If you've heard how great 'Friday Night Lights' is but never got around to watching this extraordinary drama, soon you can easily get caught up.

Starting Tuesday, ABC Family will show 'Friday Night Lights' every weeknight at 6PM ET. The network will air every episode of the drama, in order.

However 'Friday Night Lights' has an unusual history, and some episodes are longer than the normal hourlong-drama running time of 42 to 44 minutes. So which version of the show would ABC Family use, and were there any additional cuts for content?

Some background: In seasons 3 and 4, longer cuts of each 'FNL' episode aired on DirecTV after DirecTV struck a deal with NBC to co-finance the show (NBC typically airs each season a few months after the DirecTV run ends).

Those with DirecTV will see longer versions of episodes in the upcoming fifth and final season of 'FNL,' which arrives on DirecTV Oct. 27 (and again, slightly shorter versions of those season 5 episodes will air on NBC in 2011).

An ABC Family representative said the network made a few trims for language -- no more than five over the course of the show's first four seasons. And the shorter NBC versions of each episode will air on ABC Family, but the network said it had not made any additional cuts, except for those few trims for language.

Given that the show is airing on family-oriented network, I don't think those language cuts are the end of the world. And normally I'm not a fan of television at the dinner table, but 'Friday Night Lights' is the exception to that rule.

Families that gather to watch this beautifully rendered story of heartbreak and hope will find much to enjoy and discuss, and while the slightly longer episodes enhance 'FNL's' exceptional sense of place, I think it's certainly possible to enjoy either version of the show. I'm not going to be a purist about running times if the ABC Family run helps more people find the show.

Speaking of families, 'FNL' is too complex for very young kids, but anyone over the age of 12 or so should be able to enjoy this well-acted drama about football and the everyday triumphs and tragedies of a small Texas town.