TERRIERS (2010)

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

"Yeah, I heard that cat had that shit comin' to him."

Following the story of two not-so lucky in life private investigators in San Diego, FX's Terriers sounds like the type of program I would never usually check back with on a weekly basis. Only this time around it was the names attached to the crew that caught my attention.

Created by Ravenous scriptwriter Ted Griffin and backed up by former Whedonverse writer/directors Tim Minear and Shawn Ryan, Terriers was put on my must watch list for 2010. Much to my dismay and legions of other followers, the show was canceled after it ran it's 13 episode first season.

In what should have been a career-defining performance, Canadian actor Donal Logue steals half of your heart as the recovering alcoholic ex-cop P.I., Hank Dolworth. His younger partner, Brit Pollock, an ex-crook who is also trying to get his life back together is played by Michael Raymond-James who steals the other half of your heart. Together these guys have the best-buddy chemistry down so well I could swear they've known each other for years. There was no need for Logue or Raymond-James to really have to show off with emotional schmaltz, they just had the chemistry from the very get-go, which is a rarity in television.

Terriers' perfect blend of VERY dry humor, emotional turmoil and plot twists galore gave it an unique feel completely different from most crime dramas. I will admit the only episode that turned me off was the generic pilot episode, so I beg you to not give it up on it so quickly.

Fortunately with it's short run, Griffin was able to wrap the show up with a perfect ending that could act as both an acceptable open-ender or a gateway to a complete make-over had the series continued. So don't be worried that you'll be left with a jawdropping cliff-hanger.

With it's near perfect writing, direction, acting, cinematography and scene set-ups it's a colossal shame this show never got the chance to continue. Or perhaps we're lucky Terriers never got the chance to lose any of it's superbly executed quality.

We'll never know.

MUST SEE EPISODES:
1x03:  CHANGE PARTNERS: a perfect blend of what this show is all about.
1x05:  RING-A-DING-DING: emotionally engaging and huge character arcs
1x11: SINS OF THE PAST: ex Angel writer/directors Shawn Ryan & Tim Minear do what they do best...a flashback episode

EPISODES TO AVOID:
1x01:  Really, it's the only weak episode in the bunch...but it's also the one that gets the multiple stories running.......so.....yeah.  Watch it anyways.

BUYER'S GUIDE:
Sadly, Terriers is not available for home viewing and there's still no sign of a release.  However, even though they've canceled it, FX is still playing reruns every week.

DANNY ELFMAN: The 15 Best Non-Tim Burton Film Scores #10-6

See #15-11 HERE

#10- TULIP FEVER (2017)
Director: Justin Chadwick

After sitting on a shelf for two years, director Justin Chadwick's period drama Tulip Fever finally saw the light of day in 2017.  Sadly it was a complete misfire and in turn buried the recognition Danny Elfman deserved for the gorgeous score he supplied.  

Led by a smalls string ensemble, a collection of electric chimes and a longing but colorfully rolling piano theme, the score is Elfman at perhaps the most romantically lyrical he's ever been.  It has neither a particularly memorable theme or overly showy vigor about it, so it'll most likely get lost in most collector's minds in due time which is a real shame.  With it's forlonging urgency and feverish qualities it's a score that's easy to get lost in a clouded daydream of your own. 

TULIP FEVER Suite

#09- FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (2015)
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

For director Sam Taylor-Johnson's adaptation of E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey, Danny Elfman uses far more intellect in his composing than the film actually deserves.  

It could have easily been a phoned-in softcore porn score but Elfman instead assigns a variety of textures, techniques and themes to the characters and their apparent "growth" throughout the film.
Elfman employs a soft-rock ensemble, aided by a stripped-down skittish string section and a soothing choir to balance out it's fluttering of subtle electronic textures.  It's uncomfortably intimate yet cold, constantly threatening to burst with emotion but instead remains unsure of itself, mirroring that of the lead character's feelings to a tee.  It's a lot more musically thoughtful and fascinating than the film itself, and that alone is a great accomplishment that deserves more attention than it's received.  

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Suite

#08- SCROOGED (1988)

Director: Richard Donner

Elfman's score for Richard Donner's Scrooged is about as Tim Burton-ish as you can get without it actually being Tim Burton.
With it's plethora of jingle bells and creepy "la-la" children's choir used to create a humorously morbid tone to the normally happy sounds of Christmas, Elfman was testing out the waters with similar techniques he would perfect in the years to come.   In the film, the score knocks the balance of comedy and darkness off quite a bit, causing Elfman to confess he didn't quite hit the mark with this one.  That may be the case but it's a still a fan favorite, most likely due to it feeling like a blueprint of what would come to be some of Elfman's best work. 

