The slightly-better-late-than-never parade continues for "Friday Night Lights" on NBC.

A day after the show received its first acting Emmy nominations (for series leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton), "Lights" finished first in broadcast at 8 p.m. Friday among adults 25-54 and men 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54 (the latter a tie). Drawing 3.7 million viewers overall, he show was second in the timeslot among adults 18-49.

"Lights" is close to wrapping up production on a fifth season (for 2010-11) widely believed to be its final campaign, but some have begun to wonder whether last week's little jolt of recognition might prompt yet another Hail Mary pass to extend the show. Best not to get one's hopes up, but you'll have to forgive a fella for hopin'.

Finally, a touchdown for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.

The two performers, long neglected for their celebrated work on "Friday Night Lights," each scored Emmy lead acting nominations today for their work on the series' fourth season.

Overall, "Lights" received four Emmy nominations today, matching the program's total from its first three seasons combined. Rolin Jones was nominated today for writing "The Son" episode, while Linda Lowy, John Brace and Beth Sepko were cited for the fourth year in a row for casting.

The noms are credited to DirecTV, which helped "Lights" keep on the air through an arrangement with NBC. Though a small amount of hope remains that the clock has not officially run out on "Lights," the cast and crew are aware that their current production season is likely their last.

"The thing that makes this so sweet is that we only have two episodes left (to film)," Britton said this morning. "Another thought was this was good for the show. We're always thinking of ways the show can be saved at the 11th hour."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Since the decade is about to end in a mere few days, I figured this was a good time to document my favorite shows of the 2000's.

As you can see, I skew more toward drama than comedy, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a good laugh in the 2000's. Shows that often had me on the floor include "Arrested Development," "30 Rock" and "Everybody Loves Raymond," just to name a few. With only 10 slots, however, they barely missed the cut.

Anyway, enjoy my list and let me know what you think. What did I miss? What do you agree wth? 

10. Mad Men
Matt Weiner’s sometimes slow but always engrossing take on the politically incorrect 1960s workplace also acts as a history lesson, but minus the chalkboard and musty textbooks. Has there ever been a character as tortured as Jon Hamm’s Don Draper, who hid his troubled past as long as he could until wife January Jones finally learned the truth. Kudos to all the cast, but especially Elisabeth Moss, a woman wanting to move up in the working world and not waiting for a man’s approval to do it.

9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Only the mind of Larry David could concoct such zany episodes, with the disparate stories all somehow reconnecting 30 minutes later. This last season especially, where he gathered the "Seinfeld" team in a pseudo-reunion, makes one realize how fortunate viewers are to have Larry continually find something that aggravates him. His brilliance is in separating “real” Larry vs. "Curb" Larry,
and making audiences believe they‘re both the same person.

8. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 
Ever since Jon Stewart took over Comedy Central’s nightly "news" show, there’s no way to watch the events of the day and not think about how Stewart and his remarkable team of writers and "reporters" will offer their unique spin. Sure, it leans to the political left — and you’ll enjoy it more if you do too — but that’s only because Stewart and his team find it nearly impossible to pass on such comic giants as George Bush and Sarah Palin.

7. Lost
The shipwrecked island thing has been done before, but nothing like this. Smoke monsters. Ben. The Others. Flash forwards. Hurley never losing weight. Exec producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have created a pseudo-reality where nothing is ever as it seems and manipulations, treachery and backstabbing between friends is as common as a morning shower. And don’t dare miss an episode — what you missed in season 2 could have major implications in a plot development four years later. Can’t wait to see how it all wraps up in starting in February.

6. The Sopranos
For all the mafia rough-housing of the fellas on "The Sopranos," my favorite moments always involved Carmela — the show’s tour de force, Edie Falco. While some were afraid of Tony’s venom, and rightly so, it was Carmela who held the power in the Soprano family. One particular scene stays with me, where she and Tony have a balls-to-the-wall argument and she tells him their marriage is over. There were lots of great characters who hung out in front of Satriale’s pork store — particularly Christofuh, Paulie and Silvio — but it was the Carmela and Dr. Melfi who told the boys when to play nice, or not.

