Friday Night Lights recap: It Ain’t Easy Being J.D. McCoy

It Ain’t Easy Being J.D. McCoy

 

Greetings Dillon Panther fans!

 

I apologize for the delay in getting my “FNL” recaps posted. Starting with this Friday’s episode, “Keeping Up Appearances,” I’m hoping to have my recaps up the following day, Sunday at the latest.

 

Alright back to the action. I thought this episode was solid, just like the rest have been this season. Rather than go storyline by storyline like I usually do, I’m just going to touch on the highlights with some quick hit thoughts.

 

*My favorite moment of this episode was watching Grandma Saracen attack Coach at the supermarket about benching Matt. Say what you want about her, but she cares about her grandson. Even better was after she had her say, she had to admit it was hard to stay mad at Eric.

 

*Even if Coach put him up to it, I enjoyed Riggins giving J.D. a tour of “his” Dillon. I found it humorous that he pointed out a strip joint and a bar to a high school freshman. Only in Dillon I tell you.

 

*I also got a kick out of Landry’s band auditions. They introduced Devon, who I think could be a nice match for Landry; much better than Tyra is for him.

 

*I was very happy to see Matt and Julie reunite. I liked their awkward conversation in the supermarket while Matt’s grandma tore Coach a new one. I have to admit, I was very surprised they consummated their reunion so soon. I’m sure Matt won’t care that he’s QB2 anymore after a night like that.

 

*My second favorite moment in this episode was the scene between Eric and Jason. After realizing he might have made a mistake investing in his house; Coach gave him the pep talk that he needed. Coach was right; Jason’s 20 years old, he doesn’t need to have all the answers right away. The important thing is that he’s trying. It was just a phenomenal scene. My guess is Coach helped Jason out a bit with some of the repairs since he showed up at the dance with paint in his hair.

 

*Besides that scene with Coach and Jason, I’m not too big on the house storyline. All it is to me is Jason and his crew arguing. No one seems to have a clue about what they’re doing. Here’s hoping this wraps up soon.

 

*I’m also over the Tyra/Cash romance. She should have kicked him to the curb even if that kid wasn’t his. I will give him credit for offering to pay for Tyra’s college applications, but he’s obviously not good for her. I hope she realizes this before she gets hurt.

 

*And finally, I’m really down on Joe McCoy, Sr. Wow, talk about your typical stage parent. It was bad enough when he told Mrs. McCoy that J.D. didn’t have time to worry about cheerleaders, but then he comes into the locker room after the game to congratulate his son, rather than wait outside with the rest of his parents. To make matters worse, he spoils J.D.’s plans to celebrate with the team by saying they’re going to Applebee’s. The worried look on Coach’s face said it all. None of this bothered me more than when Mr. McCoy felt the need to make J.D. tell Coach that he got drunk and apologize. Seriously? Did he really have to involve the Coach in a matter that should have been handled between father and son? If this how Joe Sr. treats Junior after a big win; I hate to see what happens after a loss.

 

I hope you all enjoyed this episode too. Feel free to comment below!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

Friday Night Lights recap: “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”

Greetings Dillon Panther fans!

 

Just as soon as we saw Smash Williams move on to greener pastures at Texas A&M in the fondest of farewells, we welcomed back another Dillon hero, Jason Street. It was great to see him on the show again. Meanwhile, Julie made an ill-advised decision regarding body art, Tyra continues to carry on with her cowboy-friend and Matt looks like he lost his job as QB1 to a freshman. Here are the highlights…

 

Welcome back, Jason

 

It was great to see Street again on Friday. It had been too long. The last time we saw him he found he was miraculously was going to be a dad and was begging the mom, Erin, to keep it. Well, it looks like he wish was granted as he’s a proud papa. Unfortunately, he’s not making the kind of money he needs to support his son, Noah. This is definitely not the time to be a car salesman.

