# Hey Firefly fans, watch Terriers!!!



## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

This is my plea for this seasons "Best show you're not watching". Terriers is a fantastic show brought to us by some of the best people in TV in the last 10 years. First off there is Tim Minear who was involved in Firelfy, Dollhouse and Wonderfalls. Then there is Shaw Ryan the mastermind behind The Shield. Lastly the creator Ted Griffin who wrote Oceans Eleven and Matchstick Men. The show combines the best of all these guys with some great acting. However the show is not doing well and is a bubble show for another season. Give it a shot on iTunes or Amazon Video and hopefully we can get at least one more season.






http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/terriers/


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## Ekims (Oct 18, 2002)

Agreed


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

And Firefly fans will say, "Why should we have our hearts ripped from our chests AGAIN? And it's not even Joss Whedon! No thanks!"


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Graymalkin said:


> And Firefly fans will say, "Why should we have our hearts ripped from our chests AGAIN? And it's not even Joss Whedon! No thanks!"


Because that's the attitude that gets these shows lousy ratings in the first place!! It's a self fulfilling prophecy. I won't watch said great show because there might not be enough people watching, so I don't want to get involved in the show for fear of cancellation. But perhaps if all the people who felt that way watched the show, it would get good ratings and NOT get canceled.

BTW, I didn't watch Firefly, which was a sci fi show (I think?). This show is NOT like that at all. It's a detective caper, more like something like The Shield. The acting is great, the characters are well written, and the storyline is interesting and you can see that the writers have really thought this through.

I highly recommend this show.


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

Terriers is fantastic. It's so enjoyable.


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

Terriers is not in the same league as Firefly. I will not miss it when its canceled.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

rrrobinsonjr said:


> Terriers is not in the same league as Firefly. I will not miss it when its canceled.


Yeah, Terriers is in the majors......not sure about Firefly, except I like to swat them outside 

just kidding...it's a joke.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

rrrobinsonjr said:


> Terriers is not in the same league as Firefly. I will not miss it when its canceled.


Post 6 to threadcrap not bad.

Did I say it was in the same league? Did I compare it to Firefly? :rollseyes:


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

mwhip said:


> Post 6 to threadcrap not bad.
> 
> Did I say it was in the same league? *Did I compare it to Firefly?* :rollseyes:


Well you kind of did, by appealing to Firefly fans, it begs for a comparison. That said, outside of there being some of the one guy who was involved in both, there's really no comparison between the two. It's like comparing Lost to Undercovers just because JJ Abrams was involved in both. They really have nothing to do with each other and aren't even similar in their appeal (as I found out). A Firefly fan might be more interested in something like The Event. That said, Terriers is a great show, and I like it.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

It looks interesting, I wish I had started watching it earlier.


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## retrodog (Feb 7, 2002)

I've been watching it. And the only reason that I started was because the star was on the first Blade movie. It seems weird to see him playing a regular role, but he's pretty interesting at it.


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

retrodog said:


> ...the only reason that I started was because the star was on the first Blade movie....


I can't watch anything unless I can somehow correlate it to "Blade"...or tax evasion.


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## Mishkin (Apr 20, 2002)

I didn't feel the love for Terriers. Did it get better after the first two episodes?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

I have every intention of watching this show at some point. Alan Sepinwall (TV critic at Hitfix) is a huge supporter of this show and I generally trust his judgment. I set a SP when it first started airing, but I forgot to change the number of episodes that it keeps so many of the early episodes fell off before I realized it.

Sepinwall has also said that if this show didn't come back, the season finale works well as a series finale and it would be worth watching just as a stand-alone season.

Finally, the ratings for this show are horrible. Less than 1 million viewers per episode and the adults 18-49 ratings are usually in the 0.2-0.3 range. The only reason FX will even contemplate bringing this show back is because of the critical praise its received, because it certainly doesn't have the viewership to warrant a renewal.


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

Mishkin said:


> I didn't feel the love for Terriers. Did it get better after the first two episodes?


I wouldn't know. I couldn't get past that point myself. It seemed more on par with standard network drama fair to me. Sepinwall's praise early-on seemed unwarranted.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

Mishkin said:


> I didn't feel the love for Terriers. Did it get better after the first two episodes?


I think it definitely took a few episodes to get going, though it still feels like an uneven show. Some episodes have brilliant writing while others are so dull to me. The overall sum of my feelings for it is disappointing, unfortunately.


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## mclark11 (Feb 19, 2003)

I had a welch terrier when I was a kid. There's all kinds of Terriers and they are great dogs. Not too big and not too small and very protective... What kind of terriers does this show have?


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Fabulous show. My favorite of the year.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

mclark11 said:


> I had a welch terrier when I was a kid. There's all kinds of Terriers and they are great dogs. Not too big and not too small and very protective... What kind of terriers does this show have?


No one knows, actually.

I think this thread is too little, too late. Isn't this week the season finale?

I've really enjoyed this show; it definitely picked up after the original mystery was over. My wife was very "meh" on it after the first 2-3 episodes but I kept watching, and now it's one of her "let's watch it the same night" shows--of which there aren't many.

I'll definitely be sad when it's not renewed... as seems inevitable at this point.


