Remy Bradford, Angel fan, cuts right to the chase. "The death of Doyle has the potential to be the downfall of Angel," she says, via a fan message board. "Doyle balanced the otherwise moody characters. I really appreciate the great work that David [Boreanaz] and Charisma [Carpenter] both do, but Glenn Quinn made the show more than just a Buffy spin-off."
Doyle, played by Glenn Quinn, was a regular character on the WB Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, Angel, and though the news was leaked to the media prior to the event itself, many fans were surprised and disappointed to see the quirky Irish half-demon killed off in the November 30th Angel episode "Hero". The reaction was extremely fast; it seemed that the moment Angel's credits rolled, the WB's message boards were bombarded with posts from viewers making their opinions known.
They were not happy.
"I watched my last episode of Angel last week. Doyle's death was my last show," said poster Melinda Mayo. "If they bring Doyle back, I'll be back in a heartbeat, but his departure leaves a huge void that, in my opinion, won't be easily filled."
Most posters tended to agree with Melinda on the issue. Some are urging fellow fans to boycott the show until Doyle returns; others simply say that without Doyle, they don't see much worth watching. The fans who plan to stick around largely cite their loyalties to Angel and its other main players, David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter, or the futility of boycotting. But the Doyle fans -- and there are many more than I'd imagined, all coming out of the woodwork since the character's death -- continue their campaign. At my own unofficial site, GlennQuinn.com, fans have been discussing Quinn's departure and using the addresses posted for the "Demon's Defense" campaign to write to Angel's producers, David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon, asking for their favorite character back.
A poll conducted on TheWB.com lent numbers to the half-demon's supporters, and tallied in with 82.56% of those polled answering that they were "extremely distraught" over Doyle's death. Another 14.40% proved that denial isn't just a river in Egypt by answering that they didn't think Doyle was dead at all. Only 1.12% didn't care, and 1.92% said that they weren't affected at all. And it doesn't really stop there; fans on the WB's posting boards have decided to keep posting responses about Doyle to the WB's "Pulse" polls, even though the topic has changed several times to question fans about entirely different shows.
The big question, though, is whether Glenn Quinn would be willing to come back to Angel at all, and whether the Angel crew would want him. The official word from creator Joss Whedon is that Doyle's death was planned from the very beginning... but most fans aren't buying it.
"I for one find it exceedingly bizarre," says a fan posting under the name "Chickadoodle". "Why introduce elements that make a character so accessible to the audience then kill him off so suddenly? And then claim that this is what they intended to do all a long? It's very, very unusual for a freshman show to immediately take such a different turn, not to mention the fact that it's jarring on the audience. It alienates them and that's just plain bad business. It makes no sense."
The majority of fans seem to be similarly baffled. Though the claim is that the producers had planned the movie and Quinn was aware of it, they still gave the character a place in the show's opening credits -- for the nine episodes that Quinn was on the show -- and placed him in nearly all of the show's promotional materials, including commercials, print advertisements, photos, press kits, and posters. This isn't the kind of treatment normally received by any actor who plans only nine episodes; promotional materials are very costly, and most shows aren't willing to sacrifice their budget just to keep a plot twist a secret. Some folks are speculating that the entire thing is a publicity stunt and Quinn will be back in time for February sweeps, and while rumors of "creative differences" or deeper problems with Quinn abound, but they remain just that: rumors.
While Quinn isn't available for comment, reliable sources close to the actor tell me that the Angel set is a very friendly and professional one, and that Quinn has maintained a good relationship with everyone involved. As to whether the actor would return to the show if asked, that seems to depend more upon his future plans -- which are currently up in the air -- than on the reasons for his departure. Quinn is currently looking at film scripts but doesn't seem to have made any definite decisions on where he'll go from here.
The question now on many people's minds is how the void left by Doyle's death will be filled. Leaving ex-Buffy characters Cordelia and Angel to their own devices doesn't seem like a good idea, and as it turns out, the answer is another Buffy veteran. Alexis Denisof will be joining the cast, reprising his Buffy role as Wesley Wyndham-Price, the Watcher who replaced Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) after he was fired by the Watcher's Council. And while most fans don't seem to have anything in particular against the Wesley character, they also seem to share the sentiment that the Watcher simply cannot replace the Irishman.
Though reactions range from anger to sadness, most fans are also confused by the decision.
"How he could be considered less than imperative is beyond me," posts "darcyjae". "How the actor could be allowed to escape, when they should have begged him to stay... is incredible."
Quinn's impact on the show -- and now his absence -- seem to be deeply felt by the viewers, and it is not likely he will be forgotten anytime soon. Long after the episode -- and Quinn's run on the series -- has ended, Doyle's final aired words are still ringing in the fans' ears.
"Is that it? Am I done?"
We sure hope not.
The 11th Hour would like to extend special thanks to all the fans who agreed to contribute their comments to this article. For more information on Glenn Quinn and the "Demon's Defense" campaign, visit GlennQuinn.com.
We welcome your comments on The 11th Hour and this feature. Please send letters to: letters@the11thhour.com
