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Friday Night Lights “I Can’t”/ “Injury List” Review (4×10/4×11)

16 Aug

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“I Can’t”–Season 4, Episode 10

What an episode this is. It’s not every day that you see the topic of abortion handled with the nuance provided here by the writers and the actors, and the situation is heart-wrenching to watch unfold. Becky’s strained relationship with Cheryl is very much on her mind throughout, and she realizes that she’s the product of a situation akin to her own, that her mother harbors resentment for the impact teenage pregnancy had on her life. Yet, that abortion never happened, and while Becky wants to go on to do bigger and better things, she now also wonders about her own child. Enter Tami Taylor.

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Friday Night Lights Season 4, Episodes 6-9 Review

13 Aug

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EPISODE 6– “STAY”

This one’s all about people leaving, but while there’s a sense of melancholy–as is the case whenever you’re separated from someone who’s close to you–there’s also a sense of hope and freedom. Both Lyla and Tim know their relationship is over, but that doesn’t prevent them from enjoying the time they have together in this episode, nor does it take away from the times they shared prior to this. Lyla’s finally taking control of her own life, something we certainly didn’t see when she was still tied to Jason Street.

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Battlestar Galactica “Pegasus”/ “Resurrection Ship” Review (2×10/2×11/2×12)

2 Aug

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ARC 4: Pegasus

Although there are plenty of other factors to take into play, the Pegasus is essentially what the Battlestar Galactica would be without Roslin. It’s not that Adama is Cain; rather, you would be looking at a military ship stripped of obligation to the political side of things, to the overarching goal of maintaining the well-being of its citizens, implementing a democracy, etc. Pegasus is led by means of a rigid, militaristic structure wherein that leader always has her sights set on destroying the enemy, and although the primary reaction to the Pegasus arrival is excitement and joy, it’s inevitable that the system under Admiral Cain will clash with that of the BSG.

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Friday Night Lights “The Son” Review (4×05)

25 Jul

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Here lies Henry Saracen.

Here lies Matt Saracen’s father, the father he hated, the father who wasn’t there for him, the father who’s now in a coffin, buried under the dirt that leaves Matt’s shovel. He wasn’t a monster, but he wasn’t a good father, either. The responsibilities that should’ve been his were taken on by his son at an early age, and Matt’s had to deal with situations that many teenagers have never had to face because there’s always been that one constant in their lives: a supportive family.

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Friday Night Lights “In the Skin of a Lion”/ “A Sort of Homecoming” Review (4×03/4×04)

21 Jul

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Dear Coach Taylor,

I wish I could give you all the money you need for your team, you wonderful man. I don’t know why everyone isn’t already throwing him or herself at your feet, trying to kiss that amazing personality, whether or not they think of you as their dad or their boyfriend or both. Have you ever thought about a job at the Landing Strip? Wear just your cap and your jacket of fatherly goodness, emblazoned with the lives you’ve touched and a “Tami Taylor is always right” sticker that never comes off. She’s always got your back, and you’ve always got hers. Compromise. It’s a beautiful thing, even when you’re lying about that damn personal check.

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Friday Night Lights “East of Dillon”/ “After the Fall” Review (4×01/4×02)

17 Jul

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Everything looks different! It’s East Dillon and West Dillon as we open the fourth season of Friday Night Lights, and although there are a number of major contrivances–it really seems as if East Dillon springs up from nowhere–it’s clear that the show’s going to use this new status quo to explore different characters, different schools, and various racial and class tensions. Season 1 placed Coach Taylor into a new and sometimes hostile environment, but season 4 places him in a situation in which he has no foundation to build upon. The pieces aren’t in place; he has to find them and put them together.

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Friday Night Lights Season 3, Episodes 5-7 Review

16 Jul

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*I wrote reviews of episodes 8-13 a while back, so I’m just going ahead to season 4 after this review. In case you’re looking for 8-13, here are some links:

Episode 8: “New York, New York”  

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/20/friday-night-lights-new-york-new-york-review-3×08/

Episode 9: “Game of the Week”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/22/friday-night-lights-game-of-the-week-review-3×09/

Episode 10: “The Giving Tree”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/26/friday-night-lights-the-giving-tree-review-3×10/

Episode 11: “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/31/friday-night-lights-a-hard-rains-gonna-fall-review-3×11/

Episode 12: “Underdogs”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/11/03/friday-night-lights-underdogs-review-3×12/

Episode 13: “Tomorrow Blues”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/11/12/friday-night-lights-tomorrow-blues-review-3×13/     

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Friday Night Lights Season 3, Episodes 1-4 Review

5 Jul

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EPISODE 1, “I Knew You When”

We’re back! It’s amusing–but also refreshing and understandable–how season 2 is pretty much swept under the rug here, fast-forwarding a bit as the show seems to wash its hands of whatever mess it got itself into. I appreciate the way this episode focuses on the natural conflicts and connections that arise between our central characters, some of which include the parallels between the Coach-Smash and Mrs. Coach-Tyra relationships; the Taylors are, as expected, being awesome people, and they seem to have taken it upon themselves to help foster a bright future for their respective “kids”. These are the struggles I want to see from people like Smash and Tyra (love her smackdown of the Asst. Principal), these real-life difficulties that interfere with their outlooks of the future.

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Battlestar Galactica “Final Cut”/ “Flight of the Phoenix” Review (2×08/2×09)

4 Jul

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Season 2, Arc 3: “The Stuff that Happens before Pegasus”

These episodes are far from bad (we’ll get to that soon), but they ultimately wind up as nice ideas that falter a bit due to a general lack of cohesiveness in the writing. The documentary-style approach of “Final Cut” allows us to get into the headspace of minor characters like Kat, so that’s a plus, but most of the interviews don’t necessarily yield any new information about the characters.

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Battlestar Galactica Season 2, Episodes 5-7 Review

28 Jun

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EPISODES COVERED: “The Farm”, “Home Part 1”, “Home Part 2”

ARC 2–Let’s go find Earth!

When Adama wakes up, to say that things are different would be an understatement. Like I said in the last review, everything’s been turned on its head, and the Commander is forced to face the fact that much of his fleet has left him, that his own son has abandoned him during this time of turmoil, that someone he knew and respected would take out a gun and shoot him twice in the chest. “Why?” he asks as he stands over Sharon’s lifeless body.

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