Summer TV is awful. There’s no way around it. Every once in a while you’ll find a show that’s worth your time, but for the most part I use the summer to catch up on shows that I’ve been wanting to see for one reason or another. This summer I started watching Friday Night Lights and I just finished Season 1.
Friday Night Lights is a show that, frankly, I’ve avoided for a while. It’s one of those shows where people have set expectations so high that I didn’t see how it could possibly live up to them all. But everybody who has seen the show raves about it. Bloggers, co-workers, family, TV critics… really anybody whose opinion I respect enjoys Friday Night Lights.
So why do I hate it?
Hate may be a strong word, but I was really, really disappointed in it. I was lead to believe that this was a solid show, one that was very well done, but almost everything in it felt like a guilty pleasure show. One that you watch even though it’s just ridiculous. And I’m really confused how I’m the odd man out here.
Now, of course this is predicated on my assumption that the rest of the show is a lot like Season 1. That’s probably wrong. I’m sure it gets better, at least I’d like to think so. But I can’t see how people would love it so much after the first season.
Let’s just jump right into the problems I had with the show. The first is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show with SO MANY unlikable and irredeemable characters. I can group everyone in the show so far into three different groups.
Characters I really liked:
Coach Taylor
Tami Taylor
Tim Riggins
Tyra Collette
Characters that I didn’t like the majority of the time, but had a few good moments:
Landry Clarke
Matt Saracen
Buddy Garrity
Herc
Characters that annoyed the shit out of me all the time:
Lyla Garrity
Julie Taylor
Smash Williams
Jason Street
Waverly
The top group was outstanding and was pretty much responsible for the only parts about the show I enjoyed. But there was only four of them out of 13 that I just named. .308 may be good for baseball, but for a show it’s piss poor.
There’s so many other parts of the show that I hated that it’s impossible for me to get them all down in a coherent manner, so I’m just going to list them in the order they come in to my head.
Every football scene: Particularly the game where the other team is taking “The Longest Yard” type cheap shots at the Panthers and there are no penalties being called. Are you kidding me? But that was just the worst offender. Every second of football action was painful to watch, even up to the reaction shots after the Panthers win the state championship at the last second after overcoming a 0-26 deficit. When that happens, I don’t care who you are, you lose your mind. Completely. Way too many shots of people smiling happily in the stands after that one.
Lyla destroyed her dad’s auto dealership: This was never addressed later. Ever. She smashes something like 5 different cars and wrecks the actual building, but there were no repercussions whatsoever. In fact, she goes back to her dad’s dealership to return the car he gave her, and there’s no mention of it and the place looks fine. There’s a scene later where she drives up behind her boyfriend to see him kissing another girl. I was rooting for her to just slam into his truck and have that just be the thing she starts doing.
The cheating: Lyla cheats on her newly paralyzed boyfriend with his best friend almost IMMEDIATELY, which is like the shittiest thing in the world, but then when other people around her cheat, she acts like it’s the most unforgivable thing ever and immediately cuts those people out of her life. Also, after people find out about Lyla and Tim hooking up, Lyla is immediately shunned as a harlot by all the cheerleaders before their big cheerleading competition and Tim gets his ass kicked and his car beaten in by his teammates. Yes, you read that right. The offensive line beat the crap out of one of their best players during the season because they heard a rumor that he slept with their ex-quarterback’s girl. Who does that? Actually, don’t get me started on the state championship-winning offensive line led by some red-headed chubby kid. Not gonna happen.
High Schoolers: Look, I get that it’s a show about high schoolers and they can’t actually have everyone act like high schoolers, because then everyone would be an idiot instead of just 90% of everyone. But the things they have high schoolers do and say are ridiculous. There’s a scene where Smash, his girlfriend, and their friends sit around a diner talking about what poets they like and reciting poetry. Seriously.
I didn’t hate everything. I loved all interactions between the big four, as I call them. I loved the inspirational moments pertaining to football, like when Coach Taylor takes his team out in the middle of the night to run them and bring them together. But there was so much bad that it overran the good.
I actually forgot that Minka Kelly was attractive, because everything about her, from her voice to the faces she makes are too annoying to see past. Do you understand how difficult that is? So many of these characters just suck. I liked Landry okay, but there was a part where he gets mad at Saracen because he treats him like a punchline, even though everything he had done up to that point was be a punchline. There was no actual depth to him for the first 20 episodes.
Even after all this, I’ll still probably keep watching. I really have to see why everyone loves this show so much. I can’t possibly be the one person I know that thinks Friday Night Lights is stupid. Maybe if I keep watching it will all make sense.
Or maybe you can just tell me why. I seriously want to know why you love this show and why I should love it too.
Somebody please just explain this to me.
First off, I think I’ve already told you that I feel like JJ spoiled me a lot – as did The Wire – in terms of standards I have for a show, what I expect from writers and actors, and how I appreciate a story unfolding. That said, and even though I don’t disagree with anything you wrote, I think the reason why a lot of people love the show is that it reminds them of their high school days. It doesn’t for me because no one is wearing an ugly kilt and there are – how you say? – boys. But Lyla being such a terrible person reminds people of that selfish, unaware, spoiled girl they knew in high school. And they love to hate her now that they are older because back in high school they couldn’t or they would’ve been shunned or wouldn’t have been cool. In other ways, the show is wish fulfillment in remembrance for a lot of athletes who never had a better time in life than when they played high school football – or for frustrated athletes who see the dreams they never had come ‘true’ through the show’s storyline. I haven’t watched all the seasons, but I liked most of this last one because it focuses a lot on coach, his wife, and some new characters who seem really real to me. (The amazing kid who played Wallace is a main character.) And the show (I think) has become more of a tiny mirror of what the country is going through now. Things all worked out that first season. But they don’t this one. They should, but they don’t. I admire a show that can do that, that can make you care about characters, that gives actors a chance to improvise most of their lines, that is both entertainment that makes you smile and makes you ache a bit. If I’m right, the show kind of grows up as the seasons go on – like we do in high school, with our outsize pain, our uncertainty, our glimmers of who we will be coming through in the character we show (or don’t) in high school.
