Friday Night Lights - General Discussion

[Magnumfangirl]

On 3/21/2021 at 10:00 PM, AttackTurtle said:

I love Tami Taylor, but yeah, the notion that she was always sacrificing for Coach just wasn’t what we witnessed.  

EXACTLY!!  It's like the writers totally forgot that she refused to go with him to TMU and he ultimately quit (in the middle of the season) because of that.  In the real world, I would think she was a total moron for refusing to go; but I get that it was a show and they had to create some drama.  What I never understood was how unenthusiastic she was about the head coaching job he was offered in Florida when everybody knew the show was ending.  She didn't refuse to go, but she didn't encourage it either.  It made no sense and it felt like the writers were trying to make some kind of point about gender roles that didn't really fit this show or those two characters.  The dialogue between Tyra and Tim in their final scene together added to my suspicions of that, too.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Magnumfangirl

[Athena]

19 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

EXACTLY!!  It's like the writers totally forgot that she refused to go with him to TMU and he ultimately quit (in the middle of the season) because of that.  In the real world, I would think she was a total moron for refusing to go; but I get that it was a show and they had to create some drama. 

This was a frustrating story line. They wanted to keep the Taylors in town and on the show so they kept making Tami be the reason that held Eric back from higher and better coaching jobs. He was a fantastic coach and it was natural for him to be head hunted more than once instead of staying a small town football coach. Not negating the importance of being the coach in town, it made a lot of sense when Eric would get a bigger job. Unlike the high school characters, they couldn't naturally write him out as easily since he was the moral centre of the show and the lead.

 

19 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

The dialogue between Tyra and Tim in their final scene together added to my suspicions of that, too.

I hated that Tyra came back to say that to Tim. I didn't believe their great love story. It would made more sense for Lyla to declare her love for Tim. I remember Tim looking quite apathetic in that scene.

[Magnumfangirl]

3 hours ago, Athena said:

I hated that Tyra came back to say that to Tim. I didn't believe their great love story. It would made more sense for Lyla to declare her love for Tim. I remember Tim looking quite apathetic in that scene.

I was referring more to the political discussion, but I didn't buy them as a great love story either.  Tim's love story was his land and being an independent free spirit!  I guess they wanted a callback to the pilot since Tim and Tyra were a couple in the beginning.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jesse Plemmons is expecting his second child with Kirsten Dunst

[Egg McMuffin]

I hated that Tyra and Landry didn’t have any scenes together in the finale. I thought it should have been Landry who joined Tyra, Julie, and Matt for that scene at the restaurant or bar or whatever. At least they could have shown that Landry and Tyra were friends.

I’m glad Lyla didn’t return - she had a great send off in season 4 and that’s why they said they didn’t bring her back again.

[Nande]

On 7/5/2014 at 1:31 PM, Hava said:

I think that's what bothered me about it--the focus became Mac and generating sympathy for him and his "well-meaning" ways. How the heck did a story about an assistant coach making racist comments become a story about how the black kid learns a lesson?? At least, that's how I remember it. I'll have to come back and rewatch, but I just remember thinking that this was such a missed opportunity for the show to critically deal with race. 

 

And then there's Voodoo. Talk about missed opportunity. Here was a kid who had survived Katrina but had basically lost everything. What does the show do? Turn him into an angry, racist, "thug" stereotype with no other qualities. I thought that the Katrina background was such an interesting addition, but the show did absolutely nothing with it. Why couldn't Coach work harder to mentor and reach out to Voodoo like he had done with other troubled players? Why couldn't we see another side to Voodoo and deal with the obvious pain he was feeling regarding having to leave his school due to a natural disaster. And what made it worse is that the show painted him as a villain because he was replacing "angelic" Saracen as QB. Consider the respective races of these two individuals, and you will see why it is problematic. (Which is another reason I never fell for the "OMG how adorable is Saracen!!!11!1" thing)

 

BTW, I'm not saying that the show never handled race well. I think the characters of Smash, Vince, and Jess, while problematic at times, were well-drawn. Smash was one of my favorite characters by the third season, so the show was doing something right. 

