I was a little bit afraid that NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” would get caught up on a lot of Dawson’s Creek bullshit, but I was relieved to find out last night that that wouldn’t be the case. I watch barely any non-sports television, but I felt like I had to see Friday Night Lights last night because the movie was so good, and the TV show brought back the same writer and director, Peter Berg.
And it sticks pretty well with the formula from the movie. It doesn’t have exactly the same feel–the movie was based on actual people and events, whereas this is completely fictionalized–but there’s still an interest in having characters with a sense of realness. There’s still the same feel of a fucked-up southern town where no one ever bothered to learn that life goes a little bit beyond high school football. There’s still the same patient and dramatic directing.
It works for me because the characters work. Every character here is flawed in some way, and Peter Berg gives them the time and space to show it. It’s a little bit more melodramatic than the movie, but it’s better than I anticipated.
And it looks like they’ve done a fine job casting it, too, and I thought that might be a problem. Billingsley and Winchell and Miles were such fantastic characters in the movie, played by very good actors… I thought it might be a little bit hard to get out of their shadow. And there are characters here with similarities, but pretty significant differences, too, which is good. It’s a whole new set of personalities.
Texas head coach Mack Brown had a cameo last night… and even Mack fucking Brown was good. If I didn’t know ahead of time that Mack Brown was going to be in this thing, I probably wouldn’t have noticed that it was him, and just chalked it up to some guy doing a good job at playing a douchebag.
Here’s a clip that illustrates pretty well some of the positive and negatives. You see Mack Brown, you see the pressure from the coach from some local people… and then towards the end, you see an older ho’s advances towards a player. That seemed like a bit much, but the show kept stuff like that to a minimum.
Anyway, I dug it. Not quite as much as the New York Times, evidently… but I very much enjoyed it nonetheless. Check out the opening paragraph from their review.
Lord, is “Friday Night Lights” good. In fact, if the season is anything like the pilot, this new drama about high school football could be great — and not just television great, but great in the way of a poem or painting, great in the way of art with a single obsessive creator who doesn’t have to consult with a committee and has months or years to go back and agonize over line breaks and the color red; it could belong in a league with art that doesn’t have to pause for commercials, or casually recap the post-commercial action, or sell viewers on the plot and characters in the first five minutes, or hew to a line-item budget, or answer to unions and studios, or avoid four-letter words and nudity.
luke campbell Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 8:47 am
West Texas is not, in fact, in the South, dickweed.
Situ Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Here is another “review” of the premiere. More like quick observations from the show.
point 23 Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 10:21 am
Peter Berg. He’s got a great John Housman name, doesn’t he? Peter Beeerg. Peter Beeeeeeeeeeeeerg.
Dave's Football Blog Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 10:22 am
If they didn’t want to avoid four-letter words and nudity, why didn’t they pitch it to Showtime instead of NBC? Maybe Friday Night Lights could have worked in between “Weeds” and “Dexter.”
RJ3111 Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 10:59 am
If you liked the movie, then you would probably enoy the show. However, I hated the movie. I also have read the book several times and the movie didn’t match up hardly at all. Permian did not win the championship, I believe they lost in the semis. Going further, the book was mostly about race and socioeconomic status, not older women trying to nail high school kids.
DookieStyle Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Uhh…last time I checked, Texas is pretty much as south as you can get in this country. Also, after quick google search, it appears Texas was part of the Confederacy. Another qualification for “south”.
Not to mention it borders Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.
Situ Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
I live in west Texas and played high school football against Odessa Permian, the school the story is originally based on and although West TX obviously wouldn’t be considered South TX, in the big scheme of things, you don’t get much more south than Texas.
James Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
I think he is referring to historical south instead of geographic south. Ive had people do the same to me when they really had nothing to say as well.
I thought the show was pretty good. I live here in the South (west/central texas) and it seemed pretty accurate. I loved the Mack Brown Douchebag character.
flash_fantastic Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were playing in the background of one the scenes. Great band, but it made me find the show a bit non-believable.
diggity Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
I liked this show better when it was called Varsity Blues.
Can they show a whipped cream bikini on NBC?
beanspants1 Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
i’d say it was alright too. not great, but alright.
sad to see they pull out the neck injury the first game. the espn playmakers style murdering- drug-addicted-club-footed-transvestite guard will probably appear in the finale, if it makes it that long.
even “not another teen movie” went with the knee injury, which is much more common, and the guy would be out the same amount of time. gotta ratchet up the cheese for tv, i guess.
tony Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
I just caught the end, when the kid started to undergo surgery while the (apparently bumbling) backup QB took over.
