ApeDonkey Power Rankings - 4/4/11

Top 5

1. Nancy Drew - As I wrote last week, my truck was broken in to and my wife's laptop and my ipod were stolen. Since that happened, my wife has been using all there Nancy Drew and Blues Clues skills to track down the perpetrator. The afternoon of the robbery she started scouring craigslist and ebay looking for postings that looked like they could be our stuff. In the meantime we had to buy a new laptop and I wanted to get a new ipod for the car. Last week my wife sent me a posting and said she thought this was my ipod. I completely blew her off but she continued to try to get information on it. Finally she noticed it was listed as a 7th generation ipod and mine was a 6th so she gave up hope that it was mine. However, they were selling it pretty cheap so I made arrangements to buy it from the person. It turns out they lived on my side of town and meeting them was easy. The person selling the ipod arrived and I approached his car to check out the item and make sure it worked. I turned it on and immediately recognized in the cover flow a record that only me and maybe ten others in the city would own. I went to the playlists and sure enough it was my ipod. At this point I wasn't sure what to do. This guy could have easily beaten my ass in an instance. I calmly spoke to him and told him I didn't want to make a big deal out of it but this was my ipod. I repeatedly expressed to him how important it was that I get the laptop back since it had all of our business files on it. As you would expect, he feigned surprise and told me how his girlfriend had found the ipod by stepping on it in a parking lot. Yeah OK. I just continued to calmly impress upon him the importance of getting the laptop back. Then he decided to be a good soul and knock the price down to $50 for my own ipod. Thanks.

I really didn't feel safe so I told him that was fine and paid for my ipod. I expressed to him a few more times that I wanted my ipod back and even if he didn't have it, if he could tell "whoever" did have it that I wanted to get it back, I would appreciate it. We then went our separate ways. A few minutes later I got a call from him telling me he felt bad about taking my money and offered to give it back. Once again I told him I didn't care about the money, I just wanted the laptop back. Anyway, thanks to my wife's detective skills we now have the guy's phone number, address and a picture of his car and plates. Unfortunately, this was over a week ago now and the police still have returned our call. We've spoken to them a couple of times and even had a police officer friend call and try to expedite the process but still nothing. Apparently there are two police officers assigned to work all the auto theft cases in Houston. Two! I'm not blaming the officers for this but the shitty system. We have essentially done the leg work to locate everything and have been completely ignored. On Saturday, we got a notice from the bank that our account had been disabled because someone had tried the wrong password too many times. I wonder who that was? So if either of the officers working auto theft read this please give me a call. I think we can close a case for you. Until then I'm going to go out a rob a few cars myself because auto theft is Houston's version of Hamsterdam.

2. Clank - This past Monday night Clank had a very good and well publicized evening. I don't know if someone thought it would be funny to replace the Final Four rims with some of those carnival game rims but neither team playing in the championship game could hit a shot. I don't know what UConn ended up shooting but it was beaten into my head yesterday that Butler shot an impressive 18%. I lost interest in the game about four minutes into the second half and started reading with the game on in the background. I couldn't tell you how good or bad the production was but I can tell you without pause how distracting the constant barrage of shots clanking off the rim was. At one point I didn't look at the television for a stretch of about 20 minutes and when I did finally look up Butler had the same number of points as they did the last time I looked at the score. It was just a pathetic performance by both teams. It reminded me of the Presidential elections of the last decade. No one deserved to win but they've got to give it to someone, so congrats UConn.

3. The Killing - A handful of new cable shows premiered this week including The Borgias, Camelot and The killing. Of the three new shows, The Killing looked to have something special. @heydannyv commented on Barry's review how much the cinematography, directing and use of music reminded him of Rubicon. I completely agree with that assessment. The previews gave me flashbacks to Twin Peaks but the reality is Twin Peaks was set in a completely different world where the supernatural and paranormal activity weren't out of the norm. The Killing looks to be an extremely well made murder mystery. 

4. Friday Night Lights Season 5 - FNL comes out on DVD today. We here at ApeDonkey have dedicate a ton of time to praising the series, season and actors of this outstanding show. One thing that hasn't been discussed enough it how stupid NBC is. NBC was set to cancel the series after the second season. Instead Direct TV stepped in to pick up some of the production cost and to broadcast the series on their channel 101 six months ahead of NBC's broadcast. This agreement has allowed me to see the entire series without ever watching a single episode on NBC. I was a late comer to FNL, becoming a fan during its season 3 run, so I saw the first two seasons on Netflix then watched the rest through uploaded episodes on the Internet. Anyway, like I said season 5 comes out today on DVD. If you have Direct TV you could have already watched season 5 on The 101 but NBC still won't be start showing it for another couple weeks. Genius. I'm a bit surprised they didn't cancel Community and Parks & Rec while they were making these brilliant programming decisions.

