I borrowed the Season Five DVD. It has some deleted scenes (less than the other sets), two commentary tracks (no actors involved), a slide show of pictures and a little feature on the show ending. Not having Direct TV, it also allows me to watch the (extended length) finale a few days early.
Some of the early episodes of this season felt a bit off and lacking, but the last two packed in lots of stuff and gave a proper send-off to fans of the show. An abortion themed episode in Season Four (giving a good subplot for Becky, who was somewhat less well provided for by the screenwriters afterwards) drew me in and I basically saw five seasons in the span of a year via television (even caught a bit on syndication -- it's now going to be on ESPN), Netflix, DVDs and Hulu/IMDB.
Season Two was a letdown and after a full length S1, the others were abbreviated. But, this was quality television. It wasn't perfect -- too many come from behind last minute finishes (down to the last) and various things weren't covered (other than Buddy, apparently Eric and Tami had no real friends and even there he wasn't Tami's drinking buddy). But, with so many characters and story-lines, you aren't going to get perfection. From that opening music on, you got close enough to really enjoy the damn show. The closing montage was a proper conclusion, down to those who wanted all the characters to be going in the right direction.
It was noted that the writers didn't give much to the new characters this season, down to Buddy Jr. who showed some potential, broke his leg and just hung around some. We never heard what truly happened to the foster girl (however you spelled her name), underlining we really wasn't supposed to care for her that much. And, Ruckle, or whatever, was a pointless character too. Best was when older characters, especially Mindy, got to shine. Unless the actress wasn't available, why Devin didn't get a chance for a bit for air time is unclear. She's someone who was interesting. Oh, and it would have been nice to see Lyla again. At least Smash got a reference or two.
[Many places provided ongoing blogging on the show, including Slate, which is the source of the below quote.]
I do see Tyra getting into politics -- she has the no nonsense qualities to be able to get through the hard work involved, the smarts but also enough of the Texas girl to connect with the people. She is "wonder woman" after all! We didn't get to see too much of her, but the idea that her and Tim would go their separate ways after Christmas and build separately so they might be able to come together later was a nice way to go. Eric realizing that it was Tami's time and Tami saying that her surrendering to him yet again would shame her in front of her daughter both was powerful as was the realization that Tami would still have stayed -- as with Julie having Matt ask for her hand, the Taylor women still had some old fashioned Texas in them. Still, another time, Eric? You were married in the 1990s -- things have changed, but not THAT much!
As to Vince having so much on his shoulders, true, but putting aside that Tinker is still there with him, would Jess (congrats girl!) always be there? His dad coming to the game very well might have helped them reach some sort of understanding. He is the team leader and has enough support that he is not all alone. Becky has two families -- her mom and Tim/Billy/Mindy plus Luke, who is going away, but is her future. As to Julie, it looks like she got into a local college and will start a life with Matt. We never really saw Julie as completely her own person, as an adult on her own and when she went to college to do that, she couldn't handle it. She now has Matt to try to find her path. BTW, nice to see Landry and Matt riff together one more time.
I tried watching the film, but couldn't really get into it. Really enjoyed the series. Each time this season on NBC, a voice at the end told us that there would be a new episode next week (well, when there was one). Not any more. Thanks for some quality television from the cast to the direction to the music to everything else. I guess I can watch it on Friday one more time as well on ESPN now. Time marches on.
Some of the early episodes of this season felt a bit off and lacking, but the last two packed in lots of stuff and gave a proper send-off to fans of the show. An abortion themed episode in Season Four (giving a good subplot for Becky, who was somewhat less well provided for by the screenwriters afterwards) drew me in and I basically saw five seasons in the span of a year via television (even caught a bit on syndication -- it's now going to be on ESPN), Netflix, DVDs and Hulu/IMDB.
Season Two was a letdown and after a full length S1, the others were abbreviated. But, this was quality television. It wasn't perfect -- too many come from behind last minute finishes (down to the last) and various things weren't covered (other than Buddy, apparently Eric and Tami had no real friends and even there he wasn't Tami's drinking buddy). But, with so many characters and story-lines, you aren't going to get perfection. From that opening music on, you got close enough to really enjoy the damn show. The closing montage was a proper conclusion, down to those who wanted all the characters to be going in the right direction.
It was noted that the writers didn't give much to the new characters this season, down to Buddy Jr. who showed some potential, broke his leg and just hung around some. We never heard what truly happened to the foster girl (however you spelled her name), underlining we really wasn't supposed to care for her that much. And, Ruckle, or whatever, was a pointless character too. Best was when older characters, especially Mindy, got to shine. Unless the actress wasn't available, why Devin didn't get a chance for a bit for air time is unclear. She's someone who was interesting. Oh, and it would have been nice to see Lyla again. At least Smash got a reference or two.
[Many places provided ongoing blogging on the show, including Slate, which is the source of the below quote.]
As for the Sarah Palin moment, I did not buy it at all. FNL has always been praised as the great red-state show, the one drama with values—faith, family, community—any Republican could love. But it's always been faking it as a red-state show. The real-life version of Tyra would want to be Sarah Palin, not Tami Taylor.Why? Ever heard of a gal named Ann Richards, who would have had a word or two (neither nice) to say about Ms. Palin? FNL was a red state show that focused upon red state values without most of the b.s. The reason why people are inclined to vote Republican, even if the party itself has become something of a cesspool. But, not trying to be political. Just saying I don't really buy that. BTW, the Palin citation is one of the few times you would realize that the show takes place in the 21st Century. Even the use of cell phones (like by Vince's father) was not the norm earlier in the show; in fact, this season had various computer references, including a website exposing the criminal past of players and a YouTube deal.
I do see Tyra getting into politics -- she has the no nonsense qualities to be able to get through the hard work involved, the smarts but also enough of the Texas girl to connect with the people. She is "wonder woman" after all! We didn't get to see too much of her, but the idea that her and Tim would go their separate ways after Christmas and build separately so they might be able to come together later was a nice way to go. Eric realizing that it was Tami's time and Tami saying that her surrendering to him yet again would shame her in front of her daughter both was powerful as was the realization that Tami would still have stayed -- as with Julie having Matt ask for her hand, the Taylor women still had some old fashioned Texas in them. Still, another time, Eric? You were married in the 1990s -- things have changed, but not THAT much!
As to Vince having so much on his shoulders, true, but putting aside that Tinker is still there with him, would Jess (congrats girl!) always be there? His dad coming to the game very well might have helped them reach some sort of understanding. He is the team leader and has enough support that he is not all alone. Becky has two families -- her mom and Tim/Billy/Mindy plus Luke, who is going away, but is her future. As to Julie, it looks like she got into a local college and will start a life with Matt. We never really saw Julie as completely her own person, as an adult on her own and when she went to college to do that, she couldn't handle it. She now has Matt to try to find her path. BTW, nice to see Landry and Matt riff together one more time.
I tried watching the film, but couldn't really get into it. Really enjoyed the series. Each time this season on NBC, a voice at the end told us that there would be a new episode next week (well, when there was one). Not any more. Thanks for some quality television from the cast to the direction to the music to everything else. I guess I can watch it on Friday one more time as well on ESPN now. Time marches on.