Mid-Series Night Doting

Sometime in May, I checked out with a few friends and saw Wolverine. Admittedly I'm a comic book hero lover (though I've never really picked up a comic book in my life) and I have a soft spot for Batman (not just because of Christian Bale), Spiderman (I blame my geek of a brother), and X-Men (Blame goes to a manager I once have that gave me a three hour history lesson on them). So my love for X-Men drove me to want to see the summer boys blockbuster, and though it really wasn't any good, I was giddy and excited because my favorite x-man was making an appearance. When the card-playing rebel who doesn't give a damn appeared on screen, I internally swooned because Gambit was just always so cool. I've seen different variations of Gambit in the comic based cartoons and whatnot and I've loved most of them (except for how they dress him in X-Men: Evolution, really?). I was apparently noticeably excited every time Gambit was on screen and my friend leaned over to tell me that the actor was from Friday Night Lights. I nodded not really registering anything aside from he was Gambit and very easy on the eyes. I was liking his performance and my friend was whispering that I would love his character on Friday Night Lights.

I had heard buzz about the show for a while now all good hype. But from the moment of that movie my friend started talking about it more, insisting that I would really like the show and just fall in love with Tim Riggins ( Taylor Kitsch). I had my doubts, a show about Football in the South? Not thinking when I was judging it without seeing it about my love for movies like Remember the Titans and We Are Marshall. But a few nights ago I finally cracked searching out F.N.L (initials from now on) on Hulu and On Demand. This might have been the first time Hulu failed me, having only partial parts of the show with only 6 episodes of the last season. I decided to take my chance and see how I fit into the show even if I couldn't watch it in order. After the first episode, I was mildly impressed with it overall and only sort of attached to Tim Riggins but I was thinking it might be left over love for his face as Gambit. This might have something to do with coming in mid-story, like falling into the middle of a movie and not being as engaged as everyone else watching. Also it might be because my attention was slightly pre-occupied with making chicken teriyaki. But the acting was heart felt and the story seemed well developed so I decided to keep checking it out. By luck of the Hulu Gods, episode two was available and I watched that one next. That was the moment of connection, character Matthew Saracen (Zach Gilford) really brought me in emotionally with the story of his family and his struggles with his grandmother. It was heartfelt, true stories brought to life for all to experience on screen. I was hooked.

Unfortunately, after episode two the Hulu Gods saw fit to make me skip to episode 10. So jumping ahead some more on the story time line. It was not as hard as my first step in the pool, but it was saddening to not have been able to watch the characters grow from where they were at the beginning of their school year to almost the end. But that can be fixed with a little help from Amazon and some quality time with my DVD player. The last few episodes I watched were about friends, life, love and so much of those life themes that make all stories worth telling. They were brought to life by characters such as reckless devil Tim Riggins (who my friend was right, stole my heart from the beginning) and sensitive caring Matthew Saracen (who is coming in close second to Tim) and the involved family Taylor. It was interesting to see that sometimes this show didn't look like a Hollywood production, a mass produced perfected piece of NBC line-up but that sometimes it was raw. Its a slight change in the lighting, a difference in the film, something harder and edgier in the production that make it feel like a home movie caught on tape for all to see.

Friday Night Lights is like walking down a quiet street in Texas and looking in on the neighbors. Its welcoming and powerful because of its nature, its characters and stories are true to all experiences and after watching episode 13 I am left wanting more. More, in the sense that I have gotten the end of the story but I want the journey. I want to know how Tim went from the devil who gives a damn that we all know he was to this savvy senior in high school. I want to know if Tim and Matt were always friends, because I'm not sure they were. I want to know how Mrs. Taylor became principal and how her family helped her make the decision. I want to be part of the journey because I think that if I appreciate the ending now that I will only appreciate it so much more if I knew all the details.

So here again I'm faced with the muse whispering about home, feeling welcomed the need for sincerity for the story to come alive. Grab hold of what is understood and run with it, I heard you muse, let's see where this takes us. But if you want a slice of apple pie and a comforting feeling, sit down with that warm pie and watch a few episodes of Friday Night Lights.