History Main / TheLastDJ

* In ''Soul Kitchen'', a chef gets fired for declining to cook food that is not up to his high standards ([[CompletelyMissingThePoint warm]] gazpacho soup, namely). {{HeGetsBetter}}.

* The titular knight of David Eddings' ''Sparhawk'' series originally held the hereditary position of Champion of the Royal House of Elenia... but when the king was corrupted by his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] and a greedy [[CorruptChurch Primate]], Sparhawk refused to just go along with things.\\

* [[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.
** 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.

* [[CowboyBebop Jet Black's]] refusal to turn DirtyCop or ease up on {{The Syndicate}}s running Ganymede resulted in him being ambushed and nearly killed. [[spoiler:At the hands of his own partner, who was working with TheSyndicate, no less.]]
* [[LegendOfGalacticHeroes Yang Wen-Li]] is the greatest military genius to be born since GenghisKhan conquered Eurasia, is [[HonorBeforeReason loyal to a fault]] toward his country and politically savvy enough to know what [[TheFederation the Free Planets Alliance]] should do to ensure its perenity and prosperity for a few generation at least and probably the nicest guy of TheVerse. Because of this, ''a lot'' of corrupt officials in the alliance fear and hate him, knowing that he would easily beat them should he decide to quit the army and run against them in an election. Fortunately [[spoiler: for his rival Reinhart von Lohengram, Yang is so devoid of ambition that he pass every opportunity to gain political power, unwittingly giving Reinhart the opportunity to conquer the Free Planet Alliance]]

* Jedi-master Qui-Gon Jinn of ''StarWars'' was allegedly never chosen to join the Jedi Council because of his unorthodox views, and his questioning of/refusal to just go along with council views and decisions.

* In ''SoulKitchen'', a chef gets fired for declining to cook food that is not up to his high standards ([[CompletelyMissingThePoint warm]] gazpacho soup, namely). {{HeGetsBetter}}.

* Captain Vimes in the ''{{Discworld}}'' book ''[=~ Guards! Guards! ~=]'' felt that he was in this situation. In his own words:
-->"Every time he seemed to be getting anywhere he spoke his mind, or said the wrong thing. Usually at the same time."
:: However, this has become inverted as the series progresses, as Vimes is repeatedly promoted and ennobled against his wishes, having to be coerced into accepting by the Patrician. Vetinari ''likes'' having a powerful person who won't play the game; it keeps the people who ''are'' playing it worried. The ultimate example is probably the end of ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'' where, much to Vimes's own bewilderment, Vetinari gives him a pay rise for upsetting everyone important in the city, and bursting into a council meeting with an axe. Vetinari muses in one book that having an authority figure who is so staunchly ''anti-''authoritarian is "practically zen".

* Aral Vorkosigan of the VorkosiganSaga, in his depressive phases. After his almost-bloodless conquest of the planet of Komarr, he first killed his Political Officer bare-handed for ordering the Solstice Massacre, and got busted from Admiral back to Captain and ReassignedToAntarctica. It didn't stick.
* The titular knight of David Eddings' ''Sparhawk'' series originally held the hereditary position of Champion of the Royal House of Elenia... but when the king was corrupted by his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] and a greedy [[CorruptChurch Primate]], Sparhawk refused to just go along with things. After trying his best to beat the king back into shape (though not literally, or very successfully), he was forced to take on the position of glorified nursemaid for the young princess Ehlana, in hopes that he'd resign his position in humiliation. Instead, he proceeds to raise her into a [[TheHighQueen brilliant ruler]]. Faced with that, the weak king finally caves to pressure from his sister/lover and his TreacherousAdvisor, and simply exiles Sparhawk from the kingdom, to the heretic-infested, dust-choked, sun-baked, desert land of Rendor. Much later, after the king has died and Ehlana ascended the throne, he is called back and more-or-less forced to [[WifeHusbandry marry her]] - and her DeadlyDecadentCourt quickly finds that he is not only as incorruptible as ever, but now also on VERY friendly terms with the highest power in the kingdom. Not to mention well-armed and more than willing to prove it to anyone who impugns the honor of his wife, or himself. His father, also named Sparhawk, was the reason the weak king could not marry his sister/lover. The incorruptibility of the Sparhawk line is legendary.
* [[TheDresdenFiles Lieutenant Karrin Murphy]] was transferred to Special Investigations specifically because she wouldn't shut up about inconvenient facts. [[spoiler:This also results in her getting demoted later, when her absence during an investigation got her in serious trouble.]] She couldn't exactly tell her boss she was helping a wizard [[spoiler:storm the Winter Queen's castle]] to rescue a teenage girl, now, could she?
* [[SnowCrash Hiro Protagonist, last freelance hacker.]] He is aggressively sought after by at least one software firm willing to pay top dollar for his skills, but working for them would require wearing a tie and showing up to work in the morning. Hiro finds these conditions to be dealbreakers and remains unaffiliated.

