin the season for people like me, who don't subscribe to the satellite service. However, I have been able, with minimal effort, to avoid even small spoilers for season 3.
While I agree with Hemal that FNL has an uphill battle with several of its key characters graduating this year, I disagree with her assertion that it shouldn't be renewed because of it. What makes Friday Night Lights so great is the cast, but even more than that, it's the way the writers have crafted the characters and storylines. Sure, JD McCoy is no Tim Riggins, but I have faith that the show will find its way. I only hope that more viewers will find their way to it.
Fans of Friday Night Lights who have been freaking out about the possibility that the show wasn't going to come back for another season can relax: the show is actually coming back for two more seasons.
To be precise, they're two 13-episode seasons. But that's a lot better than what the news was looking like just a few weeks ago. Michael Ausiello reports that the news will be announced "any day now." It confirms news that he broke a couple of weeks ago.
Sometimes a short-lived show will vanish from the schedule and you'll have to wait until the DVD comes out (maybe). Other shows show up on some cable network and are run for a while but then go away forever. These three shows were so short-lived you didn't think you'd see them anywhere ever again. But DirecTV has other ideas.
The company is going to start showing three short-lived shows again: ABC's Eyes and The Nine and CBS' Smith. Specifically, they've made a deal with Warner Brothers to show the three shows on their 101 Network and DirecTV on Demand. They'll be shown in HD, unedited, and episodes you've never seen before will be part of the package too (Eyes has seven unseen episodes, while The Nine and Smith each have four).
(S03E01) And so begins phase two of NBC's grand Friday Night Lights experiment. The show kicked off it's third season on NBC Friday night, but all of these episodes have already been shown on DirecTV. Allison reviewed the premiere back in October, but we thought we'd run it up the flagpole again and see who salutes.
Despite the delay for those of us without DirecTV, the season premiere made it so easy to slip right back into the series. Most of our favorite Dillonites are back, and we were quickly brought up to speed with what each of them has been up to. We also got a good look at where a lot of these stories will be heading.
Question: Is Craig T. Nelson being cast on CSI: NY just another big star guest turn or could it be something more important? We don't know the answer yet, but I suspect that booking the Emmy-award winning TV star for three episodes could be a lot more significant than just pumping up the ratings during February sweeps with a meaty story arc.
What we do know is that the popular actor will be on CSI: NY as an antagonist to Gary Sinise's character. Nelson will play Robert Parker, a high profile, powerful publisher who has an ax to grind with Mac Taylor.
To say they're going to butt heads is an educated guess, but I think that's the direction they're going. You can see Parker using his media outlets to attack Mac and his department, you know, those great New York tabloid headlines.
The best NBC drama currently in production hasn't been doing much to help the Nielsen ratings. That's because the show, Friday Night Lights, isn't being shown on NBC right now. Season three has been unspooling on DirecTV and after eight episodes, the award-winning series is in the midst of a top-notch season.
In fact, after somewhat coming off the rails last season with Landry and Tyra's murder plot, Riggins and Street in Mexico, and Matt's involvement with Grandma's nurse, this year's shows are focused, complex and definitely back on track.
That starts with Tami and Eric. Coach Taylor remains as coiled as ever, only now the pressure to succeed seems even more intense because of the emergence of J.D. McCoy, the phenom freshman quarterback. J.D.'s pushy father and personal quarterback coach tick Eric off, but he likes the kid and has demoted Matt in order to give the more talented player a chance.
(S04E02) In case you think the Coach Eric Taylor has all the answers, this episode shows that's not always the way it is. In last week's show, the East Dillon Lions were so awful, Coach couldn't take it. He threw in the towel, which is a boxing term, but by forfeiting the game at half-time, that's what he did in football terms. 
The other day I posted the 
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Mere hours after the series premiered on the cable net, 
Fans of Friday Night Lights who have been freaking out about the possibility that the show wasn't going to come back for another season can relax: the show is actually coming back for two more seasons.
Sometimes a short-lived show will vanish from the schedule and you'll have to wait until the DVD comes out (maybe). Other shows show up on some cable network and are run for a while but then go away forever. These three shows were so short-lived you didn't think you'd see them anywhere ever again. But DirecTV has other ideas.
Question: Is 
The best NBC drama currently in production hasn't been doing much to help the Nielsen ratings. That's because the show, 
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