After three episodes, I can say with confidence that Friday Night Lights -- currently showing on DirecTV before a mid-season run on NBC -- is out of the sophomore slump it seemed to suffer last season. The "Tim gets religion, Landry and Tyra murder mayhem and Jason goes to Mexico" antics are definitely in the rear view mirror and the quality drama is back on the front burner.

What makes Friday Night Lights work so well is that the conflicts are real and more often than not relevant and relatable. The questions are good vs. bad, right vs. wrong...the questions are posed as choices. Nothing is black and white. Buddy Garrity wants all the best for Dillon High. He's not a bad guy. His goal for the school this year is a big, beautiful Jumbotron scoreboard. That's a good thing, right?

(S02E06) This episode marked the first appearance of Jason Alexander as the new school principal, a man who took some time off after assaulting a faculty member and has now re-invented himself as a kind of enigmatic guru of sorts.

Alexander's character only appears in the first part of the episode, but by the end we learn he was with Chris and Joey the whole time, at least, he had somebody watching after them when they become lost in New York City. It turns out his plan to make Chris and his bully understand one another didn't quite have the affect he had hoped, though.

The guest train at Everybody Hates Chris continues to chug along. First it was announced that Whoopi Goldberg would appear in a couple of episodes of the Chris Rock-produced comedy. Now comes word that Jason Alexander will be appearing in two episodes, playing the principal of Corleone Junior High, where the title character goes to school. He will also direct an episode.

Hm. I wonder if these high-profile guest spots are happening because stars saw the show last year and liked it, or is this an attempt by the producers to garner a bit of attention for a show that seemed to get lost in the shuffle last year? Not sure. But its Sunday at 7 timeslot isn't exactly going to encourage me to watch.