Friday Night Lights episode 1.03 “Wind Sprints” – air date 10/17/06

Jason Street is watching the football game (from last week’s episode) with his mother beside him. She uncomfortably asks if he really wants to watch it. He says he does, holding a football in his gnarled fingers.

On the field Matt fakes to Smash and passes to Dolia. Dolia gets tackled and fumbles. Rattlers defense recovers.

Locker room. Coach says they should be beating “these bums” by forty points. Cut to the field and the Panthers getting pummeled. Locker room: Coach is telling Riggins he’s getting his ass handed to him. (hand it to me!) Field: Smash losing yardage. Locker room: Coach telling Smash to quit dancing unless he’s at the prom. When Smash starts to open his huge Smash mouth, Coach’s veins pop out of his skull. Field: fifteen seconds left in the game. Panthers are at the nine yard line. Matt runs the ball toward the end zone and gets tackled. Coach is standing on the sidelines looking unsure as the team celebrates all around him. Then the referee says no score. Saracen didn’t make it past the line.

In the locker room, Coach yells, “Saracen” and Matt lifts his bloody face up to Coach. “Good game,” Taylor tells him. “But not good enough. Not nearly good enough.”

Cut to Jason in his hospital bed. As the camera pans out, we can see that the football field is visible from his window. (*rolls eyes*)

Riggins house. Tim is watching fishing on television and Billy is hitting ping pong balls with a golf club while telling Tim how to play football. To paraphrase beat the crap out of the other guys and go get some tail. Tim grabs a beer. Somebody knocks on the door. Billy says, “Speaking of pieces of tail… Lyla Garrity.” Tim panics and does the hand across the neck thing. Billy opens the door and tells Lyla that Tim isn’t there. Lyla knows, probably by the tone of Billy’s voice, that Tim is, in fact, there. She talks a little louder saying that Jason has been asking for Tim and she goes every day so Tim can go whenever he wants.

Outside Saracen’s house. Somebody has disgraced Matt’s team sign with the word “LOSER” painted largely over top his name. He’s trying to wash it off as Landry is talking about his theories and Matt asks him to help wash the sign because he doesn’t want his grandmother to see it. Landry keeps talking. How did Dillon lose to South Milbank when they hadn’t lost to them in 20 years. He tells Matt it’s not because of him. Maybe an old lady witch. Matt tells Landry he’s retarded because half the time his grandmother can’t remember how to use the telephone. Grandma from the front door tells Matt to go “water the children”. Matt gently asks, “You mean the flowers?” She’s all uhhh yeah, dumbass, that’s what I said, and goes in the house. A car full of assholes drives past and yell “loser” at Matt.

At the hospital. A nurse or whatnot is working on Jason. Trying to see if he can lift his legs. She tells him to take a break and he says he wants to keep trying. “Not today,” she tells him in a soothing voice. Lyla comes in and in her oddly cheerful manner tells him about the pancake supper. He questions her and she tells him it’s the benefit “to help with the cost of the rehab facility”. She kind of says that with a question mark, like, I told you this. Why do you not remember everything I say? He just seems tired and sick of her constant cheerleadery cheerfulness. Lyla, of course, is oblivious to his tiredness and sickness of her and puts on her seductive voice. She leans into him and ignores Jason’s slight but obvious declinations. She starts moving her hand down his body. Rubbing his legs. Jason is smiling now. Suddenly, Lyla pulls back with an almost disgusted and totally surprised look on her face. Jason doesn’t know what’s going on and the nurse tells him, “Jason, it’s your catheter.” Poor Jason is horrified and Lyla just sort of stands there not knowing what to do or how to act. The nurse asks her to leave for a minute.

Tim in his truck. He’s eating chicken wings. Mrs. Street pulls up and sees him. She walks over and he’s his usual taciturn self. She tells him Jason’s been asking about him. When he doesn’t know how to respond, she tells him that he can still come over for dinner on Tuesday night. She reaches out and tucks his hair behind his ear and tells him to, “Get some rest, okay?” This scene is touching for a few reasons. To see somebody show that maternal concern for our boy Timmy. To be shown another sign of the bond that Jason and Tim have. To hear that Jason is asking everybody about Tim and Tim can’t bring himself to go see him. To know that Mrs. Street isn’t some kind of monster. *sniff*

Fast food restaurant. Coach and Julie walk in. Julie is talking about getting a dog and too much dead cow. Coach is ordering as some guy in a Hawaiian shirt asks Julie if she’s Eric Taylor’s girl. She says she is and he asks her if they’ve started packing yet. Coach sees/hears this and asks the guy what the problem is. The guy says he was merely telling Julie what happens when coaches lose. Julie is serving as back up to her dad with her angry eyes. Coach tells the idiot with perfectly executed sarcasm that he appreciates it. The dude shows Coach his championship ring and tells him he’ll never win one. Coach and Julie leave and he’s telling her not to listen to that. Coach raises his fist to the guy in that "well, I oughtta" way. A shame that an evening of burgers and onion rings with the Taylors has to turn into something like that.

Football field. The boys are doing sprints. Coach is telling them they have to be faster because they’re not bigger than the guys they’re playing this week. Smash tells Coach they think Matt needs to practice hand offs because he’s the problem. When he’s finished, Coach tells them all he was going to let them go early but thanks to Smash, they’ll have to run five more. Smash opens his mouth to protest and Coach says they’ll now be doing ten. Again, Smash starts to argue and Coach tells them they’ll be doing fifteen then asks if they want to see how high he can count because he can count “real high”.

Buddy Garrity is in the stands with the black coach, who we now know as Mr. Deets, from the first episode. IBG is talking about a quarterback from Louisiana who is in Texas now. He’s a Katrina victim named Ray Tatom. Mr. Deets calls him “Voodoo” and IBG asks if he knows him. Mr. Deets says he knows of him. Garrity decides they will go check him out.

Lyla is in her room when her mom comes in. Lyla says they have to get to the pancake supper because without anybody telling them what to do the “girls will just “fool around”. Her mom asks her what she wants for her birthday. Lyla tells her she’s having dinner with Jason at the hospital. Mrs. IBG asks if she should maybe not spend all her time at the hospital. Lyla tells her, “well you’d do it for dad”. Mrs. IBG explains that’s because he’s her husband. Lyla responds, “Well, I’m marrying Jason some day.” Her mother suggests she talks to somebody about it.

At the pancake supper. (ohmigawd! Now I have to have pancakes for supper. Sonofabitch I guess I have to go to the freaking store. Mmm… pancakes with lots of syrup and bacon.) Julie tells her friend they should go get a turkey burger. She bumps into Matt and he offers her his “soy sausage”. She declines and offers him her pancakes. Awww… The mayor is telling Tami that the last guidance counselor “killed herself with pills”. Tami’s all, “I’m sorry?” IBG is telling Coach to make a move on the “Katrina kid”. Coach questions whether it’s on the “up and up” and Buddy tells him he’ll take care of it. Tyra walks around the pancake breakfast looking all hot. She runs into Smash and he tries to Smash mouth her. She asks where Tim is to which Smash answers he’s “probably passed out” somewhere.