5. The West Wing
I’m still not sure Martin Sheen wasn’t actually the president. Aaron Sorkin’s presentation of the political process was done in such an entertaining style, that it almost made you made wish you had a career in Washington, D.C. Meticulously offering the inner workings of the White House and how those in the Administration sacrificed much of themselves for the benefit of the American people, “The West Wing” was all about public service, and how there are still some politicians who actually care.

4. The Shield
Whether Vic Mackey was a good cop or not all depends on your point of view. He did whatever it took to take criminals off the street, and if that meant killing one of his own or pocketing a few hundred grand along the way, so be it. The series that put FX on the map was superlative in its grittiness in depicting the mean streets of L.A. Michael Chiklis won an Emmy for his work on the first year of the show, and with the addition of such stellar work from little-known actors such as Jay Karnes and Walton Goggins, “The Shield” has set the bar for future cop shows awfully high.

3. Friday Night Lights
Sometimes television gems come along when you least expect them. NBC might have fumbled the marketing opportunities when “Friday Night Lights” first came on the air a few years bck, but the few fans who watched realized they were witnessing greatness. And they still are. Thanks to DirecTV and the fans at NBC who keep the show on the air , audiences have come to love everything about the citizens of Dillon, Texas — its students, coaches, administrators and, most of all, the families that make is home. How Kyle Chandler has not won an Emmy, much not even nominated, is a primetime disgrace.

2. Deadwood
The term genius shouldn’t be thrown around loosely, especially when it comes to television. Yet, David Milch’s vision of those ebullient gold rushers settling into camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota, circa 1890, was mesmerizing at every turn. While Milch’s dialogue was Shakespearean in its verse, the actors who delivered it captured the spirit of the words brilliantly. Kim Dickens, W. Earl Brown, Timothy Olyphant, Paula Malcomson and, especially, Ian McShane as Al Swearengen brought so much life to their characters, it was as if viewers were allowed to go back in time and see how this country was shaped … one whiskey shot at a time.

1. The Wire
Simply put, there has never been, nor will there ever be, a series as good as David Simon’s “The Wire.” The way Simon and his fellow creatives were able to capture the ills of a metropolitan city on the decline — Baltimore, in this case — through its drug pushers, police, mayoral office, school system and newspaper was to watch Picasso and Michelangelo paint. Impossible to pick a high point from five seasons, many will offer the tragic destiny of the corner boys in season four, yet how does not one single out Bunk, Avon, Prop Joe and, of course, Omar. When asking folks about “The Wire,” the response was often, “Yeah, I’ve never watched, but I hear it’s great. I need to get that on DVD.” Yes, you do. Now.

I have much to be thankful for this season.

The third year of "Mad Men" was a fabulous ride. The fourth season of "Friday Night Lights" (pictured above) has been awe-inspiring. The transition the show made this year in introducing a host of new characters proves that the show's simple genius at portraying the life of regular folks in Small-ish Town, USA was no fluke. It's an amalgamation of the skill of a group of immensely talented, obviously dedicated people, led by showrunner Jason Katims.

Could Kyle Chandler possibly get any better in the role of Coach Eric Taylor? Every week, I think not and then he goes and blows me away the following episode. I'm glad "FNL" only just barely overlapped with "Mad Men" this year, it's a nice way to ease out of the craving for weekly "Mad Men" fix. Now the night I most wait for during the week is Wednesday (when "FNL" airs on DirecTV's 101 Network).

Wednesday is also "Modern Family" night, a show that I'm loving being able still love as the season progresses. The pilot was so good -- but I thought, 'How can they keep this up?' Talented writers, extremely talented, engaging cast (including the great Julie Bowen, pictured left) -- you do the math. Same goes for "The Big Bang Theory." I'm loving seeing it go to No. 1 (among primetime comedies) with a bullet. So well-deserved.

Between "Big Bang" (pictured below) and "Modern Family," I feel spoiled to have two young and growing comedies to look forward to each week. The shows make me laugh (out loud -- they are not infected with the cleverness virus) in very different ways. With "Modern Family," it's usually because I can give a knowing nod to one thread of the storyline as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister or a friend. And with "Big Bang" I laugh because they are very funny fellows (including Kaley Cuoco) doing silly things that, more often than not, make me laugh. You can't ask for more on a Monday night.

How do they do it?

