If you loved “Friday Night Lights”, you will love the final season as it is an appropriate sendoff for the show’s fans. Wonderful performance by Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and crew. Wonderful writing and just a final season that ends in the right note. I loved the show since it first aired and it’s sad to see it end. But whether or not you have caught up with each season, you can watch the fifth season on its own and still enjoy it. “Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” is highly recommended!
© 2011 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season
DURATION: 13 Episodes (9 Hrs. and 22 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Anamorphic Widescreen (1:78:1), English Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH
COMPANY: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2011
Directed by Michael Waxman, Allison Lidd, Chris Eyre, Jason Katims
Written by Peter Berg, Buzz Bissinger, Kerry Ehrin, Bridget Carpenter, David Hudgins, Jason Katims
Executive Producer: Sarah Aubrey, David Nevins, Peter Berg, Brian Grazer, Jason Katims, Chad Savage
Producer: Nan L. Bernstein, Bridget Carpenter, Michael Waxman
Co-Producer: Karen Wacker
Consulting Producer: Patrick Massett, John Zinman, Kerry Ehrin
Associate Producer: Cindy Kerber
Supervising Producer: Rolin Jones
Music by W.G. Snuffy Walden
Cinematography by Todd McMullen
Edited by Angela M. Catanzaro
Starring:
Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor
Connie Britton as Tami Taylor
Aimee Teegarden as Julie Taylor
Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins
Jesse Plemons as Landry Clarke
Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen
Derek Phillips as Billy Riggins
Brad Leland as Buddy Garrity
Adrianne Palicki as Tyra Collette
Blue Deckert as Mac Macgill
Stacey Oristano as Mindy Collete
Louanne Stephens as Mrs. Saracen
Gary Teague as Teacher
Liz Mikel as Corrina Williams
Michael B. Jordan as Vince Howard
Jurnee Smollett as Jess Merriweather
Matt Lauria as Luke Cafferty
Madison Burge as Becky Sproles
Russell DeGrazier as Coach Stan Traub
Lamarcus Tinker as Dallas Tinker
Aaron Spivey-Sorrells as Coach Spivey
David Cowgill as Slammin’ Sammy
Angela Rawna as Regina Howard
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Angela Collette
Drew Waters as Wade Aikmen
Troy Hogan as Principal Burnwell
Lawrence Varnado as Mo Hall
RJ Smith-Tillman as Malcolm
Grey Damon as Hastings Ruckle
Madilyn Landry as Gracie Taylor
Patrick Massett as Willie Gault
Cress Williams as Ornette
Danny James Hunter as Deacon Floyd Malone
Isaac Smith as Caleb Merriweather
Lynn Blackburn as Laurel Sachs
Kathleen Griffith as Margaret Cafferty
Joshua Bolden as Darius Merriweather
Lorraine Toussaint as Bird Merriweather
Emily Rios as Epyck
Amanda Brown as Evie
Charlie Quary as Andre Merriweather
Jessica Hale as Trixie
Everything has been building to this… the bittersweet fifth and final season of one of the most critically acclaimed TV dramas of all time, Friday Night Lights. For four years, the residents and students of Dillon, Texas, have faced difficult choices on and off the field with courage, passion and perseverance. Now the time has come to find closure for problems of the past, while pursuing new possibilities that will lead many beyond Dillon city limits. But will everyone be up to the challenge? Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton lead an all-star cast in each gripping episode full of the compelling and heart-wrenching situations devoted fans know can only be seen under Friday Night Lights. From executive producers Jason Katims, Peter Berg, and Brian Grazer, comes the show that has Neal Gabler of the Los Angeles Times raving, “It may have been the greatest emotional range of any series ever on television.†Texas forever…
A final and appropriate last hurrah for “Friday Night Lights”.  “Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” was a fantastic season that gives fans a final closure to this wonderful series.
In 1990, H.G. Bissinger created the non-fiction book “Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream. In 2002, the book would be named the fourth greatest book ever written about sports by Sports Illustrated magazine. And what followed in 2004 is a film adaptation which did very well and is considered one of the best football films ever made.
