Friday Night Lights: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch- Changes

The amount of sheer joy this show gives me is ridiculous. I grin and squeel and get sucker-punched by situations that are all too real. Honestly, if you're not watching FNL, you're missing out. NBC.com has all the episodes on their sorta sub-par media player. They're also available on itunes. And for the last time, naysayers, this show is not about football. It features football, but it's about so much more.

Top 10 Awesome Moments of Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes:

10. The awkward grand gesture that was Tyra's mother dragging her into the Father Daughter Dance to prove that she's not a sabotaging harpy.

9. Buddy’s Dr. Phil-inspired scrapbook.

8. Riggins teaching 9 year-old Beau how to fight and reminding him that eye gouging and groin kicks are totally within the limits of a school yard brawl.

7. Buddy's spot-on local car commercial.

6. The Taylor family bantering over Eric's "award-winning"/"very mediocre" chili. Extra points for being able to see just how much Tyra wished her family could hold a candle to Julie's.

5. "Appreciate your service, Sergeant Riggins."

4. Riggins getting in a 10 year-old bully’s face and threatening to punch a hole in his chest and rip out his heart if he ever bothers Beau again.

3. Lyla smashing the crap out of several cars and the front window of her dad's dealership upon learning of his habitual infidelity.

2. Beau's mom giving into the lazy charm of Riggins. “Beau can never know.” I’ll say, the minute he finds out, he’ll start in with “I can’t believe Tim Riggins is gonna be my new dad!”

1. Smash, Riggs, Matt and Street on the field, having the boy-bonding session to end all boy-bonding sessions. And ending it with a Brokeback joke and a promise of renewed friendship between Tim and Jason. Sigh.

The Riches: Believe in the Lie

The Malloy family continues their transition into their new lives. The episode felt like a part two to the premiere as it ended with a bit of resolution for everyone, finally acknowledging that they are really going to do this. Now that they have committed, we can move forward with the story and let the drama and hijinks begin. For me, the best part of this episode was how they showed each of the characters dealing with all of these changes. Of those, I thought Dahlia's story was the most interesting. The burying of the money and the towing of the RV both served to show hard it is for Dahlia to let go of her old life.

Really, the Riches have no use for that crusty old RV. It just makes them stand out in a place where blending in is desired. To Dahlia though, it's not just a mode of transportation. The RV is part of who they are, and it represents some kind of safety for her and, more importantly I think, her family. She didn't have to get it back because it was taken from her wrongfully. It was much more for the psychological security of knowing it is there as an option.

Burying the money is a similar thing. They do have a perfectly good house, and burying money is a little nutty. But it seems that Dahlia doesn't think she belongs there, and she knows that settling in is inviting all kinds of trouble. Couple that with her struggles with drugs and it isn't a hard jump to get to Didi and Cael's conversation about Mom being crazy.

I'll add here that I thought the scene with Dahlia and Nina was excellent. She was so bizarre with the pulling of the hair and the way she was playing games with Dahlia. Nina being stoned out of her mind in the middle of the afternoon was not at all what I expected from that character when we first met her.

For their part, the kids aren't doing so bad. It's quite obvious that Cael's phone calls to Tammy are not going to end with a date to the prom and taking the rented Mercedes to Inspiration Point. Didi is hard to put your finger on at this point. She's a tough kid, and resilient, but you could see in the way she snapped at Dahlia that there is some hostility there. Sam is probably handling things better than anyone. That's due in part to his age of course, but he is making the most of this new adventure.

Wayne was having a pretty good go of it, initially anyway. Despite evidence to the contrary, he was set to make this work, and jumping in with both feet. I liked the job interview. Watching Wayne do his thing is going to be one of the highlights of the show as we move forward. You can see the gears turning as he works and works, just treading water, keeping himself in the game. And then, he gets the opening, this time in the form of Hugh, and finishes it off. The little look he gave when he asked how many of the cases against Hugh they had won was great. Right then, he knew he had his mark.

Things weren't all roses though. Wayne coming to grips with just how much he had bit off while he talked to the bartender was interesting. It gets right to the root of the problem. It's one thing to fool someone for a few minutes, or even a few hours. Fooling them for days and weeks, possibly even months, is a whole different ball game. It all finally took hold as he sat on the porch shooting guns with Hugh. His resignation that he is going to retire, and get an RV, brought him full circle. I think at that moment that he was actually ready to call the whole thing off.

