Bloglander

The Inlander and the Gonzaga University Student Body Association are sponsoring a screening of the first two episodes of the fantastic (and hilarious) FX comedy-drama TERRIERS at Gonzaga University in the Crosby Student Center at 9:15 pm tomorrow. Lead actors Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James will be on hand to talk to anyone interested in the craft of acting. Community members are welcome.

Good television doesn't mean good ratings. (See: Friday Night Lights.) That's the curse of mixing art and commerce. The latest victim is Terriers. It's received great reviews from critics (including this one, check out our review in the paper on Thursday.) But those reviews haven't yet meant that people have started watching. The rating numbers from the pilot were disappointing, to say the least.

Word is, the show gets even better. It gets darker. It gets deeper and more risky and intense. But a television show is a bit like Tinkerbell. If enough people ignore its existence, it tends to die altogether. And only in the most rare cases can enough clapping and DVD sales bring it back.

But the two leads, Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve, Grounded for Life) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood), came up with a plan from the FX network: A whistlestop tour, the sort of thing that Franklin Roosevelt did to win votes. They'd go from city to city, bringing their television show to the people. 

Except, because this is Terriers, about a pair of struggling, blue-collar, unlicensed private detectives, they'll be traveling using a pickup truck from Idaho instead.

Logue calls it "the first of an insanely-grassroots thing"

Their first stop: Spokane, Washington.

"What we have is a slam dunk, is a super well-reviewed show," Logue says. "A lot of the strength in the show is my relationship with Michael or our chemistry. What better thing to do is just hop in a truck and roll around and talk to the people about it."

So guess who they called first to try to set up an emergency TV screening? Washington State University. But after WSU failed to come through, Logue contacted The Inlander. We scrambled a bit but found the Gonzaga Crosby Student Center more than willing to host.

Currently, the plan is to screen the first episode after the Gonzaga coffeehouse in the Crosby Student Center, starting at 9:15 pm this Wednesday. After the first episode there will be an intermission for you to talk to Logue and (most likely) Raymond-James, and then we'll screen the second episode.

If you're at all interested in television, film, or acting, you owe it to yourself to stop by. Support great television. And be entertained.