Pop Culture Yay

….then I will make a case.

If you don’t know WHY we have to save Friday Night Lights, then you clearly don’t watch it. In fact, you should probably stop reading this episode, drive to Target (or your store of choice), pick up Season 1, and watch it.

After that, please consider the following:

I could insist that we need to save Friday Night Lights for selfish reasons - My love for Taylor Kitsch - My desire to see Matt Saracen’s process of self actualization - Tami Taylor’s one liners - Gracie Bell’s sweet bug eyes - To see the Panthers win state - but that is not the case. TV needs Friday Night Lights. My familyneeds Friday Night Lights.

The reasons you must save FNL for my family:

My Mother

My mother loves Taylor Kitsch and Smash Williams. LOVES them. (That was for emphasis, not in support of Paris’ “Loves it.”) She gets upset when they don’t get enough airtime. She was furious when NBC’s Today show cut Gaius Charles’ (Smash)interview short. FNL has also improved my mother’s technological skills. She is now far better at Google, frequently searching “Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights, Interviews, Ratings, Episodes, Videos, Smash, Tami.” I also never thought she would be able to master text messaging…I thought it was a lost cause. But, while I wouldn’t quite say she’s a master, I have been so impressed at how quickly she is able to text message my sister during episodes.

My Father

Until 4 months ago, if you wanted my dad to watch TV with you, you had to tell him you were watching Law & Order or 24. (It turns out The Andy Griffith Show is also on that list.) Then, with 1 gift, things changed. Friday nights became TV night. Plans had to be made around the 9pm hour. Even though my parents now have the DVR, it doesn’t really apply to FNL. The DVR is strictly there in case of the emergency…heart attack, natural disaster, etc. If it is 9pm, then it is FNL time. You don’t have to call dad. He automatically comes to the den at 8:55pm. He sits in his seat and anxiously awaits the start of the show. My dad doesn’t get hooked on shows that don’t air on PBS or are created by Dick Wolf. But, he loves FNL. He hypothesizes what could happen, makes FNL analogies through out the week, and even reads the FNL articles and watches the FNL videos my mom emails him. My dad, the man who we have to strategize to get to watch movies with us, watched 8 straight hours of FNL over the holidays. EIGHT hours! He didn’t even try to stop the DVD, he just sat there as my mom and I kept hitting the “Next Episode” button. Did I mention that when I came home on New Year’s Eve, my parents had been in his office, watching the Season 2 online episodes we missed on his computer…until 3:30am?! I don’t think they even realized the year had changed. They now measured time in Panther wins and twice-a-days.

I know that to those of you who do not know my family, this sounds pathetic. Beyond pathetic. But, trust me, the show is important in our household.

My Sister

My sister is the reason behind our family’s love of FNL. Now, I fear for my sister because she introduced us to Veronica Mars…we loved it…it was cancelled. She introduced us to FNL…we loved it even more….it CAN NOT be cancelled. Cancel me once, shame on me. Cancel me twice, shame on NBC…ok, that worked better in my head. I don’t think I’ll be trademarking that one. My sister is still struggling from the untimely ending of Veronica Mars and then there was the finale of Gilmore Girls - I don’t want her to have to endure the pain of another cancellation. Plus, we haven’t even BEGUN to post blogs on FNL because this family-wide obsession is relatively new. For the sake of this blog, which we aim to resurrect, we need FNL.

NBC, it just isn’t fair. You would cancel quality television? I have to admit, I was stoked to see American Gladiators back on the air, but the reality tv/game show wave has to end soon. You’ve got a good thing going with The Office and 30 Rock. Wouldn’t you like to have the best dramatic programming as well? If you advertise it, they will watch. If I see one more advertisement for Lipstick Jungle (which by the way, is not as good as Cashmere Mafia, sorry but you missed the boat on that one. There can only be one Sex and the City replacement…and Lipstick Jungle ain’t it), then I am going to scream. Get the Friday Night Lights cast on the talk shows, run more promos, TRY to make it work. It’s like that concept of planting 3 trees for every one that you cut down - for every ounce of self esteem I lose looking at the models on Deal or No Deal, and every mixed drink and sexual inuendo on Las Vegas, you must show something that instills good messages of family and hardwork. Oh, I don’t know, maybe something with a worthwhile message like…hmmm…Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.

I believe in you NBC. You can do it. Make the right choice.

Posted on February 12th, 2008 by Lindsay
Filed under: Friday Night Lights