 

But, Jason is smart and resourceful, so his plan is to buy Buddy Garrity’s house, fix it up and sell if for a profit. That part of the plan isn’t so bad. Part 2 of this plan is where things go south, since he can’t afford to buy the house on his own, he’ll need some investors. Unfortunately, the only ones he can think of (or get) is the idiot brigade of his roommate Herc and the Riggins brothers. Yikes, no wonder Buddy was hesitant to sell the house. Although, I felt this part of the storyline was unrealistic. He was desperate to get rid of that house, so much so that he was willing to sell it below market value. Why would he care who buys the place? I thought he’d be happy just to get out from under that mortgage.

 

Oh well, at least this unrealistic scenario gave us a chance to hear a brilliant monologue by Jason. It was very moving watching him convince Buddy to sell him the house. It was a brilliant move by Street to convince Buddy by bringing up a big football game that he won for Dillon during his sophomore year. As they say, you have to know your audience. Jason knew his, and Buddy sold him and his crew the house. Yippee! Now all they have to do is get it fixed up. After seeing the boys arguing the first day on the job, it looks like it’s going to be a major uphill battle. And is anyone else worried that the Riggins’ share of this big investment came from money the got by selling stolen copper wire?

 

I felt awful for Jason when he found out Erin was taking Noah and moving back east. After all the hoops he went through to get his plan going, it didn’t seem fair for her to just up and leave like that. He is doing this for her and Noah after all. I also found it naïve of Erin to tell Jason he could visit, “whenever he wanted.” Something tells me it might be a little tough for him to jet off to Jersey whenever he had some spare time. I hope for Jason’s sake, she comes to her senses and moves back to Texas. Street’s a good guy and has had enough bad breaks already. He needs something good to happen.

 

What I did like during the farewell scene was after Riggins saw what was going on through the window, he didn’t call Jason on it. He just asked him what happened and let Jason lie by saying Erin was really excited about it. It wasn’t much, but I just thought it showed a lot of character on Tim’s part.

 

Julie gets inked

 

One of the biggest mysteries for me is how Eric and Tami, the greatest TV parents this side of Clair and Cliff Huxtable, could have raised such a brat like Julie. It really blows my mind. It really bothered me how nonchalant she was about getting a tattoo and then not understanding why her folks were so upset about it. I gave Eric and Tami a lot of credit for not absolutely losing it when Julie gave them the, “It’s on my body now and there’s nothing that can be done about it” remark. I don’t know Eric didn’t drag her out of her room after that.

 

I enjoyed the second conversation Eric and Tami tried to have with Julie about her new artwork. The sequence when Eric asked her what the (heck) she was thinking, followed by Tami asking in a more PC way, “We wanted to know what your thought process was,” and then Eric saying, “Like I said, what the (heck) where you thinking” was hilarious. That of course was followed by another classic line by Tami after she told Julie she was going to get it removed, “Until you’re 18, that leg belongs to me.”

 

The storyline wrapped up with another classic mother-daughter scene between Tami and Julie. Who would have thought Tami was a wild child when she was in high school and it was Eric who helped her find her way. Wouldn’t you have bet it would have been the other way around? I loved this scene, especially when Tami told Julie that she thought she was smart and independent and wouldn’t need a man to pull her on the straight and narrow path. Let’s just hope Tami’s faith in her first-born daughter isn’t blind. As for the tattoo removal? I think Tami said it best, “By time you’re 30, you’ll want to remove it yourself. I’m not paying for it then though.”

 

Tyra & Cash

 

Despite Tami’s warnings and wishes, Tyra thinks she’s found herself a good man in Cash. Never mind the fact that she’s skipping class to hang out with him at his request. A good guy wouldn’t encourage his girlfriend to just ditch class like that. Unfortunately, Tyra’s too head over heels about her cowboy to realize he’s no good. I mean, he took her to see a newborn horse, so he had to be a good guy, right? Run, Tyra, run away while you can! I know Cash is the exciting option, but Landry is the better man for her.

 

The Game

Despite Coach’s oddball strategy of rotating quarterbacks, Dillon topped Ft. Hood in a barnburner, 42-39. Things looked bad early for the Panthers due to the running different offenses with a different QB every other play. This led to multiple delay of game penalties until Coach was able to settle down J.D. and Matt. It was great that Saracen was the one who got to score the winning touchdown, but the look on face made it seem that he knew he might have run for his last score.

