TV Review: Friday Night Lights -- Season 1 (2006)

Background:

Director: Jeffrey Reiner

Cast: Kyle Chandler (Eric Taylor), Connie Britton (Tami Taylor), Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen), Aimee Teegarden (Julie Taylor)

Genres: Drama, Sport

Hello everyone. I just want to preface this by saying this is probably in my top 3 favorite TV shows of all time. And I watch a lot of TV. I actually started watching this on Netflix a couple weeks ago and found out after a couple of episodes that it was based on a book. Now I started reading the book a day or two ago and I just couldn't get through it. I think it was because I had a lot of high expectation going into it because I adore the TV show and the characters. Let me tell you, the TV show is very loosely based on the book and I just wasn't expecting that. So I decided that I wasn't going to finish the book and make the decision that I like the TV show better than the book (and I know that's a very unpopular opinion so don't come after me). Also as a side note, my sister might have broken our laptop so the upload schedule might be a little wonky and I'm pretty sure I'm leaving August 2 for my grandparents so I'll try my best and try to figure out to set a time for a post to go up.

Plot and Thoughts:

This show follows around some of the players and the coach from the Dillon Panther High School Football Team. I myself don't care about football that much but this show is so much more than that. It tackles ideas like race, class, mental disorders, religion, relationships, sex, and sexual assault all in the first season. I will be watching the rest of the 4 other seasons on Netflix so expect more reviews, because I already have a lot to say about this first season. I actually even look forward to the football scenes and I'm just obsessed with this show. It has a Texas small town feel and it makes me really happy just watching it. You can really see how much a town relies on their football team and it was shocking watching it coming from my POV where my town doesn't come close to their atmosphere.

Characters:

I guess this part will be a little spoilery but I love these characters so damn much that I need to talk about each one. I'm not giving away plot spoilers obviously but I just want to talk about these characters so proceed with caution (but it won't be major stuff that I'm spoiling just to clarify). So grab some fuzzy socks and a snack and listen to me rambling about my faves.

The Taylor family: I love Coach Eric Taylor so much. I mean besides the fact that he's really good looking for a dad, he's so funny and you can really tell that he cares about the boys on the football team. I also loved when he gets mad at Matt Saracen because it's just so great and awkward. I'm nervous about this next season of the show though, for specific reasons and I can't get over it right now.

Julie Taylor reminds me so much if myself, especially at the beginning. She gets annoyed at her dad for being the coach but I think she secretly likes it. She loves reading and she likes to keep to herself. She's so precious and I don't want her to grow up.

Tami Taylor is a great mom and she gives advice to just about everyone in the town. She's your shoulder to lean on and an all around great character. I love her so much and I love her and Eric together because they are actually goals and I aspire to have a marriage like theirs one day.

TIM RIGGINS: I don't think I have felt this much attraction towards a character since Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices. I love Tim's storyline so much and he came so far from the beginning when he was drunk 24/7. He's such a big sweet heart when it comes to Bo. I just love Tim Riggins so much and I hope everything works out for him.

Matt Saracen: I love Matt Saracen so much. He's the nice and quiet cute kid who you would never expect to be the quarterback. He cares so much for the people around him, especially his grandma. I commend him so much for being able to go to school, have a job, go to football, and take care of his grandma.

Tyra Collette: I really grew to love Tyra even though she's a bitch to most people. She's so strong and she speaks her mind to you. That Powderpuff Game scene was one of the best things I've ever seen. I mean we got to see Tim Riggins teach girls to play football and we saw Tyra deck Lyla Garrity. Tyra's come so far and I hope everything works out for her in the show.

Jason Streit: I didn't think we were going to keep up with his story after him getting paralyzed in like the first episode. It was so hard to watch him go through this new journey and I've grown to love him even though he's done questionable things to Lyla (I don't even like her shes a whiny spoiled brat). 

Conclusion:

I can't express how much these characters have begun to mean to me. I think the plot works so well and it makes me so happy that I want to pack and move to Texas right now. My reviews for the next seasons will probably have spoilers because like it's hard not to talk about a 2nd season of a show without giving things away. I'm nervous about the next season though after the finale so we'll see how things end up. If this review has not persuaded you to watch the show then you're really missing out on amazing show and frankly I feel bad for you.

I give this first season a 9/10 stars!

★★★★★★★★★☆