Rewatch Review: Friday Night Lights "Who's Your Daddy?"

"let me tell you something, Your dads not able to see what I see"
　
　
With every passing episode in the first season of Friday Night Lights, we get more in depth on a character that we may not have seen much of in the past. In the episode " Who’s Your Daddy" we get an in depth look at my favorite non coach Taylor character, Matt Saracen. The study of this kid thrust into the spotlight makes for a very strong episode

Matt has so much on his plate that is not football related. His grandma is rapidly losing her battle to dementia. As a person whose own grandmother suffers from dementia, I was so moved by the scene where the cops had to bring home grandma Saracen because she wandered over to a neighbors house. Now for a kid Matt’s age, high school and caring for you sick grandmother is a full load in itself, but it doesn’t stop there. We get our first look at Matt’s father via a webcam. While the work that he is doing in Iraq may be noble, we is doing at the cost of his family back home. But Matt never lets him know this. He puts on a brave face for their conversation and never once complains about the unfair load that has been put in his place

We talk about all these things on Saracen’s plate and have not even mentioned the new thing on his plate, being QB 1 for the Dillon Panthers. Or is he? That is the big question in this episode. Going back to episode 2, Gilford and Kyle Chandler have fantastic chemistry and that is on display heavily in this episode again. Coach Taylor is the closest thing Matt has to a dad in Dillon. You can see in Chandler’s interactions and facial expressions that we would want nothing more then to start Saracen at quarterback. He is everything that embodies a good teammate and person, basically the opposite of his other option Voodoo Tatum. Voodoo does not try to fit in with the team, and immediately turns the team against him by showing up Smash at a party. The bottom line is though, that coach can not just start Saracen. While Matt may be the better person, Voodoo is the much more talented of the 2.

Some other thoughts...

- I was really starting to get tired of the Tim/Street/Lyla story but then 2 things happened this week. The first being that Street’s roommate Herc took a more prominent role. Herc is played wonderfully by Kevin Rankin and really breathes fresh air in to this story with his prospective as a person who has gone through everything Jason is going through.

- The 2 thing that got me re excited for this storyline was the fact they they are not dropping the whole Tim and Lyla thing. Most shows would be to scared to allow them to continue with the affair because of how much hate it might but on the 2 characters, but Friday Night Lights does not show away from it.

- Coach Taylor tells Saracen to get a girl he likes into the back seat of his car, not realizing that that girl may very well be his own daughter. In the scene where he realizes this, Kyle Chandler is brilliant

- How loyal is Saracen? He refuses to rat out the rest of the team even as he is getting his ass kicked by four players from Arnette Mead.

- I wanted to punch Scumbag Buddy Garrity right in the face as he was singing "I’ve got my Voodoo Workin"

- Looks like Julie Taylor may be slowly falling for Saracen’s dorky charm
　
　
Very Strong episode that really sets up the rest of the stories for season 1 nicely. I give it a 9 out 10. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.

Top 5 New Winter Shows I Am Excited For

While the winter season does not bring as many new shows to our televisions as the fall, here are 5 new shows debuting this winter that i am excited for.

5. Episodes (Showtime) Matt LeBlanc plays himself as a actor remaking a popular british sitcom. Showtime has been on fire lately and I’m not going to lie, I miss LeBlanc on the small screen.

　

4. Shameless (Showtime) Another UK remake for Showtime. William H Macy plays an alcoholic single parent with a large family. I am more of a fan of UK comedies then drama’s but if anyone can change my opinion it would be William H Macy. The man could read the phone book and i would sign up to watch it.

3. Mr.Sunshine (ABC) The rejuvenation of the Friends cast continues! Matthew Perry plays a small time sports arena manager who is examining his life choices. It is always great to have Perry back on the small screen. In addition to him we also get the hilarious Andrea Anders (Better off Ted) and the fantastic Allison Janney (West Wing)

2. Lights Out (FX) Holt McCallany (CSI Miami) plays a former boxing champion struggling with the beginning of dementia and forced to take a job as a collector. I think boxing translates really well in the entertainment industry, be it in TV or movies. Add to the fact that FX is coming off a super strong drama in Terriers, and I am very excited for this series.

1. The Chicago Code (FOX) Speaking of Terriers! Anything that gets a Shawn Ryan program on TV is going to rank high in my book. Chicago Code is about some of the most respected, notorious and even corrupted cops on the beat, shot on location in the heart of Chicago. In addition to Shawn Ryan, the show gets even more bonus points for being shot on location in my hometown. I have always said no show has successfully used the awesomeness that is Chicago. Throw in Matt Lauria, who is awesome as Luke on Friday Night Lights, and this is definitely the number 1 new show I am excited for this winter.

Rewatch Review: Friday Night Lights "Wind Sprints"

"I want you to let yourself off the hook son"

With the first 2 episodes of Friday Night Light being so breath taking, I expected to be in for a slight let down for episode 3. It was the first episode with out big name director Peter Berg. And while yes, this episode was not exactly up to the excellence of the first two, it was definitely still a great hour of television.