Showrunners and other creatives marvel that the quality of the work that the "Friday Night Lights" team pulls off on its modest episodic budget of about $2 million and change. On a day when showrunner/exec producer Jason Katims were celebrating the clinching of a two-season, 26-episode pickup, Katims took a moment to answer the "how" question.

Although everyone associated with the show raves non-stop about his talents as a showrunner, Katims (pictured left with "FNL" star Connie Britton) was humble in spreading the credit around.

It starts with the video verite 360-degree shooting style that Peter Berg (helmer of the 2004 "FNL" feature who also created and exec produces the series) established when the pilot was shot. Multiple cameras are going all of the time, and moving all around, in any given scene. Actors never know where they're next shot is coming from, so they just focus on the nailing the scene from any angle. (Katims didn't say so but you get the feeling there's a strict no-whining policy on"FNL" sets.) 

"The way Pete Berg directed the pilot allowed us to do the show in a very timely way," Katims says.

Then there's the "incredible team in Austin," says Katims, who supervises the writing from L.A.

Helmer-in-chief Jeff Reiner and producer Nan Bernstein plot out the shooting sked with a military precision. Katims notes that they often shoot footage for more than one football game at a time, to take advantage of the time and coin spent on elaborate setups.

"It saves a lot of money," Katins says, particularly when your show is blessed with a talented and dedicated crew.

Monday afternoon update: It's official! Deal's done!

Click here for the Variety story. More to come from my chat with Jason Katims later tonight once I'm (finally) off deadline.

One way or another, Monday should be a big day for "Friday Night Lights" fanatics. A final decision is expected to come from NBC and DirecTV on a two-season, 26-episode pickup of the acclaimed drama series.

Earlier this month, all signs were pointing to the Peacock and the satcaster were closing in on a deal to save the Imagine TV/Universal Media Studios series, but then early last week there was a hiccup over money -- what else? -- specifically the fee that DirecTV would pay for the right to air the episodes first, commercial-free, as the marquee offering on its 101 Network channel. That was the arrangement that kept the lights on for "FNL" this season, the show's third, and was hoped would continue for a fourth and fifth season of 13 segs each.

At one point it looked like the deal was off, but then clear eyes and full hearts prevailed and the talks resumed in the middle of last week. As of the weekend, the signs were again looking hopeful for the renewal, but insiders cautioned that the final fate of the Dillon Panthers et al would not be known until Monday.

As Slammin' Sammy Meade might say: Folks, this one's going down to the last kick.

There's been a lot of chatter out there about the much-loved "Friday Night Lights" closing in on a two-season renewal from NBC and DirecTV.

The talks are ongoing between NBC, Universal Media Studios and DirecTV, but they hit a big pothole earlier this week. At one point it looked like the deal might crater. But fortunately for the show's loyal cadre of fans, the right phone call was made in the nick of time on Wednesday to hopefully get it all back on track.

It comes down to -- what else? -- money issues, and how much DirecTV will kick in to cover the cost of production on the show, which is estimated at a modest $2 million-$2.5 million per seg. They've been talking about doing 13 episodes per season, and giving DirecTV the exclusive first window, as the partners did for the show's third season, which bowed commercial-free on the satcaster in the fall and in January on NBC.

The biggest thing the Imagine TV production has in its favor is the desire for the deal to make on the part of the key players. Universal wants to keep the show going to amass enough episodes for a syndication sale down the road and to generally enhance the show's library value. NBC wants the prestige of supporting a show beloved by critics, even though it's never been able to draw a big aud. And most of the key cast members are on record as saying they're in if NBC and DirecTV are.

"FNL" exec producer and showrunner Jason Katims is busy now on a high-profile new pilot for NBC, U and Imagine, a new spin on the 1989 Imagine feature "Parenthood." Assuming "Parenthood" gets picked up, the network and studio would help him work out a sked to allow him to juggle both shows. By all accounts, Katims is a prolific writer and utterly devoted to "FNL."

So -- Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose -- and fingers crossed. The next few days should be pivotal for these negotiations.

Angela Bromstad’s message to fans of NBC’s critically beloved but ratings challenged shows: We love these programs too, but people need to start tuning in.

