Friday Night Lights: Season Four Recap and Reaction

This season had its ups and downs.
To the old characters first (sans Matt):
Tim (Taylor Kitsch) takes no time to drop out of college, leaving it behind in just the first episode. His brother, Billy (Derek Phillips) is furious at him for doing so and punishes him by not making him partner at Riggin's Rigs. But bigger problems arise. Mindy (Stacey Oristano) goes into premature labor and without medical insurance, they cannot afford the medical bills. Billy strikes a deal with a bad apple and starts an illegal chop shop. Just when things seem to be winding down and settling down, Tim buys some land that he had his eye on and Mindy has the baby, Steven Hannibal (yes, I kid you not), they are caught. But Tim, even though he entered this only reluctantly, decides to sacrifice himself so Billy can remain with his family. I'll get to more about him later, but for now, Tim is off to jail.
Lyla (Minka Kelly) appears in only two episodes. Though she still loves Tim very much, she must return to college and they have a sad farewell at the bus station. She is not mentioned again.
Landry (Jesse Plemons) is a senior at East Dillon where he is turned into the kicker, and this is met with mixed-success. He finally ends things with Tyra, who is never seen and mentioned only once, and that's in a deleted scene.
Julie (Aimee Teegarden) becomes obsessed with Habitat for Humanity and wants to join this as a team leader but naturally, her parents won't let her and I can't blame them in the least. She should finish high school first.
Now I'll get to the new characters:
At the first practice, the police bring Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan) up to Eric (Kyle Chandler). They want him to join the team so he won't be shipped off to juvie. Vince proves to be a valuable player, despite having never played before. He tries to do well, but it's difficult with temptation all around him, plus his mother is battling a dangerous drug addiction. Vince breaks ties with his gang friends, but in order to pay for his mother's rehab, he must rejoin them in their dangerous activities. He leaves for good after his one friend gets shot. He has found an escape.
Jess (the great Jurnee Smolett) is the new girl. She must deal with her father (Steve Harris) hating football after missing a shot at nearly going pro. But now he owns a Bar-B-Q shop which Jess works at. She and Vince also have a history which is not discussed at all, but something bad must have happened because Daddy doesn't want Vince near his little girl. Jess dates Landry briefly but dumps him in the finale supposedly for Vince, though it's not yet official.
Then comes Luke Cafferty (Matt Lauria). Originally, he goes to West Dillion but is discovered to actually live on the East Dillon side of the dividing line. So, he is forced to switch schools. He and Vince don't get along at first, especially since Vince did really steal Luke's wallet. They get into a nasty fight and are hauled off to jail, while JD (Jeremy Sumpter) and others just abandon him. Eric forces Vince and Luke to walk home and Vince returns the wallet. They get along and the team improves because of it. Luke later is injured while doing chores on his parents' farm and needs tons of pills to deal with the pain. When Eric discovers his hidden injury, Eric is furious and benches him for almost the rest of the season. Luke is offered a scholarship to a Catholic school at the end of the season but it is unknown if he takes it or not.
Becky (Madison Burge) is the other new girl, who participates in beauty pagents. She is introduced after her mother (Alicia Witt) sleeps with Tim. She tries everything to get Tim to like her, though it doesn't work. After being blown off by Tim, she meets Luke and they have sex (though this is only mildly hinted at). Here comes my first major problem with the season: despite only having a one night stand, Becky gets pregnant. Rant #1: Seriously, you (the writers) decide to make another character pregnant from a one-night stand? You can't give a long-term couple like Lyla/Tim or Matt/Julie a pregnancy or at least a pregnancy scare? You guys disappoint me.
Okay, back to that plot. Becky, having been born to a teenage mother herself, immediately decides upon an abortion. Luke is somewhat okay with that. Tami (Connie Britton) is even sought out to give her advice. Tim brought Becky over and Tami assumed that Tim was the father when it was really Luke. Becky makes it pretty clear she wants the abortion. However, when she finally tells her mother, Cheryl, is even more determined and doesn't want to listen to what the doctor has to say by law.
Then Luke tells his deeply religious parents. In the end, Luke finally steps up to the plate and offers to help raise the baby, but by then it is too late. Becky has had the abortion. Rant #2: I knew the abortion needed to happen, after all, that was the fourth pregnancy the show had, but seriously, couldn't adoption have been considered a little more other than Tami just mentioning it in her speech? And Mrs. Cafferty's comment of Mary and Joseph also having problems was horribly insensitive and should not have been in the final script. What also bothered me was the fallout from the abortion.
