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It looks like FNL has bucked the odds yet again.
I feel like Landry after a night with Tyra right now. Filed under: TV and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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The dualities of the show’s episode titles continue. This week, “May the Best Man Win” refers both to Eric’s pissing match with Tami’s ex-boyfriend, Mo McArnold, (which, by the way, is a great name for a character) and Riggins’ relentless pursuit of Miss Lyla Garrity. Let’s start with the latter. Tim has decided to go to church every Sunday and even pitch his own show – “The Rig Show” – to Lyla’s boyfriend. The scene after the show where her new beau laid down the law was pretty funny, as was the show itself. Riggins had a great response when Lyla asked if he was going to come to church every Sunday: “Whatever it takes.” One thing’s for sure, if Lyla’s boyfriend doesn’t put out, she’s probably going to run back into Tim’s arms. After all, a girl has needs, and that’s exactly what Tim is counting on. I’ve always said that nothing good can come from spending time with your significant other’s exes, and this week’s episode would support that theory. After 15 years, Mo McArnold is still pissed off about losing Tami to Eric, but it sounds like he was getting some action on the side at the time, and thought that Eric was the one that told her about his indiscretions. It was a great way to show that Eric and Tami were, at one time, just as dramatic their daughter. The scene that took place the next morning where a hungover Eric had to deal with the girls as they went off to church was absolutely priceless. (And, as much as Tami would like to blame Eric for what happened at the restaurant, she precipitated the whole event by coercing Eric into spending time with Mo. It’s just a bad idea to hang out with your wife’s ex-boyfriends.) Landry and Tyra showed up at school holding hands, which I think has Matt a little jealous. We were treated to a great conversation between the two friends as they discussed Tyra and Carlota. We need more of Matt and Landry’s debates about life. I’m not sure how much I like this Jason/Erin storyline. He’s pumped about potentially being a father, but talking a girl into having your baby probably isn’t the greatest of ideas. It speaks volumes that she called it a one-night stand and didn’t call him back after he left 10 messages. If she doesn’t even like him enough to date him it’s going to be very difficult to raise a child together. Lastly, it was good to see Smash’s scholarship storyline come to a conclusion. He was acting pretty desperate, but I didn’t think it was very realistic how no one was returning his calls. This is Texas, for Pete’s sake! Guys get into fistfights all the time! If you can run the ball like Smash can, someone is going to want to hear your side of the story. In this case, it was little Whitmore University, where the “family” aspect of the team appealed to Smash. He seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity, but I wonder if the bigger schools might come calling again once he gets back on the field. Sadly, we may never find out. There were 15 episodes in the can before the writers’ strike, and now that the work stoppage is over, there are no known plans to finish out the season. “Friday Night Lights” might come back in the fall, or it might not come back at all. Get your petitions ready. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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The title for this week’s episode was apt. Under different contexts, “Leave No One Behind” could refer to Matt, to Smash, to Julie and to Tyra. Let’s start with Matt, whose struggles with abandonment were the crux of the episode. The scene in the shower was very powerful and contained some great acting by Zach Gilford and Kyle Chandler. It was obvious that Matt was upset about Carlota leaving for Guatemala, but it was surprising that he took all those decisions - Eric’s decision to take a new job, Julie’s decision to chase the Swede and his dad’s decision to stay in Iraq – so personally. His roller coaster ride of an episode wasn’t without some laughs, however. I knew we were in for some great lines as soon as Riggins pulled up to the motorcycle dealership. Just when you think “I always skip Wednesdays” is going to be the cream of the crop, Tim pulls out this line: “I was thinking, y’know, hit the museum, yoga, library for a bit. Then again, I might just do the uj.” Riggins. For those that are counting, we’ve seen two volleyball games without a football game. While it’s great to see the Lady Panthers winning, I know there are viewers out there that want to see some football. We did get some stretching, a bit of filmwork and a rather cheesy scene at the end with Smash, but no real football action. Are we going to have a game next week or a quick recap at the beginning of the show? The odds are against the Panthers making the playoffs, and hopefully we’ll see it play out on the field, not on the radio or in the past tense in a conversation. Speaking of Smash, isn’t he being a little dramatic about losing his scholarship to TMU? Sure, it sucks, but if he were to write a heartfelt letter to the school explaining what happened in the movie theater, wouldn’t the team give him another chance? If not, I’m sure there are several other top programs that would like to hear his side of the story. Given the kinds of incidents that are swept underneath the rug in college football these days, defending your sister from a racist asshole is just child’s play. Someone will give Smash a chance. Julie’s angst seemed a little trite, but she’s a teenager and teenagers are (apparently) pretty dramatic. It wasn’t really clear why Tami had to be there for the DMV test, but she did a nice job of laying a guilt trip on the instructor to get Julie’s test in before the day was over. Lastly, I must mention the culmination of the Tyra/Landry storyline. All it took for Tyra to realize how much she liked Landry was a little jealousy over his budding relationship, and I thought her speech outside the movie theater was heartfelt (if ill-timed and awkward). But that’s the cool thing about this show – speeches like that rarely come at the right time in real life, so why should they in the sleepy town of Dillon? I feel a little bad for Jean, who seemed like a really good match for Landry, but in the end she just didn’t stand a chance against the long legs of Tyra Collette. But really, does anyone? Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Critics of the sophomore season who are upset about its lack of football action have to be perturbed by the inordinate amount of screen time that Dillon’s girls’ volleyball team received this week. Even this writer, who likes the football action but doesn’t find it a weekly necessity, wondered why the show was devoting ten minutes or more to the wrong sport. However, there were two good things to come out of the storyline: 1) Tyra in bunhugger shorts, and 2) Riggins’ second best line of the episode: “Over the net.” What was Riggins doing there, anyway? Is he still on Coach Taylor’s probation? Oh, and what was Riggins’ best line of the episode? “Oh my God. You’re going to apply a grade nine education to the stock market?” Speaking of #33, he had a pretty tough week. His old roommate showed up with a couple of buddies looking for his money and the trio worked Tim over pretty good. Then he tells Lyla that he loves her, only to be shot down once again by Dillon’s most beautiful Christian. She did show up with three grand to bail him out of trouble, so she does still care about him. I doubt that relationship is over for good. (And I think there’s something up with her new boyfriend.) It was good to see Jason this week. I thought that his storyline dragged on the show a bit during the first season. After the initial shock of the injury, there wasn’t a whole lot for him to do other than get on with his life. It was cool to see him figure out how to sell Gerald a car – his speech was one of those “Yes!” moments that makes this show so great. Buddy had a great line when he was talking about how that saleswoman snowed Jason – “I can’t believe that little philly.” I’m not sure what exactly is going on with Tyra and Landry. When last we left them, Tyra said that he made her “feel too much” and he told her to get a move on because he wasn’t going to wait around forever. Now he has a semi-cute little lab partner and Tyra is acting awfully jealous. What exactly does she want him to do? It’s not like he’s the problem. The girl is growing on Landry a little bit, so we’ll see how long Tyra waits before she makes her grand gesture. Lastly, Smash got suspended for three games. He didn’t go about it in the right way, but that rich kid deserved what he got (and more). Hopefully his suspension will remind everyone that there’s a football season going on. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 3 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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I don’t know how they do it, but the creators of this show found a way to make a mundane task like choosing the right daycare fairly interesting. Maybe it’s because I’m an expecting father, but I felt the Taylors’ pain when they had to leave Gracie at daycare for the first time. Other than that storyline (and the awesome cameo by Glenn, “Um, I think she needs her diaper changed”), I wasn’t too crazy about this episode. The old, mistake-making Lyla was a lot more interesting than the new-and-improved, preachy Lyla. While Riggins’ call to the radio show was pretty funny (“Um, I think Jesus is kinda hot”), the rest of the storyline was pretty bland. However, it does appear that the Lyla/Riggins relationship will be moving forward next week. Santiago’s brush with his past is kind of cliché, and the most compelling thing about that thread is the trust that’s developing between he and Buddy. Buddy’s growth is both funny and endearing. He’s like a little kid with a new toy, and the new toy is a 16 year-old ex-con. His spiel about “judging people by what’s on the inside” at the bar was hilarious, especially when he followed it up by asking one of his friends if he should hide his watch from “a bunch of thugs.” (On a side note, it was nice to see “Veronica Mars” alum Francis Capra again. He played Santiago’s friend.) The last less-than-stellar storyline this week was the exploration of racism as a part of Smash’s relationship with Noel. I thought it was odd (and pretty unrealistic) that her parents would invite everyone over for dinner only to spring an ambush at dessert. To top things off, we have the stereotypical white racist bothering Smash’s sister at the movies. The incident will probably prompt Smash to break things off with Noel. Yawn. For the sake of QB1, I was sad to see Carlota go, but there wasn’t really anything going on in that relationship. It felt a little abrupt, but the moment the two shared at the birthday party seemed genuine. Now that they’re both single, methinks this may eventually lead to a Matt/Julie reunion, but expect QB1 to go through some tough times first. Lastly, for anyone that’s interested, the moody song playing over the final few scenes was Devendra Banhart’s “Now That I Know,” which is off his 2005 album, Cripple Crow. The show sure does a nice job with its music. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Tonight’s episode was a great example of how the series can take off-the-field issues and have them play out dramatically in a game. It was obvious that the Laribee coach was troubled throughout the week, and he didn’t earn himself any good karma points by sniping at Eric every chance he got. I enjoyed the chess match at the end of the game, but I was a little confused about who was outsmarting whom. It sure seemed like Eric wasn’t going to fall for the other coach’s trap, but after he called for a Saracen rollout, the other coach was telling his players that that was the play that Dillon was going to run (after saying he was baiting him on the seam pass). So I guess the other coach’s frustration boiled over when he saw Riggins chugging down the field for the go-ahead score despite the fact that he called the right defense. Anyway, I suspect that the coach tackling Riggins was the “oh, shit!” moment that Will Harris was talking about last week. I wasn’t real pleased with Julie’s decision to keep the truth from her dad at the expense of Riggins’ reputation, but I was proud of her (yes, proud) that she fessed up at the end. Eric’s apology to Tim was heartfelt; though