Friday Night Lights

In what seems to be growing consensus among executives, the Hollywood writers strike could continue for sometime - but this could mean a faint glimmer of good news for one group of shows: struggling prime-time series.

Very soon the networks will begin running low on original episodes of most shows. Any new episode will become an increasingly valuable commodity.

No network is going to waste paid-for episodes. So the marginal shows will stay on until their episodes run out between now and the end of January.

Thanks to the strike, some marginal shows will surely get to run their full slate of episodes — and perhaps win a shot at coming back next year.

In this group are first-season series like Journeyman and Life on NBC, K-ville and Back to You on Fox, Big Shots on ABC and Cane on CBS.

Some holdovers may also be affected for the better, such as Friday Night Lights on NBC, Men in Trees on ABC, 'Til Death on Fox and Shark on CBS.

A show like Friday Night Lights, for instance, with high critical praise and low ratings, could get a chance to break through in January, when it's likely to be among the few fall series with some new episodes left.

As previously reported, Friday Night Lights started Season 2 production early and producers managed to get 15 episodes completed before the strike.

Continue reading in the New York Times ...

We're always of the opinion that Friday Night Lights is TV's best series, and last night's episode may have been the best of Season 2 so far. Follow the link to our episode guide to "Pantherama!" and relive all the action or catch up on what you missed. From beginning to end, it was vintage Friday Night Lights.

Our photo gallery, quotes and music guide from "Pantherama!" are still to come, along with our Round Table discussion. As always, you can discuss the episode, characters and everything Friday Night Lights in the Insider's forum!

There's plenty going on tonight on the newest episode of Friday Night Lights. Lyla and Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) are forced to work together. Riggins needs a place to stay. Smash gets recruited. A Matt Saracen love triangle heats up!

You can discuss everything about "Pantherama!" with other Friday Night Lights fans before and after the show in our FORUM. It's free and simple. Share your thoughts on the Panthers, their stories, their love lives, etc. Be heard. Enjoy!

After the show, Friday Night Lights Insider will post its official episode guide, as well as a photo gallery, list of memorable quotes and music guide. Help us out if you can! Thanks for making us the #1 Friday Night Lights fan site online.

Adrianne Palicki balances her natural beauty with plenty of sass, attitude and toughness as Tyra Collette on Friday Night Lights. The photo of Palicki below - appearing in Maxim, and taken from the Dillon powderpuff football clash in Season One - certainly exemplifies this about her character.

Displaying textbook defensive lineman form - reminiscent of Michael Strahan - Adrianne Palicki looks poised to burst through the line and sack quarterback Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly). Of course, a vendetta against the other team never hurts if you need some extra motivation. Check out this photo ...

Adrianne Palicki: A natural at the pass rush. Scouts, take notice.

The wardrobe trailer for Friday Night Lights — an 18-wheeler with mirrored doors on the back — is more or less a clotheshorse's dream, reports today's Austin American-Statesman: it's a gigantic walk-in closet.

Professional stylists and costumers buzz around the long racks of clothes, sectioned off by character. The trailer is stationed in the Northeast Austin church parking lot that serves as one of the base camps for the NBC show.

One thing, though. These aren't exactly fashion-forward clothes.

The show, set in fictional Dillon, has won acclaim for its small-town authenticity - in everything from the characters' homes and cars to their wardrobe.

"That's one of the most challenging aspects of our job — not to make people look too hip," costume supervisor Jaimey Sloan says. "Sometimes it's hard to find stuff that looks like they bought it in Dillon, Texas. But at the same time, we have actresses from L.A. who know what's in style."

Kathy Kiatta, a friendly but hurried woman in jeans and Western boots, is among those milling about. The costume designer, Kiatta oversees the characters' looks, from the main cast to those who appear just briefly.

"It's much faster than shooting films," says Kiatta.

To help keep it all straight, every outfit for every scene is logged. Each garment also gets a tag that details which scenes and episodes it's been in, to avoid having the characters wear something two days in a row.

As Kiatta and Sloan think about tomorrow and the upcoming episode, supervisor Taylor Rierden has the current episode on her mind. It's her role to make sure the actors are in the right clothes at just the right time.

Costuming can be a challenging job — but can be a fun, too, of course. One of Kiatta's favorite parts is dressing the character of Brian "Smash" Williams, the Dillon Panthers' cocky running back, played by Gaius Charles.

"I have so much fun shopping for this guy," she says, waving a hand over his rack of jewel-toned, fine-spun button-downs.

They decided Smash, a ladies man with a job at the Alamo Freeze, spends his extra money on clothes. "I get a lot of stuff from (Neiman Marcus) Last Call."

Surveying another character's rack, she shakes her head.

"Poor Matt Saracen is not spending his money on clothes."

With sick Grandma to care for and his dad in Iraq, Saracen (Zach Gilford), the Panthers' quarterback, doesn't have the means nor time to look spiffy.

Continue reading in the Austin American-Statesman ...

