Reviews by Matt

Last year there was a television show that was critically acclaimed, but was, mostly ignored by the general public. The show was “Friday Night Lights” and the five people who watched it loved it. In an unprecedented move, NBC renewed the show for a second season despite the low ratings.

At the end of last season the hometown football team, the Dillion Panthers, had won the state championship. Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) had gotten and accepted a college head-coaching job in Austin. Tami (Connie Britton), his pregnant wife, and his daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) stayed behind so Julie could finish high school. Meanwhile the team got a new coach and ex-quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter), who suffered severe spinal injury in the first game of the previous season, has become an assistant. Quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), star running back “Smash” Williams (Gaius Charles) and tight end Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) are looking to repeat last year’s success.

What I loved about this show last year was the fact that it was a show about a football team and not about football. It was more about the team and the people around them. Dillon is a small town and football means everything. When Coach Taylor lost one game last year, the town was calling for him to be fired. Then, when he accepts a job elsewhere, they are angry that he was so successful and just left them after they had won a championship. Football is everything in Dillon and the town rallies around the Panthers every Friday night as they play.

Last year the show focused a lot on Coach Taylor and his family as they dealt with the pressures of his job. This year, the show looks to focus on more than just the Taylors. The first episode of this season centered on Tyra (Adrianne Palicki). Someone who attacked her earlier is stalking her and she fears for her safety. Landry (Jesse Plemons) is her tutor and also has a crush on her. The two have become friends since he began helping her with her schoolwork and he hopes to take the relationship even further. When they go out to get some snacks, Tyra is approached by her stalker and he gets attacker her. When Landry comes out of the store he tries to fight off her attacker and smacks him in the back of the head with a piece of wood. The attacker falls to the ground dead. The next few episodes look to deal with this event affecting Trya and Landry.

From a few interviews I have read, I got the impression that they were going to stray from the formula of last year. The show will be moving away from football and focusing more on the personal struggles of the players and Dillon residents. It seems they are doing this because the show received no Emmy nominations and that if they do it this way, next year they will get some. This could turn out to be a really bad idea. Much of the charm of the show was the football and the players. It was interesting to see the practices and than at the end to the show see the game and how the personal struggles were left off the field and they came together for those two hours on a Friday night.

Even with these changes, the show is still one of the best on television. The critics love it yet no one is watching. I think that if given the chance, this show could be very successful. Like a “Melrose Place” or “Beverly Hills 90210” for the new minimum. The drama is there. The great cast is there. All it needs is you to start watching.

“Friday Night Lights” airs every Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC.