This Much is True

With all this talk around here about Republic of Doyle, I forgot to mention a couple of things about a real Doyle, one by the name of Alan of Great Big Sea. First, and yes this is related to Republic of Doyle, Great Big Sea’s “Oh Yeah” is the theme song (opening song??) for Republic and I love it. I had somehow missed this song but now it’s being played a lot on the old iPod Touch. You can download it yourself  on iTunes.

The other thing is that I was watching the People’s Choice Awards for a few minutes the other night (which is really all I can stomach of that particular awards show, even though I’m an awards show junkie) and they showed a preview for the upcoming Robin Hood movie. Alan Doyle is in the movie, playing one of Robin’s merry men, Allan A’Dayle. Not sure how merry the men will be as it looks pretty dark but it also looks really good. I like Russell Crowe’s acting and recently really enjoyed him in the movie, State of Play (which started with a scene of Russell Crowe driving and singing along to Great Big Sea’s “The Night Pat Murphy Died“). And Cate Blanchett will no doubt make a fabulous Maid Marian. Alan as Allan will play the lute in the movie (and sing, maybe??)  as he’s the troubadour of the merry men. Watch for this one when it comes out this summer.

I’ve written and rewritten parts of this post a number of times now. I wrote about Republic of Doyle the other day and feel the need to follow it up with a review but I was having trouble figuring out what to say. I wanted to be kind and say I love it and that it was a great show, because there are so many people getting work from this production and it’s so cool to see people eating Ziggy Peelgood’s on TV. What I’m going to say is that I like it and I think it has great potential and a lot of positive things going for it. It’s the pilot episode and as I’ve said before about pilot episodes, they don’t really let you know what a show will be like. They introduce you to everyone and give us a bit of background. And the pilot for this one was good and it made me want to come back and see it next week.

But, yup, there’s the but, I wanted to admit that, to me, it lacked spark. It had all the ingredients to provide spark but whether it was between Jake Doyle and the constable who maybe will be a love interest or even between Jake and his dad, there wasn’t a lot of spark. These were my initial thoughts, along with my gratitude that Hawco and his fellow writers have decided to not make the characters stereotypical, over-the-top “Lard Jesus, b’y, what’s we gonna do, me son” people. But then I thought maybe that’s what I perceive as lack of spark. It’s not the show or the writing, it’s the fact that I’ve been programmed to expect this over-the-top stuff from television representations of us. These are regular people doing regular things in this extraordinary place. There’s no quirky missus with a hair net over her rollers, smoking a cigarette in her housecoat out on the steps, there’s no beer-guzzling drunk being loud and stupid. Not that all shows and all characters from here have been like that but I find it hard to remember a show coming out of here that didn’t have some of that, that didn’t play into the stereotype at least a bit. Republic of Doyle is about people who work, and act (fairly) respectably, and don’t swear all the time, and don’t even smoke. They figure things out, and protect their friends, and are from other cultures, and go to see lawyers in office buildings, and drive cool cars, and live in nice houses, and own their own businesses. They’re like most of the people I know. They are characters and not caricatures. And I really like that.

I also like the look of the place. I don’t know what kind of filters can make the city look quite so beautiful, bright, rich, and vibrant but I would like one on me at all times, thank you. I want everyone to have to see me through that same filter. I think the characters are pretty good and none of the accents really struck me as too fake (although I could hear Sean McGinley’s Irish accent come through a few times, most people outside Newfoundland probably wouldn’t notice the difference). My favourite character is actually not played by a Newfoundland actress. She’s Lynda Boyd as Rose and I liked almost everything about her (her accent wasn’t the best but it’s such a hard one to do). One more thing I have to say, and it’s really not fair since he can’t help it, but Allan Hawco is so damn good-looking that I found it distracting. Something about his eyes pulls me away from everything else happening in a scene. I’m sure if he tried to scruff himself up, it wouldn’t help a bit and would only make it worse, making him even more gorgeous.

I hope Republic of Doyle continues the things it’s doing well and even gets better as it gets its footing. I want to see more.