5. It was a tough week so just pour a little out for #5 this week.

Bottom 5

1. My Wallet - A couple weeks ago my six year old vomited in my Prius. Now I cleaned it up the puke but there's still that lingering barf smell in the car. I need to get it detailed to see if they can freshen it up. In the mean time I've been driving my truck instead. Nothing shocks the wallet quite like going from a car that gets 50mpg to a truck getting 15mpg. Especially when gas is nearly $4/gal. Since I've been driving the truck I've been going through $20-$30 of gas a day. That would last me at least a week in the Prius. If nothing else this week has reminded me why my 2+ yr old truck has less than 15k miles on it.

2. Catholicism - I'm not catholic, in truth I'm about as WASPY as a person can get. However, I did graduate from a catholic university and had to take catholic studies courses as part of the curriculum. So I do know a little something about Catholicism. I find the history of Catholicism fascinating and I tried to convince my wife to let me name our son John Paul so I could call him Pope. That idea didn't fly but I had to try. I do have quite a few friends and people I respect who are catholic. I don't know how they are going to feel about The Borgias but I can't imagine The Vatican being very big fans of the show.

The new Showtime series is based on the 15th century Papal family that was rife with controversy and scandal. In the series Pope Alexander VI has several kids with one of his mistresses. His son who he appoints as a Cardinal is uncomfortably interested in his 14 year old sister. One of his other sons is the head of the Papal army and may as well be based on Uday Hussein. I thought the first two episodes were pretty good but not great. Jeremy Irons as the Pope is his normal terrific self and the show's stand out has been Fancois Arnaud as Cesare Borgia.

The catholic church has a long rich history filled with both incredibly charitable and despicable act. This story happens to be one of the dark times in the Vatican. Showtime has proven they can produce an excellent series and this one has all the elements to be their next one I just wonder how well it will be received by the followers of the worlds largest religion.

3. Toyota Service - I've only had to take my Prius in to the dealer twice for service. Once was for a recall on the brakes and the second time was to have the back seat belts replaced. Both times the service department at Joe Myers Toyota has sucked giant balls. When I bought they car I was given two free oil changes. I used the first free oil change when I had the brakes fixed. At that time the guy told me to skip a few changes before I used the second one because I couldn't use them within a certain amount of time of each other. What? OK. So I tried to use the second one this last time. The guy before never said anything about having to use them before 36k miles. Fucking Dickhead. On top of that the shit heads didn't wash my car like they're supposed. I'm almost glad my car is now out of warranty because I won't be tempted to take it to the retarded monkeys at the dealership. I have a place down the road that does good work and I trust them. For the first time in my life I'm actually looking forward to doing one of those service surveys for a dealership.

4. Brandon Lyon - This is where I was going to talk about Brandon Lyon blowing a 4-2 lead to the Phillies on opening day but the Astros have much bigger issues than Lyon and he's only had one save opportunity so far this season. The Astros are going to suck all season. The best gambling decision I've made this year is not betting the over on the Astros win total. I think they'll compete for the worst record in the majors this year. Thank God for fantasy baseball to make other games interesting to me.

5. Kavorka - I'm not a particularly handsome guy. I probably trend somewhere in the middle of the looks scale but for whatever reason women in the service industry just dig me. I'm a happily married man and don't invite this kind of attention at all. In fact, nearly everything I do should deflect it. I shave maybe once every other month or so. I sustain myself on donuts so that I'm as fat as I can possibly be. I rate closer to the Unabomber on the anti social scale than most. In person, aloof is the best I can do. Mean and flat out ignoring people is more of the norm though. I've adopted a French sensibility to hygiene. Yet, these women and some men still want me. I thought this curse had left me when I moved out to the burbs but then one of the women at the local McDonald's started giving me that extra little smile and wanting look. A few weeks ago though she turned on me and now has started a strict regime of giving me the cold shoulder. I figured out her issue the other day. She finally gave up on me leaving the wife and kids and got engaged to what I assume was at best her second choice. Sorry but I've got a good thing here at home. Now I'm getting those same uncomfortable looks and the eyes undressing me from the girl who delivers pizza. I've tried to tell my wife not to send me to pick up the pizza by myself. You never know when the Kavorka is going to send this poor woman over the edge with desire. My wife seems to be willing to take the chance of my shirt being ripped off but I have to admit I'm a little frightened every time we order pizza.

