"Friday Night Lights"--the TV Series??

This will have absolutely nothing to do with the book other than it's about high school football in Texas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/15/arts/television/15nbc.html

In "Friday Night Lights," a tale of big-time Texas high school football, NBC has a youth-based drama somewhat reminiscent of the glory days of the now-defunct WB network and its shows like "Dawson's Creek." It is based on the celebrated book by H. G. Bissinger. Kyle Chandler stars as the new coach of a team whose town lives and dies with football.

 

playmakers for high school football.

 

Predictions:

1. It will present a view of big-time high school football never before seen on network TV.

2. It will be roundly assailed on SportsJournalists.com because the right tackle's shoes are not historically accurate.

 

This is old news.

And I agree it won't have much to do with the book in terms of specific characters and plot, but I think it's a good idea. In fact, I think it's a better idea than the movie. With a TV series, if they show any kind of sack (which remains to be seen), they can really examine some of the issues that town faced (and probably still does).

They can get into alcoholic parents, racist views, people who take HS football too seriously. They can develop characters and give us a better view of the themes Bissinger related in his book. The movie simply didn't do that. After seeing the flick, I thought it needed to be about 35 minutes longer to flesh out some of the characters (why did the quarterback hate playing? why did Ivory Christian play with such rage?) and get into some of the racial elements that Bissinger touched on.

The movie had some great football scenes (although there were too many), but it was a shadow of what the book was about. I thought it missed the point of the book. A TV series, if handled properly, can touch on all of that off-field stuff much better, even if the characters have different names and the plot lines they develop aren't taken directly from the book. A TV show can get the spirit of the book much better than that shitty film did.

 

I didn't realise it was old news and if I were to bet, I'd put money on this being nothing like the book--no racism, no class conflicts, no alcoholic parents. Call me a cynic but I bet they'll play this straight.

 

I agree. I somehow doubt they'll have the courage to go into all the issues that made the book such a worthwhile read. That said, if they do, it can be an outstanding TV series.

 

If it were an HBO series, they'd go into the deep issues.

If it were a Cinemax series, they'd have a lot of sex.

 

Here's NBC's release on it.  Texas Coach Mack Brown guest stars on the pilot as himself.  The show airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, so that takes out some themes.

Expanding on the themes from the hit feature film "Friday Night Lights," this series centers on the small rural town of Dillon, Texas, where the vaunted 2006 state football championship rings are held in the highest regard. The town's promising high school team, its star quarterback, and newly appointed head coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, "Grey's Anatomy," "King Kong") feel the mounting pressure of the town's pride and honor riding on their shoulders as a new season kicks off.

The fresh cast also includes: Scott Porter ("All My Children") as team captain and first-string quarterback Jason Street; Gaius Charles ("The Book of Daniel") as feared running back Brian "Smash" Williams; Taylor Kitsch ("Kyle XY") as running back Tim Riggins; Connie Britton ("The Brothers McMullen," "24") as Taylor's long-suffering wife, Tami; Zach Gilford ("The Last Winter") as third-string quarterback Matt Saracen, and Minka Kelly ("What I Like About You") as Lyla Garrity, Panther cheerleader and Street's girlfriend. Also starring are Aimee Teegarden ("Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide") as Julie Taylor and Adrienne Palicki ("South Beach") as Tyra Collette. The pilot is executive-produced by Brian Grazer ("Fun with Dick and Jane," "Cinderella Man," "A Beautiful Mind"), David Nevins ("Arrested Development"), Peter Berg (the film "Friday Night Lights," "The Run Down") -- who also wrote and the directed the pilot -- and Jason Katims ("Roswell"). "Friday Night Lights" is produced in association with Imagine Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Studio, and Film 44.

 

That 8 p.m. timeslot might be the killer for what I hoped it would be. I imagine it will be more about football and pressure to play well than about racial and class tension. I really hope this isn't aimed at The O.C. and Dawson's Creek crowd.

 

Bigpern, hadn't you heard?
Racism in America has been eradicated.
At least, that's what I keep reading in all these criticisms of "Crash" winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

 

I guess the question is what's going to attract ratings and ad money more — hitting the 18-34 demo or trying to give it Sorkin-esque treatment? They could do it up with racial and class and political strife and strains from the oil bust economy, and I'm sure it would be a better show than Varsity Blues: The TV Show, but the natural audience for a high school football drama is still going to be high schoolers and people within a few years either way of that target. Maybe they SHOULD be exposed to the strife and strains, but my guess is NBC is more concerned with getting the early-to-mid 20-somethings to shell out than the citizens of the prototype football-obsessed small town.

 

Touche.   :-\