The best show you’re not watching

All that matters in television is ratings. There are shows that don’t get a fair shake from their networks because they lack the ability to draw in a certain demographic. They’re usually cancelled when they “underperform,” or worse, dumped into an awful time slot that all but guarantees the shows a slow, painful death.\nA show currently in this situation is “Friday Night Lights.” It struggled to find a wide audience in three different time slots last year, and now it’s been moved to Friday. Although this fits with its title, it should sound an alarm bell for the show’s fans, since Friday is the black hole of TV. “FNL” is widely praised by critics and fans alike, so what gives? It’s the best show you’re not watching.\nFirst of all, “FNL” features some of the best acting on prime-time television. It all starts with Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, who play Coach Taylor and Mrs. Coach Taylor. Their chemistry leads you to believe they really are married, and they have conversations that you can imagine people in their situations – even your own parents – would. Moreover, Zach Gilford, Taylor Kitsch and Gaius Charles supersede any of the high-school football jock-stereotypes audiences have seen time and time again. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in all the characters’ lives and really emote for them.\nThis show is also the best in a few technical aspects that go into making a great program. The camera work is nothing short of breathtaking. The crew follows the actors within a real location – no constructed sets – and there’s no blocking of the scene. Instead of typical angles, we get fluid, organic movement.\nThe thing about “FNL” is that most people think it’s about football. Well, it is, but it isn’t. In reality, the football games themselves are solely backdrops to extend the conflicts that are going on with the people in Dillion, Texas. Games were shown in less than half of season one.\nThe story lines focus on the characters’ relationships, and they’re not cliche. Those that seem that they would be – Saracen’s dad in Iraq, Street’s career-ending injury – are well-done because the characters act their age. No dialogue from a thesaurus, no pop culture-laced quips. Although the plot is not revolutionary, it works great.\nWhile not without its flaws, “Friday Night Lights” is one of the top five shows on television right now, and it’s exactly what anyone would want in a show. The producers pulled out all the stops to keep it on the air – a money-back guarantee on the DVD, episodes online for free – and if people take advantage of these, it will stay around. \nBecause of the network’s obsession with ratings, quality programs get axed before they can ever find their audience. They are only facilitating the cycle by doing this because cancelling good shows and replacing them with bad ones that do get good ratings has made the general audience complacent. They expect junk, and when they get something actually worthwhile, they aren’t sure how to react, so no one watches, the show gets cancelled and then “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” replaces it. Check out “Friday Night Lights” so it can avoid being another ratings casualty and become the best show everyone is watching.