Dear Mr. Keenan:
I hope that I'm not too presumptuous in replying to you here and hoping that you see this post. Obviously, the person you're referring to above in your reference to David Angell is me. This means you also read everything else in that thread, and I do want to address (humbly) what I said there.
First and foremost, you should know that you will not find a bigger fan of the show than me. Although I'm a busy graduate student, I've devoted many hours of my life to the show, most notably in writing transcripts (with as much love as I can) for the "Frasier Files" site for the last three years (of which I'm sure you're aware). I never had the chance to do one of your episodes--missed out on them in the rotation this year--but would have been honored to do so.
I have also been one of the most passionate advocates on the internet for the character of Charlotte as well as other characters--like Simon, or even Mrs. Moon--who take a lot of hits over here.
But I do want to address what I said about Mr. O'Shannon. I did not come up with anything I said on my own. I heard all of it from reputable sources, some of whom have direct or indirect contact with him. If any of it is incorrect, please set it straight, and I will gladly repent with a mea culpa. But it has floated around the internet for some time that Mr. O'Shannon was in fact quite bitter about what happened to his storylines this last season and that he did not attend the cast/crew trip to Hawaii. If this is not true, then by all means correct me.
I've also had very extensive contact with a good friend who recently conducted a phone interview with you, but she didn't share any information that you imparted to her, nor have I broken any confidences there.
Regarding what you say about David Angell, you have to realize that I'm not so much criticizing the idea of giving him a tribute as I am lamenting the fact that O'Shannon's idea of the baby being a girl was forgotten. Frankly, I never saw that scene as a prediction of the hospital, but rather a vision of DAPHNE. And we know that she's got a spotty, but not imperfect record there, don't we?
I do see your point about the makings of a great plot in the finale, but I suppose that many fans would have liked to see some more female Crane blood to follow in Hester's footsteps. You obviously cared enough about what is being said to come and respond, and that is to be commended. I meant no disrespect at all in what I said. I suppose I just meant that we have the lovely dedication at the end of the Season 9 premiere and a poignant segment of the 200th episode clip show. And I respectfully submit that I don't believe that the idea of making the baby a girl would have shown any disrespect to Mr. Angell's memory at all. But word is that this did hurt Mr. O'Shannon's feelings. Again, correct me if I'm wrong. And might I timidly comment that a girl baby could have been named Lynn?
I do realize that the three seasons where he was at the helm were the least respected critically and that he certainly takes some of the blame for that, but he did good things too and I know he loved the show.
And I want to clarify that I don't think that eliminating the references to Martin's job and the appearances of Mrs. Moon were necessarily bad things at all--just that it would have been kind of nice to have just a few seconds of dialogue to explain it, that's all. Especially after David Lee insisted repeatedly on atf that Millicent Martin was going to be around to stay, despite negative fan reaction to the character.
Again, if I have been presumptous, please forgive me. Message boards will always elicit rather strong opinions, and I would hope that my devotion to the show and my passionate advocacy of the character of Charlotte, among other things, would offset any offense I may have given here.
Sincerely,
One of the biggest fans of the show--
Kelly Dean Hansen, Ph. D. candidate in Musicology
University of Colorado at Boulder
PS: I noticed that the baby had the same name as the "Friends" creator immediately! Maybe that alone was worth making the baby a boy! Lovely irony.
Post Edited (02-06-04 10:21)