I’ll admit it. One of my favourite shows is one from CBC. Oh, I don’t mean one of the news type comedy shows that CBC has been doing great for years and it’s true that the Dragon’s Den is a no-miss show for me, but I mean a dramatic show from CBC. One with a plot. I say that because for a long time, I didn’t like many, or probably any, of the plotted shows CBC would offer us. They were, well.. boring. Not all, of course, I can’t say every single thing was boring but except for the occasional over-the-top comedic offering, there wasn’t much to keep your interest. But in the past couple of years CBC has gotten much better at providing us with shows we care about and want to follow. Little Mosque on the Prarie, for instance, is an international success and Being Erica is one of my favourite shows. I remember seeing the previews for Being Erica and thinking that it would be a cliche-driven, predictable show. But it’s not. It’s vivid and thoughtful and touching and funny and suspenseful and what more could you want in a show? So, I have great hope for Republic of Doyle, but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

I think part of the reason for these new and interesting shows is that new people–actors, directors, writers, and producers–are joining the process. For the longest time, I could look at any show on any network or any movie anywhere and know right away whether or not it was filmed in Canada, because the same half dozen or so actors and actresses were on it and it was like a big, blaring flag that it was a Canadian product. It’s a natural thing when there’s a small pool of people who excel at their field (or seem to, according to the right people) as is the case in Canada. But more and more there are excellent shows and movies coming from Canada, with Canadians at the helm and in the starring roles, who are not from that small pool. And a new generation of creative forces are coming into play. Then comes along Allan Hawco who pitches the idea of Republic of Doyle to CBC then creates, writes (along with co-creator and co-writer Perry Chafe), and stars in the show about a private detective in St. John’s. Newfoundland. The trailers make this show look great so I have high hopes for the show, as do so many people around here who are getting work on the set. It looks like St. John’s is a big part of the show in that the beauty and unique characteristics of the place can’t help but catch your eye, rather than that Hawco spends his time jumping around saying “look, b’y, I’se a Newfoundlander here on da rock”. The show starts tomorrow night on CBC and you should check it out. It could very well become one of your new favourite shows. And if you miss it, CBC will no doubt have it on their website.

Well, while Christmas was a busy time for me, it was also a busy time for my book with a couple of reviews coming out for A Few Kinds of Wrong in the week before Christmas. Both were great reviews and lovely presents. You can check out some quotes from them on my reviews page.

Of course, Christmas was about family and presents and remembering how grateful we are for all we have. Santa was super-busy with not one but two visits–one to Nanny and Poppy’s house in Aspen Cove and one to Nanny and Poppy’s house in Ladle Cove and was even kind enough to drop by and leave a gift each for the boys in the small boxes Sam left under our tree in CBS. Needless to say, two Christmas mornings of presents from us and from Santa left us tired, “spent”, you might even say. I think I might do something different and review some of the presents in another post since everything I buy means a trip to the Internet first and checking on reviews others have posted. Maybe my opinions could help other people. The big hits, I’ll tell you now, were the night-vision goggles, Martian Matter, the Hexbug Nanos and habitat, and Elmo Live.

New Years Eve found us, as always at our friends, the Holletts, for supper, fireworks in the backyard, birthday cake to celebrate Pam’s birthday, and clinking of glasses at midnight. I couldn’t help thinking that ten years before we were celebrating the end of the millenium down at the waterfront and we didn’t even know the Holletts or what good friends they would become to us. Back then, if someone had told me that in ten years I would have quit my job at a detox centre to return to university and do IT, then worked at that university (Memorial University of Newfoundland) in IT, would be married, would have two children, would have two books published, would have won an award for writing, would have quit work to stay home with my kids, and that ten years from then, I would be truly happy, well, that’s a lot to take in and I, of course, would have laughed my ass off at your silly predictions. You never know, do you?

Happy new year everyone and may this new year bring you joy, laughter, and health. Don’t forget to celebrate the small moments along with the big ones.

My wish for you in 2010, is for you to be overjoyed. As the brilliant Christine Kane sings

All of the world is designed to remind you
All of the light you could find is inside
Under all of the noise
Here’s your chance to be overjoyed

This song, like others by Christine Kane, is available on iTunes. (Also check out the vid of No Such Thing As Girls Like That. It’s a hoot.)

Yes, that’s snow falling on my blog. Most of the blog is white so it doesn’t disturb reading much so I decided to do it. I like it. And I don’t have to shovel it. It’ll just be snowing on my blog until after the new year.