Thank you, you perfectly explained every problem I had with the shows racial themes. I absolutely detested how they turned the focus from being about Mac and his racist remarks and pinned it all on that other team they played and then gave Mac an easy redemption arc that never addressed his biases and his racism. 

 

Voodoo was by far my biggest frustration with the show. This kid along with his parents just lost everything and decides to use his abilities to his advantage (which he has every right considering how exploitive the NFL and NCAA can be) and Taylor writes him off as being arrogant and leech-y. This in my opinion is one of many reasons why I can never understand how season 1 is so highly regarded as a masterpiece with this sort of conservative and anti-black rhetoric they had going on.

 

I was however happy with the way they handled it in Season 3, it wasn't perfect but "The Lights in Carroll Park" challenged viewers to recognise the racial biases and ignorant statements guys like Buddy and Coach have been saying since the first season. Hats off to whoever wrote that.

FYI: I just finished this show a few days ago so my memory is still fresh.

[Nande]

On 7/7/2014 at 2:29 PM, madam magpie said:

 

Everyone has something to learn, even black kids. I'd say in this case, though, that everyone associated with the storyline learned a lesson, including Coach, Mac, Tami, and all the black players. That was the whole point. Race issues are a lot more complicated than the black kid is always right and the old white guy is always wrong. This storyline portrayed that complexity perfectly.

What was complicated about Mac's racist comments?

[Nande]

On 3/22/2016 at 12:34 PM, nara said:

RE: Mac story, I think Smash learned a lesson because he's a main character and Mac is not. Also, Smash didn't initially take issue with the comment--he had to be coached into having concerns by Waverley. Smash did not seem to feel discriminated against or treated unfairly on the team or by Mac in particular. Smash learns repeatedly in the series that race issues are not handled fairly--like when he had to apologize for fighting the guy insulting his sister and when he lost his scholarship. It's not fair, but those are accurate storylines.

Coached? being made aware when people are saying racist stuff about you is completely different from being coached. Smash did not feel discriminated because, he was too ignorant to recognise when he was being discriminated against. I think most people are trying to pretend like this show didn't completely fuck up its depictions of racism in its first season, they were arguably pretty bad and yet I seem to only find words of praise for it lol.

 

The same issue with when he fought that guy who insulted his sister, I found Coach Taylor and all his other staff members (in a way) all complicit in Smash losing his scholarship. Not only did he not stand up for Smash but he had the audacity to stand up for Mac and publicly announce that he was not going to fire him. I burst out laughing, that man has racial biases he needs to address.

[Racj82]

The show is back on Netflix. Time for more people to discover or rediscover this amazing show.

[Jediknight]

14 hours ago, Racj82 said:

The show is back on Netflix. Time for more people to discover or rediscover this amazing show.

Just stay away from season 2.

[Racj82]

On 8/9/2021 at 3:49 AM, Jediknight said:

Just stay away from season 2.

I don't subscribe to that. It's the worst season of the show. It's still a great show. Being forced to put some more sensational storylines in there hurt it though.

The Landry/Tyra storyline was a giant misstep. But, everyone involved gave some of their best performances on the show.

I love Street beginning to except his life as it was and finally moving forward.

Plenty of the Matt stuff didn't work but damn that bathroom scene is an all timer.

Santiago was a wasted character but he ended up bringing the best out of Buddy.

Plenty of great or fun stuff. The missteps are all people focus on with that season. Season 2 of Friday Night Lights is better than most TV shows out there at the time and some right now.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Racj82

[krankydoodle]

I caught a few episodes of this show during its original run, but have been binge watching it now that it's back on Netflix. I think Matt, Jason, and Tim got more attention during the early seasons and while they're all great, it was Smash's story at the end of season 2 and beginning of season 3 that got to me the most.

It's interesting to see how the actors' careers have progressed. I don't think I would've predicted that Jesse Plemons would be among the more successful.

[cleo]

I'm watching season 2. I find this show- I dislike a lot of the stories but the small moments with the characters pull me in. 

Like I dislike Street going to Mexico and that storyline.

