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?