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Now On DVD: Friday Night Lights - The Second Season
04/27/2008 It’s got some of the best acting, writing and direction on TV today. It tackles issues like racism, sex and drug use without coming off as overbearing or preachy. It’s one of the few dramas on television that has remained consistently good throughout its run. . .and I bet you’ve never even seen an episode. Well, now that both seasons of the critically acclaimed (but criminally underwatched) drama Friday Night Lights are on DVD, you really have no excuse for not treating yourself to some fine primetime television. The second season picks up a little after where the first left off. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is away from his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), and daughter, Julie (Aimee Teegarden), so he can coach outside of Dillon, which is complicated by the birth of his new baby girl. Meanwhile, Landry (Jesse Plemons) gets closer to Tyra (Andrianne Palicki) after a major incident; Smash (Gaius Charles) begins to narrow down his list of prospective universities; Matt’s (Zach Gilford) relationship with Julie begins to fizzle; Lyla (Minka Kelly) devotes her life to God; and Tim (Taylor Kitsch) and Jason (Scott Porter) continue to struggle with their own personal hardships, something that inevitably brings the two closer towards the end. I can understand why you might have your reservations about the show. How great can a show based off of a Billy Bob Thornton football movie be? Well, there’s a lot more to the show than football. In fact, actual football games are only about 10%, if that much, of each episode. Additionally, the stories and the performances they generate are among some of the best you’ll see on television. The series won an Emmy last year for best casting for a dramatic series, and rightfully so. There’s not a weak link among any of the actors; they all bring something to the table. However, if there were one or two performers who needed to be singled out, they would have to be Chandler and Britton. The chemistry between the two of them is so real and believable, it never feels like you’re watching two actors shooting a scene. The DVD for the second season includes 15 episodes instead of 22 due to the writers’ strike. Still, it’s not a bad buy. Aside from the episodes being of the highest caliber, the deleted scenes that accompany most of them are, like the first season’s, worthy of your viewing. Whereas many other shows’ DVDs showcase deleted scenes that should have been left out, the footage you find here are of moments exceptionally captured that were undoubtedly cut for time constraints and not for a lack of quality. Something this season’s set offers that the first did not are commentaries by some of the cast members and executive producers. There is also a nice interview with the cast and a few writers/producers for the William S. Paley Television Festival that showcases how close everybody involved with the show really is. Friday Night Lights is moving, funny, and engrossing, sometimes all at once. If you haven’t discovered the show for yourself, now’s your chance. If you’ve been reluctant to watch before, give it another shot. It’s on every critic’s shortlist for a reason. See why. Comments [post a comment]
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Friday, March 12, 2010
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