'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Comedienne's Second TV Show Canceled This Year
My TV Crush: Connie Britton
How can a woman play one gorgeous, mature, intelligent and down-to-earth woman after another for so long and not get more attention?That's what I keep thinking any time I see Connie Britton on screen. On Friday Night Lights, Britton plays the Tami Taylor, the sexy, no-nonsense wife of Dillon Panthers coach Eric Taylor. In episode after episode, she showed that she is not only a loving mother and a caring school counselor, but that after years of marriage, she still has passion for her husband. But she also knew that she owns her life; in the next-to-last episode of the season, she told Eric that she wasn't going to follow him to a new job in Austin because she liked her job in Dillon.
Of course, this isn't the first time Britton's played the strong, willowy type. Remember Spin City?
Even though I really enjoyed those first few years of the Michael J. Fox showcase, the real reason why I watched was Connie and her perpetually single character Nikki Faber. Despite the fact that she constantly failed in love, the audience knew that Nikki would be anyone's idea of a catch: tall, beautiful, smart, great job, head on her shoulders. You actually rooted for her to get together with Fox's character of Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty, and was heartbroken when it didn't work out.
Britton left Spin in 2000, and since then, she's done a number of strong female roles on both TV and in the movies, including playing the wife to Billy Bob Thornton in the movie version of FNL. Just prior to FNL, she had memorable guest turns on both The West Wing and 24. And even in junk like The Fighting Fitzgeralds, she had a presence that most other thirty-something actresses just don't have.
Fun fact: according to her IMDb profile, Britton was once roommates with another thirty-something actress with a strong screen presence -- Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls. Sigh. Must have been a pretty fun (and sexy) place to hang out.
Another fun fact: Britton got an degree in Asian studies from Dartmouth and spent a period of time in Beijing. So the actress is as smart, if not smarter, than the characters she plays. Gotta love that.
Serious fact: according to her NBC bio, she produced and directed a biography on orphans in Ethiopia. So she's not only Intelligent, beautiful and talented, but she's an activist, too. Wow.
Anyway, it's about time that Connie gets some recognition, and my little fawning blog post isn't going to do that. How 'bout an Emmy nomination? She certainly deserves one.
What do you folks think? Let me know in the comments.
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