It's interesting how the family came to the decision. It seems like Wayne's confidence and the way he was so set to make this work was part of what ultimately turned the rest of them around on the idea. And then, when he was as close as he has been to pulling out, seeing all of them together, in his idea of that American dream, they brought him right back around. It should be fun watching Wayne in his new gig working for Hugh. Still, you have to believe that all of this can't end well. There are just too many balls for anyone to juggle.

There was a little peek at some of that tonight. The phone call to Doug that Wayne answered. There is also Dale to be concerned with. While the family politics between him and Jenny are interesting, I don't think that is going to be enough to put off the eventual confrontation. So far, so good. It looks like it's going to be a fun ride.

Prison Break: Panama

Even though I loved this episode, I watched the whole thing in fear of suddenly hearing the Van Halen song.

I love it when the show starts out with pure action. Sucre and Bellick chasing down T-Bag was a great way to begin the episode. I guess it's no accident that Bellick continues to team up with the escapees to get his job done. Clearly he has more in common with them than he realizes.

I'm also very happy that C-Note survived. I was getting tired of Mahone's "final solution." Let's not forget, aside from Linc, C-Note is the only escapee who was actually innocent. Seeing him walk out of prison with his family was awesome. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him, but at least his family is relatively safe.

Once again, Mahone has a complete breakdown. I swear this guy gets more and more like John Nash every week. They say if you want to catch a criminal, you have to think like a criminal or in Mahone's case, a complete psycho.

As the episode wrapped up, it was nice to finally see Michael taking responsibility for all the collateral damage his plan has caused. Was it really worth everything that happened just to save the life of his brother? Did he really think he could expose what is clearly the biggest political scandal since the Teapot dome? Most importantly, as Michael and Linc walked on the beach, I kept expecting Hurley to walk up and say, "Dude, got any Pop Tarts on your boat?"

Lost: Par Avion

This episode of Lost was all about birds, both literally and metaphorically.

The Raven – John Locke

Finally we get to see a little bit more of Locke’s nefarious planning. I knew that his actions with the computer were sketchy, and that he certainly seems to have somewhat different motivations than Kate in this scenario, but it is becoming clearer that Locke has his own mission of sorts here.

Much of this was precipitated by an explanation of the list by Mikhail, specifically regarding the John Locke he once knew. Is this the John Locke who fought boars and found his way into his hatch? If anything, it’s the John Locke I once knew myself and have been yearning for. I certainly believe that it is the John Locke who steals C4 and seems to have his own special plans for the Others once he gets into their Barracks.

The return of Locke as a character of important and, most important, mystery has been one of the reasons the show has improved greatly over the past few weeks, and this episode appears to send us heading further towards finding out more about Locke’s past.

The Pigeon – Dr. Christian Shepherd

You know how, when you’re in a park of any sorts, you see a whole lot of pigeons? Well, it appears that Dr. Christian Shephard is the backstory equivalent for Lost. Now having been spotted in the back stories of four different characters (Jack, Sawyer, Ana Lucia and Claire), there’s little question that he is somewhat important to the mythology of all of these characters.

I didn’t learn too much new about Christian in this episode, except that perhaps his frequent tips to Australia make a bit more sense. I would have to go back and watch his visit to the house while under the care of Ana Lucia to see if it connects to Claire or to some other character, but either way I like this continued development. John Terry is good in the role, his bones are sitting somewhere on the island, and it was somewhat nice to see a back story have some sort of ramification on the show’s overall mythology after a few very insular back stories.

The Common Indian Myna – Claire

Now, apparently, the Common Indian Myna is an invasive pest in Australia, which is kind of how I felt about Claire in this episode. Don’t get me wrong, the character isn’t quite that awful, but the problem was that it was a diversion to the much more interesting storyline regarding the search for the Others’ barracks.

It just sometimes feels like it’s a different show we’re watching, and this is frustrating when the other storyline involves people suffering from cerebral hemorrhage. Claire’s storyline wasn’t terrible in terms of backstories go, but her quest for a sea bird was too similar to everyone else’s quests to get off the island and provide hope for the future. Much like Bernard’s, however, there really wasn’t much hope in the least, and it was all rather misguided.

I like that we’re returning to long-forgotten characters, but I just felt like there were more important stories to be telling…and therefore it was a storyline very similar to an invasive pest.

