I talked a great deal in the past about Friday Night Lights, a show that I should not give a shit about given the facts that I neither care about Football or High school. Well, the show runner of that masterpiece of underrated television had his hand in reviving something else. Parenthood
Parenthood is now a show.. again. Yes, this is a show based on the 1989 movie, that had a short run TV series on NBC in 1990. I'm sure if this one fails, in 2040 there will be another Parenthood series. It's just the way that the world works. If you recall during the Olympics, two shows got heavy advertising on NBC. One of them was The Marriage Ref, which apparently is the kind of smug, elitist, "let's all laugh at the know-nothing schmucks" entertainment that midwesterners with a Nelson ratings box tend to accuse Hollywood folks like myself of priding themselves on. It started out strong but may not last the test of time.
The other is Parenthood.
Which as I addressed, is a show based off an old movie.. a 20 year old movie. The act of bringing this show to air was troubled, to put it nicely. Soon after the pilot was shot and the show was ordered, original star Maura Tierney was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to drop out. She was replaced by her friend Lauren Graham and the show had to be reshot and pushed off the fall schedule.
And if that wasn't enough, during these re-shoots, an NBC executive dropped dead of a brain aneurysm while visiting the set. I'm sure I'll let snoops start and debunk any rumors of this production being haunted. So even though it has all this history behind it, I'm sure that you're wondering what this show is all about.
Well...it's about...parenthood, I guess?
Seriously, though, it's based on the excellent movie from Ron Howard. It follows three generations of The Braverman Family as they deal with, well, each other. It's a family drama, guys; it doesn't lend itself well to synopsis and it's sold on the strength of the cast.
And look at this fucking cast:
Peter Krause
Lauren Graham
Erika Christensen
Dax Shepard
Craig T. Nelson
Bonnie Bedelia
And the lead writer is none other than Jason Katims.. The whole reason why Friday Night Lights is an amazing show in itself. That should have grabbed your attention and told you exactly what to expect, didn't it?
Yeah, you do. You've just told me that NBC's going to repeatedly fuck it over on scheduling and advertising.
NBC's putting it on after one of their best performers, The Biggest Loser.
But NBC doesn't GET good television! Surely the show must suck!
I thought there was a chance of that too, but lo and behold, people seem to be digging it. Granted, there are others who dismiss the show as too schmaltzy. They might have a point, but I'm a huge sap and I have enjoyed it so far on a weekly basis. I have to say that I firmly believe this is one of the best casts I've seen in a long time. There isn't a time where I'm bored about who is on the screen, each of the characters have something going on that I care about and all of the stories are compelling in themselves.
NBC president: "It's gratifying that 'Parenthood' continues to garner critical acclaim and is generating highly positive reaction from viewers, thanks to the fearless creativity of its producers"
While I think it may be a little much to call it fearless or even very creative. It's sort of like they're serving me good chocolate chip cookies at exactly the right temperature. It's throughly satisfying and makes me very happy, but it's not like the idea of a warm chocolate chip cookie is breaking new ground. Part of the reason this show is so enjoyable is because it's familiar and they do what they know we will like good.
I can't say I have been surprised by the way the stories have been going. All of them seem to be telegraphed a good two or three episodes down the line. But again, that's not a bad thing. I work in the film industry and I just have read so many scripts and worked on so many shows already that I just have a gut feeling on how things go. As for her next clause, though, "and the extraordinary performances delivered by its ensemble cast." is definitely true.
I suppose there's always hope that if it doesn't get picked up for season 3 and on, DirecTV will be happy to pick it up.
I'm talking about shows here, people. Don't think for a second I'm actually talking about parenting advice. I mean, wait.. What? I like two shows that I have no interest in the subject matter. Parenthood? While I'm not opposed to the idea of having a family function less crazy than my own, I'm barely in my 30's now and the idea of having a kid is still one that is a long while away from.
