History IAmNotShazam / LiveACtionTV

* Inverted with ''Series/SesameStreet'', which people refer to as "Elmo".

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' has a baby alien (non-human) creature of Jedi Master Yoda's unnamed species. Fans have dubbed it "Baby Yoda," but in the show it is referred to simply as "The Child."

* ''Series/BigBrother'' is the all-seeing eye-like camera system that records the contestants 24/7. The name is [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready a reference]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou the villain]] in [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour a dystopic novel]] by Creator/GeorgeOrwell. But this doesn't stop some people from calling the contestants "big brothers".

* Inverted with ''Series/SesameStreet'', in which people refer to the show as "Elmo".

--->'''Fourth'''': You may be a doctor, but I'm ''the'' Doctor. The definitive article, one might say.

** However, 12th Doctor actor Creator/PeterCapaldi calls his own character "Doctor Who" all the time (probably a dozen times in the documentary ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n9pjbDoctor Who: Earth Conquest — The World Tour]]'' alone), because only fans know it's a misnomer and he wants to include non-fans. This is more common than fans might think, even — many of the older Doctor actors refer to the character as "Doctor Who" when talking about it as a role or a job, even though they know better than anyone that's not his actual name. Conversely, Creator/DavidTennant actually asked to be credited as "The Doctor", after predecessor Creator/ChristopherEccleston was the first Doctor in nearly 25 years to be credited as "Doctor Who".

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]], Missy claims that his name ''literally is "Doctor Who"''. While she would know his real name, The Doctor denies it, and the implication is that she's just screwing with Bill and Nardole (and that [[Creator/StevenMoffat a certain head writer]] is screwing with the audience).

** However, 12th Doctor actor Creator/PeterCapaldi calls his own character "Doctor Who" all the time (probably a dozen times in the documentary ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n9pjbDoctor Who: Earth Conquest - The World Tour]]'' alone), because only fans know it's a misnomer and he wants to include non-fans. This is more common than fans might think, even - many of the older Doctor actors refer to the character as "Doctor Who" when talking about it as a role or a job, even though they know better than anyone that's not his actual name. Conversely, Creator/DavidTennant actually asked to be credited as "The Doctor", after predecessor Creator/ChristopherEccleston was the first Doctor in nearly 25 years to be credited as "Doctor Who".

** There's a third argument that the title character's name may be simply "Doctor". The Doctor is only ever referred to as "The Doctor" by anyone talking about him in the third person. When speaking directly to him, he is always addressed by companions and characters-of-the-week alike as simply "Doctor". Though the fact that he introduces himself and signs off with the definite article ("Hello, I'm the Doctor.") suggests otherwise.

** A mild example with Rev Bem . While many characters on the show refer to him as "Rev", it's not actually his name. "Rev" stands for "Reverend". His full name with title is Reverend Behemiel Far Traveller, although it's a name he gave himself, disliking his Magog birth name Red Plague. Being a Wayist monk, his title is appropriate.

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': "Ultraman" (both character and series) specifically refers to ''[[Series/{{Ultraman}} the original one]]''. All the "seasons" afterwards are sequels, spinoffs, and remakes that feature completely different Ultra heroes (that sometimes appear alongside the original) whose names and series are "Ultraman ____" or "Ultra____". There are times when even Wiki/TVTropes can't seem to get that right.
* You'd be amazed by how many people think (or thought, during the year or two when the show was somewhere near the public consciousness) Zev is named Series/{{Lexx}}. It doesn't help that from the second season the name was spelled "Xev" (although pronounced the same) after the character was recast and [[TheNthDoctor canonically killed and resurrected]].
* Technically, [[NoNameGiven the car itself doesn't have a name]], but the name of the AI inside Michael Knight's black Trans Am is KITT, not "Knight Rider". The title ''Series/KnightRider'' doesn't refer to the car at all, but rather, to the man. Note that this is made pretty obvious in the OpeningNarration. Additionally, the hero's name wasn't Knight Rider, it was Michael Long. His operative name, Michael Knight, is taken from the company that hired him, Knight Industries.

** However, 12th doctor actor Creator/PeterCapaldi calls his own character "Doctor Who" all the time (probably a dozen times in the documentary ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n9pjbDoctor Who: Earth Conquest - The World Tour]]'' alone), because only fans know it's a misnomer and he wants to include non-fans. This is more common than fans might think, even - many of the older Doctor actors refer to the character as "Doctor Who" when talking about it as a role or a job, even though they know better than anyone that's not his actual name. Conversely, Creator/DavidTennant actually asked to be credited as "The Doctor", after predecessor Creator/ChristopherEccleston was the first Doctor in nearly 25 years to be credited as "Doctor Who".

