Friday Night Lights "Tomorrow Blues" S03E13 NBC 4/10/09

Graymalkin · 04-10-2009, 09:08 PM

Another superb finale for another superb season. Damn dust motes keep getting in my eyes.

Oh, yeah... Screw the Dillon Panthers. I'm an East Dillon Lions fan now!

billypritchard · 04-10-2009, 09:39 PM

Lions > Panthers, anyway.

Season 3 was much better than season 2. Though I missed Smash once he was gone.

Eleanor · 04-10-2009, 10:21 PM

Wow what a great episode. I love Matt and his relationship with his grandmother.
Did they mention where Landry was suppose to be going to school? I can never remember if he is a senior or not.

Frylock · 04-10-2009, 11:21 PM

Landry will be a senior next season.

billypritchard · 04-11-2009, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frylock

Landry will be a senior next season.

Which is ridiculous. He was driving Matt around in season one!

Graymalkin · 04-11-2009, 06:20 AM

Obviously Landry is mature for his age.

So let's see, Matt, Landry, and Julie will be around next season, but Tyra and Lyla won't. The mind-candy quotient of the show just dropped 50%. At least we'll always have Tami, and that's really all I need. They can rotate in as many cute twentysomethings as they like, just as long as they have Connie Britton.

Bierboy · 04-11-2009, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

Obviously Landry is mature for his age.

So let's see, Matt, Landry, and Julie will be around next season, but Tyra and Lyla won't. The mind-candy quotient of the show just dropped 50%. At least we'll always have Tami, and that's really all I need. They can rotate in as many cute twentysomethings as they like, just as long as they have Connie Britton.

Oh, I'm sure there will be an influx of fresh candy.

This show is just unbelievable. They've set up for an incredible next season; can you imagine the rivalry between the two Dillon high schools? Some serious fights are happening next season.

Graymalkin · 04-11-2009, 08:19 AM

Not to mention that Tami will be principal at one school and Coach the coach at the other.

Anyone want to bet Matt winds up as an assistant coach at East Dillon? Speaking of which, that was a terrible decision on his part. What did his grandma raise him for, if not to go out on his own when he grows up?

Bierboy · 04-11-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

Not to mention that Tami will be principal at one school and Coach the coach at the other.

Anyone want to bet Matt winds up as an assistant coach at East Dillon? Speaking of which, that was a terrible decision on his part. What did his grandma raise him for, if not to go out on his own when he grows up?

Agreed....and to counter that, Billy's speech to Tim exhorting him to go to college was nearly a tear-jerker for me. It's the best thing that's come from Billy's mouth during the entire run of the show. It's gonna be a LONG off-season...can't wait for season 4.

jtonra · 04-11-2009, 12:43 PM

Another great season but I have to call BS on not renewing the coach Taylor's contract. I realize it's a TV show and all, but there's just no way in hell they replace a guy who brought them to two state championships in 3 years. They'd be looking to give him a big raise to keep him from jumping to the next level.

StacieH · 04-11-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtonra

but there's just no way in hell they replace a guy who brought them to two state championships in 3 years. They'd be looking to give him a big raise to keep him from jumping to the next level.

As someone who lived in West Texas and attended Jr. High and part of Sr. High (at the school on which this is all based), there is a way in hell that this would happen. The scenes in which fans calling into the radio station wanting his head on a platter for losing 2 or 3 games in a row? The For Sale signs placed in the yard by angry fans? All true. I used to babysit for a family who lived next door to the Permian Panthers coach. His kids played with their kids. I've seen it.

I attended a Jr. High School that lost the first game in YEARS, and you would have thought that the world was coming to an end. According to Wikipedia, the Permian Panther have only NOT been to the playoffs only 4 years since 1959.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian_Panthers

I don't know if was carried out in such a publich forum as protrayed in the show, and I don't know if it's that way NOW, but it was 20 years ago when the book was written.

Interesting....looks like Gary Gaines is back at Permian...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gaines

StacieH · 04-11-2009, 05:50 PM

And regarding this episode...I'll be looking forward to next season now, and seeing how Taylor's new team fares against Wade Aikman and the Panters.

I hope they kick major Panther @ss!

bareyb · 04-11-2009, 07:36 PM

Couldn't agree more! Good old fashioned story telling. I love this show. Is Tim Riggins character really going to be off the show next year? Somehow I doubt it...

At least I hope not. I like his character second only to Matt's. That Matt is a GOOD kid. I respect what he did, but I too, think it was dumb... At least in the real world. In the context of this show, it means he has some serious good karma coming his way. I'm gonna put my money on a nice job working with Coach Taylor at the new school. It's gonna be an awesome season next year. Can't wait...

jsmeeker · 04-11-2009, 09:06 PM

great season ending. Would have made a satisfactory series finale if it had come to that.