“There’s an affinity and appreciation for those shows and not something I would cavalierly toss aside even if they weren’t meeting expectations. We can’t stop striving for that but we won’t replace shows beloved by fans,” she said. Minutes earlier, however, she told journos gathered at TCA: “We live in a world we have to have both (quality and ratings). We have to have ratings."

If the messages seem contradictory, it might be the only way Bromstad, the Peacock’s newly crowned primetime entertainment chief, could handle the inevitable questions.

On other networks, shows such as “Friday Night Lights,” “Life” and “Chuck” would probably have an extremely hard time to return but the NBC numbers have been so poor, it could be worth it – maybe for nothing more than pleasing a small but hardcore fan base – to bring these shows back.

That being said, with Jay Leno now taking up five primetime slots, competition for the remaining hours will be fierce, especially among scripted shows since reality takes up a sizeable chunk of the Monday-Friday schedule.

Bromstad is well aware that the network didn’t do itself any favors this past fall with shows such as “Kath & Kim” and “Knight Rider” – “The were a fair try but not holding up and may or may not come back. We’re going to try and beat that.” – and that quality of future programming will have to be held to a higher standard if the network is to recapture its glory days.

As to how that philosophy will help shape the fall lineup, everything’s up for grabs at this point.

“There’s not going to be any hard and fast rules. I’m not making any proclomations about specific shows.”

 -- Stuart Levine 

With the season finale of "Friday Night Lights" airing on DirecTV on Wednesday, Variety's Stuart Levine (who reviews the last episode here) and Jon Weisman chatted with red eyes and heavy hearts about the show facing the end of its three-year run -- and how much "Friday Night Lights" could offer if it were to connect on a Hail Mary bid for a fourth season. Caution: Spoliers aplenty if you've been waiting to watch the third season on NBC, beginning Friday.

Stu: At some point, business will defeat creative and the show won't be able to come back. There's just not enough viewers (650,000 per episode, according to DirecTV) to keep the accountants at bay. And while it's incredibly tough to think about saying goodbye to all our friends in Dillon, there is something to be said about going out on top. Sure, a fourth season could offer a lot about the charcters and story arcs you mentioned, but will it be the same show? And will head writer Jason Katims and his talented scribes be able to keep up the great work? Well, looking at what they've accomplished in three seasons, there's little doubt they certainly could, but I couldn't bear the thought of watching characters that didn't matter to me as much as the ones that arrived when the show premiered in 2006. 

Jon: I guess I'd say if the opportunity somehow arose for a fourth season, why live in fear? Do we regret that the show has been on the past two years, even though the first season remains the show's best? Put it this way: If "Lights" had a 2009-10 pickup, we wouldn't say it should be canceled.

But certainly, it's going to take a white knight to make this conversation anything more than theoretical. If I were leading the Save Friday Nights Committee, I'd start the campaign right now, with the show taking its final bow on NBC (where the third season will reprise) starting Friday. How often, after all, has a network show come pre-approved by even a small sample of the public?

Stu: Yeah, certainly NBC could do a lot a worse than bringing back "Friday Night Lights," even though they know it'll get a small aud.

Changing subjects for a sec, what are some of your favorite moments from the three seasons? I was thinking about that the other day, and a lot of Matt Saracen scenes popped into my head, especially the one where Coach Taylor goes to his house in season two as he's laying in the bathtub, with the weight of the world on his shoulders -- caring for his ill grandma, replaced as quarterback, his dad stationed in Iraq.

In more generic terms, I also love it whenever Coach Taylor gathers his players and begins a speech with "Gentlemen …." No matter what he has to say, it carries such gravitas that you feel you're part of the team and are hanging by every word.

Jon: First scene that comes to mind is the visceral threat you felt in the first-season episode when the team bus was pulled over by cops after a victory over a school (and referees), where racism filled the air. I can't think of many moments in my entire life of television watching that felt so tense.

At the same time, I'd also say the lighter moments between Eric and Tami, often in an episode that would also find them sparring, warmly fill my memories of the show. "FNL" managed to make their relationship both idealistic and realistic -- really quite something.