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## Howie (May 3, 2004)

I like the hell out of this series and hope it gets renewed, but why is it called Terriers?


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Terriers is great. The best new show of the season.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Might be a first where I agree with uncdrew and cheesesteak in the same thread. They doomed Terriers with a poor name and very little pumping. Sons of Anarchy got a million previews and a ton of press before it started. Terriers got nothing.

The show is a great serious drama with excellent chemistry between the two leads. And it has the grit of an FX show. I can't believe a show like Hawaii 5-0 gets the great ratings and nobody watches this.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Now, we can't say it go NO promotion - there were multiple promos during "Louie" every week. They weren't particularly good promos, but they did exist.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

Yeah, FX did it no favors. This was one instance where a network suit should have meddled and vetoed the name "Terriers".


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

lambertman said:


> Now, we can't say it go NO promotion - there were multiple promos during "Louie" every week. They weren't particularly good promos, but they did exist.


I hope you are being sarcastic  It needed promos during the WS, or during football (since FX is a Fox channel). Unfortunately, I came across this show because of a review in the NY Times, not through any type of network push.


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## Mishkin (Apr 20, 2002)

My impression w/ the first two episodes was that the show had a typical "buddy cop" premise. The writing seemed okay but I didn't find myself liking or relating to the two main characters.

Does the show have an intriguing, ongoing plotline or is it a case-of-the-week type thing? I'm not trying to threadcrap...it just seemed pretty formulitic from what I saw.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Mishkin said:


> My impression w/ the first two episodes was that the show had a typical "buddy cop" premise. The writing seemed okay but I didn't find myself liking or relating to the two main characters.
> 
> Does the show have an intriguing, ongoing plotline or is it a case-of-the-week type thing? I'm not trying to threadcrap...it just seemed pretty formulitic from what I saw.


It's a little of both, the case of the week seems to lead somehow into the big picture, which has been relieved over the last 2-3 weeks.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Mishkin said:


> Does the show have an intriguing, ongoing plotline or is it a case-of-the-week type thing? I'm not trying to threadcrap...it just seemed pretty formulitic from what I saw.


Some of both. There's an ongoing story that was important for a while early on, and is important now in the last few, and crops up a little here and there in between. And there's a case-of-the-week which usually has little or nothing to do with the ongoing story.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Mishkin said:


> My impression w/ the first two episodes was that the show had a typical "buddy cop" premise. The writing seemed okay but I didn't find myself liking or relating to the two main characters.
> 
> Does the show have an intriguing, ongoing plotline or is it a case-of-the-week type thing? I'm not trying to threadcrap...it just seemed pretty formulitic from what I saw.


Strange as my impression of the first two episodes had me really liking and relating to the two main characters (as much as a non cop/criminal/PI can).


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

Mishkin said:


> ...it just seemed pretty formulaic from what I saw.


bingo


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

I've been recording it from the start, but haven't watched any yet. I hope it's as good as some of you say.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

mwhip said:


> This is my plea for this seasons "Best show you're not watching". Terriers is a fantastic show brought to us by some of the best people in TV in the last 10 years. First off there is Tim Minear who was involved in Firelfy, Dollhouse and Wonderfalls. Then there is Shaw Ryan the mastermind behind The Shield. Lastly the creator Ted Griffin who wrote Oceans Eleven and Matchstick Men. The show combines the best of all these guys with some great acting. However the show is not doing well and is a bubble show for another season. Give it a shot on iTunes or Amazon Video and hopefully we can get at least one more season.


I didn't realize Tim Minear was involved, or else I probably would have tried this one out. I honestly didn't give it much thought when I first read about it.

Tim Minear also wrote some great Angel episodes too.


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

I don't think they are all that similar. I like both, though.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Mishkin said:


> ...it just seemed pretty formulitic from what I saw.


Not IMO....it's so well-acted that, if you perceive it's somewhat formulaic, the great acting will make you oblivious....


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

It was a slow build but has become quite good - so for those of you who haven't watched yet, give it a few episodes...the payoff will happen.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

Formulaic? No. It does follow some genre conventions, especially noir detective conventions, but that doesn't make it formulaic. Some might call it formulaic because it isn't nearly as subversive of television conventions like some of the grittier TV shows like The Shield, nor does it wink at the viewer--it's not ironic like most of Whedon's stuff--but that doesn't make it formulaic either. 

The characters and the world they live in are brilliantly conceived and created. It has depth. The characters share a history and you feel it when they interact. Their world is worn and broken in by the characters living in it. They fit comfortably within it. The characters are flawed but the writers earn the character's bad decisions. The acting is superb and the cast has excellent chemistry. 

It's a wonderful piece of fiction.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

Fool Me Twice said:


> Formulaic? No. It does follow some genre conventions, especially noir detective conventions, but that doesn't make it formulaic. Some might call it formulaic because it isn't nearly as subversive of television conventions like some of the grittier TV shows like The Shield, nor does it wink at the viewer--it's not ironic like most of Whedon's stuff--but that doesn't make it formulaic either.
> 
> The characters and the world they live in are brilliantly conceived and created. It has depth. The characters share a history and you feel it when they interact. Their world is worn and broken in by the characters living in it. They fit comfortably within it. The characters are flawed but the writers earn the character's bad decisions. The acting is superb and the cast has excellent chemistry.
> 
> It's a wonderful piece of fiction.