But I am a bit confused about East Dillon. In a previous episode, when they first brought up East Dillon and re-drawing attendance boundaries, I got the impression that it was because East Dillon was going to be a NEW school. Not sure what I missed. Have they mentioned East Dillon in past seasons and I just forgot?

Anyway, as soon as they started the whole "we are going to discuss the coach's contract" thing, I knew he would wind up at East Dillon.

Graymalkin · 04-11-2009, 09:08 PM

No, they mentioned that East Dillon had been closed years ago and needed to be reopened if Dillon was going to continue to get state funding.

cmontyburns · 04-11-2009, 11:25 PM

What an astonishingly good show. Can they please just give everyone in the cast an Emmy already? This is easily the best ensemble on television. Can't believe it's already time to say goodbye for another year.

anom · 04-12-2009, 01:18 PM

They should have just had everyone graduate but the coach's daughter (sorry, I'm not buying that Landry isn't a senior yet; of course I still don't buy him as being on the football team or dating the hottest girl in school) and started fresh in East Dillon.

I hate that they're keeping Matt around. One of the bet parts of this season was the arc between him and his grandmother. They've flushed that down the toilet.

stellie93 · 04-12-2009, 01:26 PM

Around here there are branch universities and community colleges in most areas that give you an acceptable first 2 years of college anyhow. Not a prestigious art school, but wasn't the "artist Matt" kind of thrown in from nowhere? He's a poor kid who needs the kind of degree that will get him a good job. Makes perfect sense to me. In 2 years his grandma may not even recognize him, and then he can go.

madscientist · 04-12-2009, 05:52 PM

Loved it. Can't wait for next season. Love it almost, but not quite, enough to investigate DirecTV. I agree with virtually everything said here, but most particularly the bit about Landry being only a Junior. What?!?!

And note that, unless the Taylors move, not only will Eric be coaching "against" his wife's school but also his daughter's. Of course, it's just TV so it wouldn't completely surprise me if Tami moved to East Dillon as well as the new principal. And who wants to bet that Landry won't be on the Panthers team next year?

anom · 04-12-2009, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stellie93

Around here there are branch universities and community colleges in most areas that give you an acceptable first 2 years of college anyhow. Not a prestigious art school, but wasn't the "artist Matt" kind of thrown in from nowhere? He's a poor kid who needs the kind of degree that will get him a good job. Makes perfect sense to me. In 2 years his grandma may not even recognize him, and then he can go.

Or 4 years. Or 6. Or 10.

I'm not suggesting he cut all ties, but a teenager shouldn't be in the position of being the primary caregiver and legal guardian of an elderly dementia patient, and he certainly shouldn't have to put his life on hold indefinitely to do so.

I agree that the "artist Matt" thing came out of nowhere, but what they're showing us now is that this is a big deal for him, and he accepted by a prestigious school. It makes me sad to see him put his dream and his life on the back burner, even if the writers kind of threw that dream at us unexpectedly as a plot device. It looked like he was moving her out of the home he just got her into. Taking care of her will be a full-time job between him and his mom, who has a job of her own.

DevdogAZ · 04-13-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmeeker

But I am a bit confused about East Dillon. In a previous episode, when they first brought up East Dillon and re-drawing attendance boundaries, I got the impression that it was because East Dillon was going to be a NEW school. Not sure what I missed. Have they mentioned East Dillon in past seasons and I just forgot?

How ironic that Coach Taylor jerrymandered the boundaries to keep all the best football players on the Panthers, and now he'll be coaching against them, with no chance of getting many good players. Based on what we've seen of that town for the last three years, I still find it hard to believe they need a second high school. I always got the sense that Dillon had 20-40,000 people, and just enough kids for one high school. I grew up in a town with two high schools and we had about 80,000 people and it had 10x the amenities of what they've shown Dillon to have.

I think if that had been the series finale, I'd have been pissed, because I felt like the way they treated Coach Taylor in that last episode was totally unrealistic. I understand that some fanatics would be calling for his job on the radio and putting For Sale signs in his yard, but cooler heads would prevail in a situation like that. It was all about the money from JD's dad, and that just seemed like a cheap TV writer ploy to create drama. Anyway, I'm thrilled the series was renewed so we can see how that all plays out.

I don't remember any reference to Landry still being in school next year, but if he is, that's yet another example of them playing very loose with the ages of the characters. We all thought Street, Riggins, Tyra and Lyla were seniors in S1, only to find out at the beginning of S2 that only Street was a senior. But at that point, we all thought they were seniors in S2, and then lo and behold, S3 starts and they're still in school. So if Landry really is in high school when S4 starts, it will just be more of the same.

mchasal · 04-13-2009, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevdogAZ

How ironic that Coach Taylor jerrymandered the boundaries to keep all the best football players on the Panthers, and now he'll be coaching against them, with no chance of getting many good players.

