Donut (Red vs. Blue) and David Evans: Difference between pages

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'''David Evans''' may mean:
{{infobox RvB character
|image=<!-- FAIR USE of Red_vs_Blue_Donut.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Red_vs_Blue_Donut.jpg for rationale -->[[Image:Red vs Blue Donut.jpg]]
|name=Donut
|fullname=Private Franklin Delano Donut
|affiliation=Red
|color=[[Red]] (ep. 3–12)<br />[[Pink]] (ep. 16–)
|voice_actor=[[Dan Godwin]]
|first_appearance=3
}}
'''Private Franklin Delano Donut''' is a main [[fictional character]] in [[Rooster Teeth Productions]]' [[machinima]] [[comic science fiction]] video series ''[[Red vs. Blue]]''. [[Voice acting|Voiced]] by [[Dan Godwin]], Donut first appears in episode 3 of {{rvbep|season 1}} as a new recruit for the {{rvbmap|Blood Gulch}} {{rvbchar|Red Team}}, a group of soldiers engaged in a futuristic [[civil war]] against the {{rvbchar|Blue Team}}. Rooster Teeth had a plan for the character from the outset. In the [[multiplayer game]]s of the [[Halo (video game series)|''Halo'' video game series]], which was used to film ''Red vs. Blue'', human characters wear futuristic [[MJOLNIR battle armor]]. The producers began to make Donut's armor color and [[gender]] a [[running gag]] in the latter part of season 1, and fully developed his personality during season 2.
 
*[[David Evans (composer)]] (1874-1948)
Godwin [[ad lib|ad-lib]]bed some of Donut's lines, to the approval of other Rooster Teeth personnel. In some scenes, the filming was adapted to complement Godwin's interpretation of the script. Early in season 1, fans reacted well to Donut; as a result, [[Burnie Burns]], the main writer for ''Red vs. Blue'', focused the storyline on Donut and {{rvbchar|Caboose}} ([[Joel Heyman]]), the Blue Team's rookie.
*[[David A. Evans]] (born 1941), organic chemistry professor at Harvard
 
*[[David Allan Evans]] (born 1940), American poet
{{spoiler}}
*[[David C. Evans]] (1924&ndash;1998), computer graphics pioneer
 
*[[David Evans (cricketer)]], [[Glamorgan CCC|Glamorgan cricketer]] and first-class umpire
==Role in the plot==
*[[David Evans (automobile racer)]]
Donut is alluded to indirectly in {{rvbep|2}}, when {{rvbchar|Sarge}} ([[Matt Hullum]]), the leader of the Red Team, tells his subordinates that a "new recruit will be here within the week". {{rvbep|3|The next episode}} introduces Donut, who appears wearing "standard-issue" red armor. {{rvbchar|Grif}} ([[Geoff Ramsey]]) and {{rvbchar|Simmons}} ([[Gustavo Sorola]]), his new teammates, immediately send him on a [[snipe hunt|fool's errand]] for [[elbow grease]] and "headlight fluid".<ref name="RvBS1DVD">Burns, et al., 2003.</ref> According to Nick Werner, who noted the contrast between Donut and the other characters in his review of this episode, "seeing such a serious and cocky young recruit being thrown in with the cynical, lazy, and pretty much bored pair of Simmons and Grif was wonderful".<ref name="Werner2">Werner, 2.</ref> On his way, Donut mistakes the Blue Base for the store and takes the Blue flag in order to avoid returning empty-handed. In response, Blue Command hires a [[mercenary]], {{rvbchar|Tex}} (Kathleen Zuelch), to retrieve the flag. In the ensuing attack on Red Base in {{rvbep|11}}, Donut is injured from a grenade explosion and is airlifted out of Blood Gulch for treatment.<ref name="RvBS1DVD" />
*[[David Howell Evans|David Howell Evans (guitarist)]] (born 1961), known as [[The Edge]], guitarist with rock band U2
 
