The Captivating Glare of 'Friday Night Lights'

In the pilot episode of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” after a star football player suffers an injury on the field, the new coach in town, Coach Taylor, narrates the end of the episode while members of the football community visit the hospital where that player has been moved. In a voiceover, he states, “Life is so very fragile…We must carry this in our hearts: that what we have is special–that it can be taken from us. And that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls.” Several weeks ago, the third season of “FNL” was released on DVD and if you have not seen this program, this summer is a great time to catch up on this phenomenal show which showcases the daily tests that the characters in the community of Dillon, Texas face on and off the football field.

I only started watching the critically acclaimed program last year and since then I have purchased all three seasons on DVD. Readers and viewers might be familiar with the overall idea of the show because before there was a television show, there was a popular book and a feature film (with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach) with the same name. Even if you have not read the book or watched the film (and even if you do not like football), the show is well worth seeing.

“Friday Night Lights” takes place in Dillon, Texas, where at the beginning of the program, the new high school football coach arrives in the community with his wife and teenage daughter. The show revolves around the lives of Coach Taylor’s family, the football team, and members of the Dillon community who show up on Friday nights to watch the team play. Coach Taylor’s new football team is tested from the beginning of his tenure. For instance, Matt Saracen, who is played superbly by Zach Gilford and who is one of the stars of the football team, has faced many tests during the show. From the loneliness that he feels partly because his mother is not around and his father is in Iraq, to his daily responsibility of taking care of his aging grandmother, Saracen is seen throughout the show facing major tests that are easily relatable–this is one of the reasons the show succeeds. The characters are not stereotype jocks playing on a grassy field or sitting in the bleachers; they are well-developed members of the Texas community who often make mistakes and deal with the consequences of them.

Critics loved the first season and third season which concluded it’s run on NBC a few months ago. However, the much-criticized second season is worth seeing too because even though the plotlines did not live up to the expectations set in the first season, the show was always captivating and well written during that year.

“Friday Night Lights” is one of the best shows I have seen in the past couple of years but it has struggled to get big ratings (although it was recently renewed for two more seasons).

This show explores the personalities of its strong characters (played by great actors like Gilford, Kyle Chandler, and Connie Britton). The latter two of those actors deserve Emmy nominations according to Entertainment Weekly’s own Michael Ausiello who had them on his dream ballots for best actor in a drama and best supporting actress in a drama, respectively.

“FNL” is an often-brilliant depiction of a football community that often celebrates at the football field under the glare of Friday night lights.

(The first three seasons of the program are now on DVD and the highly anticipated fourth season will air on DirecTV first and then is scheduled to run on NBC in the summer of 2010.)