It's like soap opera levels of dreariness for Riggins. Of course his brother would hook up with his ex. 

The Landry/Tyra killing a guy storyline actually doesn't bother me at all, and I feel like the aftermath is well done and really pulls me in.

Julie is just appallingly awful, even for a teenager. 

But then I like Matt's storyline. 

So I guess it's hit and miss for me but a lot of great little moments.

Episode 3 today- Buddy Garrity LMAO. What a guy. Riggins- I passed out bc I was hung over. Buddy doesn't miss a beat lol. I've seen you play hung over lots of times, son. He is a great character. 

[ifionlyknew]

11 hours ago, cleo said:

- I dislike a lot of the stories but the small moments with the characters pull me in. 

When FNL was originally airing I wrote a blog post about how it was the best show nobody was watching.  I described it as watching a reality show without the people knowing they were being filmed.   Everything was always so authentic.  Dillon Texas looked and felt like a real place and the actors were the people that lived there. For me it was just watching five years of these people's lives.  They had their ups and downs. Some people did better than others but it always seemed real.

And for anyone who dismisses this show as that show about high school football my response is FNL was about football the way Field of Dreams was about baseball.

 

[caitmcg]

On 8/18/2021 at 5:21 AM, ifionlyknew said:

When FNL was originally airing I wrote a blog post about how it was the best show nobody was watching.  I described it as watching a reality show without the people knowing they were being filmed.   Everything was always so authentic.  Dillon Texas looked and felt like a real place and the actors were the people that lived there. For me it was just watching five years of these people's lives.  They had their ups and downs. Some people did better than others but it always seemed real.

And for anyone who dismisses this show as that show about high school football my response is FNL was about football the way Field of Dreams was about baseball.

 

FNL looks and sounds different from any other TV show, which really gave it its uniquely lived-in feel. The way they filmed it, with everything location in and around Austin, no soundstage sets, and instead of shooting scenes from multiple angles to cover different  actors, using multiple cameras moving around them as scenes unfolded, makes it much less static and spit-shined and gives it a naturalism that feels very authentic. 

if it had actually been about football, I never would have watched it, but it is really a show about relationships — between partners, friends, parents and children, coworkers, educators and students, people and their surroundings — and it was really, really good at that. (Call me a sap, but even the opening theme tugged at my heartstrings, and it’s the only one I never skipped past.)

Edited August 25, 2021 by caitmcg
To remove an errant word

[cleo]

I'm watching season 2. It really irritates me Tami is all concerned about Santiago having a good place to live and doesn't give a shit about Tim sleeping in his truck and needing help. And he has probably needed help for a long time.

One of my irritations for this show across seasons was just the unrelenting misery they out Tim through. Really dislike the whole druggy roommate thing, and when he went to jail for his brother.

Edited September 20, 2021 by cleo

[Eeksquire]

16 hours ago, cleo said:

One of my irritations for this show across seasons was just the unrelenting misery they out Tim through.

YES, this. But I also thought that the show did a good job of showing how someone like Tim would fall through the cracks because his life looked *just* stable enough on the surface to not need focused attention.  

But there is no excuse for how all the adults looked the other way at his drinking - it shouldn't be common knowledge to everyone involved with the team and the boosters that he was playing hungover a lot of the time.

[windsprints]

Stacey & Derek are going to do a podcast where they talk about BHS of each episode. Sounds fun. Info here from Stacey on Twitter:

 

[cleo]

I guess this is a UO but I prefer season 2 to season 3. Yes the murder, but I thought the storyline with Landry and Tyra after it happened was well done.

And at least the rest of the cast was together.

Since 3 is this weird year with the team disrupted- Smash and Jason leave and the slow decline with Taylor leaving. 

It's not all bad, Matt's storyline is interesting and so is the dynamics with the McCoys but it's hard to enjoy the latter seeing the ending of Taylor with the Panthers coming.

I can't remember how I liked season 4 and 5 but outside of the always awesome Michael B Jordan, I don't recall being impressed.

Diff topic but somehow Buddy has become one of my favourite characters.

