The Friday Night Lights Are Back On!

The fourth season of Friday Night Lights premiered on NBC a few weeks ago after having already aired on DirecTV in late fall/early winter.

The huge story arc from this season will be Coach Taylor's forced relocation to coach of the woeful East Dillon Lions. From the outset, he has the sorriest players in the town and how well he can coach them up remains to be seen, because these guys stink. Luckily the show knows how to keep the viewers, even those from season 1, involved. Despite graduating, some of the show's most important characters are still part of the storyline. Tim Riggins is struggling with life after high school, where he was a revered as a local celebrity, and promptly dropped out of college to return back to the only place he knows. Matt Saracen decided family was most important and turned down an art scholarship to take care of his sick grandmother. Saracen's struggle to make his life the most important task on his plate will be a story that undoubtedly resurfaces throughout the season.

I have enough faith with the writers that the absence of big characters like Lyla Garrity, Jason Street, Smash Williams and Tyra Collette won't be terribly missed.

The main focus will the newly minted rivalry with West and East Dillon and who will ultimately prevail? Does anyone smell a playoff show-down?

Btw, Mike Leach in episode 2, equally the most bizarre cameo I've seen in years.

It's Been Awhile

I apologize for the lack of updates. Frankly, I've been slacking on my television watching.

Rest assured I will have a season finale recap in the coming weeks on shows like How I Met Your Mother, Nurse Jackie, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock and others.

Additionally I'll try my best on Lost. So stay tuned!

Mmmmm... Fresh Meat 2

My most guilty of pleasures returned last week with the 19th (amazing I know) iteration of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Quick aside, shouldn't the name be updated? There hasn't been a new season of the Road Rules since 2007. This season, entitled Fresh Meat 2, brings back a premise they introduced 4 years ago where veterans are teamed up with the new recruits who have never been part of the MTV reality circuit.

The show predictably contains the same elements that have made the proceeding shows so wildly entertaining; libidinous co-eds + asinine competitions + a plush dwelling + endless amounts of alcohol = riveting television. This season will undoubtedly have loads of inflated drama between the hardcore veterans (namely, Wes & Kenny) along with less compelling story lines from all the veteran girls (sorry, the lot this year is exceptionally dull). Random hookups and endless alliances will be formed. Who makes it to the end? Who cares! It's disposable television viewing at it's finest. I am not afraid to admit that I am a sucker and will be watching every week and waiting with baited breath for the first fist fight.

Rescue Me, Season 1 - Part 3

Finished up season 1 of Rescue Me and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will briefly describe my thoughts without giving away any spoilers.

Dennis Leary's performance continues to be the glue for the entire show. While several other intriguing story lines have cropped up throughout the season involving other characters, plots with Leary hold much more weight. Without him, the show would struggle mightily.

The season as a whole was above average, but season 1 definitely does not enter that upper echelon of amazing television seasons. The cliff hangers as the season ended were mild and nothing left me truly wondering what the outcome would be. My hope is that season 1 was the building block for even better character development and story lines. They left much to be desired, but at no point did I hate what I was watching. Fingers crossed for a better season 2.

Season 1 in the book!

Izzy's rating after season 1: 7 out of 10

Rescue Me, Season 1 - Part 2

So things are finally starting to pick up. Tommy continues to try and get back together with his ex-wife and she dumped the boyfriend (thankfully), but he's involved with his cousin's widow. Uh oh, I know something's gonna boil over.

The rest of the crew seem to deal with average male hi-jinks which is a welcome retreat from the serious issues Tommy encounters.

We did see a secondary character get killed off after the end of episode 8. I'm beginning to wonder how many will get the ax, could be an Oz like trend of endless characters.

Overall the show is finally starting to gain some steam and I wonder if all the dead people Tommy sees will somehow affect his job status. It has to, right?

Izzy's rating after 8 episodes: 7 out of 10

Was This Casting Justified?

Last week FX debuted it's newest original show, Justified. The premise involves U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant) returning to his rural Kentucky hometown after being reassigned for questionable practices. Once back home, he soon discovers the town has gone to hell in a hand basket. The main culprit of the chaos is a neo-nazi he was once friends with named Boyd Crowder (played by Walton Goggins).

For anyone who has seen Deadwood, you will immediately being to draw parallels to Olyphant's character Seth Bullock who similarly was the law man in a small town. This could be good and bad for the show. Deadwood was an amazing show and Olyphant's portrayal of the historical sheriff of the town is top notch. In that aspect Justified could prove to be intriguing with Olyphant's ability to steal scenes with his intimidation, much like in the pilot where he dispenses an unwanted guest at a lady friend's house. On the other hand, we could be in store for more of the same which would be unfortunate to say the least. Olyphant's character in Justified already wears a 10-gallon hat and cowboys boots, I wouldn't be surprised if he started riding a horse either.

For the show to succeed they need to shed the typecast Olyphant has had placed upon him by myself, or any other viewer of Deadwood. This is not his fault, but he must know that some of those watching the show will get this feel. Goggins is a great bad guy, but I have a feeling his role is not long for the show (Spoiler Alert: He gets shot in the chest in the first episode, but does survive...for now). Who will become the anti-hero? That is what made Deadwood so great; having Al Swearengen (played by Ian McShane) to battle for control of the town against Olyphant's Bullock. We are only 1 episode in so I will continue to hope for the best.

Rescue Me, Season 1 - Part 1

So after 4 episodes of Season 1 of Rescue Me, here's what we got:

Denis Leary plays the show's protagonist Tommy Gavin who is struggling to balance his crumbling marriage, sobriety, apparitions of his deceased cousin and best friend as well as the day to day life of a fireman in New York City. Leary has surprised me thus far with his level of acting.

The other situations involving the rest of the crew of the firehouse haven't really heated up yet. But have involved the typical topics you'd expect (sexuality, male bonding, family issues).

4 episodes in I haven't been completely blown away like I was with The Wire and The Shield.

Izzy's rating after 4 episodes: 6 out of 10