You won't watch it

When I heard 'Friday Night Lights' was being developed into a television show I was skeptical. While I was a fan of the book and found the film to be wildly underrated I didn't want to see both turn into some crapfest that only television can produce. I avoided watching it assuming the worst.

Finally one night after being incredibly bored I saw a bunch of promos to watch the show online. I decided to at least give the pilot a shot.

I was captivated within the first ten minutes. The show turned out to be smartly scripted, incredibly well acted across the board, and had great cinematography. While the show does center around the small town politics of having your high school football team be your church and your royalty the game is hardly the focus of the drama. The teens aren't written as a bunch of mindless simpletons, but are treated with respect. This is not your typical WB, CW, or whatever kind of thoughtless drivel that are usually given to young characters. The players are filled with rich, authentic dialogue. Even the accents and speaking mannerisms are handled with respect to it's location.

I rushed out and bought the first two seasons on DVD.

Hailed by critics as one of the best shows on network television the series hasn't gathered much in the way of ratings. People are turned off by the idea of it and would rather watch The Bachelor or some crap. Granted there is a lot of great television out there and I will always miss great shows as 'The Shield' and 'Rome', but I advise you to give 'Friday Night Lights' a chance. Check out the pilot and see what I'm talking about.

For a better written argument for the quality of this show I recommend you read Pajiba's review of season one.

"After two years of persuasive arguing — it’s not really a show about football, it’s the best family drama in the history of television." - Dustin Rowles