Why was Doyle killed so quickly?

[TannerSaysStuff]

Does anyone have any more info about how he was supposed to be in season 4?

[jason321]

He was killed off because A) Joss is one of those writers who buys into the idea that killing off a major character early means that the audience will believe that ANY character can die at any moment(see Thunderbird in X-Men and also Jack in Lost if the original Pilot script had gone through untouched) and B)according to David Fury, Glenn and David had a too similiar acting style/stage presence that made the show a pain in the arse to write while the both actors were on board. Also Glenn's drug problems prob didnt help much. Tim Minear wanted to bring back Doyle in S3 as a big bad as I recall, which is a really, really dumb idea as far as im concerned.

[Eric]

Anyone else ever heard the rumors that The First was originally supposed to come back on Angel instead of Buffy? Maybe that's how Doyle would've come back, as the main face of The First.

Oct 1, 2010 6:05:51 GMT -5 jason321 said:

according to David Fury, Glenn and David had a too similiar acting style/stage presence that made the show a pain in the arse to write while the both actors were on board.

This is what I've always been led to believe.

Jul 6, 2010 19:41:36 GMT -5 TC said:

^ Doyle was supposed to take evil Cordy's place in season four.

I would have loved to see him kiss The Beast.

[Miss. Rogueh]

Found this quote www.loony-archivist.com/doyle/news_archived.html

FANGORIA: There were rumors of conflicts on the set with Glenn Quinn, who played Doyle in the first season. Is there anything you want to say about that?

DB: Glenn is like a brother to me. It just didn't work as far as the connections with the characters were concerned. They were two dynamic, brooding people. The writers attempted to separate them, but we found that they were getting closer and closer. So it wasn't conflict, it was a breathing-room thing. He's doing great—he's a great actor, and I look forward to working with him again down the line.

Further down on that page...

Denisof replaces the departed Glenn Quinn. Quinn was abruptly written out of the show by having his character killed off. Creator Joss Whedon says that was always the plan.
Look me in the eye and say that, buddy.

So Whedon actually goes eyeball to eyeball, his bulging out at me, and says "That was always the plan."

Hard to call the guy a fibber after that.

Whedon admits he got quite a bit of hate mail concerning the decision, but thinks that offing a main character keeps the viewers on their toes.

"Not to mention the actors," Carpenter chimes in.


Excerpted from the Jan. 1-7 TV Guide feature on Charisma Carpenter:

"Boreanaz graciously refers to Carpenter as 'full of energy and spontaneity.' Glenn Quinn-who played the half/demon, half/human Doyle for the first nine episodes-is less subtle. "Well, come on," he says, laughing. "You just want to grab her!"
Quinn departed the show abruptly, a surprise move Greenwalt calls strategic: "Early in the game, we thought it would be really cool to kill a main character, to show nobody is safe." Carpenter was shocked at the news. "It confirmed for me there is no such thing as job security [in this business]," she says."

[Randi Giles]

Doyle was a nice character and I've have choked up many times during his death scenes. One thing I realized about Doyle, which is the same feeling I have about Anya is that the time of their death was fitting. And since their death I've never wished them to come back.

[The Night Lord]

Doyle was alright, imo, but I didn't find him very enjoyable. Usually when I do a re-watched, I can't wait to get past Hero. Sure, his death scene is quite sad and all, but I prefer the episodes following Hero, when Wesley joins the team. Then, I find it very enjoyable

[TannerSaysStuff]

Yeah, he's an interesting character I guess but I never understood the really devoted Doyle fans. I don't think he was around long enough for me to get attached.

[Josh]

Oct 14, 2010 2:29:25 GMT -5 TannerSaysStuff said:

Yeah, he's an interesting character I guess but I never understood the really devoted Doyle fans. I don't think he was around long enough for me to get attached.

I wasn't massively devoted, but his death really did upset me for a few reasons. He was Angel's first friend in LA and the one who got him set up to really get the show going. Additionally, the relationship between him and Cordelia was JUST beginning finally.

I think it would have been really amazing had they been able to bring him back as a Big Bad like they had discussed doing. It probably would have prevented us from having Cordelia's character completely destroyed in Season 4.