Friday Night Lights
I find it somewhat Ironic that i’m watching this show on a Friday night.
The show is as much about football as Happy Gilmore is about golf. And it’s what lets the script essentially write itself. Remember all those days in high school? Whether you were the jock or the popular kid, or the nerd or the shut in, this show remembers all those things for you, and then some.
The first time I watched the show was on my flight back from Europe- I finally gave it a chance after skipping over it numerous times on TV, either because I thought it was a cheesy knock off of a film, or had nothing that really interested me.
Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s the first show that I feel is 90210 for guys, or for anyone for that matter. Well acted and even better written, it tells the story of a high school football team from West Texas, but not so much about football as much as the affect football has on everyone in the town. Sure some parts a re a bit overdone, and the show takes a few episodes for the characters to fall into their roles, but when they fall, the dive head first and don’t come up for air until they’re bleeding blue and white Dillon Panthers.
The last thing I’ll say is that, at times, the show is emotionally wrenching. I feel like old school laundry being scraped against an emotional washing board. Other time’s you get a speach that inspires you, makes you wish you played football in school. And then tehre are the times you just want to throw a bottle of beer at the wall, a la Tim Riggins.
Seriously, just watch the show.