Friday Night Lights - NBC run

Alright, so I ventured into the other FNL thread in hopes of talking about the season premiere on NBC the other night ... but there were too many spoilers and I freaked out and decided to start a thread for anyone out there who missed the DirectTV run.

I thought the premiere was great, it was very nice to have FNL back.

 

Here's what I don't get, at all...anyone who wanted to see Friday Night Lights has already seen it. so what, exactly, did NBC accomplish by selling the first-run rights to the show to Direct TV? I'm sure they made some coin, but I'll bet anything you want it also killed the show, b/c the ratings will sink even lower and the network will have another easy excuse to ditch it.

NBC: Killing good shit since the late 90s.

 

How many times did they redshirt Riggins? This is his 6th year in High School. If you count the number of times he must have been left back in elementary school, Riggins is probably 24 or 25 by now.

But, god damn, I Love Me Some Lyla, Tyra and Julie. And I'm hot for the new principal.

 

I posted on the other thread, but agree that even trying to figure out how "old" the cast was in the first season on some sites is risky. That said, I really enjoyed the episode. The reaction shots of Coach watching Smash highlights, the interaction between Landry and Tyra (we're on a break/we broke up), Buddy being Buddy (about that two game thing? I'm on top of it don't worry). It's always been the little things that make this show great ("so carry the one and.... it will take a 6.1 GPA to go to Texas, and that's going to be tough") ("I've got tiny butterflies" and "so they're like Christian miles").
I'm ready for more.

 

It took me a few minutes to get into it, but not a bad start. Loved the Coach/Smash stuff, especially the racquetball scene that showed Smash that he still has his athleticism in a subtle way. Also enjoyed the angle with Buddy throwing money at the football team while the school was struggling. The stuff with Tyra's school work and her sister was just OK, and I'm not excited about Riggins/Lyla, but I could see that growing on me.

I also have to wonder about the age thing. Did we just assume Riggins, Tyra and that crew were seniors because they were the main story? I guess so, but they HAD to be older than Matt/Julie/Landry, right? That whole thing is kind of weird.

I can only see it getting better with the new QB and dad putting pressure on and pissing off Coach Taylor.

And BYH, my understanding is that the whole issue with this show is that it costs so much to shoot, so the DirecTV deal got them the money they needed to do it. I have to agree that it also probably signed the show's death warrant, but I don't think there was a realistic chance of it coming back anyway.

 

I think we all assumed that Riggins, Tyra, Lyla were all seniors. My wife and I watched Season 1 not long ago - I had seen them before, but she hadn't (I got her addicted on the show during Season 2).

It never came out and said they weren't seniors, but you had to assume with Riggins and Street (a senior) being best friends, and all of them dating each other, that they were.

I don't have DirecTV, and did a good job of not looking at spoilers, so it all seems new and fresh to me.

 

For the record, the guy who plays Riggins is 27. Tyra is 25.

Have to say, the Vegas odds for "key scene involving racquetball" must have been pretty long.

 

I managed to stay away from spoilers, too, though I nearly stumbled on some on the other thread, so thanks to CU for starting this one.
Oh, and I love me some Connie Britton, way back from her days on Spin City.

 

No problem. I read some about crying during the finale and I jumped ship immediately.

I also completely avoided spoilers and anything having to do with the first run of this season.

Classes are a bit of a mystery (or were, it seems things are being more defined this season), but if that is the biggest fault we can find with the show, fine by me.

 

I'd like Adam Sorkin to write a few episodes. Love to see if he can create believable dialog for teenagers yet still remain literate.

Making Connie Britton principal after being guidance counselor for 1 year is a jump the shark moment for me. The show is devolving into a soap opera, Plano 75025.

 

I totally believe making the coach's wife just about anything she wants. This is Texas, and it is high school football. I can also see a series of "real" principals turning down the job because of guys like Buddy, and they have to turn to Tami, in part, because of her relationship with Eric and the rest of the boosters.