Tag Archives: Kyle Chandler

February 9, 2011 · 9:14 pm

Series Finale: Friday Night Lights – “Always”

“Always”

February 9th, 2011

“Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.”

Perhaps more than any other show on television, Friday Night Lights is actively concerned with the notion of legacy. The Dillon Panthers were one, the East Dillon Lions are becoming one, and the show itself has formed its own sense of legacy with distinct notions of past, present and future despite a relatively short five season run.

In politics, or even in sports, the final moments are when the legacy is at its most vulnerable. As unfair as it might seem, the legacy of Friday Night Lights could very well come down to how “Always” brings the series to its conclusion. This will be the final time we spend with these characters, their final actions and reactions, and Jason Katims’ challenge is finding that balance between progress and consolidation.

He found it. “Always” is not perfect, getting a bit too cute for its own good towards its conclusion, but it all feels so remarkably “right” that it captures in an hour what the series accomplished over the course of five seasons. It is uproariously funny and incredibly moving, and those moments which resonate emotionally are not simply those which have been developing over the course of 76 episodes. The weight is felt across the board, with characters old and new finding self-realization amidst a larger framework.

They are legacies within legacy, as “Always” captures the emotional current of what will go down as one of the decade’s finest drama series.

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Tagged as Always, Analysis, Becky, Billy Riggins, Buddy Garrity, Connie Britton, Dillon Panthers, DirecTV, East Dillon Lions, Engagement, Episode 13, Eric Taylor, Finale, Jason Street, Julie Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Luke Cafferty, Matt Saracen, Mindy, NBC, Philadelphia, Review, Season 5, Series Finale, Stacey Oristano, State, Television, Tim Riggins, TV, Tyra Colette, Vince Howard

January 19, 2011 · 9:02 pm

Friday Night Lights – “Don’t Go”

“Don’t Go”

January 19th, 2011

If Friday Night Lights had ended after three seasons, I would have been incredibly disappointed. The fourth and fifth seasons of the show have featured some tremendous moments, introducing new characters and offering more opportunities for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton to demonstrate their command of the Taylor family dynamic. The idea of losing the tragedy of “The Son,” and never meeting Vince Howard and Luke Cafferty, is the sort of televisual counterfactual that I don’t even want to consider.

And yet, “Don’t Go” made me consider it. While the episode demonstrates the degree to which these two short seasons have made a considerable impact, it also demonstrates how far one character in particular has fallen. While the series may be reaching its conclusion, there has been no attempt to sugar coat the fact that not everything is going to turn out in the end. In fact, “Don’t Go” is very much about the interrogation of what exactly would constitute a happy ending for this series, questioning if there is any combination of conclusions which won’t simultaneously touch our hearts and break them in half.

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Tagged as Analysis, Buddy Garrity, DirecTV, Don't Go, Episode 10, Eric Taylor, Final Season, Kyle Chandler, Luke Cafferty, Parole, Review, Season 5, Shane State, Taylor Kitsch, Tim Riggins, Vince Howard

January 12, 2011 · 9:02 pm

Friday Night Lights – “Gut Check”

“Gut Check”

January 12th, 2011

Thanks to a particularly busy schedule and some difficulties getting access to the episodes in question, Friday Night Lights’ fifth season has been mostly absent from Cultural Learnings. And yet, this is about to change, both because of greater access and because there is a growing sense of urgency.

Not really within the show itself: while there is certainly plenty of tension on the series right now, it continues to follow the slow burn mentality it always has. And yet my relationship with the series has taken on a certain tension, as it is becoming more and more clear that this is a show which is about to come to its end. I could have waited until the NBC airings to cover the show, but this is going to be the real ending: this is when critics will write their posts on the series’ legacy, this will be when the fans will respond to the fond (or, who knows, potentially tragic) farewells, and this is when I want to say goodbye.

And so I’ll likely be checking in with the series weekly from now until the finale – for now, a few brief thoughts on the season as a whole and a more detailed review of “Gut Check” after the jump.

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Tagged as Becky, Chicago, Connie Britton, Cress Williams, Episode 9, Final Season, Julie Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Luke Cafferty, Matt Saracen, Review, Season 5, Television, TV, Vince Howard, Zach Gilford

August 29, 2010 · 11:05 pm

More “Not Boring” Than Usual: Surprises Elevate the 2010 Primetime Emmys

More “Not Boring” Than Usual:

Surprises Elevate the 2010 Primetime Emmys

As a whole, the Emmy Awards live and die on surprise: sure, there’s always favourites, but the idea that “anything can happen” is what keeps us watching a show which so often punishes us for becoming emotionally involved. For every pleasant surprise there has been soul-crushing complacency, and so we watch hoping that something will cut through the pain in order to give us some sense of hope for the legitimacy of these awards.

And while we eventually leave each evening lamenting numerous mistakes, comfortable in our superior knowledge of what is truly great in television in a given year, I don’t want that to obfuscate the moments of transcendence. Sometimes, moments come together that defy our cynical expectations, moments that find the spontaneity in the scripted or make the spontaneous feel as if it was planned all along. And while I remain the jaded critic that I was before the show began, any chance of carrying that attitude through the entirety of the show was diminished at the sight of Jon Hamm booty-dancing towards Betty White, and all but gone by the time Top Chef finally ended The Amazing Race’s reign of terror over Reality Competition program.