Mrs. Cafferty (Kathleen Griffith) is furious that a school official would advise a child to have an abortion (she also went to talk to Becky behind her son's back). She goes after Tami. Tami was right when she told others that she followed protocol because she did. She discussed the options and in fact, tried to not mention abortion until Becky brought it up. Pro-Life people picket at Tami's school and soon her job is in danger. She also refuses to apologize and basically decides to quit her job and join her husband over at East Dillon where she can be a counselor again. Crisis averted. I just wish the whole thing would have calmed down after Becky went through with the abortion. Which leads to Rant #3: This is an issue rarely discussed though I have now seen two different TV shows where a girl becomes pregnant (Weeds is the other one) and the father doesn't really want her to have an abortion but it is had anyway. What kind of say should the father have in this decision? That is not an easy question to answer because just as children could be saved if the father had to sign off on the abortion probably just as many would be killed against the mother's wishes. I'll leave you guys to voice off in the comments.
Eric (Kyle Chandler) does manage to turn the team into something fairly respectable, though they only win two games (that the viewer sees). However, his job is stressful and he doesn't have enough players and the talent is a mixed-bag. His team is so battered by the end of the first half of the first game, he forfeits the rest of the game, leaving his team to feel devastated and cowardly. He almost loses his whole team because of that. The final game of the season is against the wealthier but crueler West Dillon Panthers. JD McCoy is still the quarterback but he is filled with anger as his parents are going through a divorce. He is no longer the decently nice person of season three. The East Dillon Lions manage to beat the Panthers in a real nail-biter of a game, winning by Landry finally pulling himself together and getting over the recent heartbreak he was just dealt, and kicks the winning field goal. (Luke is also allowed to play, though is pulled after irritating his injury some more.) This means that many people (Buddy [Brad Leland] already switched to being a Lion after calling the Panther boosters a cancer) will switch and become Lions supporters. Eric (despite his noticeable increase in drinking this season) has a great program and proved once again how valuable of a coach he truly is. I was grateful after everything that happened, this show proved that those with the better attitudes and a better, seasoned coach could beat a team with more resources and better talent. Not bad for a guy who was never even supposed to take the job in the first place.
Now, to Matt (Zach Gilford). I saved him for last. He is now delivering pizzas and taking classes at Dillon Tech and even gets an internship with a local artist who is odd to say the least. He and Julie are still together and mostly happy with that relationship. Then, his father dies. That is the most devastating episode of TV I have ever seen, I cried so much. That episode ("The Son") is clearly the best of the season with Gilford delivering a magnificent performance. He was beyond robbed of an Emmy nomination, as it was nothing short of brilliant. He hates his father and bottled up all his hate on that man. He doesn't want to deliver the eulogy because he doesn't want to be forced to say nice things about him, but he delivers a great one, saying that it is because of his father that they can all celebrate birthdays. He even insisted on seeing his father's maimed body. The man didn't even have a face.
However, in the next episode, he and Julie sneak off to see a concert and they have a fight because Julie feels somewhat guilty that he largely stayed in Dillon because of her. He just leaves, without saying good-bye to either her or Landry. Julie is beyond heart-broken. She tells him off in a phone call, saying that he was her other half.
Upon Matt's return for Thanksgiving, Landry doesn't even want to talk to him. Julie somewhat forgives him but Matt wants her to visit Chicago. While at the location where he deflowered (Julie's word, not mine), she tells him that she can't go; she can't give up on her own dreams. She needs to find her own Chicago. Instead, Landry goes. The season ends with Matt having a deep, sad pensive look on his face on the plane flying back to Chicago. I can only wonder what next season will bring.
This season was still good, though I do wonder where all the kids that now go to East Dillon were in the first three seasons. And why can Julie just switch schools? She was assigned (and zoned) to go to West Dillon but all of her friends (namely Landry) are going to East Dillon, which is supposed to be just as good, so she decides to switch. She has no regrets.
The acting is, once again, fabulous, though I didn't like several of the story lines, and several were just dropped such as Vince's mother in a fancy rehab without him having any money and Julie's interest in Habitat for Humanity. And once again, my new crush (Matt Lauria) is married in real life, just as Gilford is, but I'll get over that. The editing and music is great all as normal, but still, despite the most amazing episode, this season is not an A quality. Grade: B+

