Well, perhaps walking is the wrong word.

Jason Street, the wheelchair-bound former QB, and Smash Williams, the egotistical, troubled RB, will be leaving the show in the fall. So much for minority actors.

Where is Herc? He is always so late.

The timing of the announcement makes sense, considering Smash was about to go away for college and Street was about to begin a storyline that no one really wanted to see begun (more on that later, unfortunately). Really, if FNL producers had to choose two characters to leave, Smash and Street were pretty good choices…unless the statutory English teacher was an option.

Their departure, however, will leave several voids in the storylines of Dillon. They were intertwined in so many different aspects of the show, and they have connections to some of the best supporting roles since Arthur Spooner in King of Queens. For instance, have we seen the last of Mama Smash? She won’t really be necessary once her son is gone, unless she plans on marrying Buddy Garrity (note to producers: let’s explore this). What will become of Street’s fast-talking wheelchair friend Herc? We highly doubt quad rugby is paying the bills.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Are Street and Lyla done for good? Whose girlfriends will Riggins have feelings for now? Was Smash ever into Mrs. Taylor? Whom will Saracen boss around at the knock-off Dairy Queen?

Thankfully, we’ll get the answers some time soon, since FNL will be providing both Street and Smash with four-episode story arcs before saying good-bye for good. While it may not be long enough to tie up the loose ends to these two’s complicated pasts, it should at least provide a little bit of closure.

Dillon was not very wheelchair accessible anyway

Street’s loose ends seem decidedly looser than Smash’s. After all, Street is the one who has been through more ups and downs than Tyra’s neckline. Remember the experimental spinal cord shark treatment? The Mexico visitor’s bureau is still trying to recover from that one.

For a kid who started out his FNL career so promising (star quarterback, cheerleader girlfriend, feeling in his extremities), he sure has ended it rather ingloriously (not very good car salesman, soon-to-be absentee father, surly). Though in a sense, Street is a perfect example of the unordinary way that FNL approaches the show. Instead of setting him up to be the invincible jock, the producers squashed his hopes and dreams with one ill-fated neck tackle. Remember the Titans this ain’t.

But you could get the feeling that the tires were wearing pretty thin on Street’s storyline. His character, for all intents and purposes, had jumped the shark. When we last left him, he had miraculously (his words, not mine) impregnated a waitress and vowed his eternal commitment to raising the child (couldn’t he have just left a 15 percent tip like everyone else?). Who knows where you go from there.

It might have been easier on everyone to explain him away in a hastily edited “Street goes soul-searching in his wheelchair-modded Ford Fusion” segment, but producers wanted to reward him with four episodes to say good-bye. In that case, I imagine those episodes will go something like this:

• Episode 1: Street goes to La Maz class.
• Episode 2: Street and Lyla have a fight, which ends with them making out.
• Episode 3: Dillon waitress gives birth to Street’s son, causing Street to go on a five-night drinking binge with Herc, Riggins, and Saracen. Hilarity ensues.
• Episode 4: Landry kills Street.

“House of Payne” might have an opening

Smash’s story may be a little more believable. He has had some of the typical athlete plot points thus far: being arrogant and putting steroids into his rear end. And although his girlfriends have been unusual (bipolar in Season One, white in Season Two), Smash’s story could very well be the same as any number of cocky high school football players.

Smash and Mama Smash politely discuss the ethical and cultural ramifications of interracial marriage.

Smash’s story was just coming to a head when the second season of FNL ended. He was suspended for the remainder of the regular season for legal problems that we have neither the time nor the patience to get into. Let’s just say it involved the Dillon movie theater, bigotry, Applebee’s, fisticuffs, and a Coach Taylor speech. The whole ordeal cost Smash a scholarship at Texas State A&M something or other, but Coach Taylor, being well-connected, got him a scholarship at a rough replica of Sun Belt school.

No doubt when his four episode story arc resumes, Smash will already be in college, partying on weekends and having kids write his papers for him. Isn’t that what college athletics are all about? I can tell you from personal experience that college intramurals are at least sort of like that.

The good-bye from Smash will be a tough one to work out because he may already be away from Dillon and in college when the season begins. Therefore, I imagine that the third season of FNL will conclude the Panthers’ season from where they left off in the winter. The big deal back then was that the team was struggling to make the playoffs, and Smash was unavailable to help until the postseason. Stupid hate crime suspension.

