Thoughts on Terriers

In July, I watched Terriers, Donal Logue’s short-lived crime show from 2010. The basic plot is two unlicensed private detectives (an ex-cop and a petty thief) pair up to solve local crimes, which start with stealing a woman’s dog back from her ex and turns into uncovering a sordid corruption scandal with a rich developer over property rights. I really liked the noir vibe over the seedy parts of its Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA setting, the great chemistry between Logue and Michael Raymond-James, the dark and witty comedy, Logue’s fantastic delivery as a guy who looks like The Dude but with a more cynical look at life, and how thoroughly engrossing the crime storylines were. I liked that it didn’t always take expected paths, and didn’t have easy resolutions, as Logue’s character Hank often took a dirty and underhanded way of investigating crimes and would make things worse or messier at the least.

I had heard of this show years after it was on, and I feel like it got lost among FX programming at the time. I don’t think it was marketed well, as the title and advertising made it seem like it was a show about dogs. There is a bulldog in it, but the title is a loose connection to the plot. Some commenters on AV Club said that a terrier can be described as a small dog who fights hard and doesn’t back down, and that could describe the guys. Still, it’s a stretch.

The show had a lot of talent behind it. Among the episode directors were Rian Johnson and John Dahl, and among the showrunners was one of Joss Whedon’s collaborators from his shows.

I also liked how much heart it had, and how the lead characters Hank and Britt were general losers who still felt human and sympathetic. Like how Britt is devoted to his girlfriend but is still falling into his own B&E past to investigate crimes and openly knows he’s not the brains of the operation. And how Hank is still mourning the loss of his marriage and being kicked off the force, using surveillance to check out her new fiancé, and has a lot of deep sadness behind his charming one-liners. It’s a show that I got into very quickly, and I think had it had a better title and been marketed better as a crime dramedy than ambiguously being about dogs, it would have had a better chance at having another season or two.