The Glowing Recommendation: Friday Night Lights

As someone who is highly invested in the current state of television and finds a new addiction approximately every few months, you might not believe me when I tell you that Friday Night Lights is the best show on television. It shares this title with The Office, but I think it's okay that they are co-title holders since one is a comedy and one is a drama. It's also okay because I make the rules.

I know you might think that I'm being the girl who cried "this is the best show on television!" considering in the last 12 months alone, I've raved about my discovery of Weeds, 30 Rock, Rome, and Big Love, and I've previously prided myself among being the first to love Lost, Entourage, and, um, The Real Housewives of the Orange County. But I really can't remember the last time a show has grabbed hold of me so tightly to yank me through the stages of bliss, shock, depression, empathy, and ecstasy (often in a single story arch). I've been brought to tears by the show more times than I'd care to admit. When I started watching, there were 34 hour-long episodes that had aired, and I managed to watch them all in five days. It got all too easy to make a 1am decision that went something like, "I've only got 3 episodes left in Season 1... I can't quit now!" Then 4am rolls around, and it's like "Well, I've gotta find out what happens where they left off! Might as well just skip all sleep tonight."

The best thing about the show: the writers and their investment in making these characters extremely real. I'm a sucker for good character development, and think that in most cases, the importance of strong characters outweighs all aspects of the plot. While some of the actors might look decades out of high school, and some of the situations they are in may be more than a little unlikely, their reactions and emotions are so true to life. Over the season and a half that Friday Night Lights has been on the air, I think I've liked and disliked nearly every character at one point or another. The biggest assholes have redeemed themselves at least once or twice and the saints have made a few bad decisions. The current owner of my television-addicted heart, Tim Riggins (seen here in this lovely photo) didn't start out on my good side. Even now, when nearly everything he does makes my ovaries melt, he still has moments that make me shout at my TV, "Riggins, NO!!!" But then, usually, he looks all smoldering and sexy and I forgive him. Seriously, he and Jim Halpert could duel it out in a fictional battle for my heart, and I genuinely would not care who wins.

Anyway, if you're hesitant about not being all rah-rah football, don't worry, it's cool. I know about two and a half football rules, and one of them is "a touchdown scores seven" - but I can still follow the show no problem. It's much more about life and high school and relationships, all set to the lovely background music that is Panther Football. There's something for everyone. The central marriage is an awesome portrayal of what I someday hope my marriage will be. There's all the intricacies of a relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter that manages to seem both ideal and in desperate need of repair. The show deals with the racism that still exists in our country without seeming at all after-school-specialey. And the whole foundation of the show is built around very genuine reactions to an entirely unexpected tragedy. Pure awesomeness wrapped up into one and a half seasons.

NBC is almost definitely going to cancel this show due to abominable ratings (which blows since NO show would have a shot in the 10pm Friday timeslot), so proceed with caution knowing that there's a solid chance that the 37 episodes that have aired make up the entirety of this masterpiece. Nonetheless - do yourself a favor and pick up the first season on DVD (only $18.99 on amazon for 22 episodes!) or watch the whole series for free on the NBC website. Then come back here and we can giggle like schoolgirls and doodle "Mrs. Tim Riggins" all over this blog.