Friday Night Lights Series Review w/ Guest Blogger Tony Prock

The Tim Riggins mantra "Texas Forever" fits guest blogger Tony Prock to a T. As a displaced Texan in California and Hawaii these days, Tony's heart and soul never stray from the Lone Star State. I'm sure the story of small town Texas football made Tony both look back fondly on youth and long for home. Friday Night Lights is the perfect remedy for a guy stuck out in the land of wine, cheese and poi. Tony writes a great blog at Pigskin n' Politics and you can follow Tony on twitter at @Tony_Five_O



How would you rank the 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights?

1, 3, 4, 5, 2

Season 1: Simply the best. As soon as Street got hurt, you knew...and I mean, KNEW that Riggs and Lyla were going to hook up. The entire rehab of Street was so spot on. He had to give hope to countless paraplegics who saw the show. Similar to "Remember the Titans (will watch it anytime, anywhere), his re-channeled energy to excel at wheelchair rugby is infectious. His departure requires Matt Saracen to take on the role of QB1. Saracen's awkwardness is so realistic it is compelling. Zach Gilford offers up some of the very best and appropriate acting of the entire cast. This season is just chock full of real life incidents (Buddy Garrity's infidelity, Rigg's alcoholism, Tyra's broken home, Lyla's forced independence) which captivate the viewer and pull you in. You want to be a part of Dillon, TX. They make you long for their simple lives, which offer all of the complexities of the lives of our own.

Season 3: This season could be known at the power struggle season. There is a QB power struggle between Saracen and JD McCoy, the young 5 star prospect. There is a coaching power struggle between Coach Taylor and Coach Aikman, fostered and fueled by Joe McCoy, the typical wealthy "I get what I want" overbearing father. These issues are presented in real life format, as all of us have to deal with political pressures. The controversy and power struggle takes center stage between Coach Taylor and Tami as the boosters, led by Buddy Garrity, are looking to install a "Jumbo-tron" at the school's football stadium. Tami, who is now principal of the school, wants to allocate the funds for what she deems as more appropriate academic issues. This causes strife between their professional and personal lives. What I love about this season is how the writers planted the seeds for the show to turn in its direction. Because the Panthers did not win the state title the year prior, there are seeds of doubt surrounding the capability of Coach Taylor, and his replacement with Coach Aikman is all but a foregone conclusion. You can see Tami's unhappiness with losing in her bid to utilize the funds in a more appropriate manner. Changes are on the horizon and all but a guarantee.

Season 4: The new characters introduced this season bring a very real persona to the screen. Vince Howard and Luke Cafferty energize a team which starts the season quite slow and seemingly crappy at football. Coach Taylor is facing a polar opposite in East Dillon. No budget, no facilities, no fan-base, and a no-talent football team aside from Howard. In a typical storyline, the writers use football to turn Howard's life around and Coach Taylor is a paramount influence in this capacity. Let's jump back to Cafferty for a moment. The brilliance here of Cafferty being exposed as the player who is using a fake address (perpetrated by the Dillon Panthers, not Cafferty) to attend Dillon is used not to undermine Dillon or the Cafferty family. No, it is used to show the true allegiance of Buddy Garrity. It is Garrity who, in the end, realized his true colors were aligned with Coach Taylor, not the Dillon Panthers, as they appeared to be all along. I cannot stress enough how impacting this element was to this season. With Cafferty officially zoned to go to East Dillon, the Lions now have their one-two punch to thwart the Dillon Panthers playoff hopes, and that is exactly what they do. The one aspect of this season I wish would not have occurred is the prison sentence of Tim Riggins. You knew all along it was going to happen. He and his brother, Billy, running a chop shop out of their auto repair shop, was destined for a messy ending. The season ending with Riggs being led away to jail left a sour taste in my mouth. I suppose it was bound to happen, but it was very cliche to say the least.

Season 5: The season where everyone gets what they want. Don't get me wrong, I loved this season. It could have easily been my second favorite to Season one. But, let's get real for one second: Tami wins out over Coach Taylor and his five year contract to coach the "Super Team," which will be the one created from the merging of the best players from the now defunct East Dillon Lions with those already in place at Dillon. But, put this aside for now and the subsequent college offers which would be waiting for Coach Taylor as this contract played out. Just how did she get selected to go to Pennsylvania in the first place? Let me get this straight: A counselor to principal back to counselor lands a gig as a Dean at a university in the northeast? Come on. No really. Come on. That just would not happen. Sorry, I digress. So, Tami gets her way for the first time in a long time when it comes to the professional careers of the Taylor family. Julie ends up with Matt in Chicago but we cannot tell if they are married. Quick side note: Coach Taylor's stares are legendary. One Matt Saracen asking Coach Taylor for his daughter's hand in marriage (after he proposed no less) produces one of the greatest GTFO stare moments in the history of this show. You would think Saracen told Coach that he and Jules were expecting based on his stoic reaction. Continuing on: Riggs gets his plot of land and is building his dream home in Texas (forever). The Lions won the state championship based on the ring on the finger of Vince Howard. I have to ask here, what happened to JD McCoy? Wouldn't he be challenging Howard for QB1 at this juncture? Anyhow, that is a minor complaint. I would have appreciated an update from Smash Williams, Jason Street, and Lyla Garrity to close out the series. These characters participating once again at this juncture would have made this finale that much better. I am sure Hollywood politics prevented this from happening to a certain extent. Whatever. In the world of @tony_five_o, I would have appreciated closure here. That being said, I would be thrilled at a movie picking up with Coach Taylor yelling at his latest gaggle of misfits on that Pennsylvania field. Ahhh, who am I kidding. Pennsylvania forever? Nope, just doesn't sound right.