That is an awesome description!!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Fool Me Twice said:


> Formulaic? No. It does follow some genre conventions, especially noir detective conventions, but that doesn't make it formulaic. Some might call it formulaic because it isn't nearly as subversive of television conventions like some of the grittier TV shows like The Shield, nor does it wink at the viewer--it's not ironic like most of Whedon's stuff--but that doesn't make it formulaic either.
> 
> The characters and the world they live in are brilliantly conceived and created. It has depth. The characters share a history and you feel it when they interact. Their world is worn and broken in by the characters living in it. They fit comfortably within it. The characters are flawed but the writers earn the character's bad decisions. The acting is superb and the cast has excellent chemistry.
> 
> It's a wonderful piece of fiction.


You couldn't have describe the show any more perfectly. If you are a fan of character driven drama, you'll enjoy this show. There are few shows where you can actually feel what the characters feel, and they seem real. This is one. You can actually believe that anything they do is possible, and their actions based on that make sense.


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## Mr Flippant (Jan 2, 2009)

Neither my wife or I cared for the first couple episodes, thinking it was pretty shallow with poor character development and by the book bad guys. Well not everything is about a bad guy of the week. I would compare the story arcs to a Dexter like series where you have some per show development but all the main characters have lives and relationships and that part has become really good tv. The case of the week stuff helps move the characters around a bit here and there as well. The acting is good and the show just needs to continue developing it own character which is completely different than almost all cop shows.

p.s. The very bi-polar sister is by far one of my favorite characters. How many tv shows can you say that about.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Mr Flippant said:


> Neither my wife or I cared for the first couple episodes, thinking it was pretty shallow with poor character development and by the book bad guys. Well not everything is about a bad guy of the week. I would compare the story arcs to a Dexter like series where you have some per show development but all the main characters have lives and relationships and that part has become really good tv. The case of the week stuff helps move the characters around a bit here and there as well. The acting is good and the show just needs to continue developing it own character which is completely different than almost all cop shows.
> 
> p.s. The very bi-polar sister is by far one of my favorite characters. How many tv shows can you say that about.


You're right. The show plots are almost less important than the interplay of the characters and their lives. Each of the main characters has a great backstory and an interesting take on their lives. You have the one who's still pining for his ex wife and knows he screwed it up with his drinking. The other is clearly in love with a girl who's out of his league and she loves him too, but you know there will be some tragedy in their relationship because it's just TOO good, and there is. Even the peripheral characters are interesting. The problem with the show is that it took a bit longer than it should for the show to catch you, but when you realize how complex the characters are, you can realize why. I remember watching the first episode thinking that it was meh, but there was a lot of potential in this show because the main characters could be interesting. I was exactly right. By the 4th episode it became one of my favorite shows.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Oh, and Britt's love is HAWT!!


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> I hope you are being sarcastic  It needed promos during the WS, or during football (since FX is a Fox channel). Unfortunately, I came across this show because of a review in the NY Times, not through any type of network push.


I'm pretty sure the writing was already on the wall (the poor ratings) before the WS ever started.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

As for the title, the two guys are basically a fledgling detective agency, and there was a scene where they talked about having to find a name. If I remember right, they threw out the word "Terriers", but it hasn't really gone any farther than that.

Whether that was groundwork for something developing later in the show (I'm a few eps behind) is unknown to me at this time.

This is one of my, probably, top ten shows and I'd love to see it renewed. If not, well, stuff happnes.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

JLucPicard said:


> As for the title, the two guys are basically a fledgling detective agency, and there was a scene where they talked about having to find a name. If I remember right, they threw out the word "Terriers", but it hasn't really gone any farther than that.


They didn't. I have been expecting them to come back to that ever since, but they haven't...yet. I suppose it would be perversely fitting if the show's title were explained tonight in the final episode...


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## billboard_NE (May 18, 2005)

Favorite show of the season, my only must watch live show.

It can not hurt to send an email to [email protected] and ask FX to re-new the show.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Did they ever do any advertising or promotion for this show, 'cause this is the first I've heard of it.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

unitron said:


> Did they ever do any advertising or promotion for this show, 'cause this is the first I've heard of it.


If you don't watch much FX, and don't live in LA or NY, then it's very likely you didn't see any of the promos. Supposedly, there were billboards for the show in LA (and maybe NY), but they never have billboard for upcoming shows in Phoenix. I've always assumed the billboards thing was just an LA/NY thing. For some reason, they almost never promote cable shows on the broadcast networks, even when the cable network is owned by the same company as the broadcast net.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

unitron said:


> Did they ever do any advertising or promotion for this show, 'cause this is the first I've heard of it.


FX has been promoting the snot out of it on their network; I see promos all the time...unfortunately they didn't start the heavy promotion until a few eps ago IIRC...


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## smak (Feb 11, 2000)

Love the show, but I agree that somebody should have intervened with the name.

A good name can help a show, and a bad name can hurt it.

Just look at The Walking Dead.