*[[Dave Evans (singer)]] (born 1953), first lead singer of the rock band AC/DC
When Donut returns from Red Command in {{rvbep|16}}, he appears in pink armor, which he insists is "lightish red". This change attracts attention from both teams. When Tex attacks the Red Base a second time, in {{rvbep|19}}, Donut manages to kill her with a grenade, in revenge for her previous attack.<ref name="RvBS1DVD" /> According to Wilma Jandoc, who reviewed ''Red vs. Blue'' for the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'', Donut's personality is developed more thoroughly as {{rvbep|season 2}} progresses, and he begins to act less sane.<ref name="Jandoc">Jandoc.</ref> Donut eventually does call his armor "pink" in {{rvbep|30}}. Later, in {{rvbep|36}}, he pretends to be a [[espionage|secret agent]] named "Double-O Donut". At the end of season 2, each team leaves one member behind to keep guard while the others pursue their common enemy, {{rvbchar|O'Malley}} (Joel Heyman, Matt Hullum). In what he considers an imbalance, Donut is left with {{rvbchar|Sheila}} (Yomary Cruz), the Blue Team's tank. After most of the other Reds and Blues [[teleportation|teleport]] out of Blood Gulch, Tex, who had suddenly disappeared at the end of {{rvbep|33}}, returns to the gulch and recognizes Donut as her killer, thus ending the season with a [[cliffhanger]].<ref name="RvBS2DVD">Burns, et al., 2004.</ref>
*[[Dave Evans (game industry)]], an early [[game producer|producer]] at [[Electronic Arts]]
 
*Dave Evans, entertainer father of [[Lee Evans]]
In season 3, Donut eventually joins everyone on {{rvbmap|Sidewinder}} to confront O'Malley. However, a bomb blasts most of the characters forward in time. In {{rvbep|53}}, Donut distracts the Blues with a convoluted story so that the Reds can discreetly investigate a [[distress signal]]. When they leave Donut behind in pursuit of this signal, Donut manages to steal a hovercraft from O'Malley and rejoin them.<ref name="RvBS3DVD">Burns, et al., 2005.</ref> In {{rvbep|season 4}}, Donut replaces Simmons as Sarge's [[right-hand man]] when Sarge declares Simmons insane for insisting that Sheila still roams the gulch in the future. In a cliffhanger at the end of the season, {{rvbep|77}}, a large ship drops into the gulch and lands on top of Donut, leaving his fate unknown.<ref name="RvBS4DVD">Burns, et al., ''Red vs. Blue Season Four''.</ref>
*[[Dave Evans (reporter)]], a reporter with [[WABC-TV]]
 
*[[David Evans (politician)]] (born 1935), British businessman and Conservative politician, MP 1987&ndash;1997
==Themes==
*David Forker Evans, one of the accused in the [[2006 Duke University lacrosse case]]
===Armor color and gender===
*[[David Charles Evans, Baron Evans of Watford]] (born 1942), British life peer, ennobled 1998
<!-- FAIR USE of RvB_Donut_with_flag.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RvB_Donut_with_flag.jpg for rationale -->[[Image:RvB Donut with flag.jpg|right|thumb|A red-armored Donut from an early episode]]
*[[David Evans (squash player)]] (born 1974), Welsh professional squash player
A recurring theme involving Donut centers on his armor color and gender. In ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', the [[computer and video games|video game]] used to film season 1, there is a [[multiplayer game|multiplayer]] [[capture the flag]] game available. However, in this mode, the game allows only teams of red- and blue-armored soldiers, not the per-character colors that Rooster Teeth normally uses. As such, even though the producers had a plan from the outset to put Donut in pink armor, he initially appears in red so that they could use him in scenes involving the Blue flag, which only appears when playing capture the flag. Initially, they slotted the joke involving pink armor for the last episode of a six- to eight-part series, but ''Red vs. Blue'' fleshed out more than expected, and the joke was consequently delayed.<ref name="RvBS1CommentEp4">Burns, et al., 2003, Audio Commentary, episode 4.</ref> Although the delay was unexpected, Werner thought that the early episode 3 reference to the gag made the eventual punchline "all the sweeter" when it arrives later.<ref name="Werner2" />
*[[David E Evans]], professor of Mathematics at Cardiff University, author of various books in knot theory
 