Season 2: My least favorite simply due to the writers going down a very worn path from previous shows. The stalker/rapist of Tyra and subsequent manslaughter "heroism" of Landry Clark seemed quite Melrose Place-ish, as did many of the other elements this season. One of my biggest complaints from this season is the writers and how they make fun of Christianity. As if Lyla going through all of the pitfalls in Season 1 would not provide a platform and possible catapult from some personal soul searching, it is compounded by the typical negative Hollywood slant on the situation. She is deemed weird for doing so and I find that offensive. We are talking about a small Texas town, the epitome of a Christian stronghold. This is typical Hollywood and it is getting old. Christians are not the problem, writer dolts. Your intolerance, however, is. And if one is offended by my politics in this review, take it up with the writers as they opened the door. Moreover, Lyla would not be ostracized over this, but more than likely heralded in some fashion. Ever notice in these shows that no other religion is ridiculed? All of this being said, man can she sport a pair of William Rast jeans. You are welcome J. Timberlake.




Did you think Friday Night Lights made the correct decision by bringing in new cast members after graduating their first group? Were they successful in this transition?

I loved the fact that they brought in new cast members. I felt the transition was cool...especially after season 3.


What’s one story line you wish the show would have focused more on?

I wished they could have kept the viewer in the loop on the professional career of Jason Street.


What’s one story line you wished the show would have spent less on or left out altogether?

The murder of the stalker/attacker of Tyra


Who was your favorite character not named Eric or Tami Taylor?

Once we get past the hottie factor of Lyla Garrity and Tyra Colette, I'd go with Matt Saracen. The character is played spot on and developed brilliantly over the course of the series. Everything he dealt with from his dad to his dementia suffering grandma seemed quite realistic. A close second is Riggs, Buddy Garrity, and Landry Clark. Each portrayed brilliantly. Coach Taylor made me wish I was a football coach. That is how good Kyle Chandler was at his job.


Did you have any pet peeves when it came to the show?

My only pet peeve was all of these kids, aside from the McCoy's and the Garrity's (pre divorce), seemed quite poor...yet they all sported designer denim...from Diesel to William Rast. Just a curious observation of possibly failing to keep it as real as possible.

Friday Night Lights Series Review w/ Guest Author Danny Vara

It's not a common occurrence that a show like Friday Night Lights comes along. It is perhaps my favorite show to ever grace my small screen. In my on going quest to provide readers with fans critical opinions of the show, I invited Danny Vara (@heydannyv on twitter) to answer some all encompassing questions about the show. There are spoilers a plenty here, so save this for April after the DVDs come out or once it finishes airing on NBC.

How would you rank the 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights?

1,5,3,4,2

I watched about half of season one a few months ago and I forgot just how much was packed into that season. It was the season we were introduced to these really well-written characters that felt real to the audience. The season we discovered just how hot the women had to be if Connie Britton was only the third hottest.

I remember David Barron wrote about the show and was going to point out on a week-by-week basis all of its inaccuracies regarding Texas high school football. That was the one and only time I’ve ever left an angry comment on the Chron. I highly recommend you read what Barron wrote after the first season was done and my comment which is the first one underneath his writing. Pretty funny looking back on it now. And for the record, I and all my sportsflashers at 610 back when 610 was relevant never read “wire copy.” I think that practice stopped in the 50’s. Anyway hard to believe that was four years ago. Four years ago if you had told me that in 2011 I’d be an intellectual property paralegal whose only airtime involved a food show and I was weeks away from getting married with the Friday Night Lights theme song playing a prominent part I would have told you you were crazy. Now I say, Texas Forever.

Did you think Friday Night Lights made the correct decision by bringing in new cast members after graduating their first group? Were they successful in this transition?