the timing was a little odd considering Riggins had just stolen $3K from a drug dealer. Hmm, I wonder if that’s going to come back to bite him in the ass. Speaking of Riggins, he had the line of the week when he told his ex-girlfriend, “If you want to finish the Riggins trifecta, my dad lives in Corpus. I could probably give you his number.” Classic. I found the whole Shelly storyline a little tedious, and I wasn’t too surprised that she overreacted to Eric’s comments and decided to leave Dillon for Dallas. Just because the Taylors didn’t want her living in their house doesn’t mean she has to move to another city. The whole thing seemed like inorganic drama. (Though it was funny that she taped “The Office” over his game film.) Lastly, Smash got his wish and verbally committed to TMU. Even though he was going against Eric’s advice by immediately committing, it seemed at the end like we were supposed to feel good about his decision. I guess since that it was always his “dream to play at TMU,” then that was the proper end to that storyline. Also, there’s the potential for Smash’s story to continue if the series gets picked up for another season. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Girls want to be with him and guys want to be him. Tim Riggins got a ton of screen time this week and it didn’t go to waste. He moved in with the Taylors and his initial flirtation with Shelly had me a little worried. A few more days under the same roof (and if Tami hadn’t said anything to her sister) and the two might have had a little tryst when no one was around. Given Shelly’s sauciness and his tendency to fall for older women, it was a serious possibility. But Riggins can’t catch a break. He does the right thing by protecting Julie at the party, but I had a sick feeling when he was putting her to bed that someone was going to walk in and get the wrong idea. And that’s exactly what happened. Eric’s biggest fault is that he doesn’t listen. What he walked in on certainly looked bad, but he knows that Riggins is a good guy. Their clothes were all on and one look at the condition of his daughter would have confirmed Riggins’ story. But when Eric gets pissed, he just tells people to shut up and then walks away (or kicks them out). It’s a shame because he had a sort of “son that I never had” vibe going with Riggins. First, he says he likes having Tim around because it “evens up the gender teams” and then the two are playing ping-pong at 5 AM. It will be interesting to see if/how this relationship is repaired. Riggins could use a strong father figure and Eric fits the bill. The tornado scene was pretty cool and Tim’s actions in the store (in protecting Julie) certainly fueled her little crush. Those two are in two completely different worlds, so a potential relationship would be a bad, bad idea. Speaking of relationships, what the freck is Tyra thinking? Landry risked his future to protect her, and she drops him seconds later so that she can date the sleazy quarterback from a rival school? It’s one thing to take some “time off,” but to immediately date the enemy is just insane. Her confession at the dance that he makes her “feel too much” spoke volumes, but Tyra is a mature, intelligent young woman. It never should have gotten to that point. I thought the whole storyline about a tornado forcing a rival team into Dillon a little unbelievable, especially with the way that the Laribee kids were acting. It’s pretty ballsy to walk onto someone else’s turf – someone who’s doing you a favor – and act like a total asshole. Given the enormous depth of most of the show’s characters, I thought the Laribee kids (and their coach) were paper-thin. In other news, Buddy had to deal with the engagement of his ex-wife (are they even divorced?), which led to a pretty good scene with Buddy begging for another chance on the doorstep of his old house. I like Buddy when he’s feeling good about himself, so let’s hope that he moves on and doesn’t spiral downward into depression. We should get some football next week with the Dillon/Laribee battle, and given all the off the field drama between the two teams, it promises to be an interesting game. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Y’know, it’s a good thing I checked out those two episodes of “Gossip Girl” before I checked out the next two episodes of “Friday Night Lights.” If I’d seen the latter first, I’d've probably used the former as a point of comparison for how impossible it is for the average kid to relate to most characters on TV; the latter, however, is about as real as any show this side of…well, actually, I don’t even have a ready point of comparison. That’s how realistic they feel to me…though I’m willing to concede that maybe it’s just the handheld camerawork that makes it feel more real. (At the very least, it gives the show a look that’s unique to most anything else on the air at the moment.) My opinion on “FNL” can’t be trusted as much as our dedicated blogger, Mr. John Paulsen, who’s been in the show’s camp from the beginning, but I’ll just say that these two episodes - tonight’s and next week’s - made for great viewing, with both the teen and adult storylines unfolding in a manner that was consistently enthralling, both in the dramatic and the comedic sides of things. The teen characters have the kind of problems that adults will remember from their own youth, such as a girl trying to accept that the best person for her isn’t necessarily the school matinee idol, and the adult issues - like, for instance, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), dealing with her sister’s refusal to realize that she’s being a nuisance of a houseguest - are pretty damned familiar, too. And damned if it isn’t true what people have been telling me all along: there’s precious little football in “Friday Night Lights.” And when there finally is a big game, which happens in next week’s episode, it brings with it one of those great “oh, shit!” moments that you don’t need to be a sports fan to appreciate. Hmmm…looks like Season 1 of the show is only $18.99 over at Amazon. Maybe it’s time to finally take the plunge and get the full experience of what everyone’s been telling me is one of the best shows on TV…?
Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and Reviews and TV Dramas and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Given that the TV season generally runs from September to May, it always feels a little strange doing a year-end wrap-up of the best in television, since you end up bringing in bits and pieces from two separate seasons. Still, between the second half of the 2006 – 2007 season and the first half of the 2007 – 2008 season, we’ve certainly been given plenty of material to work with. Six of our most prolific TV writers have provided their opinions of both the best and the worst that the small screen has had to offer, and while they do occasionally concur on a show, it’s a safe bet that no two people on the Bullz-Eye staff have identical season pass lists on TiVo. Head over to the homepage by clicking here, but don’t forget to swing back by to offer your own opinions! Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and News and Reviews and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Lost and The Office and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Heroes and Jericho and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi and Reality TV and Reaper and Journeyman and Friday Night Lights Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Landry’s situation really came to a head this week and it took him a long time to figure out that he really shouldn’t go to jail even if he was trying to kill Tyra’s attacker. It was frustrating watching him sabotage his future every chance he got. I think it was Old Yeller’s speech in the bedroom and Tyra’s answer (when he asked her if she was in fear for her life) that really convinced him that he wasn’t going to go to hell for his actions. I don’t think Landry would have made it very long in prison. Riggins got a ton of screen time this week and it’s clear that his living situation wasn’t really working out. I figured he would have moved out once he found the meth lab, but he stuck it out for a while. I hope that’s the last we see of the Ferret Guy, but I have a feeling he might turn up again. He needs to man up and move back in with his brother. Riggins had a couple of great lines this week. The first came when Coach Taylor asked him who should volunteer to help the girls’ gymnastics team: “Top of my head – first guy that comes to mind is Williams.” The other line came when Coach asked him how he was doing at the gymnastics competition: “Not so good, Coach. She just hit an 8.6. Stacy should be hitting those double-backs. She’s been her own worst enemy all day.” I cracked up when he was sitting in the locker room holding one of those gymnastics ribbons. Simply stated, Riggins is a machine. We did get a lot of football this week and it focused mainly on Santiago’s growing role on the team. He has been conditioned to reject people before they get the chance to reject him, but Buddy wasn’t going to have any of that. His speech in the truck was pretty impressive and it was interesting to see off the field events play out on the field. The show should try to do more of that, if possible. Jason’s date was pretty funny and it was nice to see him hook up with the waitress. I’m still not sure why he’s not coaching now that Eric is back. He did say something about trying to get out of Dillon and probably feels that if he continues to coach, he’ll stay in Dillon forever. Matt’s relationship with Carlota seems to be growing, but I’m wondering when the kid is going to learn that it’s a bad idea to listen to advice from Smash Williams. I’m not sure where the romance is headed, but the couple seems happy for now. Matt should be careful about being to open about Carlota – that could come back to bite him in the end. The Tami/Julie conflict seemed a little forced, but it’s probably more about Julie’s adjustment to having a sister than anything the two actually argued about. There was no mention of the previous week’s interaction with the English teacher, but I’d be interested to see what Eric would do if he caught wind of it. Now that the Landry crisis is averted, I’m sure his storyline (and the show, as a whole) is going to lighten up a bit. It sure looks like he and Tyra are getting back together – I wonder what Old Yeller thinks of that. I’d still like to see a “I love your son” speech from Tyra. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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After this season’s noticeable lack of football action, this week’s episode started with a blowout loss. I don’t think it’s going to quench the thirst of those viewers looking for more football, and it didn’t have much of an effect on the rest of the episode, other than the fact that it didn’t make Eric’s mood any better. He’s understandably pissy about Tami’s friendship with Glen, who can’t seem to take a hint. I thought Eric was going to flip when Glen was addressing him while lying on the couch in Tami’s office. By the end of the episode, it seemed like Eric and Tami worked out their differences. Tami is having serious problems with Julie, however, and they stem from Tami’s decision to dress down Noah without closing the door first. I think her actions were (for the most part) completely justified, and if she had made the conversation completely private, there probably wouldn’t be a problem. Meanwhile, Smash was a total a-hole to his teammates after the loss, but he got what he deserved on his recruiting trip. Matt had a great line when he picked up Smash under the bridge: “Seriously, was it like Cabo in your pants?” Matt had an opportunity to spend the night with Lauren, but he’s completely infatuated with Carlota. For her part, Carlota is struggling with the morality of starting a relationship with a high school junior, but she has a tendency to succumb to her desires. Matt finally lost his virginity, but mark my words, things are going to get weird with the two of them living under the same roof. Riggins’ budding friendship with Ferret Guy was good for some laughs. First, Ferret Guy showed up in some tighty whities and then he took a big swig out of his binocular flask. I loved the conversation about hunting: FG: If you don’t have the stomach to take it down yourself, you might as well be eatin’ chicken. Riggins: I agree. Tim finally worked his way back on the team, but as I said in an earlier writeup, he never even mentioned Jason Street’s Mexican surgery. Surely, Eric would have cut him some slack had he known that he went with Street to keep him from going under the knife. Anyway, Riggins’ speech was hilarious, especially the bit about Smash wanting to sleep with all the girls he previously slept with. Speaking of Street, where is he? He hasn’t been heard from in a few weeks and he hasn’t been coaching, either. Lastly, I must bring up Landry’s decision to turn himself in. I thought Lyla’s “tell the truth” advice was pretty naïve, and I wonder if she would have made the same suggestion if she had all the facts. Regardless, the cat is out of the bag now and it looks like this storyline is going to come to a head next week. I sure hope Landry doesn’t go to jail – his interaction with Tyra is priceless: Tyra: What if they’re twins? Landry: They’re probably not. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 3 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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Much of this week’s episode revolved around Smash’s foray into the world of recruiting. He and his mom differ on what college is supposed to mean to him, but someone should tell him that you can go to a good football school and get a degree. In fact, if Smash were to go to any school in the Pac-10 or Big 10, he’s pretty much guaranteed exposure to NFL scouts and a good education, if he wants one. I don’t blame his mom for riding his butt, especially with the way that his face lit up when that “white girl” he brought over told the story about her brother getting a free Porsche. There’s a middle ground between Miami Southern and Whitmore, and Smash needs to find it. Last week, I commented on the lack of progression in the Matt/Carlota relationship, but this week’s episode made up for it. Her reaction to the kiss probably gave Matt the impression that she wasn’t at all into him, but the next morning it was obvious that she is. It’s funny how much of an impact a plate of warm food and hand on the shoulder can have on a person (and the flirtatious glances didn’t hurt, either). Matt now finds himself in a romantic square, with Lauren, Carlota and Julie all in the picture to different extents. Ah, the life of a Panther QB1. Speaking of Julie, she is obviously headed for trouble (or embarrassment) with her rapidly growing relationship with Mr. Noah Bennett (played by Austin Nichols, who also plays the title character on HBO’s great drama, “John from Cincinnati”). Whether it’s trouble or embarrassment depend almost entirely on how Noah reacts to her advances (or if he makes a move on her). It’s obvious that Tami has the same thought, so it would be quite ballsy for him to try to take advantage with her mom as one of his co-workers. For his part, he hasn’t done anything wrong…yet. Santiago continues to play a major role in the show, and now he’s moving in with Buddy Garrity, and the duo make quite the odd couple. I loved Buddy’s line in Tami’s office: “I came up with a moment of scintillating clarity. He should move in with me.” Scintillating clarity? Who knows, maybe Riggins will end up with the top bunk. He has moved out of his house because he can’t deal with his brother’s relationship with the neighbor. (Of course, it doesn’t help that she’s walking around the place with wet hair and giant cleavage.) Now he’s moving in with a guy who wants him to help take care of his parrots. I have no idea where this storyline is going, but one thing’s for sure – Riggins needs to get back on the team. There was no talk of that this week. Eric had a couple of great lines when he asked Tami not to “whisper yell” at him and when Julie asked him for a comment “through the bathroom door.” The look he gave Tami at Pantherama was priceless. Nothing major happened in the Landry/Tyra storyline, though he did tell her about his dad’s decision to torch the wagon. But the scenes for the next episode showed that things are definitely about to change. Filed under: TV and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 5 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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The season started out dark, but over the last two weeks the show seems to be bringing back some of the lightheartedness that makes it so great. However, I must begin by discussing the biggest plot point of the week – Old Yeller’s decision to torch the station wagon to protect his son. When Landry confessed, I wasn’t sure which way it was headed. Would Old Yeller force Landry to turn himself in or would he try to cover up his son’s misdeeds? It turned out to be the latter (which is a LOT more interesting) but I can’t help but wonder just how suspicious it’s going to look when the DMV records show that Tyra’s ex-boyfriend drove a car with the same fibers that were found on the body. Oh, and the car was “stolen.” Hmm. One thing that might save Landry is the fact that the detectives may not know that he and Tyra were dating, which is the key to linking those fibers to a person of interest. Regardless, the show needs the jovial Landry back – he’s one of the funniest characters on the show. In other news, Eric found out that his paycheck is short and he had to take the AD job to cobble enough together to make his nut. Based on soccer coach Bobbi Roberts hilarious rant in his office - “I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with ‘occer ball’” – his new job is going to require more work than Buddy and his cohort suggested. Riggins is back from his “sojourn” – “I don’t know what a sojourn is” – but Eric isn’t going to let him back on the team. I’m not sure why Tim hasn’t told his coach that he went to Mexico because Jason was thinking about having experimental back surgery that involved shark stem cells. After hearing that, Eric would surely cut him some slack, wouldn’t he? I’m not clear on where this whole Santiago storyline is going, other than to give Riggins a chance to redeem himself. I did like Buddy’s line about where Santiago was before enrolling at Dillion – “He was doing a little juvenile retainer thing for a minute.” If the guy can’t catch the ball, then maybe Eric should put him on defense. I had to laugh when Smash asked Tim if he was starting his own team and when he argued with Matt about who was going to get the ball. Speaking of Matt, there is a new love in his life, but it’s not Carlota. In fact, Carlota hasn’t gotten much screen time in the last two weeks so I don’t know if that relationship is going to happen anytime soon, if at all. Anyway, Lauren is a nice distraction for QB1, but it’s obvious that the sight of the two of them making out was too much for Julie too handle. But she made her own bed, didn’t she? At least she has Tyra’s shoulder to cry on. So is the Landry/Tyra manslaughter problem done or is it going to come back to bite them? I have a feeling it’s going to rear its ugly head later on in the season. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: None Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
