There's No Reason For You Not To Buy FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Season 1

$20? I'm in. I imagine that there will be a lot left because Heroes comes out today. And because it's Friday Night Lights.

This is something that deserves shilling. I just got back from picking up my copy, and if I had more cash I'd just start buying more and giving them to friends. I hope that coming out on the same day as Heroes helps this sell.

Yep. No reason not to buy this. The money back guarantee on the cover should make it a no brainer. Will the new Friday night time slot hurt the show? I think it might.

How can it hurt the show? No one watches it now.

I'm sure they've done polling and demographic research and all that... but on the surface it would seem like, if one of the main aspects of your show is high school football culture, putting it on during the night that fans of HS football are at the games might hurt a little bit.

My reason for not watching it is the same reason I have for not watching pretty much every other TV show I'd probably enjoy: I don't have time. Alas.

Hopefully I'll win the Mega Millions tonight. Then I'll watch the shit out of this.

I also thought this was a cool way to get the word out about the show:

http://houseparty.com/fridaynightlights

NBC is doing just about all they can, though it probably doesn't help that they yanked the summer reruns off the air. The only reason that I've been getting into 30 Rock is due to summer reruns, but people interested in FNL don't have that luxury.

Definitely one of the best ways to bring in new viewers I've seen from a studio in a LONG time. Any chance 30 Rock might get the same treatment?

But they have to start bringing in viewers for it to last much longer. And Friday nights is a horrible night for struggling shows. I hope the DVD will make people take notice, but Friday night is a killer.

Do you think good sells at iTunes and a lot of hits at NBC.com will make them take into account any growing popularity the show might have? I think if networks think about the other mediums (DVD sales, iTunes, downloads) and not fret so much about ratings, more good shows would have a chance of making it and developing a larger fan base.

I hate the fact that Neilson Ratings kills really good shows because the majority of those points come from the lower common denominator (in my opinion)

Alright, alright, I'm getting it!

I love the book and liked the movie. I haven't seen the show, though.

I'm a high school teacher so the idea of spending my precious free time watching teenage drama isn't very appealing to me

I was just talking to a friend about this show, and he said that he didn't want to watch it because he hates Texas and he hates football. Since he's a big BSG fan, I tried to explain that that's like saying you won't watch Battlestar Galactica because you hate space and you hate robots. Sure, I guess it's a reason to miss one of the greatest dramas on television, but it's an awfully stupid one. The show isn't about Texas any more than BSG is about space.

Also, everything I've heard from critics is that it seems like NBC moving the show to Fridays is a good move. The expectations aren't very high there, so the show doesn't have to do all that well to impress. I just hope they at least let it play out an entire season, even if the ratings aren't great.

"Feed the dogs, spit in the fire, lock up you daughters, turn on the radio, sit down and shut up!"

I was always surprised Devin never caught on to this show, with his deep and abiding love for Murderball. There was no show, no network show (or cable for that matter) certainly which had such depth to the characters and wide address of issues.

The Peter Berg-directed pilot could've been released in theatres. It's that good. Unfortunately, that fella who left NBC recently was a big champion of the show. Hopefully TPTB stick with it. Fuck you, Emmys.

How good is the writing? there's an episode late in the season where Street teaches Saracen a difficult pass - I doubt someone who didn't know football could understand exactly what the fuck they're talking about, but the acting is so good, the direction and music so strong, you don't give a rat's ass. You're just arrested.

Fantastic use of Explosions in the Sky throughout the season. I'm just sorry the soundtrack for the show is missing some of the fantastic cues.

Said it before, but oh what if Preacher was produced by Berg, and starred Scott Porter and Adrienne Palicki as Jesse and Tulip...Chandler (also appearing in the recent Kingdom trailer) as John Custer...

I had the same exact conversation with a friend of mine who is also turned off by Texas/football/highschool - but I just had to remind him of how I had to force him to watch The Wire and that it was much more than just the "cop show" he assumed it would be. So, he bought the FNL set today. It's a bummer that they had to change the songs used in some of the episodes, because no other TV show has used songs as well as FNL has.

So yeah, basically, if you don't buy the FNL dvd, you're pretty much an asshole.

Oooh, I didn't know about the music changes. Do you know what's different? Thankfully "Devil Town" is still there in the second episode and season finale. That song really stood out for me.

Also, I'm one of those people who would need to be forced to watch The Wire. I should really follow my own advice and give it a shot.