 

There’s a new QB in town

 

I found it very interesting that even though the Panthers won with Eric’s multiple QB strategy, Mac and the other coaches were, “done with that.” Excuse me? Isn’t Eric the head coach? Doesn’t he decided when the coaches are done with anything? I guess Eric doesn’t feel that way because he opted to choose one starting quarterback—J.D. McCoy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t know how a coach could bench a senior who’s in his third year starting in favor of a freshman. I don’t get it. I know J.D. is talented, but hasn’t Matt earned the right to finish his career at Dillon as QB 1? To make this situation more believable, the writers should have had Matt stumble out of the gate and had the Panthers win a game or two in spite of his poor play. That way, it would make sense that people would want a change at QB. It would be one of those, “Coach I know we’re winning, but if we don’t make a change now, Saracen could kill us down the road” situations. It wasn’t like that though, Saracen had been playing great; why in the world would Coach bench him?

 

I have to give Coach Taylor credit for doing the right thing and delivering the bad news to Matt personally. He could have called, and I’m sure he wished he did when Grandma Saracen pulled up and gave him her patented overly excited welcome whenever Coach stops by. The pained, awkward looks on Eric and Matt’s faces were priceless; especially when Grandma Saracen said Coach “practically walks on water at their house.” Ouch.

 

I loved the showdown between Matt and Coach as well. I always thought football was something Matt did, but never cared too much about. But after watching him bang helmets all over the place, it’s obvious he cares, a least a little bit. I was happy to see he was able to vent his frustrations to the coach. He said everything I had been thinking, he won a state title and did everything Coach asked, but somehow he’s not good enough anymore. I can’t blame him for wanting to quit; I was surprised Coach was able to convince him otherwise. I liked the heads up he gave Eric—that he’d come to practice and sit the bench, but he’d hate it, and Coach would hate it too. I guess time will tell if that is true.

 

The Saracens

 

Ah, there hasn’t been a dull moment in the Saracen household since Matt’s mom, Shelby blew into Dillon. She’s offered to help Matt out with his grandmother until he graduates, much to Grandma Saracen’s chagrin. I loved how Grandma Saracen gave Shelby a hard time about every item she purchased from the grocery store. Poor Shelby was just trying to help, but doesn’t she realize that nobody likes grape jelly? I did find that admission from Matt strange because I thought grape was the standard jelly flavor.

 

I liked the tender moment between Matt and his mom when he admitted to her that he lost his spot as QB1 to a freshman. I thought she was very supportive—almost like a mom! I hope Matt becomes more accepting of her presence as this season wears on.

 

So, what did you all think of the episode? Did Coach make the right call about his quarterbacks? Were you happy to see Jason return? Will he and his pals be able to sell Buddy’s house? Comment below!

 

Have a question, comment or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

“Lost” thoughts: “316”

After last week’s so-so episode of “Lost,” I was hoping for much better things last night, and the show didn’t disappoint. Last night’s episode, “316,” was pretty good. I had no problem with the whole episode taking place off of the island, save the very beginning and the very end of the episode. I felt the Oceanic 6 had been getting the short end of the screen time stick this season (it was inexplicable that they were 100% absent in the “Jughead” episode), so it was nice to see them at forefront last night.

There wasn’t anything I disliked about the episode. I’m all about plot development in TV shows, and last night we didn’t get much, but we got a huge development with Hurley, Jack and Kate making it back to the island. That was such a big event, I’d feel greedy wishing that something else occurred during the hour. Plus, we did get to find out a few other things, but of course at 10:00 last night, I was left with a lot of questions. But, it wouldn’t be a good episode of “Lost” if we didn’t have questions at the end of it, right?

 Here are a few other things I enjoyed about last night’s show:

 *The homage paid to the pilot episode. I loved that the episode started just like the first one; with Jack opening his eyes, laying in the wild, wearing a suit with a coffin in tow. It came as no surprise to me that an episode that opened like that was written by “Lost” show runners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. I was just happy Jack had an easier time getting the airline to put Locke’s body on board than he did trying to board his father’s on Oceanic 815.