I believe that was the boosters. Coach saw it going on and didn't want anything to do with it and walked out, unless I'm mistaken. Of course, I don't think he actively did anything to stop it.

Graymalkin · 04-13-2009, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchasal

I believe that was the boosters. Coach saw it going on and didn't want anything to do with it and walked out, unless I'm mistaken. Of course, I don't think he actively did anything to stop it.

That's what I saw, too.

MacThor · 04-13-2009, 07:05 AM

It was definitely the boosters doing the jerrymandering. Coach Taylor wanted nothing to do with it.

It might have been McCoy's plan all along, even before the "incident," to get Wade Aikman the job. Even though he claimed to move to Dillon for Eric to coach his son, Eric never bent to his will, and that ticked him off.

billypritchard · 04-13-2009, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacThor

It was definitely the boosters doing the jerrymandering. Coach Taylor wanted nothing to do with it.

It might have been McCoy's plan all along, even before the "incident," to get Wade Aikman the job. Even though he claimed to move to Dillon for Eric to coach his son, Eric never bent to his will, and that ticked him off.

Coach didn't want anything to do with the gerrymandering, but he didn't do anything to stop it, and lied to Tammy about knowing anything about it. He let it happen, and now he'll pay the price.

mchasal · 04-13-2009, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacThor

It might have been McCoy's plan all along, even before the "incident," to get Wade Aikman the job. Even though he claimed to move to Dillon for Eric to coach his son, Eric never bent to his will, and that ticked him off.

I think the whole, calling CPS because I beat my son up in the parking lot may have had a little bit to do with it too.

jsmeeker · 04-13-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

No, they mentioned that East Dillon had been closed years ago and needed to be reopened if Dillon was going to continue to get state funding.

ahh.. OK.. so, there wasn't really a currently open East Dillon. I must have missed that part. That certainly helps explain the terrible condition of their football stadium.

Wonder if in the next season, there will be issues with the East Dillon field, forcing them to share with Dillon? (it's not uncommon for two or more schools in a district to share stadiums)

That Don Guy · 04-13-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frylock

Landry will be a senior next season.

I guess he's on the five-year plan - they definitely said he was a sophomore in the show's first episode.

Then again, I seem to recall it being mentioned in the first season that Tyra was a senior, yet she managed to stay around for two more years...

Quote:

Originally Posted by StacieH

As someone who lived in West Texas and attended Jr. High and part of Sr. High (at the school on which this is all based), there is a way in hell that this would happen. The scenes in which fans calling into the radio station wanting his head on a platter for losing 2 or 3 games in a row? The For Sale signs placed in the yard by angry fans? All true.

There's a scene with the coach's lawn covered with "For Sale" signs in the movie, and according to the commentary track, that was based on at least one true incident.

-- Don

DVDerek · 04-13-2009, 02:42 PM

Season two was garbage. Season three wasn't quite a return to the glory of season 1, but it was a good season.

That said, there are some really odd issues with realism (and the aforementioned continuity). I'm willing to cede that maybe... just maybe... in the world of Texas High School Football, the school would replace a coach like Eric Taylor who had great success in the face of great adversity.

But then they offer him a job at another school in the same district? A school that just months before (December-ish) no one was sure would even exist? And now they're going to have the school rehabbed and field a football team all by next school year?

And after being offered the job, the coach - who had a cup of tea at a college program just 1 year ago - ACCEPTS the job?

I can't wait until they have East Dillon play West Dillon next season - a game that is actually prohibited by the rules of Texas Football as I understand them (teams in the same district can not play each other). I thought the better twqist would have been to have Coach Taylor leave for Arnette Meade. Would have been more realistic for him to go to another big time school, the team would be good, and they could play Dillon twice a year. Not to mention, you get a decent story line with the possibility of, say, Matt Saracen crossing lines to become an assistant with Coach Taylor at Arnette Meade. The show would also benefit from an instant influx of players and characters at all ages. It will be tough to see upperclassmen develop into stars next season knowing they were at Dillon last year and we didn't see them once...

Of course, this would make it virtually impossible for Buddy Garrity to follow coach, which I'm sure he will.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bareyb

Is Tim Riggins character really going to be off the show next year? Somehow I doubt it...

At least I hope not. I like his character second only to Matt's.

The actor that plays Riggins is too talented to do another full season of FNL. He's got a bright future, I think. Maybe we'll see a little wrap-up a la Smash Williams.

Bierboy · 04-13-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DVDerek

...I can't wait until they have East Dillon play West Dillon next season - a game that is actually prohibited by the rules of Texas Football as I understand them (teams in the same district can not play each other)....

They're NOT in the same district...they're creating two NEW districts (as I understood it - I could be wrong)...one will be West Dillon and the other East Dillon. An episode or two ago, they were talking about how they were gerrymandering the district boundaries to keep certain players. We have similar situations in Illinois; schools from across town play each other all the time. They're in different districts.