Jerry MaGuire (1996)

I actually really like this movie for some reason.
Jerry MaGuire (Tom Cruise) is a sports agent, a job which is much harder than it looks, being responsible for tons of people and expecting to know their every move and remember everything about them. Though Jerry loves his job, he starts to lose faith in it. After a child told him to screw himself, Jerry got inspired and wrote a manifesto about having less clients. This gets sent out, though Jerry realizes that he made a mistake. Naturally, he is fired by his protege, Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), at a lunch in a public place no less. He, then, immediately and successfully steals all of Jerry's clients. One, Cushner (Jerry O'Connell) does remain only to screw Jerry over later by signing with Sugar despite the dad (Beau Bridges) saying that his word is as strong as oak. What a load of crap!
The only client that stays with Jerry is the cocky Rod Tidwell (the Oscar-winning Cuba Gooding, Jr.). He is a nice man who loves his wife, Marcy (Regina King) and their young son dearly, but that passion dies before he reaches the field. He is a small player though consistent but he blames everyone else for his problems and extreme lack of money. Jerry needs the money as does his ever loyal employee Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger) who admired him so much that she, despite being a widowed single-mother, left her job to follow him. Jerry likes her but loves her son, Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki). By this time, he broke up with his crazy fiance, Avery (Kelly Preston) who is literally nuts. This leaves Jerry available and because, as his bachelor tape informs the audience, he is simply incapable of being alone. Just before leaving to take a permanent job in San Diego, he proposes to her, though it's more of a business proposal than anything else, all the time Dorothy's disapproving sister, Laurel (Bonnie Hunt) shaking her head in the house.
The marriage is almost immediately in trouble because Jerry didn't follow Rod's advice and have a talk with her about the whole thing. Jerry performs to travel to support his only client and to make sure he doesn't get hurt, which means he won't get paid than stay at home and fix things. Eventually, Dorothy decides to give up but Jerry doesn't fight for her.
Fortunately, this film has a happy ending, with Rod having an amazing game. He is injured after making an excellent catch, but gets up, all the while his wife is freaking out on the phone with Jerry, and launches into a dance. This inspires Jerry to fight for Dorothy and she takes him back, after all, he had her at hello. Rod finally signs a contract that will give him the money her deserves and Ray discovers a talent he didn't know he had.
The film is not perfect, but it goes by quickly (not a small feat for a comedy film clocking in at more than two hours) and the soundtrack goes by unnoticed (except when the au pair gives Jerry a CD for mood music), but the acting, especially Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr, are fantastic, and the story is an interesting one about the man behind the athletes. The romantic aspects are odd and weak at times, but I root for Dorothy and Jerry to work it out, despite it being an underdeveloped part of the film. Also, look for a quick cameo of the young Drake Bell. Grade: A-

Friday Night Lights: Season Three Recap and Reaction

The third season of Friday Night Lights was considerably better than the second. 

First of all, this season actually had a legitimate ending, unlike the last one.

Also, some new characters are introduced with different results.

To the old first:

Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) is in the first episodes only. Apparently, thanks to the quick recap in the first episode, we learn that he blew out his knee in the first game of the post-season so they were out and he lost his scholarship. He’s struggling to get his confidence back and wonders what to do with his life. He even considers staying and taking the promotion at the Alamo Freeze. Luckily, thanks to some wise words courtesy of Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), he pulls it together when he finally gets an audition and soon he is off to college: Texas A&M.

Jason Street (Scott Porter) also has a fitting happy ending. His girlfriend, Erin (she has a name), portrayed by Tamara Jolaine, had the baby, a baby boy named Noah. But life is hard and money is tight. She decides that she can’t take it and moves back to her parent’s house in New Jersey, taking the baby with her. Jason is devastated. So he, the Riggins boys (Taylor Kitsch and Derek Phillips) and his friend Herc (Kevin Rankin) decide to flip Buddy Garrity’s (Brad Leland’s) house. This goes, well rough, in the beginning, but ultimately, the house sells, meaning Jason has a bit of money to spend. He goes to New York, and after getting his friend back to the original sports agent, Jason is given a starting position at that same agency, meaning he can be closer to Erin and Noah, which is exactly what he wants. That also ends happily, which makes me happy.

More for Tim. He and Lyla are dating which is going surprisingly well. He also manages to graduate and get into college because he is San Antonio State’s number one priority. His brother, Billy (Derek Phillips) is also getting married to Tyra’s (Adrianne Palicki’s) sister, Mindy (Stacey Oristano). The Riggins boys also steal some copper wire. But then Mindy breaks up with Billy upon Billy telling her to quit her job. But she takes him back after he apologizes. Then Billy decides to open up an auto repair shop. At the last minute, Tim decides not to go to college though Billy insist that he still go. Throughout the season, Tim also tries to take the new kid under his wing only to basically have that back fire.

Matt (Zach Gilford) has many story lines. First of all, he has a mother. In order to care for his grandmother (Louanne Stephens) properly, he must become her guardian so therefore he must become emancipated. Thus, he must obtain a parent signature so he drives to wherever his mother lives. She can’t believe that his father left him alone with Grandma but he tells her that she doesn’t really have any room to talk. Though she signs the papers, she shows up and opts to help him out. Shelby (Kim Dickens) was a teenage mother as it turns out but despite everything Matt’s father was, she refuses to speak ill of him. However, though Matt eventually accepts her help, Grandma does not. The two get along like oil and water. Also, Matt, thanks to the new kid on the team, loses his position as quarterback and eventually convinces Eric to let him be a running back. However, at the last minute (aka the second half of the state game), Matt is back as quarterback and nearly gives the team the victory only to have that ruined by a last-second field goal. He also gets accepted to the Art Institute of Chicago and places Grandma in a nursing home. Once again, at the last minute, he decides he can’t leave Grandma because she’s the only person who never left him. He won’t be going to Chicago after all. Also of note, he and Julie (Aimee Teegarden) get back together.

