I’ve never been much of a Donal Logue fan, even though I’ve been a fan of his work. I was one of a handful of people that liked the short-lived The Knights of Prosperity and wasn’t too annoyed by Grounded for Life, another in a long line of sitcoms about put-upon fathers with hot wives and ungrateful children. While Logue has received props for his film work (as in The Tao of Steve), he first turned my head as Tom Shayes’ (Tate Donovan) friend in last season’s Damages. In this, he occasionally appeared as a law school buddy, the shadow version of good guy Tom. Now Logue has captured my attention again, this time in a new FX series called Terriers.
There’s something about the rough-hewn Logue as the down but not quite out Hank Dolworth that is appealing. Part of it is that Logue is not trying to be funny as a former cop-turned-(unlicensed) private eye who is still mourning the breakup of his marriage. Hank and his friend and partner Britt (Michael Raymond-James) take on the petty jobs – as in the first episode when they’re hired to “rescue” a dog that a couple has been fighting over after their breakup. Later, they check on an old buddy’s daughter, a girl prone to sleeping with the wrong men. She’s pulled from her mess and put on a train out of town. But when dead bodies start turning up – including one dear to Hank – the old drive he must have had when he was a cop resurfaces.
Like the dog mentioned in the title, Hank is loyal, to a fault perhaps. And – if we’re to read that angry sneer that comes over him when he’s confronting his friend’s suspected murderer – he’s potentially vicious. Is that why he is no longer a cop? Interestingly (or annoyingly, depending on your point of view), this is one of several significant facts we don’t know about him. Nor do we know why he and his wife broke up or the background of his friendship with Britt or why he and his former partner (the superb Rockmond Dunbar, last seen on Prison Break) have a strained but respectful friendship. There’s a long scene in the pilot episode where Hank is in a liquor store, staring at the bottles with a tantalized gaze. Is he a drunk, too? If these gaps are intentional, it’s something of a gamble. Most viewers want and get that information early in a pilot, but Terriers is holding it back like a poker player. Part of the lure of the show is finding out if indeed the creators of this show are holding a good hand. Time will tell.
Terriers appears to be another foray into the “guy talk” genre, following TNT’s Men of a Certain Age. Of course, this being television, we’re never really going to get the down-and-dirty of man talk, but it’s an interesting vein. I’m working on a theory that the inspiration for these male-bonding series is rooted in the 1970s “soft man” era (think Alan Alda’s mix of progressive politics and regular-guy likability). This time around, the men are vulnerable but still manly, tortured, and strangely endearing. What remains the same is that no matter how raggedy, paunchy, or doofy the guy is, there’s always a hot woman who wants him. Ah, some things never change.
Terriers airs Wednesdays at 9pm on FX.
What Else Is On?
It’s time to fire up your DVR for the slew of series premieres next week:
Sept. 19: Boardwalk Empire, 8pm on HBO.
Sept. 20: Lone Star, 8pm on Fox (see “Texas Preps for Its Close-up“). The Event, 8pm on NBC. Mike & Molly, 8:30pm on CBS. Hawaii Five-0, 9pm on CBS.
Sept. 21: Running Wilde, 8:30pm on Fox. Detroit 1-8-7, 9pm on ABC.
Sept. 22: Undercovers, 7pm on NBC. Better With You, 7:30pm on ABC. The Defenders, 9pm on CBS. The Whole Truth, 9pm on ABC.
Sept. 23: My Generation, 7pm on ABC (see “Texas Preps for Its Close-up“). $#*! My Dad Says, 7:30pm on CBS. Outsourced, 8:30pm on NBC.
Sept. 24: Blue Bloods, 9pm on CBS.
This article appears in September 17 • 2010.