Not a lot of laughs but a good, touching, and important story involving characters we grew to care about. Coach was a show mostly about men behaving not so good. But in some episodes men and their expectations, relationships and their failures received a pretty good treatment. This was one of those. And then some. The story revolves around a former player who made it to the big time. He comes back to his Alma Mater where he developed into the star player he was. He was a player as Hayden said, you just knew he would give it his all. Of course Hayden was very proud of his former player almost as a father would be.
If you read this, I recommend you take a chance of the episode and then read the other review with the spoiler warning. Better yet DVR it and watch it again again. You won't be disappointed.
2 Reviews
A very dramatic and quite shocking "Coach" episode
ODDBear5 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen a lot of sitcoms but "Coach" continually surprises me. While there have been situation comedy shows that have delved deeply into dramatic matters; "Coach" is still a one of a kind show in that respect.
It's been great fun watching Hayden Fox (Nelson) turn his Screaming Eagles team from losers to a genuine fighting force in College Football, his interactions with his two assistants (Van Dyke and Fagerbakke; a pitch perfect combo of winning sidekicks) and his tumultuous relationship with Christine Armstrong.
The third season of the show had some dramatic episodes when Hayden broke up with Christine. The creators then showed no fear in foregoing laughs and going for dramatic impact. This season five episode "The Bigger They Are..." is a real shocker. Not only does it headline a dark side in competitive sports and the players who play with fire to improve themselves with steroids but it also reveals a real skeleton in the closet for the main character.
When Hayden utters the last line in the episode; acknowledging the fact he knew his player was taking steroids (which ultimately leads to him having cancer) the show took a big risk...and I applaud the creators for it. The drive for success at any cost led Hayden to ignore the fact that a treasured player he genuinely cares for was endangering himself and here it has disastrous results.
It's a pretty gutsy move to have Hayden; a father figure to his impressionable players, knowingly ignoring the fact a player of his is putting himself at such risk only to please his coach. Hayden has always been a far stretch from perfect but up to here he's always had his heart in the right place where his players are concerned. This one confession shows a dark side to his character; a mistake he's most probably learned from but which will undoubtedly follow him for the rest of his life.
As said; this was a gutsy move for a sitcom. But on the other hand it didn't lead anywhere and was never mentioned again (have yet to view seasons 8 and 9 but I seriously doubt this issue will come up there). Maybe this was a case of them going too far dramatically speaking as seasons 6 and 7 haven't been nearly as dramatic as the third season was and this one fifth season episode. It's just business as usual for Coach and his team in the next episode.
But as is here; "The Bigger They Are..." is a powerful episode; very topical and heartbreaking and Craig T. Nelson gives a terrific performance.
It's been great fun watching Hayden Fox (Nelson) turn his Screaming Eagles team from losers to a genuine fighting force in College Football, his interactions with his two assistants (Van Dyke and Fagerbakke; a pitch perfect combo of winning sidekicks) and his tumultuous relationship with Christine Armstrong.
The third season of the show had some dramatic episodes when Hayden broke up with Christine. The creators then showed no fear in foregoing laughs and going for dramatic impact. This season five episode "The Bigger They Are..." is a real shocker. Not only does it headline a dark side in competitive sports and the players who play with fire to improve themselves with steroids but it also reveals a real skeleton in the closet for the main character.
When Hayden utters the last line in the episode; acknowledging the fact he knew his player was taking steroids (which ultimately leads to him having cancer) the show took a big risk...and I applaud the creators for it. The drive for success at any cost led Hayden to ignore the fact that a treasured player he genuinely cares for was endangering himself and here it has disastrous results.
It's a pretty gutsy move to have Hayden; a father figure to his impressionable players, knowingly ignoring the fact a player of his is putting himself at such risk only to please his coach. Hayden has always been a far stretch from perfect but up to here he's always had his heart in the right place where his players are concerned. This one confession shows a dark side to his character; a mistake he's most probably learned from but which will undoubtedly follow him for the rest of his life.
As said; this was a gutsy move for a sitcom. But on the other hand it didn't lead anywhere and was never mentioned again (have yet to view seasons 8 and 9 but I seriously doubt this issue will come up there). Maybe this was a case of them going too far dramatically speaking as seasons 6 and 7 haven't been nearly as dramatic as the third season was and this one fifth season episode. It's just business as usual for Coach and his team in the next episode.
But as is here; "The Bigger They Are..." is a powerful episode; very topical and heartbreaking and Craig T. Nelson gives a terrific performance.
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