 *The Jack and Kate reunion. I’m a sucker for the Jack-Kate pairing more so than Kate and Sawyer. Although, she seemed a little cold to him the following day. Maybe she feels guilty about whatever happened to Aaron. I also found it weird that she was making such an effort to keep herself hidden at the airport.

 *I loved Hurley buying the remaining 78 seats on the plane to keep those passengers safe. It’s a total Hurley move.

 *Ms. Hawking’s island history lesson. Finally, after four-plus seasons, we get some insight into what exactly this island is! That back room was so cool, I felt like they were in the Batcave. I found it interesting that the island is constantly moving through time, which is why no one ever found them. I just assumed it would move when the wheel was turned.

 *The return of Lapidus. How great was it that he was flying their plane? I loved that once he saw all the familiar faces all he could say was, “We’re not going to Guam , are we?”

 Burning questions for last night:

 *What does the island still want with Desmond?
*Where is Aaron?

*Who told Hurely and Sayid about the flight?

*What happened to Ben?

*When did they land? (I feel it has to be in the past after seeing Jin in the Dharma van and jumpsuit.)

 Random thoughts:

 *I didn’t think the writers picked the flight no. 316 out of thin air, so my guess is it’s in reference to the biblical John 3:16 (the Gospel of John) because of Locke’s presence on the plane. It kind of makes sense after seeing this quote from that verse, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Locke believed in the island, so maybe it too will give him everlasting life. And trust me, I didn’t come up with this off the top of my head. I looked up the significance of the number 316, and this was the best connection I could come up with.

 *At first I was a little disappointed that John’s note to Jack didn’t say more, but the more I thought about it, that one sentence said it all. Speaking of Locke, I never would have guessed his death would have been by his own hands.

 *I feel like Jack wasn’t the only one who was instructed and/or felt the need to replicate some of the occurrences of Oceanic 815. Sure he put his dad’s shoes on Locke, but Hurley was carrying a guitar (like Charlie was, was it Charlie’s?), Sayid was in police custody (like Kate) and after Kate and Jack’s “get-together,” could she possibly have some extra carry-on (like Claire)? These all could be coincidences, but coincidences are few and far between on this show.

 *Exchange of the night: Jack: “Is (Ben) telling the truth?” Eloise: “Probably not.”

 What did you all think of the show? Feel free to comment below. 

Do you have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

Friday Night Lights recap: “Hello, Goodbye”

 Hello Dillon Panther fans! In this week’s episode, we bid farewell to a Dillon great and welcomed a new scoreboard, a rodeo star and possibly a new QB1. Here’s how it happened….

Smash is going to college!

Hey, no point burying the lede, right? The main, and the best, storyline of this episode was this one. I loved that coach Taylor thought rescheduling Smash’s tryout was unacceptable and marched right on the field and told the head coach if he didn’t give Smash a look today, that he may not get another chance. I loved how Smash played the Big Call as if it were just a call about his shoulder pads. I loved the moment of triumph when he told him mom that he got in and the Williams family celebration. I loved the final two on two football game with Smash, Riggins, Matt and Landry at Hermann Field before they head to A&M. But most of all, I loved the final scene between Coach and Smash. It was a little short, but the point got across. It was a treat watching a humble and grateful Smash thanking Coach for everything that he had done for him. I could go on a lot longer about how much I liked how Smash’s exit was handled, but there were other storylines in this episode like…

Tami vs. the Boosters

Oh, poor Tami. All she wants is for her students to have good supplies and a fully-staffed faculty. How dare she want what’s best for the school! The heck with that darn school-learnin’, Dillon High needs its Jumbrotron! At least in the boosters’ eyes they do. I really felt for Tami in this episode. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, especially with her less-than-successful “stalking” of the superintendent. When he told her that the boosters gave that money for a Jumbotron, she knew her fate was sealed. I still find it hard to believe a decision like this would fly, but football is taken pretty seriously in Texas.

