[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGSxKwjA8Uc]
Tonight, the lights go out in East Dillon, as DirecTV airs the last episode ever of one of the past decade’s greatest TV series, Friday Night Lights. Rather than re-invent the wheel, here’s another link, in case you missed it, to my farewell column last week, in which I wrote about FNL as one of the truest portraits of America that TV drama has created.
Well, I will add one more thing. I could fill thousands of words praising this show, but my 800-word column focused mostly on the show’s themes. Those are only part of its greatness, of course. There was also the intimate but unobtrusive handheld camera work and the naturalistic, semi-improvised performances, which created a closeness few shows achieve: FNL was fantastic at putting you in the room, or on the field, and thus in the story. And I can’t overpraise Snuffy Walden’s plaintive yet soaring guitar score.
I’ll have some thoughts on the finale tomorrow for those of you not waiting for NBC or the DVD, and you can read these reminiscences from Alan Sepinwall, and let us know your favorite memories of East Texas.