Well, below is a list of the songs on the show that actually aired. I guess as one watches the dvd and refers to the list they could see what has changed. I'm assuming that the more popular stuff's been cut (gotta keep that dvd price low), and the indie stuff is intact ('cause it's usually cheaper to license). And I hope that the replacement songs are other cool indie songs, that may be even better than the original choices.

Episode 1:
Explosions In The Sky - Remember Me as a Time of Day
Gym Class Heroes - New Friend Request
Styles Of Beyond - Nine Thou (Superstars Remix)

Episode 2:
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
Tony Lucca - Devil Town

Episode 3:
Willie Nelson - Pick up the Tempo
Pearl Jam - Come Back

Episode 4:
Dead Heart Bloom - New Messiah
Sergio Mendes - Yes, Yes Yall
Samantha Jade - What I Got

Episode 5:
Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
Blind Willie Johnson - One Scotch, One bourbon, One Beer
Gary Glitter - Rock and Roll (Part 2)(Played by school band)
Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country
Heartless Bastards - All This Time

Episode 6:
Beulah’s - Gene Autry
James McMurtry’s - Lost in the Backyard
Whiskytown’s - Everything I Do

Episode 7:
Amerie - Take control
Kelis - I Don't Think So

Episode 8:
Explosions in the Sky - Glittering Blackness
The Stooges - Search and Destroy
Iron and Wine - Dead Man’s Will

Episode 9:
Hinder - Lips of an Angel

Episode 10:

School Band - Gary Glitter’s Rock and Roll (Part 2)
José González - Storm
Nelly Furtado - Maneater
Stereophonics – Rewind

Episode 11:
Tom Petty - Saving Grace
Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
Audioslave – Cochise

Episode 12:
Jake Owen - Yee Haw

Episode 13:
Richard Buckner – Figure

Episode 14:
Justin Timberlake - SexyBack
Brand New - Jesus
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - So Divided
Gwen Stefani - 4 In The Morning

Episode 15:
Pink - U and Ur Hand
The Go! Team - Huddle Formation
DMX - Lord Give Me A Sign

Episode 16:

Episode 17:
Ryan Adams - Political Scientist
Rogue Wave – Eyes

Episode 18:
Outkast - Idlewild Blue (Don't Chu Worry 'Bout Me)
David Usher - Hope (Tell Everyone)

Episode 19:

Episode 20:
The Killers - Read my mind

Episode 21:
José Gonzáles – Storm

Episode 22:
LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk is playing at my house
Dirtie Blonde - Walk Over Me
Bright Eyes - Devil Town

I bought the First Season set today, mostly because the last few months I've been really overwhelmed by all the majority fan and critical praise for the series that I figured "you know, this just might be more than The O.C. with football".

Question: I haven't seen the movie yet, so, should I see it before starting the series? Is there continuity between both?

None. They're just about the same thing (highschool football in a small Texas town) - other than that, and Peter Berg, they have nothing in common. And while the movie's okay and worth watching, the TV show blows it out of the water in every way.

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend watching the movie beforehand. Maybe afterwards if you dig the show and want to see an alternate universe version.

As for the music, I don't think I'll notice most of it. I did check to see if "Eyes" by Rogue Wave was there, because I love that moment in the show. Sadly that was replaced with an instrumental.

One musical change of note is that EITS 'Your Hand in Mine' no longer plays as they drive up to the stadium in Dallas for the final.

Motherfucker!

If I could've picked just one song to stay, that would've been it. It was the best music cue of the whole season.

I bet the song stayed on the Heroes dvd, which didn't use the song nearly as effectively.

Haven't seen a single episode of this show but picked it up at Best Buy last night based on this thread alone.

I'm only in the second episode but really digging it so far. I was standing up and cheering, (along with shouting "Throw the fucking ball!") towards the end of the very first game.

Good to see its got you hooked and invested this early. Take your time with the show, I think it works even better as it leads to its climax with a slow burn as opposed to swallowing it in massive chunks. And you're going to be freaking out for the finale.

As per the music in the finale: I remember that it was clearly not the Bright Eyes cover of Johnston's 'Devil Town'. I really like the Bright Eyes version, but the one in the show kinda blew it away. Is that original take preserved? I'll be sad to hear its gone.

Oh man, that was one of my favorite moments in the season. They use that song so well in the show. Did they cut out any other Explosions songs?

At least when the episode was repeated on TV, the LCD Soundsystem song that played during the interviews in the last episode was cut out. Probably the same case for the DVD. Something far less catchy was its replacement (can't even really remember it).

