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Positive:
84
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
This show captures a distinct culture, and the people jockeying for places in it, trying to prove, mostly to themselves, that their lives have value. And so Friday Night Lights has more than almost any network show today. [5 Oct 2007, p.B33]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
It's still the best network show you're not watching, America. [5 Oct 2007, p.1]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
Some of the best performances seen anywhere on TV. They're all so incredible that it seems unfair to single out some and not others, but if you watch Friday Night Lights, pay close attention to Chandler, Britton and Gilford; Taylor Kitsch as beer-swilling lothario Tim Riggins; Scott Porter as the wheelchair-bound former quarterback; Brad Leland as team booster Buddy Garrity (especially him); and Jesse Plemons and Adrianne Palicki as Landry and Tyra, the school's most unlikely couple (especially them too)...Everyone on Friday Night Lights deserves an Emmy. And true to form for this great unsung show, none of them were even nominated. [5 Oct 2007, p.133]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
While some critics have nearly thrown themselves in front of a train to get people to watch Friday Night Lights, bending and bruising the language in praise of it, the truth is that a good argument could be made for FNL being perhaps the best drama on broadcast television. [5 Oct 2007]
Season 4 Review:
By the end of the opening hour, you're already engaged by Coach Taylor's challenge to turn the East Dillon stragglers into guys who can complete the phrase ''Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose'' without mumbling. And Friday Night Lights is headed for more touchdown episodes than you can count.
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Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
Go ahead and give this little show a chance. To paraphrase Coach Taylor's refrain: Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose this show. [5 Oct 2007, p.e23]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
No spoilers here, but there's a twist at the end of tonight's hour of Friday Night Lights that will reverberate through the season. This is cause for concern: The addition of a sustained mystery, not to mention the sight of teens jumping through windows to meet sex partners, could render Friday Night Lights more like every other show. Still, if it makes the story more accessible for those who crave a more literal narrative without altering the basic nature of the series, I'm for it. [5 Oct 2007, p.F-02]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
And as far as the plots are concerned, don't sweat it. Tonight's engaging season-opener is easily accessible. Spend some time with these characters and soon you'll find yourself developing a strong emotional connection to them. [5 Oct 2007]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
The new layout of the action - Coach Eric Taylor lives in Austin, coaching college football, while Tami Taylor is at home in Dillon on maternity leave - doesn't make the story any less cohesive or satisfying. [5 Oct 2007, p.D2]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
FNL didn't get to be the best new show on prime time last season by losing its balance, and tonight's opener has the large cast still making almost all the right moves. [5 Oct 2007, p.147]
Season 4 Review:
This year, the challenge is to create fresh, interesting story lines for new and returning high school characters, integrate the post-high school crowd into the show and mix the stories of the East Dillon team with those of the Panther players. It’s a tall order, but in the early going, the show seems up to it.
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Dec 13, 2010
Season 5 Review:
FNL's final season begins with one person staying put (Taylor Kitsch's Riggins is still in jail) and others moving on (Aimee Teegarden's Julie and Jesse Plemons' Landry are college-bound). Meanwhile, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) heads to the basketball court to find his next star player. [Oct 22/29 2010, p.107]
Oct 7, 2013
Season 2 Review:
So all is well until the story takes a melodramatic turn that seems so out of character for this starkly realistic show, you have to wonder if it was imposed by the network or the studio to create buzz. Nevertheless, this is a terrific series with proven writers and actors. I'm willing to wait and see where they go next. [5 Oct 2007, p.2E]
Oct 6, 2013
Season 2 Review:
I remain troubled by a big development at the end of Episode 1, which feels like too much of a stretch and is out of keeping with the show's admirable focus on intimate, believable stories. I hope it doesn't signal a move toward more obvious, predictable melodrama -- which already can be found all over the TV landscape. [5 Oct 2007, p.1]
Dec 13, 2010
Season 3 Review:
The premiere doesn't necessarily have the sort of mythical, spine-tingling moments that the first season provided from time to time, but the acting remains strong (particularly by Chandler and Britton, the First Couple of primetime) and it feels like an episode of Friday Night Lights in a way that very little of season two did.
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Season 3 Review:
One of television's best shows has been the exclusive province of DirecTV's 101 Network for months now, but finally "Friday Night Lights" is returning to NBC, with a third season that feels more like the first. In other words, no homicides, accidental or otherwise, just the very real human drama of life in a Texas town where football touches nearly everyone's lives.
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Season 1 Review:
It isn't as ambitious or objective as HBO's "The Wire," but it's about as close as broadcast TV gets to "The Wire." It finely depicts the daily grim and gritty existence of kids and adults dealing with narrow hopes, sad expectations, provincial victories, race and poverty.
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Season 1 Review:
It feels so close to actual American life that it lacks the gut excitement that would take it over the line into true entertainment. [9 Oct 2006, p.41]
Season 1 Review:
"Friday Night Lights" ultimately feels like one of those family programs middle America and conservatives pine for that too few of them actually bother to watch -- a portrait of decent, God-fearing folks wringing joy from America's game as an escape from their hardscrabble lives.
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Oct 7, 2013
Season 2 Review:
And then, near the end of the premiere, something happened that put a dull ache in the pit of my stomach. I won't spoil it here - henceforth, it'll be referred to as The Bad Thing - but it seemed so tonally wrong, so in violation of everything that made the show and the particular characters involved so great, that I knew - I knew - this had been imposed on the production team by the suits at NBC. [5 Oct 2007, p.55]
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