SCROOGED Suite

#07- A SIMPLE PLAN (1998)

Director: Sam Raimi

A Simple Plan is probably one director Sam Rami's least known films to the average movie-goer but I find it might also be his best.  It's like Elfman knew that and instead of opting for an easily accessible score, he went with something so sparsely cold and challenging it'll only reward with multiple visits.  By taking away the large brass sections he's so comfortable with, Elfman leaves himself only with a large chilly woodwind ensemble and icy piano keys & chimes to create something rather unique to his catalogue at the time.   Like the film itself, it's deceivingly simple at first but with multiple listens you'll pick up on all sorts of tricky little techniques and ideas hidden beneath layers of icy soundscape it creates.  

A SIMPLE PLAN Suite

#06- AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (co-composer Brian Tyler)(2015)
Director: Joss Whedon

For the most the Marvel Cinematic Universe's musical voice has been a real dissociated mess, not really making much of impact apart from Alan Silvestri's bold Avengers' theme.  Halfway through post-production of director Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron Danny Elfman was brought in to pick up composer Brian Tyler's octane-fueld score and it seemed that the results could have been catastrophic.  However Elfman did a fantastic job at mimicking Tyler's sound, giving it a deeper layer of emotion and, most of all, finding brilliant ways to bring Silvestri's Avengers theme into the mix, thus finally bringing musical continuity to the MCU.  It's a real mish-mash of composers' works but through some miracle it actually works quite well and makes for some of the most entertaining near-disaster albums around. 

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Suite*
*Note: the suite only contains music composed by Danny Elfman and not Brian Tyler

#5-1 Coming Next Monday...

FAT MIKE & FRIENDS / Home Street Home: Original songs from the Shit musical (2015)

Pierced noses.  Purple mohawks.  Smoking pot.  Shooting heroin.  Self-inflicted cuts.  Pedophilia.  Sucking cock for money.  Anal fisting.  And of course shit-covered titty-fucking. 
It's all part of NOFX front-man "Fat" Mike Burkett's punk-rock musical Home Street Home. 
Co-written by Fatty's now ex-wife Soma Snakeoil and Avenue Q's Jeff Marx, the musical tells the story of a sexually abused teenage girl that runs away to the streets where she is brought in by a group of friendly gutter punks that introduce her to a life of drugs, prostitution and various other forms of debauchery. 
Burkett doesn't do a whole lot of his own on the album, with the exception of a few guitar tracks here and there, and instead leaves it to the likes of members of Alkaline Trio, The Living End, The Descendants, Dropkick Murphys and even nice guy pip-pip folk-punker Frank Turner, whom all lend their vocal & musical talents to the 18 featured tracks. 
Bad Cop/Bad Cop vocalist Stacey Dee stars as the leading character, Sue, who opens the album with "Monsters", an emotional roller-coaster of a song.  It wastes no time making the listener uncomfortable as we learn Sue is being sexually abused by her father (creepily played by blink-182's Matt Skiba), causing her to make a run for it with nothing but her art supplies, a razor-blade and her dad's stolen gun. 
Things lighten up (just a little) with the more upbeat tracks that follow, as we're introduced to the five gutter punks that bring Sue into their oddball street-clique.  "Fecal Alcohol Syndrome" is a personal favorite of mine, with it's washboard hillbilly rocker tempo and sneering lyrics sung by Samiam's Billy Bouchard. 
After a few jaunty numbers "Three Against Me" breaks your heart as a Fat Mike piano (!) ballad, about a boy who was forced out of his abusive household because of his homosexuality. 
"High Achievers", a honky tonk number, features the five gutter punks trying to convince Sue that drugs are the only way to live, using a gaggle of well-respected minds throughout history as examples.  Out of context the song sounds really bad but knowing where it comes from makes for a delightfully catchy little number. 
Frank Turner lends his friendly vocals as the narrative voice of reason to Sue in two separate little ukulele driven ditties called "Bad Decision" and "Another Bad Decision".  If someone is going tell me I'm making foolish choices then I have no problem with it coming from the mouth of Frank Turner. 
"I'm Suicide" is probably the album highlight for me.  An uplifting rocker, sneered with convincing anger and power by Stacey Dee, as her character is nicknamed Suicide by her new peers.  Another highlight is the oddly sweet "Bearly Legal" number about a male prostitute and his john confessing the caring feelings they actually have for each other. 
The bulk of the album is excellent and will most likely surprise anyone already familiar with Fat Mike's work with NOFX or Me First and The Gimme Gimmes.  For some odd reason the songs are out of the order from the actual stage musical they're from but it does make for a better listening experience considering there's a handful of songs that don't actually make the final track-listing. 
As dark as the subject matter is, it's done with a slight smirk and never forgets it's really all about strength and survival.