One of these is not like the others

After a bit of hunting I found the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights! It was well worth the trouble as the series proved to be dazzling from the beginning.

It is true that I was roped into the show by just watching the last 5 episodes of season 3. But at the end of Tomorrow Blues (episode 13, season 3) I knew that I just had to know how it had all started. Were Tim and Matt always friends? How had they come to be on the football team? What about this Street character we heard about every so often? And so many other questions. I wanted to see how the show had evolved and how it came to the climax I had just seen.

The first season was breath-taking. The visual aspects of the show are so outside the norm. Though the show has polished up a bit more since the first air date, the original feel has not been lost. Though fictional, the series is shot in a documentary style that provides a real sense of action for the audience. The use of natural lighting, light props, and fluid camera movements that follow the characters focus attention on the narrative presented. These attributes remain true through to the current season and its truly an accomplishment to maintain their roots.

The biggest and possibly only problem I have with the show is the characters ages. At the beginning of the series, there are no real indicators of how old or what grade level any of our characters are in. That wouldn't be a problem if it didn't seem like the characters apparently changed ages. It's just hard to keep track of, with Julie Taylor and Lyla Garriety seeming to get younger by season 3 than when the show started.

Aside from that issue the rest of the show was just bewitching. Though not a football fan, almost at all because of my lack of understanding on the game. I was never bored, not once. The players, their families, their interactions and behaviors were constantly interesting. The primary story is that it is the first season for Coach Taylor as head coach of the Dillon Panthers. Coach Taylor is put into what I can only relate to Remember the Titans type experience, with a win it all or lose it. Coach is basically the Cheiron trainer of heroes for the town of Dillon, Texas as he guides the football players to winning. Aside from just the football, the Taylor family dynamic is brought into the light. Mrs. Taylor becomes the yin to the yang, she brings in the rest of the school outside of sports. While Julie brings conflict to the family by rebelling, and particularly by dating a football player to her father's dismay. Also during the first season was the focus of Street and his injury, the audience is taken on a journey of pain and anger that escalates with the emotional betrayal of his girlfriend and best friend. Some of the smaller themes include steroid use, love, sex, and familial turmoil.

Two episodes of note in the first season are It's Just Not the Same for Girls and Nevermind. The first being an episode about how Lyla Garriety is treated for having a sexual relationship with Tim Riggins. The a process of emotional break-down, as she is an outcast and verbally abused by her peers. Her treatment is horrific at times, including the building of a website and vandalizing of her locker. What the intriguing part comes to be is her strength, where it comes from and how it manifests at the end of the episode. While in the second episode, it's moving to see the effects of a solider coming home on leave from Iraq. Matt's father comes home, while his son expects parental aid and encouragement. Matt is disappointed to discover his father detached and aiming to have him moved to other family members and leaving his grandmother in a house. Its a heartbreaking scene when Matt fails to get his head in a game and proceeds to have a very public fight with his father in the parking lot.

For something truly different than most of the other shows on TV, think about checking out Friday Night Lights. Starting Season 4 in October on NBC.

It's all about the heart...

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

Before I start, I would like to point out that you should watch the above video at least twice before formulating an opinion.

I understand how most stories are crafted. I have picked up a paint brush. I am constantly involved in the writing processes of brainstorming and editing. I have snapped a picture and played with photoshop. I can speak and have told my own stories. I've shot videos and edited them. The bottom line is that I understand how most of the stories have come to life but this one, I watched and I honesty don't know how it came to exist. I understand that it involved animation and a computer program, but I do not know how it was created. The importance is that I didn't need to understand how it came to exist to understand its message and be truly moved by it.

From the moment it started the music was captivating. Its the type of melody that reaches into a person and plays along with their heartbeat. I might be the only one but when I hear a piano like that, or the strings like that, I imagine the musician clearly. I could sit for hours watching the hands of a musician strum away on the ivory keys. Which might be why watching the animation of the video was so particularly fulfilling for me. The movement was perfectly on time with the music and provided the visual stimulates that I was anticipating with such a vivid tune. The animation was like a ballet choreographed to each note, with the calm procession of one lone dot seemingly swimming and as the strings entered so do the other dancers (the other colors) in a twirling exhibition.

Which leads me to just praise the use of color! The stable and mellow background that sets the mood for the piece from the moment it is presented to the audience. Blues establishing the sense of calm, but maybe alluding the loneliness? The blue fading into shades, mostly grey, behind it. The idea of the character moving forward while leaving a trail behind establishes a sense of leaving a legacy, a memory. But as the music and the character moves, the trailing legacy slowly but surely fades with the push forward. As we hear the strings, we see the brighter colors arrive. The pinks, reds, yellows bring us others. Friends, family, society twirling around our character all of a sudden bringing in new life, bursts of energy. Its chaotic in a controlled and very beautiful way. Though the bursts don't last, they continue until the end of our lone character's journey.

Then comes the narrative of the story, words that represent the characters journey and what the artist might have hoped to convey. Below is each quote that is presented in the order in which they appear:

There is nothing in the caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.

Do not break the silence.

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.

Remember quiet nights.

Burn down your bridges.

Think outside the box.

Let yourself feel.

I only add to those sentiments, pay attention to where the characters & the music are when each appear. Also notice that the end quote and the title of the piece are one and the same, maybe Mr. Esteban Diacono is hoping that his audience remembers something? Either way thank you Esteban for sharing your story, it was a pleasure. It is a true marvel how art has become such a wondrous interaction!

The Dragon was Mad...

The first season of Merlin ended last night. There were a few thoughts that crossed my mind as the magical journey came to a close. One, I want Arthur Pendragon's awesome red jacket more than I've wanted any article of clothing from any show in a while. Two, why hasn't Merlin told Arthur he is magical. Three, maybe with season two they will up their antics a tad bit more and really hit the nail on the head.

I still like the show a considerable amount. But what is drives me like for the show is the Arthur, Merlin relationship. That became slightly problematic in the few episodes where for whatever reason Arthur was suddenly not as ever present. Merlin being the protagonist of the show, carries the burden well but I would admit I would have liked to see a bit more character development over the course of 13 episodes. It seemed that Merlin learned only one lesson from the entire season, to be more careful. While an important lesson, I would have expected more growth. His youthful missteps were counted on one hand, in only the beginning episodes. While his relationship with Arthur though wonderful and greatly brought to life, seems lacking by episode 11 when Merlin still has yet to reveal his secret. Though it was wonderful to see Merlin finally set out to strike his own destiny and not be so ruled by his circumstances such as the Dragon. It's almost as if the two prince and servant (friends) grow comfortable and static. Arthur faces a similar problem, though a lesson learned in compassion he is still guided by the hand that feeds him. Arthur is still far too quick to take his father's orders and ignore the general outcry of his friends, family and people. The show was off to a great start but I was hoping for more growth.

The rest of our characters are equally one-sided in this first season. Morgana is strong willed and doesn't learn the patience of graces from her experiences. Though there is high hope that she is somehow transformed after her remorse to Uther. I appreciate her spirit and the passion that she brings to the screen. While Gwen is finally starting to become a less one dimension character, as she starts to fall apart due to the untimely death of her father. Finally Gwen is not just the nice girl, the damsel in distress, in a situation where no one can truly help her but she has to show strength. While in the last episode the audience finally gets to see Gwen with Arthur, the spark of the relationship that we might have been waiting for.

I was pleased with the ending of the season , Merlin demonstrating his strength setting the stage for a powerful second season. There are high hopes for the future of the story, and if you haven't caught up on it check it out on Hulu!