Pilot (Friday Night Lights)
Encyclopedia
"Pilot" is the first episode of the sports drama television series Friday Night Lights
. The episode premiered on the NBC
network on October 3, 2006. It introduces the men and women involved with the Dillon Panthers, a Texas
high school football
team. In the pilot episode
, the team is preparing for the first game of the season, which will be the first game under new head coach Eric Taylor
.
The show was based on the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, which was in turn based on the 1990 non-fiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
by H. G. Bissinger
. Peter Berg
, who is Bissinger's cousin and who directed the film, wrote and directed the pilot episode, and served as executive producer for the series. While some of the actors from the movie returned to act on the show, most of the actors were cast specifically for the television series.
Critical reception of the show was good to average, with a general appreciation for the realistic portrayal of Middle America. Generally speaking, however, there were serious doubts about whether the show would be able to stay on the air very long, though it has since gone on to complete five seasons. The episode's viewership of just over seven million was characterized as disappointing, though it did relatively well among men aged 18 to 34.
Tim Riggins is recovering from a hangover, and his brother Billy warns him that he could be kicked off the team if he does not show. Meanwhile, second-string quarterback
Matt Saracen is preparing lunch for his grandmother, before his friend Landry Clarke drives him to practice. At the stadium, a television crew is conducting interviews. It is revealed that coach Taylor, who has recently been made head coach, used to coach the exceptionally gifted quarterback Jason Street. It also becomes clear that there is a deep-seated conflict between Tim Riggins and the brash and loud-mouthed running back
Brian "Smash" Williams. Later, at the local fast food restaurant where the players regularly hang out, Landry and Matt try to approach the coach's daughter Julie. She insists that she does not associate with football players. They assure her that Landry does not play at all, while Matt gets virtually no playing time because of Street, but she still turns them away.
On Tuesday night a pep rally
is held at the local car dealership. The owner and host is Buddy Garrity, who is also the father of Jason Street's girlfriend Lyla. Coach Taylor is surrounded by members of the local community questioning him about the game. It is gradually emerging how important football is to the town, and the great responsibility that rests on Taylor's shoulders. His wife Tami, meanwhile, is reluctantly recruited by the society wives to join their book club. Riggins' girlfriend Tyra Collette tries to stoke up trouble by flirting with both Street and Smash. Wednesday goes by with a team visit to a team of elementary school
players, who idolize the high school boys. The two teams recite the Lord's Prayer together. On Thursday night, the night before the game, Street and Riggins are at a party. Riggins lays out his plan of Street going to the National Football League
and Riggins living off one percent of Street's salary. Then they can retire to a ranch where Riggins will act as Street's caretaker. They make a toast to "Texas Forever".
On game night, coach Taylor gives a pep talk where he warns the players against taking the opponents – Westerby High School – too lightly. They say their rallying cry, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!" and enter the field. The first half is problematic for the Panthers, and at the end of the second half, the visitors make a potentially game-winning interception. Street is the only one left to make a tackle. He succeeds, but the tackle is so hard that he remains prone on the ground. The crowd is left in silence as the starting quarterback does not move, and has to be taken off on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Coach Taylor now has to put in the highly unprepared Saracen, who initially makes several silly mistakes. The coach tells him to relax and focus, and Saracen manages to connect with Smash, who scores a touchdown
. In the final seconds of the game, Saracen throws a long pass to a receiver, who makes it to the end zone for another touchdown. As the Panthers win the game, both teams gather at mid-field to pray for Jason Street. Team members then head over to the hospital, where Street's condition is still unclear. Riggins and Smash reconcile, while Julie tries to comfort Lyla. In a voice-over, coach Taylor is heard saying that "We are all vulnerable, and we will all at some point in our lives fall."
by H. G. Bissinger
. The book describes the 1988 season of the Permian Panthers
, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas
. While the movie was set in 1988, the television series takes place in the present. Peter Berg
– who is Bissinger's cousin – co-wrote and directed the movie, and also wrote and directed the Friday Night Lights pilot. In addition to writing the script of the pilot, he also executively produced the entire project together with Sarah Aubrey and John Cameron.
