tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post953236261773618694..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: FNL: She spikesAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74191616338105070202008-01-29T10:06:00.000-05:002008-01-29T10:06:00.000-05:00Ok, Alan is right on with his complaints about the...Ok, Alan is right on with his complaints about the lack of football. Football carried season 1. Not just the football game scenes or practice scenes, but the way football permeated the town and controlled everything from Buddy, to the team, to the Taylors. <BR/><BR/>Is the suspension of Smash just another way for FNL to eliminate football from the show? Or will they play the same card as in Season 1, when Street goes down and the team responds with huge wins and a championship? God, I hope not.<BR/><BR/>Alan - Riggins told Lyla when he came to the church that he stole $3,000 from meth-man. <BR/><BR/>The volleyball scenes were the worst, most unrealitic scenes in FNL history. They had to zoom in so close when Tyra was spiking to avoid showing how utterly pathetic she looked and you could STILL tell. <BR/><BR/>All said, I'm not 100% disappointed in the show. To steal a line from "Varsity Blues"...."stick to the basics...STICK TO THE BASICS!!!!"Donnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08170413650850416463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-32338854145387044862008-01-28T22:15:00.000-05:002008-01-28T22:15:00.000-05:00Letting Riggins say "grade 9" was The Best Canadia...Letting Riggins say "grade 9" was The Best Canadian-ism ever. <BR/><BR/>We laughed until we cried, because it's the easiest way to spot a Canadian (or vice versa) in general conversation. Did they just miss it, or does Texas have more in common with Canada than I can possibly believe?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-28271345078185600312008-01-28T20:35:00.000-05:002008-01-28T20:35:00.000-05:00I know, Anonymous! What's happened to me?? But th...I know, Anonymous! What's happened to me?? But these last 2 episodes just weren't as good as the rest of season 2 for me.<BR/><BR/>I really think it was the Lyla/Riggins thing, which took up a lot of the plot for both of these episodes. I just don't like her. I don't feel sorry for her situation or care what choices she makes. Unlike everyone else.<BR/><BR/>I really do blame it on the actress. She just can't make her character sympathetic. Whenever she gets angry, she sounds like a Barbie Doll...fake. <BR/><BR/>I'm not looking forward to this week, either, based on the scenes I've seen. Except I'm really pulling for Landry and the girl with the hair...is it Jean? I like her. Spunky. Different. Smart. That's who Landry deserves.K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69284305975928234372008-01-28T19:48:00.000-05:002008-01-28T19:48:00.000-05:00Oh no, when FNL's biggest champion (i.e. Kristin) ...Oh no, when FNL's biggest champion (i.e. Kristin) is complaining about the show ... that's when you know there's trouble.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-69861694892038376072008-01-28T15:12:00.000-05:002008-01-28T15:12:00.000-05:00Kristin said:I would have liked them to explore ho...Kristin said:<BR/><BR/><I>I would have liked them to explore how a football scholarship and hopes for the future can be killed by a bad season.</I><BR/><BR/>Without giving too much away, that was one of the main themes of H.G. Bissinger's original non-fiction book "Friday Night Lights." The character of "Boobie", on whom Smash is based, experiences something quite similar to what you describe.<BR/><BR/>Overall, Bissinger's book is a really great read. It also includes a number of fascinating events and scenes that could have been developed into compelling plotlines for season 2.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-73796205031643483892008-01-28T15:05:00.000-05:002008-01-28T15:05:00.000-05:00No, it doesn't have to always end with the footbal...No, it doesn't have to always end with the football team winning or losing, but I can definitely say that I would have liked them to explore how a football scholarship and hopes for the future can be killed by a bad season.<BR/><BR/>Imagine Smash thinking he was going to cruise into some top 10 school, and then find out nobody wants him anymore...except some sorry little college somewhere. How would that affect him? How would that change his views on his future?<BR/><BR/>That would have interested me.