Landry (Jesse Plemons) doesn’t have that much to do this season after truly developing in the last season. He is on special teams for football and continues tutoring Tyra. They have broken up by the season opener, but get back together by the end as he helps her with her college essay. His band is also back. After the other guitar player quits, they audition a new one and he falls for her, but she turns out to be lesbian to his dismay.  

Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) uses sex to get elected as senior class President to Tami’s (Connie Britton’s) dismay. She buckles down on her college applications only to almost toss everything away by leaving town with this cowboy, Cash (Zach Roerig) who has a pill addiction, temper and is a compulsive gambler plus the habit of lying. Tyra has to call Tami to fetch her from the dangerous situation which finally is the call to turn her life around. She gets accepted into college and thanks to some wise words from Landry, stops being selfish by getting his band an actual gig. She throws her sister’s crazy bridal shower, a tea party. She will be going to University of Texas.

Julie (Aimee Teegarden) is fortunately not that much of a rebel this year and is rewarded with her own car at the end of the season. She, like Tyra, gets a job at Applebee’s so she can save up some money to buy her own car. She and Matt get back together and have sex. The best scene is when Eric walks into Matt’s house and sees the two of them in bed together. Tami has a great conversation with her afterwards. I can see why that talk would be punishment enough. She tries to encourage Matt to follow his dreams though she doesn’t want him to move to faraway Chicago. She tries to break up with him in the season finale, though he refuses to accept it.

Lyla (Minka Kelly) is dating Tim and living with Buddy (Brad Leland) while her mom married Kevin and moved to California taking her younger two siblings with her. She opted to stay in Dillon with her father to finish her senior year. When her siblings come to visit, she scolds them for acting like brats and tries to fix things with her family. Then her father makes a risky investment and loses the money, which is her whole college fund. She moves out and plays house with Tim, though their house is disgusting. Eventually, thanks to Tami and her father asking an uncle for money, she will be going to Vanderbilt. Before that, she decided upon San Antonio State to be with Tim.

 Tami (Connie Britton) is now the principal of Dillon High but her challenges are horrendous. Instead of using the money given to her by the football boosters for the purchase of a massive jumbo-tron, she wishes to use the money to get some teachers back, plus the school is woefully low on necessary supplies. She loses this battle. She also wants to buy a new house that the Taylors cannot afford, but luckily she decides that she doesn’t need a big ole house.

Before I talk about Eric, I’ll deal with the new characters: the McCoy family. Son JD (Jeremy Sumpter) is a freshman quarterback with a great arm, even better than Jason Street’s. His father, however, is the character I love to hate. Joe (D.W. Moffett) is filthy rich, but he keeps his son on a horribly close leash, not letting him celebrate with friends after winning a big game. He doesn’t let his son have a girlfriend and calls this girl’s parents to tell them that she was a bad influence on his son. Katie (Janine Turner) is actually happy that her son has a girlfriend and says that is the only normal thing that has happened to him all year. Joe responds with saying that JD isn’t normal. (That’s a deleted scene.) JD grows more and more resentful of his father as the season progresses and after a game which the Panthers win, Joe scolds JD for not following his advice to the letter and begins to literally start punching him. Though the Taylors break up the fight, Tami has no choice but to call Child Protective Services which causes friction between the families. Katie no longer wants anything to do with Tami and JD no longer respects Eric. In the end, Joe uses his money and power to get JD’s personal quarterback coach to become the Panther’s head coach, I’ll get to more of that later.

Eric has a good season as coach despite losing state in the last seconds. He tells Matt to respect women and breaks up two fights. One between Tyra and Cash and the other between JD and his father. However, because the school board wants to split the town in two which would improve funding and class sizes, the football team will be splintered so the boosters gerrymander the lines so the team will remain intact. Eric’s job is up for debate, though he insists that his record should speak for itself. I agree with this. Though he fights for his job, he loses it to the quarterback coach and is instead named the head coach of the East High Dillon Lions. Luckily, Buddy has also followed him over. So next season should be interesting.

I liked that sudden plot twist at the end considering my high school was somewhat similar. I also went to a high school with East in its name and we were miserable at football, winning only seven out of the forty games during my four years there. Our rivals always beat us. The other school had a better reputation because we had the minorities, though we got more headlines and more media attention. Ironically, my high school was also the Panthers. Anything could happen with this decision.

The problem I have with this show, I thought that Tyra, Lyla and Tim were all seniors in season one but obviously that was not the case and it bothers me, but I’ll attempt to get over it. Also, baby Gracie should be in more scenes than she is, but I’ll also try and get over that too.

Still, the camera angles and editing are flawless and the acting is still great though because the plot lines are more realistic and in tune with the characters, there isn’t nearly as much crying as there was last season. This is certainly the best acted show I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness the show is back in true form and is nearly as good as season one. This season reminds me why I loved the show so much in the first place. I still haven’t taken Matt back, but at least I’ve forgiven him for last season, that’s a start. Grade: A-

Friday Night Lights: Season Two Recap and Reaction

This season was a huge disappointment and also for the record, I broke up with Matt and I’m glad I did so. I’ll get to that at some point.