The show does a great job when it demonstrates just how seriously this small town takes its football games. The Panthers lose 1 game, the first game without their star quarterback, and all of a sudden everyone on the team is under ridicule. Saracen, after playing an inspired game in a losing effort, is taunted with chants of loser from other town members. Heck, he even gets ridiculed by his own teammates. Coach Taylor goes to grab some food with his daughter, and not only is he taunted, but some jerk also had the audacity to taunt his daughter, who has absolutely nothing to do with the football team. Kyle Chandler shines here again showing the anger on his face but being able to keep his cool in front of his child and just walk away from the situation.

And speaking of Coach Taylor, I was very happy that they tried to establish the fact that he is not immune to the pressure of town. He is not the all mighty saint that we see in the first 2 episodes. Sure he is still a fantastic man, but when push came to shove, he could have said no to the whole illegal recruiting of another quarterback. He could have put his foot down and let everyone know that no matter what, Matt Saracen was his quarterback. But because of the pressure he felt from the people around him, he decided to go along with the recruiting of Voodoo, even if it was going to be on his terms. His speech to Voodoo was fantastic and it seemed like at that moment he realized that he had to say something in order to salvage any power he had over his own team.

This episode also gave us our most in depth look at the new dynamic between Street, Lyla and Riggins. We got some very strong performances here from Porter and Kitsch here with the weak link so far in regards to performance has been Minka Kelly by a longshot. Its not that she is that bad, but everyone around her is so good, that even an ok performance sticks out like a sore thumb. Still i like the fact that we got some development on this front, and now with cheating going on (We saw Tim and Lyla kiss and i think more was implied by Jason saying "Can we just forget last night ever happened?") Along with Kyle Chandler, Taylor Kitsch has this uncanny ability to say so much with just a facial expression. The look on his face when Coach was telling him that Streets injury was not his fault was one of half pain and half relief. No matter what anyone says to him he is going to blame himself for his best friend being paralyzed, at least until he is able to visit him in the hospital. I am very excited for the scene where Tim does finally visit Street, should be very emotional.

It looks like the show is cutting down the amount of actual game footage that we are seeing but what they showed still looked great. I especially loved the way they shot the last play of the game with Matt coming up short of scoring the touchdown. They way they showed him on the ground, literally inches away from the endzone really illustrated that as hard as he worked to get to that point, he knew it still was not going to be enough to quiet the citizens of Dillon. With the arrival of Voodoo Tatum, i fear that he may be right

A little slip from the first 2 episodes but still very strong. I give it a 7 out of 10. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.

Rewatch Review: Friday Night Lights "Eyes Wide Open"

"This is all yours for the taking son.  It just depends on how bad you want it."


Any show can have a great pilot. A pilot usually has a hot shot director at the helm and a lot of money thrown behind it. More often then not, a show that has a great pilot is often a major let down in episode 2. Somehow Friday Night Lights manages to avoid this problem and delivers an episode that is just as strong and emotional as the first.

The injury to Jason Street really ramps up the pressure on everything. Coach Taylor, Matt Saracen, Riggins, Lyla and her dream of a perfect life and everyone’s faith are really going to be tested because of what happened to the once promising Quarterback. This town revolves around this high school football team and this episode really shows it. 2 instances really stick out in my mind when it comes to showing this. The first being "Slammin" Sammy Meade on the radio calling Streets injury a "devastating blow" to the team and the town, and then the very next second proceeding to tear poor Saracen apart. The other scene that was really telling was Tami’s triumphant debut at the the book club. I use book club very loosely because the whole get together basically breaks down into a bunch of football moms telling Tami how her husband should be running the team

This episode had a lot less action and storyline development in it than the pilot. There is not even any game action. What makes the episode so fantastic though is a tour de force by Kyle Chandler. In finding Chandler to play Coach Eric Taylor, they really could not have made a better choice. The man owns every scene that he is in. The thing that he seems to have mastered so quickly are the scenes in which he does not say anything. Chandler does such a good job of portraying every emotion that he and the audience is feeling by just one smirk or one look. His scenes with Connie Britton are when this is the most obvious. The chemistry that these 2 show as husband and wife is so pure and genuine that it is difficult to believe that they are not actually married in real life

And lest we forget about the chilling scenes that Coach and Saracen have together. Coach knows that his job basically rides on turning this shy artist in to a real QB 1. At the same time he realizes that this is just a kid. Add to that a kid who has a ton of responsibilities that most kids his age do not need to worry about and Coach Taylor can really empathize with him. The first few minutes of the pilot episode, we expect Eric to be a role model and a guide for Jason Street. However, for better or worse, he now needs to guide Matt Saracen, and as we can see from the scene they have on the empty football field, its going to be an entertaining ride.
　
Another fantastic episode that matched the Pilot. I give it a 10 out 10. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Cant Lose.