*Air Chief Marshal Sir [[David Evans (RAF)]], a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.
When the armor change does occur, it sparks some gender confusion.<ref name="Jandoc" /> The Reds immediately prod Donut with jokes about his sexuality; when Donut incredulously asks why he would be given pink armor, Grif responds, "[[Don't ask, don't tell]]."<ref name="RvBEp16">Burns, et al., 2003, episode 16.</ref> Except for Church, the entire Blue Team — Tucker, Caboose, and Tex — assumes that the pink-armored Donut is female.<ref name="RvBEp18">Burns, et al., 2003, episode 18.</ref> Originally, Rooster Teeth was going to create a [[love triangle]] in which Donut and a mistaken Caboose were two of three participants. However, the armor color change was delayed so much that the creators forgot about this development.<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp37">Burns, et al., 2004, Audio Commentary, episode 37.</ref> Nevertheless, the series still shows Caboose's confusion about Donut. Rooster Teeth has {{rvbchar|Church}} ([[Burnie Burns]]), the [[de facto]] leader of the Blue Team, and Tex explore Caboose's mind as ghosts in episodes {{rvbep|31|31}}–{{rvbep|33|33}}. There, Donut is portrayed as a female and voiced by Burns' wife, Jordan Burns.<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp33">Burns, et al., 2004, Audio Commentary, episode 33.</ref>
*[[David M. Evans (director)]] (born 1962), American movie director, producer, writer and actor
 
*[[David Evans (journalist)]], journalist with the Bloomberg News
Burns mentioned that they tried to exercise some restraint with the armor color jokes when the gag first appeared.<ref name="RvBS1CommentEp16">Burns, et al., 2003, Audio Commentary, episode 16.</ref> In season 2, however, [[Matt Hullum]] became more involved as a writer for the series, and, as Godwin noted in an August 2005 interview: <blockquote>Matt loves a joke, so he definitely ran with it from there but it worked out really well.… [A]s Caboose got dumber,… they have the two rookies, so the teams mirror each other, but having the character developments go the same direction would be kinda dumb… and to balance it out Donut has to have something.<ref name="MarksDGJS">Marks, Dan Godwin and Jason Saldaña.</ref></blockquote>
*[[Dave Evans (footballer)]], a former soccer player
{{hndis|name=Evans, David}}
The armor color gag also appears outside the series proper. In an audio and video test on the ''Red vs. Blue'' season 2 DVD, Donut advises the viewer to adjust the color until his armor appears "perfectly light red".<ref name="RvBS2AV">Burns, et al., 2004, Audio/Video Setup.</ref> Acting in-character during an interview segment with Godwin that aired on [[G4techTV]], Donut warns, "If your cameras are messed up, and you show my armor as pink to all your viewers, I'm gonna sue."<ref name="Pereira">Pereira.</ref> Another reference occurs in the ''Red vs. Blue'' [[public service announcement]] "Real Life vs. the [[Internet]]", in which Donut is a male pretending to be female over the Internet. In "4th of July Safety Tips", Church berates Donut for wearing pink armor instead of his "old red armor so that [Donut, Church, and Caboose] can be red, white, and blue." Donut responds, "I'm being patriotic in my own way." The armor color confusion has also been featured on ''Red vs. Blue'' merchandise; a T-shirt sold by Rooster Teeth reads, "It's not pink. It's lightish red."<ref name="RvBStore">"It's Not Pink", ''Red vs. Blue Store''.</ref> Outside ''Red vs. Blue'', Burns and Hullum joked about red and light red in extra material created for the season 1 DVD of ''[[The Strangerhood]]'', another machinima series created by Rooster Teeth.<ref name="SHS1DVDBBMH">Burns, et al., 2006, ''The Strangerhood'', Cast & Crew, Burnie Burns & Matt Hullum.</ref>
 
===Intelligence and annoyance of others===
According to Burns, another running gag involving Donut is that he "never knows where he's going".<ref name="RvBS1CommentS3">Burns, et al., 2003, Audio Commentary, episode 3.</ref> The first instance of this occurs when Donut leaves on his fool's errand in episode 3; he initially heads away from the exit of the base, and Grif has to correct him. On his way back from the Blue Base in {{rvbep|6}}, Donut begins to head the wrong way again, and an annoyed Grif yells, "Back to ''our'' base, dumbass!"<ref name="RvBS1DVD" /> In episode 36, the Blues capture Donut briefly when he mistakenly heads toward the Blue Base during his reconnaissance mission. Watching Donut from a distance, Grif closes the episode with the line, "Oh crap. I knew I should have just shot him."<ref name="RvBS2DVD" />
 
