In case you have been living under a rock for the past year or you have grown tired of NBC jerking you around with its endless primetime scheduling changes, there is this show called "Friday Night Lights." It's based on the book and the film of the same name and stars a few of the actors from the film, itself. It is a brilliantly written, expertly filmed, thoughtfully acted, hour-long drama about a small, fictional Texas town named Dillon where they live and breathe Dillon Panthers high school football. The story follows the players, the coach, the teachers, the boosters, and the students as the arcs of their lives weave in and out of each other in a carefully and subtly crafted tapestry of power and emotion. It also has three hot girls, a MILF, and a healthy dose of great football action led by an aww-shucks quarterback, a shit-talking running back, and a beer-chugging fullback.

Green-lighting a second season for a fantastic show like this seems like a no-brainer to you and me, but it was not such an easy call for NBC. The show suffers from chronically low ratings, thanks to a phenomenon in network television I like to call "People are Fucking Stupid." Some, like executive producer Jason Katims, blame the corporate marketing strategy as well. Regardless, the producers and the network are doing whatever they can to ensure that FNL succeeds this fall.

After two-stepping across NBC's primetime lineup last year, the show's eagerly awaited second season is scheduled to air in the more drama-friendly 9pm time slot on Friday nights (imagine that!). In addition, the DVD set of the first season is set for release in August, a month before it's second season premiere. The support and promotion efforts do not stop there, however. Producers are committed to leaving no creative stone unturned, no matter how odious the creature they may find underneath. And therein lies the rub.

TV Guide is reporting that the producers of Friday Night Lights are entertaining the idea of casting Rosie O'Donnell in a small, potentially recurring role in the upcoming season. From the article:

FNL execs are wooing the ex-View lightning rod to appear in an episode this fall. "Rosie's a big fan of Friday Night Lights, as we know from The View, and we heard she was interested in being on the show," executive producer Jason Katims tells me. "Usually we don't do any stunt casting, but we have a character coming up -- six or seven episodes into the new season -- of a female soccer coach who is really angry about all of the school's resources going to football. It's a really funny character and I think she'd be perfect for it.

"There's a scene where she comes in to see Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and slams a dead soccer ball on his desk and basically says, 'You're the guy who gets everything!'" Katims continues. "It's a really fun scene, and it's the one time I'm thinking of stunt casting."

Rosie Motherfucking O'Donnell.

That's quite the way for a show to jump the shark. The big fat, sweaty shark. Have Bissinger, Berg & Co. shot their entire creative load in one season? I suppose it's possible. American literary history is littered with authors who only had one great book in them. There's no reason to believe some television writers can't suffer a similar fate. Maybe FNL was destined for a single season run. Sure there are still several unresolved story lines, but the Dillon Panthers did win the Texas State High School Football Championship in the season finale. Maybe "stunt-casting" a lesbian water buffalo is a good way to generate viewership in a show that has already peaked. Of course, I don't think that's the case at all. Friday Night Lights boasts some of the best writers in network television, with the capacity to develop intriguing story lines for several seasons to come.

That said, how on Earth does anyone with artistic integrity (or a soul) even consider this move? You have a critically acclaimed show with a large ensemble cast that has, within a single season, grown into something greater than the sum of its parts. And in the service of better ratings for a network that has no business canceling a show right now, you want to add the ignorant, divisive, loud-mouthed star of "Another Stakeout"? That's like a chef spending a year working out his cassoulet recipe and then, once he's perfected it, deciding to add a turd because the restaurant hasn't been as busy as he'd like and he knows that a turd will get people's attention. I don't know about you, but I prefer my cassoulet the old fashioned way: turd-free.

In that vein, I hereby begin my campaign to KEEP ROSIE O'DONNELL OFF "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS". Everyone who cares about the quality of television and the fate of its greatest network show should sign THIS ONLINE PETITION to do their part. This is as much about Friday Night Lights as it is about any other great show. Would you want that abrasive sea monster sliming her way across your favorite show?

I didn't think so.

SIGN THIS ONLINE PETITION and forward it along to your friends who aren't fucking stupid.

Posted by nils at 7:12 PM

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