They Call Me Mister Tibbs / Live-Action TV

Clarifications of people's preferred form of address in live-action TV.

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• On 24, David Palmer does this twice. Late in Day 2, around the time when his cabinet is plotting to declare him incapacitated so they can move ahead with the military strike, Mike, who has known Palmer for a long time, calls him "David" while pleading with him to relent. He responds "I'm the President, Mike. You don't call me by my first name." Early on Day 3, he tells Wayne, "Wayne, right now, it's Mr. President,"; while Wayne calls him by name in private or on less official matters, in public or in more formal settings, he calls him with the same formality as any other American citizen. In Day 2, Sherry calls him "Mr. President" as a way of distancing herself from him when she is disappointed in his unfavorable response to one of her requests (despite having divorced him, they are still on a first-name basis).
• 227: Twisted and inverted in this mid-to-late 1980s African-American situation comedy starring Marla Gibbs. One episode saw Gibbs' character, Mary Jenkins, get after her teen-aged daughter, Brenda, after she refers to a neighbor — building floozy Sandra Clark (Jackee Harry) — by her first name. Even though "Mrs. Clark" freely allowed her teen-aged neighbors to call her by her first name ("Call me Sandra!"), Mary's rules were otherwise.
• Agent Carter.
  • Peggy Carter unsurprisingly, as per her ongoing battle to make the men she encounters treat her with respect instead of patronisation.
    Hugh Jones: I didn't know our government had such good taste in secretaries. What's your name, darling?
    Peggy Carter: Agent.
  • When giving a Rousing Speech to the SSR after the murder of one of their own, Agent Thompson says that the most important part of the name of the late Raymond Walter Krzeminski was "Agent".
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
  • Happens a few times, especially after S.H.I.E.L.D. is technically disbanded mid-Season 1, there's some ambiguity going on as to whether characters should address one another as "Agent" or as "Mr./Ms." from then on. Antagonists, especially those allied with the U.S. Government such as Col. Talbot, will often disparagingly refer to Mr. Coulson as a reminder that he's no longer officially a government agent; he'll usually insist that it's still Agent Coulson nevertheless.
  • Fitz-Simmons are each in possession of two Ph.D.s, which leads to some confusion among the other character as to whether they should call them "Dr" or not if they're not calling them "Agent". Skye at one point mocks Simmons (who's The Medic for the team, but not actually a medical doctor) by calling her "Dr. Simmons", but she actually averts this trope by not pointing out that that's her title anyway; and in fact Simmons herself on one occasion calls Fitz "Dr. Fitzy" when encouraging him to act as her assistant on a medical procedure, even though again, he technically is anyway. Simmons' bosses at the HYDRA laboratory don't do much better, as one addresses her as "Ms. Simmons" while the other consistently calls her "Dr. Simmons", though again it's not her who brings it up.
  • There's also a few examples of the second type of this trope: when Simmons (or any other friendly ally) addresses Mockingbird as "Agent Morse" or "Ms Morse", she'll insist they should "Call me Bobbi." Meanwhile, despite the above, Coulson tells Victoria Hand to call him Phil in the immediate aftermath of the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. when she still addresses him as "Agent Coulson".
• Inversion: Are You Afraid of the Dark? had a recurring character, Sardo the magic shop owner. Whenever he was introduced, one of the main characters would call him "Mr. Sardo", which would trigger his Catchphrase: "That's Sar-doh! No 'Mister', accent on the 'do'!"
  • There was also the recurring character, the Mad Scientist Dr. Vink. "Vink's the name. Dr. Vink." (With a va-va-va. Also: he is NOT a nutbag.)
• The 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries did this with Laura Roslin, former Secretary of Education and new President. Calling her "Madame President" was shown as the barometer of how the specific character felt about her - i.e. Billy, as her personal aide, using the term right off the bat; and Baltar using it in a politically calculated tone, only after she offers him a position as her adviser. Contrasting with those uses is Colonel Tigh, who repeatedly refers to her as "that woman," and Commander Adama, who calls her everything from "Miss Roslin" to her face to "that schoolteacher" behind her back. It is only after he realizes that she's right - they lost - and after she keeps the secret that he really doesn't know where Earth is that he addresses her deliberately as "Madame President".
  • Also, at one point Baltar gets angry about being called "Doc"^note  "a dock is a platform for loading or unloading", and says that he should be addressed as "Doctor" or "Mr. Vice President".
  • Later, when Commander Adama (on Galactica) is on the wireless, speaking directly to Admiral Cain (on Pegasus), they each refer to themselves as "Galactica Actual" and "Pegasus Actual".
