Why Michael O'Hare actually left Babylon 5

So two years ago, I wrote about Michael O'Hare's passing. 

As I mentioned in the above blog entry, Michael played Jeffrey Sinclair for the first season of Babylon 5 before his character was written out. He returned to the role a few times over the next two seasons before completing Sinclair's arc in the season three two parter War Without End, where it was revealed that he was, in fact, the Minbari holy figure Valen.

However, the reasons for why his character being written out were unclear. All that was known was that it was a decision mutually decided upon by O'Hare and JMS, B5's creator and main writer.

At least, they were until the Phoenix Convention in 2013.

There, JMS revealed exactly why Michael O'Hare left the show.

He had started having paranoid delusions, which progressively got worse and worse during the first half of filming. It had become harder for him to work, as his behaviour was affected. Michael sought treatment but he was afraid that, since he was the main character, an extended medical leave would result in Babylon 5's cancellation.  JMS offered to suspend production, but O'Hare refused. He didn't want to put so many people's jobs at risk. 

JMS agreed to keep his secret to protect his career and, in return, O'Hare completed the first season but was written out of the second so he could seek treatments. Though they were partially successful, he was never truly cured. 

When he returned for appearances in B5, JMS promised that he would keep O'Hare's secret to the grave. O'Hare instead made him promise to keep it to his grave. He felt that the fans of the show deserved to know the truth and hoped it would raise awareness for people suffering from mental health issues. 

On the 25th of May at the Phoenix Comicon and eight months after O'Hare's death, JMS fullfilled that promise.

Why am I mentioning this? For one reason, it's almost a year since that occurred. For another, I had neglected to mention it at the time I found out because I was still struggling to cope with balancing my social life and my work load. The third and main reason is this. 

I was looking through my blog and read my entry about O'Hare. I was horrified to realise I hadn't updated it. So I decided to correct that mistake and the article you've been reading is the result of that.

Live Long and Prosper

Interviews, interviews, interviews

So it's been a while since I posted, and that is my fault. Real life stuff got in the way for a while and so things got put on the side and, unfortunately, forgotten for a good long while. 

But instead of telling everyone about that, I'm going to talk about my day today and why it means I'm going to return to semi-regular blogging.

For the last month or so, I've been part of one program or another to get me back into work. The first was Workable, which deals with people who have disabilities and works to get them back into work. It was good, I met some excellent people who I will never see again (lol) and generally honed some skills and discovered some new ones. 

Then my advisor put me onto another, week-long course. It was also intended to get people into work, but it works with local employers to get them into work. They also give you training, which includes a mock interview and then give you at least one interview with employers. 

Today, I had two.

The first was an event manager assistant at Victoria Hall, which is literally a ten minute bus ride away from home. I met with two people, who asked me questions. It wasn't as bad as I thought, and we all actually had something of a laugh as we spoke. Personally, I feel it went very well. 

The second was for a position with Locally Grown. It's another government run project that deals with local people to get small business up and running. As with the events manager, I was early and made sure to go over some answers I'd considered and chatted with the other workers there.

Both interviews went well, but I think I did better at Victoria Hall. I got a bit flustered at my second interview, which I think was because it was at the end of my day. However, I shall find out on Tuesday what they thought about me and whether or not I actually got a job, or will be put into a talent pool.

That's all. Update done. How are you all?

Live Long and Prosper 

The Lion King

So a couple of weeks ago, I went to see the Lion King at the Alhambra theatre in Bradford.

It was awesome and I got a t-shirt!

Toddles!

PS - sorry for not updating this for a while...

Minor turning point

It's been a stressful few weeks for me. Things feel like they are getting out of control for me. I can't find a job. I'm losing my temper over little things and it's been effecting my ability to write, which is my escape valve.

I write to escape into a World of my own and when I can't, it makes things worse. I don't post my work because most of what I write are scripts I want to animate. The downside to not being able to write is that it stresses me out more, which means I can't write. As a very wise friend of mine said, it is a vicious cycle. Dad, as usual, wasn't helping matters.