Naturally, the Panthers will make the playoffs, probably on an epic coin flip that Coach Taylor lets Smash call in the air. “Smash chooses heads, baby!” The team’s first playoff opponent? An all-white prep school that Smash’s assault victim attends. The team’s next playoff foe? A team of intolerant Latinos from a border school. The semifinals? Drug testers and KKK members. And in the state championship game, after an epic slate of last-second victories (complete with irreconcilable time clock malfunctions), Smash will score the winning touchdown, ask his white girlfriend to marry him, and watch as Texas Stadium slowly collapses in on itself due to all the political uncorrectness.

I can’t wait for the third season to begin.

Friday Night Lights, the oft-loved, not-watched soap-dramedy on NBC, has been renewed for its third season. The Peacock used a partnership with DirecTV to bring back the show.

NBC has made it official — it will bring back “Friday Night Lights” for a third season, and it will do so as part of an innovative partnership with DirecTV.

Fresh episodes of “FNL” will begin airing on DirecTV in October. NBC will show those episodes in early 2009, “soon after the network’s telecast of the 2009 Super Bowl,” according to NBC’s Wednesday press release.

I don’t have DirecTV, but I sure will by October.

Keep these storylines:

• Anything involving Tim Riggins. Riggins, along with Coach Taylor, really stole the show toward the end of season two. The Panthers’ fullback was funny, endearing, and desperate, all rolled into one big ball of bad news. He either needs to be prominently featured in every episode or given his own spin-off. Or both.
  
• Lyla and Christian Radio DJ. This relationship will end badly, probably with a DTR about personal boundaries. Personally, I can’t wait.
  
• Buddy Garrity’s appeal. Garrity went from annoying, pushy booster to pathetic, hard-luck divorcee so fast, I didn’t even have time to remember why I used to detest him. Now, he is so likable, I openly root for him regardless of the situation. Break up that marriage, Buddy. You can do it!
  
• Taylor family. Everything about the Taylor family is great, especially the relationship between Eric and Tammy. They are the Cosby’s of 21st century television.
  

Forget these storylines:

• Interracial relationships. Kudos to the FNL crew for approaching such a difficult topic. That said, can we please move on? I feel weird.
  
• Volleyball. Though the allure of Tyra in spanx is understandable, the whole idea of screen time devoted to volleyball is absurd. What’s next? Math-letes?
  

Deny this storyline ever existed:

• Jason Street and fatherhood. While we’re at it, can we have a do over on Jason Street, too?
  

Bring back:

• Football. As the backbone of the show, football should get more screen time than just a few scenes here and there. Also, I would appreciate it if every game did not come down to a last-second play.
  
• Matt Saracen and Julie Taylor. This couple was great in season one before Julie and her feelings ruined things. Can two people be more perfect for each other? Matt is an emotional mess and Julie could fly off the handle at any moment for any reason. They need to be together.
  
• Landry and geeky girl. When Landry chose Tyra near the end of season two, I was very disappointed. Not only did he take back a girl who will inevitably break his heart, he also said no to a girl who might just be his soul mate. He needs to make things right. It’s not every day you meet a girl who likes Mystery Science Theater 3000.
  

Keep away:

• Waverly. Smash’s bipolar, season-one arm-candy was a little too topical and relevant for a show about hooking up and sports.
  
• The Swede. This homewrecker was entirely forgettable as Julie Taylor’s fling. If she wanted someone with facial hair and a drinking problem, she should have taken her shot at Riggins when she had the chance.
• Landry killing people. Seriously. No more.
  

This post was written while listening to Chevelle.

Some might argue that Tim Riggins is already a superhero.  He gets girls, he drives a truck, and he drinks like a fish—mostly all at the same time.  Anyone who can pull off that trifecta must be working some sort of special power.

Well, what Friday Night Lights fans have known for awhile, Hollywood is making official:  Tim Riggins will be a superhero in the next X-Men movie.

Unfortunately, he will not be appearing as Tim Riggins.  Taylor Kitsch, the actor who plays Riggins, will be playing the part of Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine to be released 2009.  The movie will feature other cool actors and mutants such as one of the Lord of the Rings Hobbits and Ryan Reynolds, but I’m particularly excited to see Riggins’ turn as a Marvel Comics superhero.

