Lezlie:
 
   I think you should look more deeply in to the fandom around QL.
   Many of the participants that I've been talking about have been
   following Scott Bakula's career since his days on Broadway. Dean
   Stockwell's career since he was a child actor in the movies! I
   guess we are addressing to very different groups of fans.
 
   It appears that you think that I'm approaching the way fans think
   of actors/characters as some crazed wish fulfillment this is far
   from the case. What I'm delving into is how the triad between fan,
   actor and character works. You might think  it's far down the food
   chain, but trying to understand why, how and what is a fan and how
   fan's construct what they are fas of is important. Possibly this
   could lead to understanding what makes one show better than another
   (in terms of fan's opinion) or why people become fans in the first
   place. Perhaps give insights into why audiences behave the way they
   do.
 
   Another consideration is that the actor/character combination is a
   major concern of the creators of any show or film. The
   actor/character is packaged long before the show ever airs with an
   eye to how the fans (audience) will respond.
 
    I appreciate your skepticism, it keeps me on my toes, I also think
   that your descriptions of Professionals(?) fandom points to a
   possiblity that fandom and fan actions don't have one definitive
   demonstration, rather that different fan groups have different ways
   of understanding what they are fas of.
 
Andrea