Friday Night Lights - The First Season (DVD, 2007, 5-Disc Set)

I was (am) a huge fan of the movie "Friday Night Lights," which I found to be incredibly well-acted and almost totally heartbreaking in its depiction of how important high school football is to at least some parts of Texas. I'd rank it not only as one of the best sports movies ever made, but as one of the best movies of ANY kind of the decade thus far.

Those are big shoes for a television series to try and fill, but I have to say, this one is getting the job done pretty well.

The pilot episode is far and away the weakest of the entire season, and it had me more than little worried that the series was going to tank right off the bat. It's not a bad episode -- just a little flat and uninspired (surprising, considering that it and the movie shared the same director, Peter Berg).

Things began to improve very quickly with the second episode, however, and the series seemed literally to get better every episode, right through to the end of the season.

The entire cast is terrific, but I think special mention needs to be made for the closest thing the show has to leads: Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Both are terrific actors who are past due for real stardom, and if there were any justice, this show would do it for them. They are utterly convincing in their roles as the team's coach and the school's guidance counselor. Oh yeah, and they're married. Together, their portrayal of a married couple is quite possibly the best, most convincing and illuminating, and most all-around affecting filmed relationship that I have ever seen on television. You'd swear at some points that you were watching a documentary -- and a really good one, at that.

This is, quite simply, one of the best shows on television, on every level: the writing, the acting, the directing, the lighting, the music, EVERYTHING about this show is top-notch. It's a family show, but not in the sappy sense; it's a sports show, but one in which the emphasis is on the people involved in the sport, NOT on the sport itself; it's a drama, but one that will frequently make you laugh.

If you consider yourself to be interested in great television -- anything from "The Wire" to "Battlestar Galactica" to "Arrested Development" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Hill Street Blues" -- then you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

What a terrific series. With the network TV airwaves filled with the usual cop dramas and mindless dopey situation comedies - comes this original story highlighting Texas high school football. Aside from the individual personal stories of players, parents and faculty, one of the great things about Friday Night Lights is that it has an authenic quality within the episodes because the entire production is shot in Texas. Although the Panthers of Dillon, TX. are based on the Odessa, TX. Permian Panthers or "The Mojo" as Texans call them, the production company actually gets it real game footage, uniforms and stadium use from the Pflugerville, TX team. It gives you a good indication on how important Texas football is in small towns throughout the state.

I highly recommend buying this series on DVD and then picking the seasons 2 & 3, especially if you're snowed-in from the onslaught of those never ending winters of the great white north.

This is the best show on network tv. And NBC is going to cancel it. What red
blooded American male does'nt like football. This series deals with the lifes
of high school students, coaches and parents. The pressure of big time high
school football in the state of Texas. The reality of getting crippled for life like the star quarterback. This series shows us as parents the kind of pressure we sometimes put our children through to work hard and be the best.
They have enough pressure at school from their peers. I can't wait for season
2 to come out on dvd, I will own it also.

I love friday night lights. It is one of my favorite TV shows. I decided to buy it because I am moving away to college in the fall and want something to do that won't cost much money! (ie: watch my favorite television shows/seasons!) I would recommend this television show to anyone who loves high school football, romance, and teenage kids finding their way. :)

This dvd is a down home real life series, from the 1st season to the series finally! This is Texas high school football at it's best...I would recommend this dvd for the football fan or someone who enjoys real life drama!