The Last DJ: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

''And the boys upstairs just don't understand anymore"''|'''[[Tom Petty]]''', "[[Trope Namer|The Last DJ]]"}}

 

* John Peel, late legendary British DJ, was an example of this trope: His show had enough fans so that it couldn't be canceled, but Radio 1 still shoved it into the graveyard slot so that he wouldn't disrupt the non-stop commercial pap (thankfully, they respected him enough to hold an all day tribute to him on the day of his funeral in 2004). Up until his death, his show was one of the major importers of new music in the United Kingdom and was a major stepping stone for the mainstream success of the indie rock genre in the UK. If you can think of a popular rock band who formed anywhere between 1967 and 2004, chances are John Peel played the band several times before they even had a record deal. Pretty much every ''un''popular band, too. And anywhere doesn't mean "anywhere in the UK", or even "anywhere in the Western Hemisphere". It is just about restricted to this one planet, though.

** From [[Mitch Benn]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KiLeUV98nY tribute]:

He save the world from Simon bloody Cowell?]] }}

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/ BBC 6 Music], a radio station staffed pretty much entirely by Last DJs, filled the void Mr. Peel left behind. The BBC tried to kill it off, but has so far failed.<br /><br />Unfortunately, America's equivalent to BBC 6 Music, WOXY.com - which had barely survived the end of its days as an actual radio station ''and'' two moves - wasn't as lucky and was unceremoniously yanked from the internet in early-2010 after its new owner simply decided to stop funding it.

* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'':

** Minor character Colonel Holden. His response to [[Big Bad|Herr Starr]] when Starr chews him out and tells him to shut up and follow orders if he ever wants to get promoted past colonel is the very essence of this trope.

** For that matter, main character Jesse Custer himself could count as an example, as he has a tendency to royally piss off people in power and defy them over idealistic points, up to and including [[Rage Against the Heavens|God Himself]], who Jesse chases down and tells off for being irresponsible and abandoning Heaven. Later in the series we see his integrity making him solve problems the hard way instead of just using his handy [[Compelling Voice|Word of God]] power to get himself out of the situations he gets himself into.

* ''[[The Losers]]'' has supporting character Agent Stegler, a CIA agent who is an experienced field agent that has been [[Reassigned to Antarctica|reassigned to a desk job]] that he hates due to his unpopular opinions on what the agency should be doing, and his objection to young agents doing crappy work and just using their jobs as a networking opportunity to get in with corrupt private companies. (At one point some younger agents even ask why Stegler seems to be unable to get the point that his reassignment was an obvious attempt to get him to resign).

** {{spoiler|Lee Jordan}} literally becomes this during ''[[Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows]]'' {{spoiler|hosting a program called "Potterwatch" that delivers news outside Voldemort's control.}}

* Morgan and Duncan are treated this way by the Camberian Council in the [[Deryni]] novels. They are skilled and heroically loyal to their king (mentoring him in his youth despite efforts to stop them), they even rediscovered the Healing ability thought lost for ''two centuries'', yet they are repeatedly dissed by the Council for being rogue half-breeds. The Council even votes to make them liable to arcane challenge just when reactionary clergy are out to get them '''and''' there's an invasion in the offing. They get the chance to confront the Council directly once, and Morgan seizes it:

"I question your authority to place our lives in jeopardy for circumstances which are outside our control, sir" Morgan replied. Coram sat back and nodded slowly as Morgan continued. "I do not pretend to understand all the ramifications of my inheritance, but His Majesty will assure you, I think, that I have a fair idea what justice is about. If you shut us out from the protection of our birthright, and force us to stand against full Deryni who are formally trained in the use of their powers, it may be that you decree our deaths. Surely we have done nothing to warrant that." }}

::The Council's antipathy continues for years after this; they hold Morgan and Duncan responsible for Kelson's reluctance to accept their guidance (rather than considering their own actions may be the cause), and many of them deplore the very notion that either Morgan or Duncan could have enough merit to join their number. It's fortunate that they have another, more understanding boss in their king.

* ''[[Treme]]'' has Davis, a quite literal embodiment of this trope. He gets fired from the last "real" DJ position at WOL for blessing their "soulless" post Katrina digs with a voodoo ritual. He then proceeds to make several different short careers out of refusing to keep his mouth shut.

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' has Dr. Cox, whose stubborn idealism makes him a near perfect example of this. In a very early episode, Dr. Cox is criticized for this by a former chief of medicine and mentor.

:: Later episodes go on to continue deconstructing this. For example, patients impressed by Dr. Cox and familiar with the hospital's power structure wonder how Dr. Cox can only be an Attending Physician and not higher up the chain of command. Cox' therapist tries to get him to confront his self-sabotaging tendencies, basically contending that Cox lies to himself by pretending that those tendencies are idealism and staying honest rather than self-loathing. At one point when Cox criticizes his [[Hero Worshipper]] JD for playing the game and scoring brownie points with [[Bad Boss|Dr.]] [[Zero-Approval Gambit|Kelso]], JD responds by saying "Look, I wanna be like you...but a more successful you. There's nothing wrong with playing the game once in a while." Even Dr. Cox himself shows that he realizes what a toll his behavior takes on his life. In one episode JD blows off a date to work late in an attempt to imitate Dr. Cox. When Cox learns about this he berates JD and gives the younger man some food for thought by saying "Are you trying to be like me? Newbie-don't you realize that I just barely want to be like me?" It finally pays off for Cox in the show's last season, when he becomes Chief Of Medicine after Dr. Kelso's retirement and several other would-be Chiefs flop at the job. Even that has its downside, however, as Cox becomes so bogged down with paperwork that he barely has any face time with his beloved patients -- or even his son -- just like he was worried about.

* ''[[The Wire]]'' has a few examples. Jimmy McNulty constantly flouts the chain of command and makes cases against the department's political interests, enraging his superior officers. He is eventually transferred to the Marine Unit, but comes back, then becomes a beat cop and eventually {{spoiler|is forced to retire for going too far.}} Lester Freamon is also a great detective, but was busted down to the Pawnshop unit for going against the Deputy Commissioner, where he stayed for over 13 years ''[[Insistent Terminology|and four months]]'' before getting back into real police work.

 

* The title character of ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]'', by Edmond Rostand, is quite possibly the ur-example of this trope, making it [[Older Than Radio]].

** This trope is deconstructed in the play: Cyrano refuses Cardenal Richelieu (the most powerful man in France) patronage as a playwright because [[Executive Meddling|Richelieu could correct one of two of his lines]], [[Honor Before Reason|recriminates De Guiche his use of deception and spies in the war]], and [[Caustic Critic|stubbornly attacks all the phonies he encounters with his satirical letters]]. He never compromises. What destiny waits for the [[Last DJ]] in [[Real Life]]? He got the respect of his peers, but almost all of them died honorably at war. [[Reality Ensues|At the end of his life, Cyrano lives alone, unknown and in poverty. Besides is clearly implied that his numerous enemies were sick of him and arranged a cowardly assassination]]. Cyrano realizes that none of his works will ever be remembered except the one scene that was plagiarized by Moliere (who certainly was a genial playwright, but also he had to compromise a lot with his patrons to be allowed to play... and is a thieving author, but so it was Shakespeare!) and dies surrounded by only three friends (whom gladly would have helped him, [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|but as Mother Margarita said, Cyrano certainly would not have let them do it)]].