Friday Night Lights

Some shows we discover through the high profile advertising campaigns used to draw in viewers, some we discover through word of mouth and then there are some we discover by complete accident.  I recently found Friday Night Lights, now this is a show that has been on U.S. screens since 2006. However I was more familiar with it predecssor the Peter Berg Directed and Billy Bob Thornton starring film of the same name. 

As has become a common theme in the UK every year a handful of shows from the U.S.A. get picked up that fly and do really well. There are those shows that get picked up that are awful. Then there are those that the powers of be clearly have no idea how to market or use in their schedule, Friday Night Lights is one of those.  As I think back now and after researching this I can confirm, FNL was picked up in the U.K by ITV, but they really didn't know what to do with it. FNL was broadcast on 4th string ITV channel ITV4, now a male skewed channel bring sporting highlights and anything with an Andy Mcnabb and Ross Kemp soul. So the thought process must have been as follows: we have a serious drama based around sport this will be perfect for our male skewed audience. Wrong! If someone had took the time to actually watch this show they would realise that the sporting side of this drama, the American football is merelya narrative flux for each season. Football isn't the story the people and their lives around it are.

FNL is an adaptation of the original book and 2004 film of the same name. The TV show is set in the small town of Dillion, Texas where the small community come together every friday night to support the high school football team. In this part of Texas football is life and those past and present earn a prestigious status akin to the gladiators in Roman times.They are the stars and the heroes of the everyday folk in Dillion.

We are introduced to the show as new Coach Eric Taylor is taking on a team with great history. THe local community unsure as to whether this new comer is capable to take over a team with such a proud tradtion as the Dillion Panthers. We are introduced to the Back up quarterback Matt Saracen, a supposed loser never going to grace the field, he lives with his grandma and has to resort to getting lifts from his hyper intelliigent friend Landry. Landry wonders out loud as Matt reads the local paper featuring star quarterback Jason Street. Street as he is known is set for a bright future and is ranked as the best high school quarterback in Texas and is being scouted by top college teams like Notre Dame.  The other star of the team is Brian "Smash" Williams the fast talking brash loudmouth running back of the team. Hi nemesis of sorts is fellow panther and full back Tim Riggins. Three things Tim loves are beer, football and women normally in that order. One thing he doesn't like is Smash. As Tim says " That dude could be Santa Claus and I still wouldn't like em".  Tim lives with his brother good hearted who looks out for Tims best interest. Tim dates Tyra Collette Tim likes the simple things in life and declares that he wants to 1 percent of best friends streets NFl earnings and run a ranch in Texas for them He sees life in Texas in the future as a good one and toasts to Street "Texas forever". Street dates Lyla Garrity, cheerleader and daughter of car dealership owner and Panther fanatic Buddy who is one of the boosters who raises money for the team and harbours a great amount of influence and power for everything Football in Dillion.

Coach Taylor is supported by a doting wife and daughter who Matt takes a shine too, though she vows she never dates football players. Coach Taylor who has coached Street at all levels of his playing career is under great amount of pressure as expectations are incredibly high for a team with the top quarterback in the state. 

When Friday Night arrives things get off to a good start as the Panthers score. However they struggle against the counter plays, the trick plays of changes of direction and cannot contain the offence of their opponents Westerby. At halftime Street displays his excellent ability by relaying to the coaches the defences they are facing and what the team is struggling with In the second half as Westerby take a ten point lead 24-14, Street forces a pass and it is intercepted, the Westerby player is returning the ball for a touchdown, only Street is between him and the potential winning touchdown. Street attempts to make a tackle. 

This is where the real depth of FNL begins and instigates the dramatic storylines that make this show great. In the tackle Street makes he takes a big hit he forces the ball free and the Panthers recovers it but he lays prone on the ground unable to move. Everyone rushes onto the field an ambulance is called. Street has broken is back he will be unable to walk again. A once bright carreer is ended and everyones life is sent into turmpooil. Coach Taylor is now without the star player that makes his team tick, the pressures on him now even greater and his families livelihood.

Jason has to deal with his new found disability. His girlfriend Lyla try's to hold on to the future they had planned together. Riggin's feeling unwarranted guilt blames himself. Tyra who has shown affection towards Street in the past starts to question her life and where it is going, she doesn't want to end up uneducated like her Mom and stripper sister Mindy. Smash still with bravado but deep down worries that a failure of the Panthers will see him fail to move on to a top college and then a pro career and hence not being able to provide for his family. Matt Saracen is confronted with being thrown into the spotlight of being QB1 and dealing with the expectation and pressure from a baying crowd, he has to follow in the footsteps of a giant.

The journey that the show takes us on is vast heartfelt and harrowing but never leaves the viewer feeling unsatisfied. Everything is stellar about this show and it wouldn't be amiss from being held up there with pantheon of shows like The Wire. It is a shame that due to the ineptness of ITV that only series 1 has been shown on British TV. Just because the sport is American Football shouldn't override the fact that this is an incredible drama series. It should have been given a prime time or popular slot, if so I have no doubt it would have done well. It is a shame not as many people get to enjoy this show. I pray for fourth season in the U.S. it all depends on ratings of course. Perhaps HBO may take kindness on this series if NBC/DirectTV refuse to continue the show. HBO as seen with The Wire, never fails to support talent and quality.