"Be the Smash"
From the Peabodys press release: "No dramatic series, broadcast or cable, is more grounded incontemporary American reality than this clear eyed serial about thehopes, dreams, livelihoods and egos intertwined with the fate ofhigh-school football in a Texas town."
Amen, y'all.
I never quite *plan* to wirte about the show, but once again tonight I had to pause the tivo and open Semagic so that I could jot down thoughts as I watched. This week I kept coming back to the theme of maturity. An obvious one for a show centered around a high school, but here it played out among nearly all the characters, both teen and adults. Everyone's trying so hard to do the right thing, to make the mature decision. It mostly pays off, though not necessarily in the ways they expect.
I first noticed this with Waverly and Smash, who are developing one of the richest (teen) relationships on the show. Last week, I was NOT thrilled with him spilling her secret, though upon rewatching I better understood his good intentions. In this case, we have Waverly forcing herself to cope with her disease and not only accept its limitations but choose what's best for herself. At first, I thought she had enough security in Smash's feelings to let him go, knowing he'd come back to her, but now I'm not so sure. And that's actually a good thing. She really cares for him, but she realizes that even if she's tossing him into the (literal) arms of a dozen other girls, she has to take that chance anyway because she has to put herself first. That look of serenity on her face throughout was really touching. And it leads to some new maturity from Smash, too. He doesn't make a scene over Buddy stealing his joke. He chooses to skip the party and rest up for the big game, even though he'd earned a bit of celebration. And he brought her cake! I loved that. :)
Lyla's all over the place these days, but in a fascinating way. Her whole world's crumbling around her -- not just her parents' marriage, but her lifelong status as the Golden Girl for whom nothing could ever go wrong. She's not quite mature, but she's getting there, and her actions and reactions still feel realistic for a 17-year-old in her position. She's forced to admit that her entire relationship with Jason is *over*, and she's able to walk away and close the literal door while still shouting a very realistic "Screw you!" Throughout the season, she's been the most problematic, surface-oriented character, but this emotional destruction is really enriching her and actually making her sympathetic (though I've always found her slightly more sympathetic than many fans.)
God, Landry just breaks my heart. Seeing him so serious tonight -- not even one of his usual smirks -- really got under my skin. He triggered tonight's other theme of poorly-kept secrets in a small town. While I am NOT blaming her for it, Tyra put him in a near-impossible situation. He's a naive Christian (Crucifictorious!) boy in a small town, who's probably never even thought about sexual assault except as something that showed up sometimes on his TV shows. He doesn't have a goddamned clue what to do. Just like most of us do no matter our age, he has to talk about it and try to figure out what the hell is going on; yes, he should have kept her secret, but I imagine many of us would be desperate to tell in his shoes -- raise your hand if you've ever vowed to keep a secret then couldn't stop yourself from telling "just one person", then it spiraled out of control. Last week he began to see Tyra as a real person instead of just that hot chick he'd crushed on for months. Now his naive world is upended, and that crush is the furthest thing from his mind.
That shot of Tami just standing on Tyra's porch was so, so lovely. That storyline also circumvented my expectations. Going to the police won't really solve anything, since I doubt she'll get legal justice under the circumstances. While she didn't necessarily blame herself for the assault, she kept her mouth shut in hopes it would just go away. Filing a report took it off her shoulders and helped her to realize that she was in control of the situation. And it also helped her accept that Landry and Tami were trying to help her. While I have a feeling this is setting up an eventual Tyra/Landry pairing, I almost hope we'll see them establish a friendship first; as things stand now, I think that would be much better for both of them at this point in their lives.
As much as I love the *reality* of this show, they do screw up sometimes. I can't imagine that a high school dropout (hasn't been confirmed, but sure looks that way) like Jason Street would be hired for a coaching staff. That said, the scene of him lecturing Matt in Coach's office was priceless. Since his accident, he's been forced to grow up in a big way, and this is part of that. Though I do get rather flustered that he's acting a bit older than he should be. Still, I can handwave it.
Oh, Coach. You're the one letdown in the "maturity" theme. Seduced (understandably) by the fancy new job, and forgetting about the THREE of you in the family. TMU did put him in a difficult position, but your choice was too self-serving. I can see why you believe you're looking out for the family's best interests, given the mercurial nature of high school football. Still, I really wish that you'd been more receptive to Tami and Julie's desires. I loved that Tami said, "Our relationship can handle it." Isn't that just perfect for Coach/Mrs.Coach (my OTP)? Of course we know that he'll somehow decline the offer next week -- the show would fall apart without him -- but I'm okay with the predictability because the real key is in how it will affect their family... and the rest of the town, when the secret gets out like it almost certainly will.