Best argument I’ve heard yet. I mean, it’s the only argument other than “shut up, Friday Night Lights is awesome!” but I still thought it was right on. I think this show just isn’t for me. I’m spoiled too, and other than fondly remembering what it was like to be part of a team, I don’t have much/any nostalgia from high school. High school just annoys me, which is why I doubt I could ever fully appreciate this show.
It sounds like it finds it’s way in the later seasons, but I’m not sure I have the stamina to get that far. It kills me, but I think I can just accept that there will be one show people really enjoy that I just can’t rally around for some reason (actually, two, sorry Mad Men). Maybe I’ll give FNL another shot down the road, who knows. Thanks for trying to explain it to me, though.
First of all, if you haven’t already I would highly suggest you pick up and read Buzz Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights before proceeding any further. You need to get a better understanding of the Texas High School Football culture and everything that goes into it.
Next in regards to the football scenes. I can’t think of sports-related TV show that has ever had better action shots. Yeah the whole “we win every week on the last play of the game” deal gets a little old, but if you continue to watch it more becomes an inside joke than an actual criticism. But if you really think the football itself is horrible I don’t know what you’re comparing it to because I’ve never seen anything better.
In regards to Lyla destroying the auto dealership. There were a lot of unaddressed issues in the show as it matured and its writers and staff got better along the way. If you continue watching you’re no doubt going to absolutely loathe the improbable plot line of series two regarding Landry and Tyra. But I promise if you hold out till season three you’ll be rewarded. If I could offer any support for it, it’s that Buddy was never going to make a big issued about all that because he was trying to keep the matter quiet and (finally) accept responsibility for being a horrible dad. I think anyone can relate to wanting to just move on after they’ve done something horrible.
You’re sorely mistaken on the Lyla cheating on Street arc not being important to the show. The show with the website that was set up to slam her for doing it is one of the most important shows in FNL’s history and touches on some very serious issues that teenagers deal with now. Go back and re-evaluate your thoughts there and come back with a better argument that it was “like the shittiest thing in the world.” In regards to the linemen going after Riggins, again your ignorance on football and its culture comes shining through. Linemen always protect their quarterback. It’s one of the unwritten rules of the sport and a totally plausible occurance.
I was hoping you’d bring to light some better criticisms than “some of the characters just suck” or superficial criticism like Lyla’s voice is taking away from your viewing pleasure. The show had a minimal budget and had to cast a show featuring what you would presume to be many, many people. I openly admit this is not The Wire, but it seems to me you’re stuck on the idea that all shows should be built in the David Simon mode and that anything short of that isn’t up to par.
Don’t bother with it. I watched the whole series just waiting to see what was so awesome. It just gets worse and more cliched. Jason Street becomes a sports agent in NYC in what would be his junior year of college and I have always said the show was basically the original 90210 with two great people (the Taylors) and better production value.
Please tell me a show where you like every character. Then please tell me how much you would enjoy a show if every character was agreeable and you didnt have conflict with some characters sometimes.
This show nails the emotional levels of adolescents and adults in a small town that is a one ring circus but which many people believe doesnt define them. Sure, there are continuity flaws… and things that seem far fetched… and maybe the football doesnt resemble real life games, but I doubt Minka Kelly resembles real life high school girls. You need to watch it with a grain of salt and you need to watch the show without scrutinizing the minutiae
I have done the same thing you have, never watched the show until this summer (Netflix stream through the Wii). I agree with every one of your criticisms, and yet I am totally sucked it! Last week my wife, my 13 year old daughter and I watched 8 episodes in one day, one after the other. (Rainy July 4 after a big weekend at the pool.) The great thing is that I am fine with my daughter watching it with all the sex and drinking, because the girls always get hurt and spend a lot of time crying. Those subjects are not glorified at all.
I agree on the comment on needing to truly understand TX football – all the way down to the HS level. I’m not sure I agree with it as vehemently as that overall comment was posted, mind you, but I do agree with it. It’s something I saw when I was _10_ years old living outside of Dallas, far from the small-town, football-is-all-we-have Dillon in the show.
The writers get caught up in the “let’s be gritty” stuff a bit too much, I agree, and “gritty means lots of drama.” But the transformation of Lyla coupled with the much longer (keep watching, into future seasons) transformation of Buddy, and how the former finally lets his emotions through and seeks help from others for advice – can you imagine this football booster, big-headed guy being vulnerable and admitting failure? – is an interesting parallel storyline. The Lyla part tris to hard to be the petulant teen version, I agree. Destroying the whole dealership, virtually, is a big deal. But that kind of rage, followed by what you’ll see in later seasons is an interesting journey.
I think some of the action scenes are really quite amazing, and it’s the power of the relationships between Coach and Tammie and even between the players that add to that. I like that not every play is an NFL-quality kind of thing (of course it can’t be in HS) but they manage to make a compelling game each week, I think. Also remember that this is fundamentally about overcoming the odds on the field, so ultimately Taylor has to win more often than not.
As the season and perhaps future seasons go on, I suggest you look for those moments where good writing captures the kind of interpersonal connections that most shows just flail away.