Friday Night Lights

[Ilmater]

I initially wasn't going to watch it because, simply, I had seen the whole story about the southern high school football team and how it meant everything to the town, etc. However, someone talked me into it, and it is just amazing. Every week I ask myself how I could be so interested in a show that is just about life in those areas, but it's just amazing to me.

The scenarios aren't over the top like you would see in some shows. The situations these people are in are very plausible and they react like real people would react. It's the most "real" show I've ever seen on television.

Does anyone else watch this show? I've heard ratings aren't that good, but I love it to death.

 

[daveymark]

it's on my DVR. good mindless entertainment. something attractive about the coaches wife...can't put my finger on it

 

[Triumph]

Don't really care for stories about high school football glory.

 

[isekii]

Minka = Hawt.

 

[Queasy]

Already lived Texas High School Football. Don't need to watch a soap opera about it.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Triumph
Don't really care for stories about high school football glory.

I really thought I made that clear in my first post, but I'll try again.

I DON'T CARE for stories about high school football glory, but it's not about the football. It's about teenagers and parents and life in a small town and life as a handicapped person. Football is a backdrop and something to move the story forward, but it's not "about" football, it's about the characters.

 

[Mellman]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Triumph
Don't really care for stories about high school football glory.

I really thought I made that clear in my first post, but I'll try again.

I DON'T CARE for stories about high school football glory, but it's not about the football. It's about teenagers and parents and life in a small town and life as a handicapped person. Football is a backdrop and something to move the story forward, but it's not "about" football, it's about the characters.

have to agree with you...something about this show is just awesome. i really enjoy watching it, and the interactions between the characters.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: isekii
Minka = Hawt.

Yes. Extremely, painfully hot.

 

[D1gger]

I watched a couple of the episodes, but it is just another emo highschool soap opera.

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: Triumph
Don't really care for stories about high school football glory.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Mellman
have to agree with you...something about this show is just awesome. i really enjoy watching it, and the interactions between the characters.

Exactly. Take last night for example (*SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT*):

Black students walked off the team because of what a coach said about race. The coaches were scrambling to fill their spots, but the story wasn't about the football game, it was about the kids.

- It showed Riggins playing a "role model" of sorts to younger guys to get them to remember plays and such.
- It showed Smash's mom telling him to go back to the team because if he didn't, he'd jeopardize his chances at getting into college and then the racists would win.
- It showed a coach trying to make an administrative decision on whether or not to fire his coordinator because of comments he made; it showed how he dealt with the situation, how he talked to his wife about it, how he chose to handle things as best he knew without knowing what was truly right.

That wasn't the only story line in the show, but that was a big one, and it was about people, not about football.

 

[state 08]

I watch the show too. I like it, but I still can't believe HS Football is that glorified in Texas.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: state 08
I watch the show too. I like it, but I still can't believe HS Football is that glorified in Texas.

But would you agree that the show isn't really about the football?

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: state 08
I watch the show too. I like it, but I still can't believe HS Football is that glorified in Texas.

But would you agree that the show isn't really about the football?

the show is about some football, don't kid yourself. A better statement would be "The show isn't ONLY about football." It also has other components that make it interesting to watch.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Triumph
Don't really care for stories about high school football glory.

I really thought I made that clear in my first post, but I'll try again.

I DON'T CARE for stories about high school football glory, but it's not about the football. It's about teenagers and parents and life in a small town and life as a handicapped person. Football is a backdrop and something to move the story forward, but it's not "about" football, it's about the characters.

If it isn't about Al Bundy winning 4 high school touch downs in one game, then I'm not interested.

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: state 08
I watch the show too. I like it, but I still can't believe HS Football is that glorified in Texas.

But would you agree that the show isn't really about the football?

You are dead on in your description of this show. Football is just a backdrop and anyone who thinks otherwise just hasn't paid attention to the storyline.

Coach putting his arse on the line for Smash juicin was one of my favorite episodes.

 

[mugs]

I enjoyed the movie, and I watched the first few episodes of the show, but it was too teenage drama-ish for my tastes (how I imagine the O.C. would be if I ever watched it).

 

[Mo0o]

if people watch they'll realize football is merely a vehicle for the plot but a lot of the social issues and moral dilemmas they present are universal

 

[Drakkon]

i was surprized by it as well and it has become a regular for me to download as i dont get home in time to watch it - it still kinda glamourizes the high school football in an unrealistic way but i think it does one of the better jobs of dialog between actors. The scene this week when the coach asked the cousler/wife/friend scene was just amazing - not overly dramatic and not overly complicated but still had that human essence which really brought around a good point.

now *spoilers*
it did get a little cheesy and hokey at the end this week though with the coach of the other team going crazy, fans throwing crap, then the police pulling the bus over and the coach defending the guy. the rest of it was pretty good up until that point.

 

[state 08]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: state 08
I watch the show too. I like it, but I still can't believe HS Football is that glorified in Texas.

But would you agree that the show isn't really about the football?

Oh yeah, definitely. I agree with you said about Football just being an overtone of the show.

It's got interesting charecters, captivating side plots, and hot girls!

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: Drakkon
i was surprized by it as well and it has become a regular for me to download as i dont get home in time to watch it - it still kinda glamourizes the high school football in an unrealistic way but i think it does one of the better jobs of dialog between actors. The scene this week when the coach asked the cousler/wife/friend scene was just amazing - not overly dramatic and not overly complicated but still had that human essence which really brought around a good point.

now *spoilers*
it did get a little cheesy and hokey at the end this week though with the coach of the other team going crazy, fans throwing crap, then the police pulling the bus over and the coach defending the guy. the rest of it was pretty good up until that point.

That dialogue scene was hilarious. "Is there anyone else I can talk to?"

 

[dsity]

i'm an extra on the show, i'll tell you what scene i'm in...ha

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: dsity
i'm an extra on the show, i'll tell you what scene i'm in...ha

are you redneck 1 or 2?

 

[hdeck]

studio 60 is a show you're missing out on if you aren't watching. started kind of slow but now it's great.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Drakkon
The scene this week when the coach asked the cousler/wife/friend scene was just amazing - not overly dramatic and not overly complicated but still had that human essence which really brought around a good point.

That scene, exactly, was what I loved about this last week. Absolutely normal conversation between normal people. Couldn't you see a father and husband asking his wife those questions in exactly that way? And the kids don't act all enlightened beyond their years like they did in Dawson's Creek and such, they act like kids.

now *spoilers*
it did get a little cheesy and hokey at the end this week though with the coach of the other team going crazy, fans throwing crap, then the police pulling the bus over and the coach defending the guy. the rest of it was pretty good up until that point.

I played high school football in Missouri, not nearly as big a deal as down in Texas, and we had police escorts to and from some of our games. The scene where the crowd was throwing stuff at them? I've had it happen. The refs not making calls... I have never encountered racism like that so I wouldn't know, but it did seem over the top, I'll agree.

However, the way the Mac redeemed himself, I thought, was great. You started to get to where you hated him, and you KNEW they had to resolve that situation to some degree, and that was about as good a way to fix it as any. I was glad they played it like that.