-smak-


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Sorry, but I just don't get this name thing. I don't think I've _ever_ watched (or not watched) a show because of the name. Just like I don't, _ever_, judge a book by its cover!



But seriously, who cares what it's called? It's an excellent show and that's what matters.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

madscientist said:


> Sorry, but I just don't get this name thing. I don't think I've _ever_ watched (or not watched) a show because of the name. Just like I don't, _ever_, judge a book by its cover!
> 
> 
> 
> But seriously, who cares what it's called? It's an excellent show and that's what matters.


Well I think the name would be something that would draw in viewers, not necessarily keep them. In my case, there IS one exception. I continue to watch How I Met Your Mother for the purpose of finding out who the mother is. Really though, the show could be called Friends: The Next Generation and they could have the same show.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

They could have given Terriers a cooler, more detective-y score too.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

I love the opening song, personally. And think it fits well with the feel of the show.


Also, in watching Terriers I gotta say I'm interested in the two new upcoming shows: Boxing something-or-other and Cowboy show with popular dude as lead.

As you can see, I don't focus on titles either.


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

uncdrew said:


> I love the opening song, personally. And think it fits well with the feel of the show.


Me too-I'd love to have that as my ringtone...


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

spikedavis said:


> Me too-I'd love to have that as my ringtone...







Capture and cut it with audacity or:

http://www.mytinyphone.com/ringtone/1640926/

Disclaimer: I have never used the above site for ringtones but they say they don't charge for them.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

madscientist said:


> Sorry, but I just don't get this name thing. I don't think I've _ever_ watched (or not watched) a show because of the name. Just like I don't, _ever_, judge a book by its cover!
> 
> 
> 
> But seriously, who cares what it's called? It's an excellent show and that's what matters.


The problem with the name is that it doesn't tell potential viewers anything about the show. Is it a show about dogs? If not, what is is about? So if all they hear is Terriers, their interest isn't going to be piqued because it means nothing.

A title isn't going to keep anyone watching once they've found the show, but the title is very important in the initial marketing in order to get people to find the show in the first place.


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## SeanC (Dec 30, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> The problem with the name is that it doesn't tell potential viewers anything about the show. Is it a show about dogs?


The initial promos all featured a terrier wandering around, and I actually thought it was going to be a show from that dogs perspective, which piqued my interest. The second series of promos featured the dog walking past the 2 main characters, which confused me a little but I still thought it was going to be about the dog, then the third series of promos featured scenes from the show, which pretty much eliminated the possibility that the dog would have anything to do with the show.

It was a very odd, and mostly uninformative ad campaign.


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## Fl_Gulfer (May 27, 2005)

I have to agree with most and say it's one of the best shows of the fall season. I hope it sticks around.


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## dylanemcgregor (Jan 31, 2003)

uncdrew said:


> Fabulous show. My favorite of the year.


Mine too. I really like how laid back it is. It really feels like a throwback to shows like Rockford Files or Magnum P.I., where it was less about whatever the mystery of the week was, and more about watching good characters. And as much as I love those two older shows, the writing and acting on Terriers is way better most of the time.

I didn't know that it wasn't doing well. I really hope it sticks around for another season, as most of the shows we've been watching the last few years are ending, and it was nice to have a new show to replace them with.


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## dylanemcgregor (Jan 31, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> If you don't watch much FX, and don't live in LA or NY, then it's very likely you didn't see any of the promos. Supposedly, there were billboards for the show in LA (and maybe NY), but they never have billboard for upcoming shows in Phoenix. I've always assumed the billboards thing was just an LA/NY thing. For some reason, they almost never promote cable shows on the broadcast networks, even when the cable network is owned by the same company as the broadcast net.


There were a lot of billboards in the subway around here before the show started up, but it is true I didn't pay much attention to them until I read a preview of the show in The Atlantic that sounded pretty good. After watching the show I think the title is good and appropriate, but without watching the show it didn't give me enough to go on to be interested. Glad I read the preview, and really glad they had the first episode for free on Amazon...that really got me hooked.


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## Hoffer (Jun 1, 2001)

I really enjoy Terriers. If it gets canceled, I will miss it.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

All the reports are in - it's not coming back. 

Sad, even though I don't think Season 2 could have measured up dramatically. No way the stakes could've been nearly as high without some contrivance.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

lambertman said:


> All the reports are in - it's not coming back...


Crap...

:down::down::down:


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

Just started watching this, now about 3 eps in. Excellent. Not the most fresh premise, but pretty much everything has been done on tv these days, so it's more the execution that's important. This is well-written and acted. The cases are interesting, sometimes bizarre. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

It's so aggravating that a show like this gets cancelled after one season when there are, like, what, 23 frigging versions of L&O and CSI that go on for years.


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## lambertman (Dec 21, 2002)

Since we're talking about Terriers again, you can hear quite a bit of the show's music, including a teriffic full-length version of the theme ("Gunfight Epiphany"), over at robertduncan.com .


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Dang it...I miss this show....


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

lambertman said:


> Since we're talking about Terriers again, you can hear quite a bit of the show's music, including a teriffic full-length version of the theme ("Gunfight Epiphany"), over at robertduncan.com .


