'Friday Night Lights' Returns
One of TV's best series returns tonight, though if you get DirecTV, odds are you've already seen this season.
"Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 8 p.m.) kicks off its fourth season in which our beloved characters hvae gone through a major shakeup -- Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is out as coach of perennial contender Dillon High School and forced to take over the football program at East Dillon, which barely has a football field. Meanwhile, his wife Tami (Connie Britton) is still stuck as principal at Dillon with the people who ousted her husband.
Former players Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) are trying to find themselves; Riggins can't adjust to college life, while Matt is forced to give up his dreams of art school in order to take care of his grandmother, who suffers from dementia.
The season also introduces new characters into the mix.
Some people might have been turned off initially by "FNL," because they thought it was only about football. "FNL" is as much about football as "High Noon" was a pure Western -- it may have established the milieu, but there's so much more going on.
The teens in "FNL" are the vapid, beautiful teens of the various CW shows. There's incredible depth to these characters, and they often give us a slice of pure Americana.
If you've missed this series in the past, now is a perfect point to jump with since the plot of the series has rebooted in a sense.
WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean reprise their roles of Martha Kent and Perry White on "Smallville" (CW, 8 p.m.) as we learn the identity of the Red Queen.
CBS has new episodes of "Ghost Whisperer," "Medium" and "Miami Medical" from 8-11 p.m.
On cable, there's a new "Stargate Universe" (SyFy, 9 p.m.), followed by the conclusion of a two-part "Merlin" at 10 p.m.
On Saturday, "Doctor Who" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) sees the return of both River Song (Alex Kingston) and the Weeping Angels, one of the coolest villain creations ever.
On Sunday, "The Amazing Race" (CBS, 8 p.m.) crowns its newest winner, followed by the latest "Jesse Stone" TV movie at 9 p.m.
Fox's animated block is new, while ABC has new episodes of "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" from 9-11 p.m.
On cable, there's a new episode of "The Tudors" (Showtime, 9 p.m.), while HBO has new episodes of "The Pacific" and "Treme."
Lastly, there's a new "Breaking Bad" at 10 p.m. on AMC.
This story was originally published May 7, 2010 at 1:51 PM with the headline "'Friday Night Lights' Returns."