The One That Flew the Coop – Jack

He’s fraternizing with the Others, playing football with Tom? From the preview, he’s being all friendly with even Ben? I knew that Jack was in fairly good spirits with the Others when they left the small island, but how did this all develop here? I’m assuming that it’s in an attempt to save Juliet’s life, but it’s clear that he’s not too concerned about escaping anytime soon (The running towards them was a neat little freakout).

I think it adds an interesting dynamic to things, and I very much like how this storyline is moving quite quickly. Whereas often these storylines have taken awhile to develop, this has moved quite quickly. One episode wandering in the woods following North, one episode at the Flame, one episode getting past the sonic boom fence, and then bam! They’re at the barracks.

Some nice little mythos tidbits along the way (Some interesting stuff with the list and the talk about leaving and coming to the island [For its healing properties?]), and some neat action sequences, and we find ourselves at a crossroads.

This is the kind pacing I saw in the show’s first season, and I think it’s a return to form of sorts. Now that we’re back to an integration between the Others and our castaways, let’s see if it can continue.

Book Review: Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

Although "Baker Towers" sounds like it should be set in an upscale apartment complex or perhaps an exclusive prep school, it actually takes place in a less glamorous, but equally evocative, setting --- the small coal mining town of Bakerton, in western Pennsylvania. The "towers" of the title are actually "two looming piles of mine waste. They are forty feet high and growing, graceful slopes of loose coal and sulfurous dirt ... On windy days they glow soft orange, like the embers of a campfire. Scrap coal, spontaneously combusting; a million bits of coal bursting into flame." The Towers always remain in the background of the novel's action, a quiet but powerful reminder of the town's industrial base and, eventually, a reminder of its past prosperity.

Bookmarked by two major wars --- World War II and Vietnam --- "Baker Towers" follows the fortunes of the Novak children in the wake of their coal miner father's death in the book's opening pages. Born to a Polish father and an Italian mother, the five Novak children seem to bridge the ethnic divides in their small town --- they live in a company house on Polish Hill, but grow up loving their mother's Italian cooking and customs.

Like many young people of their generation, the Novaks dream of escaping their small town. Handsome younger brother Sandy successfully and glibly leaves his industrial roots behind. Older brother Georgie, seduced by a life of wealth and glamour in suburban Philadelphia, escapes, only to regret his choice later in life. Sisters Dorothy and Joyce leave for a while, only to return after the outside world proves disillusioning or even dangerous. Only baby sister Lucy, whose talents and resources suggest that she would leave Bakerton at the first opportunity, truly chooses to stay.

As the five Novaks come to terms --- willingly or grudgingly --- with the hand their fate has dealt them, they find happiness in unexpected places. Their individual dramas and romances play out against the backdrop of a company town that is collapsing under its own weight --- first the company houses go up for sale, then the company store closes, the union goes on strike, and finally a catastrophic event changes the mine and the town forever.

Jennifer Haigh focuses on the trials and tribulations of women's lives, particularly in the years during and after World War II. With masterful plotting and small details, she brings to life the small joys and quiet desperation of the miners' sweethearts, wives and widows.

If "Baker Towers" has a fault, it is that Haigh, in effectively keeping five story lines in the air, sometimes loses a grip on one or two --- it's not always clear how younger brother Sandy figures into the story, for example. However, I was more than happy to forgive a few dropped balls as I enjoyed an ultimately satisfying, compelling story about a way of life that is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Bones: Bodies in the Book

I haven't been watching Bones since Friday Night Lights was moved to 8pm on Wednesdays. So I was anxious to get caught up on all my favorite characters.

Well, at least I wasn't hungry when this episode ended. The first victim, who was eaten by crabs, wasn't too bad, and the third victim, Brennan's publicist, who was chewed on by fire ants, was a bit discomforting. But the second victim, the girl who was being devoured by rats . . . that was downright disgusting. It was definitely a 'close your eyes' moment for me. Gore is part of the show. And, not only do they do it extremely well, but they incorporate it into the episode without seeming out of place.

This mystery worked for me. Three murders take place, each of them mimicking scenes in Temperance's new book. At first I thought that it was done by one person, just like Booth and the rest of the squints of the Jeffersonian Institution did. And, I thought that one person was Hank, the assistant to Bones' publicist. But, when it was revealed that the three suspects were connected (Hank killed victim 2, suspect 1 killed the publicist, suspect 2 killed the first victim) it all came together. The first suspect had an alibi saying he was at a campground. The third victim was killed by fire ants. Excellent!