I did truly enjoy the Matt Saracen arc, highlighted by the bathtub scene that you mention -- heck, there wasn't much about the show I didn't enjoy. I'd say my biggest love-hate relationship was with how the writers treated Landry and Tyra. Their relationship was one I adored -- it truly moved me how Landry won her over -- but it hurt how little the writers seemed to trust moving that relationship forward, instead choosing to repeatedly break them up (most notably with the misguided manslaughter storyline) and force Landry to win her back over and over again. The show that gave you Eric and Tami could have also given us one high school relationship with some staying power. Yes, high school is chaotic, but if Tim and Lyla is your most stable couple, maybe you're being too tough.

I guess you could say it was all worth it, though, when you heard Tyra read her college application essay the other night ...

Stu: Yeah, that scene was chilling, and it brought to the forefront all the challenges that Tyra faced, though she did create some drama on her own. I also loved the episode where assistant coach Mac is accused of making racist statements. Really powerful stuff.

But, for sheer joy, I'll say my all-time favorite is "Mud Bowl," which aired near the end of the first season. When the Panthers can't play at home because of a nearby explosion, they end up playing for the right to play for state in an abandoned field in the middle of a cow pasture, in a driving rainstorm as the players are sloshing and sliding all over. It was pure exultation, playing for nothing but love of the sport.

Jon: The point is, we could spend all day and not run out of great "FNL" moments to rehash. Whatever happens, this is a classic show that will only grow in stature as time passes.

Hot off the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nomination vote-tallying machine, here are the top 10 finalists for Emmy noms in the comedy and drama series heats. The final noms will be announced on Thursday, July 17.

(My 2 cents on the list follows after the jump)

COMEDY

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

DRAMA

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire

A spinoff of "The Office"? That's the big news outta NBC today as the Peacock makes good on its promise to reinvent the upfront process with its way-early announcement of its sked for the next 65 years, er, weeks.

A "Son of 'Office'" project has been rumored about for some time, and I have to admit I'm very skeptical...but of course will reserve judgment and give Greg Daniels and Co. the benefit of the doubt until we hear more about it.

12:30 p.m. update: Per NBC, the new show will be "another comic journey, complete with new faces and new locations," which suggests that none of the current "Office" workers will be extracted from the Scranton branch, at least not for the purposes of the spinoff. New skein will launch after Peacock's Super Bowl telecast in February, right behind a fresh seg of "Office." Of this development, Daniels said in a canned statement: "Who would have ever thought that Americans would be subjected to a mock-documentary after the Super Bowl? What has happened to this country?"

Other good news from today's announcement is that the glorious "Friday Night Lights" will live to play another season. Whoo-hoo. Variety's Joe Adalian has all the details on NBC's plans right here.

The strike may be over, but the Writers Guild of America fundraisers to fill the coffers of its industry strike fund continues.

The next event, hosted by Writers Theatre LA, is set for Saturday at the Lyric Theater (520 N. La Brea Ave.) and will feature perfs of five one-act plays. The last one in the rotation is  WGA board member Howard Rodman's take on "How the Writers Strike Ended," which is billed as "a savage (and savagely funny) look inside the moguls' executive dining room, where food is made, decisions are eaten." (Rodman pictured left)

There are more perfs and readings set for Sunday March 9, and on March 31 there'll be a perf of Jennifer Maisel's "The Last Seder," about how a Passover dinner allows a family's to heal its past and move on. Play recently earned a grant from the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays and was commissioned by the Foundation for Jewish Culture...

Meanwhile, the Writers Guild Foundation is reviving its "Anatomy of a Script" seminar series examining film and TV scripts, starting March 11 for six consecutive Tuesdays at the WGA's HQ on Third Street.
Seminars, moderated by scribes Winnie Holzman and Robin Schiff, begin with a dissection of "Traffic" with Stephen Gaghan; followed by "Lars and the Real Girl" with Nancy Oliver; "Friday Night Lights" with Jason Katims (pictured right); "Ghost" with Bruce Joel Rubin; "The Bernie Mac Show" with Larry Wilmore; and "Grey's Anatomy" with Shonda Rhimes....

And finally, what does ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" have in common with "Gunsmoke," "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," "Law & Order," "Bonanza," "Lassie," "Death Valley Days" and "The Simpsons"? Four-hundred episodes, that's what (at least half of them included the clip of the cat flushing a toilet). "AFHV" was YouTube when YouTube wasn't cool (or invented yet), and "AFHV" czar Vin Di Bona (pictured far left with "AFHV" host Tom Bergeron) has been there for all of them. Di Bona banked seg No. 400 last week; it's set to air April 20.

