Thank God it's Friday (Night Lights)

Well, so much for posting every day, huh? What can I say? Sometimes life gets in the way.

I was delighted this week to watch the second episode of the new season of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. As a writer, I'm probably not the most fun person to watch TV or movies with. I sometimes have a hard time turning off my brain, and I tend to over-analyze everything.

First, there are the shows that are just terrible. The shows I can't even watch because they're so dumbed down in an effort to appeal to the widest possible audience. And, interestinly, a lot of times these shows are big hits. Go figure.

Then there are the shows that are very close to being good, and this is really frustrating. These are the kinds of shows where I just know that if I'd been able to take a pass at the script, it could've been so much better. Modest, I know.

Then there are the shows that I think are really good, where I marvel at the dialogue and the structure and the plotting and the editing.

Then there are shows like FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. Shows which are so good that I forget I'm even watching something that was constructed. I'm just able to get sucked into the reality that's been created, and just totally enjoy spending time with these characters. Maybe it's because the show is heavily ad-libbed and the actors' movements aren't blocked. Or maybe it's just that it's really, really good. I don't know. All I know is I don't want to analyze it.

And that's my favorite thing about it.