The show absolutely had to bring in a new group and I think they pulled off the East Dillon angle about as well as can be expected. The new group had some bumps in the road, but Michael B. Jordan as Vince Howard was the tent pole that lifted up the newbies. Without him the show would not have been nearly as successful these final two seasons.

What’s one story line you wish the show would have focused more on?

I wish we would have found out what happened to the McCoys. They were such an integral part of season three and somewhat in season four yet they were given the murder plot treatment and dropped off the face of the earth. Tied in with that, could have been some sort of explanation as to why Dillon fell off the map football-wise this season. This show, without explanation, dropped things as it saw fit and that’s fine, but the McCoys was a tough arc to see without real resolution.

Aside from the Landry murder plot, what’s one story line you wished the show would have spent less on or left out altogether?

I know Cory and Barry mentioned some murder angle in season two, but I can’t recall that because I bulk erased much of season two out of my mind years ago. The one storyline that was unnecessary and went nowhere was in a word: Epic. First, Epic’s name. I mean, Epic?! Really?! Oookay, I’ll play along. Another troubled kid for Tami to help out. Okay, I’ll still play along because I guess something is going to happen. But nothing ever happened. Epic was hungry. Epic was a liar. Epic was good with babies with physical deformities. Epic didn’t like other teachers. I think the last season of a show with a cast as large as this didn’t need the insertion of this character at all. What? We needed to be reminded Tami was a caring, thoughtful school counselor. Ummm, pretty much the entire series you hit us over the head with that, but we cared about those characters as much as we cared about Tami. No one cared about Epic from the first scene to the last time Tami uttered her name to the principal to check on her. Epic storyline, hardly.

Did you have any pet peeves when it came to the show?

My series long pet peeve is very minor, but how many last-second, double-reverse-statue of liberty-fumblerooski-flea flicker-dance to “Single Ladies” (wait, different show)-halfback pass to QB from 60 yards out can a team win with? According to the Dillon and East Dillon record books that number is 42. I will say I thought the final football scene in season five was perfectly directed.

My season pet peeve for the last two seasons is the same Barry had. It’s the same pet peeve I had with Lost or any other show where the possibility existed of a surprise appearance from an old face. Get their names out of the opening f’n credits! I assume it’s a Screen Actors Guild thing or something, but it kills those surprises.

One more thing…we could have used more or just some of Jess’ dad in season five after such a pivotal role in season four. And was there really no way we could get some more of Smash’s mom? She was such a great character and I hated that we never got to see her even briefly catch up with coach. For a brief second in the series finale at the end I thought they were showing us Raiders training camp and Smash, but it was just Jess coaching. At some point a heart-to-heart between Smash and Vince would’ve been welcome.

Who was your favorite character not named Eric or Tami Taylor?

This is a great question because there are so many characters that such a wide range of the audience can identify with from Saracen to Buddy to Riggins to Street to Tyra. I tried to make a case for Tyra, but it’s impossible not to choose Matthew Saracen. I don’t even know where to start. His relationship with his grandmother? Mom? Dad? Julie? Coach Taylor? Or the relationship that gave us great conversation after great conversation. Obviously I’m talking about his relationship with Lance, I mean Landry. I’m glad we had one more conversation between those two in the series finale and it summed everything up well when Landry pondered how four years ago they were trying to figure out how to talk to Julie Taylor and now Matt was asking for her hand in marriage. The guy was forced to grow up quickly at home and on the field and he did it with such genuine emotion and conviction that I’m willing to forgive his fling with his grandmother’s nurse. He also gave us the single best acting performance in the show’s history in season four’s “The Son.” When I look back at the handful (and by handful I mean at least 40) times this show made me tear up Saracen seemed to be in most of the scenes. How can you not go QB1 with this question?

Final Thoughts On Friday Night Lights: A Questionnaire

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to Friday Night Lights. This is a show that will live on in the hearts of all who watched. I wrote a non-spoiler send off earlier, but now myself and Fidoz would like to offer up some insights and thoughts on the show itself. This post will be full of spoilers, so if you haven't watched, pocket this post and watch the show immediately. Be sure and click the links throughout the post as they will send you to some highlights of the show.

How would you rank the 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights?

BCStagg: 1,5,3,4,2. Season 1 was just so perfect. Granted it had a full 20+ episodes to fully develop characters, but so much was accomplished. Because it had so many episodes we were able to get more development as opposed to just another game on the way to state. The Next three are toss ups. Season 5 was a great way to wrap up the series. We finally started to care about the new cast and we got closure on the rest of the old cast. Season 3 was filled with all sorts of drama from JD McCoy taking over Sarecen to Coach being usurped from power. The final shot with Coach and Mrs. Coach on the decrepit field of East Dillon is perhaps THE shot of the series. Season 4 was a good transitional season, saying goodbye to our old cast mates and hello to our new. Season 4 had THE best episode in “The Son” where Sarecen buries his father. Season 2? Well, what can you say about Season 2? Landry went on a murderous killing spree. Lyla finds Christianity...let’s just pretend half of this season didn’t happen. I say as long as Season 1 is first and Season 2 is last, you get no argument here about the middle 3.

