FEATURES
TV show about Texas football mimics real life
Every fall there are countless new television shows trying to find a place in America’s living rooms. Many fizzle out after an episode or two, finding it difficult to land permanent rotation on the major networks.
One new show this fall, however, is likely to become a staple in NBC’s rotation for quite some time.
Friday Night Lights, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name by author H.G. Bissinger, is new to NBC’s fall lineup.
The show is phenomenal. Made for the small screen, the series is an adaptation of the major motion picture. Brian Grazer, who produced the film, is also co-producer of the series.
From the moment the show begins, a strong relationship with the cast of characters can be felt. The show follows a high school football team in a small west-Texas town where winning is the only thing that matters.
The kids on the team have been taught their entire life that playing football in Texas is the only thing that matters. The pressure the young athletes endure can be felt through watching.
The best part of the show is the raw emotion. The characters and their scenarios, from a coach with the pressure of an entire town on his shoulders, to a young quarterback thrust into the spotlight, are so easily identifiable.
The drawback to the show is that the football scenes, while very realistic, seem to be cut rather short due to the allotted time of the show, but it works because of such a solid storyline. The writers for Friday Night Lights do a tremendous job of bringing the audience into the story.
Friday Night Lights premiered Oct. 3, airs Tuesday nights on NBC.
Editor’s Top TV Picks
“24”
“Dog the Bounty Hunter”
“Flavor of Love”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“The Office”
“America’s Next Top Model”
“Battlestar Galactica”
“House”
“Lost”
Volume 44, Issue 4. Today is
NBC’s new drama about small town football stars from left, Taylor Kitsch, Minka Kelly, Scott Porter, Zach Gilford, Kyle Chandler and Gaius Charles. The show picks up where the movie left off - that football and winning is everything, at least in west Texas. The show, which will air on Tuesday nights, is sure to offer other lessons. in life.
Photo courtesy NBC