My new TV fixation

Friday Night Lights. The show is well written, well acted, and has an interesting and effective style. I have only one disc left of Season 5 for 24 and only the premiere for Season 6 is out on DVD. That means about a month of waiting for Jack and company. Luckily, I have found this show to fill that void. For those of you who have yet to watch Season 5 of 24, I will hold my commentary except to say prepare for heartbreak. 24 teaches the painful lesson of not getting too emotionally involved, especially with characters on television. It's tough love and loss on 24.

Back to Friday Night Lights though. There are some great people behind the show, notably Creator Peter Berg (Writer/Actor/Director, he directed the film) and Head Writer/Executive Producer Jason Katims (former Producer/Writer on My So-Called Life), who made some bold choices, especially in the way that they choose to shoot the show. They shoot in Austin in real locations rather than on a stage in L.A. They shoot at least three cameras simultaneously at all times, documentary style. Little to no blocking or rehearsal is involved and actors are encouraged to improvise in both lines and performance. According to actor Kyle Chandler, Berg said, "The few rules to the game that we play are, you come to the set, you know your character 110 percent, you know the lines that are on the page 110 percent, and then be prepared to get rid of everything and start all over." The lighting setups are minimal, which allow the actors more freedom to move where they want, there are no marks that they have to hit. The cinematographers looked to Direct Cinema pioneers like D.A. Pennebaker and the Maysles for inspiration. The result is a very realistic looking and seeming show. The performances are more natural, and the cameras (because of the multiple camera setup) are free to capture subtle things like a hand fidgeting or a bored look. They can wander and capture these small nuanced moments that add depth and realism to the show and its characters. Apparently, they often shoot on long lenses to stay out of the actors' way and to go more easily undetected.

The characters feel like real people, and for a cast of mostly unknowns, they've kept overacting and melodrama at bay. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, as the coach and his wife, are really talented and pull off one of the few believable representations of a husband and wife on television. You can tell that the producers and directors pay close attention to performance and are attuned to when a performance feels real or when it feels like acting. Also, I love Matt Saracen on the show, and the actor Zach Gilford is from Evanston.

Season 1 is out on DVD and you can also watch episodes on nbc.com.