My Thoughts on The Real World Road Rules Finale

Hello all and welcome to your favorite reality recap. We go over the events of last week, where Paula thinks that she was screwed in to going in the the Gulag and Derrick is pissed that the red team sends in Tyler because he is a "heavy bastard" We did not get to see the Gulag last week so this week will start with the Gulag. The match ups are Tyler (Red) vs Derrick(Blue) and Paula (Red) vs Emily (Blue)

The Gulag if the pole tug of war game. The point is to push your opponent back into a barrel and to knock it over. They guys are up first and this event would seem to really favor Tyler. Tyler gets the early advantage but Derrick refuses to go down without a fight. Eventually he succumbs to Tyler and Tyler wins the first heat. Tyler wins the 2nd heat a little easier. Paula points out that Tyler has knocked off a lot of the challenge greats. He has had a really impressive performance. Which almost guarantees he won’t win the final. Derrick is happy he went out swinging. Derrick is one tough dude, he’s got nothing to be ashamed of. Next up we have the ladies. Paula thinks her biggest competitor is herself. I would say its the other girl trying to push you aside, but that’s just me. They begin and Emily dominates. Paula’s strategy seems to be to just kind of lay on the pole. Emily wins the first one fairly easily. Paula is Dq’d in the second one because she keeps grabbing the chain. Emily wins and moves on. She makes the final in her first challenge which is an impressive feat. Dunbar says good riddance.

The final challenge shapes up as such: Gray has Abram, Cara Maria, Laurel, Luke, and Sarah. Red has Tyler, Brad, Dunbar and Tori. Blue has Jenn and Emily. Color me crazy but I don’t like Blue’s chances. Brad says this is his last chance because he’s done after this. Yes Brad, because you have so many superior career alternatives. They decide to have a fun, chill night and give out the Cutthroat Awards. Among the awards a notable one is Most likely to die in a sex act which goes to none other then Cara Maria. Brad and Tori receive the Cutthroat king and queen awards. Tori talks about how they want to start a family. That should be illegal. Sarah says she will never quit in the final race. That might mean were about to see her quit. Abe, Sarah and Laurel lay everything on the table and seem to squash any drama the gray team had

Commercial break here to remind you all to follow me on Twitter!!! I am @dkosak on there

As always the final challenge is a long race. T.J says it is the longest they have ever had and at 12.7 miles on foot he is probably right. Sarah is crying before the challenge even starts. Gray might be in for a long day. The race begins and in a funny visual T.J is riding his bike alongside the teams. I love that guy. Blue gets to the first check point first. The have to shoot a paintball gun at a wall marked with targets while a teammate stands there and can get hit. Red finishes the check point first while the other teams struggle. Blue finishes up 2nd. Gray is a distant third. The next check point involves rolling giant tires to a finish line. This is where having 2 people is going to kill Blue. Red is well a head of everyone and makes it to checkpoint number 3 before the other teams even finish the 2nd check point. Check point 3 involves going through a slide covered in a sticky substance and sliding into a sandbox. Red is dominating. Abram says that something doesn’t feel right in his head and he looks like he may be dehydrated. Blue is not even done rolling the tires yet. The next checkpoint for red involves them carrying Tori on a stretcher to the next checkpoint. Gray gets there and Abe looks like he is just about to drop dead. They are all trying to keep him upright but eventually Abe goes down. After all that talking Abe is the one being a bitch. They decide the only way they can move on is to carry Abe on the stretcher even though he is the heaviest.

Blue finally gets to the stretcher point and because they don’t have a teammate to carry they have to carry a heavy dummy. The gray team needs to stop because Abe is vomiting and dry heaving and it is pretty gross. Sarah keeps rubbing it in that she can’t believe Abe is the one punking out. I could not agree more Sarah, but is now really the time for that? Why don’t you kick him in the balls while your at it? They have to wait for an ambulance to come for Abe. They deem him unable to continue and Gray has to go on without him. Somehow despite all of this Red is not that far ahead of the other teams. Sarah is now having issues with carrying the stretcher and she is now puking as well. Laurel just wants Sarah to go so they can continue. Now they deem Sarah unable to continue, and then there were 3. Red finally gets to the next check point, which basically involves stacking pieces of wood. Back to Gray and Laurel is balling her eyes out from the pain. Man, team gray turned out to be pretty soft. Red moves on to the next check point and its a puzzle where you have to remember a bunch of street signs for later, which basically means Brad will be useless. Team Blue is still carrying there Dummy. Poor gals. Red gets to the point where they have to replicate the signs. There is an extra piece and they can not remember which one they need to use. If they get it wrong they have to go all they way back. Tyler uses his knowledge of the Russian language to pick one and he ends up being correct. Tyler has really been the MVP of this season. Gray gets to the same dilemma and Laurel starts crying because she doesn’t know which one it is. Gray finally picks one and they are also correct. In the end the red team ends up finishing the race first and winning the $120,000 grand for their team bank account. In total they each win 40 grand a piece. Gray is devastated but Luke is proud of them. They all still win 20 grand a piece, same with team blue. Brad and Tori are going to take their $80,000 and start a family. It was a great season and join me for when the next season of the Real World starts. Adios!