I listened to Goldberg and picked this up last night.

Goldberg the wrestler. He threatened bodyslam. And deleted Universal Soldier: The Return scenes if I didn't buy. Hot Fuzz was on sale ($14), so I bought that as well. He asked me what that was. I laughed. Am typing this from the hospital.

That SUCKS about the song removals.

I noticed the different music during Coach Taylor's chat with Street before the quad rugby game and during the last half of Voodoo's first game. Not EITS but really solid music removed.

Thankfully, most of it is still there. Speaks to the strength of the original soundtrack, though, that people have really noticed its absence.

Side note: Connie Britton and Zach Gilford appear in the upcoming horror film The Last Winter.

I'm just on the second disc, but this show is GREAT.

I've been going through a real rough time this week and, perhaps as a result (and due to a bit of drinking) have been getting really emotionally invested in this show.

I've been yelling at the TV more than ever this week, like when Smash first injected steroids. I'm only one epsiode 9, but when out and bought another copy of this today for my brother, who is turning 16 today and playing football for the first time this year.

Seriously, I love this show. I'm always into TV on DVD but I'm very impressed by the complexity and layers on this show, and see the comparison of this to BSG. Football is the driving force and background obsession that effects everyone on this show, but each show focuses on the characters and their lives (just replace "football" with "search for earth/flight from Cylons").

What is it about sports that gets guys all emotional. I mean, hell, the only sports I ever was involved in was soccer from ages 6-14 but I am cheering or nail-biting during every game in this show.

Awesome pagoda, I'm glad to hear you're loving the show. Even better if you get your brother hooked on it too.

I don't think it's the sports that make me emotional so much as the realism of it all. As it stands this is the only show on television that makes me weepy on a regular basis. I am not ashamed.

Sad to hear about the music chops... but I think I'll still pick it up.

Sold out at Lindbergh BBuy last night. I didn't even find a shelf tag for it. Of course, there was an entire segment devoted to Heroes, and it was mostly empty.

OK, I picked this up based on this thread. Just wanted to drop a "thank you" for it.

I'm only 5 eps in, but I'm so hooked. Great writing and cast.

When does Season 2 begin? I need to program ye olde Tivo.

October 5th, I believe.

thanks for the heads up

Someone above mentioned a music edit that they thought was especially painful-- I think it was in the finale? If you can confirm the episode number, I'll watch a download of that one in place of the DVD (WHICH I PURCHASED). Thanks!

I think the one you're thinking of is from the end of episode 17, "I Think We Should Have Sex." Possibly my favorite episode of the season, and it does sadden me that a great song was removed from one of the best moments.

If you want to download it or watch it at NBC.com, go for it. But if you've never seen the episode the missing song probably won't be a big deal for you.

Thank you. I'm also wondering about the Explosions omission that Subotai mentioned in spoilertext above.

I just watched the pilot and remembered that my former Sunday School teacher, Louanne Stephens, is in this. She plays Saracen's grandma. That was a pretty cool surprise. Hopefully I contribute a little bit to a royalty check for her by purchasing these DVDs.

Anyway, yeah, that Pilot was pretty great. Going back for more now.

This is really awesome so far. It's better than most of the sports movies I've ever seen.

18 bucks at BJ's.

I think one advantage it has over sports films is that the games truly have higher stakes once you get to know the characters. It's not so much about whether they win or lose, but what each person is going through and how it effects the game. It's harder to convey that in a two hour film.

I know a lot of people who have bought this solely based on word of mouth. That has to be a good sign, sales wise.

I should have listened to Captain Oats. I blew through this set and now have nothing until S2 starts. Stupid OCD: "Just one more episode, just one more episode then I can sleep..."

Connie Britton in the white tank top at the supermarket in episode 4 alone justifies the $20 bucks. Everything else is just gravy.

My friend spoiled the end of S1 for me over lunch. Jerk.

People should watch the disc 1 doc, if they haven't already.

The doc is pretty great, I just wish it were longer. I find myself having a lot of questions about how they film certain things. For instance, do they film in real houses? Nothing in this show really looks like a set, which lends to that feeling of authenticity.

I'm pretty sure they use as few sets as possible. It's a trait of Berg's, something he picked up from Michael Mann.

Speaking of Mann - one of the FNL directors is Michael Waxman, who worked as 1st AD on Heat, The Insider, Ali, and Vice. May explain the similarities in style, and just one more reason to love the show.