One of the types of writing to emerge in recent years is the TV Show Recap. It used to be that newspapers had TV critics who wrote about TV shows and movies before they were shown, now all over the web you can find in-depth analyses of almost any TV show after a new episode is broadcast.

So tomorrow I’m going to be looking forward to reading reactions of tonight’s Friday Night Lights episode. It’s going to be interesting to compare my reactions to theirs as well as to get some different perspectives.

For example after last week’s episode, I read recaps from Time’s James Poneiwozik and Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker that largely matched my own, but the the New York Times’ Ginia Bellafante had a very different insight: ”The episode was called ‘Stay’ and it reinforced the bittersweet point that the kids who are going to lead rich lives leave Dillon and the ones who are going to struggle are the ones who stay. Achievement is just incompatible with hanging around.” Wow, that’s a very interesting socio-economic connection!

Me, I made a very personal connection with that episode. I thought it was a typically understated FNL moment – here you had two of the show’s couples possibly breaking up, yet there were no battles, no betrayals, no ultimatums. All the conflict and pain came from within the characters. One of the things I appreciate most about this show is that it’s mostly about people who try to do the right thing and make an effort to act honorably, yet even though they truly love and care for the people around them, that is sometimes not enough to keep them in their lives, too often there are forces that carry them away.

As a teacher, I sometimes wonder what would happen if we encouraged some of these new forms of writing rather than always insisting on the stodgy report or the contrived narrative. Although they’ll certainly have their place, maybe these other forms can help students to learn how to communicate something that’s on their mind, even if what’s on their mind is a TV show. I don’t think that’s necessarily a negligible skill.

Is there a more understated TV drama than Friday Night Lights?

I don’t think so. In almost every episode, the writers take the dramatic conflicts that arise and either diffuses them, undercuts them, or complicates them into something more interesting and real. Even though the show is centered around a sport as explosive and violent as football, there’s this sense of modesty and respectfulness about it that’s perfect for the small Texas town in which it’s set. Although it’s probably the reason why this TV show has never found a mass audience, it’s the reason why I look forward to each new episode.

The series may have hit it’s peak last week with “The Son.” It was one of the best hours of television I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to give too much away, but one of the characters has just found out his father died in Iraq and goes through an emotional journey as he comes to terms with his father’s passing and the legacy of his life.

In some ways, this particular episode is atypical of the series as there are some very emotional moments that occur. But the grace and humanity in which they play out is classic Friday Night Lights.

Go watch this episode if you haven’t yet seen it. You won’t be disappointed.