You can also get the full-length themesong at iTunes. I bought it after I finished watching the show on Netflix some months ago and played it incessantly for a while.

Such a great show.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

Ihave started watching this on Netflix.


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## ewolfr (Feb 12, 2001)

For anyone local to San Diego who might want a prop from Terriers I got this in my email earlier today:



> A Special Offer from Your Friends at Studio Diner
> Studio Wardrobe Sale!
> Here we go again...
> If you enjoyed our TV studio wardrobe sale then you won't
> ...


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Hcour said:


> Just started watching this, now about 3 eps in. Excellent. Not the most fresh premise, but pretty much everything has been done on tv these days, so it's more the execution that's important. This is well-written and acted. The cases are interesting, sometimes bizarre. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
> 
> It's so aggravating that a show like this gets cancelled after one season when there are, like, what, 23 frigging versions of L&O and CSI that go on for years.


Hang in there...the first 3 or 4 episodes are entertaining but a bit slow. Once the caper starts to take shape, the show is some of the best TV I've seen in a long time. Shame not enough of us thought so. Love the show.


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

Oh, wow. I just watched ep 11, the one about the rapist, that goes back and forth between past and present. One of the single best crime show episodes I've ever seen. Brilliant.

Only two more eps to go. It just kills me this show got cancelled after one season!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Hcour said:


> Oh, wow. I just watched ep 11, the one about the rapist, that goes back and forth between past and present. One of the single best cop show episodes I've ever seen. Brilliant.
> 
> Only two more eps to go. It just kills me this show got cancelled after one season!


The last two episodes are classic, edge of your seat TV. I think about this, and I actually think they should do this story in a movie. It would be compelling. What I liked best is the characters. I just think they made you want to root for them flaws and all.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Okay, you got me. I just moved it into my #1 position and will start watching it the weekend. I have found several cop shows that I have enjoyed that sadly were just one or two seasons. Life is one, and Life on Mars is another.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

betts4 said:


> Okay, you got me. I just moved it into my #1 position and will start watching it the weekend. I have found several cop shows that I have enjoyed that sadly were just one or two seasons. Life is one, and Life on Mars is another.


Ah, a person of discerning taste.

At least those two got decent wrap-ups.


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

betts4 said:


> Okay, you got me. I just moved it into my #1 position and will start watching it the weekend. I have found several cop shows that I have enjoyed that sadly were just one or two seasons. Life is one, and Life on Mars is another.


Funny you should mention Life, that's next on my list for crime shows to watch after I wrap up Terriers (probably this weekend). I've been a fan of Lewis since BOB and the BBC production of The Forsyte Saga (amazing performance) and I've read good things about this series.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

Hcour said:


> Funny you should mention Life, that's next on my list for crime shows to watch after I wrap up Terriers (probably this weekend). I've been a fan of Lewis since BOB and the BBC production of The Forsyte Saga (amazing performance) and I've read good things about this series.


I will tell you this if you are going to watch Life...it is not the same unless it is the original music. The DVD and Hulu versions changed a bunch of songs out and they just don't fit the same. If you can go find the torrents of the original broadcast.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Hcour said:


> Funny you should mention Life, that's next on my list for crime shows to watch after I wrap up Terriers (probably this weekend). I've been a fan of Lewis since BOB and the BBC production of The Forsyte Saga (amazing performance) and I've read good things about this series.


I haven't looked at other stuff he has done, but I think I will now.



mwhip said:


> I will tell you this if you are going to watch Life...it is not the same unless it is the original music. The DVD and Hulu versions changed a bunch of songs out and they just don't fit the same. If you can go find the torrents of the original broadcast.


I used Netflix instant streaming. I don't know what was the original music, but since I didn't know, I thought it was fine.

Two episodes into Terriers now. Enjoying it and thanks for this thread.

I would have been three episodes in except my friend/neighbor came over and he asked to watch some of the "dr. who stuff" that he keeps hearing about (from me). So we did two eps. of the new Who starting with Eccleston.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

The first season of Life was really excellent. The second season I felt like they tried to tone down the quirkiness (which was the best part) and make it more mainstream (I guess to try to get better ratings). It was still fun but definitely a step down from season one.

IMO, anyway.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

betts4 said:


> I haven't looked at other stuff he has done, but I think I will now.


As good as Lewis was in all that stuff he is just fantastic on Homeland which aired its first season on Showtime last year.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

madscientist said:


> The first season of Life was really excellent. The second season I felt like they tried to tone down the quirkiness (which was the best part) and make it more mainstream (I guess to try to get better ratings). It was still fun but definitely a step down from season one.
> 
> IMO, anyway.


I think that is why Ravich decided to walk away from it. First season was the way he wanted and ratings were not good, then second season he gave into network on some stuff and ratings were better. I bet they wanted him to concede even more and he just decided it was not worth it.


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

Haven't gotten to the last two eps yet, still thinking about ep 11. I stand by my claim that this is one of the single greatest eps of a crime series:



Spoiler



They showed how Hank and Britt met; how Hank's drinking lost him his job on this particular case; the way Hank and Gretchen's marriage fell apart; the way that relationship paralleled Britt and Katie's present-day one; the great rapist mystery solution with an established character (and of course the brilliant setup) - and they tied it all up together because of excellent writing, directing, and acting.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

mwhip said:


> As good as Lewis was in all that stuff he is just fantastic on Homeland which aired its first season on Showtime last year.