And I went to be, but I couldn't sleep. The only things I seemed to have control of is when I wake up and when I go to sleep. I needed something else. 

So I deleted my Myspace account.

Trivial, I know. I haven't used it since I jumped over to Facebook in 2007. In fact, I could barely remember the password. The email was an account I closed two years ago. It was a minor miracle that I could still access it. 

But it was something I had control over, and closing it eased a tiny bit of my stress. Not much, mind, but a bit of a weight was lifted. It was enough for me to call it a victory.

Scottish Birthday

So this last weekend was the Scottish celebration of my 25th birthday (which is actually this sunday - long story) and my friends and I decided to have a night out. It turned into one of the most random and truly amazing experiences of my life.

But a bit of background. I decided that since the night out was on the 23rd, the same day as the Day of the Doctor, that I should have a Doctor Who themed party. For me, that meant digging out my Tenth Doctor costume and wearing it all day long. 

So I’m walking around Glasgow, and absolutely everywhere we went, we heard whispers of “That’s the Doctor” or “That guy’s dressed as the Doctor”. But the truly randomness of the evening didn’t happen until we headed to Steampunk Cafe.

We had a bit of time to kill, so we went into Lush. Immediately one of the shop assistants announced loudly “Oh brilliant! You have just made my day!” I smiled, laughed and thanked her. We looked around and left without buying anything. Then we went to the Police Box on Buchanan street, and decided to take a few photos.

There was another guy there as well, and he asked me to pose with his Dalek. I did, and various people stopped and asked for photos. I started chatting to him, when I noticed a guy walking past dressed as 11. Naturally, he was pulled into a few photos as well. As this was going on, a group of Whovians waving banners saying “Hugs for Doctor Who 50th Anniversary!” arrived. Naturally, there were hugs and a few more photos. 

All while a busker dressed as Slash played Sweet Child O’ Mine. 


It was surreal to the extreme, but also amazing. 

So after (finally) getting to the club, things settled down a bit. I had a couple of drinks, and was generally enjoying myself. 

And when I went up to the bar for another round, I saw another guy cosplaying as 11. Naturally, I went up to him and we mutually complimented each other on our outfits. I thought that was going to be the end of it.

Nope, not that easy. He was at the booth across from our table.

As the evening went on, we interacted a few more times. He complimented Kerri on her sonic (although he did complain about the red setting), we had a mini-dance off, which I won by virtue of having psychic paper, and I stole his fez and he chased me around the club, much to our friends amusement.

I also danced with a couple of friends, and had a quasi-German woman try to teach me how to lead by quoting Spider-Man (which is both hilarious and a tiny bit alarming) 

Then when he went, the sound system broke down. As a joke I went up to the DJ’s booth and offered him my sonic screwdriver. He laughed, took it and “zapped” the machine hooked up to the laptop.

It worked. 

(okay yes, he MAY have already fixed it by then, but I choose to believe my toy worked. It was that kind of day :P)

Then that same quasi-German woman spread some glitter across my forehead and declared me Simba, which somehow just seemed normal by that point. 

After getting back, we FINALLY watched the Day of the Doctor and every single one of us found something to be excited about it. Well done, Moffat!

All in all, a pretty damn fantastic birthday

Project: Robot

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that a while back (approximately six months ago), I was assembling the K1 Robot Build-it Figure from the first wave of classic Doctor Who figures. Then I suddenly went quiet on the subject. My last post was about FINALLY acquiring the final piece: an arm.

Well, things happened, and the arm never materialised. It was mainly my fault, as my limited cash input meant that I constantly had to focus on other things. Back then, £20 was practically a small fortune for me. Then my friend moved house and I've not heard from him for a while.

But then I got a job. 

A reasonably well paid job, at that.

So today, I went on eBay to try and find the last arm. The final piece I needed was released with the Fifth Doctor figure. I checked eBay and was put off by the price. It's rather expensive, but that didn't stop me. I found the cheapest one (around £12 plus shipping). Before I confirmed my purchase, I decided to check out Amazon.