Maybe I have to give the whole thing a shot, but I don’t know how long a show could last if every week ends in your typical movie-ending wacky scramble/hail mary win.
Joe Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
I completely agree with RJ3111 on this one. I’ve read the book twice, and it’s by far the best sports book I’ve ever read. The movie was an abomination of what the book was really about. Seeing the happy ending to the Boobie Miles story in the film was nauseauting as it was a completely bastardized version of the most powerful storyline in the book.
beanspants1 Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
they must have been playing that same team that nike briscoe high plays.
How many teams could there be that fall for a hail mary on the last play of the game.
The odd thing too, is that this is HS football. if they want to be considered a good team in HS football, they have to win EVERY game they play during a season. good HS teams don’t just sneak into the playoffs like in the NFL, they win them all like a college #1.
tomgreen Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
I live within 90 miles of Odessa and any cultural geographer who spent more than one week studying the area would not consider the area a part of the “deep south”. However, they probably would consider the area as being more culturally influenced by the “south” than any other region (followed closely by the “southwest”).
James Says:
October 4th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Doug Flutie?!?!
gwig Says:
October 5th, 2006 at 11:08 am
ahh the friday night lights…i did some of the football stunt work for the pilot in austin/pflugerville and was dissapointed in the story lines, but not with pete berg. that guy is intense. at one practive he stepped into the huddle and repeatedly yelled at one of the actors to scream, “i’m gonna kill that mutherfu#@er!!!” pete’s command of the four letter word was impressive to say the least. all of the actors were cool, but the running back was the worst athlete i have ever seen; he is however, a pretty damn good actor.
Ben Says:
October 5th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
They said when the storylines get going they will only have a game every 3 or 4 shows. It seems like that might be hard to pull off but they’re not going to try to make it an hourlong sports movie every week.
I thought it was pretty good even if there were a few eye rolling moments. I love the book and the movie even though they’re obviously quite a bit different on the details but I guess I tend to look at them as different entities.
Grant Says:
October 11th, 2006 at 12:08 am
Regarding oct 10 episode:
How freaking arrogant on the part of nbc and bosses of the writers to think that they have a firm enough hold on their veiwership to leave a “cliffhanger” like that! Thought after the first episode I’d be dedicated to this show…not going to waste my time without a payoff per episode. Hey nbc, thanks for turning a spectacular premise into a soap opera…
best of luck running this kind of play-
Grant
matt Says:
October 17th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
hey peter berg thanks for making a series based on my life i hate you. i broke my neck and could play football my senior year. then my girlfriend left me for my bestfriend just like jason’s girl is doing to him in friday night lights. i was crying on tonights episode.
Fnl= #1 Says:
October 18th, 2006 at 8:56 am
WOW! This show just gets better every week. If you have missed the first three shows then you might be a little lost if you are just now tuning in. This show will grab you in a way nothing I have ever watched before has. We all knew that someone was going to have an injury, but not like this at all. A player hurting his knee happens all the time in all levels of football, but a spinal injury in not that common. I personally had my left ACL torn in a game(damn astro turf). But this injury has flipped the script. The hick accents are over acted alittle by some of the characters. The pull and tear on all the characters emotions is what makes the show great. The team is not living up to the towns expectations and not even the players own expectations, hence this whole town seems to be in a downward spiral, all having to look at themselves as a failure in their own eyes. The question is can this town lean on eachother long enough to turn the season around, but not lean so hard it all comes crashing down. Hott girls help the story also (haha).
Why does winning in Texas mean so much?
Yes, its your towns pride, yes the parties are better after a win. But the real reason is that this is the only way out of their small town. When you cant pay for college, and know you cant make strait A’s, it means even more. Just trust me, being from the town in Texas where the most winningest high school coach in Texas record stands to this day.
Matt I would like to think that what you said is a joke, but if what you say is true then ya I can see why your pissed. I dont think she kissed him cause she likes him, but more the fact she was emotionally spent.
Fnl= #1 Says:
October 18th, 2006 at 9:54 am
last comment typo- is* not that common.
beanspants1- quote “they have to win EVERY game they play during a season. good HS teams don’t just sneak into the playoffs like in the NFL, they win them all like a college #1.”
Not true (in Texas), winning every game is nice but you can lose all the first games of the season and win enough of your district games and still go to the playoffs.