My Golden Globe Nominations

I was going to write an article on my thoughts on the Golden Globe Nominees that were announced today. As I went down the list, I found that I disagreed with so many choices that that article would have been 10,000 negative words on the Hollywood Foreign Press. So instead, I give you what I think the Golden Globe nominees should have looked like. As always, this is solely based on my opinion. Feel free to disagree. My choices for the Movie portion will be up later this week.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jane Lynch- Glee

Allison Brie- Community

Sofia Vergara- Modern Family

Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

One of the many reasons the Golden Globes are so annoying are that they don’t differentiate the supporting actor categories by genre. Jane Lynch is the obvious one here and the rest, you can just take your pick. I think Allison Brie is fantastic and one of the most underrated parts of Community. I think either Vergera or Julie Bowen would need to be represented and Vergera is much funnier. Mad Men had maybe its strongest seasons this year so I do not feel bad about putting both Moss and Hendricks in.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Zach Gilford- Friday Night Lights
Terry O'Quinn, "Lost"
Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad”
Danny Pudi, “Community”
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"

Again, the stupidity of the golden globes makes this category nearly impossible. How do you compare a light, funny performance by Stonestreet to the awesomeness that was Gilford in season 4 of Friday Night Lights. I would give Gilford the award for “The Son” alone. Aaron Paul won the Emmy this year, yet he is not good enough to be nominated for a Golden Globe? Danny Pudi is the best part of what in my opinion has become the best comedy on TV. The Hollywood Foreign Press completely shut out LOST in its last season, which shows that if it happened more then a few months ago, the HFPA has already forgotten about it



Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
David Duchovny, "Californication"
Zachary Levi “Chuck”
Louis C.K “Louie”
Thomas Jane, "Hung"


Even in a down season of 30 rock, Alec Baldwin needs to be nominated. Duchovny continues to bring the funny in Californication ever if no ones recognizes him for it anymore. Chuck is difficult because it could really fall in either category but it was much easier to get Zach Levi in here and he definitely deserves to be nominated for his fantastic work on Chuck. Louis C.K is a tough sell because he basically plays himself but he is so funny that I could not leave him off. Hung is not the best show in the world, and not even close to the funniest but Jane kills it in his role.


Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Amy Poehler, "Parks & Recreation"
Lea Michele, "Glee"
Toni Collette, "The United States of Tara"
Laura Linney, "The Big C"

This category is the closest the Globes go to getting it right. Again, even in a down year of 30 Rock, Tina Fey needs to be nominated because its fairly obvious that she is the funniest woman on TV. A close 2nd in my opinion would be Amy Poehler, and the lack of love that Parks and Rec gets is just sad. The other 3 here are not shows that I am really fond of but all 3 women give good performances and it is a fairly thin category.



Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights”
Katey Segal, "Sons of Anarchy"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Lauren Graham, “Parenthood”
Anna Paquin, "True Blood"

I was thrilled to see the HFPA recognize Segal for her amazing turn in SOA. For my money, Britton is the best actress on TV every year. She finally received an Emmy nod this year but the Golden Globes never respects Friday Night Lights. I am not a big fan of The Good Wife but there is no denying that Margulies gives powerful performances week in and week out. No one ever talks about Parenthood but it is full of great performances including Graham's.



Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Matthew Fox, "Lost"
Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Peter Krause “Parenthood”

Hamm is going to be a deserving nominee until Mad Men is no longer. Kyle Chandler’s Coach Taylor is the most real character on TV I my opinion. After a few down years for Fox, he was fantastic in the last season of LOST. I mentioned Parenthood in the last category but by far the best performance on the show is Krause as a father dealing with a son with Autism. Every week you can see the struggle and joy in Krause’s performance.


Best Television Series - Comedy

Community
Park and Recreation
Party Down
Louie
Modern Family

It really is a shame that Community might very well be cancelled after this season. It may be the most original comedy on TV. Although most of the free world never saw Party Down, I suggest you netflix it because it is a hilarious show. Modern Family is the heavy favorite and deservedly so as it is having another good season, albeit weaker then the first. Louie was never going to be nominated for such a short season but it was one of the funniest shows on TV


Best Television Series - Drama

Mad Men
Friday Night Lights
LOST
Boardwalk Empire
Terriers

Mad Men had its strongest season since the first. Friday Night Lights just keeps rolling to the finish line just as strong as its ever been and is able to keep reinventing itself. LOST deserves some recognition for what was a masterful last season. Boardwalk Empire is a show tailor made for awards. Terriers might have had the best season of any show this year although it will be the only season of the show

Top Ten TV Shows of 2010

As the year draws to a close, its time for everybody’s favorite past time, making lists! Throughout the next couple weeks ill be posting various lists for 2010. We start off with my top 10 TV shows of 2010. As always this is just my opinion and because it is just my opinion its based on shows which I have seen the majority of the episodes for the year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Always Sunny In Philadelphia- Not the strongest season of the show but still funny enough to earn a spot here

Party Down- One of the many sad victims of cancellation this year. Its available on Netflix so make sure you check it out for comedy gold.

Greek- Guilty pleasure all the way. Love the characters and the way they develop

Parks and Recreation- By far the toughest omission of my top 10. Just couldn’t find room for it. I am really hyped up for season 3

AND NOW ON TO THE LIST

10. Louie-FX- It’s a well known fact that Louis CK is a comedic genius. His stand ups are some of my favorite things to watch when I need a laugh. That’s why I was very disappointed by his previous attempt at a sitcom on HBO, Lucky Louie/ That was a traditional sitcom with a laugh track and while it had its moments, it really did not work. Because of this I was a little worried about this show but I was very pleasantly surprised. His comedic timing works much better in a non traditional sitcom and FX really let him make the show his own. The episode “Bully” was one of the funniest half hours of TV all year

9. The League-FX- The list starts of with 2 FX comedies and for good reason. Look no further then the talent assembled in this show to know why it warrants a spot on this list. Yes, a lot of the story lines are crazy and out of left field but that can be forgiven because the laughs are so frequent. Most of the show is improvised by the actors and that makes the conversations seem like a bunch of guys just shooting the shit.

