Season Recap: "Friday Night Lights"

"Friday Night Lights," which started its first season this fall, takes us to the heart of Dillon, Texas, an impoverished town that doesn't have much going for it besides its high school football stars. The mayor speaks at pep rallies, the radio stations constantly chatter about the team, and the fans will settle for nothing less than a state championship.

Coach Eric Taylor took over as the new coach of the Dillon Panthers this season and immediately faced a tragedy when star quarterback Jason Street was paralyzed making a tackle. Since then, Dillon has struggled to rally around the team, questioning the coach's decisions and facing the reality that even the best Panther players are just teenagers trying to muddle their way through high school.

Here are some of the highlights so far:

• Jason's girlfriend, cheerleader Lyla Garrity, stays perky and positive even in the aftermath of Jason's injury. But the pressures of being the supportive girlfriend ultimately get to her, and she somehow ends up in the arms — and the bed — of Jason's teammate and best friend, Tim Riggins, who blames himself for Jason's botched tackle.
• Gawky sophomore Matt Saracen takes over at quarterback and becomes at least competent, leading the team to a winning record. His new status as a team star causes some tension with his old nerdy friends. He also takes a liking to the coach's bookish daughter, Julie, who returns his affections — much to the dismay of Coach Taylor, who can't deal with his daughter dating at all, but especially not dating one of his players.

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• Jason regains the use of his hands and adjusts to life in a wheelchair, but he still hasn't gotten over the betrayal by Lyla and Riggins. After he channels some of his old athletic prowess into a game of quad rugby, he pours the rest of it into punching Riggins in the nose. As we went to the break, he still hasn't forgiven either one of them.
• Star running back Smash Williams puts in a poor performance in front of a college scout, so he goes behind his mother's back and uses the donations his church has given him for an SAT prep class to buy steroids instead. His drug habit was almost uncovered in the last episode.

The show moves to its new 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot starting with three repeats airing tonight, and you can see all the episodes online for free. The next new episode is scheduled for Jan. 3.