"Friday Night Lights" Speaks to the Realities of Hard Economic Times - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

Much like the workingclass citizens of Dillon the small Texas town in which it is set Friday Night Lights hasnamp8217t had it easy during its three years on television It has never commanded high ratings it has never enjoyed the support of Emmy voters and it would not have survived beyond its sophomore season without the combined support of two television companies NBC Universal and DirecTV which share telecast rights Lights made its Season 4 premiere last week on DirecTV and will run on NBC sometime next yearCritics love Lights and it has a devoted if small fan base but beyond that life has been unaccountably hard for this outstanding show So whatamp8217s been the problem I think it has something to do with timing Lights debuted back in 2006 when unprecedented greed was consuming much of the country including the working class McMansions were viewed as starter homes Shopping became a hobby Money was the new religion and nobody wanted to be reminded of those unfortunate souls who werenamp8217t rolling in it or foolishly living as if they were That is ordinary folks like the residents of Dillon who live in small homes drive old cars struggle to pay their bills and embrace simple pleasures like parades picnics and Friday night high school footballTelevision reflected all of this economic madness and with very few exceptions most characters in most series including socalled working class people were shown to be living in spectacular houses or apartments way beyond the average personamp8217s means except during a catastrophic era of easy credit Friday Night Lights dared to remind us that not everyone was living so large I think the showamp8217s poor ratings reflected a lack of interest by creditempowered viewers while its lack of industry support come Emmy time probably had something to do with the fact that so many people who have succeeded in the entertainment industry would rather not be reminded that not everybody lives as well as they do For more on this see the end of this columnBut the time has never been better for a drama about people who know how to manage economic adversity The residents of Dillon may not always rise above hard times but they arenamp8217t beaten down by them either perhaps because people donamp8217t always miss what they never had The town finances in Dillon have been an issue throughout the life of the show especially as they concern school funding but this season they inform every moment of the storytelling Coach Eric Taylor Kyle Chandler has fallen victim to the ruthless efforts of wealthy businessman Joe McCoy DW Moffett to exert his influence over Dillon High School and make his son JD Jeremy Sumpter the star quarterback of the Dillon Panthers Ousted in a cruel powerplay Taylor is now charged with putting together a football team over at East Dillon High a school on the poorer side of town that when first glimpsed at the end of last season was so run down it appeared to have been abandoned years ago Meantime his loving wife Tami the everexquisite Connie Britton is still the principal at Dillon High where she has to contend with the people who engineered her husbandamp8217s undeserved departure Sheamp8217s also dealing with the predictably ferocious fallout from a redistricting plan that has sent some Dillon High kids over to East DillonAs financially challenged as Dillon High has been during the last few years the sorry conditions at East Dillon make it look like one of those country club high schools found in towns like Westport CT The dilapidated facilities at East Dillon hold little promise and many of its directionless students do little to inspire hope Taylor in the season premiere took his best shot at cobbling together and disciplining his new team the East Dillon Lions but the challenge proved insurmountable prompting him to lose his cool in a way we had never before seen Tayloramp8217s always been such a quietly forceful guy that it was genuinely unsettling to watch him explode in the Lionsamp8217 locker room sending many of his new players stomping back to their comfort zones uncomfortable though they may beMany of the popular young characters on this show have moved away including Tyra Lyla Jason and Smash The Taylorsamp8217 daughter Julie Aimee Teagarden and the always dependable Landry Jesse Plemons are still around as is Matt Saracen the awesome Zach Gilford though heamp8217s scheduled to be written out at midseason The only one who seems to be in town to stay is former Dillon Panther Tim Riggins the underappreciated Taylor Kitsch who dares to decide that college isnamp8217t for him and happily drops out and returns home eager to work at his brotheramp8217s garage It would seem to be a deadended existence but significantly Tim is cool with it and why shouldnamp8217t he be College isnamp8217t for everyone and not everyone is anxious to leave everyone they love and everything they know once they finish high school Timamp8217s story provides a welcome change of paceI would have preferred another season with this group intact because they are some of the most interesting young people ever to populate a television drama But I wonamp8217t object too loudly because thatamp8217s how things work in real life and it will be interesting to watch the remaining characters especially the Taylors interact with new kids at each schoolFor a renewed appreciation of the assurance with which Friday Night Lights remains grounded in everyday life look no further than ABCamp8217s increasingly otherworldly Brothers ampamp Sisters which is so out of touch with reality it seems to have been beamed to earth from another galaxy Why would its producers choose to tell a story about a wealthy woman contending with lifethreatening cancer at a time when the maddening economics of health care are top of mind for so many financially drained Americans Granted there is much drama to be had in Kitty Walkeramp8217s brave struggle with advanced lymphoma but itamp8217s hard to relate to a character who can access the best medical care on two coasts without a glance toward her savings account while people are dying from cancer and other diseases simply because they cannot afford medical insurance or have been unforgivably screwed over by the insurance plans they have already purchased Plus Kitty luxuriates in a Pasadena mansion and enjoys catered rooftop dinners and private fireworks displays over the city of Los Angeles between chemo treatmentsEven when itamp8217s threatened life is pretty damn grand up on Planet Walker Still I think Iamp8217d rather hang with the real people down in Dillonamp160

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"Friday Night Lights" Speaks to the Realities of Hard Economic Times - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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