FIDOZ: Ranking the seasons is difficult for me because of the way I watched the show. I was a late comer to the series not picking it up until towards the end of season 3. I watched the first 3 seasons back to back to back so they all kind of run together for me. With that said the first season remains the best because it’s where we met these characters we would fall in love with. It was also the only 22 episode season so the writers could be more patient and take their time molding story lines and characters.

Season 3 added the intrigue of the McCoy’s. Joe McCoy quickly rose to the rank of a-hole #1 on my list. J.D. McCoy was that spoiled but talented kid we’ve all known and couldn’t stand. Zach Gilford as Matt is really given a chance to shine as an actor. Smash, Street, Lyla and Tyra all leave the show during the season.

Season 5 wrapped the series up nicely. Maybe a little too nicely as it seems everyone got what they were after in the end. The Epic storyline was more of a diversion and ultimately pointless. I’m no Alan Alda but I thought Jess’s attempt to learn how to become a coach was interesting. Billy and Mindy might be the worst non abusive guardians in the history of television but Billy was absolutely hilarious throughout. My biggest issues with season 5 were that I thought Hastings was an underdeveloped and underused character. I never was able to connect with Luke and by the end of the series I really didn’t like Tim.

Season 4 was bound to be a struggle as they tried to transition from the old cast to the new. The biggest trouble I had with this season was the creation of East Dillon. The stories and characters had been so real I had trouble believing all these athletes that were now on the East Dillon team hadn’t been playing football at all before the merge.

My favorite part of season 4 was finding out that Texas really is heaven and that when you’re killed by the Barksdale crew you get to go to Dillon. If you don’t get that then you need to see The Wire immediately. RIP Wallis & DeAngelo.

Season 2 is by far the worst of the five seasons. There were several story lines I just couldn’t stand. I thought Coach Taylor leaving his job mid season was completely out of character. Then there was the terribly forced Landry/Tyra manslaughter story line. There’s so many pieces of that story line I just can’t buy. I don’t believe that would be Landry’s course of action in the moment and I really can’t believe a smart kid like Landry who’s also the son of a police officer wouldn’t fess up immediately based on the circumstances.

Did you think Friday Night Lights made the correct decision by bringing in new cast members after graduating their first group? Were they successful in this transition?

BCStagg: Yes. Absolutely. The show wasn’t about the kids. The show was about Coach and the town. Yes we loved the characters, but the fact of life is that kids get older and graduate. If we followed all the kids through graduation and at their respective colleges, the show would have become watered down and it wouldn’t have been fair to the new breed. I think the show did a great job of transitioning the new cast in. One of the ways they were succesful was by having Riggins and Sarecen stay around for the start of Season 4 before slowly easing them out. It allowed us to have something familiar to hold on to while learning to love the new kids.

Fidoz: They had to bring in new cast members for the show to remain interesting. Following characters like Lyla, Tyra and Smash off at college was never going to work. They could do that with Julie because she was the Taylor’s daughter. What I didn’t like was the creation of East Dillon. Seems as though troubled teen Vince and the rest of the new characters could have integrated into Dillon High without missing a beat. I didn’t quite get the point of isolating the bad side of the tracks kids instead on investigating the struggle between sets of kids from completely different backgrounds.

What’s one story line you wish the show would have focused more on?

BCStagg: I’m tempted to say more of Matt’s mom, Shelby Sarecen because I love me some Kim Dickens, or the evolution of the size of Gracie Bell's forehead, but I’d have to go Santiago. In season 2, Buddy sort of adopted a Latin linebacker and got him to play for Coach Taylor. If we would have stuck with Santiago I think it would have solved 2 gaps in the show: the lack of a Latin presence, and the lack of a defensive presence. It’s hard to imagine a small town Texas school without any Hispanic kids. It was almost distracting. I know that Riggins and Luke played both ways, but we really never got a taste of a good defensive story. In season 1, the defense brings the team back by shutting down Voodoo Tatum, but we don’t know any of them, so it meant less to us. Having a defensive player we care about could have lead for more flexibility in the football story telling so it wasn’t just the offense winning with hail mary after hail mary.

