Entertainment Fridays

Warning: The following post has nothing to do with sports, Nebraska or otherwise. It's the end of February. Nothing is happening. That said, I'm going to talk about television and, yes, even the Oscars. You can stop reading now if you wish.

Remember when Dillon had to host their rival school after it was destroyed by a tornado? This is sort of like that...At the risk of having this space labeled as an FNL fanblog, I'll dispense with this next item carefully: there might be hope for Friday Night Lights yet.

According to the Variety piece, NBC is actively looking at sharing the beloved show with one of its sister networks a la the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (aka "NOOCH"). TNT, CW, E!, G4 and Comcast Entertainment Network (whatever that is) are all named as potential weekend daddies for the Panthers which is fine because I get all of those channels. Unfortunately, DirecTV is also mentioned in the article. That, I don't--and won't--get.

Now that's it. No more FNL talk until there's either a) a decision or b) a new episode.

Call it, Jun-o...I had a scary, irrational thought the other day. I'm going to be absolutely furious if Juno wins the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday. I was reading some fluff about what would happen if the Academy recognized comedy like it should--and I'm a card carrying member of this camp--and the mere notion that the little comedy that could might win on Sunday filled me with rage. I cringed. I crumbled the paper. Why do I care so much?

Because this isn't the year for a comedy to win the Oscar. The year Gladiator won, or even last year with The Departed? Fine. Those were both good movies but not exactly Citizen Kane. We have Kane-level movies this year.

Let me say first that Juno was a fine, fun movie with a tragically hip soundtrack. I'd call it Garden State but good. The entire movie was perfectly summed up near the end when Juno had the following exchange with Bleeker:

Juno
'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try...
Bleeker
I try really hard actually.

That was Juno. A cool movie that was painstakingly designed to be cool. Is that enough in year that features the best work of both the Coens and Paul Thomas Anderson?

I hope to hell not.

Seeing as how this blog was named after a Western--please note: not the Beastie Boys song--I'm entirely biased in my account of No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. However, biases have never stopped me before and I think I have the critical masses behind me that would support this anti-Juno stance so let's break down the Best Picture race Derby style:

No Country for Old Men 3/1 -- The ending? Huh? I'll just say this: everything you need to know is in the title. It's that simple. And haunting. And beautiful.

The morning line favorite but will have to come off a long layoff with a November release date. Coens could benefit from the career award tendencies of the Academy.

There Will Be Blood 4/1 -- The second choice by a slight margin. This movie really did remind me of Citizen Kane in that when it was over I didn't immediately like it but I did immediately recognize its brilliance.

A stone cold closer, this movie's stretch run more than makes up for the slow (poetic? elegiac?) first two hours.

Juno 12/1 -- See above. Lacks Academy bloodlines.

Atonement 15/1 -- I didn't see this movie, but it has the apparently weepy, period-piece pedigree the Academy loves. I'm sure it's fine but there's no reason to settle for fine this year.

Michael Clayton 30/1 -- I've seen the trailer for this movie at least five times and I'm still not sure what it's about. Clayton with Clooney seems sort of like Baffert's fourth-best entry in the Derby. No doubt good but far from his best.

To put it another way: you don't put Kent Desmoreaux on this horse.

In summary, I'm fine with TWTB winning but I like NCFM a little more and I think given Paul Thomas Anderson's relative youth, the Academy will too. Of course, Juno or even Atonement could spoil the entire thing.

And what about after we learn who wins? Go see In Bruges. It's probably the most original and enjoyable tragicomedy to come out this decade.

Will Friday Night Lights burn out or fade away?

Originally published in BostonNow.

Now that the writers are officially back (congrats, and welcome) life can finally get back to normal. We can stop reading books again, get back to eating our dinners from a TV tray and start petitioning networks not to cancel one of the best shows currently running.

Of course we’re talking about Friday Night Lights here. Who isn’t? Thanks to some negative off the cuff comments from NBC exec Ben Silverman and the news that last Friday’s episode represented the last the cast and crew were able to complete prior to the writer’s strike and you have a lot of people realizing all at once that they may have seen the last of the Taylors, Riggins, Garrity, et al.