[caitmcg]

On 9/22/2021 at 12:41 PM, windsprints said:

Stacey & Derek are going to do a podcast where they talk about BHS of each episode. Sounds fun. Info here from Stacey on Twitter:

 

I rewatched the whole series last summer, after it returned to Netflix, so I decided to listen to the podcast when it began, with my memory refreshed, and I’ve really enjoyed it. They’ve had a lot of guests, mostly actors (including some of the mainstays like Adrianne Palicki, Gaius Charles, Taylor Kitsch, and Brad Leland, but also people playing various parents and other more minor roles), as well as a couple of behind-the-scenes people, and it’s been really interesting learning more about these other people, as well as hearing their own behind-the-scenes dish. They also answer listener-submitted questions every few episodes.

The most recent episode begins Season 2, and incidentally, Stacy Oristano said that the showrunners fully admit that they came up with the murder because they were looking for a plausible way to bring Tyra and Landry together.

[halfpint ingals]

Coach Gary Gaines ,the real life coach from the FNL movie , where he was potrayed by Billy Bob Thorton , passed away yesterday at the age of 73.

.https://www.foxnews.com/sports/gary-gaines-texas-high-school-football-coach-depicted-friday-night-lights-dead.amp

[cleo]

I'm almost at the end of season 4- just finished the second last ep.

I enjoyed it more this time than last, but by the end reminded why I hated it. I dislike the story with Tami, dislike Tim's story ending in jail, dislike Tim and the girl being romantic. 

Not commenting on Tami's story much but politics aside it was just dreary watching her be attacked for something she didn't do.

Tim did participate in the chop shop but he should not take the fall. His brother is just an ass and one of my least favourite characters. Partly bc he never learns so Tim suffers jail and then sooner or later the dumbass brother will.just be in trouble again anyway. 

Tim and the girl- it was fine when she was a lost kid and he was offering friendly support. Making it romantic just seems off not only bc of the age difference but really bc they just don't seem like a good fit. Two.people that come from shitty backgrounds getting together bc they're lonely and what else is there to do?

I do.like Vincent's storyline and really it was Jordan that saved season 4 and 5 for me.

[Hasseltine]

A new FNL podcast:

https://www.podcastone.com/pd/-Its-Not-Only-Football-Friday-Night-Lights-and-Beyond

[Egg McMuffin]

I think the first season of FNL is pretty much perfect, and if they had ended it there, it would have been one of hte best one-season TV series of all time.

Like many high school based-shows, they didn’t really understand how to gradually introduce new supporting players to replace the older kids. It wasn’t until season 4 that they got serious about introducing new characters, and that was by moving Taylor to coach the East Dillon Giraffes, a change I didn’t particularly care for.

The newbies never really clicked for me the way the original cast did (anyone remember Hastings Ruckle?) and I thought the reduced budget due to the move to Direct TV showed. But I did still like the show and thought they sticked the finale.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Loved the series and have to agree with egg McMufflin Lovin', once the show moved to the East Dillon Lions? , added the new characters, the show no longer had the spark as the earlier seasons. That first season was awesome though. 

[Egg McMuffin]

The Circle channel is showing two FNL episodes per weeknight and I’ve started a rewatch. I realized that it’s still on Prime, so I switched from SD episodes on Circle to HD, commercial free episodes on Prime.

I never cared for Jason Street when I originally watched the show. And I still don’t like him that much. Maybe it’s actor. But his character seems so entitled to me. Which is a weird thing to say about a character who is permanently paralyzed in the opening episode. I do like when Herc is around to pop his bubble once in a while.

I’m not sure I buy quiet, sort of bumbling Matt Saracen as the star quarterback either. The star athletes I went to high school with were good, and knew it. They had a swagger. This kid has no swagger.

That said, I do like Matt. I find his situation heartbreaking. The scene where he imitated his grandfather’s voice to calm his grandmother down brought tears to my eyes. Also, I really like the friendship between him and Landry. They’re a lot more real to me than bland, generic Jason Street.

Tyra is also a favorite, especially later in the season when she stops inserting herself into the Tim/Lyla/Street triangle. Adrienne Palicki has charisma and screen presence

I’m up to the episodes where Smash is taking steroids. I love his mother. She’s a passionate, confident person who doesn’t take crap from anyone.