First of all, I thought that both Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and Lyla (Minka Kelly) were seniors in season one, but apparently, that is not the case as they are both still in high school.

Tim must deal with his older brother, Billy (Derek Phillips), dating the single mom next door. He moves out of the house and for a time lives with an odd, mentally unstable guy who, as it turns out, owns a meth lab. Tim returns home, but upon returning to collect his stuff, steals some money to pay the mortgage on his house. Naturally, this doesn’t turn out that well, but he pays him back. Also, he joins Lyla’s church all to attempt to get her back though that doesn’t work. He also goes to Mexico which causes him to get kicked off the football team, though that eventually sorts itself out. He also spends some time with the Taylors, but is kicked out after rescuing a drunk Julie (Aimee Teegarden) but Eric (Kyle Chandler) misinterprets the incident as a rape, though eventually Julie comes clean so things are good between Tim and Eric, thank goodness.

As for Lyla, over the off season, she became a born-again Christian, determined to spread the word wherever she can, including inside a juvenile detention center. Here, she and her father (Brad Leland) take one of these, Santiago (Benny Ciaramello) under their wing. He eventually moves in with Buddy after his home situation falls apart and even joins the Panthers. Despite the odds, Santiago settles in and defends his foster father from some of his thug friends. Okay, back to Lyla. She gets a gig hosting a show on the Christian Radio Station and falls for her partner, Chris (Matt C

As for Jason, his role is more of a stretch now that he has finished with high school. He goes to Mexico to get some stem-cells shot in his back so Tim and Lyla go down to talk him out of the whole thing. He doesn’t go through with it, but the moment that sticks with me is when he throws himself overboard. Obviously, he doesn’t die. He quits his coaching job and moves in with his friend. He, then, gets a job working for Buddy which, after a rough start, goes better than expected. After a disasterous first date, he enjoys a one night stand with the waitress who rescued him, Erin (Tamara Jolaine). Then she turns out to be pregnant. Jason is thrilled because he was told that was basically not possible. The season literally ends up in the air with Erin deciding on whether to have the baby or have an abortion. Heavy stuff. He certainly pleads his case well, after all, this baby is truly a miracle, if its actually his. This is certainly a good example for the case of pro-life.

Smash (Gaius Charles) doesn’t get too many plot lines and the ones he does get are somewhat lame. Colleges are after him and he doesn’t listen to his mother’s advice. Side note, Mama Smash, aka Corrina (Liz Mikel) is easily my favorite character this season, she doesn’t deal or take any crap. He picks a college only then to have everything shot to hell after he gets into an altercation with a white guy at a movie theater. This guy was saying some cruel remarks to his sister and he was just defending her, though he still shouldn’t have punched him. After this, most schools revoke their offers so he has to go around begging. In the end, a college with a poor football reputation, signs him, complete with a full scholarship offer. He seems fine with that, though the next day, he had a grim look on his face in his room. Wonder how that whole thing will play out.

Now to Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Landry (Jesse Plemons). Apparently, the guy who assaulted her comes back to stalk her after eight months. He beats her up again, but this time, Landry is around and beats the guy’s head with a stick-it kills him. Landry struggles with guilt. This shows real character growth, though the whole thing seemed a bit much for a show that’s supposed to be about football. Oh yeah, Landry also joins the team and eventually becomes pretty good. Eventually, despite everything his father (a police man portrayed by Glenn Morshower) and Tyra, he confesses, but because Tyra (and to a lesser degree) Landry feared for their life and because this guy had raped five women in two other states, charges are not filed, so that’s right, he gets away with murder. Also, thanks to Tami (Connie Britton) coaching the volleyball team, Tyra joins that team and that goes pretty well. Landry has true feelings for Tyra but she doesn’t return them considering he’s completely different from all the other guys she’s dated in the past. Yet, she still has sex with him. In the meantime, Landry begins seeing this geeky girl, Jean (Brea Grant), but he dumps her in a heartbeat for Tyra. He’s making a mistake; she tells him as much. At the end of the season, he and Tyra are together, but I seriously doubt that it will last.

As for the Taylors, I don’t like them as much as last season. Eric (Kyle Chandler) is at TMU in Austin, so he misses many of his brand new daughter’s dirty diapers. Tami (Connie Britton) is barely keeping it together. Julie (Aimee Teegarden) is a brat, flirting with another lifeguard at the pool who turns out to be out of her league and a jerk. She is cruel and unhelpful to her mother and could care about having a baby sister. She even tells her mother that Tami lost her once Gracie was born and Eric left. Tami even slaps her. Yikes. Then Eric screws over the current coach, MacGregor, and gets his old job back at Dillon but then complains about his low salary. But the boosters had to pay off the old coach so there isn’t as much money left for Eric. I don’t feel sorry for him. Sorry. Mentioned earlier, Tami also becomes the girls’ volleyball coach which she loves though it causes her to ignore Julie (who losses her annoying act to some degree) and forget about her driving test. But who knows if Julie actually gets her license? Also, Tami’s sister, Shelley (Jessalyn Gilsig) who is a pain though she means well. Because of her departure, the Taylors are forced to put baby Gracie a day-care, a decision which Tami struggles with. “But that’s our gift, not our burden,” as Eric calmly puts it. Julie also has a crush on one of her teachers, but he’s only in two episodes and Tami puts a stop to that immediately, thank goodness.

