Eyes Wide Open (Friday Night Lights)

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"Eyes Wide Open"
Friday Night Lights episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed by Jeffrey Reiner
Written by Jason Katims
Produced by
Cinematography by David Boyd
Editing byPeter B. Ellis
Original release dateOctober 10, 2006 (2006-10-10)
Running time43 minutes
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Pilot"		Next →
"Wind Sprints"
Friday Night Lights (season 1)
List of episodes

"Eyes Wide Open" is the second episode of the first season of the American sports drama television series Friday Night Lights , inspired by the 1990 nonfiction book by H. G. Bissinger. The episode was written by executive producer Jason Katims and directed by co-executive producer Jeffrey Reiner. It originally aired on NBC on October 10, 2006.

Contents

The series is set in the fictional town of Dillon, a small, close-knit community in rural West Texas. It follows a high school football team, the Dillon Panthers. It features a set of characters, primarily connected to Coach Eric Taylor, his wife Tami, and their daughter Julie. In the episode, Eric feels the pressure of continuing the season without Jason, while the latter receives heartbreaking news.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 5.87 million household viewers and gained a 2.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received near critical acclaim, with critics complimenting the performances and character development. Many felt that the episode was a strong follow-up to the pilot.

Plot

Dillon joins in prayer for Jason (Scott Porter), whose injury will make him miss an entire month at the very least. Buddy (Brad Leland) confides in Eric (Kyle Chandler) his reservations on Matt (Zach Gilford), who will replace him as the team's quarterback.

Matt fails to impress during training, and Eric's concerns arise. Based on a comment by Landry (Jesse Plemons), Matt tells a reporter that his comparisons to Jason wouldn't matter, viewing Jason as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Jason's absence also causes conflict in the team, with Tim (Taylor Kitsch) almost getting into a fight with Smash (Gaius Charles) after the latter takes Jason's place at the local fast food restaurant. That night, Tami (Connie Britton) tells Eric that she has taken a job at the high school as the new guidance counselor in order to pay their debts, although Eric is not delighted with the fact that she took it without talking with him. Eric then takes a phone call from Jason's doctor.

The following day, Eric informs the team that while Jason could regain the use of his upper body, he'll be paralyzed from the lower body, effectively ending his football career. This infuriates Tim, who was previously confronted by Lyla (Minka Kelly) for not visiting Jason at the hospital yet. Eric confides in Tami that he feels "screwed", starting to lose faith in his team. He visits Matt at his house, where he meets his grandmother, Lorraine (Louanne Stephens). He takes him to the football field, where he makes Matt practice with the crowd chanting in the speakers in order to get him to overcome his distractions. On Friday, the town prepares for their next game and their first without Jason. Eric talks with the Panthers, telling them that they are more than just one player and that everyone must work together in order to move from their loss. The team leaves for the field, where they receive the kickoff ball to begin the game.

Production

Development

In September 2006, NBC announced that the second episode of the season would be titled "Eyes Wide Open". [1] The episode was written by executive producer Jason Katims and directed by co-executive producer Jeffrey Reiner. This was Katims' first writing credit, and Reiner's first directing credit. [2]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Eyes Wide Open" was seen by an estimated 5.87 million household viewers with a 2.1 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 2.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. It finished 69th out of 88 programs airing from October 9-15, 2006. [3] This was a 19% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 7.17 million household viewers with a 2.5 in the 18–49 demographics. [4]

Critical reviews

"Eyes Wide Open" received near critical acclaim. Sonia Saraiya of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "the first time we see the wonderful montage that is the title sequence. It also ends with a heart-stopping kickoff in the pitch-black night; it's a beautiful episode." [5]

Alan Sepinwall wrote, "Well, damn. When a show has a pilot as terrific as FNL, the show usually takes a small step back in the next few weeks as the creators try to figure out how to sustain that quality without just repeating themselves. But I found this episode even more gripping and well-done than the pilot." [6]

Brett Love of TV Squad wrote, "Overall, this was a pretty slow episode in terms of the overall story. Almost a calm before the storm. I think it was necessary to give the weight to the Street injury, and it did set everything up for next week. Things should really pick up when the Panthers play game two. I have no idea which way they are going to go with it. A loss will ratchet up the tension on both Eric and Matt, but I could see them going with a win where Matt is mostly relegated to giving Smash the ball." [7] Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A–" grade. [8]

In a more negative review, Colin Moriarty of IGN gave the episode a "mediocre" 5.0 out of 10 and wrote, "it quickly became clear this week when Friday Night Lights aired its second episode, entitled 'Eyes Wide Open,' that Friday Night Lights probably doesn't have a hell of a lot of time left to prove itself. There are problems. In fact, with this series very much still in its infancy, there's a plethora of them." [9]

Kyle Chandler submitted this episode for consideration for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Katims</span> American television writer, producer, and playwright

Jason Katims is an American television writer, producer, and playwright. He is best known as the creator of several television series, including Relativity (1996), Roswell (1999–2002), Friday Night Lights (2006–2011), Parenthood (2010–2015), About a Boy (2014–2015) and Rise (2018).