Then there's football, which I have zero interest in and I didn't really even know the rules of the sport prior to watching this show. Maybe I've been to one football game in high school and I went to a raiders game that scarred me for life when I was really young, but that seems to be all the exposure that I have had into this subject matter. And yet two shows based on the very subject matter I have no interest in are some of my favorite TV shows to date and it's all because of who is behind it. Jason Katims.
Tonight marks the return of Friday Night Lights. Though if you're like me, you've already watched this season on DirecTV and I must say, it was one hell of a season. If I can take your attention for a few minutes and peak your curiosity on what is one of the best shows on TV right now, right up there with Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Doctor Who, Parenthood, and Treme. If it were still on TV, I'd even invoke The Wire.
Okay, let's not say things we can't take back.
I don't intend to.
What the fu...you're serious. You're actually goddamned serious. Are you...the fucking shows are on NBC!
Exactly. It's a neglected show on NBC. This is a football show, right? And they had the Super Bowl in 2009? Not one ad for this show played during the game.
...Go on.
Look, I'm not going to pretend that this is just like the shows I namedropped (although perhaps you could draw some parallels to Treme). It's not grim or edgy, the lead protagonist isn't all that mysterious, and as near as I can tell (I wouldn't be surprised if somebody challenged me on this), there isn't some grand theme being laid out like "the triumph of the institution over the individual".
So exactly what does this show have going for it?
Straight up, the best developed cast of characters this side of David Simon, making for the some of the most emotionally arresting television you've ever seen.
Okay, I'm intrigued, what's the show about?
The short version? It's about a high school football team in West Texas.
Okay, okay, hold up. High school? You're trying to tell me that one of the best shows on TV travels the same fertile ground as the early years of fucking One Tree Hill?
Oh, no, this is mostly different.
Mostly?
We'll get to that, but before you make up your mind, hear out the long version:
High school is indeed silly for most of us. It's kind of a social training ground that we push through before we move onto college and beyond, dealing with bigger issues that are usually worth complaining about, even if the problems we faced back then seemed so daunting at the time. The same feels true about most TV shows that focus on teens. They seem to have these big problems, but they're young and their families are well off; you watch shit unfold, and sometimes you can't help but ask "In the grand scheme of things, what the fuck is the big deal?"
Dillon, Texas, the fictional town where the show is set, might as well be in the middle of nowhere. Most of the people who live in the town hover somewhere between lower-class and middle-class. Most of these kids aren't going on to college because their families can't afford it - their best hopes lie in scholarships. Otherwise they're going to take a bullshit job in this backwater town, and they're most likely going to die doing it.
To the lot of us, high school is the beginning of a hopefully long journey. Friday Night Lights takes us into a far-too-real world where high school is as good as it's ever going to get for most people. And the way to make the most of it is to play football.
As I mentioned, Dillon is pretty much somewhere in the vast expanse of West Texas. The nearest city is about a two hour drive, and that leaves its residents with very little to do for recreation, aside from minor things like going to movies, bars, strip joints, or just getting drunk in some abandoned area and shooting shotguns. The most excitement this town sees is during a Friday Night Football Game.
During football season, the town's mood for the week depends on whether their high school Football team, the Dillon Panthers, wins or loses on Friday night, and the town's mood during the off-season depends on if they can bring home a State Championship. To give them the best possible chance at success, the team boosters raise gobs of money for football programs to train kids from a young age and give them all the best equipment, forgoing all other educational needs. The rest of the town does favors for team members when they're winning and shuns them when they're losing.
All of this has the intended effect: the team is good enough to build a massive reputation and attract scads of college recruiters to the town, enticing players with full scholarships to their universities. This feeds the machine even further; parents want the best for their kids, and the best shot they have at a future outside of Dillon is through being on a great football team.
Ultimately, the hopes and dreams of this entire town rests on the shoulders of a bunch of 14-18 year-old boys.
And they don't always handle it that well.
