Friday Night Lights
The fourth season of Friday Night Lights ended its season four run on NBC this past Friday, calling for a mandatory blog post! The show has been one of my favorites since its first season aired in 2006. Set in the fictional, football-obsessed small town of Dillon, Texas, Friday Night Lights is a show with a combination of stunning realism and heart. Friday Night Lights is ultimately neither about football nor Texas — both of which have undoubtedly discouraged viewers from watching — but about its characters.
Coach and Tami Taylor are one of the best portrayals of marriage on television, ever, and I am thrilled that Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton finally received Emmy noms for their portrayals. All the original characters have been amazing — Matt, Tim, Smash, Julie, Lyla, Landry, etc. The transition of television characters graduating high school is always a tough feat, but FNL pulled off the transition very well despite a 13-episode season. Most notable is Vince, who has finally found an opportunity to escape his troubled environment for a brighter future. I especially also like Luke but wished we could have seen more development. I do miss JD McCoy and even his father, because they were great characters in season three. I look forward to seeing these characters even further developed in the show’s fifth and final season, which will air on DirecTV in the winter first, as it did this past season. I will forever be grateful to DirecTV for saving FNL from ending at season three and guaranteeing a solid ending to the series.
From the soundtrack to the background scenery (only fitting that FNL was filmed in Texas itself), Friday Night Lights is a beautiful piece of television history, its inspiring and touching stories far outweighing any shortcomings. (Although, I, too, like to pretend a certain season two storyline ever occurred.) I can’t resist sharing some great commentary on the season four finale at Time and NY Mag blogs.
If you have never watched Friday Night Lights, here’s your chance: ABC Family is airing the series from the beginning, starting in September. ABC Family is a good fit for the show, especially with its recent success, and here’s hoping it’ll create a greater fanbase for the show.
