The simple beauty of Friday Night Lights

(Note there are mild spoilers if you haven't ever seen Friday Night Lights. I have tried to not spoil the last season though, in case UK viewers want to try and track it down.)

A few weeks ago, NBC aired the last episode of Friday Night Lights. That this happened in 2011 and not 2007, should pretty much be considered a TV miracle. After criminally low ratings for two seasons and the Writers Strike of late 2007/early 2008, typical (revenue-driven) wisdom would say it should have been cancelled. But, on the back of critical praise, a small but dedicated fan base, and the fact that in 2008 NBC was suffering from a true lack of quality TV, an innovative deal was struck to keep Friday Night Lights (or FNL to those in the know) on the air. Three 13 episode seasons would be shown first on Direct TV (a satellite provider) and then re-aired on NBC. Nothing like this had really been tried before, and the deal saved what has certainly been one of the best shows in recent memory, and one of the best family dramas ever.

FNL has a lot of strengths, including strong writing, staying away from melodrama (usually), and strong acting anchored by its leads Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler. These two play Tami and (Coach) Eric Taylor and their marriage has been the heart of the show. One of FNL's biggest assets is its ability to bring the drama of everyday life to the viewers in respectful way. Simply put: it does "simple" well.

The Taylor's marriage is one of the most realistic portrayals of marriage that has been seen, and shows how much storytelling you can get out of a happily married couple. When watching, you never feel that the show was making fun of small-town Texas life; those of us from fly-over country (of which I include the South) are used to being portrayed as simple-minded, blindly religious, and naive. In FNL, it was easy to see ourselves and our lives reflected back to us and for those not from small towns to understand why they aren't so bad. Okay, except that everyone was really pretty, but it is TV after all. Football* was important for the show, as a backdrop and as a vehicle for storytelling, but I hesitate to call it a 'football show.' I will always maintain that you don't have to enjoy football to enjoy this show; not all agree with me on this, but I will hold the line on this one.

Of course the show wasn't perfect. Shows never really are, and it is easy to get bogged down in that second season that most want to forget-though I am not actually one of them. Whilst I believe the Tyra/Landry storyline (where they murder someone who was attacking Tyra) was ill-conceived the actors themselves did brilliant work to try and pull it off. And they almost did, but we were all glad when it was resolved. East Dillon, the rough side of town that became the focus for seasons four and five, came out of nowhere. ( We did grow to love it though, I think.) Julie seemed to get a lot of her worth and storylines from boys and I wasn't crazy about her arc in the last season, although it did get her to where she needed to be by the end. The show also still had a mostly white cast, but at least its minority characters were not just someone's best friend, which in the land of Hollywood is pretty big.

The second season also suffered from the aforementioned writers' strike and they dropped at least one character completely and without explanation. The shorter seasons (which is still not the norm in the US) also meant there were times when a plot point wasn't really explored after being introduced, such as the one about a gay assistant coach, which would have been really interesting. Characters were underused and we sometimes got from A to B a little to quickly and easily. The writers had some problems writing for its female characters if they weren't attached to a male in some way. See Lyla's born-again storyline. Although, I would prefer they try and create well-rounded characters even if they fail at it.

So, two (small) paragraphs of missteps and lost opportunities. I could fill two pages of what they got right, starting with the awesome Tami and Eric. Of the generally respectful handling of Jason Street's injury (in my non-disabled opinion, backed up by reading up on it to be sure). He was depressed deeply, tried out denial and almost had life threatening surgery, then moved on to acceptance. He came to understand that he still had a full happy life to live. One that was different than planned, one without walking, but still good. (He even gets to have sex!) Or I could mention the Tim Riggins character growth of selfish screw-up to a man willing to make sacrifices for those he loves. How Lyla played a role in the process, even if they weren't destined to be together forever. Tyra going from a bit of a stock popular girl to a college student. Matt Saracen's puppy dog eyes, his grandmother's dementia, his and Julie's 'one true pairing.' Of Smash making it when he thought he lost it, and his relationship with his mother. The promise of a college education for Vince and the understandable draw of big time football. Of Landry's dry humour, that was always welcome, or Jess' unflappable drive to become a female football coach. The role race and class play in friendships and in Dillon Football, how it shows who the have's and have nots are (clue, it's not always connected to winning) and how a white middle class coach fits in East Dillon. Of a real abortion storyline, where the girl doesn't miscarry as a convenient way around it.

