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.
Much of Season 1 is just the best, and it all starts with that phenom of a pilot. It's been called the best pilot ever on television, and I agree!
ReplyDeleteWould have to agree with you my friend, right up there with the LOST pilot
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