Berg expressed regret in interviews about having to sacrifice certain story lines in the movie, due to time restraints. The television series allowed interpersonal issues to be addressed more in depth. "The idea was to create a television show that exists as much more of a soap opera, or an exploration of human beings," said Berg in an interview, "than as a chronicle of a football team's pursuit of glory." The series was filmed partly in Austin
, and a call went out for local football players to play part roles in the show. In an attempt to maintain an authentic Texas environment, elements were incorporated from local society. Football scenes were filmed at the local Pflugerville High School's Kuempel Stadium and at the RRISD Complex, while uniforms were based on those of real-life Pflugerville Panthers.
as Buddy Garrity, a character similar to the one he had played in the movie, and Connie Britton
as Tami Taylor, wife of coach Eric Taylor. Britton had felt that the female story lines were underplayed in the movie, but was promised by Berg that these topics would be given more attention in the television series. Kyle Chandler
, playing the role of head coach Eric Taylor, said he had played some high school football, "but I was no good". He recalled showing up to an early meeting with Berg after a friend's party where he "had too much to drink, smoked too many cigarettes" and was generally quite tired. Berg liked that look, since he wanted the coach to appear old and weary. "You need to drink a lot of scotch and smoke a lot of cigarettes," he advised.
Scott Porter
, playing the role of quarterback Jason Street
, knew that his character would be paralyzed from the first episode on, and said that this was a big part of the reason why he took the role. Porter played football for University of Central Florida
, as a wide receiver
. He also played on a highly successful team in high school, and described himself as huge fan of the Friday Night Lights movie. Meanwhile Taylor Kitsch
, the show's Tim Riggins, said in an interview that he was able to relate to his character based on his own personal experiences: "my father is out of my life, more or less", he revealed in an interview, "So I discover stuff that maybe I wasn't even dealing with as a person."
Zach Gilford
said about his character Matt Saracen
that "there are different parts of it from people I know growing up or people I'm tight with now". He credited Peter Berg with coming up with the Saracen character, and said he was grateful to "have some of the most realistic and heartfelt storylines." When asked which of the actors would have been drafted highest by the NFL, he replied "Probably Taylor[Kitsch] . He's a good athlete, but Scott will kill me for saying that. Scott played football growing up and he has a good arm, but Taylor is faster and I think that would help his draft status." Gaius Charles
, who plays "Smash" Williams, graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
in 2005, determined to find a job within a year, which he did with Friday Night Lights. He describes himself as "all right" at football, but says that he was taken aback by the intensity of the plays on the set.
Mack Brown
, the head coach of the University of Texas at Austin
Longhorn
football team, plays a cameo in the episodes. He appears in the pep rally scene, where he is a member of the local community questioning coach Taylor. Brown played without a script because, according to Berg, "you've heard fathers for 33 years, so you ought to know what to say." Kyle Chandler, as coach Taylor, was reportedly surprised by Brown's intensity.
, in her "TV Column" for The Washington Post
, pointed out that in spite of critical praise, the show's premiere did poorly with viewers. With 7.17 million viewers, it had "the worst ratings performance for any series premiere in the official 2006-07 TV season." On the other hand, Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters
wrote that the episode's good performance among the coveted demographic of men aged 18 to 34 could be a saving grace. The episode was nominated for an Artios Award
for "Best Dramatic Pilot Casting". Casting director Linda Lowy was the nominee for the award, which was won by the series Brothers & Sisters for the episode "Patriarchy".
The pilot of Friday Night Lights received good to middling reviews. Virginia Heffernan
of The New York Times
gave the episode a very good review, and suggested the series could be good enough to transcend the medium of television. She praised the "intelligent performances" of the actors, and though she found the "Smash" Williams character less convincing than the others, she thought it improved towards the end. She also appreciated the use of audio to tell the story; the buzz of a surgeon's saw or the sound of skin stuck to leather. Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club
, wrote "I appreciate the feel for the high stakes attached to small-market school sports, the knowing take on the high-school caste system, and the details of family life." Still, he worried that America was "failing to fall in love with" the show, and expressed doubts as to whether it would be allowed to survive.
