If you haven’t already heard, the biggest news from Netflix this week is a recently announced price increase. Unlimited online streaming will now cost $8, getting one DVD by mail will also cost $8, two dvds by mail will cost $12, and unlimited streaming plus one dvd at a time, which used to cost $10, will now cost $16 (all of those figures were on a per month basis). In case your panicking about me ending my subscription and thus ending this weekly post, don’t worry! At the very least I will continue to pay for Netflix Instant and may or may not keep receiving discs. I’m not happy about the increase but I can’t say I’m surprised. This is just another step in what will be a long process of slowly phasing out discs all together.
Friday Night Light
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| I think that's a friday night light in the background |
The fact that 7th Heaven aired for eleven seasons while Friday Night Lights (FNL) limped on for five seasons before dying in obscurity is a crime and someone (I don’t know who) should be punished for it. In my opinion, since FNL’s premiere in October of 2006 until its finale in February, there are few, if any, shows that have been better.
To say Friday Night Lights is about football is like saying Remember the Titans is about football. Both use the sport to explore much larger issues. In the Case of Titans, football is primarily used to explore racial tensions while in FNL it is used to explore numerous issues including racism, economic disparity, school funding, and drugs. By the series' end you get a surprisingly detailed portrait of a small town in Texas.
What impressed me most about FNL is the character development. In the pilot, almost every character adheres to a clichéd stereotype such as: the dumb cheerleader who dates the star football player, the quiet backup, the tough guy, or the bookworm. Then, once you think the characters have all been done before, the show turns everything on its head. Some of the stereotypes are still there but most of the characters reveal depth and complexities you don’t normally see in a TV show. What’s even more impressive is that most of the characters graduate and leave at some point during the show. In fact, by the final season only the coach’s family remain regulars. This would cripple most shows but FNL doesn’t miss a beat and manages to introduce compelling new characters.
If you’re looking for a substantial series to get you through the dog days of summer, Friday Night Lights is a great choice. The first four seasons are currently available to stream instantly and I would expect the fifth to be posted before too long.
Luther
In many ways Luther is similar to the Sherlock TV show I posted about several weeks ago. Both are a BBC series about unconventional but brilliant detectives in London and both employ a “by any means necessary” approach. However, Sherlock Holmes comes of as someone out of a story book. After all, that’s what he is. In contrast, John Luther is more of a real person. He actually has a personality and as opposed to Sherlock, displays real emotions.
Unfortunately, Luther fall just short of being an incredible show because completely ridiculous things happen slightly too often. The most glaring example occurs in the first episode when Luther deduces someone is a cold-blooded murderer because the suspect doesn’t yawn when he does. What? I had no idea yawning (or not yawning) was such a bullet proof way to determine guilt. In addition, some of the serial killers Luther tries to track down seem out of place in the real world (e.g. a satanist who drinks his victims' blood).
That being said, Luther is still one of the better TV shows I have seen in the last year, it just doesn't quite reach the same level as Sherlock. However, with a first season comprised of only six-episodes it’s worth giving a shot.
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