Tube Review: Friday Night Lights Posted by tubeB |

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Tomorrow night on DirecTV – Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.

Friday Night Lights is back for its 4th season!! It really is one of the best shows on TV. The acting, the character development and consistency, the way its shot (3 cameras around but the actors never know where they are so it appears way more real), the heart… it’s just an amazing show that you really have to watch to soak in the brilliance and appreciate it. I found myself crying by the end of some episodes and not even realize what hit me. You really do find yourself rooting for a character, if not all of them. Normally I’m not a fan of shows with too much family feel good vibes but FNL does it without being preachy which is yet another reason why it’s such a great show that you should check out.

Here’s a mild break down of what went down in the past 3 seasons. Keep in mind a lot happens so my brief overview really does this show no justice. Warning: potential spoilers for some.

Season 1 followed the Dillion Panthers as they try to win the state championships without their legendary quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) since he got paralyzed from an accident early in the season. The whole town must rely on junior Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) to lead the team to state while he struggles to keep his QB1 position on the team. Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) has to deal with the pressures from his small town while maintaining sanity in his home with his wife Tami (Connie Britton) and daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden). She and Saracen make such an adorable couple you’ll be grinning ear to ear; Lyla (Minka Kelly) and Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) have to deal with their actions and feelings; Street deals with having to be in a chair; while Smash (Gaius Charles) falls into drug dependency while trying to get himself scouted.

Season 2 focuses less on football and more on relationships. Coach Taylor has to decide between staying at his new swanky position with TMU in Texas or move back to Dillion to take care of his new baby and family. Julie’s become a bit of snot since the arrival of the baby, and she and Saracen have to work out their relationship throughout the season to figure out if they both still want each other. Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Landry (Jesse Plemons) face the demons of killing a man; while Riggins persistently pursues Lyla in ways that’ll make you smile to yourself and really feel for him.

Season 3 we see Tami as the new principal at Dillion High so of course some conflicts of interest of being the coach’s wife vs. the boss. This new wealthy McCoy family threatens Coach Taylor’s position when he doesn’t want to start their son. Riggins and Lyla are finally together and must work on getting their sh&t together as a couple and in preparation for graduation; Saracen has to deal with his mom being back in his life; and Jason embarks on a new career path.

I can’t gush enough about how great this show is. Check out tomorrow night if you have DirecTV, or you can catch it summer 2010 (which gives you plenty of time to catch up!).


--- Candice L.