... and she's not even real. I'm a little too exhausted to do tonight's "Friday Night Lights" the proper justice, so I'll just say that Connie Britton is awesome, Adrianne Palicki is awesome (I felt like I should avert my eyes in the police station), Jesse Plemons is awesome, and Scott Porter is awesome when he gets to be cocky.God, I love this show, and I know you do, too, so please comment, and I'll try to add more coherent thoughts to the comments tomorrow.
I loved the way Saracen looked at the coach all night, with this look of absolute betrayal. It's little moments like that on this show that make it so, so good.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess having the milf dump Riggins was the more realistic way to end that storyline, but I still think I would've preferred it to end with the annoying kid getting hit by a bus, but I'm sadistic like that.
ReplyDeleteRiggins line is still making me laugh: "How about Saracen sleeping with the coach's daughter."
ReplyDelete*crickets*
Then there was Smash on the two phrases that can put a smile on Riggs' face: "The results are in -- you are not the father."
Between that and Tami's speech -- best sports banquet ever.
Acting is reacting and these actors shine in the pause. That moment when all the emotion and possibilities, vulnerabilities or triumphs become instantly revealed.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best TV acting I have seen since the Tony and Carmela smackdown of '05.
How did we get so lucky to have all that and good writing?
Like a cold beer on a scorcher, that one.
"How about Saracen sleeping with the coach's daughter."
ReplyDeleteOoh, thanks for the reminder. I also loved Landry's "What about the after party when... Riggins comes in with his cute but tragic 'Texas forever' routine?"
The first act of the episode, with all the secrets being spilled, was an example of how well this show manages to use its entire cast. Several discrete storylines, all touching on each other in unexpected but plausible ways. Excellent writing.
Connie Britton never fails to amaze me, too, for so many reasons that I couldn't begin to list them all. On a shallow note, I really appreciate how spot-on her Texas accent is, especially the little nuances that only us natives would hear.
And while I get a bit too frustrated by the inconsistencies and can't stop myself from nitpicking sometimes (such as a high school dropout being hired as assistant coach, or my own experiences with TX high school football playoffs), this show gets the emotional beats so right that I can handwave nearly anything.
Okay, okay! You got me! I have decided to start watching this show. I have Tivo'd the past three aired episodes, but I am wondering if maybe I should wait until reruns start this summer... will watching this show out of order confuse the crap out of me? I need a FNL one hour refresher episode!
ReplyDeleteI'm a newcomer, and while watching all the episodes in order on NBC.com builds the characters, i think you can jump in on a particular miniarc and do okay--the 2 episodes about Mac's racist remark,and the start of Tim and the mom might be good places to start.
ReplyDeleteSince there's hasn't been the obligatory comment about the nuanced depiction of the Taylor's marriage:
ReplyDeleteThe closing scene -- "I'm not moving to Austin. Now come to bed." Coach waits a beat, then turns out the lights.
Brilliant.
Anon
Okay, slightly more conscious now, so more specific ravings:
ReplyDelete-I love that Katims trusts his actors to say things with their expressions that the dialogue leaves unsaid. In particular, the jump from Tami's reaction to the new of Tyra's rape to Tami at Tyra's door and Landry in the car, and everyone immediately knows what's up and how everybody else feels, was perfect.
-I love that Landry's speech about his love for Tyra was preceded by him saying really ugly things (mostly about Riggins, but about Tyra by implication) as revenge for what she said to him at the police station, and I love that Tyra's mature enough to recognize it for what it was and not stalk off the way, say, Lyla would. Somebody on the TWoP boards compared the Landry/Tyra dynamic to Brian Krakow and Angela on My So-Called Life (where Katims got his start), which I suppose would make Riggins into Jordan Catalano. That show came to an end just as Angela was realizing she might have feelings for Brian, after all, so if this show gets a second season, Katims might get to finish what he and Winnie Holzman and HerskoZwick started a decade ago.
-I loved the already-mentioned bits like Riggins' joke going splat and Coach accepting Mrs. Coach's statement and joining her in bed, anyway.
I loved it all. In yesterday's thread about the "30 Rock" renewal, I said that a part of me almost doesn't want NBC to bring this show back, because it's so perfect as it is, and I'd hate to see that perfection be tainted either because the creators don't have enough ideas for a second season, or because NBC makes them water the show down to attract new viewers.
But after watching last night's show, I can't bear the thought of an NBC schedule for next season that doesn't have this show on it. Dammit.
I've never watched a show on regular network tv where I've been compelled to cry after it's over, just because I was so damn moved. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteTami -- I love you.
How good was Jesse Plemons in the scene with Tami? Man. And the rest of the episode rose even above last week.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe next week is the finale because this season has flown by.
