With just two weeks to go until Friday Night Lights returns, the critics are lining up to chime in on what many believe is a hidden TV treasure.
Earlier this week, we heard from ESPN's Bill Simmons, the sharp-tongued, often cynical columnist who loves his sports, and who is urging more and more viewers to keep the "Lights" on for this year and beyond.
Now, Akron Beacon-Journal critic Rich Heldenfels has shed some light on the Season 2 premiere. He does not give away a crucial plot point of the first episode, but he does describe how this important story development may harm the future of Friday Night Lights, in his opinion.
His column appears below. We'll keep the details to a minimum before the jump, but beware: herein lie some spoilers, at least in the broad sense.
Is Friday Night Lights still capable of greatness in its second-season premiere? Yes. Is there anything to worry about? Also yes.
So much that was good about the show is still very good. The Taylor family, for starters, which now has a new baby to deal with, as well as Eric's being far away, at his new college coaching job at TMU.
When Tami Taylor (Connie Britton) goes in labor, Eric has to fly home. And what he finds is that the baby is just one of the challenges facing him; daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) has gone all snotty in his absence, for several reasons.
The Julie-Matt relationship has taken an interesting turn, as have the lives of Buddy and Lyla Garrity, Tim Riggins, Landry and Tyra, and Jason Street.
In fact, the show is so stuffed that Street's new dilemma is presented very quickly, and we hardly see Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) at all.
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