FNL did a good job with phasing out old characters as they graduated and moved on, and introduced new characters. As in real life, each year a class graduates, and even if they stay in town, they aren't really part of high school any more. And you miss them, but you find some Freshmen (or first years) that you like too. And when they brought them back, well, it made sense too, and it happened like it might in real life. The show incorporated a lot of local actors, made Buddy Garrity loveable, and well, made me cry on a regular basis.

And when the end came, the writers and creators, did one heckuva job. Those responsible for this finale knew this time it was the end for sure, and frankly they knocked it out of the park. Or scored a touchdown if we don't want to mix up our sporting metaphors. The finale ensured closure and surely gave us long-time viewers satisfaction. The last 20 minutes were pure TV joy, that provided a brilliant scene between Eric and Tami that encapsulates everything great about the show (here, 1:24 in if you don't mind spoilers), and which I watched through tears. Of course.

I will certainly miss this show. But unlike others that I miss it is the rare one that I feel almost fully satisfied with. It's not Arrested Development only getting a 13 episode order, or Veronica Mars not knowing for sure where it stood as it ended. And it's not Lost where the viewers feel a bit like suckers for buying into the mythology only to find out it really wasn't that complicated. It was in fact, practically perfect in every way, and why we can say good-bye knowing that clear eyes and full hearts really can't lose.


*Football, in the American sense for this posting

Summer Viewing

For many years, in America at least, summertime has provided us with some great television. Formerly a time for endless repeats on the network channels, cable and the relentless pursuit of another dollar, made networks realise there was money to be made when the temperature got above eighty. I first remember watching new summer tv in the early 90s with Beverly Hills, 90210. I don't remember much, expect Brandon wasn't strong enough to be a lifeguard in the ocean, so he became a pool boy instead. Or something like that. Summer is a great time to run shows with fewer episodes, and because there is still less programming than in the Fall, a lot of buzz can be had. For example, Mad Men made its debut after May sweeps, and we all know how that has turned out.

While I don't feel this summer is the strongest in recent memory, I have found a few shows worth mentioning:

Friday Night Lights (NBC)
The show is in its final season, about halfway through its run on NBC. I have a longer post about FNL once it finishes, but it is always a pleasure to watch.

Switched at Birth (ABC Family)
Okay, try not to make too much fun of me. The name of the show reveals the ridiculous premise of two girls (one, Bay, the daughter of a former baseball player, the other, Daphne, comes from a single mother home) who were, you guessed it, switched at birth. Oh, and Daphne is Deaf. Once you get beyond this concept (and the various contrivances that lead to both families living together) you get an interesting look at, among other things, class and race divisions, Deaf culture, and teenage identity. The show is not perfect, the most recent episode veered dangerously close to being too soapy and characters suddenly seemed to grow different personalities. There is also a tendency for hearing characters to act as though Deaf people are stupid (Do hearing people still really think this? If so, they are clearly the stupid ones.), and Daphne so far has been painted a little "too" perfect. Still, for what could have been too cheesy for words, the show tells these stories in pretty honest way (so far).

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
There is so much reality tv out there, it can be tempting to just dismiss the whole lot of it. But, if you are willing to try and separate the wheat from the chaff, you find shows like this gem. It is the same show as in the UK, where dancers from all various genres compete for a prize. The show has produced some really amazing dances (and I have it on good authority from an actual dancer that there is good technique often times as well) and showcases some of the most innovate choreography around. There are tons of You Tube videos of great dancing. Start here, but be warned, you are likely to be busy for the next three hours once you hit play.

Cardinals Baseball (Fox Sports Midwest)
Not since 2004 have I had the ability to watch St. Louis Cardinals baseball on a regular basis. I forgot how much I enjoy the sport, and how nice it is to have it on in the background when doing other things. Yes, there are lots of criticisms that baseball is too slow, but I like it. In a mid-summer twist, worthy of a sweeps month, the Cardinals have lost more games than they won in June, had to place the best player in baseball on the DL (disabled list), and have hit into more double plays than any other team by a long shot. Still, they are only a few games back from first place, and I think a late season comeback is, shall we say, in the Cards.

Hulu (online)
Having been out of the US for the better part of three years, there are a lot of shows that I missed. (I got to see some great ones in the UK of course, and am still figuring out how to stay up to date on those). Hulu is this nifty website where you can (legally) watch streaming video from several different channels. I've been able to fully catch up on Parks and Recreation (RIP, Li'l Sebastian), watch last summer's teen drama Huge, and access Arrested Development episodes without having to scratch up my DVDs. While I am a big Hulu fan, I do wish that more shows were available (especially from other countries), but overall a great way to watch a variety of tv.

Any suggestions for shows I should be watching this summer?