Let's Talk Football

More specifically, let's talk about my concern for the future of one of the better new television shows from last season, Friday Night Lights. There was considerable worry about the fate of this little show at season's end last year but NBC stepped up and decided to bring it back for another season. Yay! FNL is one of the few regular network shows both Mr. Mouse and I can agree on.

Earlier this week, however, the producers of FNL let it be known that some changes are being made for season 2. There will be less football, for one, and more sex! babies! adultery! murder! These revisions are mostly to draw in more female viewers, ages 35-49.

Um, hello? Hi - I'd like to introduce myself as exactly your target audience. Yes, well, if I wanted all that stuff, I would watch Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. But, you see, I don't want that stuff, so I watch Friday Night Lights. I want to see Coach yelling at his boys to find their potential. I want to see his boys struggling in the wake of their championship last year. I want to see high school kids figuring out how to juggle dating, homework, family and sports in a largely believable manner - but with really pretty people and great dialogue. I actually wished there had been MORE football scenes last season - they were exciting and really well-done. I want to see Matt, Smash, Tim and Jason getting drunk and bonding on the field late at night. I definitely do not want to see Dillon, TX 90210 or The OC: Panther Style.

And I absolutely positively do not want to watch Rosie O'Donnell as a girls' soccer coach who butts heads with Coach because she's sick of football getting all the money and attention. This show does not need stunt casting, and it definitely doesn't need her. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.

P.S. And while I'm ranting about the ruination of my favorite t.v. shows, let me say this: I'm one episode shy of finishing Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5, and this half-season has been by far the weakest of the one and nearly two-halves I've seen. With the exception of Downloaded (2.18) and maybe The Captain's Hand (2.17), it's just not been as amazing as I've come to expect. Of course, this still means that it's better than pretty much everything else out there right now, so I guess they're still ahead of the curve. A main annoyance: I just don't buy the Apollo/Dualla relationship. Logan and Parker have more chemistry.