The best part of this storyline was watching Eric being the “prinicpal’s husband” that Tami had been dying to meet. His pep talk to her about fighting the boosters even if she knew she was going to lose was phenomenal. I’m as big a fan of football as anyone, but my favorite part of this show is the interaction between the Taylor family. It’s so real.

Tyra, Landry and the rodeo cowboy

As much as I felt for Tami in this episode, I felt just as bad for Landry. The poor guy goes through the painful wisdom tooth removal, only to find out Tyra blew him off to make time with rodeo cowboy, Cash. The Smash-Coach good-bye scene was the best of the hour, but the Tyra-Landry blowup which ended with her saying she was choosing Cash came in a close second. It was a flurry of incomplete, interrupted sentences until Tyra finally laid it out there and sent Landry combing through his power ballad collection. Poor guy.

And I liked the not-so-subtle touch by the costume department of putting Cash in a black cowboy hat. In the old cowboy movies, the villain usually wore the black hat. It could be a coincidence, but something tells me Cash isn’t the charming well-behaved cowboy he seems to be.

The Saracen’s

I was glad to see Matt’s mom, Shelby offer to stick around Dillon for awhile to help him take care of his grandmother. I think one of the most bizarre situations regarding this series was Matt having to go to school, play football, work and take care of his grandmother without any help. The kid’s a miracle worker, I tell you. With that said, it was a bit of surprise he wasn’t interested in Shelby’s offer, you know since she ditched him all of those years ago. I can’t blame him for not wanting her around, but seeing that this is her senior year and all, this isn’t the best time for him to be proud. I was happy that he (and his grandmother) finally came around. I loved when Grandma Saracen said she could have done more for Shelby when she left and when Matt asked what she meant her reply was, “I meant what I said, let’s not make a big ol’ soap opera out of it.” She’s the best. Now that Matt’s got some help back at home, he’s got some bigger fish to fry. Such as…

Is a quarterback controversy brewing in Dillon?

Last week’s loss coupled with a bye week was not a good thing for young Saracen. All that did was give the town (and Eric’s coaching staff) time to consider switching to the golden boy, J.D. McCoy. Like I’ve said over and over, I just can’t understand why there is any debate about this. Why in the world would people expect a coach to replace a senior with state title under his belt with a freshman? But, it looks like that could happen as Coach is struggling with the decision. His struggling did lead to the best exchange of the episode though:

Eric: “I need a drink.”

Tami: “We have wine at the house.”

Eric: “I need a scotch-flavored drink.”

So, after clearing his head, Eric took the easy way out and named Matt and J.D. co-starters. That can’t mean good things for Matt who after being QB1 for two seasons will be sharing his snaps with a freshman. Next week’s game should be very interesting.

What did you all think of this episode? Did the writers give Smash a good farewell? Will coach Taylor’s two-head quarterback scheme work? Feel free to comment below!

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

Lost Thoughts: “This Place is Death”

After last week’s strong “The Little Prince” episode of “Lost,” we got what I thought was a so-so episode this time around. There was plenty to like about Wednesday’s show, but I thought it wasn’t as good or as intriguing as last week’s. After Jin was discovered by a young Danielle’s crew at the end of last week’s show, I thought we were in for something special. No dice, unfortunately. This week just tuned out to be more of a run-of-the mill episode. That doesn’t mean it was bad, it was just OK. There were a decent amount of highlights though. For example…

 

*Watching Danielle and her beau debate whether her unborn child was a boy (Alexander) or a girl (Alexandra) was entertaining, given we knew that Danielle was right.

 

*Smokey returned! It has been awhile since we had seen him. We also got to see what he kind of damage he could do. Normally, we see him just grab a person and take him or her away. But, since the crew tried to fight him, we saw Smokey is strong enough to rip off a person’s arm. Very sick scene by the way.

 

*The Jin-Sawyer reunion. The look on Sawyer’s face when Jin turned around was priceless. Turns out the blast from the freighter explosion didn’t kill him, it just blew him into the water.