** In the episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough And Time"]], Missy claims that his name ''literally is "Doctor Who"''. While she would know his real name, The Doctor denies it, and the implication is that she's just screwing with Bill and Nardole (and that [[Creator/StevenMoffat a certain head writer]] is screwing with the audience).
** There's a third argument that the title character's name may be simply "Doctor". The Doctor is only ever referred to as "The Doctor" by anyone talking about him in the third person. When speaking directly to him, he is always addressed by companions and characters-of-the-week alike as simply "Doctor".

* In an episode of ''Series/ModernFamily'', Phil is shown mistakenly referring to the protagonist of ''Film/TheBlindSide'' as "Blindside."
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' is the name of the program that gave birth to Crichton's experimental shuttle (the [=FarScape One=]), not the living ship that becomes his home (Moya).

* The '80s British police drama ''Series/JulietBravo'' was about a police station under the leadership of a female inspector. Many viewers thought that the lead character was named Juliet Bravo, but in fact that was her radio call sign. The first three seasons starred Stephanie Turner playing Inspector Jean Darblay; seasons 4-6 starred Anna Carteret as Inspector Kate Longton.
* "SG-1" in ''Series/StargateSG1'' refers to the team, to distinguish it from other SG teams (from SG-2 to at least SG-25), and not to the Stargate (which is referred to as just that: "the Stargate").
* In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the episode title "The Defiant One" refers to John Sheppard (Wraith: "I will savor the taste of your defiance!"), not the Wraith.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** Plenty of people who have never watched ''Franchise/StarTrek'' still assume the ship's name is the ''Star Trek''.
** Spoofed by Creator/PatrickStewart when he appeared on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. Claiming to be a "''Star Trek'' trivia maniac," he malaprops several names of the characters on ''TOS'', and tells the audience, "Did you know, the name of the ship was ''not'' the ''Star Trek''?"
** In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', the episode title "The Galileo Seven" is often assumed to be the name of the featured shuttlecraft, when actually it refers to the seven passengers aboard the shuttle ''Galileo''. The title is ambiguous because the shuttle's registry is NCC-1701/7. The German falls to this as well, as the translation is ''"Notlandung auf Galileo VII"'' - ''"Emergency landing on Galileo VII"''.
** From the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Darmok", the Tamarian captain who Picard deals with is called Dathon, not Darmok. Darmok is a figure from Tamarian culture, as noted in their saying [[MemeticMutation "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"]].
* The short-lived series ''Series/OdysseyFive'' does not refer to a mission or a spacecraft named ''Odyssey 5'' but to the fictional space shuttle ''Odyssey'' and the five people who end up being sent back in time to prevent Earth's destruction.
* In ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', the main character's name is Cliff Huxtable. Some people mistakenly thought Creator/BillCosby was using TheDanza. It's not rare to hear ''The Cosby Show'' called ''The Bill Cosby Show'', but that was actually the title of an earlier (1969-71) sitcom, where Cosby played a character named Chet Kincaid. And later he was in a series called ''Cosby''.
* In ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' the name is actually Rob Petrie.
* Mary's surname in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' is Richards, which causes some confusion.
* The protagonist of ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was named Andy Taylor.
%%** Same with ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow''.
%%** And ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', not to mention ''Bob''.
** ''Series/ThePhilSilversShow'': Sergeant Bilko
* In an opposite effect, Chelsea Handler complains several times on her show that her name is not Chelsea Lately, the name of her show. She has, however, accidentally referred to herself as Chelsea Lately, which doesn't help.
* The Frankenstein issue was lampshaded in ''Series/{{Bones}}'', when Booth calls the monster by the eponymous name and Brennan corrects him, saying it was the creator. Booth's response? "Yeah, because THAT would make sense." Also, the show itself is kind of an example--Brennan is called Bones by Booth but it's just a nickname...one she doesn't even like ''at first.'' A Season 5 episode shows that she grew not only to accept but actually ''like'' the nickname.
* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode "Film/PrinceOfSpace," Mike and the 'bots repeatedly refer to the film's villain, Phantom of Krankor, as "Krankor" (the name of his home planet). When Krankor makes a "guest appearance" in a host segment of ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen'', they initially call him by his correct name, but then switch back to Krankor. (He doesn't seem to mind.)