Fidoz: I would have liked to have seen a different approach to Street’s acceptance of his condition. I always felt like they were rushing his rehab and transition from one career to the next. When he left the show he hadn’t been out of high school two years and had been a paraplegic rugby player trying out for the national team, making a trip down to Mexico to find a magic cure, a car salesman and ultimately working for an agent in New York. I slower development and struggle with his new situation would have added greater depth to the character. As it was, I barely cared about Street by the time he left and even less so when he came back in season 5.

What’s one story line you wished the show would have spent less on or left out altogether?

BCStagg: The obvious answer is the Landry murder plot. It just didn’t fit the show. Tyra getting raped and Landry defending her is one thing. Maybe he could have just beat her within an inch of his life and he we just never see the traveling rapist again. But if I were to pick something not in the season we shall not speak of, I’d say it Julie Taylor’s affair with the married TA. I know it’s sort of the catalyst that drove her to Matt, but I never really liked it when the show ventured out of Dillon, unless it was for an away game. I also, found it a bit unbelievable that Julie would do such a thing, and then we had the intolerable “I’m not leaving the house” moments. It just distracted me from my final season.

Fidoz: This one is easy. I hated the Landry and Tyra manslaughter storyline. It was by far the least organic story line of the entire series. I felt like they were trying to manufacture drama unnecessarily. That was just one of the problems with the doomed second season.

Did you have any pet peeves when it came to the show?

BCStagg: This is hard, because nothing bothered me outright about the show, but if I had to pick something, it’d be that they would give away surprise cameos by listing the actor’s name in the guest starring credits at the opening. I always knew when Sarecen was going to come back. I also find both the Shane State and Braemore job offers for Coach and Mrs. Coach both highly implausible. I didn’t like how they never even brought up JD McCoy again. Unless he transferred, he and Vince will be competing for QB1 on the Super Team. All they needed to do was drop 1 line about what happened to him and we would have been clear.

Fidoz: I had a couple of things that just drove me crazy. The first was Tami’s go to move. It seemed like at least 45% of Tami’s lines somehow involved “you need to ________ because it will improve your college application.” I know she was a school counselor but from my experience it was never that hard getting accepted into college. This is coming from a guy who participated in nothing during high school and had an atrocious attendance record.

The other thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was how easy it was for all these 16-17 year olds to just walk into bars and convenient stores and get served alcohol. I grew up in a small Texas town and it took careful planning or an older sibling to score like that. I can see 17 year old Becky waitressing at the Landing Strip but an 18 year old Landry getting past the door is much less likely. There were just way too many scenes with underage characters hanging out in bars drinking.

Who was your favorite character not named Eric or Tami Taylor?

BCStagg: This is an easy one. Matt Sarecen. I’ve never identified so much with a character in my life. He was never quite the best at anything, but he always tried to make good with whatever he was given. He was complex in that he always worked for a living and took care of his sweet grandma with dementia because his father was in the army. Sarecen also had the two of the best moments in the show. One where Coach threw him in the bathtub and Sarecen cries that every one leaves him. It was a rare moment for Matt where he was completely candid. The second is perhaps the best moment of the show where he buries his father. The blood coming from his hands as he shovels dirt onto the grave with him crying, it just doesn’t get any better than that. I always root for the underdog. And Matt was just that. Always nice to see the good guy get rewarded. 


Fidoz: To me there’s really only 3 choices Matt, Landry and Buddy. Matt was much more a star of the show than Landry or Buddy. I loved every uncomfortable discussion he had with coach or someone in authority. I vacillated back and forth on whether I loved Buddy or wanted to punch him in the gut. I think most people did including Coach Taylor. I’m going to have to go with Landry though. The terrible manslaughter story arc not withstanding, Landry was television gold whenever he was on screen. Whether it was putting Matt in his place, showing mad skills with the ladies by landing both Tyra and Jess or rocking the pants off of Dillon as leader of Crucifictorious, Landry was nails.

Friday Night Lights Series Review - A Eulogy or Love Letter

“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” -Coach Eric Taylor

How do I begin writing about a show that is so amazing, so real, so emotional that it’s hard to believe it’s fiction? I’m bound to leave out several thoughts and feelings. Part of this will sound hyperbolic or like a love letter to Matt Sarecen or Coach Taylor, but know that I loved every minute of this show.

Friday Night Lights just completed an amazing 5 season run. Much like some of the characters and Coach Taylor’s teams, the show had to scratch and claw and fight to remain on top, all while not sacrificing its integrity. I was hesitant at first to watch this show because I thought it would just be another teen drama with no real substance. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Friday Night Lights tackles every subject fearlessly. Love, divorce, sex, hatred, murder, abortion, drugs, teen pregnancy, strip clubs, and yes-football are all dealt with in a way that never seems trite or disingenuous. The show gives incredibly deep and complex characters. Coach Taylor is a hero in my eyes. He embodies the principles and discipline of a man that everyone should aspire to be. Coach Taylor is not perfect, and never claimed to be, but he put his best foot forward and left it all on the field, just like the show itself.