And, as much as I want to see it continue, I’m not entirely convinced the quick death isn’t the best available fate. That’s how much I like the show, but that wasn’t always the case.

While there were a number of noteworthy critics lauding Friday Night Lights from the pilot episode, I gave the show a rather tepid but hopeful review after one episode. While relying too heavily on the precedents set by the book and the movie, I wrote the following:

“No longer set in 1988, the school is now the fictionalized Dillon. The players, while drawing heavily on their real-life models, aren’t real either. The super-quick cuts and Explosions in the Sky soundtrack are carried over from the film, but at this point the topic isn’t new…It’s become hyper-realistic, so bizarrely true that we don’t even notice anymore.”

I was wrong. The characters have revealed a depth that puts any reality show star to shame, the very people who are supposed to be real, relatable. Tim Riggins, in the 30-plus episodes we’ve seen thus far, has easily become the most compelling character on television, drinking pitchers before practice, yearning desperately for the girl who has made the breaks he’s never been able to catch. (And his hair reminds women of Jesus, so there’s that.)

Up against American Idol for most of its first season, FNL struggled for viewers. Websites started sprouting up in support of the show and, after some deliberation, NBC renewed it for a second season. On Friday nights.

As many predicted, the crappy time slot put the show in an almost impossible position. It’s tough to draw viewers on a night when there aren’t any and even the critical approval of sports-culture figureheads like Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman can’t replace the ad revenue that the show apparently cannot deliver. We’re not making art here, we’re pushing product and if the latter coincides with the former all the better. If not? There’s always My Dad is Better than Your Dad.

Which brings us to the very real possibility that last week’s mid-season ending was the ending. As fans of the show we’ve already been granted a death row reprieve once, the odds for a second in showbiz are about as long as Tim Street impregnating a beautiful and understanding waitress.

If that’s the case, however, I am prepared to let the show go. Cruelly cutting the cord, considering the circumstances behind it and the public support against it, would only serve to make the show even more memorable.

This isn’t a particularly profound or unique thought. You could have your pick of clichés to sum it up: better to burn out than fade way, if you love something set it free, always leave ‘em wanting more, etc. That last one is said to be the first rule of showbiz but the real rule is money, represented by eyes on TV screens, talks and, while everyone I know (and everyone you probably know if you’re reading this) loves the show, we apparently don’t know enough people.

At this point NBC isn’t saying whether the show will continue or not and there have been rumors that, should the show be canceled, ESPN might be interested in picking it up. Selfishly, I’d be delighted with more episodes but the “echoes in eternity” side of me knows it would be better if it ended right now.

What if we never know whether or not Tim Riggins escaped the painful precedent set by the male figures in his life? What if we never know whether or not Jason Street has his child and ultimately finds a replacement for the shine of Friday night lights? What if we never see Smash in a college uniform? So what?

As with all good art, the questions themselves are nearly destined to be more interesting than the answers. Try to recall the most memorable ending you’ve ever seen. Was it from your favorite movie or book or show? Did it answer every question or confirm your belief in the work? Or was it just an ending? Not necessarily life affirming but simply life, abrupt, unresolved endings and all?

For a show praised for its realism, there may not be a better ending than the one we’re looking at right now. What might be the final episode of Friday Night Lights ended last week with Street making an earnest appeal to his girlfriend to keep their child. His final words were these:

“So give it a chance.”

If those are the final words for Friday Night Lights as a whole, well, could you write a better ending?

Interested in fighting for that inch chance? Petitions are here, here and here. Personally, I just went out and bought the DVD of the first season—my first ever television series purchase—as someone said that would help. I think I’ll watch that now.

Morning Walk-thru - Sea of Red is Roiling

Mizzou ain't USC...Steve Hanway of BigRedNetwork.com had an interesting article yesterday ranking each game of the 2007 Nebraska football schedule in order of importance. His argument is that Big 12 North games trump Big 12 South games which trump non-conference games. I assume this is because that's the path of least resistance to the Big 12 Championship game and the automatic BCS berth.

I disagree and that's not a critique of the piece because the logical part of me--three digits on my left hand, if you're interested--tells me that he's probably right. The competitive part of me--everything minus those three digits--says screw that.