** This confusion predates the series. Legend has it that early European explorers who first witnessed a martial arts exercise in China asked what it was called, and were told "kung ku." Kung fu loosely translates as "excellence" or "mastery," so the explorers were being told they were witnessing masters in action, not that the martial art was called kung fu.
* A sort of subversion/aversions of this happens with ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. The lead ship in the series is called the ''Galactica'' and it is a "Battlestar", which is a designation akin to calling modern-day naval vessels "Aircraft Carrier", "Heavy Cruiser", "Destroyer", etc. To to say the ship's name is the "Battlestar ''Galactica''" is both true and false.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** The ship is called "Serenity". It is, however, of the Firefly class.
** Somewhat averted in the movie, which is aptly titled "Film/{{Serenity}}."
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' is the town in Kansas where Clark Kent grows up. Though Lois sometimes calls him Smallville.
* Jon Stewart of ''Series/TheDailyShow'' is ocasionally mistakenly called "Jon Daily" and the show's title has been called "''The Jon Daily Show''". Naturally they've used this several times for laughs on the show itself.
* ''Series/DarkAngel'' is not a name used by its heroine, Max.
* In ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', a mistake in a skit between Colin and Ryan became a running gag.
-->''Ryan'' (As one of Series/CharliesAngels): What will we do now, Charlie?
-->''Colin'' (As Bosley): I'm [[IAmNotShazam Bosley]]!
** Also, Africa is a continent, not a country.
* ''Series/HumanTarget'': Featuring Chris Chance as the eponymous "Hugh Mantarget"
* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Britta and Elroy's favourite band Natalie Is Freezing gets this a lot. "Why would any of us be Natalie?"
* The host of the Creator/FoodNetwork cooking show ''Series/BarefootContessa'' isn't actually named Contessa, but rather Ina Garten. [[PunnyName Yes, really]].
** She occasionally refers to herself as ''THE'' Barefoot Contessa, though, suggesting that "Barefoot Contessa" is a title rather than a name. It's actually the name of a gourmet food store where she used to shop, though it has closed down.
* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', the character Daenerys Targaryen is married to the khal of a Dothraki khalasar (Mongolian like nomadic horse people) giving her the title of Khaleesi. Since most characters refer to her by her title alone many people confuse the title to be her name.
** It's gotten so out of hand that one of the most popular baby names for girls is now "Khaleesi". "Daenerys", meanwhile, isn't nearly as popular.
** Also, there are many, ''many'' fans who think Drogo's first name is "Cal" or "Karl" (they think they just don't hear the "r" because of the British accents), not realizing that his name is just "Drogo". "Khal" (''not'' Cal or Karl) is his title, not his name.
* Some people have referred to the lead character of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' as if her name was actually Bewitched, not Samantha. "I was watching that episode where Bewitched's mother turned Darrin into a goat..."

* Stephen Yan, the host of Canadian CookingShow ''Series/WokWithYan'', often complained in the show about viewers writing in and calling him "Mr. Wok". He would then remind the viewer than his name was Yan and that the pot he cooked with was the wok
* "Duck Dynasty" is not the name of the family-owned business profiled in ''Series/DuckDynasty''. The business is called "Duck Commander".
* The protagonists of ''Series/{{Rake}}'' and its American remake have different names, neither of which is Rake. In the context of the title, rake is a term for an immoral man.
* A mild example with Rev Bem in ''Series/{{Andromeda}}''. While many characters on the show refer to him as "Rev", it's not actually his name. "Rev" stands for "Reverend". His full name with title is Reverend Behemiel Far Traveller, although it's a name he gave himself, disliking his Magog birth name Red Plague. Being a Wayist monk, his title is appropriate.
** For that matter, anyone starting to watch mid-series might be confused at the Rommie/Andromeda distinction. "Andromeda" is the shortened form of the ship's full name, the ''Andromeda Ascendant'' and refers to the ship's on-screen and holographic avatars. "Rommie" specifically refers to the android avatar built by Harper, who is frequently in conflict with her on-screen and holo selves. It gets more confusing once you add Doyle into the mix (an android avatar of the same ship who looks completely different).
* ''Series/TheSopranos'' revolves around two very different families--[[FamilyDrama a traditional family]] and [[TheMafia a crime family]]--but only one of them is actually "the Soprano family". The crime family at the heart of the show is "the [=DiMeo=] family", even though Tony Soprano and his uncle Corrado both serve as bosses. [[note]]It's technically an in-universe ArtifactTitle, since it bears the name of crime boss Ercole "Ecky" [=DiMeo=], who went to prison years before the start of the show, and [[TheGhost is never actually seen]]. Even so, Jackie Aprile serves as the acting boss for the first half of Season 1.[[/note]]
* In ''Series/{{Peep Show}}'', Jeremy thinks the shark from Jaws is actually called Jaws.
* In ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', John Reese is referred to as a "person of interest" in the first episode. The [[VillainOfTheWeek Villain]][=/=]VictimOfTheWeek is always referred to by name or as a "number", not as a "person of interest".