[Eeksquire]

Quote

I never cared for Jason Street when I originally watched the show. And I still don’t like him that much. Maybe it’s actor. But his character seems so entitled to me.

I totally agree with this - he believes his own press that he's "such a good person" and thus entitled to overcome any adversity thrown his way. He's a golden boy, so things will always bend to his will.

I find Tim Riggins much more interesting, as he's a good person, but no one will give him credit for anything.

[Athena]

Minka Kelly wrote a memoir about her difficult upbringing and rise to fame. She confirmed that she and Taylor Kitsch dated but it was “toxic” on-and-off. She said that there was awkwardness on set when they were off the relationship. 

This explains so much including their intense chemistry. Like many people, I didn’t understand why Tyra came back in the finale when Riggins only ever seemed to care about Lyla. This explained why Minka didn’t want to come back even for a short scene. 

Has anyone been listening to the podcast? I haven’t gone through it yet but they have a lot of guests on it.

[caitmcg]

9 hours ago, Athena said:

Minka Kelly wrote a memoir about her difficult upbringing and rise to fame. She confirmed that she and Taylor Kitsch dated but it was “toxic” on-and-off. She said that there was awkwardness on set when they were off the relationship. 

This explains so much including their intense chemistry. Like many people, I didn’t understand why Tyra came back in the finale when Riggins only ever seemed to care about Lyla. This explained why Minka didn’t want to come back even for a short scene. 

Minka Kelly did return for an episode in Season 4, though, where a major plot point is Tim and Lyla reuniting while she’s in town, and it pretty much puts a button on their relationship. When Lyla leaves, their goodbye is understood to be her having moved on from life in Dillon and from Tim, so I was okay with her not coming back in the finale from a story standpoint.

 

9 hours ago, Athena said:

Has anyone been listening to the podcast? I haven’t gone through it yet but they have a lot of guests on it.

I’ve been listening to both Clear Eyes, Full Hearts with Derek Philips and Stacy Oristano (Billy Riggins and Mindy Colette Riggins) and It’s Not Only Football with Scott Porter, Zach Gilford, and Mae Whitman from the beginning.

CEFH has reached the beginning of Season 5, and they have had a lot of guests, both behind-the-scenes people and actors (main players like Adrianne Palicki, Gaius Charles, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, and Zach Gilford, and also a lot of folks playing parents, coaches, etc.). They also answer fan questions. It’s been cool hearing about the behind-the-scenes aspects and learning about the backgrounds of some of the more minor characters/local actors.

INOF is pretty chatty, though Scott Porter tends to try and rein them in a bit. So far, I’m finding the behind-the-scenes info interesting, especially Scott Porter's contributions. When they’ve had guests, Mae Whitman usually sits it out (I assume so there aren’t too many voices). She is there as the “super fan,” though she does have some ties via being in Jason Katims's next show, Parenthood, and she and Zach Gilford playing spouses in Good Girls. I like her as an actor, but she bugs a bit on the podcast because she tends to ramble on, and she has not managed to train herself to avoid constantly inserting “like” into her speech.

I’d listen to CEFH over INOF.

[caitmcg]

Fun bit of cast trivia: I listened to the most recent episode of the It’s Not Only Football podcast, with Jesse Plemons (they’re talking about the beginning of Season 2 and the murder, among other things), and he kind of blew Scott Porter and Zach Gilford's minds with the news that the actors who played Devin and the Swede are married. Apparently, they’re both musicians in real life, and met some years ago at a music f3stkval.

[bybrandy]

I stumbled on Its Not Only Football and went on a big rewatch kick and have been listening to the clear eyes podcast as well but skipped a season or two to get to my favorite episodes  I feel like it is all the same story over and over again at this point.  INOF has some of that as well but as it is a newer podcast so it annoys me less.  Also CEFH has their interviews in the same session as their watchalongs so huge stories are just ignored in the watch along segments to make more time for the interviews.   The interviews are good but it just isn't as much my jam.