<BR/><BR/>I want to know more about how the importance of football in high school changes how these characters view themselves and view their futures. Where did that introspection go?K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34990945241217220622008-01-28T14:41:00.000-05:002008-01-28T14:41:00.000-05:00I might be the only one who is enjoying this seaso...I might be the only one who is enjoying this season. The murder plot gave us great scenes between two fringe characters that were pretty much there to fill in stereotypes. (QB's nerdy best friend, the slutty girl)<BR/><BR/>Everybody keeps saying that the entire plot was ridiculous and not characteristic of the show, but it dealt with it in a not so conventional way by having Landry not really feel as though he was defending himself for Tyra's sake. <BR/><BR/>And come on about the football. Can every season end with whether or not the football team makes the playoffs. Season one was about that, season 2 can't be the same. We can't have to Dillon Panthers win or lose state every season finale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-80252043081464506042008-01-28T10:38:00.000-05:002008-01-28T10:38:00.000-05:00Thanks, MJ, for your thoughtful commentary and "be...Thanks, MJ, for your thoughtful commentary and "beautiful" moments. I agree completely. I wonder why people keep watching if Season 2 pains them so much. And, I wonder if M*A*S*H would have lasted 11 seasons in this age of blogging?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-19053138575760008612008-01-27T21:32:00.000-05:002008-01-27T21:32:00.000-05:00Damnit FNL, you are effing killing me. Just kilin...Damnit FNL, you are effing killing me. Just kiling me! <BR/><BR/>You know how we are ignoring that whole "Landry killed a guy"? I'm inclined to do that for the whole second season. Let's make it a clean slate and start over again with Season Three?<BR/><BR/>Seriously, Season Two can be forgiven and forgotten. Make it happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57532209037681418782008-01-27T20:55:00.000-05:002008-01-27T20:55:00.000-05:00Smash's lawyer should be disbarred. For one, he w...Smash's lawyer should be disbarred. For one, he waived privilege by letting the coach sit in on private attorney-client meetings. Second, if he can't cut a deal for a first time offender/football star with the local assistant district attorney who would be handling this penny-ante case, then Mama Smash was robbed by him.<BR/><BR/>Plus, how is it that the football player who gets into a relatively minor scuffle is followed around by local news affiliates but the one who killed a man and covered it up escapes any media scrutiny whatsoever?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-16437529343188898132008-01-27T15:40:00.000-05:002008-01-27T15:40:00.000-05:00Not to open up a Pandora’s Box, Pandyora, but I th...Not to open up a Pandora’s Box, Pandyora, but I thought I would jot down some ideas for small but beautiful moments in this episode, alone. I actually agree that it doesn’t compare with many of the Season 1 episodes. But they sure made me think. Alan lets the 30 Rock commentators simply list lines from the show over at their threads so I can’t imagine he’d be offended by the following: <BR/><BR/>1. Herc’s response to the $4000 car repair bill: Does that at least come with an orgasm?<BR/><BR/>2. The headbutt. Out of nowhere. In the middle of the street. <BR/><BR/>3. End of the week, pretty boy or I’ll shoot your knees off. Good luck in the game on Friday. <BR/><BR/>4. I would love to butter you some toast. The look. Mrs Coach knew exactly where Coach was heading with trying to recruit her to be the volleyball coach. <BR/><BR/>5. Three weeks. Period. Four at most. [answers phone] Hello.<BR/><BR/>6. Understanding what Jason needs to go through to dress in a suit. <BR/><BR/>7. The emptiness of the showroom floor a minute after Buddy proudly introduces one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of Dillon football to his dealership’s sales people. <BR/><BR/>8. Mama Smash’s guttural delivery of “We’re gonna listen to what this man has to say”. <BR/><BR/>9. The exchange between Tyra and and Landry when Jean went to get a coke. Landry says she’s got nice hair. Completely ignored by Tyra. That dialogue was natural and felt like it couldn’t have been written (Unlike Mad Men which I watched for the first time and enjoyed, but, honestly, do people ever really have those incredibly well-written conversations?). <BR/><BR/>10. Riggins’ frustrated “hit it OVER the net” to the volleyball girls, as if they didn’t know that’s what they had to do. Mrs Coach putting Rigg in his place and then yelling at the girls for not talking enough, in a much more egregious way than Rigg had yelled.<BR/><BR/>11. Coach’s “First day of coaching is always a reality check.”