For all the affection I have for "Friday Night Lights," I did not know that the story of Jason Street was inspired by a real person, a high school athlete who was dealt the same fateful blow on the gridiron as Street faces in the pilot seg of "FNL."

I didn't know this until I spotted an obituary in Saturday's New York Times with the headline: "David Edwards, who inspired TV episode, dies at 20."

"FNL" shepherd Peter Berg was in the crowd in a Texas high school football arena in November 2003 when Edwards snapped his neck after a collision with the wide receiver, which left him paralyzed. According to the AP obit, he'd been fighting pneumonia for some weeks and then went into a coma.

Edwards died Wednesday at the age of 20. To the millions of "FNL" fans, his legacy will endure in the proud, intelligent and determined character of Jason Street, a man of fortitude and great moral courage who is anything but a victim of his injury. It is to the credit of Berg and the rest of "FNL's" creative team that they found a thesp to play Street with the level of dignity and heart that Scott Porter (pictured left) brings to the role.

A writers strike could ruin your whole day. Or night.

My hard-working Variety colleagues spent all day Tuesday turning over rocks and looking into every aspect of what a scribe work stoppage would mean for this town, and none of it is good. TV editors Joe Adalian and Michael Schneider did a fine job of explaining how quickly a strike would KO our favorite latenight companions -- read their reportage by clicking here, and check out the rest of Variety's team coverage by clicking here.

Speaking of our fave latenight companions, here's a look at what David Letterman looked like the last time the WGA went out. While some part of Letterman might want to turn back the clock to those lazy-hazy days of July 1988 when this pic was snapped (actually, he seems so happy these days as little Harry's proud papa I'll be he wouldn't go back for nothin'), fans of quality television do not want to be deprived of our daily and weekly fixes of our fave primetime raves. (No more visits to "The Office," a dimming of "Friday Night Lights," a busted "Big Bang Theory," losing "Lost" in midstream, uprooted "Pushing Daisies," etc.)

So here's to hoping the federal mediator or somebody can bring about a meeting of the minds in the ultimate writers' room this week.

(Letterman pic by Ron Galella/WireImage)

ESPN 2 has a series coming up that sounds a whole lot like a real-life spin on "Friday Night Lights." Judging by this promo (click here and enter the password: heespn07), "Varsity Inc." is even shot like "FNL." Six-part skein follows the 2007 pigskin season of the West Monroe Rebels, the high school football heroes of West Monroe High School in football-crazy West Monroe, La., where the Friday night games pack the high school stadium with more people than there are in all of West Monroe, according to ESPN.

Rebels are among top-ranked high school squads in the country, having won six state championships ("State!") and two national titles since 1993. Series promises to follow the team's exploits on the gridiron, as well as the players and coaches' personal trials and tribulations. (Sound familiar, Coach Taylor?)

Series, the first from ESPN's Content Development unit, hails from producer Jason Sciavicco and his Horizon Entertainment banner, and is penciled in to preem Nov. 29 at 11 p.m. ET, with repeats on the ESPN U channel. ESPN's also promising more content on its ESPN360.com web platform that fans may want to follow, should the Rebels saga prove as compelling as the fictional drama of "FNL's" Dillon Panthers.

Much has been said by the cognizati about the greatness of NBC's "Friday Night Lights," how it has managed to capture the simple majesty of everyday folks living through everyday trials and triumphs.

All the superlatives that have been hurled at the show during the past year are true, and justly earned. In primetime's sea of cops, docs, lawyers and supernaturals, "Friday Night Lights" is the bravest show on TV, and it trumped the odds against shows with anemic Nielsen numbers to secure a renewal for a second season, which begins Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. (Get plenty of vid clips and full episodes for streaming by clicking here.)

"Friday Night Lights" stood apart in its freshman year because its only storytelling fulcrum in the traditional sense (i.e. a built-in plot engine like the case of the week, disease of the week, etc.) a small-town high school football team's quest to reach the summit of the Texas state high school football championship. The Dillon Panthers' bid for "State" is greatly complicated after the team's star quarterback is injured paralyzed in the first game (and episode) of the season.

