After spending last year writing about all of the reasons why more people needed to watch NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”, I wanted to wait and give the show a chance to redeem itself from its terrible premiere episode that caused fan controversy before it even aired.
However, after watching last Friday’s episode, I can no longer hold back my disappointment. One of the best written dramas of the last several TV seasons has now betrayed its core audience by turning the series into a Texas-style version of “The O.C.” In the process, “Lights: has left behind the authentic, heroic storylines that originally made fans cheer.
The first and biggest misstep did come in the first episode when one of the two teens on the show with a strong moral compass, Landry, kills a man who was stalking the girl he has pined for all throughout high school, Tyra. This was a pick-up from last season when the man tried to rape Ali while she was waiting for Landry to show up at a restaurant. If “Lights” producers and writers wanted viewers to think this was heroic – akin to making Landry a knight in shining armor – they probably shouldn’t have had Landry go back and kill the guy after the man was already injured and semi-unconscious. Having Landry and Tyra throw the dead body in the river to cover up the incident also smacked of nothing better than tacky teen soap operadom.
Not only has “Lights” ruined a perfectly good hero in Landry, they haven’t done much better trying to turn their resident bad boy Riggins into a Christian. Yes, it wasn’t enough to turn perky former cheerleader Lila into a sanctimonious goody two-shoes, but in last week’s episode, teen alcoholic Riggins decided to come to Lila’s megachurch to give Jesus a chance.
Because I am a Christian, you might think I would be thrilled with such a possible story arc as two troubled teens turning to God for salvation. I suppose I would be, except that it seems that the entire storyline is crafted to throw Riggins and Lila back together again and that Riggins may be using his new found faith to hit on Lila. Nothing heroic about that, either.
The only bright spot on “Lights” this season has been the plot line involving Coach Taylor and his wife Tammy as he deals with new job pressures and she has a post-partum meltdown. Once again, this couple makes the difficult and brave choices necessary for their marriage to grow.
Is that enough for Coach Taylor to save this losing season? Not for this “Friday” viewer.
posted October 23, 2007 at 10:38 am
I absolutely agree. Last season, FNL could not have been a more perfect show. From the plotlines to the locations to the superb, and woefully underappreciated, actors it was first class from start to finish. This year, the acting is still wonderful, the locations still great, but the plotlines? Horrendous. Completely untrue to the standard set during the first season.
Small point: it’s Tyra, not Ali. Tyra Collette, and her conversation with Landry’s father last week was about the only high point of this particular storyline.
Ever hopeful, I keep watching, thinking that surely something will happen to make me believe in this show like I did last year. Sad, indeed, to see such a promising show wasted.
posted October 23, 2007 at 11:49 am
What a shame to write off a show after two episodes. I, too, am disappointed with the melodramatic story involving killing a man and throwing him into the river (particularly the throwing-him-into-a-river part). However, I have yet to meet a Christian teen who is perfect and incapable of even grievous sin. I have not yet met a Christian adult who is any more capable of being perfect. I have friends who have been shocked and humbled to see how far into sin they’re able to go, despite having an authentic faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ.
I am concerned, of course, with what lies ahead for both Landry and Lila. (It’s a jump to call Riggins a Christian, of course, consdiering that all he’s done is attend one church service.) Lila may annoy you, but she reminds me of real Christians I know, particularly of people just starting out in their faith when they haven’t developed a more mature way of expressing their faith. The thing is, Christians come with flaws, and to accurately represent Christians, those flaws must be part of the package. I hope “FNL” treats their faith with respect, and that their longer story arcs reveal a God who sticks by these characters, and a faith that remains, regardless of their own missteps and even grievous sins. A person’s value can’t be judged based on a couple hours with that person, and a show that’s already proven its value deserves more patience than a couple hours of a new season, in my opinion. If in the end both Landry’s and Lila’s professions of faith turn out to be little more than words, that will truly be a disappointment (though arguably, it would also be realistic).
posted October 23, 2007 at 2:07 pm
That’s it. I’m done with it too. And I don’t mean Friday Night Lights. I mean Idol Chatter.
Honestly, shut up. Heaven forbid that characters on the best written show on TV face dilemmas in their personal lives that may prove to be less than “heroic” in the eyes of the writer.
For one thing, you are obviously not a viewer if you think that Tyra’s name is Ali (?). I was skeptical about the murder plot line initially as I feel it steps outside the realism of the show, but in the two subsequent episodes, it has been handled wonderfully.
And Lyla turning to God in a serious way makes absolute sense given what she went through last year and her upbringing. I see we are already writing off the sinner. Maybe the show isn’t fitting in to whatever lens you had before. These are real people, they face obstacles and tough situations (I assume you probably hate Julie now. Deep down you probably are calling her a slut)
Go live in a world where people only make the right choices. Get off it.
First freaking out over Kathy Griffin and now this. I thought this was a place for Christian writing.
posted October 24, 2007 at 8:11 am
Sorry the actress’ name is Ali so that was an unintentional writer’s slip. If I know the actor’s names as well, that means I must really watch the show right?
posted October 24, 2007 at 8:26 am
It makes me question if you really watch the show when the name of one of the main characters is incorrect in your article (Tyra NOT Alli). The show has been given more “OC” elements because the powers at NBC want to draw more people into the show. Hopefully when the ratings improve, the focus will turn back to the town. Also, the murder storyline, while lame, was interesting, and the storylines around it (Tami and the baby, Erick’s absence, Julie and Matt’s beakup, the greasy Swede)read true to last year’s great form.
Long live Friday Night!
posted October 24, 2007 at 11:07 am
I have been watching this show as well and as a Christian I have wondered where they are going to go with some of the storylines. Last season, I was shocked to see the team pray before a game, and see people pray before a meal and then see them stop and pray when their quarterback was carried off the field with a serious injury. And Lila prayed for her boyfriend in his hospital bed. You don’t usually see people praying on TV, so this intrigued me. Are they supposed to be Christians? Then you see Smash attending church with his family, and you see people in church praying for things. But I was skeptical. Usually, if they say someone is a Christian, they don’t end up acting the way that we think a Christian should act. I know that in reality, we see that all the time, but you kind of hope deep down that someone could portray a Christian on TV for once who at least seems to be full of the Spirit of God and living an obedient life. (but probably no one would want to watch that!) Then I saw Lila sleeping with Riggins. So, there goes the witness of a girl who prays. Now, this season, she says she got saved. So, apparently she wasn’t saved last season when she was breaking God’s laws. So far… her changes seem to ring true. Riggins? No way…he just went to one service and sees a way to get her back.
The acting is still very good and the relationship between the Taylors is done so well, that it keeps me rivited to the TV. I’m not expecting them to get the “Christian” part right in this show, but when compared to every other show, at least this one addresses the subject of immorality rather than just giving it to you as though it was just a part of life. There is a huge population of Christian people out there who don’t jump in bed with everyone and you never see them as characters in TV shows. I am curious to see how the writers will tell these stories and if they will ring true to me. So, I haven’t given up on the show yet. Do you suppose they actually have some Christian writers who might know how to write a real Christian character? We’ll see.
posted October 24, 2007 at 11:51 am
Actually, the actress’s name isn’t Ali, it’s Adrianne…
posted October 24, 2007 at 12:20 pm
As far as this season goes…. I LOVE IT! I think that when Riggins went to the church service and met up with Lyla, he is looking for something stable in his life – he’s just really confused – I mean wouldn’t any one of us be confused if we had lost both our parents and were basically living like a single person with not boundries? I don’t see it has a ploy to get back with Lila just because he tried to kiss her. That’s a pretty emotional moment when you realize that God is there to help you through life.