Nebraska has a chance to make a significant splash right off the bat with their non-conference schedule, playing pesky Nevada, resurgent Wake Forest on the road and damn USC. In the grand bowl/Big 12 scheme of things, USC doesn't mean much. The Cornhuskers won't be favored so should they lose, no biggie.

But it is big. Beat USC and Nebraska is a factor in the national title race in week three, which means nothing when it comes to actually playing in the game, but it means everything in terms of fan faith. Even if it only lasted a week, Nebraska would be THE story. Return to glory. Hail to the chief. All that jazz. And even if you lose that game and all the fancy headlines it would bring, Texas still looms and it could be even more important in terms of recruiting Big 12 country and future success.

Is winning the North an achievement? Sort of, considering 2004 and the WCO overhaul, but I'm not that patient. I expect Nebraska to be a national factor next year because, well, that's what Nebraska used to be year in and year out and beating USC and/or Texas can put us there at least temporarily, something going 5-0 in the North won't do.

Does that mean I'm willing to wager the Big 12 North for a win against the Trojans or Texas? No, but I don't have to. I can settle for winning the division after we've already played our entire non-conference schedule plus the Longhorns. I just want to "concede the conference to Texas" before it's even started. Missouri will be there later.

So here's how I rank the 2007 slate of games right now:

1. USC - Just like last year, we shouldn't win this game. We're not ready, but it's a Super Mario warp zone that could take us straight to level 8-1. That's a big leap.
2. Texas - You want to really recruit Texas? Knock off the Longhorns.
3. Missouri - As big as it should get in the North.
4. Nevada - Home opener, first look at the new QB. (More on that later.)
5. Kansas St. - Need to keep the Cats in there place.
6. Texas A&M - Aggies are on their way back, but Nebraska has owned them thus far.
7. Wake Forest - Tough road game for a QB in his second start. Good test before the Trojans.
8. Oklahoma State - The Cornhuskers won't get much out of beating OSU at home...except revenge for taking a major gouge out of the 06 season.
9. Colorado - Trips to Folsom Prison are always so much fun. Expect Hawkins to have the Buffs running by then.
10. Iowa State - Want to flip them and Kansas? Go ahead.
11. Kansas - See above.
12. Ball State - Only significant if we lose and I refuse to consider that possibility.

Is that the smart approach? Not at all, but it's a hell of a lot more fun and, as you'll see in the next segment, I'm not that smart anyway.

The Curious Case of Sam Keller...Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News had a good piece detailing Nebraska's tumultuous off-season and the battle for the starting quarterback job on ESPN.com yesterday.

If you've been following the story, you know that Joe Ganz and, to a lesser extent, Beau Davis, have been pushing the perceived favorite, Keller, in spring practice. Whether or not this is actually true or not is debatable because Bill Callahan has never said anything meaningful regarding the current or future state of the team in public, but it really doesn't matter whether coach is playing it close the vest or simply bluffing.

The choice is Keller.

It has to be. Let's recap how Keller got here: in 2006 he gets the starting job at Arizona State, loses it a day later, decides to transfer and has three days to select a school. He chooses Nebraska because of its vibrant academic community, unbeatable climate, and beautiful campus. (Maybe the fact that Zac Taylor was a senior also had something to do with it.)

The point is, he came here to play. That's his expectation and everyone else's, including his marginally crazy father. Would it be a shame to give the job to a kid because he's a noted hot-head or if he was less deserving after weeks of evaluation or simply to avoid the exact same situation that happened at ASU last year? Yes, it would be a shame, but it might not be wrong.

I think it would be more damaging to the team and the 07 season to have Keller start the season on the bench with egg on his face. This is a national story, and the primary reason most pundits think Nebraska can be better than last year under a new QB is because that new QB put up some pretty sparkly stats in a pretty good football conference.

So let him prove everyone wrong. Let him play his way out of favor in action that the finicky fans can actually see. If Ganz is the right guy, we will know that before Ball State rolls into town and there's still time to right the ship.

Bending to the fragile ego of a 20-something man-child and purposely punishing a kid, Ganz, who's done everything that's been asked of him is wholly ridiculous. I hate myself for even posing the question, but it seems preferable to having a sulking Sam on the sidelines and a QB controversy to start the season.

