About a month ago, I issued a plea to you Bloggers out there to start watching a new show called "Friday Night Lights". I've been waiting in fear ever since for the network to can it, as there have been rumblings of poor ratings and low audience numbers, but so far, it has prevailed. It has quickly become one of my favourite shows, so tonight, I'm going to start my "Friday Night Lights" re-caps, and I hope that some of you might start watching it.
A little bit of back-story first to catch you all up on what you've been missing:
The show revolves around a high school football team in Dillon, Texas, but as I mentioned in the past, it's about more than just football. The team is under new leadership in Coach Taylor, who is adjusting to the pressures of being under such scrutiny from everyone in the town, from the mayor, to local businessmen, to parents, to small school children. In the first game of the season, stud quarterback Jason Street was hit hard and left a parapalegic. This put young Matt Sarracen in unexpectedly as QB1, and the school's board had to recruit a Katrina refugee from New Orleans to come in and help out. However, the kid they call Voo Doo has done nothing but disrupt the team and the coach since arriving, forcing Coach Taylor to put Sarracen back in as starting quarterback. As a side story, Street's best friend and teammate Tim Riggins has been wracked with guilt since Street got hurt, as he was the one who was supposed to have been blocking for him at the time he was hit. To add to his guilt and confusion, he's also begun a secret affair with Jason's girlfriend and head cheerleader, Lyla Garrity. Ah, the drama...
And yes, folks, there's enough hot boys in this show to keep me extremely entertained, with Matt Sarracen being my new favourite boy on TV. Jason Street is also pretty hot, even in a wheelchair. And Tim Riggins is a Josh Hartnett look-alike. Yum.
Anyways, this past week, Voo Doo, who hasn't made any effort to fit in with his new teammates due to his negative "I Am The Team" attitude, made some racial slurs at the local diner against one of the team's star players, a hot-tempered boy named Bobby Reyes. Reyes, filled with anger, comes upon some random, innocent boy outside the diner and pummels the crap out of him in frustration. Reyes' teammates rally around him to keep his secret and protect him from punishment, and they turn their cheeks when Reyes tells the media it was this poor, innocent kid who made the racial slurs, spurring him to attack him. However, that darling Matt Sarracen can't keep up the charade and eventually goes to the coach to tell him the truth. I hope this doesn't get Matt into trouble with the rest of the guys, and that they understand his need to confess what Reyes really did, even though it meant the coach had to kick Reyes off the team because of it.
Meanwhile, Jason Street is angry that Tim Riggins hasn't bothered to visit him in the hospital since he was hurt, so he calls his best friend up and orders him to get his ass down there. Tim, of course, is guilt-ridden, knowing he's been enjoying his time with Street's girl a bit too much ever since the accident. It's hard to hate Riggins, though...He just seems so lost and needy. Anyways, he busts Jason out of the re-hab centre, and when Lyla comes along and asks what the two of them think they're doing, Jason simply replies: "Road trip." So Lyla goes with them, and she and Tim make a pact to not act awkward towards each other for Jason's benefit. They go out to the lake, float around peacefully in a boat, then spend the evening around a fire while Jason enjoys the fresh air and dreams of being free again.
Upon Jason's return to the re-hab centre, he is refreshed, rejuvenated, and beaming...Until he glances out the window of his room into the parking lot to see Lyla and Tim engaged in a lengthy embrace. Suddenly, Jason's happiness disappears, as he realizes there's something going on between his best friend and his girlfriend.
I can't wait until next week to see what happens next. Like I said, it's about so much more than football. It's about a small town, and these kids who have so much pressure on them to win. And it's just high school. It's about the coach's struggles, and his determination to teach these boys right from wrong, and balance his family life all at the same time. It's about friends sticking together. But most of all, it's about wanting a life that's better than what a small town high school football team can offer.
I haven't watched too many of the new shows on TV this fall, but I definitely think "Friday Night Lights" is one of the best out there.
You really, really should check it out.
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