Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman, September 29, 2017

Think Texas doesn't take its high school football seriously? Think again . Katy, Texas' $72,000,000 field, which ironically has the word "Katy" written in the middle of the field with an "A+" forming the middle two letters (can serious education and sports funding at this level truly coexist?), is a testament to the state's unwavering love for football and pride in the local schools that entertain fans and, really, are often the center of a very unique lifestyle. Whether at church on Sundays, restaurants on Tuesdays, or at work or school five days per week, Texans love to talk high school football, breaking down the defense, parsing the offense, analyzing special teams, critiquing the coaching staff, and waiting for the next big thing waiting in the wings in the lower grades. King of the Hill , a Texas-based animated sitcom, often dove into Texas' passion for football, in that show at the middle school rather than high school level. But it's a big deal, a way of life, a religion in some circles, and with the NFL currently more divisive than ever before and college programs increasingly plagued by controversies and a convoluted postseason structure, many have turned to high school to see the game in its most unadulterated form.High school football is no stranger to the entertainment landscape. Several movies have explored the complexities thereof, whether the racial division and ultimate unity depicted in Remember the Titans or the passion and intensity in Varsity Blues , the latter also taking place in small-town Texas. Director Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights , based on the true-life book of the same name by H. G. Bissinger, is heralded as one of the best of its kind, an exemplary work that offers an insightful and decisive look into Texas high school football. Berg, clearly with a passion for the material, would expand on his 2004 film by developing, producing, and directing a pair of episodes for a TV show of the same name that would run for five seasons between 2006-2011, hindered, but not broken, by a writer's strike relatively early on. The television format suits the material very well, allowing for a natural and involved expansion of the characters and the branching storylines that offer a much more vivid and thorough study of the culture and the characters, which Berg certainly accomplishes in the film -- a testament to his skill and passion -- but that here is afforded opportunities well beyond the scope of a 120-minute feature.brings together on-field action and off-field drama, intertwines them and constructs a well-versed study of how each is reflective of the other and how successes and failures and the general ebbs and flows of life impact both spectrums. The show builds an endlessly interesting and involved juxtaposition between them. The show soars from there, offering satisfying football action but more satisfying character drama that delivers harder hits and more graceful plays than anything on the field of play. The show creates rich, complex characters who, rather than appear as formulaic to fit the show, present with an authenticity no matter where they fall on the spectrum, be they players or coaches or those who exist around the world the show creates. Characters are imperfect on and off that field. They are real, they struggle, they hurt, they bask in glory and fall from grace. The honesty and integrity with which the show explores these individuals is easily its best quality. The show leaves none of the characters behind; every primary, and most secondaries, are well established, complex, and in some way relatable or, at worst, understandable. The show's characters, and the lives they live, are more complex than any intricate play that might be drawn up to throw an opposing team off its game. It's great stuff.What that all means on the broadest level is thattakes an institution, one deeply ingrained into a culture, and humanizes it from every angle. The show is well-versed on both sides of the ball, so to speak, in how it doesn't just recreate, but rather lives and breathes, both ends of the spectrum. It excels in building and finely honing characters and the world in which they live. Audiences will witness real struggles, successes, and failures in a way that often goes against the grain and breaks the mold, offering more of a "reality television" experience than do other shows with that label, shows that are often shallow, disingenuous, manufactured, and carefully contrived. Even if it doesn't explicitly fall into the genre, there's no mistaking the show's triumphs of character building and the sincere, organic vision for its presentation. Few shows are this well constructed, so finely detailed, so naturally immersive, so agreeably real asThe show doesn't rush things, either. Even as much happens in any given episode, it always feels like there's a balance in play that pushes narrative ahead while carefully constructing and finely tuning its characters. The show is ever-expanding on not just the broader ebbs and flows of football and one small Texas town's passion for it but also the personal nuances that drive the characters -- again, the players, the coaches, the families, the community -- well beyond their abilities on the field or, for those less directly involved, beyond what the scoreboard says when the last second ticks off the clock. Rarely does the show throw around standard character cliché and never does it do so simply to take an easy way out or elicit a particular response to a moment. Authenticity rules throughout. With the sense of community, actions and resultant reaction, evolving characteristics and increasing character depth,leaves no stone unturned. Even would-be "funny" moments -- like when various members of the community get a minute with the coach and proceed to tell him how to run the team -- don't feel like a joke but rather a serious exploration of what it's like to be in Coach Taylor's shoes, having to appease the town, remain polite, at least pretend to take their suggestions seriously, and tune out all the extra noise and keep his focus on the game plan he and his coaching staff have assembled. Nothing in the show is filler and noise. Everything serves a greater narrative good.Berg in his debut episode shoots with a steady diet of handheld and intimate character shots that allow the audience to explore the characters' emotions and absorb the world around them as more a participant than a viewer, not only understanding the culture but also experiencing it, feeling what they feel, seeing as they see. Such follows for much of the series, that sense of intimacy with the characters and the world and their successes and failures, personalizing the show, visually, as much as the medium allows. The cast is certainly up to the challenge of making it work. From Kyle Chandler on down, from players to cheerleaders, from other coaches to townsfolk, the roster is comprised of actors who bring not only a certain look or style to the movie but an unmistakable depth of character and a commitment to making the show work. There's a level of authenticity to nearly every character that propels the show in complimentary fashion alongside its tight scripts and engaging arcs, both those that span most or all of the series or perhaps only a couple of episodes. Each actor brings a range of tangible and effortless emotion, whether navigating the field of play or the more treacherous field of life.