How many games did the Sun Devils win last year?

Caribbean Stud superior to Pai Gow Poker...In Dice-K's big Fenway debut, it was Felix Hernandez who stole the show, taking a no-hitter into the 8th and getting a one-hit shut out.

It's not like Dice-K was bad, just a little off. He only walked one, and allowed three runs through seven complete. Of course, this will seem like the end of the world in Boston.

Dillon wins State!...No shock there, but a bit of a surprise because Friday Night Lights was granted a temporary reprieve from the executioner's chair as NBC picked up the show for an additional six episodes.

That's good because the show left us with the big Coach Taylor cliffhanger, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that half of the major players in the show were seniors. Where do they go from here?

Morning Walk-thru - Wynalda Scores!!!

Coach Taylor totally takes the heat off Altman (almost)...I wonder if former Arkansas head coach Dana Altman felt any kinship with Dillon High's Eric Taylor last night during Friday Night Lights.

For those that missed it, Taylor took the TMU job without consulting the family, a whole bunch of other stuff happened--divorce, infidelity, break-up, trip to police HQ, your typical week following a high school football team--and I was sure that, in the end, Dana would have some company as Coach Taylor reversed field and decided to stay at Dillon.

But, this being television, that will have to wait for next week. For now, Altman, you're on your own.

Hey! Hey!...The Cubs got the first win of 07 and they did it in an unusual fashion, making actual baseball plays. They got their sac bunts down (except for Lilly, that is, but that ended up working out), hit the ball with runners in scoring position and generally didn't blow it. Shocking really, especially when you consider that Bronson "Worst Hair in the Majors" Arroyo struck out nine in seven innings.

But Lilly was better. His line: 7 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. The Cubs took their lumps for overspending on Lilly, but I had a feeling early in February that he might exceed expectations.

Of course, I can't back that up with anything, but I firmly believe that Lilly won't be a disappointment when it's all said and done. There are plenty of players on this squad who can fill that role.

Soriano has certainly been aggressive early on, Lee looked awful on each of his three strikeouts, and Sweet Lou jumped all over Ryan Dempster after giving up a walk in the ninth and delivered the shortest mound meeting of the season but we'll save the sorrow for another day.

Cubs win!

Meet my hero, Eric Wynalda...One of the fastest ways to my heart is to hate Jim Rome, and, unless it was just the beer talking, that appears to be the case with US Soccer's Uncle Sam.

In an interview with Christian Franek of FulhamUSA.com, Wynalda had this to say about the king of the jungle:

You will never get a guy, in me, who is more of a believer in the American player. Jim Rome can suck my ****! And he should be very afraid, because I’m the kind of guy, if I get too many drinks in me, I will club his ass. I’ve been on with Jim Rome, and I said, “Let me get this straight, you’re more impressed with water polo???"

That's the money quote and odds are you've already seen it, but what's interesting is that the rest of the interview is pretty enthralling in it's own right. Wynalda shoots from the hip regarding everybody: Landon Donovan, Juergen Klinsmann, Sunil Gulati and, his old friend, Bruce Arena.

Could Wynalda "fix" American soccer like he claims in the interview? Who knows, but it feels like he's trying and that's good enough for me.

A lot of people can't stand to listen to Ron Santo call a Cubs game, but, and I'm probably the least impartial source on this, love it because his pain and frustration is so apparent over the air.

It's the same deal with Wynalda but on a different scale. Feeling dismayed by the Cubs is just about the most pedestrian feeling in all of sports, but that love and loathe relationship with U.S. Soccer is entirely novel for a national audience. Or at least it should be.

If loving America (and its soccer team), drinking a few too many on occasion, and cursing a little too often is wrong then you might as well be Jim Rome.

Rack it.

Disclaimer: If you only care about sports talk, you can stop reading now as this last bit is solely TV related.

The Office turns tonight?...Tonight's episode could be the turning point for The Office. As good as the show is, I've always felt like the dominant Jim-Pam dynamic might be the show's eventual undoing.