<BR/><BR/>12. The look on Mrs Coach’s face when Tyra reaches to the top cabinet. <BR/><BR/>13. Julie’s realization at the dinner table that her mom is trying to recruit Tyra to the volleyball team even before Mrs Coach’s classic, “You’re a tall drink of water”. And Mrs Coach’s persistent ignorance of Julie when Julie tries to protest her mother’s almost shameful recruiting tactics. <BR/><BR/>14. The background song when Lyla visits Riggins. <BR/><BR/>15. Garrity, I love you. (Classic Rigg. Doesn’t even use the first name of the girl he loves). <BR/><BR/>16. In the middle of Mrs Coach’s pep talk for Tyra – “Tim, if you hit me with that ball…”. Sure, that interjection was designed to help create the motivation for why Tyra would use Tim as motivation for being a better spiker, but it was just so naturally delivered by CB.<BR/><BR/>17. How Buddy Garrity can cover so much ground in a few words that sound very natural and not written in advance. In the space of a one-minute pep talk to Jason he covered little fillies, lookie-loos, tour days, how to sell cars, the importance of selling, and knocking one down. Not once did it seem that those words had ever been written. And maybe they hadn’t. <BR/><BR/>18. Jean’s observation that the sizzling apple pie can not only save Landry’s life but it will also help with physics.<BR/><BR/>19. Landry’s realization on his face that he is WAY out of his league in discussing thrash metal bands with Jean. Then the more dramatic realization that he actually likes this girl Jean, even in the presence of the love of his life Tyra. Beautiful setup. Beautifully played. <BR/><BR/>20. The sweet vulnerability of Smash’s sister. <BR/><BR/>21. Explosions in the Sky underpinning Lyla’s conversation with her new boyfriend and at least two other conversations in this episode. I agree with Carlos – welcome back, Explosions in the Sky! <BR/><BR/>22. Jason’s passion in his speech to the Lookie-Loo. And the attention to detail with Jason’s hands. <BR/><BR/>23. Hubby’s home, how was your day, darlin. The pendulum swing between the nothingness in the conversation between Jason and Herc and the look on Herc’s face in his understanding the importance of Street selling the car. Oh, and Explosions in the Sky underpinning that conversation (and the next conversation), too. <BR/><BR/>24. “God’s little gift to Landry. “<BR/><BR/>25. Rigg to Billy: “Oh my God, what, you’re going to apply your grade 9 education to the stock market?”<BR/><BR/>26. (Mentioned in an earlier post): The shot of Coach when Mrs Coach coaches the team during a timeout. <BR/><BR/>27. Mom is 1 and 1, 1 and 0, 1 for 1. <BR/><BR/>28. The thoughts running through Smash’s mind when he told of his 3-game suspension. Few spoken words, but the acting, as always, said so much more than words could have. <BR/><BR/>I know I have missed others.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72998193713914105172008-01-27T14:51:00.000-05:002008-01-27T14:51:00.000-05:00why couldn't the characters just have a hilarious ...why couldn't the characters just have a hilarious car wash like an indie rock montage to raise money for the Riggins? It would bring all the characters together for the first time and still be the most realistic thing on the showAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-10689454482929523742008-01-27T14:34:00.000-05:002008-01-27T14:34:00.000-05:00Could someone please hand Tim Riggins his balls ba...Could someone please hand Tim Riggins his balls back? And while you're at it, someone show ANYONE on the show what it looks like when a person spikes a volleyball. Watching Tyra "spike" the ball was horribly, laughably sad.<BR/><BR/>That was one lame episode. I miss the football, and I am not a football fan by any stretch of the imagination.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70227194704306242462008-01-27T12:20:00.000-05:002008-01-27T12:20:00.000-05:00I agree with Alan and previous commentators that t...I agree with Alan and previous commentators that the absence of football this season has been a major problem for the show. <BR/><BR/>The irony is that the victory at state could have been used to raise a bunch of interesting storylines for season two. Does winning a football championship really cure the social ills in Dillon or is it just a fleeting moment of exuberance? How do the players react to the crushing expectations of a town that expects them to repeat? What about having Mac elevated to head coach - how would this sit with the African American players who walked out in the previous season? More generally, I think the show needed to take some risks and open up the world of Dillon. We need to meet new players on the team, see new sides of the town, explore new themes. What about focusing on the hispanic neighborhood or exploring the role of the boom bust oil economy or discuss the social costs of returning veterans from Iraq on small towns.<BR/><BR/>The show right now seems very insular. Its the same characters going through recycled plotlines, many of which are unbelievable or melodramatic. The show needed to expand. Instead, it turned in on itself.