Now to Matt (Zach Gilford), this one was nothing but disappointment. I felt so bad when Julie dumped him, though she later regretted her actions. But then Matt’s grandmother gets an in-care nurse, Carlotta (Daniella Alonso). First of all, since when could they afford an in-care nurse?

First, the two don’t get along that great and Matt even has a cheerleader girlfriend, but his feelings for Carlotta grow and he loses his virginity to her. They are together for a brief time, but then she leaves abruptly for her home and family in Guatemala. Good riddance. Then, he completely loses it, calls a teacher a mean name, drinks and skips school, and has a breakdown in the shower. He tells Eric that everyone leaves him, Eric left him, Julie left him, Carlotta left him, and even his dad picked Iraq over him. He plays the scene so well. I’m still glad I broke up with him.

I think that’s pretty much it. The season was horrible compared to the first. Still, the acting is fantastic and the characters did change throughout the season, dealing with the crazy situations thrown at them realistically. Still, I am disappointed, but I can’t stop watching. Grade: B (overall), C+ (plot lines), B+ (acting)

The Emmy Nomination Ballots: My Opinion

I don't watch that many TV shows. I watch NCIS, New Girl, The Mindy Project, The Middle, Modern Family, Suburgatory, Nashville, The Big Bang Theory, Royal Pains, Necessary Roughness, Rizzoli and Isles and Franklin and Bash and the ill-fated 1600 Penn.
Many people from these shows have submitted themselves for consideration, including many that don't even have a prayer of actually being nominated (here's looking at you guys Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gossalaar).
Then some people don't submit themselves and I just don't understand it. I'm going to rant now. Charlie McDermott (aka Axl Heck from T'he Middle) didn't submit himself while everyone else from the show (Patricia, Neil Flynn, Eden Sher and Atticus Shaffer) and even some guest actors (the guidance counselor Dave Foley and Frankie's sister Molly Shannon) did. I am not pleased. I thought that he was probably the best of the main five in season four, truly coming into his own. Yes, he can still be horrible to others (namely Sue) and pompous, but McDermott is great in the role. I know people have and should have the choice to submit themselves or not, but I find it odd that he opted not to submit himself. So far the only award he's been nominated for is the Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the great Frozen River. That being said, I really hope that Sher finally gets nominated; she truly deserves it.
The Middle also didn't submit any of its shows for Best Writing which also baffles me because I like it so much more than Modern Family, so that also disappoints me. Also of note, the cancelled and panned 1600 Penn and the less superior The Mindy Project did.
On the other hand, Nashville has five submissions for Best Writing when I doubt that it will get any. Also, everyone, yes everyone from Modern Family (except Lily) submitted themselves, which only makes McDermott's non-submission even more annoying when he has tons more screen time than some from that show receive. I feel that only Ty Burrell and maybe Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet, Nolan Gould and Ed O'Neill deserve nominations. But that's it, no one else, at least in my mind. Also, more deservingly this time, everyone from The Big Bang Theory also submitted themselves, but they are mostly great, though Raj can be super annoying also, but at least he can act and the audience can feel sympathy for him. For Suburgatory, I'm thrilled to see Allie Grant's name on the list. Though she receives no critical attention, I think she's the best one on the show and that's saying something when her competition includes Cheryl Hines and Carly Chaikin.
Please let me know what you guys think. Also, next time, Charlie, you better be on the list!

The Breakfast Club (1985)

I finally saw this film; I know, I'm super late to the party.
The film was a mixed bag to me, some parts were truly excellent, others I hated.
The concept is intriguing, mixing five completely different students together for a Saturday detention. There's Andrew (Emilio Estevez), the jock, Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), the geek, John Bender (Judd Nelson), the criminal, Claire (Molly Ringwald), the princess and last but certainly not least Allison (Ally Sheedy), the basket case.
Watching over them is Vernon (Paul Gleason) who is not the nice man he claims to be. He later goes through classified records of the students and continues to punish John throughout the day.
John, having been in these detentions before, knows how to skirt the rules. He is cruel to the others, especially Claire, nearly giving her a blow job while hiding under her desk.
Throughout the day, they open up to each other or maybe it's just the weed they took out of John's locker. Allison came because she had nothing better to do; Andrew came because he taped a guy's butt together; and Brian brought a gun to his locker. Yes, a gun, I was shocked that he only got detention, but then he clarified-it was a flare gun. John has an abusive household, literally, he shows the others a cigar burn on his arm, Allison is a compulsive liar and Andrew hates his father. He can't live up to his father's image and it burns him inside. John pocks fun at Claire for being a virgin.
Yet, all of this happens despite being told not to talk or fall asleep which also happens. I also got confused when they sneaked out of the library to go into the outside world, but they risk being caught but John sacrifices himself for the sake of the others.
The actors, who except for Nelson, look like teenagers, and they deliver. Sheedy is fantastic as the girl who rarely talks, but tears her sandwich apart and sprinkle sugar on it and then eat it. Ringwald, Hall and Estevez are manage to cry on cue as they reveal the horrid truth about them.The dialogue is also largely real.
Now to the problems. I have no problem with Allison and Andrew ending up together, I sort of saw that one coming, but I hated that Claire got together with John considering how mean he was to her throughout the day and scolded her for having a rich father. I also felt bad for Brian at the end, when they tell him to write the essay because they'd each have the same thing to say. He doesn't end up with anyone, poor Brian.
That being said, the conversation they have when asked how they will treat everyone else come school on Monday is truly realistic and heart-wrenching. The cool kids won't acknowledge them while Allison and Brian totally will. In the end, I managed to have some varying amount of sympathy for each of the characters, I just feel bad that none of them went on to have a truly great career for they are good actors. Grade: B+