Tim's on top of some hill drinking beer and then hitting the empty cans over the hill with a golf club. (he truly is gorgeous) Tyra parks her pick-up next to his. Tyra asks him if he thinks she’s going away. He responds to her in a hurtful way, “you don’t seem to want to get the message.” She looks like a hurt girlfriend for a split second before she screams at him that he thinks he’s such a tough guy but he can’t even go see Jason in the hospital. He says nothing as he lifts the beer can to his mouth. She starts back to her truck. He asks, “How’s Smash?” She starts to go into the defensive girlfriend mode and tell him they didn’t really do anything then she remembers she’s a badass and says he’s slept with half the rally girls. Tim tells her, “We sure do have something special”. Hurtful. He just likes to hurt people. Instead of backing down though, Tyra lashes out some more. Trying to hurt him back, she tells him he’s “just another mediocre football player who’s going to grow up to drink himself to death”. Then she tells him if she gets in her truck she’s never coming back. Tim dismisses her with, “I get it, Tyra”. Now she has the look of a hurt girlfriend and observes that they’re really breaking up and “that’s all you say? That’s great.” Tim goes back to hitting beer cans over the hill with the golf club.

Coaches are watching the tapes of Voodoo. The assistant coach has seen this tape at the Garrity’s at a barbecue. Coach says he “didn’t know y’all were such good friends.” Poor Coach.

Hallway. A rally girl hands Tim his paper on East of Eden and says she misspelled a lot of words so it looks like he wrote it. The rally girl tells him excitedly that she heard he broke up with Tyra. He says, “I guess that’s true,” and simply walks away and then is chased down by Lyla. Oh the horrors of being a tremendously good-looking star high school football player. Getting chased down in the halls by rally girls and cheerleaders. But he broods. He broods because his life isn’t as simple as that. His life isn’t as simple as that because this cheerleader isn’t here because he’s tremendously good-looking. She has chased him down to tell him they’re “having a prayer meeting for Jason later”. He asks her, “What are we praying for, Lyla? A new spine for Jay?” And he walks off. ouch. Hurtful. Lyla keeps herself composed enough to yell out after him, “I know you don’t do anything you don’t want to do and I guess that’s fine but don’t insult me.” Feisty! Tim seems to take notice (uh oh) and appreciate (uh oh) that she didn’t just fall onto the floor sobbing.

Tami’s office. Matt asks to drop pre-calculus so he can go to morning practices. She thinks that’s okay but wants to be sure he will take it. He says he will next semester and she is satisfied. Really? Is it that easy? I did.not know that. They start talking about his grandmother. He says she forgets to take her medicine sometimes. She tells him he has a lot on his plate. Football is a full-time job itself. Matt brings up “this Katrina refugee” he’s hearing about. Tami says, “I never heard anything about that.” Coach will be getting a talking to about this, I bet.

Football practice. Coach isn’t satisfied with Tim’s performance. “You give 110% all.the.time. Not just when you feel like it!” Coach tells him to go again. Tim starts taking off his helmet. Coach pleads, “Don’t do that. Don’t do what I think you’re doing.” Tim walks away, disregarding Coach Taylor. Assistant coach, Mac tells Coach Taylor that Tim has been watching the game tape from when Street got hurt. He thinks Tim blames himself.

After practice, Buddy comments on Tim walking off the field. Nobody would have done that in the old days. Coach asks Buddy what he wants. Buddy starts talking about the “Katrina kid”. And you’re annoyed now because they know the kid’s name. He even has a cool nickname and yet they still keep calling him “Katrina kid”. Which is not a cool nickname. Coach says at least with Matt Saracen they don’t have to worry about recruiting violations. Buddy tries to convince Coach that they are helping Tatom out.

Coach, Buddy, and Mac (the assistant coach) are outside a motel. They run into a coach from a different school before entering the Tatoms’ room. There’s an agent there with them who does all the talking. Buddy wheels and deals in his car salesmanlike manner. Promising housing and funding and jobs. Coach is just kind of there looking at Voodoo. The agent wants assurance that Ray will start. Buddy says that will be part of the deal. Coach steps forward on that note and looks to Voodoo, not his agent, asking if he wants to go all the way. Voodoo says he is “going all the way”. Coach says if that’s what he wants, he needs to be with the number one team in Texas. fancy cars and yadda yadda. Starting positions “aren’t handed out in motel rooms. They’re earned on the field.” Coach wishes Voodoo and his parents good luck and leaves the room.

The Garritys’. Mr. and Mrs. IBG are discussing Lyla and Jason. Lyla is listening from the balcony. Lyla’s mom asks Buddy for help because Lyla is living in “fantasy land”. Lyla winces. Lyla’s mom continues that she’s put all her eggs in one basket and they let her. Buddy reassures her saying that Lyla will get bored and move on. Nice. He's icky.

The Taylors’. Julie’s watching TV because I guess she’s read all the books in town. Or maybe hanging out with a football player is making her dumber. (I’m kidding!) Tami is pretending to not notice that Coach is looking around the kitchen for some food. She asks him about this Katrina quarterback. Coach dejectedly asks if she wants him to go read Matt a bedtime story and make him some Ovaltine. Julie leaves the room because she knows where this is going. Tami asks him not to be sarcastic and he is irritated because everybody in “this damn town” is telling him how to do his job. Tami just sort of nods at him and then she sees Smash on the news Smashmouthing Coach Taylor. Coach calls Mac (the assistant coach *grin*) and tells him to get the team and meet him in a half hour.

Matt coming out of his bedroom in his boxers. Tim lifting weights (le pant). Smash yelling at his sister to answer the door. Coach Taylor telling Smash to be ready in two minutes. The team getting on the bus. Rain and thunder.

The boys get off the bus and approach a hill. Kind of a little valley that is filling with water from the rain. Coach tells them they are doing, “Wind sprints. Up and down the hill. Let’s go!” The boys, knowing they have no choice, start running. While they’re running, Coach is yelling. “You think you’re champions because you wear the Panther uniform. You’re wrong! You think you’re champions because they give you a piece of pie at the diner. You’re wrong! Champions don’t complain. Champions don’t give up. Champions give 200%.” All the coaches are yelling out to the soaking wet boys who are running down the hill and sloshing through the stream and running up the hill. They’re exhausted. One of them vomits. Mac says he thinks they’ve had enough. Coach says he will say when they’ve had enough. You wonder if maybe Mac, the assistant coach, would’ve kept his mouth shut and maybe not have tried to tell Coach how to do his job, he might have maybe let them be done. Matt, Tim and Smash look about ready to collapse. Coach and Smash eyeball each other and you hold your breath because if Smash doesn’t keep his big Smashmouth closed, something bad is going to happen. But he does. He does open his big Smashmouth. “Clear eyes. Full hearts…” Matt responds alone, “Can’t lose.” Smash starts a little bit louder, “Clear eyes. Full hearts...” This time, the whole team quietly and tiredly respond, “Can’t lose.” And again and again until the boys are in full wind sprint mode again almost knocking Coach over as they bump past him. He’s satisfied.

At the hospital. Lyla is putting away the Tupperware from her dinner with Jason and he asks her “just how depressing, exactly” her birthday was. She tells him it was exactly what she wanted and next year “when you’re better, we’ll go out to dinner”. Jason has reached a limit it seems. “When I’m better.” Lyla starts trying to sweet talk him saying “this is just a hiccup” and that in a year he’ll be back on track. She continues blathering until he yells “Stop!” She pouts and starts talking again. He tells her he can’t even use his hands and wants to know how she can’t see that. And the question we’ve all been waiting for… “What the hell is wrong with you?” He says it kills him that she comes in to see him all happy like nothing is wrong. Every night he dreams he can walk so every day he has to accept it all over again. He tells her it’s over. They’re not getting married. Then he tells her to get out. She pouts. He yells, “Get out!” She gathers her things and tells him she’ll be back tomorrow. More of the not crumpling to the floor thing that maybe I’m beginning to admire. If only I could get past how annoying she is.