And in 2006, “Friday Night Lights”, the TV series was born.
The TV series was adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins and the first three seasons would focus on Eric Taylor (played by Kyle Chandler) and his family moving to Dillon, Texas where he would coach the Dillon Panthers. The series would focus on Eric and his coaches preparing his football team each week and also getting to know several of the main players who make up the team and of course, the drama which surrounded them.
The series would achieve critical acclaim as many felt the series had an accurate portrayal of middle America and its passion for high school football. Unfortunately, part of the problem was that viewership was never strong and many fans would fight hard to keep this series alive. The series would win a Peabody Award, a Humanitas Price and a Television Critics Association Award and both of the main talents Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton would be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress awards for the 2010 Emmy Awards.
While the first two seasons were broadcast on NBC, the next three seasons would be broadcast on DirectTV’s 101 Network and the fans of the series were able to give “Friday Night Lights” a final fifth season to end the series correctly instead of canceling it without any closure for those fans.
The most significant change during the five seasons of “Friday Night Lights” was at the end of Season Three when Coach Taylor found out about a plot to remove him as coach of the Dillon Panthers. Season three ended with him losing his job at Dillon but being offered to coach for the not-as-tough East Dillon High, which is reopening after years of being closed.
Season four was all about Eric Taylor trying to get this new team prepared for the season but the students/football players had a criminal background. One of the star players that had potential was Vince Howard, a student who has had too much trouble with the law but Taylor has felt he had what it takes to become a star quarterback. The team also has a star running back named Luke Cafferty who was supposed to play for the Dillon Panthers but because his address is within East Dillon’s district, he would be playing for the East Dillon Lions.
While Eric focuses on building his team, other students get used to their new schools. Matt Saracen is trying to get used to the new school but unfortunately, his father is killed in Iraq and throughout season, he deals with his personal problems and abruptly moves to Chicago and leaves Julie Taylor behind.
Meanwhile the Riggins brothers run into trouble when Tim Riggins and his brother start up a chop shop and ends up being busted and while Tim’s brother is responsible, because he has a baby boy, Tim takes the wrap and ends up going to prison.
By the end of the fourth season, East Dillon High School has a losing record with only two wins and Tami Taylor ends up getting into controversy when a girl wants to get an abortion and she supports her decision and because of that, conservatives put pressure on the school and getting her fired.
This leads to the fifth and final season of “Friday Night Lights”.
It’s a new school year and Tami is now a guidance counselor at East Dillon High School, Julie and Landry are moving away to go to college, Tim Riggins is in prison and Eric tries to get his team ready for the new football season and sure enough, the East Dillon High School Lions who had a losing season last year, may be the best team in the district.
“Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” includes the following episodes (spoilerless summaries):
DISC 1:
- EPISODE 64: Expectations – Julie and Landry spend their last moments in town before going off to college. Meanwhile, Tami wants to take initiative as the new guidance counselor at East Dillon.
- EPISODE 65: On the Outside Looking In – When East Dillon is not ranked after beating a ranked team, everyone gets upset! Luke tries to revive his relationship with Becky and Jess deals with Vince’s “rally girl”.
- EPISODE 66: The Right Hand of the Father – Vince’s absentee father shows up out of nowhere, Julie starts to fall for a married man and Buddy has his son live with him.
- EPISODE 67: Keep Looking – Vince continues to have problems with his dad being at home, Buddy meanwhile has to handle his drunken son and Mindy makes a big decision on what to do with Becky.
DISC 2:
- EPISODE 68: Kingdom – Lions take on their rival South King, meanwhile Julie is confronted by the wife of the man she is sleeping with.
- EPISODE 69: Swerve – Julie tells her parents of what happened at school. Meanwhile, Vince is being threatened that if he doesn’t pay a thug his $5,000, he would be killed.
- EPISODE 70: Perfect Record – East Dilon Lions takes on their rivals, the West Dillon Panthers. Meanwhile, someone has leaked to the press about the criminal records of some of the East Dillon Lions players.
- EPISODE 71: Fracture – Tami looks into Epyck’s home life and Julie’s ex tries to visit her at their home.