<i>Friday Night Lights</i> (TV series) American sports drama television series

Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series developed by Peter Berg and inspired by the 1990 nonfiction book by H. G. Bissinger, which was adapted as the 2004 film of the same name by Berg. Executive producers were Brian Grazer, David Nevins, Sarah Aubrey and Jason Katims who also served as showrunner. The series follows a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, a small, close-knit community in rural West Texas. It features an ensemble cast led by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, portraying high school football coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami Taylor, a school faculty member. The primary cast includes characters associated with football and high school. The show uses its small-town backdrop to address many issues in contemporary American culture like family values, school funding, racism, substance use, abortion and lack of economic opportunities.

<i>Friday Night Lights</i> (season 1) Season of television series

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Plemons</span> American actor

Jesse Plemons is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a breakthrough with his role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006–2011). He subsequently portrayed Todd Alquist in season 5 of the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2012–2013) and its sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). For his role as Ed Blumquist in season 2 of the FX anthology series Fargo (2015), he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination and won a Critics' Choice Television Award. He received a second Emmy nomination for his performance in "USS Callister", an episode of the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Saracen</span> Fictional character

Matthew "Matt" Saracen is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV television drama series Friday Night Lights portrayed by the actor Zach Gilford. He is the former backup quarterback of the Dillon High School Panthers before being thrust into the starting spotlight after Jason Street suffers a career-ending injury. His character is based on Chris Comer from the original 1990 book and the 2004 film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Street</span> Fictional character

Jason Mitchell Street is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV television drama Friday Night Lights, portrayed by Scott Porter. Introduced as the small town "All-American," Jason is the starting quarterback of the Dillon Panthers, with a promising future career, until an injury during the season-opening football game results in paraplegia. Jason's story arc is focused on his adjusting to life and carving out a niche for himself outside of Panthers' football. In Season 3, due to Porter leaving the show, Jason moves to New York City after landing an entry-level position at a sports agency to be near his infant son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)</span> Fictional character

Eric Taylor is a fictional character and the central protagonist in the NBC/DirecTV drama television series Friday Night Lights played by Kyle Chandler. He is introduced as the head coach of the Dillon High School football team, the Dillon Panthers. At the end of the first season, he accepts a position as the quarterback coach at the fictional Texas Methodist University (TMU), where he had served as an assistant coach. After the birth of his second daughter, he leaves TMU in the second season to return to Dillon and once again coach the Panthers. Following a conspiracy by Joe McCoy in season three, Taylor is replaced as Panthers' coach by Wade Aikmen, his assistant, and instead offered the chance to start a new football program at East Dillon High School after Dillon, Texas is redistricted. The character was positively received and was included on several best lists and earned Kyle Chandler a number of award nominations, notably winning an Emmy Award in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smash Williams</span> Fictional character

Brian "Smash" Williams is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV(The 101 Network) drama television series Friday Night Lights portrayed by actor Gaius Charles. He is the starting running back of the Dillon High School Panthers. Considered the most talented player on the roster after quarterback Jason Street, Smash received his nickname from his father after hitting a water heater. Smash is believed to be based on Boobie Miles from the Friday Night Lights book and film.

<i>Friday Night Lights</i> (season 2) Season of television series

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Tyra Collette is a character in the NBC/DirecTV drama Friday Night Lights, portrayed by actress Adrianne Palicki.

"Wind Sprints" is the third episode of the first season of the American sports drama television series Friday Night Lights, inspired by the 1990 nonfiction book by H. G. Bissinger. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Heldens and directed by co-executive producer Jeffrey Reiner. It originally aired on NBC on October 17, 2006.

References

  1. ↑ "(#102) "Eyes Wide Open"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Friday Night Lights – WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West . Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings (Oct. 9-15)". ABC Medianet . October 17, 2006. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings (Oct. 2-8)". ABC Medianet . October 10, 2006. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  5. ↑ Saraiya, Sonia (April 17, 2014). "Friday Night Lights: "Eyes Wide Open"/"Wind Sprints"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (October 10, 2006). "Friday Night Lights: Eatin' good in the neighborhood". What's Alan Watching?. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  7. ↑ Love, Brett (October 11, 2006). "Friday Night Lights: Eyes Wide Open". TV Squad . Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Friday Night Lights: "Eyes Wide Open" – Still Too Busy Crying, Sorry". Television Without Pity . October 10, 2006. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ Moriarty, Colin (October 11, 2006). "Friday Night Lights: "Eyes Wide Open" Review". IGN . Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  10. ↑ "2007 Emmys CONFIRMED Episode Submissions". The Envelope Forum, Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
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