NBC's "Friday Night Lights" airs its first-season finale tonight at 8, and it could be the series finale, too. NBC executives have certainly voiced support for the show, but last week's renewal of low-rated "30 Rock" without a renewal for low-rated "FNL" has to make one wonder where the show stands.

NBC Photo: Bill Records Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) takes the Dillon Panthers to the state championship on "Friday Night Lights."

NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said "FNL" is a "trickier" renewal because the show has yet to find a compatible time slot. 8 p.m. Wednesday certainly isn't doing the trick. Some have suggested that, because of its title, the show belongs on Friday nights, which would certainly make marketing easier, but I'm not convinced the young viewers network executives crave would be home on Friday night to watch it. Plus, Friday is the second least-watched night of the week (behind Saturday), which would not help the show's cause.

We'll learn next month whether or not the Dillon Panthers will get a second season, but in the meantime fans can enjoy this last hour of season one, which includes guest appearances by just about every peripheral character to walk through the series (Grandma Saracen, Dillon's mayor, Smash's mom, Ray "Voo Doo" Tatum, Tim's older brother, etc.).

Though the episode is ostensibly about Dillon's high school football team going to the state championship, like every "FNL" episode, football is just a backdrop to the character drama at the show's heart. Will Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler in the role of a lifetime) really leave the Panthers for a college coaching job? How will pending changes on the home front with his wife (Connie Britton in her most complex TV role to date) color his thinking? And how will the Panther players react if they learn the coach is planning to abandon them on the eve of the big game?

The "FNL" season finale answers some of those questions and advances other plots, too, including the war between Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) and the relationship between Tyra and Landry (Jesse Plemons). (Fans take note: Landry wears a shirt for his speed metal Christian rock band Crucivictorious!)

As for the game itself? The outcome is less important than the journey. Never has the old saying been more true: "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

If this is the end of "FNL," tonight's episode offers enough closure to leave fans sated. Hopefully it won't be. The series has introduced characters of inordinate depth and a husband-wife relationship that's more realistic than any other portrayal of a couple in prime-time (except maybe Tony and Carmela Soprano). "FNL" has earned a shot at overtime.

If the show is canceled, don't blame NBC, at least not much. The network gave the show a fighting chance by renewing it for a full first season. NBC's biggest fault was in marketing the show, which failed to play up its appeal to fans of quality, character drama. In promos, especially last fall, the show looked decidely like a "football show," which kept potential viewers from tuning in.

The blame for the show's failure lies largely with all those viewers who decry the lack of quality family dramas and then never turn out to support them. "FNL" isn't appropriate for small children, but it's an ideal show for parents and teens to watch together. Too bad so many viewers are hypocrites when it comes to TV. If you're going to fault TV for its "dirty" shows then you darn well better support quality programs like "FNL," which espouse the values of strong moral character and devotion to family (while recognizing the complexity of the modern world). Unfortunately, viewer support for "FNL" (and "American Dreams" before it) is sadly lacking.