I was wondering why he got written out of Angel - he seemed pretty good to me. Maybe it was always the plan but there are links on his MC page, https://moviechat.org/nm0703849/Glenn-Quinn, that say he was in a pretty bad place personally at the time and sometimes confrontational on set.
shareI never much cared for him myself, I don't know why, I like all the other Angel characters, more so than Buffy's regular cast.
shareI've read various interviews.
Joss Whedon always said that he planned his character death from the beginning. But the other creator David Greenwalt said it wasn't.
But I think Joss didn't wanted to talk out Glenn Quinn's personal problems on/off set that he just went with that story.
But I heard that Glenn Quinn did got fired tho. And maybe they wanted to bring him back in the later seasons, since we never got to see Doyle's body. But then the actor's real life tragedy happened, sadly. I really loved Doyle.
I re-watched the whole series and made the initial post after the episode where Doyle was killed off. A few episodes later Alexis Denisof arrived and I assumed that was the plan all along - he certainly slotted in well and had some good story arcs. But I think I agree with you in that his personal problems probably got him fired and fairly shortly after that he was dead.
shareIMO, I think they were planning on killing Doyle towards the end of the season maybe? And Wesley would fit perfectly with the 3 of them. The 4 of them would be a great team. (Wesley came right after Doyle's death episode.)
I think that Glenn Quinn's personal problems got so bad that they had to change the directions of S1. I remember that time, that the fans looooved Doyle. They even signed petitions to bring him back on the show etc. Eventhough, he was only in 9 episodes, the character was quite popular. I think that if he stayed longer and died in the season finale, that his impact will be even bigger.
Btw, I'm rewatching Angel now. Just finished episode 1x10, with Wesley's arrival haha. And the payphones, and phonebooks haha. Aah the 90's...:)
I loved the character too--but if the personal problems of the actor who played him couldn't be worked through/around, yes I can see why he got fired. It's unfortunate yes, but compared to Boreanaz and Carpenter--who were spinning the show off, Quinn was a relative unknown despite having been Mark on Roseanne (Becky's husband) and Angel had not completed its first season. The series could successfully go on without him because it wasn't supposed to be about him.
Beverly Hills 90210 DID take a blow when Shannen Doherty was written off after it's fourth season because of her personal problems. She was a main character, the show had been built around her and Jason Priestly. (as the Walsh Twins and THEIR interactions with friends). it never really recovered it's heyday ratings.
For years, I loved the first 8 episodes the most because it had Doyle (Glenn Quinn), but last year when I rewatched the show, I see how the show got immensely better when Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof) arrived! He just added so much to the first season and was a better more entertaining character than Doyle was.
I dont see the show the same way anymore. Doyle was alright, but Wesley is awesome!