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Friday Night Lights - season 4 (DirecTV 101) thread

post #1 of 51
10/27/09 at 9:19pm
Thread Starter 
FYI - Friday Night Lights season 4 starts up on Wednesday at 9 p.m. (10/28/09) on DirecTV 101.
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post #2 of 51
10/29/09 at 8:09am
Good start to the season.  Wow did JD (young QB) turn into such a douche.

In our state, teams down 45 at half automatically forfeit as part of the mercy rules.
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post #3 of 51
10/29/09 at 9:41am
Eh...good to have it back, but...eh.

Taylor forfeiting seemed out of character (unless we find out later he was trying to make a statement).

So I guess this season will be about trying to get a win rather than trying to win the championship.  Could be a nice change.

As for JD turning into a douche...seems like a cheat by the writers to me, but I guess at least maybe it will make his character more interesting.

I'm confused about the whole east/west thing.  What is the background of the east school (the physical school itself).  I thought they were building a new school, but I might have just assumed that?
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post #4 of 51
10/29/09 at 9:59am
No.  In previous seasons they had commented that there used to be East Dillon, and the schools were consolidated about 10 years ago.  Now, however, they had a larger population in one school then the state of Texas provides for (called a super magnet) and so the state tied acceptance of federal tax $ to having smaller class sizes.  Last year, she had tried to save the school by hiring more teachers and expanding the building, and she explained it to the PTA and others and they rejected.. the alumni wanted their money spent on a scoreboard and other things, etc.

 


So, when renewal of funds came up, the state said: suck it, either provide more classrooms or state takeover.  The state then re-opened East Dillon, basically, because it provided more classrooms at a cheaper price then building new structure onto Dillon High, which blew it's community reserve money on other crap.

Taylor's team had 18 total players, which means several are playing both ways (offense/defense) and as a result, getting killed.  He had 3 injuries, a high ankle twist, and kid who needed stitches, etc.  He ended up with 15 kids who and now damn near everyone would have to play both ways.

I don't know if he had a choice but to forfeit, unless he wanted to go out there and get kids badly injured.  He evaluated what he had, and realized the safety of the kids was more important.  That's when he looked at them and they kept saying "I can play" and the assistant shot him a long look.  There was no way.

I think Coach Taylor's job this year is a job a lot of coaches face that isn't about winning a ton of games.  It's about building the character of the young men in your charge.

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post #5 of 51
10/29/09 at 11:25am
Thanks for the clarification Matt...I don't remember any of that! (Not all that surprising though.)
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post #6 of 51
10/29/09 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
I liked how they tied the notion of the Hero's Journey in Riggins' lit class into this season where Coach has been stripped of all the trappings of success, and has to rebuild his football program on sheer will and determination, with obstacles and hard choices along the way for the team he leads.

This show is just so good at taking the game of football and integrating the highs and lows of life and blending it with effort and character to produce compelling storylines of overcoming challenges. 
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post #7 of 51
10/30/09 at 9:16am
One other thing...did they ever reference that Landry was a junior last year?  Seems like a cheat by the writers but I guess they would have had no other way to bring him back.  It would be funny if Landry got left back.
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post #8 of 51
10/30/09 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
I thought Landry was in the same grade as Julie.
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post #9 of 51
10/30/09 at 10:57am
Could be.  All I know is I thought Julie, Matt & Landry were in the same grade until last season when it magically changed.
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post #10 of 51
10/31/09 at 1:36pm
what happened to the taylor baby?

was it there last season.  i can't remember.  but i remember that the taylor's were having trouble with the baby and having adult time.
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post #11 of 51
10/31/09 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottH View Post

As for JD turning into a douche...seems like a cheat by the writers to me, but I guess at least maybe it will make his character more interesting.

 


JD's transformation into a douche seemed perfectly natural to me. I saw it several times in high school where a person became a total douche once they became the BOMC.

 
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post #12 of 51
11/1/09 at 2:51am
Julie was never in the same grade.  They might have cheated with Landry, but it's been established for a while that he was a grade lower than Matt.  He certainly wasn't held back, because he's an honor student.

JD is a prick now, which was a little jarring but makes sense.  He's QB1 free and clear, the head coach is his personal coach, he's instantly the most popular guy at school, and he's got a chip on his shoulder because of last season's losing game.  Everything we saw in this episode built from what came before like it always does with this show.

Good rundown, Matt.  That shows how much incredible thought goes into this show, because that could be a newspaper article on a real situation.

I'm glad Tammy screwed them over.  They won't try to use her again.  Unfortunately, she's now back in Joe McCoy's sights.
Edited by Greg_S_H - 11/1/09 at 3:14am
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post #13 of 51
11/1/09 at 12:13pm
Forgot to mention how great it was seeing Landry as the vet.  Coach T. doesn't have to earn his respect (which is backwards from how it should be, but the way it is with a brand new team), and he doesn't have to learn Coach's system.  When he jumped up like a man to make things right with the jerk, it was a far cry from the Landry of season 1 who couldn't be serious about anything.  And, when he called out, "Take a knee!" he became the de facto captain of the team. 
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post #14 of 51
11/1/09 at 7:13pm
 Diallo B,

Gracie Belle is still around. Coach kissed her goodbye as he was heading off to work.
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post #15 of 51
11/2/09 at 7:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raasean Asaad View Post

 Diallo B,

Gracie Belle is still around. Coach kissed her goodbye as he was heading off to work.

thx. musta missed that.
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post #16 of 51
11/5/09 at 6:55am
Okay episode.  Not sure I'm interested in Matt the artist.  Might be time to cut bait with him.