Some assorted thoughts:
-- That promo for next week made me shout "EEK!" Won't give away the big spoiler for my friends who have to watch the .avis, but ooooh. I also got a giddy thrill out of those clips of the team at Texas Stadium, since I also played (in the marching band) a high school playoff game there. :)
-- The first act of the episode, with all the secrets being spilled, was an example of how well this show manages to use its entire cast. Several discrete storylines, all touching on each other in unexpected but plausible ways. Excellent writing.
-- The storyline with Charlie (Tattoo Girl) continues to be a weak link. I don't dislike her, and she's a good catalyst for Jason's changes. But the situations with her and Jason are becoming way too contrived.
-- Also glad that Tim's fling with Jackie appears to be over. The kid is less annoying than he was at first, but the affair was also too contrived and stupid. At least it appeared to be Tim's method of gaining a bit of maturity as he mentored someone else.
-- Nice to see a Latino man playing the police detective. I can buy the general lack of diversity in such a small town, but Dillon would still have more Hispanic residents than we've seen thus far.
-- On a shallow note: I kinda love Waverly's wardrobe.
-- Those scenes of Coach getting the TMU tour in the teaser really established why he would be so seduced by this new opportunity. I also grinned at how it's so transparently UTx, but of course the show can't specifically namecheck the Longhorns. :) Ah, but I just rewatched, and that's not Darrel K. Royal Stadium. Can't figure out where else in Texas it could've been. This is going to drive me crazy! I've been looking through pics on Google, but I can't find anything that looks like the one in the episode. Definitely Austin in the background, so maybe it's a composite shot? *sigh*
-- Another great moment: the montage at the start of the Roast, with all those fractured relationships. I liked the sense of dread and expectation that this would NOT go well, yet it didn't all fall apart. More maturity, huh?
-- Tami! Smutty jokes! So awesome. And despite their fight, they still show how much they love each other. Another reason why they're my OTP. Can I just say that Connie Britton (a yankee!) does the Texas accent SO well? Especially little verbal nuances that nobody outside of TX would even notice. And yes, "He loves y'all kids" is considered perfect grammar back home. So there. ;)
-- Quote of the week, thanks to the fabulous callback to the pilot: "And Riggins comes in with his cute but tragic 'Texas forever' routine?" Runner-up: "I'll tell her there's a new girl in town, and that girl is me."
ETA: I take that back. The quote of the week is, "So, how about Saracen sleeping with the Coach's daughter?"
Oh, and before I forget -- don't forget to check out Will Arnett guest-starring on 30 Rock Thursday night! Him and Alec Baldwin in the same scene? Be still my heart!
Amen, y'all.
I never quite *plan* to wirte about the show, but once again tonight I had to pause the tivo and open Semagic so that I could jot down thoughts as I watched. This week I kept coming back to the theme of maturity. An obvious one for a show centered around a high school, but here it played out among nearly all the characters, both teen and adults. Everyone's trying so hard to do the right thing, to make the mature decision. It mostly pays off, though not necessarily in the ways they expect.
I first noticed this with Waverly and Smash, who are developing one of the richest (teen) relationships on the show. Last week, I was NOT thrilled with him spilling her secret, though upon rewatching I better understood his good intentions. In this case, we have Waverly forcing herself to cope with her disease and not only accept its limitations but choose what's best for herself. At first, I thought she had enough security in Smash's feelings to let him go, knowing he'd come back to her, but now I'm not so sure. And that's actually a good thing. She really cares for him, but she realizes that even if she's tossing him into the (literal) arms of a dozen other girls, she has to take that chance anyway because she has to put herself first. That look of serenity on her face throughout was really touching. And it leads to some new maturity from Smash, too. He doesn't make a scene over Buddy stealing his joke. He chooses to skip the party and rest up for the big game, even though he'd earned a bit of celebration. And he brought her cake! I loved that. :)
Lyla's all over the place these days, but in a fascinating way. Her whole world's crumbling around her -- not just her parents' marriage, but her lifelong status as the Golden Girl for whom nothing could ever go wrong. She's not quite mature, but she's getting there, and her actions and reactions still feel realistic for a 17-year-old in her position. She's forced to admit that her entire relationship with Jason is *over*, and she's able to walk away and close the literal door while still shouting a very realistic "Screw you!" Throughout the season, she's been the most problematic, surface-oriented character, but this emotional destruction is really enriching her and actually making her sympathetic (though I've always found her slightly more sympathetic than many fans.)
