Anyone who has read any of my tweets for the past month knows I spent much of those four weeks watching Friday Night Lights. All five seasons in fewer weeks, one episode after another, capped off by a weekend with a cold spent glued to the couch and the final 26. That’s one fine, fine show, people. It will sound silly but I felt the need to document that I watched it, that I was there in the lives of these people, if only for a short time. Because they felt like people I might know. Which is odd for a girl from the northeast who thought anyone west of the Mississippi couldn’t spell his name and slept with a shotgun. I really felt like I knew them, or could know them, and that a marriage like the one that Coach and Tami Taylor had, one in which your spouse makes you insufferably angry but you’re still consumed with love for him, one in which the spaces in your togetherness make for touching and meaningful moments in between, was and is possible.
I felt like I knew the flawed and yet completely loveable Tim Riggins, the man you’d regret taking your pants off for but would invite back to your dinner table. For the equally flawed Buddy Garrity, a man you’d never take your pants off for but whose love of his town and team make you respect him in a way you didn’t think possible. And dear god, let us not speak of Matt Saracen, and his befuddled self so full of selflessness for that delightful and at times batty grandmother of his. Let us talk about how we should all have so much life in our eyes as she does when she sees that boy or finds Coach Taylor on her front stoop. I wanted Tyra to go to a decent college and Lyla to stop looking so damn hard and Vince to stay on the right track like it was my job, people. Like suddenly I was Mrs. Tami Taylor and these kids were indeed beyond standardized test scores, were living, breathing hope on screen, the hope that we can all overcome odds and make something of ourselves and love and feel and fight like we’re Street at 17, or Tami at 37, or Mrs. Saracen at 70.
I’m thrilled at the way that the writers ended the series, with something of a life goes on approach, leaving you feeling like you might run in to Tami at Whole Foods, or Becks with that championship ring on a tiny chain round her neck, lingering at the Alamo Freeze. I feel something I can only describe as excitement that each of these character’s lives is following the trajectory of that last pass at State; they’re each just going for it, high and long, and we don’t really know just what will happen. I’d like to think that they’re still in forward motion: Tami buying a winter wardrobe, Coach barking at a new band of boys, Tyra going back to blond, the Riggins boys doing all things legal while tipsy, Lyla learning to love in a way that doesn’t hurt, Julie growing up in a way that doesn’t hurt others, and someone finally taking care of Matt. Whatever they would be doing, we were somehow led through five seasons to a point at which we know that there is just where they’d need to be. And it was pretty fantastic to witness the journey.
11 Comments
I’m right in the middle of it now, but I haven’t had time to just sit and watch for long stretches. I do, however, savor every episode. I love how real the characters are, not wholly good or bad, just flawed and touchingly human.
Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to go through it slowly and make those five seasons last.
I thought it was the best show I’ve ever seen on the teevee. I read in an interview that they simply set up a scene and let the actors figure out what their characters would say.
I’m so happy that you liked FNL. I have so many capitalized, bolded, and italicized feelings about the characters brought so to life on the show. Watching you trip through the episodes on twitter has given me a hankering to go through it again and see the beginning with the knowledge of where they will be and who they will become… I also noticed that you failed to mention Landry ;)
That almost is fitting of the show itself; the boy who Coach Taylor himself kept saying his name wrong. The sidekick who we all knew and who we wonder if they grew into the brains and got some game.
Texas Forever.
Best show ever. Clear eyes, full hearts.
I love that Brenda already pointed out the missing Landry. LANDRY! My love for Landry is borderline ridiculous. And by borderline, I mean completely. FNL is one of the most perfect shows ever put on tv. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Clear eyes. Full Hearts…
Does this mean you want a tractor for Christmas? Because I will so buy you one (with a Diet Coke soda fountain bolted to the hood).
Damnit I’m going to have to watch this, aren’t I?
i just finished watching it in May and am pretty sure I’m going to have to rewatch the whole series again before a year passes. This is a case where I should’ve listened to my parents years ago – they’ve been raving about the show since it started, and I only started watching when Season 4 was on tv.
I watched seasons 1-5 in October and agree completely with your thoughts on the show. I’m Texan – the show is authentic to the people here. The writing and casting was perfection – through and through it’s just a great show. I went to The Broken Spoke (dance hall in Austin, exterior appeared in an episode since the show was filmed here) over the weekend and expected to run into Tami and Coach Taylor. So glad you enjoyed FNL.
If only I could rock a shirt dress and cowboy boots like Tami Taylor.
FNL was one of the best shows on TV and I was thrilled with each season. Ok, maybe not season 2 but let’s forget that one.
Clear eyes, full hearts.
FNL was the greatest show ever. I even now have a Clear eyes, full heart t-shirt (which isn’t really me to wear a TV based tee). It will forever be in my heart because I “discovered” the first three seasons on netflix and watched it as I fed my first-born. I ended up just staying up and watching them even after my spawn went back to sleep.
What I want to know is, did anyone else cry or get choked up EVERY EPISODE??? Honestly, I think I have a problem.