    • This is because they are identifying themselves as the CO of the ship as opposed to a subordinate radio operator. It occurs in modern radio protocol as well.
• A Running Gag on Bear in the Big Blue House was that Harry the duck would always refer to Bear as "Mr. Bear," despite Bear insisting "Oh, and Harry? It's just Bear."
• The Big Bang Theory
  Leonard: Call me Leonard, Dr. Hofstadter's my father. And my mother. And my sister. And our cat. Although, I'm pretty sure Dr. Boots Hofstadter's degree was honorary.
  • Dr. Gablehauser, head of the Physics Department, reverses this, deliberately calling attention to Howard's lack of a doctorate:
    Dr. Gablehauser: Dr. Hofstadter.
    Leonard: Dr. Gablehauser.
    Dr. Gablehauser: Dr. Cooper.
    Sheldon: Dr. Gablehauser.
    Dr. Gablehauser: Dr. Koothrappali.
    Raj: Dr. Gablehauser.
    Dr. Gablehauser: Mr. Wolowitz.
    Howard: [dejectedly] Dr. Gablehauser.
• Billions: U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades objects when a new employee addresses him as "dude." When the same employee later addresses him as "sir," an equally exasperated Chuck asks him to find a middle ground.
• Blackadder plays with this too. At one point, he and the prince he's serving must pretend to be each other. This exchange occurs, and eventually Blackadder's own servant is roped into the name confusion:
  Blackadder: You will, of course, have to call me "Your Highness", Your Highness.
  Prince George: [nods] "Your Highness Your Highness".
  Blackadder: No, just "Your Highness", Your Highness.
  Prince George: [looking pleased with himself] That's what I said — "Your Highness Your Highness", Your Highness Your Highness.
  [Later]
  Blackadder: If you would let the Duke in.
  Prince George: Certainly, Your Highness, Your Highness.
  Blackadder: And you'd better get out too, Baldrick.
  Baldrick: Yes, Your Highness, Your Highness.
  Blackadder: [To himself] God. If only they had a brain cell between them.
  • Blackadder goes forth also gives us Darling's Establishing Character Moment:
    Blackadder: I'm here now, Darling.
    Darling: That's CAPTAIN Darling to you!
• Boston Legal had a fun subversion of the common type of this.
  Nora (Alan Shore's secretary): Mrs. Schmidt...
  Shirley Schmidt: My mother is Mrs. Schmidt; you can call me... Schmidt.
• The Brady Bunch: Season 2's "Our Son, the Man" sees Greg greet Mike and Carol by their first names one morning. Mike immediately raises his eyebrows and corrects his son: "Calling your parents by their first name may be the in-thing these days, but around here, we are still 'Mom' and 'Dad'." Greg gets the hint.
• In Breaking Bad, Jesse consistently refers to Walt as "Mr. White", what with Walt being his old chemistry teacher. Later on, when Hank and Steve bring Mike in for questioning, Hank does a faux amicability act, asking "Michael? Mike?"; Mike, annoyed, informs him that it's '"Mr. Ehrmentraut".
• In the episode "Some Assembly Required" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the stock phrase is used as a joke, when Jenny Calendar tells Rupert Giles, "Please call me Jenny. 'Ms. Calendar' is my father."
• In the first episode of Season 4 of Castle Detective Beckett calls the new Captain "ma'am" leading to her responding: "My mother drops by, you can call her ma'am. Call me Sir or Captain.
• One of the many, many Running Gags that occurs in the Mexican sitcom El Chavo del ocho, usually with El Chavo referring to Profesor Jirafales^note In Spanish, it's spelled with one s. as "Maestro Longaniza" ("longaniza" is a kind of sausage).
  Prof. Jirafales: "I'm not a maestro, and my name isn't Longaniza! I'm a longaniza and my name is Maestro...I mean, I'm a maestro, and my name is Jirafales!"
  • Doña Clotilde (AKA: "The Witch from [Apartment] 71") sometimes did this:
    ¡"No es Señora, es Señorita!" (lit. "It's not Ms., it's Miss!")
• In Chernobyl, Legasov addresses Shcherbina as "Boris" in an effort to convince him not to fly their helicopter over the stricken power plant. Shcherbina immediately shouts not to call him Boris.^note In the initial script, Legasov addresses him as "Boris Yevdokimovich" (given name + his patronym), which is an acceptably polite form of address in Russian, but still not deferential enough.) As they begin working closely together and develop a mutual respect, they do shift to a First-Name Basis.