While the writing is as good as it's always been on the show, I'm definitely concerned about the new characters.  None of them really interest me.  Vince is a bore (Smash he certainly isn't).  Hopefully this Luke guy adds something...we don't know much about him yet.

One thing that confused me about this episode - did Taylor know about the mailbox or not?  I was under the impression that he didn't based on the actual scene with Buddy and his explanation to Tami that he doesn't get involved with the boosters and administrative stuff.  But then at the end he told Tami he was sorry for lying.
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post #17 of 51
11/5/09 at 7:36am
<edited> sorry misunderstood the question.
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post #18 of 51
11/5/09 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
I think deep down, Coach knew about certain things that brought him choice prospects, but kept looking the other way as long as things were going good.  It's been fun to watch Tami outflanking JD's dad time after time, but who knows when she gets put in a truly vexing position.

While I'm not too crazy with the new students in the main cast, I'm willing to let the writing carry them through.

I think, overall, FNL continues to be my favorite TV show still on the air (so to speak), even over Mad Men.

Coach is still going to need to some help, but at least he's got his kids to buy into what he's selling.
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post #19 of 51
11/8/09 at 2:21am
Tami is a chess player!  That scene was amazing, though she paid for it.  The whole thing was an emotional rollercoaster.  I felt smug when Buddy revealed the vacant lot to Eric, but then I felt bad once we met Luke and I saw that he was gutted instead of furious.  He's a good man.  First to show up and eager to work for his new team.  I wonder what Riggins will be doing for the Lions.  Maybe Street's old job?

I don't much care for Landry's new crush, but I don't mind the probation kid.  I think these episodes have been excellent and just figure the newbies will grow on me.

Oh, yeah.  What was the deal with the Lubbock guy?  "Find your inner pirate!"  That was a bizarre encounter.
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post #20 of 51
11/8/09 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg_S_H View Post


Oh, yeah.  What was the deal with the Lubbock guy?  "Find your inner pirate!"  That was a bizarre encounter.

That was Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach making a cameo appearance. He's known for his somewhat crazy antics.
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post #21 of 51
11/8/09 at 11:09am
A search shows that he has a thing for pirates.  It was a bizarre encounter for me, but that doesn't mean I wasn't laughing with it.
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post #22 of 51
11/8/09 at 8:13pm
Some things I need help with: why is Julie allowed to choose her school?  Does the Taylor house happen to fall right on the line?  If East Dillon was closed up prior to this school year, why would the Panthers have needed that vacant lot in the past?  For students who lived way outside of the district?
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post #23 of 51
11/8/09 at 9:05pm
Thread Starter 
Perhaps having both parents working at the 2 schools gives Julie a choice as to which school she wanted to attend.
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post #24 of 51
11/11/09 at 8:02pm
 something things never change though...

"WHERE'S LENNON???!!!"- Coach Taylor calling for Landry to kick a field goal in the final minutes of the game. So awesome.
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post #25 of 51
11/12/09 at 5:41am
So that was Landry that was set to kick the FG?  I thought he was the punter.

So why can't Luke play offense and defense?  High school kids do it all the time.
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post #26 of 51
11/12/09 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
At this point, Landry is probably the entire kicking game.
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post #27 of 51
11/19/09 at 2:17pm
Never mind
Edited by Greg_S_H - 11/19/09 at 5:12pm
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post #28 of 51
11/19/09 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Good episode focusing on interpersonal relationships between many characters (but without feeling all that crowded).  For an episode full of little moments, it's a case of the sum turning into something better than the parts.
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post #29 of 51
11/19/09 at 8:48pm
I'm not really feeling this season.  As I've said, the writing is still there, it's just the characters aren't all that interesting.  And it's hard to feel compassion for the death of a character we met for like 1 episode, and I don't remember anything about him.
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post #30 of 51
11/20/09 at 1:38am
We know Matt and his grandma.  They maybe should have brought granny and Matt's mom back in earlier to give it more impact, but men in uniform showing up at the door has impact anyway since we see it in the real world.  Matt getting the news from a tearful Julie gave it additional emotional weight.

Things are getting real uncomfortable for Tami.  I couldn't blame her if she packed it in, but that wouldn't be typical of her.  She's getting close to the breaking point, however.

The principal asked if the pep rally was free.  I was wondering how they paid for the food at Ray's, since I doubt if Virgil would donate it in his current state of opposition to football.  I then realized that the other alumni probably paid for it.

It's cool that this show ditches the characters we grew to love if that's the way it has to be.  Other shows keep finding ways to keep the stars around even if it becomes silly.  I'm sure the death of his father--along with the fact that Julie is leaving in a year and some other things--will propel Matt on his journey.
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