I had never heard of Gambit before this announcement, but after a little research, it was plain to me that Riggins was the best choice for the part.  Throughout his Dillon days, Tim has displayed certain qualities that make him perfect for the role.  Take a look:

• Self-described ladies man? Check.
• Failed relationship with the woman he loves? Check.
• Able to manipulate the kinetic energy of other things?  Check.  (I am referring, of course, to Julie Taylor.)
• A history of stealing?  Check.
• Skilled at throwing cards and working the Bo staff?  Probably.

So it is plain to see that Riggins fits the part of Gambit, but does Gambit fit the part of Riggins?  This role is a big deal for Taylor Kitsch, but it might be an even bigger deal for Friday Night Lights.  The only pub created by FNL stars to this point has been Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) hooking up with John Mayer.  There’s no street cred in that.

The creators of X-Men should channel some of Riggins’ finer FNL qualities into the Gambit character to make him a well-rounded, cross-promotional individual.  Here are my ideas:

• Give Gambit a surrogate father.

An ideal fit would be Dr. Xavier played by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler).  Dr. X could invite Gambit into his home where there would be awkward sexual tension between the doc’s daughter and sister-in-law, culminating in a misunderstanding that gets Gamby kicked out.  Then Gamby would be able to reunite with his wayward brother and heal the relationship between himself and Dr. X in a scene full of heartfelt apologies and hugs.

• Have Gambit help out a wayward peer.

The best way Tim Riggins knows to help someone out is skipping school and getting drunk.  Therefore, Gambit could take that blind X-Guy out for some drinks, let him shoot off his eye laser at the Golden Tee machine, and blow off a secret meeting at the X-Men lair.

• Let Gambit have a cool saying like, “I will end you.”

Riggins was full of great lines, so Gambit should at least have one of them.  Every time he throws a queen of hearts in somebody’s face, he could say, “How ‘bout Saracen sleeping with the coach’s daughter?”  Or after each bad guy who tastes the wrong end of his Bo staff, Gambit could cry out, “What’s the deal with the Shroud of Turin?”  Maybe he should just stick to “I will end you.”

• Make Gambit’s arch enemy a Christian radio DJ.

This is the most important plot point to add.  Gambit doesn’t really have any mortal enemies, so he could totally create a feud with Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family.  Their history could go back to when Dr. Dobson flirted with Rogue at a missions conference, creating a jealous grudge between the two.  Gambit never approved of Dobson’s right-wing Christian politics, and Dr. D never thought it prudent for Gambit to control things with his mind.  The climactic fight scene could take place at Whit’s End with Gambit hurling mind-charged milkshakes at Dobson and Dobson quoting damning Scripture at Gambit.

There is really so much potential for Riggins’ part in X-Men that it would be a shame for movie producers to miss out on it.  

Now to find a way to work Buddy Garrity into Transformers 2.

This post was written while listening to mewithoutyou

The ending to Friday Night Lights season two was a cliffhanger for all the wrong reasons.

First off, the cliff was more like a ledge—a ledge that only dropped down three or four feet. Considering that the episode was not originally intended as a season finale (the writer’s strike made it one), I can understand why FNL producers didn’t make it more intense or suspenseful, but it did leave an empty feeling for a finale.

Second, there was little to no hanging to be done. Normally when series shut off for a few months, they leave plot points open and create interest for the following season. Apart from Smash’s suspension, the latest Friday Night Lights episode did not leave a whole lot of loose ends untied.

It would be a shame if NBC let Friday Night Lights end on this note. There is too much story left to tell, and the show is too good to be replaced. NBC executives made the right decision in bringing the show back last year, so here’s hoping they do the same thing for the fall.

