"Friday Night Lights"

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:50 pm

Anyone else catch this tonight? I thought the show was excellent, really capturing the flavor of small-town high school sports and the culture of small-town America.

I love the single handheld camera production, just like my favorite TV show of all time, "Homicide: Life on the Streets."

The acting is excellent, and the script is really good. I also like how the show teetered on the brink of melodrama at times, but director-producer Peter Berg -- who also did the movie version -- reined it in just at the right time.

The last 20 minutes of this premiere hit like a train. I think the atmospheric music by Explosions in the Sky definitely helps set the scene of the show.

There also was an interesting dynamic how it seemed the first four days of the week just flew in a blur, and then time almost stood still on Friday night, especially during the game. That's how it is in every small town that adores its high school football team.

I read the book, but I didn't see the movie. So I had nothing on film to compare.

This was a quality hour of TV, no doubt. Eager for next week.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:59 am

It was pretty good. They messed up a lot of the accuracy things in the final drive. The recovered the onside kick at the 50...got the 20 yard reverse to Smash and then somehow the backup QB threw a huge bomb in which the receiver caught at the 35. I jsut shook my head.

Anyway, that doesn't discount the quality of the show (writing and acting wise). I thought it was damn good...and from the upcoming episodes, it seems like it will pick up and get even better.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:59 am

Thanks for reminding about this series. I'm going to Tivo it on a season pass when I get home this evening.

I absolutely loved the movie, Friday Night Lights, so I'm excited to see how it works as a television series.

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:23 am

I liked it alot except for the ending which seemed like Hollywood with a side of cheese(the comeback).

I will be watching next week however.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:26 am

I liked Homicide a lot. But the handheld camera and the fast MTV-like cuts were annoying. You did notice the camera and cuts sometimes too much.

On HD, the fast motion gave it too much distracting blur.

I didn't see the movie either but I don't know if Berg isn't sensationalistic. He did a movie about a bachelor party gone bad and them having to bury the hooker/stripper's body or something like that.

But the story line about the QB who had a great future ahead of him possibly being paralyzed is very moving. One day his folks are talking about visiting Notre Dame and the next day, he's in traction wondering if he'll walk again.

I thought the scouting report was weird though, the idea of playing tall defensive linemen to spot the counters better. Um, don't you want linemen getting low on running plays? Height is more of a factor in the passing game to make it difficult for opposing QBs to look over the linemen or to bat down balls.

Kind of surprised about the amount of football footage. I'd heard the movie was mostly about how small towns in Texas, Louisiana, etc. were falling apart generally but that the football stadium was pristine. So it sounded more like a sociological look at the mania around high school football in those small towns.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:45 am

sportdan30 wrote:Thanks for reminding about this series. I'm going to Tivo it on a season pass when I get home this evening.

I absolutely loved the movie, Friday Night Lights, so I'm excited to see how it works as a television series.

Dan:

There's an encore showing of the pilot on NBC tonight. Record and watch if you missed the pilot last night!

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:09 am

pk500 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Thanks for reminding about this series. I'm going to Tivo it on a season pass when I get home this evening.

I absolutely loved the movie, Friday Night Lights, so I'm excited to see how it works as a television series.
Dan:

There's an encore showing of the pilot on NBC tonight. Record and watch if you missed the pilot last night!

Take care,
PK

Excellent. Thank you.

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:19 am

bdunn13 wrote:I liked it alot except for the ending which seemed like Hollywood with a side of cheese(the comeback).

I will be watching next week however.

I have to agree. I thought the first 45 minutes were great (even kept me from watching the Yankees). The scene at the reception with everyone giving advice to the coach and players was very well done. But the last 15 minutes were too predictable.

I will be tuning in each week. I just hope the Panthers don't pull out a last second victory every game.

Rick

ps.. that blonde student was retty hot!

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:30 am

I liked the show but the injury would have made a much bigger impact if they had done it in the fifth or sixth episode. You knew it was coming but it was too predictible in the opener. Let me really start caring about the character and then do that.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:30 am

Rick:

Yeah, the last 15 minutes were predictable, but they were visceral. I knew what was going to happen, but it still kept me glued to screen.

(SPOILERS FOLLOW)

I agree about the advice scene, too. The quick juxtaposition between the emergency room scenes and the football action scenes were pretty dramatic, too.

Agreed on the hot blonde, the fullback's slut puppy. Where were chicks like that when we were in high school? Then again, I went to CBA when it was all guys.

P.S.: Nice run by you in the Festival of Races last weekend! I saw your name in the results.

Take care,
PK

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:21 pm

Thanks PK! If my brother would have gotten off of his lazy a$$ and ran, we might have placed for the brother/brother category.

Assuming this show lasts for a few years, it'll be interesting to see how they handle students graduating and bringing in new players. Or will popular characters stay as juniors for 2-3 seasons.

Rick

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:09 pm

wco81 wrote:I didn't see the movie either but I don't know if Berg isn't sensationalistic. He did a movie about a bachelor party gone bad and them having to bury the hooker/stripper's body or something like that.

Must have been VERY BAD THINGS which was arguably the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:12 pm

pk500 wrote:Agreed on the hot blonde, the fullback's slut puppy. Where were chicks like that when we were in high school? Then again, I went to CBA when it was all guys.