NBC may not be King of the Nielsen Ratings just yet, but we know good television when we see it, and the Peacock has returned in full force with a dominating presence that includes the top three shows and five of the top six. HBO, on the other hand, is experiencing the opposite, with the departure of “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome.” Add to that the fact that our list features a whopping 10 new entries — five of which are freshmen — and you’ve got one heck of a Power Rankings shakeup. Much of this has to do with so many shows being on hiatus until next year, but whatever the cause, it’s nice to see some much-needed change to a usually familiar lineup. And, hey, don’t miss the list of our favorite shows which are currently on hiatus (and are therefore ineligible for the Top-20), our farewell to “The Sopranos,” and our stable of Honorable Mentions. Check out the list here, then come back and let us know how we did…or if we missed any of your favorites! Filed under: TV and Actors and Actresses and News and Reviews and TV Comedies and TV Dramas and TV Action and Rome and Lost and South Park and Prison Break and The Office and 24 and The Shield and The Sopranos and Rescue Me and Deadwood and External Entertainment and External TV and The Wire and Heroes and Jericho and Battlestar Galactica and TV Sci-Fi and Reaper and Journeyman and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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This episode’s title has two meanings. It’s Coach Taylor’s first game back as the Panthers’ head coach and he has to deal with the fractured relationship between Matt and Smash. I thought Matt’s comments over the chili dinner were pretty strong and it looked like Eric took them to heart. Though when it was time to play the game, he played hardball with the two kids and forced them to reconcile. Matt’s “BFF’s once again” line was great. The second meaning is Eric’s desire to get busy with Tami. His conversation with his assistant coach was hilarious, and I loved his spiel to his wife about Wednesday night: “What happens on Wednesday nights? Well I would know that because of this new chart I created. Gee, Wednesday night is book club night.” I’m happy that we’re getting some more of the classic Taylor banter again. Their dynamic really drives the show. Eric’s interaction with Landry was pretty funny. He called “Lance” into his office and Landry replied, “Lance? You mean Landry?” He called him Lance again during the game, but you have to give Landry credit, he went in there and made a couple of good plays to turn the game around for Dillon. Things, however, are not as good at home as the manslaughter seems to be catching up to him. Old Yeller has put two and two together and decided that it added up to Tyra being out of Landry’s league. I thought Tyra missed a chance to squash that by saying “Sir, I love your son” when he dropped by her house, but she was probably so thrown by his visit (and request) that she didn’t have the cojones to respond that way. She was really harsh when she broke up with him, but she probably had to be. The tears she shed afterwards spoke volumes about her true feelings for Landry. What a bittersweet feeling for him though, getting dumped and then going back inside the restaurant where the Dillon faithful were still chanting his name. Thankfully, it looks like the Mexico trip is finally over. It was pretty funny when Lyla asked Riggins about his plan and he presented his booze cruise idea. I did like the fact that Riggins stepped up and spoke candidly about his feelings for Jason and how he wouldn’t let him go under the knife. It was a weird moment when Jason threw himself in the water, but maybe he needed to face death to discover that he really wanted to live. I’m not sure what the whole double kiss thing meant at the end, but there seems to be a lot of sexual tension between Lyla and Riggins. By the way, did Jason ever find out that Eric returned to Dillon? If so, you’d think he’d feel a little better about his life now that there was a coach there that respected his ability to bring something to the team. Maybe Lyla should have mentioned it. It was good to see Matt stand up to Julie. Sure, he still has feelings for her, but she can’t just expect to get him back after the thing with the Swede fell through. I expect the two will get back together at some point, but I’d like to see the breakup drag out for a while (and Matt to get a little action from Carlota, though there was no progress on that front this week). Overall, I really liked the episode. It feels like the old “Friday Night Lights” again, but let’s hope that Landry can dodge the law and get Tyra back at some point. Whatever Old Yeller thinks, they make a great couple. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 3 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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If you’re in Mexico looking for a miracle cure for your paralysis and the receptionist says, “The doctor will probably be in sometime next week,” it’s probably not a good idea to stay there and undergo back surgery that involves stem cells extracted from sharks. Jason’s little speech at the karaoke bar was quite uncomfortable and I’m hoping that Tim can talk him out of the surgery. Riggins had a few good lines in Mexico, but my favorite was the rant in the hotel room: “What are we watching? What is this? What are we doing, Six? We’ve been here for a week. We’ve got a bag of money, booze, no women, no stories, no memories.” He had another great line when Jason bailed him out of jail. To the guard, he said, “Cheers. Go Cowboys.” Classic Riggins. No one in Dillon seems all that concerned about