I identified with show right from the start. I’m always a fan of the underdog and the character of Matt Sarecen jumped out at me and captivated me. (I’m typing this wearing a Sarecen jersey.) Sarecen is thrust into the position QB1 after the star QB Jason Street goes down with a spinal injury. Sarecen, ill-prepared mentally(football IQ) and physically, finds a way to win the game and ultimately the state championship. It’s not easy being an underdog, but once you realize there’s no pressure, you can open up and succeed. Friday Night Lights played the game as an underdog with nothing to lose. In it’s 5 season run, they only knew there would be another season after the 4th season, and yet they pulled no punches and stuck to their beliefs. They told great stories with substance. That’s all a viewer can ask for. Tell me a good story and make me believe it.

I once had an argument with a girl at work if she was a Sarecen or a Riggins girl. She responded quickly. “Riggins! He’s so hot.” I was surprised I took such offense to the comment. I took it personally. Sarecen and I are a lot alike. We were never quite the best at everything, but we just tried to make good at everything and everyone we came into contact with. Matt was a dedicated friend and always put his family first. Some of the best scenes were Matt taking care of his grandma with dementia on his own. And the best scene from the best episode, “The Son,” Matt has to bury his father and all the emotions of a kid who’s been asked to do so much at such a high level and never complained come pouring out. I was moved to tears and it’s a scene that will stick with me for the rest of my life. All this to say, Friday Night Lights is more than just a teenage drama, it’s more than a story of a high school football team, it’s a journey that effects you personally.

Coach Taylor is a hero. He is a molder of young men and always placed a premium on family and those he was closest to. His marriage is perhaps the most realistic relationship to ever have been captured on screen. I have never been married, but I know my future wife will thank the Taylor’s one day. It’s ok to not be perfect, so long as we are true to ourselves and always think of others first. I have an amazing father, so it wouldn’t be fair to say that I wish I had a dad like Coach Taylor, but more of a compliment to Kyle Chandler who plays Coach Taylor is that I see my dad in Coach. That’s the beauty of the show. Everyone can identify with the characters and can reflect those in their own lives onto the actors in the show. Everyone knows a guy like Tim Riggins, a student like Landry, a girl like Tyra. The made up town of Dillon, TX may even feel just like home for certain people.

Friday Night Lights may be finished but it will live on in those who watched it. I’ll say it one more time, “Clear eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.”

I need to hit a few things from this week such as that series finale from last night before I post my 2009-2010 television season in review.

- The Lost finale was good. Really good even. I had a few problems with it though.

• The network didn’t do the show any favors with the way they scheduled the commercials. The episode never seemed to build any real momentum because the breaks seemed to come every seven minutes. Look I know this was you’re night to cash in but I would have preferred fewer even if longer breaks.
• I felt like there was an argument between ABC and the writers. The writers kept arguing “we really need three hours to do this right” “look we gave you an extra 30 minutes you can’t have anymore, the affiliates won’t let us push the news back anymore” “fine, ok guys let’s go with the 15 minute white light wrap up”
• I’m glad I was able to get through the series and catch up in a few weeks to see the final four episodes live.
• I’m equally glad I didn’t watch it from the beginning. The long layoffs between fall and spring probably would have driven me away.

- If you’re a Friday Night Lights fan be sure to catch Friday’s episode. Zach Gilford who plays Matt Saracen is tremendous.

- Perfect episode on Breaking Bad, At some point, now that he's in remission, we had to see the toll Walt's choices are taking on his conscience.

- I’m not a casting director but Owen Wilson is terrible choice to voice Marmaduke.

- RIP Lima Time – Great Lima memorial show today on 1560 by John & Lance

- Finally saw Avatar. Meh. It looked good but I thought the story was better when it was called Dances with Wolves. I gave it 3 stars but that was mostly because I figure something has to be at least 3 stars for me to sit through it for 2.5+ hours. This is another instance when Netflix really needs half star ratings.

- The ratio of Stanley Cup playoff games to NBA playoff games I’ve watched this year is somewhere around 15 to 0

- Just 4 more days til school is out and I start earning my money as a stay at home dad.

- I found out the hard way if you want to blow up your email, post something in the free section of craigslist. The vultures are always circling.


Netflix this week
Avatar - ★★★
Another State of Mind - ★★★★
We Are Wizards - ★★★
The Messenger - ★★★

Books
Falconer by John Cheever