Not gruesome, not gory, and certainly not painful because this post is all about the delectable Alec Track.
He is a doctor who deals with that red stuff on a daily basis, but that’s not the kind of Blood that brought him to my mind. Alec Track is the lead doctor of an air-ambulance helicopter team, in the short-lived 4 part series The Golden Hour.
Alec loves his job, being a doctor is in his Blood. Sadly not everyone can understand his dedication, most notably his love interest and fellow team member Jane.
She wants more than he can give; this is clearly illustrated by her mistaking his cute gesture of gifting her a toothbrush as mocking a desire to move in together, rather than the acknowledgement that the relationship is moving forward to a place where he would welcome her spending the night more.
They’ve kept the relationship secret up until this point because Alec fears that it might negatively impact the functioning of the team.
Jane playfully taunts Alec for not having feelings. I think that maybe he feels that focusing on a personal life for himself might be too distracting, or selfish in some way. Instead he chooses to be a workaholic of sorts, thus eliminating the option to brood over personal strife like his coworkers so often seem to do.
Jane seems to be disappointed with the very things that attracted her to him in the first place. I think she realizes this when she sees Alec’s comforting manner with the newly awakened coma patient, who often took priority over those few moments during the working day when they could have spent quiet time together.
It might be easier for Alec to show special protectiveness towards a stranger who becomes his responsibility for a short while, than to nurture a romantic relationship for his own benefit.
Giving of yourself for something bigger than yourself can feel noble, while taking for yourself may feel selfish. Having a clear purpose drives you forward, while trying to navigate a romantic relationship often leaves you floundering.
I don’t feel sorry for Alec, he doesn’t appear unhappy with his situation. Not everyone needs a romantic partner to be happy. I dislike when others place regrets and desires onto those who have chosen a different path than them. If the situation is of one’s own choosing, the Happy Police need to just move along!
Choosing to embrace that special song that sings in your veins instead of wasting time wallowing in regret, should not be seen as a negative thing. We all have our own dreams and desires, there are just those whose blood may sing a little bit louder, the force of their passion may run a little bit stronger, so that not living that life would feel like not breathing to them. I respect and admire those people greatly.
Choosing to live the life that you want instead of letting others overly influence what or who should be important to you, is something to be celebrated.
Some parallels could possibly be drawn between Alec and Richard himself. Quite a few of our favorite characters have the “pursuit of passion to the detriment of romantic relations” syndrome in common: Alec, Lucas, Porter, Thorin.
But before anyone starts crying a river over the absence of a publicly recognizable romance in Richard’s personal life, nowhere does it say that it’s impossible to balance both. Keep in mind that none of us are qualified to be Richard’s Happy Police. But he being our Happy Place on the other hand; perfectly acceptable.
Nowhere in Particular RA 
yes, he is our Happy Place, in whatever incarnation we desire, or even as his lovely self. Totally agree.
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I really must get around to watching this show while it’s still *cough* available.
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I thought it was a real shame The Golden Hour didn’t get recommissioned – the cast was strong and who doesn’t love a medical drama?
The actors didn’t get much chance to develop their characters but my impression was that Alec just wanted a fun relationship, where as Jane wanted something much more committed. I can’t say i blame her but the more she craved Alec’s attention, the more distant he became. I’m not sure the phrase ‘He just not that into you’ was around in 2005 but it feels apt!
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My thoughts exactly, Bollyknickers. She wasn’t the one for him.
Interesting comparison, Kelbel. It must be tough for actors though when they start moving round the globe. I do worry that if RA really would like a family he might miss the boat…
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I do speculate about his wanting a family; he’s mentioned it a few times in interviews, so it’s his own fault that I’m thinking about it! he seems to realize there is a price to pay for the life-style he’s chosen though, that it may not be in the cards for him. but like I said in the post, that doesn’t mean he’s going to live an unhappy lonely life 😉
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“Not everyone needs a romantic partner to be happy. I dislike when others place regrets and desires onto those who have chosen a different path than them. If the situation is of one’s own choosing, the “Happy Police” need to just move along!”
This is *so* true – and also true of having a family. I think sometimes people say they want one, but they are just saying this because society thinks that they *should* want one and will give them grief if they don’t have children or get married. I don’t ever want to have children, but I’ve learned not to say so because people don’t believe me or think there’s something wrong with me. It’s not that I don’t like children because I do (in small doses). I’m even good with children and babies, good enough to get multiple jobs working with the school-age children. I think sometimes that having all those kids to supervise or teach has used up all parenting energy.
I wonder if it’s a bit the same for Richard. If he spends a lot of time with his nephew (which he used to when he lived in the UK) he might have already had his parenting energy outlet 🙂
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peer-pressure never goes away.
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The older you get, the worse it is, too and sometimes it’s just too crazy the theories that people come up with to explain why a single person (or even a couple) don’t have children.
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I think that phrase already was around in 2005 😉
And yes, he just wasn’t into her at all.
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I really like the show and wish it would’ve gotten picked up for more episodes. the medical stories themselves I really liked, and there was drama within their personal lives but not too much. Alec and Jane would have crash and burned though, there is no doubt in my mind about that!
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I first heard “He’s just not that into you” on an episode of Sex and the City, which ended in 2004, so the phrase was definitely out there.
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OK. Google says that the phrase “He’s just not that into you” is from a 2003 episode of Sex and the City, which in turn inspired a very very popular self-help book in 2004. The movie inspired by the book came out in 2009.
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I don’t know why I thought this was important 😀
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Interesting parallel of Dr Track and RA, the whole “I’d rather put my energy in my work than into my love life”. Well, what do we know. We know nothing. But as you said, it’s not for us to judge.
I never quite understood The Golden Hour. It was as if there were bits of the show missing, and so I could not quite figure out the characters and their motivations. Maybe I have to watch it again.
Thanks for bringing it back to my attention, Kelbel!
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I really love “the golden hour” so of course I’m going to recommend that you give it another try! it is a bit choppy, but that’s what I like about it: we see little glimpses of their personal lives that start to add up over time, instead of focusing on them all of the time & letting them outshine the medical drama part of the story.
and yes, we know nothing in relation to RA’s personal life or his motivations, etc. just pure speculation. notice that I also said ” publicly recognizable romance” as well; we have no idea what he does off-set 😉
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I agree with you at each point,Kelbel 🙂 I belive that he is wise,affectionate man and I wish him all happiness.
I’ve watched The Golden Hour several years ago, the whole series,..and you must know that it was aired in Poland after the midnight ! 😉
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did you just happen to see it and liked it so you continued watching? or did you seek it out, even though it was on so late at night? if it’s the latter, that’s dedication! 🙂
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I found it accidentally and I liked it . Dark circles under my eyes was the only sacrifice 🙂
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Now I feel even more curious and compelled to watch Golden Hour 🙂 And you’re so right he is our “happy place”. It is tempting to play the “happy police” like you said, part of me would like to see him with someone and having children but then there’s another part that thinks that maybe he is happy the way he is. What do we know indeed? 🙂
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I read somewhere once that Richard said he realizes his profession may not gel with his wishes to have a family. not only because of the time issue, but also that supporting a family on an acting career, is so unpredictable.
and yes, you should definitely give “the golden hour” a chance 😉 have I become “the golden hour” ambassador? if so, I’m totally okay with that 🙂
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