television

Friday Night Lights

POSTED BY Steve Bennett | WEDNESDAY JANUARY 14 AT 1:37 PST 

A series detailing events surrounding the Dillon Panthers, a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to the team's coach, Eric Taylor and his family. The show uses this small-town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary Middle America.

Airs: Friday, 9/8c

Station: NBC

Babes: Connie Britton, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, Aimee Teegarden

FNL Recap: Underdogs

FNL Recap: Underdogs

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Welcome back from reality ladies and gentlemen, the Dillon Panthers and Friday Night Lights went back to basics this week, and reclaimed their crown for the best television series on the air right now. This last episode was a return to greatness for our beloved Panthers. Our return to the State finals tied everything together; it was Matt, Landry, and Riggins’ last game and everybody left it all on the field. Tyra, after many rewrites, finished her application essay for college, and her recent beau Landry finally played meaningful football, in the finals at that, albeit on special teams. Even though Lyla reconnected with Buddy, all was not well in the realm of family matters. The McCoys and the Taylors were at odds, because the Taylors were obligated to report them to Child Protective Services on account of their fight after the semifinal game. On top of this conflict, the Saracens were divided over Matt’s future as well; his grandmother was preventing him from going to Chicago for school, while his mother, Tami and Julie were encouraging him to pursue it further. More...
FNL Recap: A Hard Rain\'s Gonna Fall

FNL Recap: A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Panthers are going to State in ’08! What a magical week it was in Dillon, Texas, for fans of the Blue and Yellow. Emotions ran high because of twists around every bend. Grandma Saracen took a spill out of her car as she was backing out of the driveway and it became clear no amount of personal supervision would protect her from herself. The Garrity family finally broke down after hanging by a thread for so long, and it may or may not recover. That wasn’t the only thing on Buddy’s plate, as the boosters had to contend with a redistricting plan that might dismantle the powerhouse football team in the name of a better education for the children. Landry and the Collettes finally made amends, and it seemed as though the seeds for a Landry-Tyra reunion tour were planted. JD and his father, Joe, went through their growing pains, as JD came into his own and started making decisions for himself. This week was a return to form for Friday Night Lights as a TV show and for the Panthers as a football team, as they survived to fight another day. More...
FNL Recap: The Giving Tree

FNL Recap: The Giving Tree

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Bravo Coach Taylor. Our Panthers won the second playoff game after an eventful week in Dillon, Texas. Many relationship dynamics changed this week, as Julie and Matt were caught in bed together, JD McCoy was caught sneaking out, and Landry finally realized how one-sided his relationship with Tyra was. Lyla’s relationship with Buddy took a turn for the worse as well, after Buddy’s investment of her college fund went sour. It was a great episode of Friday Night Lights, answering some questions while posing a few of its own. More...
FNL Recap: New York, New York

FNL Recap: New York, New York

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Welcome back to Dillon, Panther fans. The roller coaster that is Friday Night Lights ebbed and flowed last week as well, and we may have said some teary goodbyes to some characters while getting better introductions to others. Mac McGill collapsed on the field during practice, and has been laid up in a hospital bed ever since. Coach Taylor reluctantly hired Wade Aikman, JD’s personal quarterback coach, to be his interim Offensive Coordinator. If that weren’t enough for him to chew, Tami found her dream home and put that on his plate. Cash left for the Rodeo circuit, and he and Tyra had a falling out over his reluctance to remain faithful over the stretch. Matt became frustrated with his lack of playing time and the receivers’ inability to run the correct routes, and he decided to lobby Coach to let him tryout as a receiver. Jason and Riggins went to New York to pay Wendell’s agent a visit and perhaps get Jason’s foot in the door for that job as well. Things didn’t always go to plan, just like life, and each character was judged not by the original plan, but how they responded to adversity. More...
FNL Recap: Keeping up Appearances

FNL Recap: Keeping up Appearances

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Celebration rang out this week in Dillon as the Panthers made it to the playoffs for the third straight year. However, the more pressing issues concerning the town’s parents’ relationships with their children may have overshadowed this cause. More...
FNL RECAP: It Ain\'t Easy Being J.D. McCoy

FNL RECAP: It Ain't Easy Being J.D. McCoy

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
The Dillon Panthers reveled in another “W” this week, bringing their overall record to 4-1. On the home front, it was another eventful week down in Dillon, TX, full of relationship twists and plot turns. Jason Street almost gave up on his house-flipping project, JD McCoy was accepted as a member of the team, regardless of his age, and Matt and Julie Taylor finally officially got back together. This installment helped set the table for future episodes, providing valuable insight into the environment of Tyra Collette, and also introducing a rebound love-interest for Landry Clark. This is one of those rare moments when time cannot move quickly enough for Panther Nation to find out what happens next. More...
FNL Recap: Every Rose Has It\'s Thorn

FNL Recap: Every Rose Has It's Thorn

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Slammin’ Sammy Meade here welcoming you back to another week of Panther football and Friday Night Lights. This was a tremendously eventful installment, with several setups for plot twists; it’s about as easy to read this show as trying to pick up a Smash Williams counter. There was good news and bad news on all fronts. Matt Saracen was replaced at quarterback, and he almost quit the team. Jason Street became a new father, and he, the Riggins brothers, and Herc decided to get into the real business by flipping Buddy Garrity’s house. And Tyra walked a slippery slope with her new cowboy boyfriend. There are many ways in which the writers could take this season, and each direction looks just as exciting as the others. More...
How the Other Half Lives

How the Other Half Lives

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
It was a bad week for Panther Nation. And after a loss like last week’s, you have to start asking questions about the abilities of Coach Taylor. The annual coach’s barbecue was not held at the residence of Coach Taylor this year, rumors swirled about his relationship with the booster club, and Matt Saracen succumbed to stress all week. Things looked pretty bleak from his standpoint; there were many crises, challenges as well as victories this week as the eternal search for a state championship wore on.     After hearing the news of Smash’s future tryout with Texas A-M, Mrs. Williams tried to get another job to pay for his education. This was met anxiously by Brian, because he didn’t want to be a burden, financially or otherwise, on his family. His second thoughts about football crept back after he was offered a corporate promotion with the Alamo-Freeze. After conversing with his mother, however, he decided that football was his true love, and he realized his mother would not let him stop playing until someone told him he could not play anymore. More...
Tami Knows Best

Tami Knows Best

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Welcome back to Panther Nation all you friends of the yellow and blue. This week, we had an eventful installment as our Panthers played the Laribee Lions, Tim Riggins received interest from none other than the Oklahoma Sooners, Tami took on the town in her bid to reallocate the Jumbotron funds, Tyra Collette was elected senior class President, and Matt Saracen paid his estranged mother a visit. If you were a bit apprehensive after last week’s episode, rest assured that the Texas high school football gods heard your prayers and made it up to you this week. More...
I Knew You When

I Knew You When

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS | Recaps | Videos | Forum | News | Photos
Hello all you Panther fans out there, this is Slammin’ Sammy Meade here welcoming you to another season of Dillon High School football. The first episode tied up a few loose ends left after the strike shortened last year’s team. Smash Williams hurt his knee in a devastating playoff loss, and lost his scholarship. His hopes are still high as we first encounter him doing calisthenics with the legendary Coach Taylor. Toward the end of the summer, Tyra and Landry also apparently called the whole thing off. They remain friends though, which may indicate a willingness to rekindle. Buddy’s ex-wife ran off with the kids to northern California to live with the environmentalist health food nut, leaving Lyla to live with her father. I must say I like this move, and that Buddy is better off without her. More...