8. Entourage-HBO- The last 2 or 3 years, this show would not have even made honorable mentions. I’ve always loved the show and have stuck with it but even die hard fans had to admit that the last couple seasons had definitely lost their way. This season was a rebirth. They took a dramatic storyline like Vince spiraling out of control and actually ran with it instead of shying away from the drama and ending everything all happy. If next season truly is the last, I am definitely looking forward to seeing how things wrap up for the Vinny Chase crew

7. Mad Men-AMC- Mad Men made what some considered to be a desperate move for a TV Show. They completely restructured the dynamics of the show by having our crew set up show in the new office. And the new business — snazzy on the outside, but financially struggling — served as an analogy for the show's recurring theme: the disconnect between surface appearances and inner reality. It made for the most entertaining season of the show since the original season and gives us hope that this fantastic show will continue to thrive in the future

6. Modern Family-ABC- The show that arguably revitalized the TV sitcom as we know it. This show cleaned up at the Emmys and rightfully so. It truly is an ensemble comedy because every person on the show really adds to the humor. Sure not every episode is a home run but unlike some other comedies ( I’m looking at you The Office) even when this show had an off episode it was still good for some laughs.

5. Terriers-FX- Good year for FX huh? By now I’ve really said

everything I can about this show. It is sad that this show joins the ranks of Freaks and Geeks of shows that were so brilliant but were still one and done. A great mix of comedy, drama and relationships helped make this show great, but by far the thing it did the best was establish its characters as real people. Rarely can a show make every person on it seem so genuine and real but Terriers was able to accomplish it. It is sad that it is gone but I’m honored to have been able to watch a great season of television.

4. Community-NBC- Modern Warfare (the paintball episode) would have been enough to put this show in my top ten by itself. The show can find a way to reinvent itself every week and that is where the greatness in it lies. Danny Pudi may very well be the funniest supporting actor and TV and the cast as a whole just works so well with each other. A third season of this show seems like a long shot at this point but I really hope we do get to see it because I would love to see everything the writers have in store for our favorite study group.

3. Chuck-NBC- The show that never gets any love. Chuck is by far the best balance of comedy, action and drama that is on TV. When is someone going to recognize Zachary Levi for the fantastic leading man that he is? To go along with great stories and even greater performances by the cast, Chuck also gets a lot of credit for using their guest stars so much better then any other show. I mean Dolph Lundgren as an assassin telling Casey “I must break you”? Yes please!

2. Friday Night Lights-NBC/DirectTV- The little show that could continues to roll to the finish line with as much momentum as it had in season 1. Like Mad Men the show entered a new structure this year with Coach Taylor leading a rag tag group against the privileged team he once coached. The show has been hitting on all levels and the episode “The Son” was the single best episode of any show this year. You would think the show would suffer as they lose cast members to “graduation” but the show is as strong now as its ever been (and remember, season 2 never happened)

1. LOST-ABC- The final season of perhaps the greatest show of all time was an easy choice for number 1. For me the finale was pitch perfect and I did not have any issues with the lack of sci fi explanations for some of the shows more out there stories. At its core LOST was about the people on that island and how they all needed one another in the point of their life they were at. That was made clear by the introduction of the “Flash Sideways” Even with 6 months to reflect on the final season I still view it as a fantastic bit of storytelling that may never be topped.

My Thoughts on The Real World Road Rules 12/8

Welcome one and all to your favorite reality show recap. We begin with a recap of last weeks show. Laurel and Sarah discuss throwing the challenge to get rid of Cara Maria but it ends up that Laurel and Abram are the only ones who know what the hell they are doing and they grey team wins. Johnny, Tyler, Tori and Theresa all nominate themselves for the elimination challenge. At the Gulag they players learn they would not be competing against each other but against show legends Tina and my personal favorite psychopath CT. Theresa does beat Tina but does not have a very good time. We end last weeks show with CT about to kill Johnny.

We get right to it and in one of the funniest displays I have seen on this show, CT literally just carries Johnny on his back to the barrel he needs to knock over. It took a whole 19 seconds. CT is the man. Jenn puts it best; “I’ve never seen a grown man look so scary in my life.” Tyler enjoys the show but knows that could very well be him shortly. Next up is Tori against Tina. I’m kind of disappointed that they went with Tina as the legend for the girls. Coral would have been a much better fit. Tina’s strategy seems to be not try to win but just make it difficult for the other girls to win. Tori knocks the can over in 3 minutes and 9 seconds and that means farewell for Theresa. Theresa blames it on having to go against Tina first. Or it could just be because you suck. Just sayin. Next up is CT against Tyler. “I have nothing against the guy, I’m just hungry, and I need to eat” How does CT not have his own show? Tyler is actually able to put up a fight and lasts the 20 seconds he needs for the win. Johnny blames it on Tyler being a fat ass. CT affirms by telling Tyler “You definitely put on some weight buddy.” With Johnny going home that leaves just Derrick representing the male side of the blue team

