Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. It is amazing how the slogan to Friday Night Lights can spur emotion in me, causing me to tear up at all the right moments. But, oh, how the start of its second season was beginning to make me cry for the wrong reasons. Just to give you a little idea what the show is about…
After last year’s phenomenal season, the Dillon panthers started out this year on a rough patch. Coach Eric Taylor had graduated to college ball leaving a new coach to fill his shoes (big ones!), his wife, Tammy, just gave birth, Matt Saracen and Julie Taylor were on the rocks, the list goes on. But what should have been the set up for another perfect season only seemed to cause trouble for the series. The interactions and subtleties between characters and situations that had made the show so beloved and distinctive began to falter with over the top plot lines (Yes, that means you, Landry and Tyra) and less of a focus on the characters and nuances we grew to love in season.
Thankfully, that all changed last Friday, with the return of Coach Taylor to Panther football in Dillon, Texas. And with his return came the return of what had made this show so great: Tammy and Eric’s fun and realistic marriage, complete with their light banter and genuine love for each other; Coach Taylor taking absolutely no bull on the gridiron; and, of course, a Panther win. Even the Landry-Tyra storyline became a bit more complicated. But more importantly, the little things began to shine again, such as Matt and Landry’s quirky friendship, and the attention shifted from overblown story lines to character development. My only hope is that this tone can be sustained throughout the rest of the season. Some shows go through sophomore slumps, so hopefully FNL will get it together before this season is a wash.
No one claims that FNL is original by any means. In fact, if one was to describe the show and its various plot lines, it would seem very “been there, done that.” But what makes FNL so unique is that the writers (sidenote: go unions!), actors, and those involved deal with typical and contrived situations in realistic and subtle ways. The show is not concerned with football as much as you’d think, but even when dealing with the sport, the focus remains on the characters. Although the Panthers stumbled out of the gate this season, they seem to be gaining their momentum again. To use a cliche myself: This IS the best show you are not watching!
Subscribe to our RSS Feed And checkout our coffee competition to win a $30 gift voucher to your favourite coffee shop : click here
(Rate this article!)
Loading ...
Loading ...
1 response so far ↓
1 Karin // Nov 7, 2007 at 2:18 am
The other-the-top plotlines were a network demand, I’m sure - that show got renewed by something a little thinner than the skin of its teeth, and I’ve avoided watching it so far because I knew a Dawson’s Creek style makeover was coming. If it’s going back to what it was, they may be gunning for cancellation with glory, and more power to them.
Leave a Comment