And there it was.

A Fifth Doctor figure for £4. It was loose but the seller assures me it has all the pieces. So naturally, I bought it. With a bit of luck, in a few days I will have at least completed my robot. Pictures are to follow when it arrives.

In other Who related news, I have gained a small army from each Dalek story of which there are figures. This, naturally, pleases me greatly.

Live Long and Prosper

So Matt Smith is leaving

Yesterday, the news broke that Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who during this year's christmas Special. As usual, there are rampant rumours regarding who will replace him. So I thought I'd chime in my opinion on the subject.

I'm torn.

On the one hand, I enjoy it when a new Doctor is introduced. They bring something fresh to the series. And with the first few viewings, there is always that moment when you think, "Oh look at that! It's just like Nine". Finding the traits the Doctor shares with his previous regeneration always makes me smile.

But on the downside, I've grown to like Matt Smith's Doctor. He's the first of the new Doctors to be truly alien in the way he interacts with people. His relationship with Clara has been very intriguing and somewhat refreshing to see (even if Moffat has repeatedlyreused story ideas).

Should Matt stay for a while longer? I think he still has something to give to the character, but at the same time, it's better that he's going out on a high, rather than sticking at the character for so long we become bored of him. David did it, as did Christopher, and it's nice to see Matt has realised this as well. 

So who should be the next Doctor?

One intriguing possibility that has been risen is that a woman could replace him. Lara Pulver (pictured below) has expressed an interest in playing the 12th Doctor, and recent episodes have confirmed the long held belief that a Time Lord could regenerate and become a Time Lady, and actresses Helen Miriam, Olivia Coulman and former companion Billie Piper have been citied as possibile replacements.

The Next Doctor?

Personally, I hope that this is not the case. Much as I'd love to see a woman take on the role, I think that the idea of the Doctor as a slightly weird British man is simply too ingrained. Had it already occurred during the Classic era, that would be a different matter entirely. But it didn't (sadly) and now I think it's too late to try it, especially with the Doctor approaching his final life (which I will play)

So who could do it?

Some actors listed on betting sites for the role are Idris Elba, Russell Tovey, Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. While all the above would make wonderful Doctors, I'm hoping that it goes to a middle aged or older actor. As proven by Jon Pertwee, age does not have to limit the role at all. In fact, he was the first "action" Doctor, with his Venusian Aikido. So could do it?

Before The Snowmen, I would've said Richard E Grant without hesitating. Why? Let's look at the facts, shall we?

He's played non canon versions of the Doctor twice before. The first was in the Curse of Fatal Death, and while he didn't get very much screen time, he left an impression on many viwers. The second was in The Scream of the Shalka, an attempt by the BBC to bring Doctor Who back before Russell T Davis stepped in. Here he was haunted by some loss and he did not want a companion. But as the serial progressed, he became a lighter character, showing some traits one associates with the Doctor, as well as a love of show tunes. I would've loved to see this Doctor, travelling with Alison and an Android version of the Master in many more adventures, but sadly, it was not to be.

So who exactly would I like to see as the Doctor then? 

There has also been one actor that I thought would make an excellent Doctor, and he did in two audio adventures in the Doctor Who: Unbound series. He is no stranger to science fiction, having had roles in Star Trek and as the villian in the first TRON film as well as voicing a villain in the Doctor Who animated adventure Dreamland. In fact, he recently appeared on Doctor Who itself, in the episode Cold War.

I am, of course, talking about David Warner.

At 71, he would be the second oldest (John Hurt just beats him by two years) to protray the Doctor. If you don't think he could do it, just go listen to his audio adventures (available from the Big Finish website). You can trust me on this. David Warner would make an excellent Doctor. And by having him being a little older, his relationship with his Companion would be more akin to that of the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw or Sarah Jane, a departure from the current lovey dovey Companion relationships we've seen.

That's just my thoughts on the subject. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in comments!

Live Long and Prosper