Someone upthread said:
ReplyDeleteThe closing scene -- "I'm not moving to Austin. Now come to bed." Coach waits a beat, then turns out the lights.
I agree that was great, but the line was even a little better than that. Tami said "Now come to bed with me." (Emphasis mine.)
That "with me" turned the line to a more personal place. It wasn't just "we need to sleep."
I would be absolutely dumbfounded if they cancelled this show, ratings or not. This is the only NBC drama I watch at present (with the exception of Law & Order, but then only in reruns) and I would even go so far as to say that I'm a fairly loyal to NBC as far as the networks go.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm so convinced we'll have a second season, I've been spending time wondering how they're going to tie up the other half of the school year, get these seniors graduated and gone, and how they're going to introduce us to the new freshmen on the team next year.
At this point, I can't imagine NBC cancelling the show before they see what happens with the Emmys. The talk has gone from "it will be tragic if they aren't recognized" to "How could they not be recognized."
ReplyDeleteI have the utmost respect for the writers, but does anyone else feel that the Street/Lila romance is another version of the Ryan/Marissa romance? Where the perception is the fans want to see them together, but the reality is we'd all be a lot better off if she died in a car accident.
The Emmys won't be a factor. Final scheduling decisions are made in early May; Emmy nominations don't come in until July, and the awards aren't handed out until September, just as the TV season is officially beginning.
ReplyDeleteI should have been more clear. I am a tv lit. agent in Los Angeles and know the Emmy schedule. What I meant was that I have noticed here in the industry, people are changing the way they talk about the show. It is no longer flying below the radar, and I think that may give NBC hope that it will actually get some nominations. That is something concrete to build on marketing-wise for next season.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I see what you're saying, Gish, even though I'm too pessimistic to believe it. Steven Bochco likes to tell the story of how Fred Silverman, on his way out as head of NBC, sent him the renewal notice for the low-rated Hill Street Blues, and on the top of it Silverman scribbled, "You guys are going to kill at the Emmys this year." He was renewing the show on a hunch, albeit one that proved correct.
ReplyDeleteI just don't know that in the new corporate mindset in TV in general and at NBC/Universal/Scheinhardt Wig Company in particular, holding out for the Emmy love will be a convincing enough argument for renewal.
I hope very much that this show is back next , but I worry that Coach taking the job at TMU is a way to neatly wrap up the show without renewal.
ReplyDeleteI suppose, though, that the season was written and filmed before they knew its potential outcome, right?
The dumb smile by Riggins after his joke bombed really made the moment that much funnier. Great job by all.
ReplyDeleteTo the previous poster who asked about losing characters due to graduation, I don't see that as an issue. I know Smash is a junior, I'm pretty sure Saracen is a junior, and although Riggins is a senior, I could definitely see him hanging around Dillon next year. So they'd have a good transition season for a new bunch of guys.
For the most important part of the show - Any chance the demographics save the show? From what I hear, the show does well with the 18-34 set which is attractive to advertisers. Could it be renewed on that basis? Any chance it goes to Showtime/HBO (HBO will have a big 1-hour timeslot to fill in a few weeks)?
I have tried to figure out why I love this show so very much and I have come to the decision that it is the trust that is placed in everyone -- like the moment already mentioned when Tami shows up at Tyra's door. I kept expecting some sort of surprised look on Tyra's face or surprise and anger at Landry being there.
ReplyDeleteNot only were the actors trusted to communicate without words, the audience was trusted there. And you know that Tyra knew the minute the door opened that Landry was in the car and Tami was there to take her to report the assault.
And while the chance encounter between Street and the tattoo girl was definitely a "suspending disbelief" moment for me, there are so many more truths that come through, like Landry knowing that Tami was a mandated reporter.
I also love that they don't telegraph what is going to happen and trust the viewer to get it anyway. Which is why the promo doesn't bother as much as it could. I trust the show will handle it way differently than I can imagine today.
I missed this on Wednesday, but TiVOed the re-show on Bravo (thanks, Bravo!). What a GREAT episode. What I like most is that the central characters get more real every week. They react and talk like real people.
ReplyDeleteIf this had been "The OC" or some other 'teen drama' that roast dinner would have been in a perfectly decorated room at the local swanky hotel. Everyone would have been dressed to the hilt.
But they went for real...you could see the ceiling tiles and the cheesy decorations hanging from the ceiling. That is how every event ever looked at my high school.
This show HAS to be renewed. It is the best drama on tv right now.
Can't wait to see the season finale next week...but I am nervous that will be it's last episode.
PLEASE DON'T CANCEL IT, NBC!