They seriously need to get some chicks on that show with some cans though. Street's girlfriend, the cheerleader that was sitting outside of the hospital room crying got rack jacked (a shout out to NPH, How I Met Your Mother fans). She was flat as a damn board.

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:14 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:
wco81 wrote:I didn't see the movie either but I don't know if Berg isn't sensationalistic. He did a movie about a bachelor party gone bad and them having to bury the hooker/stripper's body or something like that.
Must have been VERY BAD THINGS which was arguably the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

Nice rack on the asian woman....it was on Flix last Saturday night.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:46 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:
pk500 wrote:Agreed on the hot blonde, the fullback's slut puppy. Where were chicks like that when we were in high school? Then again, I went to CBA when it was all guys.
They seriously need to get some chicks on that show with some cans though. Street's girlfriend, the cheerleader that was sitting outside of the hospital room crying got rack jacked (a shout out to NPH, How I Met Your Mother fans). She was flat as a damn board.

Well, DB, not every girl in America receives a boob job for her Sweet 16 gift like the lassies in SoCal.

Maybe flat-chested teens are a West Texas thing. Where's BDoughty when we need him?

Take care,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:50 pm

That's what I would think, small-town girls aren't exactly going to get boob jobs in their teens like those in Beverly Hills.

On Dr. 90210, they had this small little surfer girl from Oceanside wanting to get full Cs or Ds so that she could get better scores in surfing competitions from judges and endorsement or sponsor contracts for surfer gear and clothing.

She looked like 90 pounds if that but she wanted supersized foobs.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:46 pm

Enjoyable first show, albeit a bit depressing. When the writing and actors are compareable to actors in a movie, that's a very good thing. I enjoyed all the different characters and story lines.

I do agree it's a shame that the start QB was dealt an absolute horrific injury in the first episode, but perhaps it'll really inspire some great storlines and emotional scenes.

Well, I think I have found my substitute for Desperate Housewives. Yes yes, I'm finally ready to call it quits on this ridiculous drama. The first season was entertaining, and even the second season was decent, but now it's borderline played out.

Thanks again Paul.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:06 am

Glad you dug it, Dan!

Take care,
PK

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:16 pm

Watched the replay of this show the other night, based on PK's recomendation.

I was skeptical, but I have to say, I really liked the first episode. I look forward to the next episode.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:43 pm

Enthusiastic review.

http://www.slate.com/id/2151266/

New ep. tonight. As the end of the article warns, enjoy it while you can because failure rate for new series is high.

MUTTS · Post by **MUTTS** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:15 am

How about the kid with the broken neck...he is in a halo during episode one, then 3-4 days later the halo is gone and he's turning his head to the side.....despite being in a cervical collar.

I dig how the new number 1 QB got himself a 1st string Rally Girl...who makes cake with real butter. Very nice.

I like the series, which usually mean it'll get canned in no time (see Mind of the Married Man, Sports Night, Lucky Louie for further details).

Tony

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:22 am

Another excellent episode. Yeah, Tony, I found the quick-healing QB, going from the halo to the neck brace in three days, odd.

But the show is very well done. Good script, acting, music, cinematography. I just hope America gets the message that this isn't a "football show," per se. It's a show about people with football as the backdrop.

One final observation: Coach Taylor's wife is one hot MILF.

Take care,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:04 am

The show raises some questions about small-town Texas high school football.

First, it seems they're running a pretty sophisticated pro offense. You don't see the QB running option like you might have expected, where the best athletes are usually playing QB. Yes the Big 12 is nothing like the old Big 8 and SWC days.

You would think with an inexperienced QB, the coach would try to keep things basic, rely more on the run, go for maybe some simple screen passes or short hitches rather than expecting him to get the offense into his DNA.

Is it typical for these Texas high schools to have QBs throwing for 70% pass completion like Street supposedly was doing? In recent recruiting history, it seems Texas isn't a hotbed of college football QB prospects. RBs yes but QBs?

Also, media day with TV interviews of high school athletes? Yes it's suppose to be Texas high school football but you would think they would try to shelter the kids a little from the glare of the spotlight.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:11 am

Another enjoyable episode, but I have a problem. I'm getting dizzy from watching it. It seems even moreso than the first episode, the camera pans around and jumps way too much. I think this show would do just as well if it didn't incoporatete this kind of camera work. Further, I'm finding it difficult to really get emotionally involved because it's such a distraction.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:16 pm

wco81 wrote:The show raises some questions about small-town Texas high school football.

First, it seems they're running a pretty sophisticated pro offense. You don't see the QB running option like you might have expected, where the best athletes are usually playing QB. Yes the Big 12 is nothing like the old Big 8 and SWC days.

I see a TON of High Schools running very similiar offenses. My HS actually runs a spread offense like that now.

You would think with an inexperienced QB, the coach would try to keep things basic, rely more on the run, go for maybe some simple screen passes or short hitches rather than expecting him to get the offense into his DNA.

wco81 wrote: Is it typical for these Texas high schools to have QBs throwing for 70% pass completion like Street supposedly was doing? In recent recruiting history, it seems Texas isn't a hotbed of college football QB prospects. RBs yes but QBs?

Texas puts out big time QB recruits annually. Nothing surprising about that.

wco81 wrote: Also, media day with TV interviews of high school athletes? Yes it's suppose to be Texas high school football but you would think they would try to shelter the kids a little from the glare of the spotlight.

Have you ever been around Texas HS football?