Back at the wind sprints. The boys are getting back on the bus. Coach stops Tim and tells him that what happened to Jason wasn’t his fault. Tim says, “I didn’t even try…” and Coach says, “It is not your fault. I want you to let yourself off the hook.” If this scene didn’t remind me again of Good Will Hunting (that's twice now, Kyle Chandler.) and make me start sobbing again, I might be irritated that Coach interrupted Tim as he was finally letting out what he’s been wanting to let out since the accident. Tim says, “yes sir” obediently and starts to get on the bus. Coach grabs his shirt and says he owes him a practice. Tim affirms and starts to get on the bus again. Coach tells him he can walk home and they’ll “call it even”. Coach gets on the bus and they pull away. Poor, tired, wet, smoking hot Tim starts walking in the rain to Pearl Jam (uh oh).

Lyla is driving and sees Tim walking along the road. She pulls up and asks if he wants a ride. He asks if it isn’t past her bedtime and keeps walking. Hurtful. She drives past him, pulls the car over and gets out. It’s pouring down rain. Pearl Jam is playing. Tim is walking. Lyla tried to get him in the car. Oh you know what’s next. You know what’s coming. You hold your breath. This is where Taylor Kitsch starts to really blossom into an actor deserving to be surrounded by such amazing actors on an unbelievably well-written show. It’s a standard kind of scene and it’s kind of hard to believe that this is how they chose to make this happen but it’s easy to forgive because of how great this show is. It’s such a joy to watch Taylor develop into more than tremendously good looks. Being a fan of this show makes me feel like part of a secret little society. I feel honored watching it. It’s hard to explain, I guess, but not really. It’s hard to understand for people removed of this secret little society. It isn’t a show you can watch in passing. It isn’t a show you can watch while you’re writing out bills or painting your nails or giving your dogs their pills or anything. You have to drop everything. You have to commit yourself to watching this show. You have to pay attention to it to appreciate it as wholly as it deserves. Taylor Kitsch is blowing Minka Kelly right out of the water in this scene. Her inferiority is really distracting sometimes. But not here because I'm too busy appreciating Taylor's progress to notice how terrible she is. Where was I? oh yes. Typical rain/fight/yadda yadda scene.

Lyla asks him if he’s drunk to which he answers agonizingly, “Soon enough, Lyla. Soon enough.” She’s reached a limit it seems. “You can walk! You can walk on your own two feet and get another glass of beer if that’s what you want!” (glass of beer? I admit that isn't her fault. That has to be a writing glitch. Or maybe it's just a show of how naive the Lyla character is? hmmm...) She’s clenching her teeth. “What is wrong with you?” she asks him and then slaps him across the face. She keeps hitting him and he keeps taking it as she just lets it all out. “Why don’t you go see him? Why won’t you help me?” He grabs her arm and she kind of groans (bravo to her on the groan. That was well exectued.) and then wails, “He’s never gonna walk again,” and sobs into his shoulder. She starts to move her face from his shoulder to his face and uh oh. There it is. Hot and heavy make out in the rain.

Eric crawls into bed with Tami all exhausted and at least a little bit vindicated. (Maybe as a foreshadow of somebody else crawling into bed?)

At the hospital, the nurses are dressing Jason and Mrs. Street takes down the banner and wonders aloud where she is. Lyla bops into the room and hugs Jason’s parents before leaning down to Jason. He apologizes for yelling and wants to pretend it never happened. She kisses him. They wheel him out of his room. He’s clutching that football awkwardly in his gnarly hands again.

Football field. The Dillon Panthers are giving 200% at practice just like Coach said he wanted them to do. Mac says to never underestimate the power of a good spanking. Buddy walks to the field with Voodoo. All the boys ogle. “We got ourselves a quarterback, Coach,” IBG tells him. Taylor pauses a moment and shakes Voodoo’s hand and tells him to go get suited up. Matt watches this shadowed in humiliation and insult and hurt. This kid has the whole world on his shoulders! *sob* Pan to Voodoo who doesn’t look happy, yet for some reason chose the Dillon Panthers over new cars and guaranteed starts.

Friday Night Lights - Epsiode 1.02 “Eyes Wide Open” – air date 10/10/06

We open with the camera taking us on a church tour of Dillon. A brick church and across the tracks (yes, literally) a rundown wooden church. They are praying for Jason Street.

Inside the wooden church, we see the African-Americans praying for Jason Street. Back across the tracks (yes, literally) is the white people church. They are praying for Jason Street as well. (ah the subtleties of really good television writing)

Close-up of Timmy holding a gun. (stunningly gorgeous shot and not just because it's him) As the camera pulls back, we see that he’s in the back of a pick-up truck. Billy is driving and talking to him through the open back window. He saw the tackle and he doesn’t think Jason will ever walk again let alone play football. Tim hears him but says nothing as he shoots his gun.

Back at the white people church, Lyla is telling a group of girls that “we know he’s going to walk again.” Saracen is tossing the football around with some younger kids. Icky Buddy Garrity stands with Coach Taylor as they watch Matt throwing the football. IBG says the “best-case scenario would have Jason Street out for a month” and wants to know what Coach’s plan is. You gag as the camera closes in on IBG’s face as he asks if “little Matt Saracen” can get it done. You exhale as the camera relieves us with a close up of Coach. “I guess we’re fixing to find out. That was a nice sermon, wasn’t it?” He walks away from IBG and over to Matt telling him “we got a lot of work to do, son.”

Lyla walking down the hospital hallway with get well balloons looking all cheerleadery. Her ponytail bouncing. It makes you feel almost sorry for her while simultaneously rolling your eyes at her. You know she’s been there often because she is greeted by name. Jason is lying in his hospital bed with a large brace around his head and neck. Lyla asks if he’s heard of Nathan Foreman. He tells her he hasn’t. She calls out to a man in a white lab coat walking down the hallway, “Excuse me! Can you come help me?” The man walks in and she has him help her put up a banner on the wall as she asks him if he’s heard of Nathan Foreman. He hasn’t either. She says she found Nathan Foreman’s story on the internet. He had a “terrible accident” and now he plays basketball in college. Lyla is surprised Mr. White Lab Coat has not heard Nathan Foreman’s story. He explains to her that he’s oncology. Lyla’s expression shows some kind of “how is that more important than my boyfriend?” look as Mr. Oncology leaves the room to get back to his cancer patients (the nerve). She tells Jay that the cheerleaders and rally girls “joined forces” to make the banner and then she finishes her Nathan Foreman story. She leans in real close to Jason and you’re thinking how great it is (how great she is) that she’s there supporting him. Then she says, “Listen to me. This is going to be okay.” Denial.

Coach is driving and listening to the radio… Panther Radio. Landry and Matt are listening too as the radio host says, “This hundred and sixty pound sophomore? Matt Sorenson?” This disgusts Landry and he says as much as the radio host continues to beat poor Matt down saying he threw that ball with Hail Mary and closed his eyes.

Coach walks into the locker room. The team is waiting for him. Waiting for some news on Jay. Coach tells them they’re still waiting to hear but there is a specialist coming to take a look. Then he tells them they have a game on Friday. I guess in case they’ve forgotten.

Out on the field, Saracen is sucking and everybody’s yelling at him. He says he didn’t see the guy who caught the interception to. The assistant coach yells, “he’s bigger than my front door!” heh. Taylor is calling out confusing plays to Matt and he seems to start remembering what he’s supposed to do, “I gotta work on reading the coverage”. He remembers that from last week. Coach stops him short screaming, “hittem on the breaks! Hit.em.on.the.breaks.” huh? Whoa. Matt screws up again (fumbled on the snap) and Coach calls him back over. He tells Matt he needs to work harder, needs to learn the plays. He wants him to know the plays so well that his “children will know them in their DNA”. And you want to hug poor Matt because Coach Taylor seems to be doing all he can to not put him over his knee and spank him.