Donut continues to annoy other characters in season 3. While repairing a teleporter in {{rvbep|42}}, he annoys Tucker by remarking, "I never knew a [[screwdriver|Phillips screwdriver]] was the X one. Do you think it's named after a guy named Phillip? That guy Phillip must have a fucked-up-shaped head!" When Grif and Simmons [[calling shotgun|call shotgun]] for their [[jeep]] in {{rvbep|57}}, Donut instead calls for "shotgun's lap".<ref name="RvBS3DVD" /> As Sarge's right-hand man during season 4, Donut annoys his leader with various proposals, which include the incorporation of more [[reinforcement|positive reinforcement]] and the redecoration of the Red Base.<ref name="RvBS4DVD" />
 
==Voice acting==
{{Sound sample box align right|Dialogue sample}}
<!--FAIR USE of RvB_Donut_improvised.ogg; see audio description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RvB_Donut_improvised.jpg for rationale -->{{listen|filename=RvB Donut improvised.ogg|title=Donut screams like a woman.|description=Donut's voice actor, Dan Godwin, turned a simple stage direction into a drawn-out scream that continues in the background while other action occurs. The scream continues through the end of the episode.|format=[[Ogg]]}}
{{sample box end}}
Godwin, who recorded his lines alone in his home instead of in the Rooster Teeth studio,<ref name="MarksDGJS" /> contributed to some of the jokes involving Donut's personality by ad-libbing. For example, when Donut accidentally injures himself in {{rvbep|35}}, he exclaims, "Simmons, I need your [[ovary|ovaries]]!" The initial script mentioned "bones" instead of "ovaries"; Godwin improvised the change, with positive feedback from the staff.<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp35">Burns, et al., 2004, Audio Commentary, episode 35.</ref> When Donut pretends to be a secret agent in the next episode, Godwin ad-libbed sound effects while recording dialogue involving a "super-spy jet pack".<ref name="MarksBBGS">Marks, Burnie Burns and Gus Sorola.</ref>
 
The episode 37 plot requires Church to possess Donut; during production, it was decided that Burns, the voice actor for Church, would voice Donut during the possession. Burns recalled in audio commentary that he made sure to retain an element of Donut's stupidity by confusing pronouns.<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp37" /> Later, he stated that Godwin made a unique voice effect to mark the end of Church's possession. As such, Burns used a different [[visual effects|visual effect]] to indicate this transition. Instead of visually [[dissolve (film)|dissolving]] the two characters, as was the normal practice, he flashed Church and Donut back and forth quickly.<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp37" /> Another example of Godwin's improvisation occurs near the end of {{rvbep|56}}. According to Burns, "In the script, all it said was, 'Donut screams like a woman.'… Dan just turned it into the funny thing… that we turned into… Donut running in the background."<ref name="RvBS3DVDCommentEp56">Burns, et al., 2005, Audio Comentary, episode 56.</ref>
{{endspoiler}}
 
==Reception==
Donut has been well-received by both Rooster Teeth personnel and viewers. [[Gustavo Sorola]], who voices the character Simmons, noted that Godwin's voice acting "began to pick up" around episode 32 and that "Donut was probably [his] favorite character for season 2.… Dan did a great job."<ref name="RvBS2CommentEp32">Burns, et al., 2004, Audio Commentary, episode 32.</ref> Season 2 co-writer Hullum agreed that episode 32 contained "some of Dan's best acting". In a February 2006 interview, [[Burnie Burns]] noted that, early in season 1, fans responded so well to Caboose and Donut that he decided to abandon the idea of an extra character, who would have acted as a [[journalist]], in favor of more storyline involving the rookies.<ref name="Smith">Smith.</ref> In light of the focus on the personalities of Donut and Caboose in season 2, Jandoc noted that "by season's end the rookies talk and act more like [[psychiatric hospital|lunatic-asylum]] escapees than army soldiers. (Perhaps that says something?)"<ref name="Jandoc" /> Godwin stated that much of the intended humor involving Donut derives from "gay jokes",<ref name="Pereira" /> but that Rooster Teeth has never received complaints about the theme of homosexuality.<ref name="MarksDGJS" />
 