• Columbo:
  • Columbo has been known to do the "My first name is Lieutenant" version, as per the Running Gag that we never find out his first name.
  • In "Double Exposure", Columbo keeps referring to Dr. Keppler (the murderer) as 'Mr. Keppler', and being angrily corrected by Keppler. Knowing Columbo, this is almost certainly one of his tactics to keep the suspect off-balance.
• On Criminal Minds, Gideon always insisted on introducing Reid as "Dr. Reid," going so far as to correct his fellow agents when whoever was doing the introducing left out Reid's title. This was more of an issue in the early seasons, when Reid was twenty-four and looked fifteen; the use of "Dr." is to ensure that other law enforcement personnel take him seriously. Now that he's approaching thirty, the team seems to have relaxed about this a bit.
• Lady Heather in CSI has no formal claim to the title, but, as a professional dominatrix, nonetheless expects to be referred to as such by both her employees and her customers. The CSI team call her this as well, though Grissom eventually just calls her Heather after they've developed a personal, mutual level of respect with each other.
• CSI: NY: Used in reverse in the episode "Hammer Down". Hawkes and Flack interrogate a surgeon who gets organs on the black market (the latest one came from a young, healthy victim of human trafficking who was murdered for her liver). After Hawkes finishes lambasting the man for ignoring the Hippocratic Oath, Flack makes a point of addressing him as "Mister Fuller" rather than "Doctor Fuller", a distinction that Fuller is visibly dismayed by.
• In one of John Clarke and Brian Dawes' mock interviews on A Current Affair, where John was being Prince Charles:
  Brian: May I call you Charles?
  John: No. I think 'Your Royal Highness' is the phrase you're searching for.
• Degrassi: The Next Generation: Holly J. Sinclair says she should be called "Holly freakin' J."
• Doc Martin: Invoked in the show and referenced in the show's title. The villagers endearingly call him "Doc Martin" though he prefers "Doctor Ellingham". Also, his London name was "Mister Ellingham" (British surgeons are doctors, but they traditionally prefer "Mr.").
• The Doctor Blake Mysteries: In "Family Portrait", the new police surgeon dismissively refers to Alice as 'Miss Harvey' and then tells her patronizingly that if there is any investigative work to be done, he will do it. Alice's only reply is an icy "It's Doctor Harvey".
• Doctor Who:
  • Certain companions have tried to call the Doctor "Doc", but the Doctor will have none of it — especially the First Doctor. In "The Time Meddler" he instructs new companion Steven on this point:
    Steven: Say, this is quite a ship you've got here, Doc. Never seen anything like it.
    The Doctor: Now listen to me, young man. Sit down. Now, there are two things you can do. One, sit there until you get your breath back, and two, don't call me Doc! Now do I make myself clear?
    Steven: Yes, yes, whatever you say, Doc– tor!
  • "The Invasion of Time": Leela is quite insistent that she is Leela and not "madame".
  • During her time with the Doctor, Ace always calls him "Professor", despite his insistence that she call him "Doctor". When she calls him "Doctor", it's usually a case of O.O.C. Is Serious Business.
  • Harriet Jones made a Catchphrase out of giving her full political title every time she introduced herself, even if it was a re-introduction and often flashing her photo identification card at the same time. She continued to do this after she no longer held an office. It got to the point of being a Running Gag; even aliens didn't need the reminder in the end:
    Harriet Jones: Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister.
    Daleks: Yes, we know who you are.
  • "Tooth and Claw": "The correct form of address is Your Majesty!"
  • "The Waters of Mars": Captain Adelaide Brooke does not appreciate it when her Number Two, who she has some unexplained animosity with, calls her "boss" instead of "Captain".
  • The Eleventh Doctor combines this with Say My Name in "Victory of the Daleks", when he says his name and calls the Daleks by theirs when they're Obfuscating Stupidity. However, this is what causes the Daleks to drop their act and gain an advantage over the Doctor, as they are then able to create a newer and "purer" Dalek race.
  • "The Lodger": "People call me the Doctor. Don't know why. I call me the Doctor, too. Still don't know why."
• Downton Abbey: When Matthew Crawley and his mother Isobel are first introduced to the Crawleys of Downton, this exchange establishes the relationship between Isobel and the Dowager Countess:
  Robert: Mama, may I present Matthew Crawley and Mrs. Crawley; my mother, Lady Grantham.
  Isobel: [Holding out her hand to the Countess] What should we call each other?
  Countess: Well, we could always start with Mrs. Crawley and Lady Grantham.
