The Best Show Nobody Watched

Friday Night Lights wrapped up its miraculous 5-year run last night on DirecTV's T101 channel. "Miraculous" is my word of choice for two reasons:

• Based on ratings, the show shouldn't have survived its first season. Devoted fans were shocked that it continued to come back, and will be forever grateful that DirecTV partnered with NBC to give us the last two seasons. We could watch forever, but we're happy to have gotten what we did - it was more than we expected. Too bad something like this didn't happen with Freaks and Geeks or My So-Called Life...

• FNL was an amazing show - critics have raved through its entire run, many calling it one of the best ever. Perhaps this article from Time explains its power and beauty best. Characters, plot, realism...I can't do it justice with mere words. The show sagged a bit during its second season due to the writers' strike AND a failed attempt to draw viewers with a bit more sensationalism. But with that exception, FNL only seemed to get better as time passed. Characters graduated and actually LEFT (which makes sense in the real world), but were replaced by equally compelling people. That shark was a long, long way from jumping.

My fellow fans and I have talked ourselves blue in the face, desperately trying to convince our friends to give the show a chance.

"It's not just about football!"
"It's nothing like the movie or the book!" (enjoyed book, didn't care for movie)
"The characters and stories are PERFECT! Just watch a few episodes..."

But they didn't. Most of the time my begging was met with blank stares, so I gave up. Fine - it's my treasure, and their loss. ABC Family attempted to air reruns, but that didn't work. For a reason I'll never understand, the show failed to appeal to the masses...even though it was as true a portrait of small-town America as I've ever seen.

Even though I have DirecTV, I'm a few episodes behind, and am avoiding ANY press about last night's finale. My friend Nicole (the only other fan I know) and I are overdue for one of our viewing parties, so the episodes are waiting on my DVR. Next week. It's sort of reminiscent of my approach to the show throughout its run - I've put off watching episodes because (1) I wanted to savor them, and (2) I knew each one I watched would be one less to see. Honestly, I don't even want to watch the finale, which Slate has described as "perfect." Doing so will be admitting that it's really over.

Well, thank God there's still Mad Men.