If the Lions’ improbable run to state has taught us anything, it’s that pouty basketball players make the best wide receivers. But if it’s taught us two things, the second would be this: It’s not necessarily the team with the most talent that wins, it’s the team that plays the best with what it has. This resonated for us this week, the penultimate in dear old Dillon, especially in light of our uncharacteristic complaints about the previous episode’s beatification of St. Tami in downtown Philadelphia. To recap the recap: We thought it ridiculous and unnecessary: Not only was Tami patently unqualified for the job, but it also played into a larger criticism we have of the show’s need to elevate the Taylors as not just exceptional within their community but within the universe (or at least the country) as a whole.

But the real issue with serialized television isn’t outlandish plot points themselves — all sorts of questionable decisions can emerge from the stress of the writers’ room, whether it’s killing off a main character or chasing a second dinner of garlic knots with a third Red Bull — it’s how they are integrated into the overall flow.

To read the rest of this article go to: NYMag.com

The final, fifth season of Friday Night Lights will begin airing on NBC on Apr. 15, but over on DirecTV, we’ve already arrived at the series’ penultimate episode, which aired last night. It was a great episode that saw the return of Adrienne Palicki as Tyra, Zach Gilford as Matt, and some big, fundamental changes in life in Dillon, Tex., so spoilerphobes, you are forewarned. Tyra came back to Dillon only to find bitter bartender Tim about to punch out a patron for calling him “jailbird.” When Tyra immediately greeted him with “Hey, jailbird,” I immediately fell in love with her all over again. Yes, Lyla was Tim’s gal for a long time, but it was Tyra who really got Tim, as this episode proved.

To read the rest of this review go to: Watching-TV.EW.com

“Vince Howard is now a Panther. The sons of bitches got him,” Coach tells Buddy, shortly after the hearing that shuts down the East Dillon Lions. It might be the first moment he’s realized that getting Vince Howard is what the whole budget crisis was about. After two years of shaping the team and its star, Coach has fallen victim to a hostile takeover he didn’t see coming. And why should he have? It’s a ballsy move, even for the Dillon Panthers and their supporters. But it’s also perfectly in keeping with the depiction of the town over the past two seasons as a place with a deep divide between those that have and those that don’t. Now that he’s a star, Vince has become a commodity for those that have to obtain. (Coach, too, but we’ll get back to that.)

It also keeps perfectly with Friday Night Lights’ depiction of football from its first episode (a point driven home by another version of the Daniel Johnston song “Devil Town” used so effectively throughout the show). For everything the game gives, it takes something away.

To read the rest of this review go to: AVClub.com

It’s nearly time to say goodbye…

This week’s penultimate episode ofFriday Night Lights (”Texas Whatever”), written by Kerry Ehrin and directed by Kyle Chandler, moved the pieces into place for one final emotional sucker punch as we prepare to say our goodbyes to this remarkable and intelligent series.

It was no surprise that, going into the series finale, things would look so dark and grim, as the future of the Dillon Lions was called into question even as the team prepared for the state championship. In fact, everybody’s future seemed up for grabs– from Tami and Eric Taylor to Tim Riggins, from Luke and Becky to Billy and Mindy Riggins–as the episode offered up a sense that anything was possible as these characters considered their own paths, even as we get ready to see them walk off into the sunset next week.

To read the rest of this review go to: TelevisionaryBlog.com

“Friday Night Lights” has only one week to go in its exclusive DirecTV run (and NBC today announced its own premiere date), with the series finale (sigh…) airing next Wednesday at 9 p.m. on The 101 Network. Meanwhile, I have a review of the series’ penultimate episode coming up just as soon as I try to write down a speech while driving…

“You know, it’s kind of like this drug: When you get outside of it, you see it for what it really is. But when you’re in it, seems like there’s no other possible reality.” -Tyra

Tyra Collette returns to Dillon just in the nick of time. Not only is the series almost over, not only does Tim Riggins desperately need a little love and tenderness and understanding(*), but in “Texas Whatever” we find several of our regulars seriously contemplating a life away from Dillon

To read the rest of this review go to: HitFix.com

Only four episodes of Friday Night Lights remain. (We’ll pause to let you dry your eyes on your Oklahoma Tech beer koozie — it’s not like you’ll be needing it anymore.) But while the weekly exploits of the Lions may disappear from our (Direct)TVs, it’s hard to imagine Dillon, Texas, ceasing to exist. More than anything else, it’s the town that has become the star of the show and it’s a tribute to the writers, cast, and crew that a fictional place seems so utterly fixed, permanent, and real in our minds. Perhaps that’s also why so much of “Don’t Go” seemed concerned with a future we’ll never get to see, but one that is awfully comforting to imagine.

To read the rest of this review go to: NYMag.com

While I’ve felt the looming end ofFriday Night Lights throughout this season, never have I felt the urgency as keenly as I did with this week’s eloquent installment (”Don’t Go”), written by Bridget Carpenter and directed by Michael Waxman, which began to move the pieces in place for the series’ ending in a few weeks.

At times lyrical, at times somber, the sensational “Don’t Go” had me wiping away tears freely throughout the episode as the concept of home was revisited several times throughout. Just what is home? Is it the place where we hang our hat? Is it the place where we’re surrounded by our loved ones? Or is it the place where we choose to be, in spite of the opportunities elsewhere?

To read the rest of this review go to: TelevisionaryBlog.com