Shaggy and Scrappy

Another day, another TV pilot reviewed. Terriers is one of those shows that defies programming logic. It doesn’t belong on the air and yet here it is. It doesn’t have a well-known cast. It doesn’t have a unique premise. There is nothing original about the entire enterprise.

So how does a show like this get made? Well it’s chock full of talent. Industry talent. The kind of talent that gets shows made. Shawn Ryan is the big name to notice here. Ryan created The Shield which was the first breakout hit for FX Networks. Ryan helped put FX on the map for original drama. It even won an Emmy for Best Drama Series.

These days Ryan is running a show called Lie To Me for one of the big networks, but FX still has mad love for him. They love him enough to put 13 episodes of Terriers on air.

One of the other important names is Ted Griffin. Griffin’s the writer. Ten years back he wrote Ocean’s Eleven for Soderbergh. It was a hit. Now he’s writing this.

The third piece of the no-name trinity behind Terriers is Donal Logue. He’s an actor. Logue’s been in a bunch of things that you won’t remember him from. Movies. TV. You know, things. He won an award once at Sundance for a movie that nobody saw called The Tao of Steve. His performance is supposed to be completely charming in the movie which is critic-speak for “the hero’s a fattie”.

Er... I don't think so!

The last thing I saw Logue play was a police captain in Life. I was enjoying his performance right up until the moment they put him in bed with Sarah Shahi. It was just too much of a stretch. I don’t care how much baggage her character was supposed to carry around, no one that hot falls for the fat man. Especially not the greasy unshaven fat man.

Take it from one who knows. I bagged my hottie before I piled on the pounds. No way she’d give me a second look these days even if I was her superior officer.

Back to Terriers. Logue plays this ex-cop dude who’s doing the whole unlicensed PI thing with his best friend who is both scrappy and nondescript. Logue has an ex-wife who cares and an ex-partner who cares and an ex-act replica of every other back story you’ve ever seen. Who cares? Terriers is a show that makes a virtue of not doing anything new.

So Logue and Scrappy get ahold of some kind of case and then hang on until the bitter end… like terriers… geddit? Repeat ad cancellation.

Terriers, the show, is just like its second lead – scrappy and nondescript. It may well be the most missable new show of the season.