I didn’t know anything about this show other than that Donal Logue was the lead, but FX has a pretty good track record with original programming. First off, it was created by Ted Griffin (who also wrote and directed the pilot). I recognized the name but couldn’t place it. He wrote the first Oceans Eleven remake and, more interestingly, the excellent Matchstick Men. Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Tim Minear (Firefly, Wonderfalls) are involved as well.
There’s not anything tremendously original about the show – Logue and his friend, Michael Raymond-James (Rene from Season 1 of True Blood), are a couple of slack amateur PIs. Logue is an ex-drunk who is recently divorced. Raymond-James is a very Robert Downey, JR-esque free spirit who isn’t ready to settle down with his girlfriend. They get wrapped up in something bigger than they are, and they have to use their connections, their wits, and some gumption to make things right – but not too right.
I would call the pilot “strong”. The major characters are all pretty appealing, and the writing is solid – significantly more solid than I fear the rest of the episodes will end up being. All in all, it’s definitely worth checking out despite the stupid name. I guess terriers are tenacious or something? Scrappy? Stupid name for what could turn out to be a pretty good show.
Fantastic show. Great balance between drama and dry humor. Seems like a good focus on a long running plot line as well, something that took Justified a while to adjust to.
God loves a terrier
Yes he does
God loves a terrier
That’s because
Brown sturdy bright and true
They give their hearts to you
God didn’t miss a stitch
Be it dog or be it bitch
When he made the Norwich merrier
With his cute little derriere
Yes God loves a terrier
Terriers are my very favourite breed.
They’re cute and cuddly and easy dogs to feed.
They’ll bring you up whenever you are down.
Terriers average 20 pounds.
When I walk around in this terrier town,
One thing that makes me down,
Is when people put bandanas on their dogs.
Terriers are my very favourite breed,
Cute and cuddly, easy dogs to feed.
Terriers were there in the 11th century,
Napoleon had one to prevent misery.
Terriers are good with the aged,
Studies show that they prolong old peoples’ lives.
No one wants to die,
Like this guy died.
Die die, die die.
Die die, die die.
Worms eating your eyes.
Bass solo.
If you at all a fan of noir, of scrappy underdogs with huge character defects but snappy dialog, or just good writing, watch Terriers. A quick summary of the four episodes so far is that it’s much like Brick, meets the Rockford Files, meets Breaking Bad.
Episode 4 really moves the plot forward. If you found episode 1 at all watchable, know that the writers and directors have advanced the serial arc much faster, with more twists and turns than you might expect this early in the season. 4 episodes in and we’re already dealing with a conspiracy and with the fallout of Hank’s bad decision. This is not a show content to let its better stories burn in the background while they deal with the case of the week, this is a show which actually knows how to use its case of the week to advance a much greater plot, all while maintaining a great sense of its very broken anti-hero.