 I don't get showtime or hbo....guess I will have to wait for it on netflix.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Is this the only show produced in the past five years that didn't get a DVD release?


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

Interesting info from Shawn Ryan via twitter linking to a Variety article

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118055144?refCatId=14



> But the domestic deal with 20th has yielded signs that carrying a series chosen by the studio can ultimately be a good thing for Netflix. Sarandos disclosed at a Nomura conference last week that the short-lived FX series "Terriers," which was distributed by 20th, has been an unexpectedly popular addition to Netflix even though it didn't last more than a season on cable.


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## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

madscientist said:


> The first season of Life was really excellent. The second season I felt like they tried to tone down the quirkiness (which was the best part) and make it more mainstream (I guess to try to get better ratings). It was still fun but definitely a step down from season one.
> 
> IMO, anyway.


I enjoyed Life, too, and would agree that it was much better in Season 1. Also, for whatever this is worth, Life had an incredible cast of beautiful, talented women. Sarah Shahi is a co-star with Lewis, Christina Hendricks has a recurring character, etc.

Re Terriers, I was looking forward to it because of the Shawn Ryan connection (The Shield is brilliant, IMO). I gave up after four episodes, I think. I found the dialog to be too glib, which is the same issue I had when trying to watch Firefly. I don't like when that cheesy, sitcom-y element gets forced into shows where it doesn't belong. I've heard (and read here) that Terriers got better, so maybe I will revisit it at some point.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Just watched episode 6 - where they go down to mexico with their ex partners. GREAT EPISODE!!!!!!!!

I had seen 3 tonight but after that one I just wanted to stop and soak it in. These just keep getting better and better. The whole story arc with Hank's sister was awesome. What a great show. Why was this canceled? Stupid networks.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

betts4 said:


> What a great show. Why was this canceled? Stupid networks.


Because you're watching it now instead of when it was originally on! It's all your fault!


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Hcour said:


> Funny you should mention Life, that's next on my list for crime shows to watch after I wrap up Terriers (probably this weekend). I've been a fan of Lewis since BOB and the BBC production of The Forsyte Saga (amazing performance) and I've read good things about this series.


I think we are racing each other to the finish. I have 3 episodes to go!


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Any other suggestions for good shows? I do like the P.I./cop stuff but not CSI or such.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

mwhip said:


> I will tell you this if you are going to watch Life...it is not the same unless it is the original music. The DVD and Hulu versions changed a bunch of songs out and they just don't fit the same. If you can go find the torrents of the original broadcast.


It should be illegal to advertise them as being the same shows.

That's why I only have WKRP episodes archived in my memory.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Interestingly, 5 minutes after reading through this thread yesterday, I watched Royal Pains and saw Donal Logue guest starring. He looked EXACTLY the same as he did in Terriers. Glad to see him again.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

betts4 said:


> Any other suggestions for good shows? I do like the P.I./cop stuff but not CSI or such.


You could give Kidnapped a try. Another good show that only got one season.

I am on episode 8 or 9 of Terriers and am really enjoying it. I remember when it was being advertised originally. I had no idea what the show actually was. I also remember that it used the graphic close up of a dog for it's ads.

I think they did a really bad job of promoting it the first time around.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Yes, they were definitely too cute for their own good.

Not too bright in an age where if a show doesn't catch on in the first 15 minutes, it's DOA.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Steveknj said:


> Interestingly, 5 minutes after reading through this thread yesterday, I watched Royal Pains and saw Donal Logue guest starring. He looked EXACTLY the same as he did in Terriers. Glad to see him again.


I watched that and hadn't seen any of Terriers yet, but I remembered him from when he was on E.R. as an emt guy. He looked the same way back then too!!


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

betts4 said:


> I watched that and hadn't seen any of Terriers yet, but *I remembered him from when he was on E.R. as an emt guy*. He looked the same way back then too!!


You know, I never put 2 and 2 together that he was that guy from ER. Cool!!


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## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

Speaking of Life, as we were earlier, Donal Logue has a role in that show, too. I didn't really like him in Life, though:



Spoiler



It seems to me like his appearance coincided with the show going downhill- at least partly due to coincidence but not entirely. I thought the woman who had been the captain (or whatever the title was) was weak - Logue replaced her as I recall - but they tried to make Logue a love interest for Sarah Shahi and that seemed like a not-in-a-million-years kind of thing. I never bought it.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

tivoboyjr said:


> Speaking of Life, as we were earlier, Donal Logue has a role in that show, too. I didn't really like him in Life, though:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Smack me in the back of the HEAD!!! I knew the new captain looked familiar. Oh my. I think it was the haircut that he got. He just cleaned up more than in any other show I had seen him in.

I would love to see more of Britt (Michael Raymond-James).


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## Demandred (Mar 6, 2001)

betts4 said:


> I would love to see more of Britt (Michael Raymond-James).


He was in True Blood.