* There is no character or project that is referred to in-universe as ''Series/OrphanBlack''. The title may have a secret codename significance that has not yet been revealed, but it probably refers to the status of various characters as orphaned or fostered children, and their creation as part of a black project. Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped people from thinking Creator/TatianaMaslany plays a character by that name (which is justified because she plays so many characters on the show people use it when referring to the characters as a collective). And since the series is, at the moment, Maslany's only real claim to fame, she has been [[IAmNotSpock Spocked]] as "Orphan Black." [[spoiler:In the final episode of the show, it's revealed to be the title of Helena's memoirs.]]
* An article in the 1980s Bank of Scotland teen magazine ''Supersaver Extra'' entitled "You Know You're A True Fan When..." included "When you're only eight years old, but you won't wash your hair until your mum tells you this perfectly ordinary shampoo is the same stuff Series/StreetHawk uses." Since Street Hawk is the name of the ''motorbike'', it probably doesn't wash its "hair".
* The "V" of the series ''{{Series/V 1983}}'' wasn't originally meant to be a shorthand reference to the alien "Visitors". Although the word "visitor" happens to start with the letter 'V' is a coincidence, 'V' was the resistance symbol for "Victory". The [[{{Series/V 2009}} remake]], however does refer to the Visitors as Vs.
* In the first season of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Oliver Queen's crimefighting persona went by "The Hood" or occasionally "The Vigilante," which didn't stop many viewers from calling him "Arrow." (When they didn't just go ahead and call him ComicBook/GreenArrow). Became a moot point in the second and third season, which saw him change his name to "The Arrow," but this trope has reared its head again in the fourth season now that he's going by Green Arrow officially.

* In-universe example in ''Series/{{Atlanta}}'', where one of Earn's coworkers asks him "What are you, '[[Film/TwelveYearsASlave 12 Years a Slave]]'?"
-->'''Earn''': [[LampshadeHanging Yeah. My name is "12 Years a Slave, the Slave."]]
* There is no character named ''Series/HenryDanger''. It's Henry Hart, alter ego Kid Danger.
* The sisters in ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' have Halliwell as a last name (and their half-sister is Matthews). They're the Charmed ''Ones'', not the Charmed sisters.
* The 1970s BBC children's series ''Lizzie Dripping'' caused some confusion for people assuming that was the name of the heroine. Her name is actually Penelope Arbuckle. 'Lizzie Dripping' is an OopNorth expression referring to a PluckyGirl who has trouble telling fantasy from reality.
* This trope was the origin of Howdy Doody. When Bob Smith started out doing a kids' radio show set on a ranch, one of the voices he did was Ernie the ranch hand whose ''catchphrase'' was "Howdy Doody!" But so many kids showed up at the station asking "Where's Howdy Doody?" that when the radio show got turned into a TV show, he just went with it.
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'' refers to the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. Spoofed in one episode of the Bette Midler sitcom ''Bette'', wherein Midler's character, set to appear on ''JAG'' as an extra, wonders when she'll get to meet "Jag".
* The titular ''Series/MrRobot'' is simply a supporting character and mentor to the protagonist, Elliot Alderson, yet Elliot is often called "Mr. Robot" by those unfamiliar with the show. [[spoiler:Subverted when it's revealed that they're [[LiteralSplitPersonality actually the same person.]]]]
* ''Series/BigBrother'' is the all-seeing eye-like camera system that records the contestants 24/7. The name is [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready a reference]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou the villain]] in [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour a dystopic novel]] by Creator/GeorgeOrwell. But this doesn't stop some people from calling the contestants "big brothers".
* When CBS brought ''Series/MatchGame'' back in 1973, many viewers thought it was called ''Match the Stars,'' which Johnny Olson stressed in the opening line of the intro. It was called ''Match Game '73'' then, but newspaper listings billed it as ''The New Match Game''.

