NEWS: Dear NBC, Thanks For Ruining The Best Show on TV

CULTURE: Dear NBC, Thanks For Ruining The Best Show on TV

Up until Friday night, Friday Night Lights was the best show on television. Last season the show was unlike anything ever seen on TV. It was like being invited into a small town in Texas to meet the people who live there. The characters, no matter how flawed, were likeable and had an inherent humanity. No any more.

For those of you who don’t know, Friday Night Lights, is based on a best-selling book and film. Both covered a school year in a town where high school football is the people’s religion. The show is about relationships and the simple struggles of life.

It is filmed in a very unique way that allows you to take in the quiet moments of the characters. The camera hangs on the actors longer than is usually allowed on TV. The only other show I recall doing anything remotely similar was the great Homicide: Life On The Street. The actors are not told where to stand and how to look at the camera while they spew their words. Instead, the cameramen are expected to pick up whatever instinctive moves the actors make. The result is refreshing. Or at least it was.

I’ve worked was a writer for a long time now and the one thing I can sniff out in a second is bad studio notes. The season opener of Friday Night Lights is clearly a victim of idiot suits who seem to think they understand the creative process. The simplicity of Friday Night Lights is out the window, replaced with over-bearing and unnecessary amounts of conflict, and of course, a killing.

It was very painful to watch. The humanity had been stripped away from the townspeople as they were turned into obvious, cookie cutter TV characters you have seen on so many shows before. Last year, much of the conflict was subtle, or God forbid, internal. Not this year. Now every scene is over-flowing with conflict. Everything has been taken up a notch or ten, which has made the show completely unbelievable.

NBC put a lot of money into promoting the show last year but it never caught fire. It has a strong cult following and critics love it. Networks know one thing: If they promote a show heavily and it does not catch on, then there is something wrong with the show. Never mind that the idiots put a show called Friday Night Lights on Tuesday night. I don’t know how that could possibly cause any confusion. So, the suits went to their studio manuals and decide to make the show more "explosive." This way, they can eliminate the audience who already love the show and not bring in any new people because the show will never have enough explosions for the stupids.

One example is the new, retarded plotline of Tyra. Tyra is a bad girl. Last season we watched as she slowly began to tire of her own behavior, change and befriend the town nerd. There was an episode in which she was waiting for him in a diner, but his car had broken down. A man was checking her out. As she left the diner, the man attempted to sexually assault her in the parking lot. The attempt failed, but Tyra was changed forever. We then watched her struggle with internal conflict. So, what to do this season? How about having her attacker inexplicably stalk her in the opening episode? Then her nerd friend can beat the stalker to death with a pipe. Then they dump the body in a river. Sound like we’ve gone off the small town plot line a bit? Did I mention the nerd is now inexplicably on the football team? You know, the team he made fun of all last season?

Last season we watched the nerd struggle with his place in the world. The actor, Jesse Plemons is awesome and the writing brought an amazing amount of realism to the character, who was obsessed with girls. This season we can watch him unravel as the police try to figure out who killed the rape-guy. Super. I totally relate to that.

This show reeks of being ruined by studio notes.

Really? Because you’re just an ex-assistant who doesn’t have a creative bone in your body. But, by all means, force you ignorant opinion onto a great show.

Fuck off NBC and fuck off suits.

That Jesse Plemons... is one ugly kid.

That is all.

Homicide > *

I had avoided watching this show because I'd seen the movie Much like I sometimes avoid watching movies when I've already read the book. Maybe I'll pick it up on DVD.

Is it into it's second season now?

Well at least there's Heroes right?

Thank you.

I hate it when the studio does that.

Check out Pushing Daisies as soon as you can, because right now it is the most original show I've seen in years. That means it will be off the air or ruined by suits before too long.

Off to a disappointing start as well. Turns out superheroes need this thing called a villian. Sort of the formula. Right now it's just a bunch of people with powers hanging out.

And the Japan story line is feeling exceptionally cheesy.

Oh, shit. Uh. (runs out door)

Friday Night Lights is good, but The Wire is the best show on TV.

Also, the (very good) book Friday Night Lights was a lot more critical of Texas high school football. . .the show and movie seem to treat it like the best thing ever.

Subtle and American TV usually don't mix.

Besides, Kid Nation is the best thing on TV.

that movie was genius. still aint seen the show

I agree. But I don't include pay cable networks as TV. They can basically make movies, they don't have the same constraints.

that show gave Texans too much credit, they aren't anywhere near that smart or good looking... throw in a love for Jesus and a dash of racism for a more realistic show

according to alan sepinwall's interview with jason katims, this is a plotline they've been thinking about doing for a while, and it is not a result of nbc's meddling. please direct your righteous indignation elsewhere.

JASON KATIMS: First of all, I've heard some people say it's Ben Silverman trying to change the show or something. The first thing is it's a storyline that we were talking about doing last year in the first season. It's not something that we're doing because the network asked us to change the show. This is a storyline that the writers and producers of the show came up with separate and apart from any network dictate.

partial interview

First of all, if you had any idea of how this industry worked you would know a writer/show creator/producer would never in a million years say, "that was the networks idea." That would be killing your show, especially if you had a show that was already on the edge. Also, in the interview you linked to he says that the writers were thinking of it last year. Huh, I guess that is why they never alluded to the guy still being out there for so many episodes and suddenly he is following her all over town months later. Right.

On the wall of the writers room there were cards and on those cards were different routes each characters story could take. When the network notes came in, they looked on their board and said, "hey that one works."

I know, I've had to do it.

So, I will take that interview with a grain of salt, as it were.

If it is true, then it is even more worrying. A hacky plot device used to bring characters together. Wow.

He does allude to network notes. Oddly, the interviewer did not ask him about network notes and right off the bat he is quite defensive about network notes for no apparent reason. Very odd.

I have experienced them on many occasions. Every scene oozing with conflict and the characters becoming more cartoonish usually does not come out of writers room with such a fantastic track record. But maybe this is the incredible exception and last year was a massive fluke.

Either way, the shark has been jumped.

+1

[Personal anecdote] My boss mentioned FNL and before I realized it, I was half way through my, "GODDAMNFUCKIN'JOCKSCANSUCKMYDICK!" rant before I realized he was still talking.[/Personal anecdote].

I have high school football issues...

I never caught on to the show, but I love and I mean love the movie

Wow.

I almost watched this show, FTR saved me from wasting an hour.

I don't get the show. I played football in high school. Maybe it was just because our team sucked, but football was not that big a deal. We practiced, we played, then we all went our own ways and didn't think about football until the next practice. It certainly wasn't some unifying factor in the lives of everyone involved with the team. And if high school football is really that important to a town... it's kinda sad.

oh no

i fell in love with this show. i don't live in the US so it takes me a while to get the episodes.

you do need to spoiler some of that.

i can appreciate this artcle though and am deeply saddened if what you're saying is true. i got attached to the characters in some deep sort of way. i fell in love with matt. watching tami and eric taylor with julie was the most realistic portrail of having a teenage daughter i have ever seen outside of real life. the tender and petrified feelings.n ever liked lylah. her character was the one i really couldn't relate to at all.

first i didn't get tyra and wasn't interested in her. then her character finally started to develop.

i felt seriously sick for a day after the almost rape thing. i can't believe what they are doing to the story though. they really better not fuck this show up.

Don't worry, I'll go back in time with my Hiro powers and make Friday Night Lights not suck.

Just makes me realise how much i miss Homicide: Life on the streets. They really need to release that on DVD over here. Great show