Taylor household. Tami’s on her way to book club. Julie tells her they’re going to “turn you into a pod”. The camera closes in on the book Tami’s putting in her purse so I thought it might be important. “Letters to Cornelius” there doesn’t appear to be such a book and I try for way to long to figure out why the camera would close in on it if it doesn’t exist. I figure there must be some significance to it somehow but again with the me not being that intelligent thing. Coach calls her over in a tired voice. They put their foreheads together, share a kiss and exchange I love yous. Awww. I love the Taylors.

Tim is rewinding and watching the part of the tape that shows the play that led to Street’s injury. He’s sitting in the dark alone in the locker room. rewind watch rewind watch rewind watch At first his face seems to lack emotion, then he tries to hold back the tears, and then he lets them come. And you want to hug Big Timmy Riggins. *sniff*

Book club. The ladies toast themselves and thank Tami for coming. Tami says she loved the book and this causes the rest of the ladies to laugh hysterically. The real estate blitz lady says they want to talk about “what’s really important” and they start talking about (you guessed it) Dillon Panther football.

Smash is at the diner in a booth with a girl on each side. He’s asking if they have his math homework. They do.

Elsewhere in the diner, some girls are crying about Street. Tyra, who is sitting with Tim, is getting fed up listening to them. “Just last week we were right here. Jason Street was sitting right over there.” Tyra looks to Tim and asks, “Could they be more annoying?” You smile a little because you love her and now she emphasized that perfectly and she sounds like Chandler which makes you love her more. Tim is wearing a plain white v-neck t-shirt… oops. I mean Tim is looking out the window or at his own totally gorgeous (oops) reflection. Tyra is fed up now and she says to the girls, “Seriously. Stop crying. You don’t even know Jason Street.” Tim just sits there being all brooding and hot. “So how drunk are you anyway?” Tyra snaps at Tim. And you want him to say something. Anything. Because he hasn’t said anything in like forever and you really like his voice.

Smash is saying somebody has to take control now that Street is out and guess who that somebody is. It’s him, of course. Tim is hearing him and getting fed up.

Matt and Landry at the counter. A blonde girl saunters over and tells Matt that she is his. When he looks at her blankly, she explains that since he’s first string now, he gets a rally girl. He just tells her what he likes and she gives it to him. oh boy. You’re waiting for him to say something really silly. She says she’ll make him her chocolate coconut cake and they’ll go from there. After she walks away, Landry is clearly intrigued by this rally girl thing. Matt tells him he can’t think about girls right now. But Landry says when Street “comes back in five weeks” Matt will go back to being a nobody but this is what they (“you and me”) have right now. Matt asks what he (Landry) has to do with it. Then he tells Landry it wouldn’t be right to get all excited over being QB1 with “Street just laying there” in the hospital.

Smash is still in his booth and still talking about himself in the 3rd. “get behind Smash” and a bunch of people do as they’re standing around him telling them he should lead the team. Tim is fed up now. He hots himself over to Smash’s booth looking all kinds of sexy in his plain white t-shirt and jeans… oops. He walks over to Smash’s booth all purpose-driven and hot (sorry, I can’t help it) and tells Smash to get up because he’s in Street’s booth. Smash suggests to Tim that he “go home and sleep it off, man”. Ouch. Matt (at the counter) and Tyra (in their booth) cringe. He doesn’t appear drunk to you though, ftr. Just really hot and brooding. (maybe Taylor Kitsch’s acting isn’t evolved enough yet or maybe Tim Riggins just broods more darkly when he’s drunk) Tim says nothing but you’re tense because you know he’s going to say something or haul off and hit him. Instead though, he says, “You’re right.” Stunned silence from Smash (and you). Riggins tells them to enjoy the rest of their evening and turns to walk back to his booth. And you can’t tell for sure but you think Tim really is going to let it go. Until Smash says, “Hey, smile, Riggs. God don’t like ugly.” You scoff at this because Taylor Kitsch and ugly don’t really mesh in your brain but before you have a chance to really think about it, Tim hurls a glass that whips right above Smash’s head and shatters and startles the shit out of everybody. Tyra jumps up and goes to Tim while Smash’s gathering holds him back. Tim walks out.

Tami’s on the phone and watering a plant. She’s assuring the person on the other end that she will help out. Something about 200 Rice Krispie treats. “that many?” Coach is outside fiddling with the air conditioning unit. She tells Coach that since she went to the book club meeting last night, she’s on twelve committees. Julie is on the couch reading (she needs a social life) calling out an I told you so to Tami. Coach tells Tami she’s right, the AC is broken. She says she thinks it’s time she gets a job. The idea of your husband working and supporting you and your teenage daughter sounds totally foreign to you and you wonder just how much high school football coaches make. Hmmm…

The Mayor, the rest of the football-obsessed boosters and Coach Taylor are sitting inside Applebees. They’re bashing Matt saying he had his eyes closed when he threw that pass. IBG tells the table to “let Eric finish his riblets”. Coach wipes riblet juice from his mouth and thanks them for the “fantastic meal”.

At practice, Matt throws another interception. The assistant coach says they should focus on their ground game. Coach thanks him and tells him, “I’ll run practice today.” Heh. IGB is there watching with some people. Shouldn’t he be busy selling cars? Saracen passes to Smash. Smash gets put down then shouts at Tim. Tim points his finger into Smash’s helmet and tells him he’s not running fast enough. They start screaming back and forth and the assistant coach gets in between them. Smash keeps mouthing with his enormous mouth. IGB leaves all disgusting, er, I mean disgusted. Coach looks up to the bleachers and sees them leaving. *sigh* Poor Coach.

Tyra is sexying out of the diner as Smash is walking up to it. He tells her that her boyfriend is a piece of work. Yes he is. A work of totally awesome art. Pfft. She tells Smash Tim’s not really her boyfriend at the moment and continues sexying away.

On the other side of the tracks (*rolls eyes*), a black woman in scrubs is carrying a bag of groceries being followed by two daughters. She yells to the younger one to get the rest of the groceries. The girl whines that “Brian never has to do anything”. The woman yells for Brian to turn that “junk” down (referring to the loud music that does indeed sound like junk). She opens the door to Tyra and Smash slobbering all over each other on the couch. It’s pretty clear that they were almost there if not there already. Smash’s mom is appalled. “You lost your mind?” Smash and Tyra are clothed minus Smash’s shirt. Tyra picks something out of her mouth. Heh. Ew. And says, “you must be Mrs. Williams.” She’s screwing around on your Timmy and you still manage to love her. Smash’s mom is all, “messin with white girls after getting in a fight at practice.” She and Tyra go outside. She asks if Tyra is trying to get back at Tim Riggins (for what?). Tyra asks smartassedly, “You a shrink?” She says, “I work at Planned Parenthood. You probably haven’t seen the last of me.” Oh snap! Tyra goes off about not being trash and using protection. Smash’s mom tells her oh yeah she sure is a class act. Tyra asks what that’s supposed to mean as she’s opening the door to get into Smash’s mom’s car. WTF? LOL. “It means you’re safe to walk from here,” momma says, dismissing her. Snap.

Jason is trying to pick up a pencil off the table. Coach Taylor walks in. Coach asks him how he feels and he says he doesn’t feel much. Heh. Ouch. Awww. Coach gives him a football that the team signed for him. Trying to depress him more, Coach? Oh, you can’t walk? Here. Have some memorabilia from the rest of your team since you know, they can still play. Jason asks when Riggins learned to sign his name. Coach says it’s really more of a scrawl. Coach tells Jason he always has a spot on the team no matter how long it takes. Jay asks about Matt and it’s clear to you that he’s asking because he actually wants to know. Coach says he throws like a girl but he’s fine. Jay tells him about Matt and says he likes to draw and listen to Dylan. “He’s a good kid” and that “he’ll make some things happen”. Coach looks at Jason with awe-filled love and says, “you’re a good man.” *sob* “You’re a good man.” *sob* “You’re what makes guys like me want to coach.” Jason says he’s sorry for letting him down. ((????!!!!)) Coach looks at him clearly determined to get his response through his head. “You did not let me down.” *crying like a baby* “You did not let me down.”

