Friday Night Lights and 20 Good Years

These are both really, really good shows, one an hour-long drama on
Tuesday nights on NBC, and the other a half-hour sitcom on Thursday

Obveeus...

nights on NBC. The only mis-cast for me is the person who plays the
daughter (can't remember whose she is at the moment). Lithgow is
hilarious and he and Tambour together can't be beat. The writing is
terrific. Try it out.

Friday Night Lights is perfect for Kyle Chandler - so believable. And
the women who play his wife and daughter are also very, very good. I
have to tape this and watch it later as it is on opposite DWTS, and I'm
sort of hooked on that show for the performance nights.

Anyway, FNL is not doing super in the ratings - I would hate to see it
falter, so make a point to watch it. Please. ;-)

Obveeus...

You posted this a day too late. Will the show make it a whole 'nother week
before being cancelled? ;-)

record hunter...

I like FNL, too. But here comes November.

I wish they'd either given it a different name, or run it on FRIDAY
NIGHT.

Steven L....

Let me explain why I chose never to watch it.

First, Friday Night Lights is a football movie, and I'm not a football fan.

Nancy2...

It is mostly about relationships and community, with some football
thrown in.

record hunter...

You can't possibly football more than I do, and I like FNL.

Rhino...

=======^===============================
[ Please insert a VERB in main clause of previous sentence. ]

record hunter...

That would be "hate," thank you very much.

You can't possibly hate football more than I do. (And it's still true.)

Secondly, Friday Night Lights is apparently about the importance of High
School football, but I think today's families are pushing their kids to
do too much sports as it is. Apparently the parents are trying to pad
their kids' resumes, hoping for scholarships and admissions to fancy
universities. And the results have too often been dreadful.

Nancy2...

This is a TV show which is mostly about relationships and community,
and how priorities may clash or mesh.

record hunter...

You can as easily read the opposite into it. One boy's life has been
ruined as the result of his playing football. So far, the show makes a
better case for academic -- rather than athletic -- scholarships.

Why do I want to watch a show like that?

Stick Waver...

Because it shows the underbelly of HS football. After watching this
show, I would never let my son join a HS foorball team, at least in TX.

Steven L....

I see! And if NBC hadn't greenlighted Friday Night Lights, you would
have moved to Texas and had your son join a high school football team
there? NBC has saved your son, eh?

Give me a break.

Obveeus...

By logical extension, it would be wrong to let your son grow up in Texas.
Anyone that cares about their children would move away from that place.

record hunter...

Yeah. Because nothing like that would ever happen in, say, NJ. Ever.

Obveeus...

According to 'Stick Waver' it is a Texas problem. NJ people can't really
get too enthralled by football. They have a couple of pro teams, but
neither of them will even admit to it. Maybe it is because those football
players have a legacy of wearing pantyhose?

Nancy2...

Because it might teach you something about opening up your mind to
other types of personalities and other kinds of lives.

What was wrong with stickball, softball, games where kids from my
generation went to have fun, not to bring "honor" to our communities or
a juicy college scholarship for our families?

Nancy2...

Nothing. That's not what this show is about. You want to blame a
one-hour drama for everything you think is wrong with youth sports
today.

In your case, I'll make an exception - please don't watch FNL, because
it's obvious you won't get anything out of it.