DVD Reviews

Friday Night Lights: The Fourth Season – DVD Review

By Patrick Luce Aug 17, 2010, 14:56 GMT

One of the greatest TV dramas of all time continues with 13 gripping fourth season episodes of the critically acclaimed series Friday Night Lights. Small-town life in Dillon has changed irrevocably with the dramatic split of the school district. Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) finds himself fighting for the respect of the East Dillon Lions, while his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), faces her own battles as principal of the Dillon High ...more

Friday Night Lights returns to DVD with a fourth season that is probably one of the strongest since the series started. Without a doubt, the show is one of the best dramas on television and if next season is its last then Friday Night Lights is going out on top.

The fourth season of the show shakes things up by giving us a fresh cast of new faces and making the Dillon Panthers (the team fans have been pulling for since the show began) into the villains that we just want to see crushed by the upstart East Dillon Lions. The series’ writers make you no longer cheer for the Panthers, but despise them and everything they stand for thanks to their rich football booster and his star quarterback son.

Although it is centered around high school football, Friday Night Lights hooks its audience with the drama surrounding its ensemble cast of characters and the talented actors who make them matter. This season sees the departure of several of the show’s key characters (no more Smash Williams or Tyra Collette), and the arrival of new teens whose lives are filled with problems for football coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton) to help. The couple also has to continue to deal with their own high school daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) and their toddler Gracie.

The audience is quickly introduced to the show’s new characters as Coach Taylor starts trying to assemble a football team out of the East Dillon Lions (a low income school with no money for his program) and his wife (the principal of West Dillon) dealing with the fallout from the school board’s decision to redraw the district lines.

The new zoning sends a few West Dillon students to East Dillon – including one of the Panthers’ star players Luke Cafferty (who was staying at West Dillon thanks to a mailbox address that was stuck in the middle of nowhere, but zoned for the Panthers). Cafferty (Matt Lauria) is joined at East Dillon by Landry Clarke (Jesse Plemons) and Julie Taylor. Cafferty also has to deal with an injury that could keep him off the field and the aftermaths of a one-night-stand with Becky Sproles (Madison Burge) – which has drastic consequences for Tami Taylor.

Along with putting together a new football team (which sees Landry as its star kicker), Coach Taylor has to deal with Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan) - who could be a star on the football field if he can get his life right off the field and stay out of juvenile detention. Much of this season’s drama centers around Vince and his struggles with his drug addicted mother and the love triangle he finds himself in when he falls for Jess Merriweather (Jurnee Smollett) - who falls for Landry.

Although there are several new faces this season, the Friday Night Lights writers bring back several of the show’s favorite Panthers with Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) dropping out of college to return to Dillon to work with his brother at their garage and Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) putting his life on hold to take care of his grandmother and be with Julie.

Gilford delivers one of the season’s best performances in the episodes “The Son” and “Stay” where his character deals with the aftermath of his father’s death in Iraq. His performances in these two episodes demonstrate why Friday Night Lights is one of the best dramas on television and how powerful its cast can deliver performances on a weekly basis.

Kitsch’s Riggins has to deal with several changes throughout the season and things don’t look good for the character by the season finale. His character has always been the loveable drunken screw-up, but Riggins grows this season thanks to his friendship with Becky Sproles and the birth of his nephew – who arrives in true Riggins’ style.

Friday Night Lights features an ensemble cast of characters and actors, but the series is anchored by the relationship between Eric and Tami Taylor. Britton and Chandler are completely believable as a married couple trying to do the best they can for their relationship, their daughters and their careers.

Eric has to bite his tongue and swallow his pride several times in the season as he adjusts to life as coach of East Dillon. Tami is caught in a witch hunt after she counsels a pregnant teenage girl. Both career struggles naturally put tension in their marriage and home life. The two characters have always had strong personalities and it is nice to see Britton’s character matter as much to the series as Chandler’s Coach Taylor.

Along with stress at work, the couple has to deal with Julie preparing for life after high school, and her rebellious outburst (she sneaks off to Austin for a weekend music festival without her parents’ permission). Teegarden’s character gets a tad whinny this season, but she manages to continue to matter to the story and grow as an actress. Her parents are very busy people, and much of her character’s outburst reflects that and come across as honest.

The Season Four box set is a little light on special features, but includes some deleted scenes. The scenes are worth watching, but don’t add too much to the overall story.

Friday Night Lights: The Fourth Season is a great starting point for new fans to discover the show, but the creators also continue to reward fans who have stuck by the series since it started. The writers and producers took a big chance switching up the series and injecting new faces this season, but it paid off big time.

The series feels fresh, but also continues to deliver the solid storytelling and strong performances that have hooked me since I watched the pilot in season one. If next season is the last (which by all reports it will be), Season Four set it up to end as great as it started.