Below is part 7 of a series of blog posts that were written by Kelly Wheeler (writer and production assistant on ‘Terriers’) for the show. These were posted back in 2010 on the now defunct ‘Terriers’ site on FX.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 14, 2010
Episode #105 – Ring-A-Ding-Ding
Directed by Billy Gierhart
Written by Angela Kang
Unofficially titled within our group, “The Hot Rock episode,” this episode is a loose homage to the 1972 movie of the same name. Hank and Britt are tasked to investigate the theft of an heirloom a ring. After chasing it “Rube Goldberg style” (yeah, I didn’t get that reference either… had to Wikipedia it: “Goldberg is best known for a series of popular cartoons he created depicting complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways – now known as Rube Goldberg machines”) – they discover that their cancer-stricken client’s husband gave the ring to his former mistress.
This has one of my favorite opening sequences ever… set to great music, it’s energetic and fun. Plus, you get to see a ton of Britt & Katie smooching. (What? I’m a girl, we like that junk…) Before you go thinking we have gone all mushy on you, there’s an investigative scene that has our boys showing up on the doorstep of a suspect, who just happens to have a ton of piercings. When asked about the ring, he starts pointing to different pieces of jewelry speared through his skin… and then he does the thing you really hope he’s not going to do… drop his pants. Yeah, turns out not to be the ring in question.
Originally, we had played with the idea that piercing guy had turned the missing ring into a Prince Albert (I’ll let you Wikipedia that one on your own). This spawned a lot of conversations (“how exactly would that work if the stone was a full carat?”) and after a few uncomfortable google searches, we moved away from the idea. This episode was written by Angela Kang, and she had the pleasure of doing most of the research. I think she will always be a little different as a result. (Quick side note: Did you know there are actually some metals that can’t be turned into a piercing? Yikes, imagine regulating that…)
Now, without giving away too much more, I will say that by the end of the episode Katie & Britt’s relationship will be different forever. And if that’s not enough of a lure, this show also has a little Xanadu reference, actor Johnny Sneed (he uses phrases like, “fecal flotation”) and a half-naked Laura Allen. So… really something for everyone.
Attached to this post is a cute little tour of Britt & Katie’s place.
Sing it with me, “Now that I’m here… Now that you’re near… in Xaaaan-ah-doooo!”
— wheeler