It was a night filled with surprises, whether in terms of who was winning the awards (with a huge number of first-time winners) or in terms of emotional moments which resulted from those winners – sure, there were hiccups along the way, and there were still a number of winners which indicated that the Emmys are still stuck in their ways, but there was enough excitement for me to designate these Emmys as “not boring.”

In fact, I’d go so far as to say they were more “not boring” than usual.

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Tagged as 30 Rock, 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, Aaron Paul, Analysis, Archie Panjabi, Awards, Betty White, Born to Run, Breaking Bad, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Colfer, Claire Danes, Connie Britton, David Mills, Edie Falco, Elton John, Emmys, Entertainment, Eric Stonestreet, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Green Day, HBO, Host, In Memoriam, Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jewel, Jim Parsons, Jimmy Fallon, Joel McHale, John Hodgman, Jon Hamm, Jorge Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Kate Gosselin, Kyle Chandler, Kyra Sedgwick, Lea Michele, Lost, Matthew Perry, Matthew Weiner, Michael Emerson, Modern Family, NBC, Neil Patrick Harris, Nina Dobrev, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Rick Gervais, Ryan Murphy, Steve Levitan, Television, Temple Grandin, Terry O'Quinn, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, Tim Gunn, Tina Fey, Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Top Chef, TV, Winners

August 26, 2010 · 7:54 am

2010 Emmy Award Predictions: Lead Acting in a Drama Series

Lead Acting in a Drama Series

August 26th, 2010

The Lead Acting awards on the Drama side this year are polar opposites: one has a clear frontrunner and a slightly tired set of nominees, while the other category has a ridiculously packed lineup of potential winners where no clear frontrunner exists and where I’d be happy with anyone winning the trophy.

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Tagged as 2010, Connie Britton, Damages, Dexter, Emmys, Friday Night Lights, Glenn Close, House, Hugh Laurie., January Jones, Jon Hamm, Julianna Margulies, Kyle Chandler, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Fox, Michael C. Hall, Nominations, Nominees, Predictions, Television, TV

August 6, 2010 · 9:57 pm

Season Finale: Friday Night Lights – “Thanksgiving”

“Thanksgiving”

August 6th, 2010

The best compliment I can pay Friday Night Lights right now is that I left its fourth season finale wanting so much more than I received.

I know this is normally considered a negative statement, in that the show was somehow lacking in something that I desired, but that’s sort of the point of the ensemble drama: by showing us the lives of so many characters, there will inevitably be plots we don’t get to follow, relationships we don’t get to spend time with, and stories that could have had broader implications. The mark of a good ensemble drama is that we actually wanted to fill in those gaps, and the mark of a great one is that even with those gaps we are enormously content with the story that has been put on screen and want to see more.

Friday Night Lights hasn’t had a perfect fourth season, trapped between interesting new characters and paying service to those who came before, but the world of Dillon, Texas remains as vibrant and empowering as ever before. “Thanksgiving” is neither a definitive goodbye to original cast members nor a defining moment for the new characters who arrived earlier this season, but rather a series of moments that define this ensemble and the world in which they play football and, more importantly, live their lives. And while some part of me wanted a three-hour finale, giving us the scenes that it felt like we needed before the various stories came to an end, the selective gaze which Jason Katims adopts in the episode feels satisfying as a whole, bringing to an end an uneven but affecting season of network television’s finest ensemble drama series which bodes well for the final chapter this fall on DirecTV.

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Tagged as Abortion, Analysis, Becky, Big Cat Clash, Billy Riggins, Chicago, Connie Britton, Dillon, Dillon Panthers, DirecTV, East Dillon, Entertainment, Episode 13, Eric Taylor, Finale, Football, Jason Katims, Jess, Julie Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Landry, Lions, Luke Cafferty, Matt Lauria, Matt Saracen, Michael B. Jordan, NBC, Review, Season 4, Season Finale, Taylor Kitsch, Television, Texas, Thanksgiving, Tim Riggins, TV, Vince, Zach Gilford

July 15, 2010 · 9:20 pm

And Your Winner, by Submission…: Analyzing 2010’s Emmy Tapes

July 15th, 2010

Last week, I wrote a piece for Jive TV which described the next step in the Emmy Awards process, and the ways in which this post-nomination period is honestly more interesting for me than the pre-nomination period: as my Twitter followers have noted, I’m a bit obsessive about the submissions process, where the nominated series and performers choose episodes to represent their work over the past season.

