Below is part 8 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 21, 2010
Episode #106 – Missing Persons
Directed by Michael Zinberg
Written by Jed Seidel
This episode centers around a freaked-out kid named JD (played by Noel Fisher) who ends up on Hank & Britt’s doorstep (well, at the Townhouse Café anyway, so… more of a metaphorical doorstep). Aside from some confusion over hair-parting, he also has the misfortune of not remembering who he is. As in, total amnesia. Of course Britt’s suspicious, but Hank, having had bender induced memory loss, feels for the kid.
While on the case, Britt gets more and more frustrated with Katie’s growing distance. And a small disagreement with Hank causes him to explode. It’s a powerful scene and a side of both guys we have not seen before. Eventually, Hank & Britt figure out (with a little help from the Squatters) that JD was planning a trip abroad… and that the anti-malaria medicine he took caused his malady. Who knew it did that, right?
But in fact, writer Jed Seidel was inspired by a real case. And you thought airplane food was dangerous.
In addition to juggling the JD case, Hank finds himself dealing with an increasingly anxious Steph. This is further complicated when, in Hank’s absence, she befriends a little girl across the street, and things… well, they don’t go so… uh, great. Eventually, after Steph breaks down, Hank has to make the painful decision to have her committed. The character of Steph (again, played by Donal’s real sister, Karina Logue) has been very important to the writers. We never wanted to treat her illness as pure comic relief, and although at times she says things that are amusing, it was very important to have her story rooted in reality.
I’ve included a little interview with Tim Minear about this very subject (sometimes it’s better to let the grownups talk) – enjoy.
— wheeler