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If Jason left Moonlight tomorrow the fans would be in an uproar!

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That is very good to hear, tubpat. I don't venture much outside of this board, so I have only a vague idea of how it's all received. Thank you! :) And even though hotness is a subjective thing, I'm still absurdly glad that there are a lot of people who appreciate just how sexy JD is.

Ha! I wondered if JD was still in Australia, but probably not.

And the uncharitable side of me got a thrill from "Moonlight" beating "Private Practice" because of the Chris Lowell/Piz connection. I know little about the guy, and, in all fairness, nothing specifically negative. I just really, really disliked Piz and CL will forever be that for me. Unfair, I know, but there it is.

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Especially when the best chemistry, acting and humor is btween Josef and Mick. *sigh*

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Amen to that. It's weird, but somehow they've managed to write the intimacy (and I honestly don't mean it in a romantic way) and the warmth into Mick/Josef relationship that they can't seem to give to Mick/Beth. And I do mean "write." It's not simply that Jason and Alex interact well together and have on-screen chemistry. They do, but that's isn't the only thing that makes their characters' friendship work for me. It's that the writers actually bothered to support the implied history and connection between the two with actual little things that illustrate and emphasize the relationship. With Mick and Beth they expect the audience to just take it for granted. And there isn't enough there for it to happen.

It's an interesting discussion, tubpat.

I honestly don't know what, if anything, this part will do for JD's career in the long run. Only time will tell. As you said, these things are hard to predict as it is in a normal season, but with everything being scrambled and uncertain right now, there's no saying at all.

I find myself very ambivalent toward "Moonlight" as a show. I don't think it's terrible, I am not bored silly by it, but neither am I enthralled or enchanted the way I was, say, with VM for a while.

Nor was I expecting, looking for, or even hoping for another Logan for JD so soon after VM folded. And by "another Logan" I mean another incredibly complex, unexpectedly brilliantly conceived and textually realized part. Not literally another Logan-like. Parts like these come few and far between. If an actor is lucky.

Josef has some Logan-like qualities, no doubt. Then again, that's how the part was written. Joel Silver went as far as to say he called Jason in specifically because he wasn't ready to let go of Logan. So I have to shrug when people complain about the certain Logan aspects of the character. But I agree with tubpat: Josef isn't Logan. Nor is Jason playing him that way. Personal inevitable mannerisms aside, Josef is harder to pin down, a lot more confident, and, so far, not fully realized. Not even close. But he radiates potential, both implied and acted on JD's part. And he intrigues me not simply because he is played by Jason. But by virtue of who he is. In contrast, I feel no such intrigue from Mick, though he isn't fully realized either. And it's not just because I know more about Mick, but because I can't get the sense that there is more to know from him. With Josef I sense a ton of hidden stuff, not necessarily all appealing, but certainly worth a look.

Is Josef as good a part as Logan? Not even close. But, like I said above, what is?

It's easy to understand the frustration. Many of us who adore JD's acting want to see him explode (not literally, lol) and be offered plum parts by legendary directors. Especially considering how many of these parts go to people far less talented and far less capable to do them justice. But I am a realist. I was someone who felt so bereft when VM was ending not because I was mourning the show, per se (I had too many issues with it by that time for any real grief), but because I was devastated not to have JD on my screen for who knows how long. So, the fact that he is working and that I can watch him is a huge bonus I sincerely wasn't expecting and am genuinely grateful for.

There is another issue that I know adds to some people's frustration: JD is not ambitious. And, sadly, in this business, it can hinder anyone, no matter how talented. He is a contented person. Whether it comes from his personality or his beliefs, he is not driven by the constant need for assertion. So, the fear is that he is not getting "out there" as much as he should, not auditioning for the parts he should be getting. And he keeps people working for him who are personal friends and not necessarily the ones who would do his career the best service.

For instance, he could really use a better publicist. Look at Kristen Bell. Like tubpat said, the movie she is doing is not anything to write home about. And her part in it... Let's just say I saw a clip and it wasn't pretty. But -- and it's a big one -- it's an Apatow production (even though he didn't write or direct it) and he is the "it" guy right now. It's bound to generate some publicity. She has also gotten a part on a hit show. A show the press loves to write about. She has been in only a few episodes with a huge ensemble full of more attractive, more famous, more popular performers. And judging by the general fan-base reaction, her character was mostly met with "blah." Some hated her, a few liked her, but on the whole, indifference. And yet her addition to the cast was touted everywhere from entertainment newsmagazines to TVGuide to blogs to sky-runners as nothing short of a second coming. (So much so it really pissed off a huge chunk of the show's fandom). For a while she was everywhere. The cameras followed her. It was a very concerted, deliberate and spectacularly organized blitz publicity attack. (In some ways it backfired, but that's not so much the publicist's fault.) Because she does have the best team in Hollywood. They took her from a still little-known cult show darling to a full blown paparazzi fodder in under 6 months. Based on nothing more than a few yet-to-be-aired episodes of a cast-of-thousands show and parts in two movies whose release dates keep being pushed (not a good sign). She has done very little but pose in those months, and yet, her profile has risen considerably. And with that kind of exposure come opportunities.

Don't get me wrong. I think she is a good actress. I am just a little annoyed by the media exposure over so little actual good work in the last year.

By contrast, JD's publicist should have done more to capitalize on several things. Not necessarily in offers -- that's an agent's job (and while we are at it, JD can use a better agent, too) -- but certainly in exposure.

As a fan, I want to see him featured more in the press. I want his name to become more recognizable, because, sadly, in this business, the degree of name recognition may win or lose you a part, and never mind the talent or appeal.

But those are things we have no control over. Which is why they are so frustrating and rant-provoking. LOL.

It doesn't mean, however, that it's all frustration. There are great things to be noted, as well:

JD is doing a harder job now than he did playing Logan. And I mean it with all seriousness. For someone of his talent and intelligent approach to acting, playing Logan was a feast. At his vaguest and worst (in some of the season 3 more muddled episodes), Logan Echolls was still a wonderfully written part.

By contrast, Josef -- by far the best written character on the show -- is still often rather incomprehensible and, in a lesser actor's hands, could have easily become completely cheesy and unwatchable. Jason gives the part layers. He thinks it through, he enriches it, he makes choices. Agree or disagree with some of those choices (and he himself lamented one or two in a recent interview), you can't help giving him kudos for the kind of examination, careful attention and real acting that goes into it. He made Josef stand out. With very little given to him, I might add. And all the proof of it is in the growing popularity the character has been achieving, especially considering that most of the fanbase of this show is in it for the romance that has nothing to do with Josef. That is something. It's something that should (and does) get attention of discerning casting directors. (Fingers crossed).

And it is a bigger network, better production values, and simply higher number of viewers seeing him for the first time and taking notice.

So, to cut this short, I can only say what I have been saying all along. I am glad he is working. I am glad the show is gaining popularity and exposure. I have no idea what it will end up being or doing for his future, but I can't see this as a bad thing. Especially considering the alternative would have been losing JD for a while. And no guarantee of him coming back in any significant way. Not because I don't believe in his talent, but because I have no illusions about Hollywood and the whole host of rules and issues that govern it. Rules and issues that have little to do with talent, appeal or hard work.