Alan Doyle as Wolf Redmond
Alan Doyle as Alan Doyle
There is no sweeter face than this one. In my eyes.
On the Red Carpet - Alan.
On the Red Carpet - Sean Panting.
And the Star of this Red Carpet: Allan Hawco.
I enjoyed last night's Republic Of Doyle Season 3 Premiere at the Arts & Culture Centre. While it's true that St. John's still has a few things to learn about bringing off the finer points of a Red-Carpet Premiere - if Russell had been there, he might have decided to start directing traffic along that carpet...I half expected Alan to do it himself - it was still fun to watch how excited so many folks were about being there.
And about taking pictures of each other - decked out in their Finest Premiere-Wear - on that Carpet, those huge photos of Allan Hawco (sporting his characteristic Jake Doyle expression) right behind them. At the end of the day, there may have been nearly as many photos taken of each other as there were of the Official Celebrities. Which was fitting, since Republic Of Doyle has from the start made it (wisely) clear just who it is who's the real Star Of The Show: Newfoundland Herself. This show has worn its love for and pride in Newfoundland on its creative sleeve and that has made Newfoundlanders feel proud of themselves. The more excited locals I saw on that Carpet smiling for the camera, the more appropriate it seemed.
Which isn't to say there wasn't the expected flurry when those Official Celebrities came out onto the Carpet. They sent Alan out first - I think because they knew absolutely everyone in the building would immediately recognise him and make the surge toward the Carpet as soon as he appeared. And that's exactly what happened. Then a few others followed after, including series' actors Lynda Boyd and Sean Panting and co-writer/co-creator Perry Chafe, with series star Allan Hawco causing the greatest flurry and getting the most cameras on the go when he came out in the final position.
Then they all walked back to where they'd been waiting before, waited some more, only to come right back across the Carpet again, a bit hurried and self-conscious, up the stairs and into the (apparently unwrangled) clump of ooh-ing and aah-ing people standing at the top. It wasn't very smooth or slick or practised or uber-cool, not a bit like all of those La La Land premieres (or Cannes, for that matter) - but it sure was cute. And again, it seemed totally appropriate to the occasion.
I've been in the A&CC dozens of times, but this was the first time I'd set foot in the balcony. Our first-row balcony seats wound up giving us a great view not only of the episode being shown on the big screen, but of the main-floor audience as well. I'm purloining a pic from Mr. Hawco's Twitter page to show the A&CC layout...that's us up there on the far left-hand side of the balcony.
After a few more intros and remarks, it was time for the show to begin, to a rousing round of cheers and applause. That was the most fun of all, especially with the some of the Key Players sitting right there in the midst of it - including the Fellow I'd come to cheer and applaud, of course. The one with the sweet face.
Canadian viewers who haven't seen the Season Three premiere episode yet can catch it on the Republic Of Doyle's CBC-TV site. Those who live outside of Canada can find several online links for viewing; one of the easiest to use can be found at Project Free TV.
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Joke's ended when you smashed the TV on me head, brudder.- Wolf Redmond
It's a very good RoD episode - really, with Russell Crowe and Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand...and Alan Doyle...guest-starring, how could it be anything less? - and the eager watchers in the A&CC reacted accordingly, laughing at all the right moments, cheering for Local Hero Jake Doyle's muddling triumphs, and breaking out in unsolicited, sincere applause at the start of each round of commercials. The 1.36+ million Canadian viewers reported in the next-day's tally indicates that the episode was solid ratings hit as well.
And Alan did a great job acting. That's what I was there for and that's what I noticed, first and foremost, while watching him on the big screen in the A&CC (and while watching him watching himself on that screen...I really enjoyed that) and then again, several times again, when I got back home and watched the DVR-ed version of the episode.
Up there on the screen with such accomplished actors, some of whom have been doing this for a living nearly all of their lives, one of whom has won an Academy Award doing this (and deserved to win a few more), Alan was more than holding his own, keeping the beat perfectly and lookng as if he was exactly where he belongs, working like a pro and making it look as if he too had been doing this his whole life. He had all the lines, all the moves, all the expressions and stances, the timing and postures, down pat; he stayed in character every moment, background as well as foreground scenes. He was Wolf Redmond. He's got the goods.
He is the goods.
Good seein' ya again, Dick Smack.
Way to go, Alan. You've more than earned the right to wear that Actor's Scarf you're so fond of. And look so good in.
One of the more unfortunate aspects of Human Nature is how when a person gets to be really good at something, there is such a tendency - and such pressure, coming both from within and without - to keep focusing more and more on that thing, to keep getting better and better at One Single Thing...often to the exclusion of Everything Else.
The people I admire the most - the people of whom I am the most proud - are those who refuse to allow their focus and their efforts, their accomplishments and their pleasures, to be so narrowly focused and needlessly limited. Those already-accomplished people who don't let doing one thing excellently well keep them from reaching out (and reaching inside) to try Something New - to be challenged and terrifed and delighted, to be exhausted from working as hard they can and then thrilled by their ultimate well-earned success, all over again. Again and again.
Those to whom the bottle is always going to taste like More, each and every time they kiss it.
It occurred to me last night that Alan's had quite the impressive week so far. He went to Toronto to help do press for and attend the Republic Of Doyle pre-sceening party. While there, he rocked the National Anthems at the Leafs/Wings game in front of a sold-out Air Canada Centre crowd and a nationwide Hockey Night In Canada television audience, doing so well that he got a (richly well-deserved) nod for his efforts the next day via Twitter from none other than Canada's Songbird herself, Anne Murray. He also found studio time while in Toronto for putting the final touches on his much-anticipated first solo album.
Back home again, Alan attended the official premiere of the hit TV show in which he did an excellent Guest-Star acting turn alongside some of hs best buddies (between the HNIC anthems and the ROD episode, Alan performed for something like 2 million people this week) and then the next day he filmed a video with his bandmates for their milesone 20th Anniversary Album. Oh yes, and along the way he also found time to build a Snowman with his little boy; can't forget that significant achievement.
All of this is Alan's week of accomplishments - what's public knowledge of Alan/s week of accomplishments, that is - so far. The week's not over yet. He's still got a major benefit concert for Broken Earth coming up on Saturday, and who knows what else is on his "Today's Achievements" lists for Friday?
At the very least, there's certainly still enough snow on the ground for another Snowman.
Note: And shame on me for failing to note the biggest thing St. John's does right when putting on a fancy-schmancy Red Carpet Premiere: All proceeds from the evening went to Ronald McDonald House, Newfoundland & Labrador, currently under construction - and near completion - in St. John's.
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