Fresh Loaf

I WILL REMEMBER YOU: Will you remember me?

Everyone else is leaving Dillon, so why not us? Street and Riggins headed for the Big Apple so Street can pursue his dreams. The trip came fully equipped with a fish-out-of-water sequence that had some surprising laughs. Of course, The City is not what MTV has trained the boys to expect (What did they expect? How old is Street now, 19?  And he doesn’t even have a college degree?). Plus, Jason’s sudden desire to become a sports agent was quickly snuffed out.

As the agent points out, this isn’t Dillon, where knowing the boosters is enough to get you a job. But it’s a small world after all, and Jason’s former Panthers teammate-gone-pro ends up being the wedge that opens the door for him after Jason pulls his sweet, terribly sincere, linguistic magic on him. Even though “the applicants for the entry level positions are all Harvard alum,” Jason Street is special. He does have a gift, and since the first episode of “Friday Night Lights” we’ve watched him struggle to find himself and his new identity beyond Jason-Street-high-school-star, and it looks like he’s finally succeeded.

Of course, the Riggins-Street bromance is tested as Tim contemplates the reality of Street’s east coast move. With Riggins’ pain comes much comedy gold, until the heartstring-tugging last scene. But as Riggins himself says, “OK … drop the violin.” There was plenty of other Dillon action this week, however, that actually took place in Dillon.

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NUMBER TWO: Somehow doesn't quite have the same ring to it

One thing I’ve always respected “Friday Night Lights” for is the character of Jason Street. In the pilot, which was based on a true-life situation witnessed by producer Peter Berg, star quarterback Jason Street takes a bad hit in a big game and ends up paralyzed. But the show never ignored him or cast him into the wings (or had him miraculously walk again, egads). As the show’s grown, Street has naturally drifted to the sidelines, as it were, as he becomes less and less a part of Dillon. But “FNL” never shied away from telling the story of a young man who lost his only considered path in life, and the resulting struggles.

Street makes his first appearance of the season this week taking care of the baby he fathered with the waitress Erin. It seems he, his crotchety roommate, and his baby-mama all have an amicable relationship, although Jason yearns for more. It feels like ages since Street was involved with Lyla and the Riggins love triangle, and like Smash, he’s likely to use his greater talents to get out of Dillon pretty soon. Unlike Smash, however, (who was still able to rely on his athletics in the end), Street is an excellent example of what hard work and a passion for life can give you even when you think you’ve lost it all.

OK, enough of the mushy stuff. It was good to see some football action this week. According to Saracen later in the episode, the Dillon Panthers are 3-1. It’s doubtful they’ll play all the games necessary in reality to go to the state playoffs (and we know they will, especially behind JD-Peyton-Manning-McCoy), but I still applaud the effort in at least keeping up the pretense that there’s a football team around which the show is supposed to revolve.

Speaking of defense, some of our other Dillon residents learned this week of the good that can come out of letting down one’s defenses.

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SERIOUSLY: I am sick of hearing about this Jumbotron!

Though we’ve yet to hear the Dillon Panther’s pre-game chorus of “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!” this season, the principles of the phrase were on full display this week. The episode played out as a series of vignettes about battles: choosing them, winning and losing them, and the art of them.

Let’s begin with that juggernaut Jumbotron. On the advice of one Katie McCoy, Tami sets out to “kinda stalk” the school board president in hopes of swaying him in her direction — a tactic already employed by the ever-enterprising Buddy Garrity on the links at the country club. Despite letting her hair down and wearing a summery tank top (I’ve never seen a principal look like that!), Tami’s attempts to woo fell flat as her passions about the Jumbotron funds being more useful to hire back teachers and gain supplies turned her into what Katie McCoy would call “the angry woman nobody likes.” Tami knows here her battle is lost, but Coach Taylor offers some soothing and wise words: “Because you stood up for what you believe in, in that sense you won. At the very least make them feel guilty!”

