This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Tanto: ...Don't really see the trope here. If it's intentional, it's a Shout-Out or Homage. If it's not, it's just a coincidence, and is therefore not a trope.
Andyzero: My aunt has a three-legged dog named Tripod, and she's never seen either of these.
Nevrmore: I wonder if there's anyone out there whose ass is tight enough to actually be offended at not being politically correct towards dogs...
Phartman: Which brings us to Rule #35: It doesn't matter what the gag is, there's at least one person out there who's going to be offended by it. I once ruined a date by telling what I thought was a totally innocuous joke; how was I supposed to know her beloved pet chicken was killed crossing the road?
Ununnilium: I thought Rule #35 was "If there's not already porn of something, it will be created shortly after you ask about it."
Ununnilium: Taking out:
- The science fiction shows Futurama and Doctor Who both had characters named "Leela", who were tough, exotic, strong-willed action girls.
...because the former has been admitted as a Shout-Out to the latter.
Blork: No it hasn't, the name Turanga Leela came from the Turangalila symphony
.
Ununnilium: ...what, really? Huh. Okay. Restoring.
BT The P: I'm surprised Jack Carter isn't a more common sci-fi name. Jack is a nickname for John, and John Carter of Mars is a classic speculative fiction allusion. Especially if he has a son named Randy, as in Randolph Carter of Lovecraft. In fact, Lovecraft himself alluded that Randolph was a relative of John.
Willy Four Eyes: Removed this entry:
- The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy and Totally Spies both have a Mindy, a Libby who speaks in a nasal voice and calls the main characters "loo-zers!"
The Billy and Mandy/Totally Spies comparison is incorrect. B&M's Libby character is named Mindy, but the one from TS is named Mandy. *shrug*
Ununnilium: Honestly, Jack Attack covers all of this:
- We probably don't need to mention how many shows have main characters called Jack.
- Captain Jack is a popular variant, having popped up in Babylon 5, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Doctor Who (and its Spin-Off Torchwood) and the wooden-navy novels of Patrick O'Brian.
- Then there's Jack Carter, whose first name is the same as that of O'Neill in Stargate SG-1. His last name is the same as the scientist from the same show. Ironically, this Carter is one of the few non-scientists in a town full of them.
- Let's not forget Samurai Jack.
- Or even Jack Bauer.
- Or even real(or not so) famous people. Jack, the Ripper, anyone?
- And let's not forget Jack. Only Jack.
- Of course, this is one of The Oldest Ones In The Book, as "Jack" is one of the most common names in nursery rhymes and other folk phrases (Jack Sprat, Jack-be-Nimble, Jack-in-the-Box, Strip Jack Naked), simply because it's a very common English name.
- Played with in Fables (and its spinoff, Jack of Fables), in which Jack is all the Jacks (including Horner, the Giant-Killer, Frost and Jill's broken-headed boyfriend).
- And strictly speaking "Jack" isn't even a real name - it started out as an abbreviation (?) for "John".
Examples that are just too unrelated to even mark:
- Both Little Orphan Annie and Gunnerkrigg Court star a red-haired orphan named Annie.
- Sakura is a pretty popular Japanese name -- it's also the name of the title character in Cardcaptor Sakura, one of the pink Super Sentai (was it Boukenger or Magiranger...?), and a minor recurring character in Pokemon's Johto saga.
- Shadow. Human assassin in Final Fantasy VI, or Gerald Robotnik's creation in Sonic Adventure 2 and later Sonic games?
- Doctor Who and Star Trek Voyager both have a character who is simply called "The Doctor."
- And many series have a Big Bad who shares a name with the Doctor Who recurring villain known as "The Master." The video game Act Raiser by contrast, makes The Master the main hero.
Explicit Shout Outs:
- The science fiction shows Futurama and Doctor Who both had characters named "Leela", who were tough, exotic, strong-willed action girls.
- In a deliberate Parental Bonus Shout-Out, the name of Vice-Principal Crubbs of Neds Declassified School Survival Guide is a portmanteau of "Crockett" and "Tubbs" of Miami Vice. And he dresses the part.
- This troper had a classmate in fourth grade named Rebecca Cunningham.
Not similar enough. Now, if your classmate had bought out a failing air cargo company... ---
- Mork is of course the name of a well-known funny alien, but also the name of one of the two Orkoid gods (...Or So I Heard).
Mork the Orkoid? That seems like a direct reference, rather than a coincidence.
