“Reality” TV – I’m sick of it. I mean that ill feeling starting way down in the toes, coupled with an anger that may lead me to throttle a network exec. I mean, seriously, how many more shows do we need about “Bachelor Midget-Throwing Nanny Swappers” or the like? Well, do you know how to stop the madness? START WATCHING GOOD SCRIPTED SHOWS! Don’t say, “Hey that Scrubs shore do look funny”. To save shows from the chopping block, people actually need to watch them. Then tell a friend. And tell that friend to choke a network exec for me – trust me, it’ll all work out in a circle of life kind of way.
What we need for scripted shows to survive is ratings, word of mouth and sometimes a good old-fashioned rally cry. There are a bunch of shows “on the bubble” right now – somewhere between renewal and cancellation. Don’t let more crap take their spots – in a world where an entire reality TV channel is a frightening truth, tell them from on high that you want your fake back! I’ve got a few shows worth saving – here’s my first:
Friday Night Lights - Okay, I’ll admit that I was reluctant with this one. I don’t love sports, and the Pilot episode was fairly centered on the big Dillon Panthers football game. But once you realize how well that one hour set up the characters and plot for the entire season, you begin to see how craftily these writers tell their tale. And soon after, you’re sucked in and actually giving a crap – it’s a really quick transition, so don’t get whiplash.
The basic plot follows Eric Taylor (new coach of this Texas high school team), his wife Tami (guidance counselor – yes, at the same school) and daughter Julie (smarty-pants cutie who certainly knows batter than to date an athlete. Hee-hee – yeah, that doesn’t last long). We are treated to (or frightened by, depending on your view) an inside look at how much small town football can mean when there’s nothing else around, and the politics surrounding that existence. Buddy Garrity embodies the ideals of the town, being a former football player, a current team supporter, a sleazy car salesman and father to cheerleader Lyla (who, naturally, is dating the lead quarterback). More deals are made or broken in Dillon, Texas because of football than nearly anything else.
And of course, there’s the team itself – ranging from Jason Street (aforementioned lead QB, who is quickly sidelined) to Matt Saracen (backup QB, with an Opie-caught-in-the-headlights kind of innocence) to the over-the-top “Smash” Williams (a mix between a southern rapper, a Baptist minister and a mama’s boy) to Tim Riggins (a drunk, a slacker, most likely to sleep with your girlfriend – but utterly likeable). And there are too many supporting characters to name – girlfriends, best friends, cute neighbor kids – who seamlessly blend into this tale. The writers give a real sense of community and how it all fits together. And you’ll even learn to forgive them for the occasional “Throwing dead bodies over a bridge” or “Wow, I’m suddenly a born-again religious nut” plotlines. Really, you will.
Current Status: Better than some – NBC is working to get a cable channel to help foot the bill for the show, much like they did with Law & Order and the USA Network (both are owned by the same parent company). This would likely give the cable net first airings, with NBC running the episodes shortly after. The biggest supporter for the show may be DirecTV actually looks to be a frontrunner in helping pick it up right now. The ratings that a show like this gets on a major net may not seem huge, but for a cable/satellite show, the ratings from a built-in audience could be a coup.
What Can You Do?: Buy the DVDs or download episodes from iTunes and get caught up with a great show and jump on now. The other route is to go to savefridaynightlights.tv – who are sending mini-footballs to NBC execs to get the renewal message across. Either way, hopefully you’ll be as excited as a neighbor kid exclaiming “Tim Riggins! Tim Riggins is bangin’ my Momma!”. If you watched the show, you may have already gotten that joke – see how behind you are.
See you soon for more picks…
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