<BR/><BR/>That being said, I still enjoy those small beautiful moments that mj mentioned. Its too bad that one has to search for those moments this season, when last year, every episode was filled with them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-53140621114315274652008-01-27T07:54:00.000-05:002008-01-27T07:54:00.000-05:00I think Christian boy is going to take advantage o...I think Christian boy is going to take advantage of the information Lyla shared with him...i.e. she's not a virgin and has some morality issues by sleeping with her boyfriend's best friend. He will take that as license to do whatever he wants because she's 'easy.' <BR/><BR/>And she will be horrified that even Christian men want to have sex with her and that's all they see when they look at her. Bye-bye new found Christian faith.<BR/><BR/>What sucks is that when this happens (and I know it will), Riggins will be right back in the picture b/c Lyla's going to show up at his door for consolation. You KNOW she is.<BR/><BR/>Lord, I wish this weren't true. But I can feel it coming.<BR/><BR/>Can we send Riggins back to the Taylors so that Julie can ogle him some more through the sliding door? I miss that episode so much. Sigh...K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-28558981194438266022008-01-26T22:12:00.000-05:002008-01-26T22:12:00.000-05:00Me, I think Reverend Logan is going to turn out to...Me, I think Reverend Logan is going to turn out to be a dog. That's just based on his past performances. Matt Czuchry doesn't have a lot of range, but he can switch between nice guy and d-bag in a nanosecond.<BR/><BR/>And to joe in haddonfield, damn straight! Connie Britton in that tight little tee was the highlight of my evening!R.A. Porterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14851961356321735388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49198943383309078342008-01-26T18:36:00.000-05:002008-01-26T18:36:00.000-05:00The volleyball sub plot was just an excuse to get ...The volleyball sub plot was just an excuse to get Momma Coach in that tight white coach's shirt and Trya in the v-ball uni.<BR/><BR/>Too many storylines in the last two eps. <BR/><BR/>A great show in need of a stronger show runner with a full season of episodes more fully thought out. All the characters are there. They are just left wandering around Dillon with no direction. <BR/><BR/>It's my hope that the strike will give all writers a mental break, or a chance to focus without the pressure of weekly episodes. Of course, I would prefer they were back to work. <BR/><BR/>Coach, Tami, Riggins, Buddy, Tyra, Smash, Landry are all too good to abandon yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50209260941480806312008-01-26T18:28:00.000-05:002008-01-26T18:28:00.000-05:00OK, I guess we can theme this week's episode "Chan...OK, I guess we can theme this week's episode "Channeling One's Anger Constructively vs. Destructively". <BR/><BR/>The positive, e.g. tyra anger=riggins=winning volleyball or street anger=being taken advantage of=using his 'street' marts to make a sale vs.<BR/>Smash not controlling his=suspension<BR/><BR/>Anyway kind of an odd bit of an odd episode with the usual good acting.<BR/><BR/>Only thing I found really annoying was the hybrid car commercial tie-in...just seemed even more cheesy then usual for this show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36386739720424199332008-01-26T18:19:00.000-05:002008-01-26T18:19:00.000-05:00I love this show; I know it went off track with t...I love this show; I know it went off track with the Landry/Tyra murder storyline this season, but I still find it very true to life in a small town and high school.<BR/>Does anyone else think that Lyla's new Christian boyfriend is going to be too "nice" for her and she will soon get bored with him, paving way for her to reunite with Tim? Girls love a bad boy, and I think she is going to get tired of miniature golf and ice cream!Sandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03811016227721722086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-91351238419903268632008-01-26T16:20:00.000-05:002008-01-26T16:20:00.000-05:00Am I the only one who was confused why the footbal...<I>Am I the only one who was confused why the football team's all-star fullback was free to be an assistant coach for the girl's volleyball team?</I><BR/><BR/>This goes back to when Eric let Tim back on the team after the Mexico trip. One of the conditions of his reinstatement is that he has to do all of Eric's new Athletics Director scutwork; in a previous episode, we saw him keeping score at a women's gymnastics meet.