You know that scene from Good Will Hunting where Sean is all, “It’s not your fault.” And Will is all, “I know..” and Sean is all, “No, you don’t. It’s not your fault.” And Will’s all, “I know.” And Sean’s all, “No. Listen to me, son. It’s not your fault.”? Well, that scene makes me cry harder than Will does. And Coach has reminded me of that scene. Is that on purpose? Are they trying to make me cry as hard as that scene from Good Will Hunting makes me cry?

*sob*

Landry and Matt are leaving Matt’s house. Landry is saying that the comparisons to Matt and Street are like comparing his music to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He’s not any better or any worse, they’re just different. Matt tells him he’s “definitely a whole lot worse.” Okay. If we’re talking old RHCP, I can almost agree without hearing Landry’s Christian speed metal band but if we’re talking current RHCP, I’ll have to hear Landry’s music before I can judge for myself. Landry says that right now “the bitches can’t even get your name right”. Then he tells Matt to just start spewing stuff out. Heh.

Matt is being interviewed and he’s just adorably clueless as to how to react so he remembers something a wise man once told him: “Not everyone can be the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” He talks about how great Street is. They ask him who he is and he stammers, “Exactly. Who am I? Who am I?” awww.

Tim is walking past the cheerleaders (big G little O Go) and Lyla bops over to him. She asks how he’s dealing. She says he knows he doesn’t talk about his feelings but she’s there if he needs to. He says, “cool.” She says she’ll go with him to the hospital if he’d like. He doesn’t respond so she tells him if he doesn’t go soon, Jay will start to take it personally.

The doctor explains to Jay and his parents that the injury was low enough on the spinal cord that he will regain use of his arms and hands. Jay asks about his legs. His mother starts to say that once he starts therapy and if they keep praying… but Jay asks the doctor for the truth.

Tami at a booth in Applebees. Coach slides into the booth and apologizes for being late. He asks where his daughter is. Tami tells him that she’s already told him that Julie has dance rehearsal (ah ha! She does do something other than read.) and tells him to take his hat off. She asks if he wants good news or bad news first. He says, “good news.” And she says the AC is broken and will cost $3,000 to fix it but that she can help pay for it because she got a job. He asks where her job is and when she tells him it’s at the high school, he asks her which one. He’s all, “At my high school?” She’s all irritated, “I wasn’t aware you had bought it, but yeah, new guidance counselor at the high school.” He tells her that guidance counselors can tend to be a nuisance and that they should have talked about it. She says she’s already taken the job. Saved by the bell, his cell phone rings. He tells her it’s the hospital about Jason. She watches him with concerned and supportive eyes. Coach hangs up and is quiet. The new job conversation is behind them now.

Thursday. The team is in the locker room and Taylor walks in, clears his throat, and then says, “Jason is paralyzed.” Yikes. No easing into it or nuthin. Ouch. Tim closes his eyes (and Kitsch emotes this perfectly and you’re taken aback a bit by how gorgeous and touching that very brief cut to Tim was done). Matt’s jaw drops a bit. Coach tells them Jay will regain the use of his arms and hands but not his legs and that if they need to talk, he’s there. Tim leaves the room as everybody else sits still and silent. Coach tells them they’ll pick up tomorrow and dismisses them.

Matt’s working a cash register wearing a fast-food hat. Landry is quizzing him on plays. I’ll never figure out how these guys memorize this stuff. It’s all “gold foil coin 33 red elephant 20 eyeglasses fax machine. Hut!”. Football players are not stupid, people. Matt’s waiting on customers and getting upset when he gets a play wrong. Landry tries to calm him telling him that they only have “250 or so variations” to go. Poor little Matt Saracen looks like he might pass out and the guy at the counter asks him about his fries. Matt gets them and apologizes to him. Our boy is completely overwhelmed.

Lyla and Jason are watching a portable DVD player and she’s lying on his bed with him. Jay says they need to talk. She is not ready to leave Denial Land just yet and tells him it’s not impossible, that he will walk again. They don’t need to listen to the doctors because “You are Jason Street and I am Lyla Garrity and everything is going to work out just the way we planned.” She grabs his hand and starts praying. She asks God to help them through this “test”. You hate her and feel sorry for her all at the same time. Her dreams are broken now too and her refusal to face it is infuriating and it is understandable. But it isn’t going to help Jason.

Coach Taylor is in his office watching game footage and Tami walks in with what appears to be a 6-pack of beer. She says, “Field’s empty. Let’s go make out.” Coach tells her that Matt isn’t ready and he doubts they can win a game. Tami tells him he will mold Matt Saracen just like he did with Jason and like he did with Jeff somethingorother. Coach says he had a year to work with Jeff and he has no time now. And that if he loses games, he’ll be out of a job. He says everybody is right. “Jason Street was my meal ticket. He’s the only reason I got this job. God bless that boy, but I am screwed.” Tami puts her supportive and concerned eyes back in and says, “There is not a person in the world who could do this but you.” She’s seen him do it with her own eyes. She tells him she believes in him “with every cell in my being.” Wow. *tears* They must be married for real because nobody can act this well, can they? They’re awesome to watch. Awesome.

Coach is listening to Panther radio in his car as he pulls up to Matt’s house. Matt sees him out the window and panics. He tells Grandma to go to her room. She ignores him and there’s a knock on the door. Matt’s putting on his shoes and Grandma’s asking him who’s at the door while Coach is telling them it’s him. Grandma excitedly says, “Coach Taylor is here?” She makes her way to the kitchen to and starts fussing like grandmothers do when they have company. Matt tries to go outside but Coach says he’d like to go inside. Matt is all nerves as he quickly looks back to Grandma in the kitchen. She’s taking the lid off of a plastic container and slicing a piece of cake to put on a plate. Coach looks around the room (as does the camera) and pauses on a picture of a man in fatigues holding a sign that says “Go Panthers Go”. Sketch books full of drawings. A sketch of a monster with the words “Go Panthers”. Grandma returns to the small living room and tells Coach to sit as she shoves the cake at him. Coach tells her that she should be proud of Matt and then says he’d like to go talk to Matt about Friday’s game. Grandma says she’ll get him some milk or hot chocolate or whatever he wants when they return. She says quietly to Matt, “You listen to him. Move your feet.” Matt and Coach leave and she sits back in her rocking chair and lets out an excited giggle and says, “Coach Taylor.”

Coach Taylor gobbles up the cake in two bites as he’s driving….

To the football field. It’s night time and it’s quiet. And it's stunningly gorgeous. Coach asks Matt if his dad being in Iraq is hard on him. duh. He says his father was hard on him. Still thinks he should have made the NFL. He’s kind of thinking out loud now. Wondering how Matt does it. Working, studying, “and being the man of the house” too. He says, “I know you didn’t want me to step foot in your house tonight.” Poor little Matt Saracen looks so ashamed and you want to hug him. Coach continues, “But I tell you something else. You should be proud.” He tells PLMS that all this is his for the taking if he wants it. (You too can be paralyzed from the waist down, poor little Matt Saracen!) He tells him that he can’t be distracted by the fans, the band or the cheerleaders with their “pretty young shapely legs bouncing up and down”. Uh oh. Be careful, Coach. Ew. He tells him he has a job to do as a man appears in the press box and the stadium is all noisy now with a recording of the background noise at a football game. The fans, the band, the cheerleaders with their “pretty young shapely legs bouncing up and down”. Coach tells Matt that the team needs to hear him over all the noise and tells him to call out a play. (22 rocket on hit) Coach asks Matt, “Do you want this?” Matt says "yes" weakly. Coach tells him he can’t hear him and Matt says “yes” a little louder. “I CAN”T HEAR YOU!” Matt yells out a couple plays and they end with Matt screaming back, “I WANT IT, COACH! I WANT IT!” Again with the beautiful camera work as we pan out and see Coach and Matt standing far far away on the football field. The whole town is depending on these two men.