* [[HarryPotter The Ministry of Magic]] treats [[TheDumbledore Dumbledore]] like this in HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix.
** [[spoiler: Lee Jordan]] literally becomes this during HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows [[spoiler: hosting a program called "Potterwatch" that delivers news outside Voldemort's control.]]

* For a character who was an actual DJ, there's Dr. Johnny Fever from ''WKRPInCincinnati.'' A former successful DJ in Los Angeles, he was fired for saying "booger" on the air in TheSeventies. Something of a burnout, he still refused to play songs from the station's Top 40 play list.
* TheLastDetective features 'Dangerous' Davies, who, despite his obvious brilliance, is always the.. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well...]]
* Many subversions from ''StarTrek''. Starfleet, being the dream-version of the U.S. military, actually ''promotes'' its mavericks. It's the heroes who just don't want to accept.
** The worst offender was Commander Riker who holds the record for most turned-down promotions. And of course, you had Admiral Kirk who got himself demoted back to Captain, some would think on purpose.

* Jenny Shepherd on why Gibbs (''{{NCIS}}'') isn't Director: "Jethro's a great field agent. He's a great team leader. And he deals more efficiently with difficult politicians than I do." "Then why isn't he the..." "He shoots them."

* Going by the {{flashback}} scene in a recording sphere, [[BadassLongcoat Auron]] from ''FinalFantasyX'' could also fit into this before embarking on the pilgrimage with Braska. A promising WarriorMonk within the [[CorruptChurch theocratic church]] and a true believer, Auron's career was blacklisted and at least one promotion that was meant for him went to others after he refused to marry the daughter of a high priest.

* Arguably, the titular character from ''MaxPayne'' -- he's something of a CowboyCop, and often disregards proper procedure in favour of following leads and going after perps.

* {{NYPD}} officer Adrian Schoolcraft spent years defying the police department's secret quotas for the number of tickets to write and arrests to make, despite enduring numerous punishments in doing so. Finally, when Schoolcraft attempted to report this and his precinct's tendency of underreporting major crimes (so as to not make themselves look bad) he was fired, but Schoolcraft had the last laugh; he had spent his last two years in the department carrying a micro-recorder with him at all times, capturing all of the department's corruption.
** Schoolcraft wasn't simply fired. He left work early one day because of illness (his work was very stressful, for some reason), which led to a squad of officers, including some of high rank, at his apartment late at night. Before they came in, he turned the recorder on. The scene that followed was chilling, as they piled on accusations and had him involuntarily committed. If not for the work of Schoolcraft's father, he might have remained locked up in a psych ward for more than just a week. "Chilling" barely begins to describe it.
* Prince got tired of being [[ExecutiveMeddling jerked around by]] his record label. Unfortunately, the label had an ironclad contract that said they owned (and thus could do what they wanted with) any album that was released with his name on it... so he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol the label had absolutely no claim to. When the original contract was voided, he went back to calling himself Prince.

** 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.

* Arguably, the titular character from MaxPayne - he's something of a CowboyCop, and often disregards proper procedure in favour of following leads and going after perps.

* Real life example: [[ProfessionalWrestling Pro wrestler]] "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson has been very vocal and very adamant that he will never join the rosters of either {{WWE}} or TNA, due to the fact that he's completely uninterested in playing politics and absolutely refuses to change his wrestling style (which, incidentally, has {{Smark}}s referring to him as, quite possibly, the world's greatest wrestler). This basically left him as the king of the American independent wrestling scene -- which isn't saying much these days. He's now signed with the WWE, apparently due to mounting medical bills. But then in June 2010, he was let go, purportedly because he was ''too violent''.
* Dave Chappelle left his hit [[ChappellesShow television show]] because, among other reasons, he felt that the game was starting to corrupt and/or change him and that the business was trying to control him, an idea he showed in his "Almighty Showbiz" skit, which aired on the final season. Other artists, comedians, writers, etc, often act on the same ideas.

* Rory Bremner was overwhelmed with job offers in the late 80s after the success of Spitting Image, but chose to remain freelance so that he didn't have to compromise his material. He now produces his own occasional show (i.e. one or two a year) which gets graveyard slots on Channel 4, rather than primetime on ITV or BBC. He's still widely regarded as one of the best political impressionist-satirists in the UK, if not the world.

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** 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 [[RageAgainstTheHeavens God himself]], who Jesse chases down and tells off for being irresponsible and abandoning Heaven. His integrity also won't let him use his handy Word of God power to get himself out of said situations.