* A sort of subversion/aversions of this happens with ''Series/BattlestarGalactica''. The lead ship in the series is called the ''Galactica'' and it is a "Battlestar", which is a designation akin to calling modern-day naval vessels "Aircraft Carrier", "Heavy Cruiser", "Destroyer", etc. To to say the ship's name is the "Battlestar ''Galactica''" is both true and false.

* The main character of ''Series/DoctorWho'' is "the Doctor", ''not'' "Doctor Who". There are, however, a few jokes in which the Doctor obliquely refers to himself as Doctor Who in a variety of ways. The character was credited as "Doctor Who" for the first eighteen seasons of the classic series and in the first season of the reboot, and was often referred to that way in the earliest expanded universe material. Of course, since the Doctor's ''true'' name has yet to be revealed in a canonical work, it might very well be "Who" after all.
--> "[[WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory Ooh, actually, if you don't mind, it's just 'The Doctor'!]]"
** Although 12th doctor actor Creator/PeterCapaldi calls his own character "Doctor Who" all the time, e. g. probably a dozen times in the documentary ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n9pjbDoctor Who: Earth Conquest - The World Tour]]'' alone. He says this is because only fans know that this is incorrect and he wants to include non-fans. This is more common than fans might think, even - many of the older Doctor actors refer to the character as "Doctor Who" when talking about it as a role or a job, even though they know better than anyone that's not his actual name. Conversely, Creator/DavidTennant actually asked to be credited as "The Doctor", after predecessor Creator/ChristopherEccleston was the first Doctor in nearly 25 years to be credited as "Doctor Who".

* There is no character or project that is referred to in-universe as ''Series/OrphanBlack''. The title may have a secret codename significance that has not yet been revealed, but it probably refers to the status of various characters as orphaned or fostered children, and their creation as part of a black project. Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped people from thinking Creator/TatianaMaslany plays a character by that name (which is justified because she plays so many characters on the show people use it when referring to the characters as a collective). And since the series is, at the moment, Maslany's only real claim to fame, she has been [[IAmNotSpock Spocked]] as "Orphan Black."

** Although 12th doctor actor Creator/PeterCapaldi calls his own character "Doctor Who" all the time, e. g. probably a dozen times in the documentary ''[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n9pjbDoctor Who: Earth Conquest - The World Tour]]'' alone. He says this is because only fans know that this is incorrect and he wants to include non-fans.
** Conversely, Creator/DavidTennant actually asked to be credited as "The Doctor", after predecessor Creator/ChristopherEccleston was the first Doctor in nearly 25 years to be credited as "Doctor Who".

* The sisters in ''{{Series/Charmed}}'' have Halliwell as a last name (and their half-sister is Matthews). They're the Charmed ''Ones'', not the Charmed sisters.

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': "Ultraman" (both character and series) specifically refers to ''[[Series/{{Ultraman}} the original one]]''. All the "seasons" afterwards are sequels, spinoffs, and remakes that feature completely different Ultra heroes (that sometimes appear alongside the original) whose names and series are "Ultraman ____" or "Ultra____". There are times when even ThisVeryWiki can't seem to get that right.

* ''Series/BigBrother'' is the all-seeing eye-like camera system that records the contestants 24/7. The name is [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready a reference]] to [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou the villain]] in [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour a dystopic novel]] by Creator/GeorgeOrwell. But this doesn't stop some people - including contestants themselves - from calling the contestants "big brothers".

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': "Ultraman" (both character and series) specifically refers to ''[[Series/{{Ultraman}} the original one]]''. All the "seasons" afterwards are sequels, spinoffs, and remakes that feature completely different Ultra heroes (that sometimes appear alongside the original) whose names and series are "Ultraman ____" or "Ultra____". There are times when even this very wiki can't seem to get that right.

* Technically, the car itself doesn't have a name, but the name of the AI inside Michael Knight's black Trans Am is KITT, not "Knight Rider". The title ''Series/KnightRider'' doesn't refer to the car at all, but rather, to the man. Note that this is made pretty obvious in the OpeningNarration. Additionally, the hero's name wasn't Knight Rider, it was Michael Long. His operative name, Michael Knight, is taken from the company that hired him, Knight Industries.

* An article in the 1980s Bank of Scotland teen magazine ''Supersaver Extra'' entitled "You Know You're A True Fan When..." included "When you're only eight years old, but you won't wash your hair until your mum tells you this perfectly ordinary shampoo is the same stuff Series/StreetHawk uses." Since Street Hawk is the name of the motorbike, it probably doesn't wash its hair that often.