Friday. Coach Taylor and IBG at the car dealership. I guess IBG is like the head booster or something. Or maybe the mayor is. We sure do see a lot of Buddy Garrity though. *icky face* IBG is laying it on thick to Coach telling him that the town will fall apart if they lose. Coach is all, “We don’t want that.” They shake hands and say goodbye.

Matt’s rally girl brings him his cake. He’s adorably confused. Tim’s rally girl hands him a paper bag (beer?) and he presses her up against a locker and kisses her (ack! I knew I chose the wrong profession in high school! Not that there were any Tim Rigginses at my school but hot damn! I guess I would have been too stoned to really even notice if there were any hot football players at my high school… Well, except for that one I had an interlude with at a party one night… but still he was no Tim Riggins) Tim smirks gorgeously as he walks away from her and she’s all flustered and watching him walk away. Lyla bops into Jason’s room and shoves a cookie in his mouth.

The camera shows us that the town is all closed up. Because there’s a football game tonight and this is a football town. The cheerleaders are in the cafeteria and the team is in the locker room getting ready for the game. The boys wait anxiously in the locker room. Legs bouncing. (“pretty young shapely legs bouncing up and down”) The lights come on inside the stadium. Friday Night Lights.

Coach is telling them that it is natural to be pissed off after the loss they suffered. Cut to the team taking the field and Coach Taylor pacing the sidelines. Cut back to the locker room and Coach praying for a safe and successful game. Cut back to the field and the cheerleaders and the fans. Cut back to the team chanting “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” Running out of the locker room, slapping the P. Matt is in the back looking nervous and scared and overwhelmed. Coach asks him, “Last Friday, when you threw that winning pass, were your eyes closed?” Matt emotes sudden and unexpected confidence, as he answers, “No sir. My eyes were wide open. My eyes were wide open.” hrmpf. Take that radio show naysayers.

We end with the kicker kicking the ball into the sky.

Friday Night Lights – Episode 1.01 “Pilot” – air date 10/3/06

My comment at RTVW after the first viewing of this episode - "I thought it was just okay. One of the football dudes is hot though so I'll give it another shot."

After watching this episode again (during the three weeks they took it away from me and again this weekend) I have many more comments. I also feel the need to write out an entire summary of this first episode and I can’t promise you that I won’t do this for every single episode. But hey, you can always jump in midseason if you read them all, eh? (FYI - You can watch them all at nbc.com)

The camera work on this show is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. If the acting on the show doesn’t grab you and glue you to the television for an hour, the handheld should. After the first airing of the first episode, I wasn’t all that impressed (except with Kitsch, of course). It seemed to be just a combination of the movie (Friday Night Lights) and Varsity Blues all mixed together in one show that was somehow supposed to become a television series. 22 episodes? How did they hope to accomplish such a thing? I mean, they were good movies and all but a television series? Hmmm… But I decided to give it another shot ~ not that I had much of a choice since the dear husband seemed to be sold on it. After seeing the rest of the nine aired episodes and re-watching the first one, I just found it breathtaking. It’s hard to put into words what makes a show so good and so worth watching and so worth dropping everything else you’re doing just to pay extra special attention to it. Never fear though, I’ll try my best to put it into words for you.

The pilot opens with the camera moving through the town and a male radio voice telling his audience (us) that it’s only four days until Friday night as “Monday” appears on the screen. The camera settles briefly on a man standing alone in the middle of a football stadium. From a female caller into the radio show, we learn that this man is Coach Taylor and he’s new and under a lot of pressure and being followed around by a news crew. This is a football town, you see.

We ride along with the camera to a little and somewhat rundown house that can only be the home of Riggins Running Back #33 because that’s what the sign in the yard tells us. We enter the Riggins household and find a shirtless (be still my heart) muscled young man lying on the leather loveseat with the coffee table in front of him littered with beer bottles. We assume this is Running Back Riggins (and I already have a favorite character) as we wipe the drool from our chin and continue listening to the radio people telling us that this is the #1 team in Texas. Uh oh. Poor Coach Taylor. He seems to be in trouble here.

The next house we come to seems more rundown (because of the broken chairs and other stuff littering the lawn) than the Riggins house and the crooked sign outside (that is unlike the Riggins sign in that it's not quite as big and the colors are reversed) tells us this is the home of Saracen Quarterback #7. Inside the house we meet an old lady (that we assume is not the Quarterback) watching some home shopping show. Then we see the young man (who must be Saracen the quarterback) who looks at his grandmother with a hard to read expression as he tells her he made her “two tuna fish sandwiches” and he put her medicine “in the green Gatorade”. She just sits there and taps her foot. The camera settles in on that tapping foot for what seems like forever but really it's just about a millisecond (tap tap tap tap tap) and it makes you want to pull your hair out. She only wants one tuna fish sandwich and he tells her he’ll eat the other one after practice. They share a hug as she tells him, “You? I adore.” Tapping foot again. This is a perfectly acted and angled scene, people.

Saracen leaves his house, straightens the sign in the front yard and gets into an old station-wagon. You know the ones with the wood panel on the sides? Yeah. One of those. We learn that the driver is Landry Clark who tells Saracen he wants one of those signs for himself that would say “Utterly Useless All State Jerk Team”. I’m going to like this Landry fellow. (I rarely use the term "fellow" but it just really really fits Landry Clark.) Saracen reads the newspaper with a picture of Coach Taylor and heading that says “The Best Ever?” with smaller pictures of two other players (we will learn that those are Street and Smash) as the radio guy tells us all about the actual quarterback whose name is Jason Street. Landry asks Saracen if he’s ever going to play this year because he can’t keep waking up to take him to practice if he’s not even going to play. Interesting that we were shown the backup quarterback, yes? Though I guess if you’ve seen the movie…

And we’re back to shirtless Tim Riggins. *drool* (Please note – I feel free to drool all over this man now that I know how old he is and that he’s not actually a high school football player. The first viewing of the first episode was a little rough for me since I was on my way down Guilt Avenue.) An older than him guy (his older brother, Billy) tells him he is going to be kicked off the team as a tall blonde girl (Tyra) in a flannel shirt lays her gorgeous self on top of Riggins. Older brother tells him he isn’t that good and Riggins tells him he’s twice the player he ever was. (set up for more back story, people ~ we later find out how awesome the continuity and foreshadowing that happens all around the screen during this show really is so it’s a lot easier to appreciate this first episode during viewing #2)

Now we’re apparently in a different part of town. A large (and neat looking) house. A woman tells her daughter not to go out with Jason Street tonight but to come home for family dinner. The girl with her brown hair pulled into a ponytail icing cupcakes (with some kind of spray can?) tells her mother she has “rally rehearsal” tonight. A younger girl beebops into the room. A young boy comments that she is rehearsing how far she can get her tongue down Jason’s throat. Heh. And then an icky man walks in and tells the kid to shut up (not those words but I don’t remember what his were).