Damn...that's...damn.
Yeah, I know.
That can't just be it, though. What else can you tell me?
Culled mostly from my DirecTV experience:
I mentioned that the show had an amazing cast of characters; allow me to go into more detail.
Now I can't get into everybody. It's fucking impossible. The weakest link in the chain is made of steel, and who it is always depends on who you ask. Frankly, everybody kicks ass in this show. From Matt Saracen as the proverbial good kid with the world on his shoulders, to Tim Riggins as the badass fullback who would probably be The Dude if he wasn't built like a goddamn tank, to Landry Clarke as the goony kid fronting a Christian speed-metal band (Crucifictorius), to the girl he worships, Tyra Colette, afraid of turning into her white trash mother and sister...I don't know how to go on with this cast. We haven't even gotten into Jason Street and Smash Williams. You'll discover them as you get into it, and you'll pick your favorites. If you really want to know more about other cast members and their appeal, feel free to ask in the thread if you don't mind dodging spoilery season 4 discussion (you can always PM me if you want).
There is one guy I can and want to focus on, though: the de-facto leader of this ensemble, the one that embodies the very soul of this show.
As far as television role models go, Kyle Chandler's Eric Taylor is less in the tradition of a Bill Adama and more like Atticus Finch if he was a hardass Texas football coach instead of a passionate Alabama lawyer. He's got a dry sense of humor, a great heart, boundless energy, and the ability to pull a St. Crispian's day speech directly out of his ass when necessary. His character flaw? He's the nicest, most respectable alpha male in Texas, but he's still an alpha male. FNL likes to remind us every now and then that Taylor is not above copping a bull-headed attitude to a situation or even throwing down to defend his family's honor (with his face).
And for the record, his wife Tami (played by Connie Britton) kicks just as much ass and is a wonderful character in her own right.
One thing I have yet to touch on: the presentation. The cinematography is mostly handheld, and the shooting is usually on location. The crew has as many as three cameras rolling at once for any given scene, allowing the actors to improvise as if on stage (as opposed to blocking out their movements to keep their performances in the proper areas of the frame). This lends a more realistic air to the proceedings, and the dialogue is written to further enhance the presentation: it's quotable, but it's not a Whedon-esque quip-fest.
It sounds gimmicky in its own right, and of course those of you who are violently allergic to handheld camerawork are going to wish that we all went and fucked ourselves, but after a few episodes (if not the first episode you see) it feels right.
Are you from Texas and tired of how Hollywood constantly seems to get Texas wrong? This show is perfect for you.
Okay, all that sounds great. So what's this "mostly" business about?
There was a brief slump in writing quality during Season 2. It was still great television, but the spoiler-free version is, it started playing to baser instincts. A lot of people who watch it after Season 1 end up hating it. Honestly, I'm not one of them - I was able to enjoy it for what it was, and there are a few other people that feel the same way - but I do agree that it's a weaker season overall.
If you go ahead and watch this show from the beginning, I still recommend you try to push through season 2, as there's a few memorable performances and scenes that make it worth your while.
Season 4 of FNL shares some similarities with season 4 of The Wire. New location, new stars, new situations - fans of each show came into the respective seasons with reservations which seemed reasonable at the time but turned out to be unfounded.
I'm not going to spoil much except to say that Zach Gilford and Michael B. Jordan are phenomenal this year. Everyone is as usual, but these are the two standouts to me. Also, the crew continues to use authentic Austin TX locales for Dillon haunts. Keep an eye out for a certain BBQ joint and see if you can't find it in Google maps like I did.
Okay, sold. How do I catch up?
If you have Netflix, all three seasons (1, 2, and 3) are available for instant viewing.
Episodes are available through iTunes (link takes you to the first season in SD, check links on the right hand side for links to HD episodes and other seasons), the Playstation Network, and XBox Live for $2 a pop ($3 in HD). Great way to give the show a trial run if you've got pocket change to burn.