If they do, there are a lot of good story ideas left out there. Here is a taste of what could be in store for several of Dillon’s finest characters:

Buddy Garrity: The comeback father of the year has a marriage to ruin. With his ex-wife set to marry an eco-snob, Buddy and adopted favorite son Santiago need to take drastic action. And what’s more drastic than crashing a wedding you weren’t invited to? Not bringing a gift, that’s what. When Buddy and Santiago show up at the outdoor ceremonies in a brand new Ford Escape (brought to you by Ford), all hell will break loose. New Mr. Garrity will take offense and try to psychoanalyze the situation as Buddy’s id outperforming his ego. Buddy’s ex-wife will send the wrong message by telling Buddy she will always love him but he needs to move his car because he has the New Age pastor’s van double-parked. Lyla will make googly-eyes at Christian radio boyfriend (more on this later). And all the wedding guests will be forced to take sides, which always leads to a heartfelt one-on-one with Coach Taylor and Buddy with Buddy doing all the talking. This will probably need to be a two-part episode.

Landry and Tyra: These two lovebirds seem to have it made, but can we really expect Tyra to stay monogamous with a guy who likes Mystery Science Theater? I think not. Here is what will more than likely happen, give or take a few seedy details: an all-boys academy from down the street burns to the ground, forcing all of the single, attractive male students to take classes at Dillon. Tyra makes out with every single one of them and Matt Saracen in one advanced math class. Landry finds out about the love affair and threatens to leave Tyra once and for all. Tyra sells him on the fact that she’s hot and almost an assistant manager at Applebee’s, and Landry reconsiders.

Tim Riggins: The painful saga of Riggins could go either way at this point. If things don’t work out with Lyla, he could become a career alcoholic who never makes it out of Dillon. But I’m hoping that things go the other direction. With Smash on the bench and Saracen being a below average quarterback, I can see Riggins carrying this team into the playoffs. He will become the heart and soul of the Panthers, and the whole town will fall in love with him. Lyla’s deejay BF will grow increasingly jealous when he can’t go anywhere in Dillon without people mentioning Riggins’ greatness, and he will finally blow up in an awkward PG-rated tirade directed at Lyla and the fact that she always wants to make out.

Meanwhile, Riggins will be hitting the books hard because he just accepted a full-ride football scholarship to play at Texas A&M. Lyla, seeing his commitment to school and personal achievements, will find him oddly attractive, leading to a make out session in the church foyer. Christian radio guy will walk in on them, realize he has lost, and storm out of the church. Riggins will accept Jesus and take over all of Christian radio guy’s deejaying duties.

The Taylors: When we last left the Taylors, Julie was getting a driver’s license, which can only mean one thing: she will start whining for a car of her own. It can’t be long before she is down at the dealership, flirting with Street to get a deal on a pre-owned Jetta.

Tammy will quit the volleyball team after winning the state title because she has an issue with the blatant sexuality of spanx and Tyra in spanx. This will lead to an entire episode devoted to women’s self-worth and modesty.

Eric will have his hands full with athletic director duties, which have been conveniently left out of the storyline at the behest of believability and reality. Also, his home life will grow more hectic when Saracen and Saracen Grandma move into the house because they can’t keep up on their mortgage. The sexual tension between Matt and Julie and Matt and Tammy and Matt and any potential live-in nurses will be palpable.

Smash: Naturally, FNL cannot end without Smash having one last shot at the football field. Of course, the Panthers are making the playoffs. This is TV, not real life. Once in the playoffs, the old Smash will return and form an awesome running back platoon with Riggins. However, right before the state championship game, stupid white kids will coax Smash into hitting them by making fun of hip hop, strappy shoulder backpacks, and Mama Smash’s cooking. The state board will recommend suspending Smash for the title game before a heartfelt speech from Buddy Garrity changes everyone’s mind. The Panthers will win the state title and Smash will head off to college to play in a West Coast offense where he will never be heard from again.

Street: Getting a girl pregnant is the best thing that has happened to Six since wheelchair rugby. He could not have been more happy when he found out that there was Street seed growing in the belly of a woman he didn’t really know all that well. Is he crazy? Is he delusional? This is the sort of thing that freaks most guys out, especially guys who are largely incapable of raising a child on their own.

Nevertheless, this story is happening and there’s no stopping it now. I just can’t wait until we get to the scene where Street Jr. turns to his Street and Herc and asks, “Why do I have two daddies?” That will be fun times for all, and it will probably end with Street asking awkward questions to Coach Taylor in an Applebee’s because it’s not a serious conversation unless one of the persons involved is eating chicken fried chicken.