And we’re back to Coach Taylor and the football field. We find out that he’s been with the Dillon Panthers for six years but just recently was named Head Coach. We also find out that he has been coaching Jason Street (who is seated at his side) since his Pee Wee days. Then we cut to Jason Street. I can’t tell you what it is that makes you believe that we are seeing the absolute best high school quarterback there has ever been, but you do believe that. Yes you do. Jason Street, baby. And to further that revelation that you’ve just seen the absolute best high school quarterback there has ever been, we see his parents chatting it up with a Notre Dame scout. A scout who says Jay is the best quarterback he’s seen in 27 years. Hell yeah he is. We cut back to Coach who says they expect a lot from Street and he produces. No pressure, Jay.

Cut to a Smash rambling on about trophies and whatnot having his picture taken and getting interviewed. We are shown slow motion shots of him running with the football as the interviewer asks about his dad who died a few years ago (back story - foreshadow - continuity) but the kid very adamantly doesn’t want to talk about that so they move on to the subject of racism and the kid says he wears blinders.

Close up of Riggins (pitter pat) looking up and saying “That’s not racism. I just don’t like him.” It’s not just his looks, you’ve now decided. It’s his voice too. “My name is Tim Riggins and I play fullback.” The interviewer comments on his aggression and he says, “I just like to hurt people,” (we, of course, later learn there’s more to that statement than what we’re being shown now) as we are shown him tackling an unlucky somebody on the field.

Cut back to Street who is just perfect and says the perfect things about his team. (This is the boy who should make you swoon but he isn’t.)

Back to Riggins who tells the interviewer he doesn’t have alcohol on his breath as we see Tim on the field fumbling the ball and the assistant coach yelling at him and his brother looking disgusted.

Taylor gets the boys in a circle and has them tackle Riggins one by one as he screams at him about understanding what's going to happen in five days. Then he says, "Get up, Riggins". Cut to Taylor in an interview and then to Street who says reassuringly that they’re a very good team. And you believe him because you have to because for fuck’s sake that is Jason Fucking Street. Back to Smash who says this is the best team because they have him. Back to Coach Taylor glaring fire on Riggins and telling the team, "They're gonna attempt to do this to you in front of your mothers, in front of your fathers, in front of your brothers, in front of your sisters." And while we hear him saying this, we see Tim get tackled over and over. Wham! (you cringe) Kyle Chandler is television royalty, people. Appreciate him. Smash stands over a crumpled heap lying on the ground that appears to be Tim and tells him he’s making them all look weak. Cut to Riggins in interview, "I hate that guy." And Smash, "If one person fumbles the ball, we all fumble the ball. If one person shows up to practice half-drunk, we all show up half-drunk." Taylor, quietly, "Twenty." Riggins goes down again. Smash, "We ain't got time for your games, Rig." Riggins goes down yet again and the camera jerks up to Taylor, standing with his arms crossed and looking like a football coach, "Get up, son. Get up."

I'm not sure what it is that makes this such an awesome scene but I watched it over and over and over again (which is strange since baby boy was getting his ass whooped). Awesome.

Jason Street is being interviewed in some fast food place and the girl with the cupcakes and ponytail (Lyla) is at his side. Hip hop is playing in the background and Jason is talking about Aztec burgers and Lyla is saying no endorsements and then we cut to Smash who is more than willing to talk endorsements. Tyra (the tall hot blonde girl that plopped her gorgeous self on top of Riggins) appears to really get a kick out of Smash.

We cut a few tables over to Saracen and Landry discussing whether or not to talk to a girl reading a book. Is that Beck in the background all of a sudden? Hmmm… This is the coach’s daughter it turns out and she couldn’t be more disinterested in the football players. Landry tells her he's in her English class and proposes a chat about Moby Dick and Saracen stammers all over himself wondering if he should brag about being on the football team or tell her he’s not really on the team since he never gets to play because they have the best quarterback the Notre Dame scout has seen in 27 fucking years. He's held the ball for the kicker twice and Landry says "not very well". She tells Matt he's still a football player and she doesn't eat with football players. Landry says he's not a football player and she says, "and I don't eat with you either." heh.

Back to Street and Lyla and the beginning of my love for Adrianne Palicki who plays Tyra. (This girl is amazing, people and has been way too underused thus far. But with the quality of acting on this show I guess it would be difficult to surmise who is the BEST ~ but not who is the worst because that would be Minka Kelly aka Lyla) Tyra is listening to Lyla being all cheerleadery and shit and says mockingly, “Oh, really? How interesting. That is so interesting. really. I'd be hard pressed to remember anything in my entire damn life that's ever been so damn interesting…. Whore." Awesome. Then she goes over to Smash and bites his burger. Hot.

Coach Taylor is watching game footage and in walks his wife. She wants to move to Alaska.

Saracen throws a football through a tire hanging from a tree as Landry talks about starting a Christian speed metal band (foreshadow – continuity). Grandma Saracen, who has been watching from the background, tells Matt he needs to get a new friend. Awwww.

Jason and Lyla hop out of his Jeep and exchange a whole lot of icky that I won’t make you read. To snip this part, they have a cute high school cheerleader dating the star quarterback relationship. Awwww… But it is quite cute even though it is a bit gagworthy.

The Taylors are all sitting and doing their own thing and daughter Julie starts equating Dillon Texas with Moby Dick. I’m not intelligent enough to go into all her comparisons but to snip this part, Julie is smart and doesn’t necessarily love football.

Tuesday and more radio. Coach Taylor is discussing this week’s opponents with a man he calls “Coach”. They laughingly end the conversation with “It’s only football” being traded back and forth. They say that a lot and it’s really funny to them because, you see, this is a football town and they’re the #1 team in Texas and Coach Taylor has a lot to prove.

And now we’re inside a car dealership decorated with balloons and “Panther Pride” banners. A lady, the mayor, welcomes the Panthers and their coach. Pan to Lyla who looks like a cheerleader who is there because she is in love with her quarterback boyfriend. Pan to Julie who looks like she’s there because she has to be because her dad is the coach and whatever. Pan to Tyra who looks like she has no idea why she’s even there because this is so fucking boring. Smash raps about Tom Cruise and Scientology. Really. Some ladies approach Julie and Tami (Mrs. Coach) and invite her to join their book club. Tyra and Tim are making out. Hot. Coach Taylor breaks them up as he walks past. Get out of here Coach. He walks away and they go back to it. Hot.

“Gold Lion” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is playing. Nice.

Mack Brown threatens Taylor by telling him to meet him outside the Tastee Freeze if they lose on Friday. The mayor has Jason cornered and he’s acting all nice and she yells at him for being nice because he can’t be nice on Friday. Yikes. She tells him to listen to Black Sabbath because it will make him mean. Ummm…. Okay. Tim is surrounded by a bunch of sexually frustrated women (what? shut up. I can't help it. He's hot.) and one of them tells him that a blitz sounds sexual then she asks him if he’s ever blitzed an older woman. Right about now Mr. Riggins is cursing his prettiness I bet. Tyra sexies up to Street and says being with Lyla must be like drinking milk all day and tells him he should try a milkshake sometime. Nice. Hot. Mack Brown is still surrounding Coach Taylor. A photographer starts to take pictures of Tyra and Jason and asks if she’s his girlfriend just as Lyla beebops herself back to his side. She pouts and he apologizes sweetly. Aww. Tyra gets bored with the icky talk between Street and Lyla and sexies over to Smash and tells him she’s bored. This angers Timmy so he tells Smash to get away from her. They go back and forth and Miss Hotthing tells them to quit. Mack Brown is still surrounding Coach Taylor.

Wednesday. Cheerleaders cheering and little kids all padded up playing football. That description does that scene no justice. It's a stunning scene.

