by Dalton Spence
dalton.spence@hwcn.org

Here is my take on the various major characters in the movie. I'm somewhat hampered by the lack of backstory (I haven't read the novel yet), so this is mostly guesswork. I will try to avoid any spoilers. Please feel free to comment.

JASON NESMITH -- It is a Hollywood truism that all actors are of necessity egomaniacs, and those that achieve stardom are the most egomaniacal of all. That may be true, but even egomaniacs have feelings, and those with the talent to *become* stars usually feel things fairly deeply. Cmdr. Taggert was the role of a lifetime, and at the time Jason put everything he had into it. Because of this, he had always felt that his fame was his just reward, and never really understood why his "crewmates" couldn't see things the same way his fans did.

Denied approval and respect by his colleagues, he turned to his fans for support, and cheerfully gave them all he had to give. This is why the overheard comments of the get-a-lifers cut him so deeply; the idea that some people would pay a registration fee just to mock him in person totally shattered his illusion of universal adoration. No wonder he was so eager to accept the Thermian's proposal; he was desperate to reaffirm his reason for existence not only to himself but to the rest of his crew as well. In a classic Zen paradox, it wasn't until he stopped trying to attain this goal that he actually managed to achieve it.

GWEN DEMARCO -- I've seen several comments describing this character as the classic blond bimbo. IMHO, nothing could be further from the truth. In one of the few sexual stereotypes that has been deemed politically correct, Gwen represented the classic voice of feminine rationality and compassion surrounded by irrational male egos. (It was "Lt. Tawney Madison" who was the bimbo.) Unlike the rest of the cast she actually started out *more* competant than her character, but when confronted by the need to be "part of the team" accepted, and even *demanded*, her apparently trivial role of living interface between the computer and the crew. Unfortunately, this meant there was very little room for character evolution during the movie, with the ironic consequence that the only lasting benefit she got from her adventure was improved friends.

ALEXANDER DANE -- A classically trained actor of infinite promise (at least in his own mind), his career was tragically stalled when he was typecast as the enigmatic Dr. Lazarus. Unlike his real life counterpart he did not redirect his talents towards directing, but instead tried to pursue other dramatic roles, with little success. Forced by financial necessity to rely on what in his eyes was a professional embarassment, he came to despise everything about the show and his character, including his fans. (Ironically, it was his great skill as an actor that made his portayal of the tragic alien hero so convincing, and contributed to GQ's lasting success.) He is probably the one most changed by his adventure, discovering that he had more of his character within him than he ever dreamed possible.

FRED KWAN -- According to rumour, this character's total calm in the face of the movie's fantastic events was originally supposed to be due to being stoned out of his gourd, but in the absence of direct canonical evidence to this effect let's attribute this behavior to a terrific imagination and a high degree of professionalism (according to Jason, he was well known for never forgeting his lines and never missing his mark). Of all of them, "Tech Sgt. Chen" probably had the closest relationship with the Thermian crew (with one in particular, anyway), to the extent that I wondered once or twice whether or not he would turn out to be alien himself.

TOMMY WEBER -- Having spent four years of his childhood growing up on the set as "Lt. Laredo", he probably regards the GQ cast as a somewhat dysfunctional adopted family. As the youngest member of the cast he had no previous acting experience, so the show was probably more *real* to him than to any of the others. Being closer in age to the bulk of the show's fans makes them slightly easier to for him to understand, but he's still slightly amazed at the size and devotion of their following. Because he has changed so much since those days, he is not nearly so type-cast as the others; thus his career options are wide open.

GUY FLEEGMAN -- The extra who became a fan. Except for his 5 minutes of fame, this guy is me. He said everything I would have said in a similar situation. He probably gave up acting long ago, and settled for some ordinary job that left him time enough for his real joy; GQ fandom. (BTW, what *was* the last name Guy's character was finally given?) His role in the movie served to remind us fans to be careful what we wish for. To quote an alien from *that other* show, "Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting; it is not logical but it is often true."

=30=