 

As for the lowlights…

 

The only thing I didn’t like about this episode was the same thing that bothered me about the “Jughead” episode; we didn’t get to see much of the Oceanic 6 this week. At least we got to see them some this time, but not much happened with them. I think it’s me just getting impatient, I just want them to return to the island already! Either way, I just think the best episodes are when the screen time between the Oceanic 6 and the remaining castaways is more or less equal.

Here are a few more random thoughts/burning questions….

 

*My favorite moment of the episode came when Sawyer asked Miles to translate what Jin was saying and Miles replied, “He’s Korean, I’m from Encino.”

 

*One of my burning questions was going to be the same as the castaways: how’d Charlotte know the well was going to be where it was. And for once, the question was answered in the same episode, she’d been there before, or so she says. Speaking of which…

 

*How crazy was it that she thinks it was Faraday who told her that if she ever came back to the island, she’d die? I guess in retrospect, it’s not that crazy, since we saw in the season premiere that he was on the island back in the 70’s. I just found it interesting that Charlotte waited until her dying moments to mention she lived on the island as a kid and saw Daniel.

*Another one of my favorite scenes was when Sun, Jack and Ben were driving to see “someone who could prove Jin was still alive.” I loved when Jack told Sun that he’d shoot Ben himself if he didn’t deliver on his promise and Ben flipped out on them. I can’t help but wonder what the heck Ben meant when he said he’d been going to great lengths to keep the Oceanic 6 safe. I really hope we get to learn more about that in the coming weeks.

 

*I’m very curious to see where Locke ends up after turning the “Giant Donkey Wheel” and leaving the island. I’m still thrown off to why Jack’s dad, who is supposed to be dead, keeps popping up everywhere. I was hoping he’d be able to spit out that Jack was his son when Locke asked him before the flash finished, but it wasn’t to be. It will also be interesting to see if Locke keeps his promise to Jin and doesn’t bring Sun back to the island. Although, now that Sun knows that Jin is alive (proved by seeing his wedding ring), I’m sure she won’t need any convincing. It’s funny how Jin gave Locke his ring to prove to Sun that he’s dead, but Ben ended up using it to prove he’s alive.

 

*And finally, it looks like Ms. Hawking is the key to getting the crew back to the island. I found two things interesting during her scene. One was the look on Ben’s face when Desmond showed up and said that they must be looking for Faraday’s mother too. What does Ben know? And secondly, why is it suddenly OK for not all of the Oceanic 6 to be present in their quest to go back? I was thrown off when Ms. Hawking said, “I suppose this will have to do for now.” Will Kate, Aaron, Sayid and Hurley make the next flight out?

 

So, overall I’d say this was a C+ episode of “Lost.” It could have been better, but believe me, it could have been a lot worse. I’d like to bid farewell to Rebecca Mader, who did a great job as Charlotte. Maybe we’ll get to see her in some flashbacks.

 

Next week’s episode looks pretty interesting. According to tvguide.com, here’s the description of the show titled, “316”: The Oceanic 6 learn how they’ll be able to return to the island, but not all of them want to make the journey.

 

Until next week!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Feel free to comment below or contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

 

24 recap: “2 p.m.-3 p.m.”

I have enjoyed this seventh season of “24,” but I really felt the train left the station last night. Wow, what a good, exciting episode. There was a good amount of suspense with the near miss at the Ohio power plant. And, there was plenty of action during the mission to secure the CIP device, rescue the Motobo’s and capture Dabaku. Even the side storyline involving President Taylor’s husband was interesting, as it was last week too.

 

To me, last night was about as perfect of a “24” episode as we can expect. The stuff at the FBI office was a little dry (except for Janice helping the head of the power plant over the phone), but the rest of the time, I was on the edge of my seat.

 

To me, the rescue mission was the highlight of the evening. It was an amazing sequence. Just a great, shoot-em-up action packed classic “24” moment. There’s nothing more fun than watching Jack kicking butt and taking names. Add Tony and Bill to the mix and Chloe leading the way with her computer skills, and it’s all the better. It’s just too bad that it wasn’t a 100% successful mission. They were able to rescue the Motobo’s and secure (destroy) the CIP device, but Dubaku got away, courtesy of using poor Latham, the CIP device engineer as a human bomb. I know they say two out of three ain’t bad, but I’m sure Team Jack would have loved to have gotten Dabaku in custody.