Poor Smash. He was trying to do good by his interracial relationship, but little did he know that small, hick towns simply cannot deal with such forward thinking. This is why knock-off Dairy Queen does so well there.

In a fair and just world, Smash would get to keep his scholarship and keep his girlfriend, and those irritating white kids would be the ones who would pay. The Friday Night Lights world is nothing but fair, though.

In the FNL world, Landry dumps a girl with a future for a girl with low necklines. Saracen can’t catch a break, and Riggins can’t get the girl he wants. Tammy gets caught up in her team, forgetting about her family, and Julie throws a fit for reasons only her girl pheromones can understand.

The Friday Night Lights world is, indeed, a sad, strange place. But I have a feeling that things will get better soon:

Smash: There is no way we’ve seen the last of Smash on a football field. I know this because he is too driven, motivated, and talented to let this whole situation be the end of his career, and I’m pretty sure that the only way the Panthers don’t make the playoffs is if FNL gets canceled before they have a chance.
Smash will have a great playoff run culminated in a great state championship game, and then all the major colleges will want him again. Besides, what big-time college program wouldn’t overlook an assault charge? Certainly not Florida State.

Landry: Sure, he seems happy now, but that is because his mind is filled with happy thoughts about getting to second base. In a few weeks, after Tyra has cheated on him and he realizes relationships centered around that one time you killed a guy are normally doomed, he will feel differently. He’ll blow up at Tyra again, she’ll act all innocent, and he’ll do the right thing and come crawling back to his hip, Mystery Science Theater-loving gal pal with the blonde dreads. Then he’ll be happy.

Saracen: This kid has a lot to fix, but I think a DTR with Julie would go a long way toward restoring his self-respect. That, and a dad who loves him, a grandma who doesn’t have inoperable crazies, a live-in maid who isn’t hot, and a new car.

Riggins: This new Lyla relationship seems fishy. As much as I hope her faith is genuine, I can’t help but feel that she is still quite capable of falling for a guy like Riggins. All of this is good news for Tim, since he grows more and more desperate every day. They’ll be dating within a year.

Tammy: She’ll stop coaching volleyball after they win a state championship in her first year. Then she’ll have more time to focus on her disjointed daughter.

Julie: Speaking of the disjointed daughter, Julie just needs a place to belong and people to make her feel like she is important and special. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Math-letes! Those guys will have her feeling better about herself in no time.

That might fix all the wrongs from last week’s episode, but, if previews of the next episode are any indication (Tammy’s ex-boyfriend drives Coach Taylor insane), there will always be something going wrong in FNL world.

The day that “Friday Night Lights: the football show” becomes “Tuesday Night Gym: the volleyball show” is the day that I will no longer watch television. Unfortunately, after this week’s FNL episode, I am one week closer to that fate.

Friday Night Lights has never been about the football. I found this out the hard way about 20 episodes into the first season. Football scenes are few and far between on an average episode, as the directors choose to focus more on characters and storylines and less on third down strategy and blitz pick-ups.

For the most part, I am okay with this. I would certainly like to see the actors mail in their football scenes on a more regular basis (“Smash breaks a weak attempt at an arm tackle by an extra who never learned football! He could go all the way because that’s the way the cliché works!”), but in the meantime, I have learned to enjoy the dialogue and the feelings.

The introduction of volleyball into the FNL mix was, as I’m sure you can guess, excruciating.

Rather than watching football practice or football games or football dialogue, we had to sit through a volleyball practice, a volleyball game, and volleyball dialogue that neither made sense nor convinced me to care. I’m sorry, but seeing Tyra turn her life around by getting involved in a team sport does not qualify as interesting. In fact, let me just go ahead and finish this plotline for you: Volleyball team wins state. Tyra gets college scholarship. Women cry and hug. There; now can we move on?

If I had chosen a sport for an FNL storyline, volleyball would have been way down the list. In fact, here is that list in its entirety:

1. Women’s soccer. Especially after introducing the crazy coach several episodes ago, I thought women’s soccer was going to be the way to go.
2. Field hockey. A mix of soccer, polo, and girls smacking things with sticks has no downside.
3. Tennis. Doubles with Lyla and Tyra would have been fascinating.
4. Cheerleading (note: not an actual sport). Saracen’s old flame could have had herself a bit more of the spotlight.
5. Volleyball. The tight shorts don’t have the same effect on a show where all the women dress like they’re auditioning for Flavor of Love.
6. Women’s basketball. Why watch women play basketball when I can watch men do the same thing, only better?