Last week, I visited a book club who had read A Few Kinds of Wrong and invited me to come by and talk with them about it. Although the host didn’t know me when she chose my book, one of the other members recognized me as our children go to the same school. So, she asked me if I would come and I said yes, thinking that it was a month away and maybe I wouldn’t be nervous by the time I got there. So when the night came, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into and, I have to say, I was quite nervous. I don’t like being the centre of attention or talking much about myself to people I don’t know. And I was afraid people might not like the book (doubt-filled as per last week’s post) and even though I knew they wouldn’t invite me to their book club to shred the book, I felt I would know if they didn’t like it. Luckily there wasn’t any such response (or they hid it very well) and  they seemed to really love the book. It was so interesting to sit down with people I don’t know and to listen to them talk about my book. They had really great insights and comments and questions that made us all think about the book and the characters. It made me realize how people could see something that I didn’t, or how something I tried  to do subtly in the book actually came across to people. Sometimes someone would ask a question and someone else would answer it because she remembered some minute detail or knew the characters well enough that she could answer it. I loved that. It was like the people in the book actually had their own lives and that’s how I feel about them, not that I created them but that I just wrote down the stuff that happened to them. I loved hearing how certain parts touched the readers and affected them. It turns out I was not the centre of attention at all. The book was, as well as the women in the group since the meeting was about their opinions and questions.

I’ve heard of so many book clubs in Newfoundland lately (and everywhere else but I tend to hear about the ones here) and it really makes me happy that we’re reading lots of books and then talking about them. And I think most of them, as with the one I attended last week, have people taking turns choosing the books so you might end up reading something you wouldn’t have thought of reading yourself, thereby expanding your reading horizons. If you’re in a book club and are interested in reading A Few Kinds of Wrong, check out the suggested book club questions included on the A Few Kinds of Wrong page (best for after you read the book as there are a couple of spoilers), and feel free to contact me. If you’re not in a book club, but love to read, consider joining one or creating your own. The reasons to join a book club, I heard the other night, were things like to have adult company and conversation, and to motivate you to read a book when it’s so hard to find time to do so. I’m glad Newfoundland and Labrador seems to have a burgeoning book club scene. The more people who are reading and discussing books, the better, I say, especially if they include local books in the mix.

Well, I don’t really know you but I love what you said when you called Perez Hilton out as a “talentless dope”. This gives me hope that maybe there could be an end to the whole trend of people, who are devoid of talent, somehow becoming celebrities and being yammered on about on “entertainment” shows. So what will any waitress who has ever “served” Tiger Woods, and Jon Gosselin, and Michael Lohan, and Octomom, and anyone who has come in contact with Michael Jackson in the past fifty years, and anyone who has the last name “Kardashian”, and Spencer Pratt, and Heidi Montag, and…(well, we could go on a long time here but the idea of all these people is making me quite nauseous) do with themselves if the trend ends? Who cares?

Thank you, Sam. You’ve given me hope.

I’m not sure when I became a fan of Coronation Street. I think I watched it my entire life because surely my mom watched it while I was an infant. It was a constant in our home. When Coronation Street was on there was to be no talking and no answering the phone. And somewhere along the line, I started to like it. Maybe it’s how the show doesn’t drag things out for months and months like American soaps, maybe it’s because the people on it don’t all look perfect and they drink and they smoke and they even go to the bathroom. They eat toast in the morning, sitting at their tables, hair sticking off , faces reflecting how tired they are. They don’t look perfectly coiffed and wear their high heels and designer gowns around the house.

And they have memorable characters. Maggie Jones played one such memorable character–Blanche Hunt, a woman who never held anything back and could cut you down with a look or a put-down sharp enough cut through the toughest skin. Maggie Jones passed away this week at age 75. She played her last scenes in October but we in Canada will have to wait a good while to see those as we are several months behind in our episodes of Coronation Street. RIP Maggie Jones and thanks for all the laughs. If you’ve never seen her in action or want to again, here’s a video of her at an AA meeting, there to support her step-grandson. For Canadian viewers, the first part won’t be much of a spoiler as we all know Peter has a problem by now but if you go past 1:55 on the video, other spoilers will be revealed. It’s the first 1:55 that is classic Blanche anyway. No one could deliver those cutting lines like Maggie Jones. Also, check out a BBC video which lets you see Maggie Jones on Corrie in the 70s.

Some things can just make you smile with tears in your eyes. What simple yet powerful things we can do if we just choose to do so.