 

I guess the other downer is Jack and Co. have more or less blown their cover and will have to work with the government. That’s obviously a problem, because they don’t know who they can trust, but like Jack mentioned, they don’t have much of a choice due to their lack of resources. I am curious what bad things Tony did before he started working with Bill that would make him not want to make the trip to deliver the Motobo’s to the White House. Something is not right there.

 

I was really impressed with Janis’ work with the plant manager. She always seems kind of skittish to me, but she held her own and walked the manager through everything. It’s just a shame he wasn’t able to make it out of there alive. That would have made Janis’ moment in the sun all that much brighter. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Janeane Garafolo’s being on the show, but so far, she’s delivered.

 

And, it looks like the First Gentleman, Henry Taylor is finally going to be linked to everything else that’s been going on. It was too bad that he wasn’t able to escape Samantha’s apartment before Agent Vossler got there. Now he’s going to be held hostage by Dubaku, which will really thicken the plot. President Taylor wasn’t willing to cave to Dabaku’s demands to save the lives of innocent civilians, but will her tune change in order to save her husband’s life? I’m looking forward to next Monday already!

 

One last thing, how strange was the one scene when Dabuku’s, I mean “Samuel’s” girlfriend, showed up at his place to remind him of their dinner plans? With everything that has been going on, it was weird to see a relatively “normal” exchange between two characters. My guess is there’s something more going on there than him dating a diner waitress and using a fake name. He’s using her to get to someone else. I have no proof or reasoning whatsoever to back that up, but I just feel it.

 

So, what did you all think of the show? What’s going to happen when the team delivers the Matobo’s? Will President Taylor call of the U.S. troops in Sangala to save her husband’s life? Is everything alright with Tony? Comment below!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

Friday Night Lights recap: “How the Other Half Lives”

Hello Dillon Panther fans!

 

On Friday, as the episode was appropriately titled, we learned how the other half (of Dillon) lives. Joe McCoy’s beer distributor business has afforded him a pretty nice pile of bricks, not to mention a personal quarterback coach for his golden boy son, J.D. The McCoy estate is so nice in fact, Mrs. Katie McCoy offered to host the annual Panthers barbeque, much to Eric’s chagrin.

 

We also learned how quickly a town can turn on a team after just one loss. Seeing those “For Sale” signs in the coach’s front lawn never gets old. That happened in the movie, “Friday Night Lights” as well, so I assume people actually take the time do that in towns were high school football is taken that seriously. I’d love to hear from any Texas readers to confirm if that really happens.

 

The other thing we learned is that football is a tough, painful “What have you done for me lately,” type of game. Despite Matt Saracen leading the Panthers to a state title just two seasons ago and the fact that he’s a senior, everyone wants to replace him with the freshman because they think he can handle the spread offense better, which is what the town thinks they should run against their upcoming opponent Arnett Meade. The craziest thing about this is Dillon was 2-0 heading into this game! It’s not like they lost their first two games. Thank goodness coach Taylor has his head screwed on straight and remained the voice of reason during this ridiculous quarterback controversy. He’s a loyal guy and he knows it makes the most sense to stick with guy who has gotten him this far.

 

Overall, I thought this episode was good. I especially enjoyed everything that went on between Eric and Tami. The football stuff is great, but their relationship is the heartbeat of the show. I also loved the final scene between Smash and his mom. I was happy to see a little more game action this time than we got last week. The only thing I didn’t really enjoy about the episode was the storyline with Tim and his brother stealing the copper wire. It didn’t really fit with the rest of the episode, and I hated Tim’s decision making during the whole ordeal. Other than that, I felt this was a strong episode. This season has gotten off to a much stronger start than last year with the awkward Landry-Tyra murder storyline.

