Arts & Culture
On DVD with Dan Richter:
“Friday Night Lights”
Arts and Review Reporter
“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” That’s the team motto of the Dillon Panthers, the fictional high school football team on NBC’s drama “Friday Night Lights.”
The second season of the series was released last week on DVD.
“Friday Night Lights” follows Coach Eric Taylor (Emmy Award nominee Kyle Chandler) and those around him, particularly the players on his team: Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), the party boy with a drinking problem, “Smash” Williams (Gaius Charles), the egotistical running back with hopes of going pro and Matt Saracen, the rookie quarterback who has his sights set on Coach Taylor’s daughter. Other characters include Taylor’s wife, Tammy (Connie Britton), who is the school’s guidance counselor, Jason Street, an assistant coach who used to be a star quarterback until he became paralyzed and Lilah Garrity, Street’s girlfriend and the school’s head cheerleader.
What’s best about “Friday Night Lights” is that it literally has something for everyone. In fact, the show has little to do with football. It uses the sport as a background for the characters, if anything. Roughly half of the episodes feature football games or practices, and when they do, the scenes are usually less than five minutes long.
There is plenty of romance and drama between both the high schoolers and adult characters, to the point where the program is a borderline soap opera. However, the drama is not enough to push it over the edge of believability. The first two seasons alone features storylines about unwanted pregnancy, illegal steroid use, racism, intergenerational love affairs and accidental death. The thrill of the sport and the romance are enough to satisfy both male and female viewers.
The program’s style is also distinctive. Shot entirely in Austin, Texas, the show uses only real locations for filming and no lots or soundstages. This, combined with the fact that the show is shot documentary style with occasional, mild camera movement, makes the show all the more believable.
It’s a shame that the program has dangerously low ratings because the acting on “Friday Night Lights” is also absolutely superb, especially on the parts of Chandler and Britton. If anyone on television deserves an Emmy Award, it’s these two. Luckily, the show has escaped cancellation twice and will return for a third season to air on DirecTV and NBC this fall.
I urge you to go out and buy both seasons of “Friday Night Lights.” At a cost of only $20 for 22 hour-long episodes for the first season set, you are getting your money’s worth. Even if your eyes aren’t clear and your heart isn’t full, you can’t lose with this incredible series.
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