But yet I've developed a serious addiction to NBC's Friday Night Lights, thanks in part to Aging Cowgirl's glowing praise for the show, and thanks in part to my new TV crush of the season, Matt Saracen (played by Zach Gilford). It is a show about a high school football team and its new head coach (Kyle Chandler) in a town where football is religion.
Matt Saracen is the new quarterback who took over for the golden boy quarterback who was paralyzed in the first game. No pressure at all, right? Well Matt also cares for his senile grandma while Dad (who may be a widower, based on the assumption that Mom has not been mentioned at all?) is on duty in Iraq. And he's crushing on Coach's daughter. So there's a lot going on there. I've figured that he is sort of an amalgam of a bunch of past TV crushes of mine:
... + maybe a little Felicity (he draws! Awww!) + football stuff 
Don't let NBC's somewhat dashing promotional photos fool you: he is mostly earnest and dorky and pensive and a little broody.
But not the most broody. One of Aging Cowgirl's favorites isn't too bad either:
Tim Riggins (played by Taylor Kitsch) really makes the Hanes undershirt thing work for him (hmm, shades of The OC's Ryan also, perhaps, what with the enthusiasm for undergarments).
Now I really love the head coach and his wife:
I am especially loving the simple dorkiness of the white sneakers with jeans. LOVE. Kyle Chandler's hair is impressive. Connie Britton plays Tami Taylor and she is SO fun to watch. I can't believe she's the same woman who was in The Brothers McMullen.
I don't even mind perky cheerleader girl Lyla Garrity. She's kinda like this:
... with some depth. She is the girlfriend (with complications) of the aforementioned paralyzed golden boy former-quarterback. But paraplegic pseudo-porn - that's all I'm going to say. The girl is a go-getter and I can respect that.Some choice lines from the great recaps for the show at TelevisionWithoutPity.com, which explain some of the greatness that I didn't fully describe because I was too busy looking for pretty pictures of Zach Gilford:
"I can't believe this show can do both the groundbreaking stuff -- exploring racism and disability with small, beautiful gestures -- and the majestically cheesy stuff like an inspirational team-building scene in the rain. "
"I have to point out that while everyone is going on about the color blind casting over at Grey's Anatomy, there's some equally awesome casting (or, really, plotting) happening over here on FNL...not color- or disability-blind, but color- and disability-aware. " -- Drunken Bee, TelevisionWithoutPity.com
So it's not totally Dawson's and One Tree Hill redux... but I have to say some things just make a fangirl like me totally go "Squeeeee!"
Sigh.
And I just heard recently that The OC is to be cancelled in February. Bastards. Just when it was getting good. Just when Marissa died. Just when we were introduced to Pancakes!
6 comments:
you are totally selling the show to me. bah! something else to dvr.
Although I have appreciated the angsty, "I am high school boy, hear me grunt" Tim Riggins, my heart has always belonged to Matt Saracen. Earnest guys with family problems can be so appealing and the scenes where Matt cares for (and sings to) his grandmother are so pathos inducing. I love.
But I have to say, for all the critical acclaim that FNL is getting, the scripts don't always hold up. The beautiful cinematography and the melancholy music make you think that it is deeper than it really is.
what does it mean that i find kyle chandler to be the cutest of all the boys? i used to love him on "early edition" (where he would get this newspaper which was about what might happen the next day if he didn't stop something awful from happening).
Kyle Chandler is often the cutest of all the boys, simply based on his emotive hair. And his eyes are super pretty.
But Matt Saracen in action will make you melt. Or give you a toothache. Or possibly diabetes. He has the Z•AC stamp of approval - those are truly rare.
Decided to check out the pilot episode online. Not bad. But I think I need to watch a few more for the other boys to grow on me :)
Meanwhile, I'm super excited about Erin's Christmas gift from her sister--the entire three-season DVD of "Arrested Development."
kyle chandler was fab in grey's anatomy and king kong. my affection though stems back to early high school with the heartwarming WW2 homecoming drama "Homefront" -- Campbell Scott was in it too!
Post a Comment