- EPISODE 72: Gut Check – As Vince’s head gets bigger and bigger, it’s affecting the team and Coach Taylor bench’s him for a game and makes Luke a quarterback.
Disc 3:
- EPISODE 73: Don’t Go – Rumors are swirling that Coach Taylor may leave East Dillon to coach a college team.
- EPISODE 74: The March – Budget cuts are affecting the district and Tami is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
- EPISODE 75: Texas Whatever – The future of the East Dillon High School football team is hanging on a thread as budget cuts will lead to one football program.
- EPISODE 76: Always – The Taylor family must make an important decision on their future.
VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Friday Night Lights” is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1:78:1), English Dolby Digital 5.1 and subtitles are in English SDH. Picture quality for “Friday Night Lights” is good as the majority of the series is film outdoors. There is a good amount of grain for the series but because it’s on DVD, you can expect to see some edge enhancement, mild interlacing and compression artifacts as well.
As for audio, dialogue is clear and understandable and is front channel-driven.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” comes with the following special features:
DISC 1
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring deleted scenes from “Expectations”.
- Yearbook – Featuring photos from 2007-2011 which you can navigate with your remote control.
DISC 2
- Deleted Scenes: Featuring deleted scenes from “Perfect Record” and “Fracture”.
DISC 3
- Deleted Scenes: Featuring deleted scenes from “Don’t Go”, “Texas Whatever”
- The Lights Go Out – (30:00) A featurette featuring the cast and crew talk about how everyone was family and what they loved about working on the series and their thoughts on the series final season.
- Audio Commentary for “Don’t Go” – Featuring audio commentary by director Michael Waxman.
- Audio Commentary for “Always” – Featuring audio commentary with executive producer/showrunner Jason Katims.
EXTRAS:
“Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” comes with a slip over cover case.
I have had the opportunity to watch “Friday Night Lights” from its very first episode and I can tell you right now, I love this show!
I love how accurately it depicts high school football, I love the energy that is displayed in each episode during each ball game but most of all, how wonderful the acting for the series is. I have watched Kyle Chandler grow as an actor from “Early Edition” and to see him act wonderfully in this role as Eric Taylor in “Friday Night Lights”. He has the demeanor of a high school football coach, hard as nails, no-nonsense and very effective.
And you have to have a character that balances the school life and the problems that go on with the school and that is where actress Connie Britton, who plays Eric Taylor’s wife Tami is also just as effective. While Eric handles the problems on the field and also dealing with his players off-the-field, Tami is right there trying to help troubled students any way she can.
And while these two are like the show’s patriarchs, its the many characters who played the students that gave life to the series. Their problems are real and these are problems that people can identify with. Alcoholic or drug abusing parents, parents in jail, students who get carried away with their fame, students who are pregnant, students who get into trouble, students learning from their bad decisions and sure, these are situations that happens every week but instead of being a rehash of been-there, done-that, the writers have done an exceptional job in coming up with storylines that are fresh and new.
There was a good balance from both sides…football and the emotional drama and there were many times that there was no sugar coating. Things happen in this series to keep things going along and in season five, we see the Taylor family go through highs and lows but most of all seeing their marriage put to the test. So much has been focused on Eric Taylor’s quest as a coach and his loving and supportive wife being there for him through thick and thin, but when she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity, will Eric Taylor give up all that he loves about football and coaching for his wife? What will happen to these students as budget cuts continue to hurt their school and schools must unify?
The final season of “Friday Night Lights” may be a sad goodbye to a fantastic series that really never pulled in a lot of viewers but it was a damn good show! It’s a series that had a lot of heart and anyone can relate to it.  The writers did a wonderful job in creating an appropriate send-off for the series and each character, especially the Taylor family.
If you love the series or if you watched the earlier seasons and missed the others, while it is great to watch these seasons in order, you can watch “Friday Night Lights: The Fifth and Final Season” with no problems at all and still enjoy it.
Although short, it was a wonderful final season of “Friday Night Lights”.  This DVD box set is highly recommended!