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## tivoboyjr (Apr 28, 2003)

betts4 said:


> Smack me in the back of the HEAD!!! I knew the new captain looked familiar. Oh my. I think it was the haircut that he got. He just cleaned up more than in any other show I had seen him in.


That's funny! And I like Donal Logue. I just think he was miscast in Life - and perfectly cast in Terriers.

___

By the way, regarding the name of the show and the marketing campaign featuring the dog: I saw an interview with Shawn Ryan a year or so ago (don't remember where - I try to catch that stuff because I loved The Shield) and he spoke a little about the name of the show and the ads with the dog. He said there's a reference in Terriers (as someone mentioned in the thread) about these guys being persistent, dogged types and that's where they got the name of the show. He essentially admitted that the marketing campaign showing the dog was a big mistake because it just confused people and made them think it was a show about a dog. He said that was the main reason why they never really found their audience. I don't recall him explaining why they ever thought using the dog was a good idea. I think it was just a case of trying to be creative and different, and it backfired.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I watched the final episode. Woosh. The ending sure does leave you wondering if they went straight or left. Good series.


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

Started watching "Life" (didn't feel like starting a new thread). Good show! Lewis is excellent, as usual. His character is a bit _too_ quirky for my taste, but Lewis plays it so well he gets away with it. The cases are interesting and there's some great humor.

I just hope they solve the mystery of the case that sent him to prison before the series ends.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Hcour said:


> Started watching "Life" (didn't feel like starting a new thread). Good show! Lewis is excellent, as usual. His character is a bit _too_ quirky for my taste, but Lewis plays it so well he gets away with it. The cases are interesting and there's some great humor.
> 
> I just hope they solve the mystery of the case that sent him to prison before the series ends.


Wait'll you get to the episode where Sarah Shahi (current star of Fairly Legal) is wearing boots.

And a certain look.

And not much else.


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## mwhip (Jul 22, 2002)

Hcour said:


> Started watching "Life" (didn't feel like starting a new thread). Good show! Lewis is excellent, as usual. His character is a bit _too_ quirky for my taste, but Lewis plays it so well he gets away with it. The cases are interesting and there's some great humor.
> 
> I just hope they solve the mystery of the case that sent him to prison before the series ends.


It is amazing to me how underrated Damien Lewis is as and actor. Between Band of Brothers, Life and now Homeland he is quite an amazing actor.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

Based on this thread I watched Terriers. At the end I was pissed it didn't get picked up.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

mwhip said:


> It is amazing to me how underrated Damien Lewis is as and actor. Between Band of Brothers, Life and now Homeland he is quite an amazing actor.


I just read the wikipedia entry for Homeland. Interesting - Lewis once again plays a character out of real world connection for many years. In Life he had been in prison and in this he was a POW. I am interested but don't see it on netflix yet.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Hcour said:


> Started watching "Life" (didn't feel like starting a new thread). Good show! Lewis is excellent, as usual. His character is a bit _too_ quirky for my taste, but Lewis plays it so well he gets away with it. The cases are interesting and there's some great humor.
> 
> I just hope they solve the mystery of the case that sent him to prison before the series ends.


I really really miss Life. Great characters, well acted, fun stories.

Damien Lewis and Sarah Shahi were just fantastic together. Chemistry!:up:

Miss it.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

I'm bummed to find out the Netflix Life doesn't have the original music. I had thought several times on the first seven episodes that the music in certain scenes seemed off, but didn't realize there were such wholesale changes.

Just watched the eighth episode and the opening scene is supposed to have Aimee Mann's 'one' playing. That would have been perfect! 

So that means I'll probably download the originals even though the Netflix is much more convenient.


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## Hcour (Dec 24, 2007)

Just finished season 1 of Life. Loved it and looking forward to season 2. I'd put this series up there with Terriers and Brotherhood as short-lived shows that deserved much longer runs.

I learned about all three of these series from threads in this forum. I think I'm going to start a thread "Series Cancelled Before Their Time!" to uncover more gems like these.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

Do you have certain actors/actresses that you just don't like to watch (even if you don't know why)?

For me, Damien Lewis is one of those actors. I can't look at him without thinking "Steve McQueen's mutant brother".

So I never watched Life. From the comments here, maybe I should suck it up and try it.


(another one for me is Kyra Sedgewick. Just can't watch her)


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

scooterboy said:


> Do you have certain actors/actresses that you just don't like to watch (even if you don't know why)?
> 
> For me, Damien Lewis is one of those actors. I can't look at him without thinking "Steve McQueen's mutant brother".
> 
> ...


He can't be any more repulsive than David Caruso.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Hcour said:


> I learned about all three of these series from threads in this forum. I think I'm going to start a thread "Series Cancelled Before Their Time!" to uncover more gems like these.


There's probably at least one (if not more) of them out there already in recent history.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Hcour said:


> Just finished season 1 of Life. Loved it and looking forward to season 2. I'd put this series up there with Terriers and Brotherhood as short-lived shows that deserved much longer runs.
> 
> I learned about all three of these series from threads in this forum. I think I'm going to start a thread "Series Cancelled Before Their Time!" to uncover more gems like these.