 

Here are few quick hit thoughts on the rest of the episode:

 

*The best storyline by a long shot was the tension between Eric and Tami surrounding the team BBQ. The both had a point about who should be playing host. Tami has a school to run now, she really doesn’t have time to clean the house and shop for 20 racks of ribs; especially since Eric isn’t a big help in the process. On the flip side, I understood Eric’s concern about letting the McCoy’s host the barbeque. He was simply concerned that they (well, specifically Joe) would want something in return like…hmmm…let’s say his son be the Panthers’ starting quarterback.

 

After their argument, it did feel like Eric did get the short end of the stick by letting the McCoy’s play host. I enjoyed watching him openly show he wasn’t having a good time; I thought it was great that he didn’t even let the valet park his car. Then, the poor guy just wanted to shoot some pool by himself, and here came Buddy, Joe and J.D.’s personal coach, Wade to “just talk football.” Of course “talking football” turned into grilling Eric about his strategy for Friday’s game. I have to give Eric credit for sticking to his guns, and reminding everyone that he’s the head coach and that in time, he’d get to know J.D.

 

One of my favorite lines/exchanges came from this storyline as well. I loved when Eric admitted to Tami that he missed, “the coach’s wife.” Then she throws this beauty at him, “You know who I can’t wait to meet? The principal’s husband.” Great line, great show. It’ll be interesting to see how this power struggle between the two of them affects their marriage.

 

*Watching Smash work his way back into playing form has been one of the best story arcs of this young season. I’m impressed with how mature and selfless he’s become. I never thought he’d consider giving up his dream of playing college football for a career at the Alamo Freeze, but that’s exactly what he did when he found his mom was taking a second job to pay for his college tuition if he gets into A&M.

 

But, in one of the most touching scenes in this show’s short history, she said there was no way he was passing up on this opportunity. I’m not sure why I was so moved by this scene; I guess I just think it’s so great to see how much Corrina loves her son. I loved her line about how Smash would pay her back by graduating and how she wouldn’t mind watching him play football again. Here’s hoping his tryout goes well next week.

 

*As I mentioned before, the only thing I didn’t like about this episode was Billy and Tim stealing copper wire. There was nothing I liked about this storyline. Especially how Billy kept pressuring Tim to help him, lying the “I’m your brother” guilt on him. I think what made me dislike this scenario the most was it forced Tim to stand up Lyla, which Tim tried to explain to Billy. You’d think Billy, who was stealing this stuff to set up a better life for his fiancé, would understand Tim wanting to do right by Lyla. No dice, however as Billy was only interested in helping himself. I’m just happy they didn’t get caught.

 

I thought this might have been the point where Lyla’s patience with Tim finally expired. I was shocked that she gave him another chance; just so long as he doesn’t make a fool out of her. Part of me wants to believe Tim will keep his promise; but the other part of me thinks along the lines of Buddy; that he’s no good and will break her heart. I hope Buddy and I are wrong.

 

*It’s been great watching Matt and Julie reconnect. There was nothing worse than watching Julie become such a brat last year. She has been much more bearable this year. And with Matt hearing J.D.’s footsteps everywhere he goes, he could really use a good friend like Julie in his life. I thought it was incredibly sweet of her to wait for him after the game. I know he wanted to be by himself, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone to talk to after a tough game like that. It’ll be interesting to see if these two get back together.

 

*Last, but not least, we can’t forget about the game. The Panthers lost a tough one to rival Arnett Mead, 21-17.  Saracen played his heart out in this one, but I’m sure that the town is still going to be screaming for a change at QB. That’s just a guess. We know for sure that the Dillon faithful wants a new coach, as seen by all of the “For Sale” signs in the Taylors’ front lawn. I mean he’s only been to the playoffs both years he’s been the head coach and won a state title, but who cares about the past right? I think it’s safe to say coach Taylor needs to win the next game in the worst way.

 

Well, that wraps up another week for our favorite fictional football team. What did you think of the episode? Do you think Smash will get into college? Will Eric cave to the pressure and replace Matt with J.D.? Will Riggins ever get his stuff together? Feel free to comment below!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.