Awesome TV

Last night I had an amazing couple of hours of TV watching, with episodes of Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica both ending with the departures of characters who have been present since the pilots. When shows are this good, they just throw into dramatic relief how much other shows aren't pulling their weight. Both were well written and brilliantly acted, and the magic of the Internet means that both can be embedded here!

I'm not one of the second-season haters, but to the extent that it wasn't as good as the first season, this season represents a return to form. Why Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton don't have every acting award ever is beyond me.

As far as two-parters go, this episode and "The Oath," which preceded it, were pretty epic, even among BSG episodes. Alessandro Juliani has been killing it, acting-wise, ever since the New Caprica episodes, and his "It stopped." was heartbreaking, even as we weren't necessarily meant to sympathize with his cause. His work on BSG, and Gaius Charles' on FNL just serves to highlight what a travesty it is that these shows don't get nominated for not just Emmys, but SAG Awards as well. If the ensemble awards aren't designed to honor shows like these, with tight casts whose supporting players bring it week after week, then why give awards at all? I can't believe there are still six episodes left in BSG - and can't help but wonder who's the next goner.

Next week is the real dilemma - FNL or Dollhouse? I know I can watch FNL the next day for sure, but nothing's quite as good as watching live. Choices, choices...