And yet, volleyball won out.

The only good part about this story is that Tim Riggins is somehow involved. I’m not sure how or why he is assisting the volleyball team, but having him on hand to throw volleyballs at Tammy and make fun of the way the girls play is fine by me.

But Riggins can only do so much. His comic relief is outweighed by the awkward volleyball action scenes, Tyra’s odd fundamentals, and Tammy’s uncomfortable coaching style. The whole ordeal made me remember why I never attended any of my school’s volleyball games, and yet in the irony of ironies, here I was in my mid-20s watching one on TV.

Join us next week when the producers try to kill me with an all-girls sleepover. Ugh.

“Want to see my quizzing trophies?”

I fully expected to hear this line from the new Christian radio guy as he was listening to Lyla’s tell-all in the church sanctuary.  Or maybe I was just hoping to hear it, considering I had spent a good portion of high school banking on the fact that quizzing would get the chicks and I wanted to know if it really did.
Christian Radio Guy was my favorite part of the latest Friday Night Lights episode because he had eerie similarities to myself.  His entire persona could have been based on the high school version of me.  Check it out:

Oddly approachable?  Check.

A crush on a girl out of his league?  Check.

Not in the “cool” crowd?  Check.

His own radio show?  Check.  (Although, replace “radio show” with “LEGO city.”)

The resemblance was uncanny, right down to the preppy wardrobe. 

Of course, our experiences with the opposite sex were incredibly different.

For a majority of the show, I thought that I would have to write an open letter to this kid to tell him how to work it with the ladies.  Instead, he got to Nazarene third base with his Lyla liplock in the closing minutes of the show.  A kiss?!  On the lips?!  Who did this guy think he is?!

With Christian Radio Guy going from spaz to stud in the time it takes me to sing “Church on Fire,” I was forced to reconsider everything I ever thought about him and about myself.  Was I wrong in thinking girls liked the quiet, socially awkward types?  Could all those years spent playing a wet blanket have been avoided with one assertive tongue hug?  Is courtship overrated?  It was as if I didn’t know myself anymore.

One thing’s for sure, Christian Radio Guy’s love scenario would have played out quite differently if he were taking cues from high school me.  Take a look:

When a listener called in to the show with a question about appropriate physical intimacy, Christian Radio Guy bailed Lyla out of an uncomfortable situation by calmly and patiently answering the caller’s questions.  I would have giggled quietly to myself and let Lyla go down in flames because I certainly did not know the first thing about physical intimacy.

During Lyla’s sharing session in the sanctuary, Christian Radio Guy played it cool by asking open-ended questions and keeping the mood light.  My experience in this situation is completely irrelevant because I was too scared to ever be alone with a pretty girl for any amount of time.

As Lyla and Christian Radio Guy were leaving, he helped her with her coat and then took the initiative of introducing his lips to her face.  I would have helped her with her coat, taking the initiative to not touch any part of her or her hair, then asked if she wanted to go hang out with me and my friends while we play Nintendo 64. 

As you can see, things would have turned out quite differently if I had been the one giving the advice.  But really, take away his abbreviated makeout session, and Christian Radio Guy would have been in the same position I knew so well:  the friend zone.  His bold move and Eli Manning haircut are the only things separating us, and his haircut isn’t really that good.

I would like to have had the chance to drop some knowledge on my FNL alter ego, but it would appear that he is doing just fine without me.  My pearls of wisdom (ranging from “do not go to their softball games unless invited” to “never assume they are talking about you when they say ‘Kevin’”) can wait for the next sheltered soul who longs to be one in mouth with the popular girl.  And when that kid comes along, you can bet the first gem I’ll hand to him will be: “Want to see my quizzing trophies?”

Photo courtesty of Yahoo! 

In last week’s episode, Coach Taylor’s advice to Smash Williams was just another example of how great his parenting skills are.  It also got me to thinking:  how would all the fathers on Friday Night Lights rank?  Well, it’s a good thing I have time on my hands, because here is the list I came up with. 