I learned about all of them from this forum/thread. Glad that I did. Haven't watched Brotherhood. Maybe that is next on the list after I catch up with Breaking Bad.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

billypritchard said:


> I'm bummed to find out the Netflix Life doesn't have the original music. I had thought several times on the first seven episodes that the music in certain scenes seemed off, but didn't realize there were such wholesale changes.
> 
> Just watched the eighth episode and the opening scene is supposed to have Aimee Mann's 'one' playing. That would have been perfect!
> 
> So that means I'll probably download the originals even though the Netflix is much more convenient.


We watched episode 9 of Life tonight, except this time I downloaded the broadcast version off a torrent site. The music was so much better! Then we rewatched the end on Netflix and it was again so obvious how better the originals are. Wow.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Hmmmm, I though this thread was about Terriers 

I miss that show.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> Hmmmm, I though this thread was about Terriers
> 
> I miss that show.


Heh. I added Terriers to the netflix Instant Queue, which will probably be watched after Life.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I just watched, and liked, the first episode.

But Firefly? Really? I see a lot more similarities to Veronica Mars.


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## DavidJL (Feb 21, 2006)

Robin said:


> I just watched, and liked, the first episode.
> 
> But Firefly? Really? I see a lot more similarities to Veronica Mars.


I think the thought was if people had watched Firefly when it was originally aired it would be still on. So that advice was passed on for the next show, Terriers, that might be saved if people watched it when it aired. So the next thread will be "Hey Terriers Fans, watch (great show that will probably get cancelled due to low ratings)"


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Robin said:


> I just watched, and liked, the first episode.
> 
> But Firefly? Really? I see a lot more similarities to Veronica Mars.


Appeals to Firefly and VM fans?

Now I'm really annoyed it wasn't available.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Well, sort of. Donal Logue is no is no Kristen Bell!


It's interesting that an unattractive man can carry a show. A woman of his "caliber" would never make it unless it was part of the show's shtick.

Also, the sidekick's wife? Totally out of his league!


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

Always been a Donal Logue fan. He's the anti hunk hero.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I wouldn't mind him showed and shaved, but I find society's double standard fascinating.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Robin said:


> Also, the sidekick's wife? Totally out of his league!


Keep watching and you may change your mind.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Now I'm curious! Does he get hotter or does she get ugly?


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Robin said:


> Now I'm curious! Does he get hotter or does she get ugly?


I thought he got hotter.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Excellent news!


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Also, there are various plot developments.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Robin said:


> I wouldn't mind him showed and shaved, but I find society's double standard fascinating.


I don't think this is necessarily true. There have been unattractive women who have carried shows before. And Meryl Streep has made a career of it in the movies. Of course one person's unattractive is another person's beauty, so who knows.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

It's not a hard and fast rule, but there are absolutely more unattractive men on tv than women.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Robin said:


> It's not a hard and fast rule, but there are absolutely more unattractive men on tv than women.


One of my Hollywood pet peeves is their practice of casting the plain friend of the hot blonde with a hot brunette wearing glasses.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Robin said:


> Also, the sidekick's wife? Totally out of his league!


Picking back up on this -- I'm not a woman, but I don't agree. I think Michael Raymond-James is a fairly handsome guy and Laura Allen, while very pretty, is not drop-dead gorgeous. I never once thought (of either of them), "no way they could get the other". Certainly not in a World According to Jim/name your sitcom way.

Anyway, as I hinted above, as the show progresses things are shown about each of them that put them on more equal footing, even if you started out thinking that he would never land her. Their relationship is one of the more compelling aspects of the show.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

cmontyburns said:


> Picking back up on this -- I'm not a woman, but I don't agree. I think Michael Raymond-James is a fairly handsome guy and *Laura Allen, while very pretty, is not drop-dead gorgeous.* I never once thought (of either of them), "no way they could get the other". Certainly not in a World According to Jim/name your sitcom way.
> 
> Anyway, as I hinted above, as the show progresses things are shown about each of them that put them on more equal footing, even if you started out thinking that he would never land her. Their relationship is one of the more compelling aspects of the show.


See what I mean about one person's unattractive is another person's attractive? I think Laura Allen is drop dead gorgeous, and loved her character on Terriers. But I could never picture her as the wife on Awake. That didn't work as well for me.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Robin said:


> It's not a hard and fast rule, but there are absolutely more unattractive men than women.


FYP! 

Maybe if we put a little more effort in.... eh, never mind.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> See what I mean about one person's unattractive is another person's attractive? I think Laura Allen is drop dead gorgeous, and loved her character on Terriers. But I could never picture her as the wife on Awake. That didn't work as well for me.


Well, it's a relative thing. If she approached me in real life, I'd probably fall down. I meant more in TV terms, where I think there are any number of actresses who have it over her in terms of classical beauty, sexuality, or what have you. Which is not an insult to her; again, she is really, really, really pretty.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

Robin said:


> I just watched, and liked, the first episode.
> 
> But Firefly? Really? I see a lot more similarities to Veronica Mars.


I think they mentioned Firefly because of the line in the original post



> First off there is Tim Minear who was involved in Firelfy, Dollhouse and Wonderfalls.


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