Back at the house everyone is recounting the legend that is CT. For some reason Abram and Cara Maria paint their faces. Those 2 are into some weird shit. The blue team plans on teaming up with Grey so they can get rid of Cara Maria and Luke. They go and meet with Sarah to confirm that they want to throw the challenge. Sarah says maybe and goes to meet with her gal pal Laurel. Cara Maria doesn’t like that the house thinks she doesn’t deserve to be there. Paula feels good about her chances and has been told by all the guys that they want her in the final with them

The teams arrive to the last challenge before the final. They are basically playing a version of king of the hill with plastic shields on a large platform in the mud. Goal is to knock the other people off the platform. The girls are up first. The red girls are on their own as the other 2 teams team up and its 5 on 2. Tori starts crying because her nose is bleeding. She goes down with no fight. Its now basically 5 on 1 and Paula is taking a beating. She puts up a little fight but gets dispatched of quickly. Now its 3 grey girls vs. 2 blue, however everyone wants Cara Maria gone. The other grey girls don’t even look like they are trying as the 2 blue girls team up on Cara Maria. Abe is not happy an is yelling at Laurel. Sarah gets “knocked out” first. Laurel realizes that if she is going to be so obvious about throwing the game she will get put into the Gulag, so she quickly dispatches of Emily. Then turns her attention to Jenn and gets rid of her. Well that plan went to hell. Grey wins the girls portion of the game. For the guys it is 3 reds against 2 grays and 1 blue. Abram is the first one to go out, followed quickly by Luke. Its now Brad, Tyler and Dunbar against Derrick. Tyler goes out but does manage to take Derrick with him. The tie breaker between red and gray is between Brad and Abram. It’s a good battle but eventually Abram takes it down and Grey wins. They are safe from the Gulag

Back on the bus tensions are heated. Abram is mad At Laurel for even thinking about throwing the game. Paula is pissed because she thinks she’s going to get played and go into the Gulag. There is not deliberation tonight so the voting takes place right away. Derrick is the only blue guy left so there’s no vote there. Derrick is in for blue and Emily throws herself in. On the red side its Tyler and Paula. Derricks not happy because Tyler is a “heavy basterd”. The grey team continues to bicker and Laurel and Cara Maria decide to argue in private. Not much gets resolved. Tyler is not happy because Brad has never gone into a Gulag. Brad’s logic is a little flawed and I cant even really explain it.  Something along the lines of he should have gone in against Abram earlier. Paula is pissed at Dunbar and keeps calling him Johnny Bananas. She puts a note on the fridge that Dunbar had given her saying he would take her to the finals. Hey Paula, it’s the challenge, you all lie. They all arrive at the Gulag and the episode predictably cuts to To Be Continued. Ill be back next week to recap the finale.

Adios Terriers, Until We Meet Again

Where were you at 11:00 am on Monday, December 6? I was sitting at work, trying to get through an especially painful Monday. I thought to myself “Lets see what the twitter world is buzzing about while I’m stuck in this dreary office.” And with one tap of a touch screen I had learned that my favorite new show of the season had not been renewed for season 2. A couple weeks ago I wrote a plea to save Terriers (can be seen here SAVE TERRIERS) At the time I knew the chances of renewal for the show were slim. Its why I wrote the article. Despite knowing then that today was a real possibility, it did not make the news any easier to take.

Where are we left in our Terriers world?  Terriers was able to succeed where so many other short lived shows before it failed. They composed a finale to the show that satisfied our knowledge of how most of the characters resolve whatever issues they face but still leave room for our minds to explore what comes next in the world The friendship that we lived and died with as the season progressed was a s strong as its been. For the mean time, Ocean Beach is safe from the evil powers that want to turn the beautiful town into an airport. Gustafson is back to his job on the force and sure to receive praise after getting help from Hank in cracking a case. Our duo even got to beat the crap out of Zeitlin for a little bit (Britt punching him in the face “on principal” had to be one of the series best moments) Britt and Katie come to an agreement that Britt will be a father to the child even if it is not his. What we are left with is Hank driving Britt to jail. They stop at a light and Hank tell Britt they can run away to Mexico. He could take a left ant Britt would be free of jail or he could go straight and Britt could do his time. It was basically left as a metaphor for where the show was. They would either get renewed or cancelled. Whatever happened, that would not and will not change the crazy ride that came before.

Now the question remains, Where do we go from here? A lot of people in this situation would curse out the network and flood them with angry emails. In most cases I would join in on the rally cry, especially on a show that I felt so strongly about. However, this is the rare case where the network is not at fault. The bottom line is that not enough people watched Terriers. Its as simple as that. FX was very classy about the whole situation. Very rarely do you see a network actually hold a conference call to express the reasoning and the sorrow they had in cancelling a show. FX did just that and spelled it out everyone. They really wanted Terriers to succeed and even though they view it as a huge success from a creative standpoint it was far from it from a ratings standpoint. The ratings could have been double what they were and they would still fall short of other shows on FX that were not even that successful. In the end FX put it the best by saying "I don't know if subtlety is something the American public is buying in droves today…We wish there was a perfect intersection between what is good and what is successful." So in the end the issues don’t are not with the network but us as a viewing society. In a entertainment landscape driven by reality TV and a shortening by the day attention span, a well crafted, subtle story that takes time to tell really never had a shot.