It fascinates me because of how unnatural it is: performers can’t simply put together a reel of their strongest moments from throughout the season, they need to find a single representative episode (which, for supporting players, is cut down to only their scenes), and so what they choose is incredibly telling. For example, the cast of Glee have very clearly been instructed to submit episodes which feature big musical performances: Chris Colfer submitted “Laryngitis” because of the show-stopping “Rose’s Turn,” while Lea Michele submitted “Sectionals” based on her take on “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” These might not be their more consistent episodes in terms of overall material, but musically they are character-defining performances, and Glee has decided that this will be its Emmy focus. And yet, for Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch, their submissions don’t work as well when oriented around their most show-stopping musical performances, and so sometimes a series’ approach doesn’t match with each performer.

It’s a delicate balance, and one which I think best captures the equally maddening and addictive nature of this process, which is why I will now take a closer look at the submissions strategy from a number of series: for a look at how they look as categories, and for more submissions I don’t talk about here, check out Tom O’Neill post at Gold Derby.

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, ABC, Alec Baldwin, AMC, Amy Poehler, Analysis, Andre Braugher, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Burn Notice, Chris Colfer, Christina Hendricks, Edie Falco, Elisabeth Moss, Emmy Tape, Emmys, Eric Stonestreet, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Glee, HIMYM, House, Hugh Laurie., James Tyler Ferguson, Jane Lynch, January Jones, Jim Parsons, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler, Lea Michele, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Fox, Matthew Morrison, Men of a Certain Age, Michael Emerson, Modern Family, Monk, NBC, Neil Patrick Harris, Nominations, Nominees, Parks and Recreation, Sharon Gless, Steve Carell, Submissions, Television, Terry O'Quinn, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Tina Fey, Toni Colette, Tony Shalhoub, TV, Ty Burrell

July 8, 2010 · 12:18 pm

The Trick is to Actually Watch TV: The 2010 Emmy Nominations

July 8th, 2010

The Emmy nominations (which you can find in full here) are less a sign of what’s truly great on television and a more a sign of what the Emmy voters have actually been watching.

Series and performers are nominated for Emmys for one of two reasons: either the Academy members watched episodes carefully and saw them deserving of an award, or they looked at their ballots and chose a familiar name, a much buzzed-about series, or the first name on the ballot. And, frankly, most years the latter seemed to be their modus operandi, to the point where I’ve started to disassociate voters with any notion of television viewership – I’m not even convinced most of them own televisions.

However, for once, I’d say that the 2010 Emmy nominations seem to have been made by people who actually enjoy the medium, with plenty of evidence to demonstrate that voters actually watched many of the shows they nominated and discovered not only the most hyped elements of that series but also those elements which are truly deserving of Emmys attention. There are still plenty of examples where it’s clear that Emmy voters didn’t truly bother to watch the series in question, and all sorts of evidence which indicates that the Emmy voters suffer from a dangerously selective memory and a refusal to let go of pay cable dramedies, but the fact remains that this is the most hopeful Emmy year in recent memory.

It isn’t that every nominee is perfect, but rather that there is evidence of Academy voters sitting down in front of their television and watching more than a single episode of the shows in question, making them less like soulless arbiters of quality and more like actual television viewers – it might not stick, but for a few moments it’s nice to finally see some nominees that indicate voters aren’t so much different from us after all.

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July 8, 2010 · 10:28 am

The 2010 Primetime Emmy Award Nominations

July 8th, 2010

[For complete analysis of the 2010 Emmy Nominees, head to my full breakdown, “The Trick is to Watch TV,” here.]

Here are the nominees for the 2010 Emmy Awards (and, for added value, my gut feelings in terms of early favourites have been bolded): for all of the awards, click here to download the Academy’s PDF.

Outstanding Drama Series

True Blood
Breaking Bad
The Good Wife
Dexter
Lost
Mad Men

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close (Damages)
Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
January Jones (Mad Men)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Matthew Fox (Lost)

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Tagged as 2010, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, Andre Braugher, Archie Panjabi, Betty White, Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, Chris Colfer, Christine Baranski, Conan O'Brien, Connie Britton, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emmys, Eric Stonestreet, Friday Night Lights, Glee, Hugh Laurie., Jane Lynch, John Lithgow, Julianna Margulies, Kyle Chandler, Lea Michele, Lost, Mad Men, Matthew Morrison, Michael Emerson, Mike O'Malley, Modern Family, Neil Patrick Harris, Nominations, Nominees, Nurse Jackie, Sharon Gless, Terry O'Quinn, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, Tina Fey

June 3, 2010 · 2:00 am

Handicapping the 2010 Emmys: Drama Acting

June 3rd, 2010

On the drama side of things, there’s fewer trends that we can follow through to the nominees than there are in comedy. There, we can look at Glee and Modern Family and see some logical directions the awards could take, but in Drama there’s really only one new contender (The Good Wife), and the other variables are much more up in the air in terms of what’s going to connect with viewers. Lost could see a resurgence with voters in its final season, or it could be left in the dust; Mad Men could pick up more acting nominations now that its dynasty is secure, or it could remain underrepresented; Breaking Bad could stick to Cranston/Paul, or it could branch out into the rest of the stellar cast.

That unpredictability isn’t going to make for a shocking set of nominations, but I do think it leaves a lot of room open for voters to engage with a number of series to a degree that we may not have, so it’s an interesting set of races where I’m likely going out on some limbs.