his absence from the team. Of course, that might have something to do with all the drama regarding the head coaching position. I thought it was a nice twist for McGregor to fight the firing, but Buddy’s speech at the hearing must have put the kibosh on the appeal. McGregor has his own speech for Eric, and he had a point about Eric being involved. Given Eric’s propensity for doing the right thing, I think McGregor’s words will haunt him for some time. Also, I think McGregor will reappear as an opposing coach at some point, probably for a very good team. Then there’s the storyline about Lyla’s charity for the ex-con, but she’s being a little too goody-goody for my taste. It was funny, however, how Buddy jumped on the opportunity to buy his daughter’s love back by giving the kid a job. It doesn’t seem like there’s much chemistry between Lyla and the ex-con, but this could be the start of a relationship. Tami opened up about her own adolescent decisions which helped Julie see things more clearly when the Swede forgot about their date. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Julie started to shape up once her dad returned. She seemed really happy to see him. Finally, we have the Tyra/Landry storyline. I was hoping that Tyra would just shut up when the detective tried to wrap up the interview, but she was obviously thinking that the jig was up. But the look that Old Yeller gave her when he saw her in the interview room means that this plotline isn’t over. Has he already found the watch? Or is he just concerned about Tyra? Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 1 Comment Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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My apologizes to those readers expecting this post earlier, but I was out of town this weekend and was unable to watch FNL until last night. Anyway, I thought this episode felt more like the ol’ “Friday Night Lights,” and a lot of that had to do with the return of Riggins. He made cameo appearances in the first two episodes, but this week the show focused more on Riggins and his personal struggles with alcohol. That sounds dark and all, but Riggins is funny as hell when he’s drinking. I wondered in last week’s blog whether or not Riggins would pull Lyla to the dark side or if she’d bring him to the light, and I thought the writers did a nice job of handling the first battle fairly quickly. He has an apparent religious experience at her church and then, after being let in by “Little Garrity,” he tries to make a move on Lyla because he says that when he’s with her, he feels “closer to God.” By the end of the episode he’s sipping a roadie as he and Jason drive to Mexico for some experimental spine surgery. Awesome! It looks like Coach Taylor is on the verge of returning to Dillon. The Panthers won their opener, but based on Matt’s outburst after the game, it’s clear the team is pretty fractured. I’m not sure how Buddy intends to expel the current coach, but after his “I don’t have time to take advice from the team mascot” comment he had for Jason, I’ll be glad to see him go. I thought it was really cool the way they shot the scene with Coach Taylor seeing the stadium’s lights and deciding to stop to watch the end of the game. Anyway, it’s good to see Buddy get a purpose in his life again, and he had a great line when Riggins said that he passed out at practice because he was hungover: “Son, don’t you ever say that again. I’ve seen you play many times hungover and you always played like a champ.” That’s classic Buddy for ya. Once Eric heard that Tami slapped Julie after pulling her out of a boy’s car, his decision to return to Dillon was pretty easy. He obviously isn’t very happy with his role at TMU and it’s clear that his family is falling apart without him around. I thought it was a smart (yet sly) move for Buddy to play the family card with Eric, but it definitely worked. The Matt vs. Smash conflict feels a little forced to me. Smash’s problem is his big mouth. I don’t think Matt cares (that much) that the team is going to a more run-oriented attack, but Smash was able to paint Matt’s concerns as jealousy, diverting the conversation from the real problem: his ego. I think Matt’s outburst after the game has more to do with his anxiety over losing both his mentor and his girlfriend back-to-back and less to do with Smash’s increasing celebrity. The Matt and Carlota romance is heating up a little bit, though I’m not sure that she knows it. The conversation about Matt’s laundry was hilarious. Lastly, the show’s darkest storyline continues to move forward, albeit quite slowly. The episode began with Tyra and Landry waking up after their first night together and Landry’s dad (Old Yeller from our “24” blog) seemed to be pleased to see her exiting his bedroom window. I thought it was a really sweet moment in the restaurant when Tyra explained to Old Yeller why she liked Landry, and I think that by having to defend him, she realized why she likes him so much. The missing watch is still an issue, but I have a tough time believing that it’s on the body. Landry would have had to put the watch in the body’s pants pocket and even then I don’t know that it would survive a trip down the river. If it does turn up on or near the body, it will be interesting to see if Old Yeller is the type to protect his son (by covering the killing up) or hang him out to dry. In the end, I just don’t see Landry going down for this. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 7 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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This episode is named after Tami’s decision to stay in Dillon and have her baby while Eric left for Austin to coach for TMU. I thought it was odd at the time that Tami would insist on staying in Dillon, but if the Taylors had all left for Austin, there wouldn’t be much of a show to watch. Tami is hanging on by a thread. It was pretty ironic that she told Glen that he had to connect with the kids and then Julie came into the kitchen and yelled at her. Her rant in Glen’s office was terrific, but not in the usual witty way. Based on the scenes for next week, she may be getting some much needed help soon. Eric is struggling in Austin, but his interaction with Antwone in the car led to a hilarious line. When the two were talking about Antwone taking gifts from boosters, he said, “This started for me in pee wee. I got ice cream.” Anyway, the split is just one of the many conflicts within the series, which have given the show a much darker feel than season one, and it seems like the series has lost some of the lightheartedness that made it so great. This has a lot to do with Landry’s situation, which just got a little worse now that he realized that he lost his watch while getting rid of the stalker’s body. Methinks that will come back to bite him at some point. He did have a great line when he met his new rally girl – “Do you think all humans are capable of evil?” For the moment, the incident has brought Landry and Tyra closer together, and at the end of the episode, it appeared that the unrequited love finally became…um…requited. There is also less humor surrounding Matt since he’s becoming more and more jealous of Smash and the depression/anger that will no doubt stem from being dumped. (By the way, what is with Smash rapping all the time? That just seems really odd to me.) There is some potential, however, with the introduction of the new in-home nurse. She’s sassy, pretty and is moving in, so I wouldn’t be surprised if something romantic develops between the two now that Julie is out of the picture (for the time being). Buddy also provided a lot of the humor in season one, and he’s going through his own depression over the loss of his family and over his reduced role as a Panthers booster. His meltdown at the party was painful to watch, but it did lead to a funny interaction between Lyla and Riggins when the former asked the latter about what was wrong with her dad. Riggins responded, “I don’t know, Lyla. Maybe he’s had one too many. What do you think?” It’s clear that the Riggins/Lyla relationship is going somewhere, but I’m not sure if Lyla is going to drag Tim over to the light side or if he’ll convince her to give up clean living to spend some naughty time with him. It could turn into a battle between Jesus and Riggins, which is especially funny considering Landry’s “WWRD” bit in the first episode. Finally, I sure hope Jason doesn’t go to Mexico to have experimental spine surgery. That just sounds like a bad idea from the start. Hey, maybe that was the inspiration for the episode’s title. Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 4 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
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When last we left them, the Dillon Panthers had won state and Coach Taylor was considering a move to Austin to coach for TMU. I thought that last season’s finale was buttoned up a little too cleanly with the Panthers winning the state championship; it might have been better had the team fallen short in their quest for the title, but that decision might have had something to do with the tenuous footing that the series was on last season. NBC decided to move the show to Fridays, which an interesting marketing ploy, but one has to wonder, aren’t the people that would be most likely to watch a show about high school football out watching high school football on Friday nights? Friday isn’t a very good night for television, but let’s hope that the word of mouth surrounding the series gives it a much-needed boost in the ratings. Anyway, Coach Taylor decided to take the TMU job and his absence is causing Julie to act out. She’s flirting with “the Swede” at the pool and it’s causing tension in her relationship with Matt. She called Matt “perfect” yet she’s concerned about how easily they could turn into her parents. “There has to be more than this,” she said. I thought Coach had some great advice for Matt after he found out that his daughter was flirting with the Swede: “Don’t just stand by and let it happen.” Meanwhile, Tami wasn’t nearly as sassy as usual, but that probably has to do with the fact that she just gave birth and she’s having a tough time dealing with her husband being gone for months at a time. She made her own bed, however, by putting her foot down and deciding to stay in Dillon instead of moving to Austin with Eric. That’s good for us though; if the Taylors had moved, there really wouldn’t be a show. The episode’s most dramatic moments stemmed from the surprising Landry/Tyra/stalker storyline. The same guy attacked her last season, but the whole series of incidents in the premiere sort of came out of nowhere. Anyway, Landry’s unrequited love is charming and it looks like the two will have a strong connection going forward, for better or for worse. One of the great things about “Friday Night Lights” is the realism in the conversations between the different teenagers on the show. This isn’t “Dawson’s Creek,” where the kids talk like college professors. These high schoolers talk like high schoolers; they stammer and step on each other’s words, just like real kids do. I could listen to Matt and Landry philosophize all day. The whole “WWRD” (What Would Riggins Do?) bit was hilarious. Speaking of Riggins, he’s been up to no good all summer, boozing it up and sleeping around. He had a great line when the newly religious Lyla asked him what he’s been doing recently. He replied, “I had a three-way with the Stratton sisters.” There appears to be a Lyla/Riggins storyline brewing – it looks like Lyla might have her newfound faith tested by her attraction to Tim. Lyla also had a great line when she said a prayer before dinner – “And please let other people at this table have the strength to realize that a mother of three should not be wearing skinny jeans.” Going forward, it looks like conflict abounds. Coach Taylor will struggle with his decision to leave Dillon, Matt’s jealousy of Smash’s increasing profile could cause issues between the two while Riggins clearly has a personality conflict with the new coach. “Friday Night Lights” is great because the characters are so distinct and they each have their own crap to deal with. Moreover, it’s a small town, so everything intertwines eventually. The big question is, when and how will Coach Taylor return to Dillon for good? Is this something that’s going to happen mid-season, or will he coach for TMU for an entire year? Filed under: TV and TV Dramas and TV Action and External Entertainment and External TV and Friday Night Lights Comments: 2 Comments Digg this! Add to Del.icio.us |