So despite the passion from loyal Terriers fans our show is gone. What we must do now is not let it be forgotten. Buy the DVD when it comes out and don’t be afraid to show people this show even though it’s done after one season. One season of a fantastic story is much more satisfying then most of what is on Television now. We left our characters at a crucial life choice; go left or keep going straight. Whatever path Hank and Brit took we know that the friendship that we saw develop before our eyes will live on.

Rewatch Review: Friday Night Lights "Pilot"

DISCLAIMER: I will do my best to not mention anything that happens in future episodes of Friday Night Lights specifically but I can not guarantee that there will be no spoilers. So read with caution
　

‎"Here's to god and football. And ten years from now good friends living large"

On the surface, people might think that nothing happens in the Friday Night Lights pilot until the last 15 minutes. If you are of that opinion then maybe this show is not for you. From the pilot episode, Friday Night Lights is about subtle moments and relationships. At its core it is not about football, it is about life in small town Texas. Its about the relationships people are forced to make on a day to day basis. And its about a town, that while it may care about high school football a little too much, is just looking for something to embrace

We begin by meeting many member of the team in the first few minutes of the episode. We have Coach Eric Taylor, a family man in his first year as head coach of the Dillon Panthers. Jason Street Is the star Quarterback all set to go on to play college ball. Lyla Garrity is the head cheerleader and naturally Street’s long time girlfriend. Her father is Buddy Garrity, a sleazy booster for the team who can’t move on from his past as a player. Tim Riggins is the teams fullback, and while having all the talent in the world prefers to spend his time chasing tail and getting drunk. Tyra is his girlfriend who hates life in the small Texas town. Brian “Smash” Williams is the big talent big ego running back. Matt Saracen is the back up QB who never plans on playing and spends his days watching after his grandmother with dementia. There is also Tami Taylor, the coaches wife and Julie Taylor the coaches daughter. Those are the major players we meet in this episode.

Most of the episode we are introduced to these characters and the relationships they have with each other. Almost the entire episode is spent on character development. The first game of the season really only takes up the last 15 minutes of the episode. In the build up we get to see first hand how the town and all the people in it treat football. Outside of God, football is the holiest thing on the planet to them. But the other thing we get to see is that all these people have lives that don’t involve football. As I mentioned earlier, Matt lives alone with grandmother that has dementia. His father is in Iraq and Matt is forced to be the man of the house. Riggins has no idea where his life is going and is also living without parents. Everyone has so much of their own stuff to deal with that despite the pressure placed on them to play football, they view it as an escape. In their first game the Panthers are pushed to the limit. Street is having his normal fantastic game when he leads head first on a hit and is down for the count. He is not moving at all and in a very chilling scene, is removed from the field on a stretcher. What happens next is fairly predictable. Matt Saracen comes in to the game as a nobody and leaves a hero. He leads them to a win.

The Pilot for Friday Night Lights does something incredible. Despite not having much action, it makes us care about characters that we have no background with. In 42 minutes the show is able to do what show that are one for years sometimes struggle to do. The acting performances are terrific and half way through the pilot you honestly forget that you are watching a television show because you feel like you know these people. I have always said that LOST might have the greatest pilot episode of all time. What makes that pilot so great is completely different then this one. Through the development of its characters, Friday Night Lights has us ready for the sure bumpy ride that will be the Dillon Panthers season.

I give the pilot episode a 10 out 10. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Cant Lose.

This Old Cub: My Goodbye to Ron Santo

“I know getting inducted into the Hall of Fame has to be something, but that flag is going to be hanging there after everybody is gone”

The world lost a fantastic man. A lot of times that word gets thrown around after someone leaves this world. However Ron Santo was not just fantastic because he was a wonderful athlete. He was not just fantastic because he was a beloved broadcaster. He was not just fantastic because he was a family man. Above all things Ron Santo was a humanitarian. He wanted the world to live each day as happy as he lived each day. And for all those reasons, the world is a little bit worse of a place than it was a couple of days ago.

As a baseball player there is no denying that Ron Santo was one of the greatest third basemen to ever play the game. While hall of fame voters may try to deny that fact, they are still sore about some of the ways that he acted back in his playing days. Santo made 9 all star teams and won 5 gold glove awards. For 11 straight seasons from 1961 to 1971, he played 154 or more games, and he played more than 160 games in seven of them. He did all this while not only playing with diabetes, but also having to hide the fact that he had it. One of the most compelling arguments for Santo to hall of fame was the position that he played. Third base is the least represented position in the hall. Putting that on a ratio with the other positions, if you can prove that Santo was one of the top 10 third basemen of al time, that should put him as a lock for the hall. His Home runs and all star game appearances are 8^th all time. His gold gloves put him seventh. Surely for all these reason Santo should be a lock for the hall, but he is not in yet

Santo was a very unique brand of broadcaster. Baseball stat geeks and number crunchers hated the guy. He never delivered hard hitting analysis or interesting statistics. What he did do, was provide a different experience for listening to a baseball game. When I listened to a Cubs game on the radio, I felt like I was listening with my friend. He rejoiced when I rejoiced and screamed in agony when I screamed in agony. Call him a homer if you want but for Cubs fans, he was our homer. He wanted more then anything to see the Cubs achieve what they haven’t achieved for over a century now. Listening to Cubs games this summer is going to feel like an empty experience, because now we can not listen with our dear old friend

Perhaps Santo’s greatest achievement was as a humanitarian. Through his various organizations he has raised over 250 million dollars for diabetes research and treatment. He made it his mission to visit sick children all over and let them know that even if you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with the awful disease, life is not over.