%%** Individual episode titles are prone to such misunderstandings as well. For example, the title of the pilot episode, "Children of the Gods", refers to the Goa'uld (that's what their name literally means in their language).
%%Please source before putting this back in, because I'm pretty sure Goa'uld means "gods". The other meaning doesn't make sense, since they claim to BE gods themselves, not simply the offspring of them.
** And in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the episode title "The Defiant One" refers to John Sheppard (Wraith: "I will savor the taste of your defiance!"), not the Wraith.
* Plenty of people who have never watched ''StarTrek'' still assume the ship's name is the ''Star Trek''. Casual fans who only watched the original series or perhaps TNG believe that the ''Defiant'' (from ''Deep Space Nine'') and ''Voyager'' are called ''Enterprise''. After all, aren't all the ships on ''StarTrek'' called that?

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', the episode title "The Galileo Seven" is often assumed to be the name of the featured shuttlecraft, when actually it refers to the seven passengers aboard the shuttle ''Galileo''. The title is ambiguous because the shuttle's registry is NCC-1701/7.
** Even worse, the German translation is ''"Notlandung auf Galileo VII"'' - ''"Emergency landing on Galileo VII"''.
** By that same token, the short-lived series ''Series/OdysseyFive'' does not refer to a mission or a spacecraft named ''Odyssey 5'' but to the fictional space shuttle ''Odyssey'' and the five people who end up being sent back in time to prevent Earth's destruction.
* In ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', the main character's name is Cliff Huxtable. Some people mistakenly thought Creator/BillCosby was using TheDanza.
** Well, who could blame them, seeing that the series could just have easily been titled something like ''Cliffhanger'' or ''Over a Cliff''?
** In fact his first name was "Heathcliff," leading to more confusion.
*** Except in the pilot when he was "Clifford" on the sign to his office.
** It's not rare to hear ''The Cosby Show'' called ''The Bill Cosby Show'', but that was actually the title of an earlier (1969-71) sitcom, where Cosby played a character named Chet Kincaid.
*** And later he was in a series called ''Cosby''.
** Ditto ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (Rob Petrie) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (Mary Richards).
** The protagonist of ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was named Andy Taylor.
** Same with ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow''.
** And ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', not to mention ''Bob''.

** At least one person on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki thought that "Sheppard" was Book's first name. ''[[FandomBerserkButton "Shepherd"]]'' is his title as a preacher, akin to "Pastor" (which is actually the Latin word for "shepherd").

* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** In the episode "[[Recap/CommunityS2E06Epidemiology Epidemiology]]", Troy claims his costume is a "sexy {{Dracula}}," and doesn't get why Abed insists he means "sexy vampire."
--->'''Troy:''' I don't need to know which Dracula I am to know I'm a Dracula. Nerd.
** Britta and Elroy's favourite band Natalie Is Freezing gets this a lot. "Why would any of us be Natalie?"
* From the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Darmok", the Tamarian captain who Picard deals with is called Dathon, not Darmok. Darmok is a figure from Tamarian culture, as noted in their saying [[MemeticMutation "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"]].
** There's an in-universe (sort of) example in the ''Voyager'' episode ''Initiations'', where a Kazon calls the Voyager crew with the monicker "Federation" in a derogatory sense, prompting the following exchange:
--->'''Kar:''' You won't stop me from earning my name, Federation.
--->'''Chakotay:''' Not Federation! Chakotay. That's my name.
*** Technically, Chakotay ''isn't'' Federation--he's [[LaResistance Maquis]].
*** Though before that, he was in Starfleet, but the Kazon isn't likely to know all about that anyway...
** Also from ''Voyager'', Tuvok did the mistake of introducing himself to Neelix with the words: "I am Vulcan." Neelix interpreted that as Tuvok's name rather than his species, and even though this misunderstanding was presumably cleared up eventually, "Mr. Vulcan" continued to be Neelix' personal nickname for Tuvok, 'til the end of the series.
** And ''another'' example from ''Voyager'': B'Elanna calling Harry Kim "Starfleet". In this case though, B'Elanna knew pretty well what that word means, and being Marquis, initially meant this in a dismissive way. This likewise then eventually turned into an affectionate personal nickname for Harry.

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': "Ultraman" (both the character and the series) specifically refers to ''[[Series/{{Ultraman}} the original one]]''. All the "seasons" afterwards are sequels, spinoffs, and remakes that feature completely different Ultra heroes (that sometimes appear alongside the original) whose names and series are "Ultraman ____" or "Ultra____".