Paper Thin Walls

Top Five Reasons Why 'Friday Night Lights' is the New Old '90210,' Only Better

By now I assume you've heard the news. "90210" is back, for better or worse. OK, for worse. It's a shame, really, to be this redundant. "90210" has been here all along, in the form of "Friday  Night Lights," the best show on TV no one's watching.

What follows is my rather half-thought-out musings on why FNL is the new old 90210, only better (and yes I watched "90210" as a pre-teen/teen).

1. Tim Riggins is the new Dylan McKay. He's got the heartthrob looks, the bad boy attitude. Everything Dylan McKay had.

2. The Taylors are essentially the Walshes, only better. The mom's hotter, the dad's cooler, the teen's hotter. The only thing they're missing is Brandon Walsh and who needs him anyway?

3. The soundtrack's much better. Most of the soundtrack is provided by Explosions in the Sky and, as ESPN commentator Bill Simmons noted, makes even John McCain passing a kidney stone epic.

4. It's more relatable than "90210." As a teen growing up on the border of Ohio and West Virginia, how could I relate to such travesties as forgetting which Palm Springs hotel you're staying in over Presidents Weekend. Instead, FNL is about football. What's more relatable than football in West Virginia?

5. FNL is about more than football. It's about growing up, finding your place in the world, and murdering some creep who's stalking your wannabe girlfriend, then ditching his body in the river and calling on your sheriff dad to help cover up the evidence.

And if that's not enough to convince you, Tim Riggins once acknowledged "Roadhouse" as the greatest movie ever made. That's truth. Speak it loud.