Wed 3 Jun 2020
A Canadian TV PI Review: REPUBLIC OF DOYLE “Fathers and Sons” (2010).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[7] Comments
“FATHERS AND SONS.” An episode of Republic of Doyle, CBC, Canada. 06 Jan 2010. (Season One, Episode One). Allan Hawco (Jake Doyle), Sean McGinley (Malachy Doyle), Lynda Boyd, Rachel Wilson, Krystin Pellerin, Marthe Bernard. Creators and co-screenwriters: Allan Hawco, Perry Chafe & Malcolm MacRury. Director: Mike Clattenburg.
You can’t tell the players without a scorecard. It’s a large ensemble cast, with already complicated history, even before this first episode begins. I’ll do my best in the next paragraph below, but as a first episode, it does the job quite well in terms of getting the viewers acquainted right away, or at least the screenwriters did.
Jake and Malachy Doyle are a father and son PI team in, of all places, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador — or at least, I believe so; in spite of all of the picturesque scenery, I don’t remember the town being specifically stated. Their office manager is Malachy’s second wife, Rose, and Jake’s stepmother. Staying with them is Malachy’s granddaughter Katrina, or “Tinny,” and Jake’s niece.
Jake is in the process of getting a divorce from his wife, Dr. Nikki Renholds, but he has an eye on Constable Leslie Bennett, who is in charge of the police end of the investigation. She tries to be aloof, but she is attracted in spite of herself (or so it appears). The would-be divorce is in jeopardy, however. As this episode ends, Constable Bennett had just let her hair down and is about to knock on Jake’s front door. On the inside, though, Jake and Nikki are busily taking off clothing and consorting with the “enemy.”
There is as much comedy involved in Republic of Doyle as there is mystery, which has to do with a boyhood friend of Jake’s from being held for manslaughter, but he refuses to say anything on behalf of himself, even though his father has hired the Doyles on his behalf. It’s a good mix of comedy and drama, and I only wish the acting were better. The two male stars are fine, but both the two main suspects, both female, and Krystin Pellerin, as the very good-looking police constable, seem too young and inexperienced for their roles.
But the season six has just ended (in December 2014), so there are a lot of episodes to watch, should I decide to, and I probably will. I would like to know, at the least, how the cliffhanger works out. (I suspect that she decides at the last second not to knock after all.)
June 3rd, 2020 at 11:11 pm
I think but am not sure that this review has been tucked away in a vault and never posted for maybe six years. I do not know why, but I found a few other reviews there as well.
What reminded me of this one in particular, though, is that the subject of TV shows produced in Canada a came up few days ago, in the comments following my review of one of the episodes of SPACE: 1999. I’m glad it did. Whatever it took to pry this one loose, I think it’s about time.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:34 am
This one has a strong fan base but I never could get into it. I found it in the “Blu Sky” style from the old days of the USA network when it had shows such as PSYCH and BURN NOTICE. The humor was awkward and needed you to like the characters.
My biggest problem was the actor and character of Jake. I found him too stupid to care or have any interest in the story.
June 4th, 2020 at 6:48 am
Yes! Totally agree with michaels there – too stupid and unlikable to care about, plus the mediocre acting and the unsubtle comedy were all a turn off. I liked the scenery but that wasn’t enough to make me sit through another episode.
June 4th, 2020 at 10:31 am
The title, Republic of Doyle has the promise of fun; that’s it.
June 4th, 2020 at 11:38 am
There are two conflicting bodies of opinion at play here. First, that the show wasn’t very good. I must fall into that category myself, because I never went on to watch the second episode, as the last paragraph of my review suggested I would.
But secondly, the show was on for six seasons, spread out over four years, so obviously a good many people were watching it, and presumably enjoying it.
This is by no means a unique phenomenon, I know!
June 4th, 2020 at 8:19 pm
Couldn’t get into the protagonist seems to be a pretty general complaint. I’m not sure what the exact source of its popularity was, but it just didn’t work for me.
June 4th, 2020 at 10:48 pm
It was popular in Canada but not enough to make the big time in US where it appeared in syndication and a couple of streaming services.
I suspect it appeals to the same audience PSYCH has. There is an audience today for awkward humor.
It is considered popular because the CBC cancelled the series but brought it back due to demand of a devoted loyal audience.
Another reason may be due to low production cost of filming in Canada.