This week was one of goodbyes. When I wrote about D-day I didn't think I was asking to be parted with so many things that are meaningful to me. But here I am having to say goodbye to a lot of things. Don't know what I mean? Well then, let's see what we all lost this week.
Gil Grissom
I like to consider myself witty. I also like to blame my diet not working due to my stomach jumping out of my body while I sleep and consuming all of the food in the fridge. Both accusations have no facts to back them up.
Gil Grissom provided us awesome one liners for the opening of the original CSI. Making us laugh at the death of others in a way that DOESN'T get you funny stares. He was the serious face on the show that could often surprise you with something comical. Like your angry grandpa Joe who served one too many tours during WWII and he's seen more than a man should. But every once in a while he'll start cracking up about someone getting kicked the crotch.
We'll miss you Gil. Even though we have endless chances to see you on SPIKE or anywhere else that shows CSI in heavy syndication, not getting new one-liners to laugh about is going to be hard.
Ricardo Montablan
You may have known him from Fantasy Island. I and other nerds knew him as KAAAAHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNN! Yes, that's right. Kahn has past away. I wonder if he was buried in that terrible chest piece that he used in Star Trek 2: Wrath of Kahn. We'll miss you Kahn. I don't think there was anything nerds liked to scream out more than your character's name.
Friday Night Lights
I'm not a football fan. Maybe it has something to do with going to a Raiders game at a young age and seeing a massacre -Not on the field but in the parking lot. Those tailgating Raider nation fans are brutal. I really just shrugged off Football. Give me Baseball or Basketball any day. I didn't care for High School sports either. So why the hell do I even watch a show about this sport?
Even with that apathy for Football I have to say that I love Friday Night Lights. The show, while highlighted with High school football, still is one of the best written dramas on TV. Well.. that was on TV. Ok, it's still on TV, but it's like a new Tupac record, recorded long since being dead.
DirecTV made a deal with NBC to show the entire third season of this show before it started airing on NBC yesterday. So on Wednesday DirecTV aired the final episode of the season and yesterday NBC finally aired the first episode of the season. Ratings are going to be poor as anyone who wanted to see it, has already done so. It'll be a show not to get renewed. After watching the final episode I have to say it's one of the best shows around. It left an opening for season 4 but I'm fully prepared to be happy with it as the series closure. Goodbye great football drama.
Pushing Daisies
ABC... how dare you? HOW DARE YOU! You bring back Scrubs, a show that has lost so much of the fun over the years but you wont keep a critically acclaimed show? While not officially pushing up daisies yet, ABC has pushed the remaining THREE episode back to possibly summer or just doomed to be released like Wonderfalls and Firefly, to be seen only on DVD.
Fuck you ABC. Seriously. I want to see the remaining three episodes. It could provide closure. Well.. no it can't. I'm sure I'll want more like a crack fiend and I should get used to the good shows getting shit-canned. But it doesn't make the pain any less knowing this show is now pushing up daises. Now if only Ned touched the show bringing it back to life.
Prison Break
Fox has decided to not renew this show for next season and to be honest, I don't blame them. It was a guilty pleasure at best but I still liked it. Not because it was terrible Fox television. But because it was terrible Fox television. You see, that's job security for me. If Fox has pure evil programing I know it'll be on for a while. Opposed to GOOD television shows that will get canceled long before their time. As to not piss on my NDA, I'll say that prison break did provide me plenty of cash and job security. Not having another season to latch onto next season, well I'm sure there will be more shows to attach onto for a quick production buck.
Takashi Siato
After Eric Gagne broke my heart and went to a shit ton of different teams I was afraid to love a closer again. Then Takashi Siato came along and played one hell of a game. Pitching out the side and actually replacing the void that was left from the lack of Welcome to the jungle being played at the bottom of the 9th. He was good, damn good. So much that I didn't even throw away the bobble head they gave of him at the gate on that promotion night. If you know me, you'd know that bobbling headed toys give me the creeps... or at least mock me in ways that they otherwise shouldn't.
