Good TV You May Have Missed.....Friday Night Lights

Some shows are successes from the start, some build slowly and rely on word-of-mouth to push them to success. Some are outstanding yet never pull in the audience. Part of the fun (and irritation) of the new TV season is trying to pick out the Hits from the Misses. For me, the shows that have appeal can fall into both categories and more often then not, the latter.

I saw an advance pilot of Friday Night Lights this time last year and decided it wasn't for me. I liked it, particularly the cinematography, and I felt it had potential, but when I weighed up the pros and cons of this show, I omitted it from my viewing repertoire. Set in Texas, about high school football, I believed this to be a show that had no relevance to me. I was also reluctant to get involved in another drama featuring characters half my age.

Throughout the broadcast season, the critics had high praise for FNL, but at that stage it was too late for me. Previous episodes were not available for download or streaming and I wouldn't join a drama half way through. But the accolades were growing and coming from the unlikeliest of sources, ie: females, and they weren't just watching it for the teen athletes. Despite less than stellar ratings, it was renewed for a second season. It was time to correct my mistake.

Thankfully, there were summer reruns and I picked up from the start. Last Saturday morning I watched the final 6 episodes concurrently through tears and laughter. It is one of the most beguiling shows I have seen. It has many fine qualities and great performances, but for me, it is Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tammy, played by Kyle Chandler (from Early Edition and King Kong) and Connie Britton, who raise this show to a superior level. Their performances are outstanding. Not in a melodramatic, shouty, chew-the-scenery way, but subtle, heart-wrenching in a manner I've never thought possible on the small screen; the polite restraint on the coach's face when a car sales man is trying to tell him how to run the team; the quiver in Tammi's voice when she realises her 15 year old daughter is going to sleep with her boyfriend. Fantastic, gut busting, understated performances without being over scripted or played for Emmys. (Are you watching Grey's writers? Less is more!)

The common thread in the show is the obsession the town of Dillon has with football, and everyone has some vested interest in the success of the team. The sport is without a doubt, the backbone of this show. Initially, you'll watch it in spite of the football. There are plenty of scandals, heartbreaks and humour outside of the field to sustain this small town drama. If you're lucky enough to see it through to the season finale, you'll watch it because of the football. I know nothing about American football, and am little wiser from 22 episodes of FNL, but the climb of the Dillon Panthers, from being the underdogs to the team to beat in Texas, was exhilarating, heart-warming and ultimately very satisfying. Who knew that there was still a heart beating in the cut-throat world of network TV, and that it was in Texas!

http://www.nbc.com/Friday_Night_Lights/