Quite simply, the tension between the two is the storyline. It's brilliantly funny and people turn in for a lot of different reasons, but Jim-Pam has become one of the great fictional relationships of our time. Eight-five percent of viewers care more about that fictional relationship than they do their own and how do you resolve that? This is what makes the show more than just a series of sketches.

I don't foresee a season where the two lethargic gazers are together, because, well, what then? Michael and Jan? Dwight and Angela? It doesn't matter how funny the show is, the Romeo and Juliet dynamic accounts for quite a bit and everything else will fail in comparison.

So that means it can't happen until the final episode ever, but how long are people willing to wait? Four years? Seven years? Ten years? Other sitcoms have stuck around for that long and none of them were as good as The Office so if anyone can pull it off, it might be this crew.

But honestly, I'm more interested to see how they play it rather than how it plays out, and that makes me a little uneasy...and probably a victim of overthnking.

(Aside: Thank you, NBC, for finally realizing that putting Scrubs between The Office and 30 Rock was like swapping crap for creme in an Oreo. Nine'o'clock no longer tastes like shit.)

Morning Walk-thru - There was a lot of mud, but it was THEIR mud

Another stellar episode...of Friday Night Lights last night. They played in a monsoon in a cow pasture and Dillon won to "go to state" and it was all intercut with an attempted rape sequence. Can't say I've ever seen that before, but it was surprisingly powerful in the face of being creepy and I think that pretty much sums up the first season of the show.

Let's face it, this is a soap opera with football. The melodrama is always on the brink of overwhelming you but it never quite does...because there's football. Bi-polar disorders, rampant infidelity, paraplegic self-pity, rape, algebra, it all sounds like a bit much...but there's football. Hell, the Killers were prominently featured last night...but there was football...and Texas.

I don't think you can underestimate the importance of the setting. Where else could this show take place? Greasy Whataburgers, Wranglers and oil derricks add a lot of flavor.

All in all, a great hour of my life and the good news is, according to the post-show promo for next week's episode, we've got an "exceptional" one on tap for next week.

Who says these games don't mean anything?...Ladies and gentlemen, your 2007 Mayor's Cup champions...the Boston Red Sox. By defeating the Twins last night 5-4 Boston won the preseasons series with Minnesota and the cup that comes with it.

How come nobody knows about this? Watching the game last night was the first I'd ever heard of it. Apparently because the Twins and Sawx both reside in Ft. Myers for the Spring and play each other twice a week, they created a traveling trophy and now it will reside in the Bean for all of 2007.

The Dice-K signing is already paying dividends.

Speaking of Spring Training games...I have no desire to go to one. Watching that game last night, the crowd kinda freaked me out.

First off, being Florida, the median age was about 57. Secondly, everyone just kind of sits there silently. Sure there are some snow birds who genuinely care about seeing a bunch of non-roster invitees get their ABs but it seems like most people were just there to watch and not cheer.

It looked like a video game baseball crowd, just a mash of beige colored flesh and blue and red t-shirts that occasionally created a dull roar, which I suppose is fitting; pretend baseball games get pretend crowds, just like on the PS2.

Spring isn't just for the players, it's for me too. I need it to get ready as a fan and sorting out who I actually have to follow and who I don't is the manager's job. I don't need to see the auditions.

An armistice for Uncle Sam's Army...In a painfully ugly game, the U.S. finished with a nil-nil draw in their friendly with Guatemala last night, putting an end to the three-game winning streak that had enraptured the nation during a lackluster N.C.A.A. Tournament. (Yeah, it's true. Where were you?)

The lone bright spot for the Yanquis that my untrained soccer eye could see was Eric Wynalda. The former national team player has continued to provide honest, sometimes scathing, analysis during the games, displaying his passion for U.S. Soccer while keep them in check with frequent critiques.

Even better, however, is his readily apparent disdain for every other team in CONCACAF. Seeing yet another Guatemalteco fall to the pitch like his Achilles had just been slashed by an American spike was entertaining for two reasons: 1) flopping is funny, and 2) waiting to hear what Wynalda would say. (And don't even get him started on Mexico).

In a somewhat related note, this football game in Texas was not played in a pasture. Ironically, it looked like it was played in a large high school football stadium.