Henry Goldblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly
, gave the episode a grade B. He accused the show of abandoning the "racial diversity and the gritty poverty" of the film, but still allowed that Peter Berg had "kept the thrust". The Matt Saracen character was singled out as particularly promising. While positively contrasting the show with other teen-age dramas like One Tree Hill
, Goldblatt also had doubts about its staying power. Variety
' s Brian Lowry called the show "Earnest, beautifully shot and perhaps more organically religious than anything else in primetime". Still, he felt the show was "like one of those family programs middle America and conservatives pine for that too few of them actually bother to watch". He pointed out that the show had to compete with both House
and Dancing With the Stars, among women as well as men, in order to survive. The Washington Post critic Tom Shales
called the show "Extraordinary in just about every conceivable way," particularly emphasising the quality of the cast. Shales did have issues with the documentary style of show's camera movements, but still thought it could be the "best new drama series of the season".
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
. The episode premiered on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network on October 3, 2006. It introduces the men and women involved with the Dillon Panthers, a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
high school football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. In the pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, the team is preparing for the first game of the season, which will be the first game under new head coach Eric Taylor
Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
Eric Taylor is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV drama television series Friday Night Lights played by Kyle Chandler. He is introduced as the head coach of the Dillon High School football team, the Dillon Panthers...
.
The show was based on the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, which was in turn based on the 1990 non-fiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream is a 1990 non-fiction book written by H. G. Bissinger. The book follows the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from Odessa, Texas as they made a run towards the Texas state championship...
by H. G. Bissinger
H. G. Bissinger
Harry Gerard Bissinger III, also known as H. G. Bissinger and Buzz Bissinger , is an American journalist and author, best known for his non-fiction book Friday Night Lights.-Early life and education:...
. Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
, who is Bissinger's cousin and who directed the film, wrote and directed the pilot episode, and served as executive producer for the series. While some of the actors from the movie returned to act on the show, most of the actors were cast specifically for the television series.
Critical reception of the show was good to average, with a general appreciation for the realistic portrayal of Middle America. Generally speaking, however, there were serious doubts about whether the show would be able to stay on the air very long, though it has since gone on to complete five seasons. The episode's viewership of just over seven million was characterized as disappointing, though it did relatively well among men aged 18 to 34.
Plot
It is Monday morning, and five days until the first game of the season for high school football team Dillon Panthers. While coach Eric Taylor is surveying the field, some of the players are getting ready for practice. FullbackFullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
Tim Riggins is recovering from a hangover, and his brother Billy warns him that he could be kicked off the team if he does not show. Meanwhile, second-string quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Matt Saracen is preparing lunch for his grandmother, before his friend Landry Clarke drives him to practice. At the stadium, a television crew is conducting interviews. It is revealed that coach Taylor, who has recently been made head coach, used to coach the exceptionally gifted quarterback Jason Street. It also becomes clear that there is a deep-seated conflict between Tim Riggins and the brash and loud-mouthed running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Brian "Smash" Williams. Later, at the local fast food restaurant where the players regularly hang out, Landry and Matt try to approach the coach's daughter Julie. She insists that she does not associate with football players. They assure her that Landry does not play at all, while Matt gets virtually no playing time because of Street, but she still turns them away.
On Tuesday night a pep rally
Pep rally
Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...
is held at the local car dealership. The owner and host is Buddy Garrity, who is also the father of Jason Street's girlfriend Lyla. Coach Taylor is surrounded by members of the local community questioning him about the game. It is gradually emerging how important football is to the town, and the great responsibility that rests on Taylor's shoulders. His wife Tami, meanwhile, is reluctantly recruited by the society wives to join their book club. Riggins' girlfriend Tyra Collette tries to stoke up trouble by flirting with both Street and Smash. Wednesday goes by with a team visit to a team of elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
players, who idolize the high school boys. The two teams recite the Lord's Prayer together. On Thursday night, the night before the game, Street and Riggins are at a party. Riggins lays out his plan of Street going to the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and Riggins living off one percent of Street's salary. Then they can retire to a ranch where Riggins will act as Street's caretaker. They make a toast to "Texas Forever".
On game night, coach Taylor gives a pep talk where he warns the players against taking the opponents – Westerby High School – too lightly. They say their rallying cry, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!" and enter the field. The first half is problematic for the Panthers, and at the end of the second half, the visitors make a potentially game-winning interception. Street is the only one left to make a tackle. He succeeds, but the tackle is so hard that he remains prone on the ground. The crowd is left in silence as the starting quarterback does not move, and has to be taken off on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Coach Taylor now has to put in the highly unprepared Saracen, who initially makes several silly mistakes. The coach tells him to relax and focus, and Saracen manages to connect with Smash, who scores a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
. In the final seconds of the game, Saracen throws a long pass to a receiver, who makes it to the end zone for another touchdown. As the Panthers win the game, both teams gather at mid-field to pray for Jason Street. Team members then head over to the hospital, where Street's condition is still unclear. Riggins and Smash reconcile, while Julie tries to comfort Lyla. In a voice-over, coach Taylor is heard saying that "We are all vulnerable, and we will all at some point in our lives fall."
Conception
The television series Friday Night Lights was based on the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, which was in turn based on the 1990 non-fiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a DreamFriday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream is a 1990 non-fiction book written by H. G. Bissinger. The book follows the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from Odessa, Texas as they made a run towards the Texas state championship...
by H. G. Bissinger
H. G. Bissinger
Harry Gerard Bissinger III, also known as H. G. Bissinger and Buzz Bissinger , is an American journalist and author, best known for his non-fiction book Friday Night Lights.-Early life and education:...
. The book describes the 1988 season of the Permian Panthers
Permian High School
Permian High School is a public high school located in Odessa, Texas and is part of the Ector County Independent School District. It was the subject of the book Friday Night Lights which in turn inspired a movie and TV series of the same name.-History:...
, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...
. While the movie was set in 1988, the television series takes place in the present. Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
– who is Bissinger's cousin – co-wrote and directed the movie, and also wrote and directed the Friday Night Lights pilot. In addition to writing the script of the pilot, he also executively produced the entire project together with Sarah Aubrey and John Cameron.
Berg expressed regret in interviews about having to sacrifice certain story lines in the movie, due to time restraints. The television series allowed interpersonal issues to be addressed more in depth. "The idea was to create a television show that exists as much more of a soap opera, or an exploration of human beings," said Berg in an interview, "than as a chronicle of a football team's pursuit of glory." The series was filmed partly in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and a call went out for local football players to play part roles in the show. In an attempt to maintain an authentic Texas environment, elements were incorporated from local society. Football scenes were filmed at the local Pflugerville High School's Kuempel Stadium and at the RRISD Complex, while uniforms were based on those of real-life Pflugerville Panthers.
Casting
Casting of the show included using some of the actors who had already appeared in the movie, including Brad LelandBrad Leland
Brad Leland is an American actor who has appeared in 20 feature films, 25 television shows, and numerous theater performances. He played the character Buddy Garrity in the television show Friday Night Lights.-Early life:...
as Buddy Garrity, a character similar to the one he had played in the movie, and Connie Britton
Connie Britton
Connie Britton is an American actress. She is best known for the roles of Nikki Faber on Spin City and on Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor. Her most notable films are Friday Night Lights and A Nightmare on Elm Street...
as Tami Taylor, wife of coach Eric Taylor. Britton had felt that the female story lines were underplayed in the movie, but was promised by Berg that these topics would be given more attention in the television series. Kyle Chandler
Kyle Chandler
Kyle Martin Chandler is an American film and television actor best known for his roles in the television shows Early Edition as Gary Hobson, Deputy Jackson Lamb in the film Super 8, and as Coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead...
, playing the role of head coach Eric Taylor, said he had played some high school football, "but I was no good". He recalled showing up to an early meeting with Berg after a friend's party where he "had too much to drink, smoked too many cigarettes" and was generally quite tired. Berg liked that look, since he wanted the coach to appear old and weary. "You need to drink a lot of scotch and smoke a lot of cigarettes," he advised.
Scott Porter
Scott Porter
Matthew Scott Porter , better known as Scott Porter, is an American actor and occasional singer known for his role as Jason Street in the NBC television drama Friday Night Lights. His character was injured during a football game in the pilot episode and became a paraplegic...
, playing the role of quarterback Jason Street
Jason Street
Jason Mitchell Street is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV television drama Friday Night Lights, portrayed by Scott Porter...