But then the heart break happened again. He went ahead and left me...er.... I mean Us, the dodger fans. He left us dodger fans and was picked up in deal with with the Boston Red Sox. Which leads me to ask when will the Dodgers sign Manny? With Siato, Penny and Lowell gone the pitching staff is going to be in bad shape. At least we can have some good hitters on the team. Come on Dodgers, get the big guns signed already!
Indie 103.1 For the last five years this Radio station, like Y-107 before it, challenged KROQ for Alternative mundaneness. And like those previous challengers, this one is now dead and buried in its turn to a Spanish language radio station. Welcome El Gato! Sure you're not going to play El Sex Pistoles, but then again, Indie 103.1 has been sort of selling itself out for a while. So this move is simply them tossing in the towel and just sticking to internet only in the pre-sell out format. Going internet only is going to cost them a lot of profit loss, but they'll keep that indie street cred.
As with anything once it dies you look back to the good days. I recall the first days of the station. Without DJ's it was amazing. They had special guest DJ's like Rob Zombie, Henry Rollins and The Crystal Method all running their own shows. It was great. Very few ads and a playlist that wasn't governed by the top 40.
At the very least Indie 103.1 FM went out the way it wanted to. When it's all said and done, not many of us can say they'd go out exactly the way they'd expect to. Many times you end up dying in some way you'd be rolling in your grave (literally!) knowing you went out like that. So for that, I tip my hat. Way to go out Your own way
And finally....
Batman He's dead. Well, as dead as any comic book character can be. I'm a huge Batman fan and well, it was pretty hard. God damn you Morrison! I think this has been well covered already. So I'll just grab the tissues and cry myself to sleep now. Where did I leave that bottle of Jack Daniels?
The old saying about how when God closes one door, he opens a window to push you out of is true. This week also is the week Battlestar Galactica comes back. Hell.Frakkin.YEAH! Only it's the last season of it. So it's just more proof that everything you love will come to an end. Some things sooner than others. Enjoy them while they last.
And no sooner than this masterpiece of a television show is back am I tempted to go grave digging to pick off the spoils. Like most other grave robbers, I have no ethical scruples with grabbing the loot before the body turns cold as many will go to the big BSG auction in Pasadena this weekend. NBC has embraced the idea of making as much money as possible. If this means selling off meaningless props that will collect dust in the prop room instead of use them for some theme park ride, then by all means they'll do it that way.
Believe you me, I worked for Universal and they'll gladly do whatever they can to save a buck here and there. Now if there's one thing about me, it's that I love props. I usually raid the prop department whenever I can get away with it. Sneaking off with props of canceled shows like a looter in New Orleans... I mean... whaaa?
But as tempted as I am to go piss away money this weekend, I'm not sure if I should. DineLA week is coming up and good food does sound like a better investment than the wall paneling of corridor 5 leading to Commander Adama's room. Besides, I think I have some bad ass props as it is. I mean, check this out. It's prop hero gun used in season 1 when they had all those funky looking unrealistic guns. Not only that, but it's signed by Lee "Apollo" Adama himself.. OOoOOOOoooh yeah! I'm a nerd.
How you frakkin' like me now, yo!
So as bittersweet it is to lose all these things in such a short time span. But there's always something new and exciting in the horizon and I personally can't wait to climb that ridge and take a glance at all that. Exciting new days ahead. A week of goodbyes followed by new Hellos.
Once was a writer, tho, you see words to your left, so I guess I'm still that to some degree.
You can find my scribbles and mind ranting on this and various other places as a means to keep the creative, satirical and costco talk muscles worked out.
Was once apart of the tv industry, but I'm sure the NDA's are still in effect so let's move on from that. Now I spend my time slinging beer and keeping a building in one piece.
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