Friday Night Lights

So I finally got around to watching Friday Night Lights, the much heralded but viewerless TV show on NBC that is based off of the movie of the same name. I've heard many times how good of a show this was, and normally my reaction is to revolt and ignore the possibility of this program being any good. Hence, the show debuted in 2006, and I'm now watching in 2009. Thanks to Hulu this process has been cost-effective and also enabled me to run through the program pretty quickly. I'm around the half way point of Season 1 and wanted to share some thoughts to get some people in on the fun.

Plain and simple, if you like any of the following things in any combination at all then you will like this show:
A. Sports
B. Hot girls
C. Unintentionally funny actors trying to be athletes
D. Ridiculous sporting event scenarios
E. Gossip
F. Actors that are clearly in their mid-20's playing high school kids

So there you go, I think that covers pretty much everyone. Now here are some more specific thoughts.

This show has more hot girls pound for pound than any show on TV...ever. The list is a murder's row of attractive ladies. Connie Britton, as coach's wife, is the anchor, then you have Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, Aimee Teagarden, Taylor Kitsch... Whoops, forgot that was a dude. He is what the Sports Guy call "uncomfortably handsome." Anyway, the dude aside, it is a feast for the eyes, and adds to the fact that virtually every frame is filled with a lovely lady to move the story along.

Even prime time shows like Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 had some subpar talent milling around with the beauties (Tori Spelling). FNL just said screw it, we'll give the people what they want.

The one down note is that it makes you bitter that you didn't go to school with girls like this. It is that unrealistic and yet, we all wish it was how things were. Then again Minka and Adrianne are much older than a high schooler, so it lays some unfair standards for people to set their goals by.

That sort of brings me to my next thought. Through half the first year, I cannot tell who is better looking, Minka Kelly or Adrianne Palicki. The thing is that I can't make the decision because I figure their characters into my evaluation. Minka plays head cheerleader and overall goodie goodie, Lyla Garrity. That's all well and good, but then she cheats on her parapalegic boyfriend with his best friend! Only on TV, I know. So that's major negative points.

Adrianne Palicki's character is the tramp, rabble rouser, vixen that any drama involving beautiful people need. It's the typical Shannon Doherty/Heather Locklear role. So those are negatives, then again she is much more of a fun character than Lyla. It's still a toss up, and if I never come to a decision, I'll live, but I'll wait until the end of the season where hopefully things will become clear one way or another.

I will never like Matt Saracen. I don't care if he watches over

his grandmom.

The Dillon Panthers win more ridiculous games than any real or fictional team in history. If they played in Philly, people would be complaining that with out a few favorable bounces this team would be 1-3 not 3-1 or whatever. Then again Philly is naturally negative, while Dillon lives and breathes for a high school team.

Secretly I want Jason Street to make a full recovery, then get the itch to play pro ball, have a whole training montage thing, then ship him up to the Canadian Football League where he'd get discovered and go to the NFL. It's a little Gordon Bombay in Mighty Ducks and Kurt Warner's story put together. Only with hotter girls and drama involved. Not a bunch of punk kids from S-7 or the annoying look of Kurt Warner.