Whomever thought that Friday nights were a wasteland for television has obviously not watched any episode of Friday Night Lights. It is consistently one of the highest quality shows in all aspects of entertainment, no matter the medium.The most recent episode, "Leave No One Behind," perfectly illustrates how phenomenal the cast, writing and overall production of this program really are. I am amazed that not only was this show and its stars not nominated for SAG Awards. Zach Gilford, as the usually straight-and-narrow, boy-next-door Matt Saracen, takes his character in a completely different direction. The QB1 had been heading for a downward spiral for a while. After his "girlfriend" Carlotta, the Guatemalan home care nurse for his grandmother, goes back to her country and only leaves him a Dear Matt note, Matt goes out of control. He starts drinking, mouthing off to teachers, cutting football practice and generally screwing up. It isn't until Coach Taylor (the understated, yet brilliant Kyle Chandler) has to pick him and his grandmother at the hospital that we finally get to the heart of Matt's problems. Coach throws Matt into the shower and starts to give him hell when Matt breaks down and wants to know why does everyone leave him and what's wrong with him. Coach finally understands everything this kid is dealing with and assures him that there is nothing wrong with him. I don't care if you're the biggest, studliest jock around, that scene will leave you in tears.
And that's only one story in this episode. Smash discovers that his football scholarship is being revoked because of a racial incident in which he punched a white kid after the guy was harassing his little sister. Smash unselfishly gives the Dillon Panthers a pep talk before the game and is left alone in the locker room to lick his wounds.
Elsewhere, Tim Riggins is trying to cope with the fact that the girl he loves, Lyla, wants nothing to do with him and is involved with teen Christian leader Chris. At one point Matt says he wants to be more like Riggins, to be on an even keel, but obviously Matt has no idea of the demons that stir in Tim Riggins' soul.
Lest we not forget the ladies, Julie is jealous over the time that mom Tami is spending with the girls' volleyball team, especially with her best friend Tyra. To make matters worse, Tami celebrates a team victory with the girls, thus forgetting to take Julie to go for her driver's license exam.
Finally, there's Tyra, who realizes that she loves Landry and doesn't want him getting involved with Jane, who seems more suited for the guy. Unfortunately, she decides to bare her heart to Landry while he's on a date with Jane. He gently rebuffs Tyra, leaving her to go home alone. However, Landry knows he's completely insane over Tyra, shows up at her house and plants a big kiss on her before the game. At least all is right with them, if no one else in Dillon.
I urge everyone to either watch the previous episodes on line or go out and buy the first season on DVD. This is one show about which you don't want to be kept in the dark.
Image courtesy of NBC.com