Friday Night Lights: Season One Recap and Reaction

I fell in love with this show instantly.
The pilot plays like a short film, with the days leading up to the big game being labelled. The second episode did this as well and I really wish the rest of the episodes also had done that to keep the events in order, but alas, I won't hold that against it.
Though tons of stuff happen throughout the football season, important stuff also happen off the field.
Jason Street (Scott Porter) is the star quarterback, but he gets badly injured in the first game after tackling a guy on the other team. I didn't think he went down that hard, but he did. He's in a wheelchair with a severed spinal cord. He tries to join the United States Rugby team, but he isn't picked. Instead, he becomes a part-time coach of the Dillon Panthers. I'm fine with that, but I wish that would have taken effect for the next season, considering he's still in high school, but whatever.
Sophomore Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) becomes the new quarterback though he nearly loses the position to a Katrina refugee, Ray "Voodoo" Tatum (Aldis Hodge), but the too big for his britches Voodoo is soon gone. Matt is easily my favorite character on the show. I love him so much. Yes, I admit it. He is mostly honest and a good guy. He has so much to deal with though. His grandmother suffers from dementia, though she has her good moments. His father is in Iraq, but returns briefly. Matt's father doesn't appreciate him and the two have a huge fight, causing me to want to leap through the TV to give him a hug. He also works at a local fast food restaurant to help pay the bills.
Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), also on the team and Jason's best friend, also tries to reconnect with his father, but that also ends badly, as his father won't quit his stealing ways. He also becomes involved with his much older neighbor, who also happens to be a single mom. She breaks things off, but this relationship is left up in the air. Things could potentially work out.
Brian "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles), a leading running back, goes from using steroids and nearly getting kicked off the team, to boycotting practice because of racist remarks.
Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly), Jason's cheerleader girlfriend, is my least favorite character and is the biggest hypocrite a TV show has to offer. She cheats on the injured Jason with Tim, but despite all odds, Jason forgives her and even proposes to her, which she accepts. Then her father has another affair and this woman (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) calls him out in front of the whole town. Thus Mrs. Garrity kicks him out and decides to divorce him. She is bitter as is Lyla who should understand. Then, upon seeing Jason kiss someone else, she promptly throws the ring at him and leaves. Talking about it is not an option. She can cheat and feel sorry about it but her father and Jason don't have that same right.
Tyra (Adrianna Palecki) is the bad girl who steals lipstick from a store. She breaks up with Tim in the second episode and doesn't fully take him back. She goes from throwing crazy parties to cracking down on her studies to being assaulted and not wanting to tell anyone about that.
Landry (Jesse Plemons) is Matt's best friend who doesn't play football. Instead, he tutors Tim in reading and nearly turns him into a scholar. He later turns to tutoring Tyra and develops a crush on her. He comforts her after her attack.
Then come the Taylors, who this show is all about. Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, fantastic) is the coach. He is generally nice, but he takes pity on no one, though he and Matt do bond throughout the season. He is offered and accepts a job at TMU and word leaks out just before State Championships. His wife, Tami (Connie Britton, much better here than in Nashville) gets a job as the school's guidance counselor. The kids generally like and respect her. Their daughter, Julie (Aimee Teegarden), is rather cynical about football and everything. She sort of becomes a rebel by hanging out with Tyra. She also starts dating Matt, kind of with her father's blessing.
The best episode of the season is the one where Julie decides that she and Matt should have sex. Tami has a serious talk with her, but that doesn't stop Julie from being alone with Matt. She comes up with every excuse not to have it and Matt, proving why he's my favorite character, comes through and says that she doesn't have to do this. They don't have sex; the Taylors can breath a huge sigh of relief.
The show is far from perfect. Some plot lines are never mentioned again. Lyla drives a car through the window after learning of her father's cheating ways, but this is never shown or even discussed again. Tyra is devastated after her attack, and is moping around her house one episode, but is fine to go to states the next. Smash's steroid use is not mentioned again after he gets clean, and racism is also no longer an issue after it is done its two episode ark.
Despite these rather huge problems, the cast delivers. There is not a false note anywhere. The emotions, ranging from happy and laughing to crying and screaming, are genuine and characters real. Sure, Teegarden does need an accent considering they are in Texas, but other than that, the acting is perfect. Accents are flawless and never waver and the vast supporting cast is likewise wonderful. Each character makes the most out of their time on scene.I will truly cry if a character dies throughout the course of this show, which is bound to happen, and that includes the characters I don't like of which there are several. The pity is real.
The editing is also tight with the best cinematography, giving you an intimate view of these people's lives. It's wonderful.
Sure, I wish that football wasn't everything to these people, because despite being in the marching band (which is mentioned on occasion) for all four years of high school, I still don't understand football. I like the stuff that happens off the field so much better. I wish the Panthers hadn't made it to states in just the first season. I feel for these characters and I know they work so hard, but sympathy for the other team is never felt. In fact, they are literally portrayed as racist monsters just waiting to pick a fight.
The Panthers win States, having an amazing comeback after Eric delivered a heartfelt speech during half time (missing the marching band performance because the band never matters). Matt is a player who was devastated that Eric was leaving them and plays greatly with his heart, but he steps it up and they manage to win. The importance of Eric in Matt's life is never better shown than it is in a deleted scene where Julie approaches him and announces that she and her mom are staying in Dillon though Eric is still taking the job in Austin. You can just see the disappointment in Matt's eyes, though he still must act happy about the whole thing. Eric is just as important in his life as Julie is.Yes, I know I love this character just a little too much. (Charlie, don't worry, you're not off the hook, as Zach is married in real life.)
I will soon begin to watch season two which should be a good one, because Tami found out that she was pregnant in the season finale so that will add another level to the show, plus babies are cute.
Even though the season is not perfect, this is hands down the best TV show I've seen thus far (but I haven't seen any dramas really, so that isn't saying much). Grade: A

