Thursday, February 5, 2009

'Friday Night Lights': Best TV series about sports

One reason 'Friday Night Lights' is great? The cast is pretty.

Ron Green Jr. offers five reasons "'Friday Night Lights,: on WCNC-TV Channel 36 tonight at 9, is the best television series ever about sports:

5. To be fair, it doesn't have a lot of competition. There was 'Sports Night' a few years back, a pseudo-ESPN kind of thing, but it disappeared quicker than a Charlotte snowfall. And calling 'Cheers' a sports show because Sam 'Mayday' Malone was a former pitcher doesn’t count.

4. Buddy Garrity. He's the overbearing booster, who spends way too much time watching football practice when he should be selling cars. He's perfectly irritating and like a lot of people who latch on to teams, you wish he'd go away but know he won't.

3. They're pretty. Not just the women, who are beautiful, but the guys, too. (Here's a photo gallery from NBC.com.) You know you're onto something when one of the women on the show, Minka Kelly, is dating Derek Jeter.

2. The coach and his wife. Eric Taylor, played perfectly by Kyle Chandler, is the coach. Tami, his wife played by Connie Britton, is the school principal. You wish they were your real-life friends.

1. It's not just about football. That's the best part. It's about life, not just high school life, in a small town. It uses football but it's more about the people. It reminds you of how good television can be.
Disagree about "Friday Night Lights," or want to offer another contender? Post your thoughts in the comments.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great show. Warms my heart and my loins.

Anonymous said...

Coach was the best, funny and still on in re-runs

Anonymous said...

More people need to discover this show. One of the best on tv!

Anonymous said...

Great show! Hope it gets renewed for another season.

Unknown said...

NBC cancelled it then DirecTV picked it up and did the 3rd season commercial free, it is a good show b/c it doesnt twist and turn too much....just to spoil it, Coach Taylor wont be at Dillon next year (Season 4)...ha ha....cable TV sucks!

Anonymous said...

FNL is my favorite show on tv. It is truly "reality tv" as it is an accurate representation of today's teens, high school life, family struggles. I've used clips from this show at my church to illustrate points. I hope it is brought back for another season. It is a shame it does not get the recognition it deserves.

Anonymous said...

Best Sports show ever: "The White Shadow"

Anonymous said...

This seriously is one of the best shows on TV.

I think NBC screwed them by first having the show in a time slot with other high profile shows and then they moved it to Friday night which is worse..

Anonymous said...

NBC didn't actually cancel it, they were trying to find a way to fit it in. Having spent some time in West Texas, the show is a pretty accurate portrayl of how life and football are one in the same. There's nothing like going into a town that has 5,000 residents where no homes of building have been updated in over 20 years, but the football stadium hold 10,000+ people and is technologically advanced as most college stadiums. This was a show I thought I would hate because I loved the book so much, but just like the movie before it, I think the show is great.

Anonymous said...

Unlike Jon, I don't intend to ruin things for those of you who are on cable instead of DirectTV, but I can say, having already seen all of season 3, that you'll be very happy with the continued top quality of this show. I agree with Daryl that it is one of the most realistic shows on TV right now, and, without question, one of the best shows ever.

Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition said...

West Texas and Football are magically linked for some reason.

Friday night lights is dead on!

The show is Texas big yet its never boring.

I once met a guy who worked in the oil and gas biz, I asked him what he did before he got into the oil biz, and his answer....

"I was a cowboy in West Texas" ... And before that I asked?

Football of course...

Anonymous said...

Best show on TV. Period.

Anonymous said...

I don't even like football and I love this show. It is well written and well produced, with great characters. Let's hope more viewers find it soon before its cancelled.

Anonymous said...

I could never understand how a high school team could win so many games on the last play of the game, I believe I saw one where they won it on a touchdown from 85 yards away. Ohh and they played 8 games the whole year and won the state playoffs????

Anonymous said...

Well written, realistic, and it is not realty TV. As has occurred in previous seasons, FNL runs the risk of being cancelled. Go to: http://www.savefridaynightlights.tv/help.htm to learn how to "keep the lights on" for this program!

Anonymous said...

Best show on television and im a football coach.It really captures what running a team and dealing with kids and parents so realisitic.