But to tag "FNL" as a "football show" is like saying John Ford's "Stagecoach" is about bandits and Indians running amok in the old West. The vast majority of "FNL" hinges on the writers' ability to find compelling stories within the stuff of life in a small Texas town. Like everything else about the show, even the town of Dillon was finely drawn as a vibrant, complex character -- neither dirt poor nor oil flush, neither a redneck wasteland nor an enlightened utopia.

Dillon has many classes, many races and many nuances that were slowly drawn out through the course of 22 segs last season in such a way that made it come alive to people who've never been anywhere near the Lone Star state.

For all that there is to gush about over "FNL" (The writing! The ensemble! The directing! The production touches!), what stands out most to me after two weeks of marathon viewing of the season one DVD set is how so much of the drama is rooted in a subject rarely tackled in such a significant way on the small screen: Parenting.

Pictured above: "Friday Night Lights" cast and producers Jason Katims and Jeffrey Reiner (first row far left) soaked up the kudos during the show's NBC's Television Critics Assn. press tour sesh in July.

Not much of an upset Saturday night during the first leg of the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony as HBO's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" maintained its trophy market share with a total of five wins, followed by Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" (wha?) and NBC's "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" with four apiece. (For a proper report on who-won-what, click here for the report from Variety's Jeff Sneider, who sacrificed his Saturday night so that you and I wouldn't have to.)

Contrary to conventional wisdom the Creative Arts ceremony isn't all craft and tech honors (though let it be said here that the below-the-line folks are not only H'wood's salt of the earth but its true artisans). NBC nearly swept the guest-star awards categories, which can be a handy career reviver for the right actor at the right moment if the sun and the moon and the stars align...

Elaine Stritch (pictured left) bagged the guest actress in a comedy trophy for her turns in "30 Rock." Leslie Caron (pictured right) took the drama trophy for her one-shot on "Law & Order: SVU." John Goodman's visits to "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" were recognized for guest actor in a drama, while Stanley Tucci (pictured above) got the nod on the comedy side for having fun with the great Tony Shalhoub on "Monk." (So if you count USA Network as one of "the networks of NBC Universal," as the Peacock likes to put it, NBC U did sweep the category. That bit of bragging rights and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee at Musso & Franks...)

(Pics of Stritch and Caron on Creative Arts Emmy red carpet by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)

I'm not sure if "Friday Night Lights" is the kind of show that lends itself to the "High School Musical" viewing-party treatment, but it's at least good to see that NBC is engaged in promoting the soph season premiere of the show.

Peacock has pacted with Houseparty.com to mount a viewing party contest for "1,000 lucky hosts" who'll get the chance to throw their own "FNL" themed affair complete with a sneak peek at the season premiere on Sept. 14. For people willing to apply at Houseparty.com for the privilege of promoting the show's Oct. 5 debut in its new Friday 9 p.m. slot, NBC will pick 1,000 of them to receive party kits full of "FNL" themed tchotskes relating to the show about a life in a small Texas town that is crazy about its high school football (megaphones, stadium cushions, rally towels, a DVD of the first four segs from last season with a special introduction from "FNL" stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) and of course, a bonus DVD of the pilot of "Bionic Woman." (Don't know of the "FNL" crowd will be flocking to "Bionic" but you can't blame them for trying...)

Plans for the parties will be tubthumped all across NBC.com (it's already started on the "FNL" page), local affiliate stations' websites and each party host gets a page on Houseparty.com. (Gee, whatever happened to picking up some beer, wine and a few extra-big bags of potato chips and making an effort to vacuum before guests show up?)
NBC's longtime marketing guru John Miller sez it's all about (staged) word-of-mouth promotion:
"With word of mouth advertising being so effective, we wanted to create a natural venue for that kind of experience in the comfort of people's homes," he said.

Of course, fans who don't make the cut can strike back by downloading illegal copies of "FNL" episodes off the Internet, grabbing images of the show off of Google to scan on to T-shirts and generally getting drunk and unruly at their own "FNL" themed parties on Sept. 13. (Just a little joke. Don't send the piracy police after me, please.)