The Fosters: Pilot

I had such high hopes for this show. I really did, after all, it pushed buttons right off the bat by having the leads both be women, in an interracial, same-sex relationship. Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) live together and raise a cluster of children: Brandon (David Lambert) from Stef's first marriage with her brand new police officer partner, and the adopted twins Jesus (Jake T. Austen) and Mariana (Cierra Ramirez). We don't know much about these kids except that Brandon is a musical prodigy, Mariana gets good grades and Jesus takes methamphetamine which is for ADHD, for the record.
The show begins with the arrival of a new foster child, Callie (Maia Mitchell) who has a troubled past of which not enough is revealed. All of this seems good, but tons of problems come. Callie is calling this mysterious Jude, but refers to him as baby, in a rather sexy voice. It turns out that Jude is her younger brother, still living with her former foster father, the one who beat her up because she defended her younger brother-he's the reason why she was in juvenile hall.
Determined to rescue her brother, she ditches school, which is a charter school where Lena is the vice-principal, but Brandon goes with her. Yes, those two are totally going to get together, despite Brandon having a girlfriend whom he might be having sex with or is at least considering having sex with, because his mother asks him if he's using condoms. Awkward. Because of this, he completely misses his audition and his chance at winning a musical scholarship and is let off the hook much too easily for this.
Callie and Brandon arrive at the foster house and she tries to rescue her brother while Brandon distracts him, but this doesn't work and almost immediately pulls out a gun on both of them. He went to that gun a little too quickly. Luckily, Stef, a police officer, arrives just in time to save the day.
Callie and Jude will stay with the Fosters (Stef's last name) and Lena (whose last name is Adams) for the time being, aka forever, because there will not be a show without them. Don't try and fool me ABC family.
In the meantime, the other major plot line involved the twins and their reluctance to meet their birth mother, aka the woman who abandoned them to go after a man. Mariana was originally interested but this has changed. My sister predicted this one right. She is stealing her brother's medication and selling them on the streets and gives the money to her birth mom so she can get settled in this ocean-side town again. That's right, they live super close to the ocean and Mariana is breaking the law. Stef and Lena were so worried about Callie messing up their family when they should really be worried about Mariana.
I really feel that this show needed some more exposition, but I'm pretty sure more about the pasts of all the characters will be revealed throughout the season. I also wish the writers hadn't decided to give Brandon a crush on Callie. I only like Stef, Lena and Jesus when it comes to characters. Some, like Callie and Brandon, do have a chance at redemption. Mariana does not, at least not for the moment.
I also know that the foster care system is broken, but you would think that they would have listened to Callie's side of the story or at least taken her brother out of that home, and why did she call him baby in a sexy voice? That was so weird. This show, despite everything, has promise, but it needs to become more realistic, okay, fine, I'll settle for ABC family realistic, and less predictable and soap opera-ish. The acting is decent, especially from Polo and Saum, though the kids are also showing promise. Grade: C+