Bon voyage to the best show on TV

So, I have watched the final episode of "Friday Night Lights," the best show on television, the one most of you don't watch.

That is a shame, but it's a story for another day. Today is time to say so long, farewell, thanks for the memories, adios. For five improbable years, "FNL" has treated viewers to smart, realistic, funny, touching television. We've witnessed superb acting, even better writing, a gritty sense of realism and a rare sight in modern network television -- realistic, deeply realized character arcs.

Other than one major exception -- the silly "murder" plot in the second season -- this show has held true to itself, felt more like a documentary than drama, and offered fans wonderful moments in American television.

Oh, how I can brag -- about Kyle Chandler's Coach Eric Taylor, about Connie Britton's Tami Taylor, about their perfectly portrayed marriage; about Taylor Kitsch, and Zach Gilford, and Jesse Plemons and Minka Kelly and Michael B. Jordan and Gaius Charles and so many other fine young actors.



But, I have to brag about the best -- Brad Leland as Buddy Garrity, the most honest and perfectly played character on the program. Every community in America has a Buddy Garrity hovering around its high school football program. You know who they are. Watching Brad's Buddy, week after week, season after season, has been a true treat.

It was a show about high school football, but then again, it wasn't. It was about life, loving your family, growing up, overcoming adversity, making choices and learning to live with them. It was good, darn good, something to be savored.

I won't give away anything about the series finale in a nod to you poor souls who have to wait for the NBC spring broadcast or the final season DVD release. Don't want to spoil it. (I saw it on DirecTV's exclusive fall broadcast.)

This show has been so awesome, so authentic, so apt for this chapter of the American experience. In case you missed it, surf now over to Netflix or Amazon or somewhere to get the DVDs, or hold tight until the NBC airing of season five starts soon.

Forgive the trite analogy, but "Friday Night Lights" has been five years worth of forward passes, all thrown for touchdowns, proof positive that terrific television isn't a thing of the past.

Savoring final season of 'Friday Night Lights'

Given that much of television is a wasteland, for four seasons now "Friday Night Lights" has been an oasis in a desert.

Nobody watches it and I don't understand why. I'm tempted to be a snob and say it's because the viewing public wouldn't know class if it bit them in the ass. Others say they stay away because everybody thinks the show is about football.

But it isn't about football. It's about family and friendship and having faith. It's about growing up. It's about navigating through the slings and arrows of adolescence.

And, as corny as this sounds, it's about heart.

The thing I love about the show is it feels so darn real. It's character driven, which makes it another TV anomaly, and for once the characters don't seem like cardboard cutouts. Other than one big misstep during its second year (involving a murder), "FNL" has stayed true to that standard.

It is playing out its last season. I'm going to be sad to see it go.

I miss the original cast, but like real life high school, kids come and go. I love the show's two stars, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. Their Coach Eric and Tammy Taylor play out one of the most realistic marriages ever portrayed on the tube. And, oh, that every high school football player could come of age under the tutelage of a coach with Taylor's character.

"Lights" has shown a remarkable ability to reinvent itself every other year or so. Kids come and go, but nary a beat is missed. Coach Taylor has transitioned from successful, well-funded Dillon High to the poor-side-of-the-tracks East Dillon High. His team can't get too worked up about wins. They're lining the field or replacing lights in the scoreboard the following Monday. It may be an even better show now than it was during that fantastic first season.

OK, so it's idealistic and maybe even a bit soapy. But it's well-written, well-acted and a hell of a lot of fun.

Sorry you've missed it. Shows like this deserve to be savored.

The final season of "Friday Night Lights" is airing at 9 p.m. (Eastern) Wednesdays on DirecTV's 101 Network. It will air on NBC in 2011.