You may think that, as of last Friday's episode of Friday Night Lights, the Landry and Tyra murder plot line would be over. Well, the Chicago Tribune reports today, you might want to rethink that position.

The December 7 episode of the show is entitled "The Confession" and yes, that means what you think it means. Though Landry confessed about what he did to his cop dad in the November 9 episode, "How Did I Get Here," there could be a more public admission coming in a couple of weeks.

That December 7 episode also features the return of Kevin Rankin (who's been moonlighting on Bionic Woman) as Herc, Jason Street's buddy.

As for this Friday's episode, "Pantherama," it features the first of a few guest appearances by Austin Nichols of John From Cincinnati fame.

Austin Nichols will reportedly play Noah, a teacher at the high school who forms a somewhat unlikely bond with Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden).

In other Friday Night Lights news, rumors that the show is moving to ESPN are false according to an NBC spokesman, who says no, it's not happening.

Follow the jump for few thoughts about this season of Friday Night Lights thus far, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan...

Continue Reading...

Here's NBC's brief promo for the seventh episode of Season Two, "Pantherama!" It will air Friday, November 16, 2007, at its usual time. Coach and Tami both must help Santiago in their respective ways, while Tim Riggins' world of problems keeps on turning as he finds himself in need... of a place to live. Check it out ...

Well, this much is for sure - nobody can ever accuse Matt Czuchry of being a victim of typecasting. Sources confirm to TV Guide that Matt Czuchry is following up his memorable stint as hard-living bad boy Logan on Gilmore Girls with a markedly different stint on Friday Night Lights - as a devout Christian.

He's being introduced to the show via the newly religious Lyla Garrity. He will first appear on screen on the 12th (of 15 episodes) installment of Friday Night Lights' Season 2 as Lyla guests on his Christian radio show. Sounds like fun!

As fans gather in the forum to discuss each character and story line, the Friday Night Lights Insider staff comes together each week to share its thoughts and favorite moments from best show on TV in a Round Table format.

Round Table topics for "How Did I Get Here" include Landry's dad, Riggins' world of problems, Street's search for the new Street, and Matt's love life ...

1. Did Landry's dad do the right thing?

pantherpride4lyfe: Yes. The murder was heinous and the cover-up dubious, but Landry Clarke going down for this crime would serve very little purpose.

ClearEyes: Yes. He knows his son, he knows right from wrong, and he knows the victim in this case was a rapist. Cops must make tough decisions sometimes, but I've watched enough Reno 911! to believe they understand morally gray areas and can act accordingly.

Saracen7: This was a no-win situation. Obstruct justice or let your own son take the fall for a crime that - while terrible - could have been called self-defense if not for their disposal of the body? Landry and Tyra deserve punishment, but far less than the system would dole out. Thus, a father's love for his son trumped all.

2. When (if at all) will Tim Riggins be allowed back on the team?

Saracen7: Working out with Santiago will definitely help his efforts, but it's going to take a lot for Big Rig to get back into Coach's good graces.

ClearEyes: Never. Riggins will take over Street's abandoned position as assistant coach, finally putting others ahead of himself.

pantherpride4lyfe: Not soon enough for the Smash. Two-zero needs to find those holes when he gets the ball! Unfortunately, neither Brian nor Tim himself can do much to persuade Coach, who doesn't cave to public pressure easily.

3. Where will Jason Street find the new Jason Street?

ClearEyes: On the quad rugby court. That was the only time since his injury when Street has felt alive. Hit the gym, Jason. Hit it hard.

pantherpride4lyfe: Coaching seemed like a good fit for Street, who's a natural on the sidelines. But after quitting twice, his future with the Panthers remains to be seen. Maybe he'll decide to become a teacher or a counselor, like Tami.

Saracen7: Jason is the most fascinating character on the show, played amazingly by Scott Porter. As Eric said, Jason lifts up everyone around him. It's just a matter of him finding out how to best channel that gift.

4. Better new Matt Saracen love interest: Lauren the cheerleader or Carlotta the in-home care aide?

pantherpride4lyfe: Who would've guessed that we'd have a Matt Saracen love triangle that didn't involve Julie Taylor? Nice wrinkle by the producers. While I loved the "Latina heat" angle introduced a few weeks back, he is QB-One of the Dillon Panthers. No way he can't get with some cheerleaders, right?

Saracen7: I love Matt and Julie, and think they will be reunited at some point soon, but given those two options, I'll date Carlotta. Not a Lauren fan!

ClearEyes: Carlotta. She's a caring, strong, independent woman. Lauren is just a new student in school seeking popularity by dating the quarterback.

The many Matt Saracen love interests: Lauren, Julie and Carlotta.

Soon, Friday Night Lights and most other shows will go into repeats or hiatus until Hollywood's labor disputes end. How soon? That depends on how the networks play December, typically a month of few viewers and many repeats.

Airing more repeats than usual would take most prime-time series into January, at best. The Los Angeles Times reports that amidst the Writers Guild of America strike, 15 of 22 Friday Night Lights episodes - more than most series expect to complete - will be finished when production shuts down. Stay tuned.