Over to Bones' relationship with Sully. Can someone out there please tell me why, when two people have sex on a television show, they are shown under the sheets? It gets hot and stuffy under those covers, folks. This is where we first found our two lovebirds. However, as the episode continued it seemed that Brennan was distancing herself from Sully, moving away from the protection he was offering. She declared their relationship was a fling, but she and Sully knew better. In the end they made up and seemed to be taking the next step in their relationship.

Gosh, Hodges had some fine lines this week. One was 'Do you know how tight a rat's rectum can be?'. Another was said during a conversation between him and Cam. When Cam says she probably won't read Bones' new book she reveals that she enjoys books that feature strong women who meet sensitive artists and have mad, animal sex with them. To that, Hodgins responded 'So, pretty much sex books?'.

Dinner & a DVD: Freedom Writers

This rich tasting casserole features pork chops, hash browns, and a topping of cheese and french-fried onions.

Pork Chop Casserole

Pork chops

Seasoned salt

Vegetable oil

1 can cream of celery soup

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Salt & pepper

Frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions

Sprinkle pork chops with seasoned salt. In a skillet, brown chops on both sides in oil. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, salt & pepper; stir in hash browns, 3/4 cup cheese and half of the onions. Spread into a greased baking dish. Arrange pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese and onions. Bake, uncovered, 5-10 minutes longer.

Featured Attraction: Freedom Writers

Life is context. Hilary Swank's Erin Gruwell tells young gangster Marcus (Jason Fin), "… You know what happens when you're dead? People are going to go on living and forget all about you!" 15 year-old Marcus wishes to "die a warrior" protecting his own. No, as Swank's Gruwell pleads, his young death would accomplish nothing. For students in this Long Beach high school this is the gang and race war, where everyone loses, void of possibility, all about survival. For many, surviving to their 18th birthday is a milestone.

"Freedom Writers" based on the "The Freedom Writers Diary" by real-life teacher Erin Gruwell splintered racial gangs become a family, because Ms. G (Gruwell) really "sees" her students and dismisses their uninspired excuses. She is undyingly committed to their greatness. As Erin, Swank really walks the walk. She is absolutely powerful. In giving a toast to her class Erin requests, "The person you were. That person is over."

"Freedom Writers" is the most inspiring and touching movie I have seen in a long time. Tears were streaming down my face through a good half of the movie. "Freedom Writers" is about seeing and inspiring greatness in the presence of no possibility, and walking the walk.

In 1994 Erin (Swank) is a new teacher at a Long Beach high school teaching freshman English. Reviewing young Erin's reading list, the principal notes to Erin that Homer is entirely inappropriate for her student's elementary reading levels. The principal instructs idealist Erin to baby-sit her class, because she will not be able to teach them anything of value.

Scott Glenn as Erin's father Steve, advises Erin to do her time and "do your job". Erin's students know that they have been written off in this racial charged and divisive classroom. Maintaining order, much less teaching English is a threatening nightmare. With her father's pearl necklace and proper dresses, Erin seems an easy victim. However, Swank gives Erin spirit and tenacity.

The Blacks, Latinos, and Cambodians stake their territory in her classroom and are unyielding in retreat. Eva silences the room and breaks Erin's heart when she proclaims, "I hate white people!", and proceeds to justify. Where Erin draws her line in the sand is when she sees a racist cartoon of her student Jamal. She schools her wannabe gangsters that their game is not even in the same league—as the Nazis.

The tipping point occurs when Erin, along with her dad, escort her class to the Museum of Tolerance as they learn about the Holocaust. Her class even reads "The Diary of Anne Frank". Her dad begins to see Erin's great gift and acknowledges her, "I admire you…"

Erin is dedicated to her students carrying two other jobs so she can buy books and provide aids for her students. However, this comes at a cost. Her husband Scott (Patrick Dempsey of "Grey's Anatomy") supports her passion, but with Erin giving her all to her students there is little else left.

There is an electrifying scene where Marcus tells Erin, "That don't fly, Ma!" Erin reminds her class that she is not their mother. Then Eva and Andre tell her that "Ma" is a sign of respect.

And much like for Miep Gies ("The Diary of Anne Frank") these students that endure and move forward are the heroes, along with the woman who inspired and recaptured their innate greatness, Erin Gruwell. "Freedom Writers" is a very special movie.