Tonight's the night... Republic of Doyle returns!!!!!!!

Well, the day is finally here! Y*A*Y!!!!! I've waited for this day for months and months and months, and now it's finally here! Too bad I'm not. Well, I am here, but I'm not there, and I need to be there to appreciate today.

"What is she gettin' on with", you ask? Quiet!! I can hear you!!

This is what I'm gettin' on with. Tonight is the start of the second season of Republic of Doyle -

*W*O*O* *H*O*O*!!!!!

The not-so-wonderful part of this is that I will not be able to see it. This ship has satellite, but it doesn't get CBC. I can't watch it on CBC's website, because I'm outside of Canada and it won't allow you to see it from the website if you're outside of Canada. So, although I've waited ages and ages for this very night, I'm going to have to wait some more. Four weeks more, to be precise.

Waaaaaaaaa....

But I can tell you this... it will be worth the wait.

Prior to the first season airing, I had pretty low expectations. CBC has a reputation for not shying away from vulgarity and foul language, the more the merrier, and I'm just not into that like I was when I was 20. Admittedly, there is a time and a place for everything, but CBC seems to think it's all day, every day, everywhere. Gone are the days of family - friendly, quality shows like Codco and the Wonderful Grand Band. Plus, they'd already done gratuitous vulgarity with Hatching, Matching & Dispatching. I was hoping for something to be proud of for a change. And, if it was going to be completely insulting to one's intellect and ridiculous along the lines of the Trailer Park Boys, I was primed to have a patriotic nervous breakdown.

I had no idea what the show was going to be about. With the word "republic" in the title, I thought it might have some political tone, having to do with Confederation and 1949 or something like that.

But, when the first scene opened, with Jake chasing Des across the roofs on Water Street, and pushing my friend Janice's son Liam out of the way in an alley (yay Liam!!), I knew this was no political yawn, this was gonna be good!!!

And, by God, it was.

I cannot say enough good about the Republic of Doyle. It astonishes me that it is not required viewing in schools. A ridiculous idea, you say? Not at all. Anything to show to young Newfoundlanders that theirs is a province to be proud of and a land of beauty and cinematic opportunity is value-added in my view. (They'd only have to snip out that one opening scene when Jake was doing his client's wife... probably not school curriculum material, that. But otherwise? Have at 'er!!)

I am proud to say that I have watched the entire first season five times. I had to. I acquired the episodes by nefarious means, and took them with me wherever I went. The first two or three times, I was so engrossed by seeing my fair city, and a fair character she was, in every scene and trying to figure out locations, it was hard to follow the story! "Oh my God! That's the Marine Lab!!" "Look, that's Quidi Vidi village!!" "HA! They're using the old General for the hospital scenes!!" It was SO much fun!!!

I hasten to add that I have since acquired a legal copy of season one from my sister this Christmas, and therefore my shady ways are behind me! ;-)

The acting? The characters are so-so-so great! Every one of them is totally likeable, and able to act! Who knew?!?!

The fact that the episode with Gordon Pinsent in it turned out to be my favorite episode, well, that's just crazy, seeing as how before this, I didn't think much of ol' Gordo. However, he did a SUPERB job as the St. Pierre rum runner. I've always wanted to go to St. Pierre, now I'm obsessed with it!

The acting and the characters, though, would be NOTHING without the writing. The dialogue in this show is nothing short of brilliant. It might be true that some of the nuances would only be humorous to people from Newfoundland, but only some. The vast majority of the dialogue is universally funny and clever and smart. I mean, really! Having the guy who played the architect of the Titanic in the Leo DiCaprio movie, appear in a scene with Rose saying how opening Mal's special bottle of whiskey at Jake's wedding would have been tantamount to using it to christen the Titanic?? And the RCMP lady who told Jake to stay out of her way or she'd knock his clock back 30 minutes? And Mal saying to Jake after they walked away from the woman shooting clay pigeons down by the Marine Lab, "You see what she does to skeets!!" I was rolling on the floor!! If you haven't seen the show, then yes, you'd have to have been there to appreciate these snippets, but anyone who has seen it, knows. Oh yes, they know.

But then there's my favorite... "Don't be talkin' about offin' yerself, Doyle. You'll get a girl all excited!" I really believe Sgt. Leslie Bennett has the best lines by far. Next is Des.

It is so great!

And I'm going to miss it tonight.

Now, for the next four weeks, I'll have to dodge the posts on Facebook, and the links, and the comments about it, because I don't want to know what happens until I can see it myself! This is easier said than done.

But never mind. I will have a four-hour Republic of Doyle marathon when I get home! It will be like watching two Republic of Doyle movies!! YAY!!!

I hope that this season is just as good as the first season was, and I hope there are many more seasons to come.

"Bravo" to all involved with the creation of the Republic of Doyle. You've given all Newfoundlanders, and yourselves, something of which to be very proud.

Oh, YEAH!!!!!!