Terriers: The Little Series That Couldn't

We have failed as a society. There is no other way to explain the fact that shows like Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of..., and Two and a Half Men draw huge ratings and go on for years, while this incredible show only got one season. Clearly, some of the blame must be given to F/X, which marketed the show horribly. I had no idea it was about private detectives until weeks after the show started, and even then, I didn't know what set the show apart from other procedurals (not realizing that this show is by no means a crime procedural show). The fact that F/X has gambled on shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, about a group of unsypmathetic sociopaths, and Wilfred, a show about a suicidal man who has visions that his neighbors dog speaks to him (I have only seen the former, and it is amazing), I don't understand why they didn't promote the hell out of this, seeing as how it had incredible writing and acting. And yet, I am certain that, even with the greatest marketing campaign ever, Terriers would never have become a huge hit. At least not without a few years of word-of-mouth buildup (which is what happened with Always Sunny, along with the addition of Danny DeVito). Sigh.

Terriers was a show about bargain-basement private detectives. Hank Dolworth and Britt Pollack were unlicensed investigators who took every case they could get, most of which were seedy and toed the line between ethical and unethical. They did this not because they were rebels or bad people or looking to "stick it to the man." They did this because it was the only way they could survive; they lived from paycheck to paycheck (a term I use loosely, as they were usually paid in cash), and were often forced to make up excuses to their creditors. Most of their jobs came about through happenstance rather than through some kind of official bookings. But the show was about their lives, not their jobs. Nearly each episode featured a new case and client, but (1) there was an overarching plot that tied many of the cases together, and (2) most of the drama was based in how the characters acted with each other and the other people in their lives, rather than in the solutions to the mystery-of-the-week. We didn't care whodunnit, we cared how Hank and Britt would spend the money they earned from the client, or how they would act at home. Each character was richly developed and had intriguing backstories that were slowly revealed over the course of the season, informing their actions in the present.

Additionally, Hank and Britt were surrounded by very interesting supporting characters, who not only influenced how the pair acted, but were able to stand on their own. People like Hank's old police partner (from his life as a cop, which seemed like it existed in an entirely different lifetime from the one Hank is living in the show's present), Britt's girlfriend, and the pair's lawyer all contribute to the series and flesh out the world. By far my favorite character is Hank's sister (played by Donal Logue's, Hank's actor, real-life sister) Stephanie. She is, in many ways, similar to Firefly's River Tam, which gave me happy memories that show, which was also canceled too soon after a terrible marketing campaign and anemic ratings. She is the funniest character in a cast of very witty characters, and also is relevant to both Hank's personal story as well as the overall plot. (The show is similar to Veronica Mars and the works of Joss Whedon in terms of character wittiness.) The world is also fleshed out by the superb writing and planning; innocuous comments in one episode will get paid off many episodes later and take on new meaning when a new detail is revealed, making the show feel like a real world, rather than a story in which plot points are introduced in a way immediately alerting viewers to their importance.

Perhaps appropriately for a show that was canceled after a single incredible season is the theme of wasted potential. Terriers often examined the gap between the haves and have-nots, and explored how our world is inherently unfair, and even extremely talented people can, for whatever reason, fail to "make it." Sometimes it is due to circumstances beyond our control, such as the award-winning reporter who has been reduced to blogging for free because of the decline of the publishing industry. Sometimes it is due to the person in question sabotaging himself, such as the doctor who became an ice cream vendor after engaging in misconduct with a patient. Hank also falls into the latter category, due to addiction and obsession. As for Britt, while he is a very competent detective, his true talent lies in something he chose to give up for very good reasons.

One other thing that really set Terriers apart from other, more famous, detective shows was its portrayal of its leads and their relationship to their clients. I think it was in the third episode of the series that I realized just how good the show was and why I was drawn to it in the way I was. I have seen a few episodes of CSI, and I have never been able to get into it. For one thing, the characterization takes a back seat to plot. But there was something else; at first I thought that maybe the thing that rubbed me the wrong way was limited to the episodes I had seen, but I have since learned that it is a key aspect of that show, as well as Law & Order: SVU. (This link provides a good explanation; go down to CSI and SVU.) Namely, that the show treats things that deviate from what is "normal" is derided. The episode of CSI that sticks out in my mind was about a thin man who enjoyed sex with overweight women, so he would go to fat conventions to hook up with women. The team investigated his murder after he was accidentally crushed to death. The writers' attitude was clearly condescending toward his sexual proclivities, but this contempt was communicated not so much through the dialogue, but through how the case was presented. I saw this as very dishonest and cowardly, as if the writers were trying to put forth a shaming message without being willing to directly insult people. In the third episode of Terriers, the case involves the wife (played by Dollhouse's Olivia Williams) of a man who enjoys feeling cuckolded, something both Hank and Britt find disturbing. However, the show itself does not pass judgment on the guy, and instead points out that everyone is in some way "screwed up." By the time the episode is over, we see Britt's girlfriend Katie engage in a disturbing sexual fantasy of her own, while Hank does two things in rapid succession, one dishonest and one incredibly cruel. "Don't judge me," Katie says, summing up the episode.

Don't let the fact that this show was canceled after a single season dissuade you from watching it. The writers were clearly preparing for Season 2, but most of the storylines get closure, and regardless, this is an endlessly entertaining show. It is exciting, funny, thought-provoking, and challenging.