Friday Night Lights: The First Season

Although it treads on ground exhaustively explored in numerous feature films, the Emmy-nominated Friday Night Lights has won over critics and viewers alike with its masterful depiction of life in a small Texas town where football is more than a game. Executive producers Peter Berg and Brian Grazer have brought feature-film quality writing, editing, and cinematography to this series, a spin-off of sorts from the identically titled 2004 movie directed by Berg. Kyle Chandler stars as Eric Taylor, whose job as coach of the Dillon High Panthers makes him unusually (and sometimes uncomfortably) visible to the tight-knit, football-obsessed community. Other characters include former star quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter), now wheelchair-bound after a paralyzing tackle; second-stringer Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), who's had greatness thrust upon him as a result of Jason's injury; star player and secret alcoholic Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch); big-headed wide receiver Smash Williams (Gaius Charles); and the coach's wife, Tami (Connie Britton). Even folks who don't give a hoot about high-school football—which includes me—will find themselves drawn into Friday Light Nights, as it has a lot to say about small-town life in contemporary America. Compiling all 22 episodes of the 2006-07 first season in a bargain-priced five-disc set, DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes. Recommended. (E. Hulse)