* The titular knight of David Eddings' ''Sparhawk'' series originally held the hereditary position of Champion of the Royal House of Elenia... but when the king was corrupted by his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] and a greedy [[CorruptChurch Primate]], Sparhawk refused to just go along with things. After trying his best to beat the king back into shape (though not literally, or very successfully), he was forced to take on the position of glorified nursemaid for the young princess Ehlana, hoping that he'd resign his position in humiliation. Instead, he proceeds to raise her into a [[TheHighQueen brilliant ruler]]. Faced with that, the weak king finally caves to pressure from his sister/lover and his TreacherousAdvisor, and simply exiles Sparhawk from the kingdom, to the heretic-infested, dust-choked, sun-baked, desert land of Rendor. Much later, after the king has died and Ehlana ascended the throne, he is called back and more-or-less forced to [[WifeHusbandry marry her]] - and her DeadlyDecadentCourt quickly finds that he is not only as incorruptible as ever, but now also on VERY friendly terms with the highest power in the kingdom. Not to mention well-armed and more than willing to prove it to anyone who impugns the honor of his wife, or himself.

Contrast LimitedAdvancementOpportunities, where characters never advance in their position because that would force the writing team to separate the cast. See also BotheringByTheBook and ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules. Also compare BunnyEarsLawyer, where the traits that would hold back a Last DJ get overlooked on account of how much of an asset the character is otherwise.

* In ''{{Fallout}} 3'', one of the key figures in your search for your father is a man who goes by the name "Three Dog." He runs one of only two radio stations that reach across the whole Wasteland (well, three, but one only becomes available if you do a very out-of-the-way sidequest), and presumably he is literally the last DJ in the city - he's certainly the only one you encounter. As for integrity and refusal to sell out, even if the Enclave did offer him employment, he wouldn't take it.

* Arguably, the titular character from [[MaxPayne Max Payne 2]] - he's something of a CowboyCop, and often disregards proper procedure in favour of following leads and going after perps.

** 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 was unceremoniously yanked from the internet in early-2010 after its new owner simply decided to stop funding it.

** Initially subverted. Roy Mustang knows the system is corrupt and wants to change it, but he knows he can't get to the position of Fuhrer without sucking up to the superiors at least a little. However, in the anime, from {{Flash Back}}s, we find out he was ordered to kill Winry's parents, after which he swore never to follow an unreasonable order again. Played straight in the second season of the anime, in which, [[spoiler: after finding out the Fuhrer is a homunculus, and has helped orchestrate wars such as Ishbal for the sake of creating enough chaos that someone would be driven to attempting creation of a Philospher's Stone, decides that just trying to work his way up the military ladder isn't fast enough, and topples the system by way of force.]]
** Also played straight in ''FullmetalAlchemist,'' with Alex Louis Armstrong. Fuhrer Bradley tells Armstrong that he's never promoted because he refuses to follow orders completely (more specifically, he refuses to kill blindly when given such an order.)
** In the anime, at least, it was specifically the order to kill the Rockbells that was the straw that broke the camel's back and drives him to become Fuhrer, as well as his lockout on bad orders.
* [[CowboyBebop Jet Black's]] refusal to turn into a DirtyCop or to ease up on {{The Syndicate}}s running Ganymede resulted in him being ambushed and nearly killed. [[spoiler:At the hands of his own partner, who was working with TheSyndicate, no less.]]

:: However, this has become inverted as the series progresses, as Vimes is repeatedly promoted and ennobled against his wishes, having to be coerced into accepting by the Patrician. Vetinari ''likes'' having a powerful person who won't play the game; it keeps the people who ''are'' playing it worried. The ultimate example is probably the end of ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'' where, much to Vimes's own bewilderment, Vetinari gives him a pay rise for upsetting everyone important in the city, and bursting into a council meeting with an axe. Vetinari muses in one book that having an Authority figure who is so staunchly ''anti-''authoritarian is "Practically zen".

* 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's just about restricted to one planet, though.

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->'''Starr:''' ... and if you have any aspirations above Colonel, you should consider this excellent advice.
->'''Col. Holden:''' I know how to get ahead, mister. And I know damn well I will never rise higher than colonel, because I do not and by God ''will not'' kiss the requisite amount of ass.
-->-- ''{{Preacher}}''

If he's not the protagonist, he'll usually be a [[{{Mentors}} mentor figure]] including a BigBrotherMentor. Alternatively, in stories on the [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynical side of the scale]] he can serve as a warning of what happens if you're not willing to make compromises. A natural enemy to and the bane of the ObstructiveBureaucrat.

* [[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.