Then we have the knee-injury-battling Smash Williams, whose narrative arc seems to be coming to a close.  I always thought it a shame that Smash’s character was written so one-dimensionally, even though he showed off some personality while hanging out at Landry’s house when Landry started waxing poetic about his failed relationship with Tyra. Smash says jokingly to Saracen, “Let’s go. It’s getting sad and weird in here and I need to keep my mood up.” Now that Jason Street is gone (though his name is still mentioned in passing, leading me to believe we’ve not seen the last of him), Smash has become Coach Taylor’s pet project. His attentions and support finally paid off this week, with Smash given a chance at a walk-on practice at Texas A&M, proving he still has what it takes to be a winner in all respects. In an emotional final scene, Smash gives a big smile as he moves on to the next stage in his life — one outside of Dillon that includes college — the same dream shared, but not often achieved, by so many of his peers.

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BAD BOY: "I'm going to blindside them with a blog!"

Thanks to the writer’s strike, a plethora of our favorite shows went on hiatus for longer than a fickle public was willing to allow. Shows such as “Eli Stone” and “Pushing Daisies” never recovered from their lost audiences, and “Friday Night Lights” never finished season two. NBC.com, in addition to having all “FNL” episodes on tap from the first two seasons as well as current episodes, is now offering “bonus scenes to help catch viewers up on events that occurred during season two’s “lost” episodes (such as Smash’s injury and Lyla and Tim’s relationship).

Why bring this up? Even as big a fan as I am of the show, I started realizing this week how many plot points I’d forgotten. I wondered if the time between last season and this one was enough to dull my appreciation of the show, or whether the show itself lacks a certain emotional punch. Each episode so far this season has run at a languid pace more attune to a hot Texas afternoon rather than that of a compelling drama. I have come to appreciate, however, the realness of the dialogue. (more…)

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TEAM EFFORT: "Hey y'all … (a newly humble) Smash is back!"

Three of the most lauded aspects of “Friday Night Lights” were on display last Friday with a bunch of fuzzy filler in between. We’ll start with Coach and Mrs. Coach’s relationship  — one of the best, healthiest and most realistic on television — which has always been the glue that holds “FNL” together. There have been one-off times of trial before, but this week we saw some more subtle cracks that might turn into bigger foundational issues (although not too big since this is likely “FNL’s” last season). The hot button? That darn tootin’ Jumbotron. Tami sensibly wants to reallocate the Jumbotron funds to serve the school: for teachers, books, and things she didn’t even realize were on the chopping block, like chalk and soap.  Buddy Garrity and the evil boosters have other ideas, and as Coach Taylor points out, “What Buddy and the boosters want, Buddy and the boosters will get.”

Dillon has always been portrayed as a small, bottom-of-the-barrel, last-leg kind of town, but clearly there are some heretofore unmentioned ritzy suburbs around. Not only do the funds for the Jumbotron appear out of nowhere (and show us there must be some people with money besides Buddy), but also Lyla, in her attempts to civilize the sexy beast that is Tim “Yes I use Google” Riggins, joins her father and some wealthy coevals at a posh restaurant for lunch. Just how posh? They actually serve squab, and not in the way certain places in Texas might serve, say, squirrel.

After the jump, “A vote for Tyra is a vote for hotness!”
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"Are you ready for Friday night?" (Photo courtesy Abc.com)

For the 95 percent of “Friday Night Lights” fans who don’t have DirectTV, the show’s return to NBC has been met with a collective sigh of relief. As the college and pro football seasons sadly slip away, the first sight of Coach and Mrs. Coach accompanied by the familiar Explosions in the Sky theme was a reward unto itself. But the third season’s opener was not about warm welcomes so much as hard truths. Like the start of season two, we find our favorite Dillon denizens going through plenty of changes and thrust into new and unfamiliar situations. Of note: Tyra and Landry broke up; Riggins, the token looks-28-and-takes-weeks-off-school-yet-is-still-18-and-enrolled-year-old, is up to his old drunken tricks; Mrs. Coach is now principal Taylor; and Smash Williams finds himself at a crossroads after knee surgery. (more…)

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