More TV

• Pundit police remind experts to think before they speak
• Combs reprises his 'Raisin' role for a new TV version
• What's on tonight: Thursday, Feb. 21

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is back for another season as head football coach on NBC's ratings-challenged "Friday Night Lights."

"Friday Night Lights" (8 p.m., KOB-Channel 4) has no business being so good.

It follows Howie Mandel - brain-dead demon with a buffed head and soul patch — beckoning models to open briefcases so they can give free money to white people. A show like "Deal or No Deal" thrives in this idiot-box age; how sadly predictable that the unpredictable "Friday Night Lights" constantly teeters on the brink of cancellation.

We (the dozens of fans) survived a scare last season when word came from on high that NBC would pull the plug. "FNL" rallied, like the Dillon Panthers have done so many times on their football field.

Now it's — shockingly — back for another season, in a preposterous Friday night time slot.

High school football in small-town Texas is the engine, but "FNL" is about family, friendships, sex, race, business . . . life — just like H.G. Bissinger's classic work of nonfiction on which the show is based.

The games have their clichéd sports moments, but "FNL" doesn't ever get lazy. Jason Street (Scott Porter) was devastated when a play on the field cost him use of his legs, but the injury's effect on Street's parents and the Dillon community was something rare for TV: fascinating.

Steroid use by Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) was a vivid reflection of stories pouring out of high school football programs all over this country. (Plus, his mom's a hoot.)

"Friday Night Lights" is touching and funny. One of the most hysterical scenes on any show last year was brooding fullback Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) coaching the Dillon cheerleaders before their Powderpuff football game. He molded that unlikely squad into a like-minded unit that bought into his "As One" philosophy. They would ultimately drop a nail-biter to the girls coached by quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford).

The king and queen of this shaky-camera kingdom are coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife, Tami (Connie Britton). There is no more compelling couple on TV.

Anyone who played sports in high school will find Chandler's portrayal eerie. Taylor is a smart, rational disciplinarian under heavy pressure from a tiny town filled with nuts. Britton's his rock, muse and occasional splitting headache.

A show that can elicit goose bumps as often as "Friday Night Lights" deserves to die naturally. You can watch the entire first season at NBC.com to prep for tonight's premiere.

Let's get that Nielsen rating where it belongs, looking down at all the junk on TV that doesn't even try.