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35372732963779060972008-01-26T15:37:00.000-05:002008-01-26T15:37:00.000-05:00Something I wondering is if the writers are intend...Something I wondering is if the writers are intending to move Tyra and Landry away from each other in a permanent way. I remember reading an interview where Jason Katims said that there's no way these two characters would ever be together without the inclusion of the murder plot. So now since the show seems to want to put that mistake behind them as fast as possible and pretend it never happens I wonder if that includes getting Landry and Tyra away from each other.<BR/>I agree with Kristin that I almost want to see a downbeat ending with Tyra. Small towns are filled with people who planned to break away only to realize, for whatever reason, they won't. <BR/>That's what I think is so great about Jason's storyline and why FNL can still be a smart show. A lot of other shows would have ended his plot on Jason selling the car. Instead we get that final scene where he goes back to Herc, Jason seems a little disappointed to have sold the car maybe because he used his accident, but also because I think he's starting to realize that is his life now. He's gonna sell cars, go out drinking with Herc, and eventually find a woman who he marries in Dillion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-67836680373288684562008-01-26T15:29:00.000-05:002008-01-26T15:29:00.000-05:00Am I the only one who was confused why the footbal...Am I the only one who was confused why the football team's all-star fullback was free to be an assistant coach for the girl's volleyball team? I realize that no one in Dillon practices anymore, but what the hell?<BR/><BR/>And when did Applebees become a teen hangout? I'll buy Landry taking too-perfect-rocker chick there cause she wanted her sizzling brownie, but then another scene there for Smash, Riggins, Saracen, Landry and Santiago? What about the Alamo Freeze where EVERY SINGLE OTHER SCENE LIKE THAT has taken place?<BR/><BR/>I wish I had never seen season one, so I could watch all this with fresh eyes. It might be a very good, albeit flawed, season of television. But in comparison to the near-perfect first season, it is hard not to wish the show had been left as it was. Last year, all I could do was praise the show. Now I feel like I need to bury it.<BR/><BR/>When do we all officially decide the show should have been cancelled after they won state?<BR/><BR/>Excuse me. I have to go watch "Mud Bowl" for the eighth time...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29290770826730628012008-01-26T12:59:00.000-05:002008-01-26T12:59:00.000-05:00The show is definitely not as good as season one, ...The show is definitely not as good as season one, and there are multitudes of problems which you've articulated very well, Alan. I still love to watch it, though, if only to see actors inhabit their characters fully and beautifully - Smash Mama, Scott Porter, and the Taylor clan being among the elite in that respect. <BR/><BR/>Did anyone else notice how pissed Julie looked during the whole volleyball thing? Is she going to be jealous of Tyra now? I don't think the writers know what to do with her. Where did the inappropriate English teacher go? Is she over Matt? Etc.Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12161082806888156504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-13162861806225623112008-01-26T12:13:00.000-05:002008-01-26T12:13:00.000-05:00Again, it was just too much. Lyla needs to go on a...Again, it was just too much. Lyla needs to go on a mission, and Tyra go to Riggins for some mutual emotion-free consolation sex. (And why don't the Riggins boys just go to the cops?)<BR/><BR/><I>As much as I want Tyra to succeed and figure out that she is worthy of more than being an Applebee's waitress, in some ways I don't. It would be more real to me, if she just let Dylan suck her into this trailer park lifestyle she was born into. </I><BR/><BR/>Actually, Tyra would make a hell of a car saleswoman--smart, aggressive, and she could sell men the undercoating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-6298769247469266602008-01-26T11:37:00.000-05:002008-01-26T11:37:00.000-05:00The volleyball was a brilliantly devised metaphor ...The volleyball was a brilliantly devised metaphor for the football. When Mrs Coach gathers her team together during the timeout there’s a shot of Coach looking on - the absence of dialogue in that moment was deafening. Beautiful, small moments like these are still well and truly ingrained in the show. Despite the well-articulated rants here, I still don’t understand why many (though not all) of the commentators have given up looking for those moments. Instead, there seems to be an overwhelming focus on trying to pick holes in a great show using questions that it seems to me the writers actually want the viewers to think about (and that have characteristics similar to many questions that could have been raised during Season 1 or during any show on tv for that matter).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com