What Emmy didn't giveth on Thursday morning, the TCA Awards bestowed on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

NBC's "Friday Night Lights," conspicuously snubbed by Emmy voters, got its due in nabbing best new program. Michael C. Hall of Showtime's "Dexter," another near no-show in the Emmy derby, was deemed best drama actor at the ceremony hosted by "Daily Show's" John Oliver.

Overall the Peacock swept the Television Critics Assn. kudofest with four trophies, including best comedy for "The Office," natch, and Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" for top dog among comedy actors.TCA-ers didn't overlook NBC's other big frosh drama of last season, picking  "Heroes" the program of the year.

(Pictured: Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler of "Friday Night Lights")

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I'd say this year's crop of Emmy nominees fall into a few broad categories.

IT'S ABOUT TIME:

David Morse. Morse (pictured left) broke your heart every week during the 1982-1988 run of NBC's "St. Elsewhere." But was he nominated? Nooooo. It took a guest shot role on another hospital drama, Fox's "House," to win this underrated actor some Emmy appreciation.

Rainn Wilson. How could he have been overlooked last year? Just the sight of  him in his Dwight Schrute persona (pictured right) makes me laugh.

Mary-Louise Parker. Emmy voters felt so bad for snubbing her last year for "Weeds" that they gave her two noms, this year, one for "Weeds," one for the Oxygen movie "The Robber Bride."

This category can also encompass the new names and faces Emmy voters let into the tent this year, including "30 Rock"; "Ugly Betty" and America Ferrera; "Heroes" and Masi Oka; Neil Patrick Harris of "How I Met Your Mother."

Big panel, big show, big challenges.

The "Friday Night Lights" cast and crew were well-received by the TCA-ers in the show's sesh on Tuesday. The crix weren't overly gushy but there was a general consensus that this Peabody-winning show is a fine example of quality triumphing over anemic ratings. Getting a wider audience to appreciate the show had become something of a mission for the previous steward of NBC Entertainment, before Kevin Reilly hustled out of Burbank in June following the Ben Silverman shakeup.

To Ben's credit, in the eyes of "FNL" fans, he's vowed to support the show and one of his first bulletins on Monday in his exec Q&A was a time slot switch for the show that at least takes it out of the vortex of 10 p.m. Friday (where only CBS has found the right mathematical equation to get a decent number lately with "Numbers"). Now "FNL" is due to get a little hammock support at 9 p.m. on its namesake night between "Deal or No Deal" and "Las Vegas." And Silverman's co-topper, Marc Graboff, praised the show for being "efficiently produced," which was another thing that helped it survive for a second season.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Like a greased football, "Friday Night Lights" keeps moving around.

After NBC announced at the May upfronts that that the small-rated but well-reviewed drama was shifting its timeslot to Friday at 10, network topper Ben Silverman announced at TCA on Monday that "FNL" is now moving up an hour to 9 p.m.

Net's new Friday night lineup now shakes up this way: "Deal or No Deal" at 8, "Friday Night Lights" at 9 and "Las Vegas" at 10.

Filmed in Austin, Texas, "Friday Night Lights" -- TCA-nominated for program of the year and a Peabody Award winner -- has a rabid fan base but was never able to generate any type of ratings momentum. The show was very much on the bubble as far as returning for a second season.

One reason the show came back is that it's relatively cheap to produce compared to other one-hour dramas.

"It's produced effiicently," Silverman said. "We're always looking at finding responsible ways (to get these type of shows on the air). It's less expensive than 'Heroes.'"

Added co-topper Marc Graboff: "You want to stay with the shows you're most passionate about. We don't want 'Friday Night Lights' and '30 Rock' to become quality shows that never caught on, like 'Arrested Development.'"

NBC is hoping the late August release of the first season DVD will create more audience awareness that will carry over into season two.

Graboff went on say the series has received a full-season (22 episode) order, meaning if ratings aren't stellar coming out of the gate this fall, don't expect immediate talk about cancellation. And the Friday night slot means the stakes for drawing huge numbers aren't as high as other nights of the week.

Silverman also said that the network will be marketing the show differently this season that last, when the promos were mostly based on the on-field activities. This year, Silverman said, much of the ad dollars would be put toward the family dynamics and interaction of the students at Dillon High.

"We want to see the family demo," he said.

-- Stuart Levine