1. 1. Eric Taylor.  To a certain extent, I feel that being a head football coach is a direct extension of family life.  A good coach knows how to lead men, and a good father knows how to motivate, encourage, and inspire his children.  I am at the point where I am literally taking notes every time he talks to Julie or lectures his players. 
   Pros: Julie likes him more than she likes Tammy, he disciplines and loves AT THE SAME TIME, doesn’t jump to conclusions unless the situation involves Tim Riggins
   Cons: he uses his coaching as an excuse to avoid family responsibilities, can love football too much (note: this may also be listed as a Pro)

2. 2. Landry’s father.  The sheer fact that Landry’s father is Aaron from 24 should win him immediate points.  But it’s the loving, caring family man that really scores him the points.  I bet the two of them have some good times when dad sits Landry down and tells him Jack Bauer stories.  And I bet the times when Landry tells his dad stories about that time he killed a guy aren’t too bad, either.
   Pros: helped his son cover up a murder
   Cons: helped his son cover up a murder

3. 3. Buddy Garrity.  Life has not been good to Buddy lately.  His ex-wife is remarrying, his refrigerator can only hold so much steak, and his real name is Buddy.  But through it all, he continues to be a family man—at least the kind of family man who tries to buy back the love of his children with go karts and pop-a-shot.
   Pros: has money, provided a home for troubled child and budding football star, willing to repair his broken marriage, friends with Eric Taylor
   Cons: he cheated on his wife and lost the trust of his children and family, he’s a little desperate, loves Dillon football more than family

4. 4. Matt Saracen’s dad.  The episode arc in season one with Matt’s dad was uncomfortable to say the least.  The scenes with him and Matt felt awkward, and neither ever really seemed to appreciate the other.  In fact, I was kind of relieved when he left, and I think Matt was, too.
   Pros:  fighting for our freedom in Iraq
   Cons:  may or may not be capable of showing real emotion

5. 5. Tim Riggins’ father.  Not much screen time has been given to Riggins’ dad.  There was an episode in season one that featured him prominently, but he blew things and hasn’t been heard from since.  Come to think of it, he should probably be lower on this list.
   Pros:  showed up to that one game
   Cons:  an absentee father, one son grew up to be a deadbeat and the other is an alcoholic

6. 6. Matt Saracen.  Although he’s not a father just yet, I’m sure that the inappropriate relations he is having with the live-in nurse will result in children sooner or later.  Maybe that would help Julie to move on.
   Pros:  can support family with job at Fake Dairy Queen, no plans for college, shows leadership on football field…sometimes
   Cons:  probably doesn’t love the mother of his child, is 17 years old, has girl problems

I just got done watching the greatest Friday Night Lights episode of season two, and I finally feel that my faith is restored in the show. Throughout the first several episodes of the second season, things were going slowly and awkwardly, the storylines were boring and artificial, and I couldn’t really root for any of the characters. What felt so good about this episode was that it restored my faith in a show that was quickly losing my patience.
Here’s a recap of what went right:

A Tim Riggins plot in which he is not drunk.

At this point, I probably have an unhealthy fascination with Riggins. The show’s producers have made me feel sorry for him to the point where I openly cheer when he is on screen. He could not have been better in this episode. First off, his relationship with the Taylor family is exactly what I think inappropriate housing situations should look like. The 30-year-old aunt is flirting with him, Julie can’t keep her eyes off of him, he fixes the cable, he takes beer out of the fridge, Tammy yells at him. They really have quite a good thing going.

His football scenes are great, too. I literally got chills when he confronted the opposing team about the pranks and Coach Taylor had to come to his rescue. I was way too into that scene.
Not even the end of the show could have dampened my mood. Sure, Riggs got thrown out of the house, but the way that it happened was decidedly un-Riggins-like. I would have thought his demise would have been hooking up with Tammy’s sister in Coach’s bedroom or throwing a wild party when Coach was out of the house. Instead, he rescued a drunk Julie from a horny 16-year-old (and delivered one of the greatest 20-word speeches ever) and brought her safely back home. It wasn’t his fault that she was all hands when he was trying to help her, but I can’t blame Coach Taylor for making the decision that he did. Let’s just get this whole thing resolved so they can go back to being one big dysfunctional family.