, knew that his character would be paralyzed from the first episode on, and said that this was a big part of the reason why he took the role. Porter played football for University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
, as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. He also played on a highly successful team in high school, and described himself as huge fan of the Friday Night Lights movie. Meanwhile Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch
-Early life and modeling career:Kitsch was born in Kelowna, British Columbia. He has two older brothers and two younger half sisters. Originally set to become a professional hockey player, he played for the Langley Hornets in the Canadian BCHL before a bad knee injury ended his career...
, the show's Tim Riggins, said in an interview that he was able to relate to his character based on his own personal experiences: "my father is out of my life, more or less", he revealed in an interview, "So I discover stuff that maybe I wasn't even dealing with as a person."
Zach Gilford
Zach Gilford
Zach Gilford is an American actor best known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC television drama series Friday Night Lights. Gilford starred alongside Terrell Owens in the 2008 NBA Celebrity All-Star game....
said about his character Matt Saracen
Matt Saracen
Matthew "Matt" Saracen is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV television drama series Friday Night Lights portrayed by the actor Zach Gilford...
that "there are different parts of it from people I know growing up or people I'm tight with now". He credited Peter Berg with coming up with the Saracen character, and said he was grateful to "have some of the most realistic and heartfelt storylines." When asked which of the actors would have been drafted highest by the NFL, he replied "Probably Taylor
Gaius Charles
Gaius Charles is an American stage, television and film actor best known for playing Brian "Smash" Williams on NBC's Friday Night Lights.-Early life:...
, who plays "Smash" Williams, graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama is the oldest degree-granting drama program in the United States, founded in 1914 as a division of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in 2005, determined to find a job within a year, which he did with Friday Night Lights. He describes himself as "all right" at football, but says that he was taken aback by the intensity of the plays on the set.
Mack Brown
Mack Brown
William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...
, the head coach of the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
Longhorn
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
football team, plays a cameo in the episodes. He appears in the pep rally scene, where he is a member of the local community questioning coach Taylor. Brown played without a script because, according to Berg, "you've heard fathers for 33 years, so you ought to know what to say." Kyle Chandler, as coach Taylor, was reportedly surprised by Brown's intensity.
Reception
Lisa de MoraesLisa de Moraes
Lisa de Moraes is an American television columnist. Her writings, titled "The TV Column," appear regularly in the Style section of The Washington Post....
, in her "TV Column" for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, pointed out that in spite of critical praise, the show's premiere did poorly with viewers. With 7.17 million viewers, it had "the worst ratings performance for any series premiere in the official 2006-07 TV season." On the other hand, Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote that the episode's good performance among the coveted demographic of men aged 18 to 34 could be a saving grace. The episode was nominated for an Artios Award
Casting Society of America
Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The society is not to be confused with an industry union. The...
for "Best Dramatic Pilot Casting". Casting director Linda Lowy was the nominee for the award, which was won by the series Brothers & Sisters for the episode "Patriarchy".
The pilot of Friday Night Lights received good to middling reviews. Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan is an American journalist. In March, 2011, she began to write regularly about digital and pop culture for the Opinion pages of The New York Times. She is also known as a television critic for The New York Times, and as "The Medium" columnist at The New York Times Magazine. In...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the episode a very good review, and suggested the series could be good enough to transcend the medium of television. She praised the "intelligent performances" of the actors, and though she found the "Smash" Williams character less convincing than the others, she thought it improved towards the end. She also appreciated the use of audio to tell the story; the buzz of a surgeon's saw or the sound of skin stuck to leather. Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, wrote "I appreciate the feel for the high stakes attached to small-market school sports, the knowing take on the high-school caste system, and the details of family life." Still, he worried that America was "failing to fall in love with" the show, and expressed doubts as to whether it would be allowed to survive.
Henry Goldblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, gave the episode a grade B. He accused the show of abandoning the "racial diversity and the gritty poverty" of the film, but still allowed that Peter Berg had "kept the thrust". The Matt Saracen character was singled out as particularly promising. While positively contrasting the show with other teen-age dramas like One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Goldblatt also had doubts about its staying power. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and Dancing With the Stars, among women as well as men, in order to survive. The Washington Post critic Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
called the show "Extraordinary in just about every conceivable way," particularly emphasising the quality of the cast. Shales did have issues with the documentary style of show's camera movements, but still thought it could be the "best new drama series of the season".