On the other hand, Werner found that Donut's development throughout the series slightly impeded enjoyment of older, rewatched episodes. He stated:<blockquote>If there’s one problem with [episode 3],… it is that the characters feel so different from what they will become, especially the titular rookies. The Donut of Episode 57… is completely different from the Donut of Episode 3…. [T]he writers and actors really haven’t found a tone for a character that they can really sink their teeth into. I think that these characters weren't natural for the voice-actors, and as they started to do their own thing, the writing followed them, until, eventually, utterly different characters emerged.<ref name="Werner2" /></blockquote>
 
==Notes==
<div class="references-2column"><references /></div>
 
==References==
<div class="references-small">
*{{cite video|people=[[Burnie Burns|Burns, Burnie]] (Writer, Director), et al|year=2003|title=[[Red vs. Blue (season 1)|Red vs. Blue Season One]]|medium=DVD|___location=[[Buda, Texas]]|publisher=[[Rooster Teeth Productions]]}}
*{{cite video|people=[[Burnie Burns|Burns, Burnie]] (Writer, Director), et al|year=2004|title=[[Red vs. Blue (season 2)|Red vs. Blue Season Two]]|medium=DVD|___location=[[Buda, Texas]]|publisher=[[Rooster Teeth Productions]]}}
*{{cite video|people=[[Burnie Burns|Burns, Burnie]] (Writer, Director), et al|year=2005|title=[[Red vs. Blue (season 3)|Red vs. Blue Season Three]]|medium=DVD|___location=[[Buda, Texas]]|publisher=[[Rooster Teeth Productions]]}}
*{{cite video|people=[[Burnie Burns|Burns, Burnie]] (Writer, Director), et al|year=2006|title=[[Red vs. Blue (season 4)|Red vs. Blue Season Four]]|medium=DVD|___location=[[Buda, Texas]]|publisher=[[Rooster Teeth Productions]]}}
*{{cite video|people=[[Burnie Burns|Burns, Burnie]] (Writer, Director), et al|year=2006|title=[[The Strangerhood|The Strangerhood Season One]]|medium=DVD|___location=[[Buda, Texas]]|publisher=[[Rooster Teeth Productions]]}}
*{{cite web|title="It's Not Pink"|url=http://store.redvsblue.com/servlet/Detail?no=66|work=Red vs Blue Store|publisher=Red vs. Blue|accessdate=2006-06-25}}
*{{cite web|last=Jandoc|first=Wilma|date=[[December 5]], [[2004]]|url=http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/05/features/story4.html|title="Red vs. Blue" mines game for comedy gold|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|accessdate=2006-06-25}}
*{{cite web|last=Marks|first=Chris|date=[[August 26]], [[2005]]|url=http://www.roostertooths.com/interview.php?interview=bandg|title=Interview - Burnie Burns and Gus Sorola|work=The Unofficial Rooster Teeth Productions Resource Site|accessdate=2006-06-25}}
*{{cite web|last=Marks|first=Chris|date=[[August 26]], [[2005]]|url=http://www.roostertooths.com/interview.php?interview=dandj|title=Interview - Dan Godwin and Jason Saldaña|work=The Unofficial Rooster Teeth Productions Resource Site|accessdate=2006-06-25}}
*{{cite web|last=Pereira|first=Kevin|date=[[October 27]], [[2004]]|url=http://www.g4tv.com/pile_landing.aspx?video_key=8917|title=Rooster Teeth Productions|work=G4|publisher=[[G4 Media|G4 Media, Inc]]|accessdate=2006-07-06}}
*{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Bryan|date=[[February 21]], [[2006]]|url=http://halogrid.com/download/burnieint.html|title=Burnie Burns Interview|work=HaloGrid.com|accessdate=2006-07-02}}
*{{cite web|last=Werner|first=Nick|date=[[March 9]], [[2005]]|url=http://scifibrain.ign.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=799|title=Red vs Blue: Episodes 1–3 Review|work=Sci-Fi Brain|publisher=[[IGN|IGN Entertainment]]|accessdate=2006-08-15}}
</div>
 
[[Category:Fictional Iowans]]
[[Category:Fictional privates]]
[[Category:Fictional time travelers]]
[[Category:Red vs. Blue characters]]