Actual football scenes.

The drama of the visiting football team gave the whole episode some real tension. The opposing coach was terrific as an instigating villain, and the dynamics of sharing a lockerroom and practice field were fun to watch. The contrasts of style made for some pretty interesting scenes in the lockerroom pranks (Smashhole is my new fantasy football team name), practice field politics (was it just me or were they wearing the same uniforms?), and lunchroom fight (Landry: “Do you know I killed a guy?!”).

Landry telling Tyra off.

His conversation with Tyra at the dance was the exact conversation I said in my head a million times in high school. Granted, I was never anywhere close to the point of saying it to any of the popular girls I was afraid to talk to, but nevertheless, I still felt a sense of vindication when Landry pulled it off. And he was right. Everything he said about Tyra was true.

The conversation also represented a huge shift in the roles of the show. Landry went from being the hunter to the hunted. For the first time, he made Tyra realize that the relationship wasn’t all about her, and he put himself in control. At the same time, he officially became more girl-smart than Matt Saracen, who thinks falling in love with live-in nurses is a good idea.

Buddy Garrity.

I never realized how strange it was that his name was Buddy until this episode. Here he was, brokenhearted and desperate, ready to spill his soul to his ex-wife in the hopes of winning her back, and then we have the following exchange:
Kevin (new husband): “Hi, Buddy.”
Nothing more needed to be said, because at this point, all I could think about was the movie “Elf” and how his ex-wife could have ever married somebody named Buddy in the first place.

All kidding aside, though, Buddy has grown on me as a desperate, single guy. While the scene at the go-kart arcade with the kids was high on unintentional comedy, it was also genuine and heartfelt. It can’t be too long before he gets a rebound relationship with Tammy Taylor’s sister.

No sex.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to cover our eyes while Matt and the nurse got it on or Landry and Tyra hooked up in his bedroom. The story will probably be different next week, but at least I don’t have to feel guilty for one week.

No Street.

I was wondering what that light, airy feeling was. With no bitter quadriplegic to weigh things down, the show was surprisingly upbeat.

He struggles with things that I would like to struggle with—like football and home life and whether Julie Taylor and I should be more than friends (yes, we should).  He acts the way I would act in certain situations, all self-aware and awkward.  And he can always be counted on to be the second wheel, the punching bag, and everyone’s favorite fallback.

For a year-and-a-half, that is exactly what he has been.  His humanity is tragic in its own bashful way.  Sure, some things go his way, like the coach’s daughter falling for him and Jason Street breaking his back, but for the most part, he’s pretty down on his luck.

Or at least he was.

In the latest episode of Friday Night Lights, Saracen was downright unrecognizable.  He told off two of the three members of the Taylor family in less than 15 minutes.  He refused to let in to Smash’s preening, even though it meant going to the bench.  And he showed off a newfound confidence that no one knew he had.   

Considering his current situation, his moment of boldness was due.  He currently rooms with a crazy old lady who likes talking about the birds and the bees.  He must deal with sexual tension from a live-in nurse with an accent no less.  His role on the team has been decreased thanks to Smash’s running, and he looks like a sixth grader in his pads.  His best friend killed a guy, his dad is in Iraq, and he got dumped for a foreigner.  I would want to tell a few people off, too.  Meanwhile, in storylines I care significantly less about:

• Quite possibly the worst Mexico trip ever finally came to an end when Lyla and Tim succeeded in getting Street to give up on paralysis cure by shark.  Actually, they didn’t so much convince him as make him want to throw himself off a boat.  Either way, Street’s still paralyzed, which I guess was the goal.

• Fortunately, their trip did not end there.  On their way home, they decided to stop for a drink, and born-again Lyla locked lips with Street and Riggins in the span of 30 seconds.  Then she excused herself to pray, which is the exact same line some girl gave me in high school.

• If drawing a pass interference is what it takes to be popular, then I was going about high school athletics all wrong.  Landry got a hero’s welcome after making the play that led to the play that won the game.  His success was short-lived, though, when Tyra broke up with him, citing his loserness while secretly citing his dad’s over-parenting.  Poor Landry.  I can’t imagine a worse feeling.  Except maybe the time he killed a guy.

• The Taylors get it on, which is about all I want to say about that.