What Ron Santo was to Cubs fans was the elder statesmen of our family. He went through serious adversity and tribulations but you would never hear about it from him. Despite everything he went through he still felt blessed to live everyday of his life. He truly loved being a Cub and everything it entailed. Of course he wanted to be nominated to the hall of fame but after a while he was ok with being left out of the hall. The quote that I began this article with was from the day that the Cubs retired his number. Most people would think that him saying that having his flag wave at Wrigley was a bigger achievement to him than making the hall was just sour grapes, but with Santo it seemed to ring true. If he taught us anything it was that a life of adversity can still be a good life if you face it with a positive attitude. Ron Santo will be missed by Cubs fans everywhere. I know when I tube my radio dial to AM 720 this summer, it just will not be the same. I hope your having fun clicking your heels in heaven Ron, Ill be down here drinking a cold Old Style in your honor.

My Thoughts on the Real World Road Rules Challenge 12/1/2010

Ah The Challenge. I missed you last week old friend. We get a recap of where we left of. Nothing really important happened last episode. Dunbar sent Dan home and Laurel sent Camilla home. Laurel was not happy that Abe put her in over Cara Maria. Well lets see laurel, Abe is the best on the team and he’s getting ass from Cara Maria. Laurel on the other hand is a great female competitor but a bitch and I’m fairly certain you’re she’s a tranny, Without further ado, lets get to this weeks episode

We open with Laurel whining again. She’s in a bikini and I’m pretty sure I see a bulge. She thinks no body on her team thinks about the future of the competition. Cara Maria is tired of the other girls treating her like the weakest link. My money says we see some drama between the two, but what do I know. Tori talks about how tough it is being a married couple in the house. She feels like she has to keep everyone happy and play all sides of the game. Brad talks about how he misses their puppy. I think we know who the brains of this operation is. Johnny runs down the shortcomings of the red team guys. “Tyler’s strategy is to eat everything in site like a fat ass”. Well played Bananas. Laurel and Sara discuss throwing the challenge to get rid of Cara Maria. Abe walks in and they get very quiet. Way to play it cool ladies.

We come back from commercial and they get the text about the next challenge. Derrick has a dream that he loses to Tyler in an elimination. I can’t tell whether he is more disgusted with the losing or more disgusted with losing to a gay guy. Homophobic or not, he’s using it as motivation. Brad is not happy because he feels like Tori is running his game for him. Its probably because you’re a blithering idiot Brad. Keep in mind this is the same guy who lost a spelling bee challenge when they got to 5^th grade level words. The argument consists of Brad asking what the plan for the game is every 5 seconds and then interrupting Tori before she can answer. “I feel like I’ve been playing this game with my balls in her purse this whole time” With such eloquent descriptions its tough to figure out how Brad has problems finding a job

The challenge consists of balancing balls on some metal structure and carrying them up the hill. They are turning the contestants into hamsters more and more each week! “Instead of being fast and reckless, I’, going to be slow and methodical… like in bed”. Thanks for that Johnny Bananas. The teams all start off with a lot of trouble actually balancing the ball on top of the martini glass like structure. Laurel and Abe are the first to make some progress, but she is torn about whether to throw the challenge or not. She is well aware that if she does throw it, she may be the one put into elimination. She decided to just win and an hour into the challenge they are the first team to get a ball up the hill and into the cylinder. The blue team learns from them and they make progress as well. Red team is an utter joke. Grey wins 4-1-0. The win doesn’t bring team unity, however, as Laurel basically tells everyone to suck it.

The Blue team makes it quick with both Johnny and Theresa volunteering. Over on the red side Tori volunteers herself to go in because she feels like she hasn’t proved herself yet. Tyler also volunteers. That will make the nomination ceremony very boring. We get no surprises and its Johnny vs. Tyler and Tori vs. Theresa. Brad and Tori discuss their relationship. He actually uses a Venn Diagram to illustrate their situation in the game, and he does it successfully! Everyone discusses how Tori does not really want to be there and she is just there to help keep Brad safe.

More jokes about Tyler’s eating habits ensue. He doesn’t help matters by eating the worlds biggest breakfast burrito. The elimination game involves being tied to your opponent and dragging them over to your side. But uh oh, TJ has a twist for everyone. They wont be facing off against each other though. The girls will be facing of against the veteran Tina. And the guys are facing of against CT!!! This is exciting because CT has been kicked off 3 challenges for punching people in the face and threatening death on them. Theresa is up first and while she takes 13 minutes and 57 seconds to know down her barrel, she finally gets it done. Next up Johnny is up against CT. “They finally let me out of my cage and I haven’t eaten yet. I’m looking forward to putting him into the ground” Frightening words from CT there. Before the elimination starts we cut to a To Be Continued screen… Son Of a Bitch! Looks like we have to wait till next week.