God, Landry just breaks my heart. Seeing him so serious tonight -- not even one of his usual smirks -- really got under my skin. He triggered tonight's other theme of poorly-kept secrets in a small town. While I am NOT blaming her for it, Tyra put him in a near-impossible situation. He's a naive Christian (Crucifictorious!) boy in a small town, who's probably never even thought about sexual assault except as something that showed up sometimes on his TV shows. He doesn't have a goddamned clue what to do. Just like most of us do no matter our age, he has to talk about it and try to figure out what the hell is going on; yes, he should have kept her secret, but I imagine many of us would be desperate to tell in his shoes -- raise your hand if you've ever vowed to keep a secret then couldn't stop yourself from telling "just one person", then it spiraled out of control. Last week he began to see Tyra as a real person instead of just that hot chick he'd crushed on for months. Now his naive world is upended, and that crush is the furthest thing from his mind.
That shot of Tami just standing on Tyra's porch was so, so lovely. That storyline also circumvented my expectations. Going to the police won't really solve anything, since I doubt she'll get legal justice under the circumstances. While she didn't necessarily blame herself for the assault, she kept her mouth shut in hopes it would just go away. Filing a report took it off her shoulders and helped her to realize that she was in control of the situation. And it also helped her accept that Landry and Tami were trying to help her. While I have a feeling this is setting up an eventual Tyra/Landry pairing, I almost hope we'll see them establish a friendship first; as things stand now, I think that would be much better for both of them at this point in their lives.
As much as I love the *reality* of this show, they do screw up sometimes. I can't imagine that a high school dropout (hasn't been confirmed, but sure looks that way) like Jason Street would be hired for a coaching staff. That said, the scene of him lecturing Matt in Coach's office was priceless. Since his accident, he's been forced to grow up in a big way, and this is part of that. Though I do get rather flustered that he's acting a bit older than he should be. Still, I can handwave it.
Oh, Coach. You're the one letdown in the "maturity" theme. Seduced (understandably) by the fancy new job, and forgetting about the THREE of you in the family. TMU did put him in a difficult position, but your choice was too self-serving. I can see why you believe you're looking out for the family's best interests, given the mercurial nature of high school football. Still, I really wish that you'd been more receptive to Tami and Julie's desires. I loved that Tami said, "Our relationship can handle it." Isn't that just perfect for Coach/Mrs.Coach (my OTP)? Of course we know that he'll somehow decline the offer next week -- the show would fall apart without him -- but I'm okay with the predictability because the real key is in how it will affect their family... and the rest of the town, when the secret gets out like it almost certainly will.
Some assorted thoughts:
-- That promo for next week made me shout "EEK!" Won't give away the big spoiler for my friends who have to watch the .avis, but ooooh. I also got a giddy thrill out of those clips of the team at Texas Stadium, since I also played (in the marching band) a high school playoff game there. :)
-- The first act of the episode, with all the secrets being spilled, was an example of how well this show manages to use its entire cast. Several discrete storylines, all touching on each other in unexpected but plausible ways. Excellent writing.
-- The storyline with Charlie (Tattoo Girl) continues to be a weak link. I don't dislike her, and she's a good catalyst for Jason's changes. But the situations with her and Jason are becoming way too contrived.
-- Also glad that Tim's fling with Jackie appears to be over. The kid is less annoying than he was at first, but the affair was also too contrived and stupid. At least it appeared to be Tim's method of gaining a bit of maturity as he mentored someone else.
-- Nice to see a Latino man playing the police detective. I can buy the general lack of diversity in such a small town, but Dillon would still have more Hispanic residents than we've seen thus far.
-- On a shallow note: I kinda love Waverly's wardrobe.
-- Those scenes of Coach getting the TMU tour in the teaser really established why he would be so seduced by this new opportunity. I also grinned at how it's so transparently UTx, but of course the show can't specifically namecheck the Longhorns. :) Ah, but I just rewatched, and that's not Darrel K. Royal Stadium. Can't figure out where else in Texas it could've been. This is going to drive me crazy! I've been looking through pics on Google, but I can't find anything that looks like the one in the episode. Definitely Austin in the background, so maybe it's a composite shot? *sigh*
-- Another great moment: the montage at the start of the Roast, with all those fractured relationships. I liked the sense of dread and expectation that this would NOT go well, yet it didn't all fall apart. More maturity, huh?
-- Tami! Smutty jokes! So awesome. And despite their fight, they still show how much they love each other. Another reason why they're my OTP. Can I just say that Connie Britton (a yankee!) does the Texas accent SO well? Especially little verbal nuances that nobody outside of TX would even notice. And yes, "He loves y'all kids" is considered perfect grammar back home. So there. ;)
-- Quote of the week, thanks to the fabulous callback to the pilot: "And Riggins comes in with his cute but tragic 'Texas forever' routine?" Runner-up: "I'll tell her there's a new girl in town, and that girl is me."
ETA: I take that back. The quote of the week is, "So, how about Saracen sleeping with the Coach's daughter?"
Oh, and before I forget -- don't forget to check out Will Arnett guest-starring on 30 Rock Thursday night! Him and Alec Baldwin in the same scene? Be still my heart!