Street stands in front of a chalkboard diagramming plays for the little kids. One boy suggests that Street should play professional ball. Ah. And you start to tear up because you’ve seen this movie. Street leads them in prayer and a boy asks him if he thinks God loves football. Kid, you’re asking Jason Fucking Street. Of course his answer will be “everybody does”.

Thursday. Coach is standing outside a two story house with the sexually frustrated blitz lady. She asks if he’s going to make an offer on the house and he says it depends what happens on Friday night. No pressure.

Coach is driving home listening to more football talk on the radio. They discuss how Coach underutilizes Smash and depends on Street too much. Ack. (You really wish he'd have watched the movie or read the book or whatever because you did.)

Tim, Lyla, Jason and some other kids are sitting around a bonfire. Tim talks about how he just wants to stay in Dillon and wait for Jason to get back from playing college ball and going pro so they can run a ranch together. Street smiles sincerely back at his friend who has much smaller dreams than his own. And to cement what football means to this town and what this ranch dream means to Tim, we get a beer toast from Mr. #33, "Here's to God, and football, and 10 years from now, Street, good friends livin' large in Texas. Texas forever. Yo everybody, listen up. Let's do it! Let's touch God this time boys, let's touch God." (Wow, his voice.)

Friday. The stores are closed. Of course they are. Because it’s game night. Matt Saracen sits in the locker room in his blue hoodie. (I love men in hoodies.) People enter the stadium. Tim sits in the locker room. (I wish he was wearing a hoodie.) His legs bouncing from either nervousness or eagerness. Probably the latter since he likes to hurt people. Smash tapes his wrists. Street stands there looking perfect and confident. Coach stands in front of his team and talks to them about the game. The pre-game pep talk. He doesn’t expect them to win. He knows they’ll win. “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” The team yells back in unison, “CAN’T LOSE!” as they all touch the “P” on the wall on their way out.

Coach pulls Street aside and they tell each other that they’ve earned this win. *sob*

Game is under way. Smash receives the punt and carries the ball to the 40 yard line. More gameplay. Pass to Smash. Pass to Riggins. Coach Taylor calls a “Barracuda 550”. Street passes for a touchdown. Woo hoo! But their opponents, Westerbury Chaps, answer that touchdown with one of their own. Gorgeous slow motion camerawork of the celebration.

Second quarter. Tim blocks for Smash as he carries the ball down the field. Street throws another touchdown pass. Westerbury counters with another touchdown.

Half time. Some assistant coach of some sort tells them to take their heads out of their butts. Tim is being attended to due to some scratches on his neck (purrrrr). Street is explaining confusingly to somebody else what is going wrong on the field. Saracen is behind Street looking like a sweet little boy who is just trying to learn from this specimen of total awesomeness. Taylor looks to Jason who continues explaining what is going on ("...gotta beat the jam off the line..."). The yelling assistant coach or whatnot yells, "We have not been communicating. We are gonna communicate now." And all the boys go, "Yessir."

Back on the field, Smash is getting nowhere. The passing isn't working all that well. Street is trying to psych the team up. Coach seems to be remaining pretty cool considering. Lyla and the other cheerleaders aren't looking very cheerleadery. Finally Coach loses it and screams at a referee: "That was horse crud." heh.

So now you're sitting on the edge of your couch because you know what's coming. You just don't know how or when it's going to happen. And because you love football and well golly you just love these kids on this team. Then you try to pretend you don't really know what's coming. Maybe it won't happen this episode. Even still you can't relax because the Westerbury Chaps are up 24 - 14.

Things start to look up for our Dillon Panthers and you know what that means so your eyes start to prepare themselves for what's coming. Third and five and Street tosses the ball to... oh crap, it's intercepted. The only person near enough to tackle the Chap is Street. So he puts his head down (ack!!!!! You cover your eyes with your hands and peek through your fingers.) and they crash to the ground. The Chap fumbles and our Panthers recover so yay... but Jay is still lying there.

Street's mother with her hands up to her face. Coach walking towards Street. One Panther player (was it Smash? I forgot to pay attention) kneels beside him. Trainer comes out. The crowd is silent. The doctor comes out and his parents run to the field. Lyla breaks your heart as she absently asks why he's not getting up. The doctor asks Jay if he can hear him. Jay looks absolutely horrified as he says he can.

His mom tells him to get up. Ambulance siren sounds. The crowd shows that they have their fingers crossed. The doctor tells the EMTs he thinks its a spinal injury. Jason can lift his hand and wiggle his toes. Well that's good. Right? They lift him onto a stretcher. Jason tells them "thank you". Awww. *sob*

They put him in the ambulance. The crowd applauds. Everyone on the field on their knees. Our Panthers look defeated.

Little Matt Saracen is called into action. He looks so scared and you want to hug him. Coach explains to him that the quarterback is Captain.

Captain huddle. The referee reminds them to keep their heads up. Matty has a look that's a cross between a deer in headlights, like somebody who's seen a ghost, and a lost puppy.

Both teams huddle as we cut to medical technicians taking off Jason's shoes. Back to Saracen calling a play incorrectly. Smash corrects him. The nurses are fiddling with Jay's helmet. Saracen gets sacked. They're sawing off Jay's helmet. Lyla's leaning against the wall. She's crying. So are you, btw. Saracen throws the ball and it hits one of his linemen in the back of the helmet. Jay is being rolled onto his stomach. Coach tells Matt to slow down and breathe. Street is hooked up to monitors and they cut into his spine. Coach tells Matt to "read the coverage" and realizes that Matt has no idea how to do that so he tells him to look and "throw the ball to our guys". They're still cutting into Jay. Smash gets a touchdown. Tyra cheers. Dammit she's hot.

Less than a minute to go in the game and our Panthers try for an onside kick. They're successful so they have "a chance to win this game." They dramatically win the game with an incredible Saracen pass (fending off the Chaps defense) to Smash. Maybe that play couldn't have really happened the way it happened with the time that was left but you don't care. You don't care because you see how happy the entire town of Dillon is to win this game and you just want to cut back to the hospital. Coach looks at Tami and gives her a worried for Jason look. The celebration is over as both teams kneel and Smash leads them in prayer. "We know that you work in mysterious ways, and we just want to send our spirit, and our love, just to heal him in whatever way you see fit." The crowd bows their heads.

Back to the hospital. The crowd is gathering to hear news on Jason. Coach Taylor's voice "We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. We will all fall. We must keep this in our hearts. That what we have is special. That it can be taken from us. And when it is taken from us, we will be tested. (he's at Jay's side now) We will be tested to our very souls." In the hallway, Julie walks towards Lyla. The team is in the lobby. Coach Taylor hugs Street's father. Lyla falls into Julie's embrace and sobs. In the lobby, Tim and Smash put aside differences (if only for a moment). Taylor slips his hand into Jay's. We look at Coach's face as he looks at Jason Street. Jason Street who he's coached since Pee Wee. Jason Street who is the best quarterback the Notre Dame scout has seen in 27 years. Jason Street who he depended on so much to make this a winning season for the Dillon Panthers. Jason Street who he's coached since Pee Wee.

And yet somehow you still hope, even though this is the third time now that you've seen this episode and you've seen all the episodes since, you still hope Jason will be okay.

It is embarassing to other television shows how well done the acting is here.

I can't stop babbling about Friday Night Lights.

American Idol is about to start up again. I doubt there will ever be anybody anywhere near Chris' league on this show again but it's worth watching if even there's somebody that has a little bit of talent, I think. It's a fun show to watch and I become VERY opinionated about it. I had a lot to say last season.

And if there's ever another Rock Star, you know I'll need to express myself about that too. (Not that there will ever be another Ryan, mind you. That just isn't possible.)

So here it is. Finally. I can feel free to babble as much as my little heart desires.

First thing first, I'm going to grab some of my posts on FNL and put them here.