• One Dragnet episode featured a perp who insisted on being addressed as "Mister Daniel Loomis" by absolutely everyone, including his own wife. This insistence stemmed from his Navy days; he was so galled that he was required to address everyone as "Mister", including those that he deemed intellectually inferior to himself, so after being discharged, he would insist on being called "Mister" by everyone, regardless of their familiarity with him. This led Friday to respond with this Schiff One-Liner:
  Friday: Where you're going, there are no "Misters" - just numbers.
• The Dropout: At a dinner for the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, Elizabeth Holmes bumps into Phyllis Gardner. Dr. Gardner tells Elizabeth that she knows about an upcoming Wall Street Journal article that will reveal the lies that Elizabeth has told about her company. She finishes by giving a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Elizabeth. Elizabeth tries to slip away with a lame "It was good to see you, Phyllis."
  Dr. Gardner: Don't call me Phyllis. I'm not Phyllis to you. I'm Dr. Gardner.
• In the TLC reality series Dr. Pimple Popper, the star is referred to in the credits and publicity material as Dr. Sandra Lee, and usually addressed as Dr. Lee. Justified because she's a dermatologist, and the show (actually a spinoff of her popular YouTube channel) focuses on her practice—and also to address a "Name's the Same" situation, because a different Sandra Lee is a personality on another Discovery Networks channel, Food Network. (Dr. Lee is Chinese American; the other Sandra Lee is white.)
• The titular character of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman often needs to remind people to call her "Dr." instead of "Miss", several of whom deliberately call her "Miss" in an effort to rankle her and demonstrate their lack of respect.
• The Drew Carey Show features an odd variant:
  Drew: My father is Mr. Carey. I'm Mrs. Carey.
• On The Dukes of Hazzard, when Tammy Wynette was performing at the Boar's Nest after being caught in Boss Hogg's Celebrity Speedtrap:
  Boss Hogg: I'll just tear up this here speeding ticket, Tammy.
  Tammy: You can call me "Miss Wynette".
• Earth☆Star Voyager: Many starship crewmembers have nicknames like "Beanie" Bienstock. Dr. Leland Eugene insists to be called "Dr. Eugene", partly due to his Embarrassing First Name.
• Family Matters: In a Season 1 episode, "Man's Best Friend", aired not long after Urkel became a regular part of the cast, Carl is annoyed that the irksome nerd refers to him by first name all the time. "Shouldn't you be calling me Mr. Winslow? Carl asks. Urkel replies, "That's what my parents, Herb and Diane, say!" Interestingly, Urkel seems to be on a first-name basis with just about all of his teachers, including Principal Shimata.
• Played for Laughs in Father Ted, as the housekeeper Mrs. Doyle is never referred to her first name:
  [An officer phones Ted]
  Officer: Do you know a Mrs. Doyle? First name: Mrs.— [the fire alarm is tested] —Doyle?
  Father Ted: Do I know a Mrs.— [plate smashes] —Doyle?
  • Not to forget the time Dougal wouldn't stop calling Bishop Leonard Brennan 'Len':
    Bishop Brennan: Did he call me Len again? You address me by my proper title, you little bollocks!
• In Fawlty Towers, some of the guests address Basil as "Fawlty", including the Major, Mr Hamilton in "Waldorf Salad", and Lord Melbury in "A Touch of Class". At first, Basil is fawning over Lord Melbury and does not mind at all, but when he has found out that Melbury is a con man, Basil says "Mr Fawlty to you, Lord Melbury.".
• Done both ways in Hell's Kitchen. In the restaurant itself, Gordon Ramsay is referred to as Chef Ramsay and addressed as chef. When he takes the challenge winner(s) on a reward outing, he's called Gordon.
• In the Horatio Hornblower movie, "The Wrong War", Hornblower greeted a newly arrived Army officer as "Major" Edrington. Edrington then told Hornblower that, as Edrington was of noble blood, the right form of address was 'My Lord'. At first, even though it was offhand, it seemed meant to identify Edrington as an annoying toff. But it comes off in a better light later, after Edrington turns out to be a Reasonable Authority Figure. In contrast to some of the other Lords running around France in the movie.
• In the Heat of the Night, naturally, does a riff on this in the series pilot. A white deputy, not realizing who Tibbs is, chastises him for entering a private area of the police station - "Boy! You ain't supposed to be in there!" Tibbs promptly sits him down, with all the force of Howard Rollins' Oscar-winning intensity:

  Tibbs: I want to like you people; and I want you people to like me. But there can be no liking without respect, and until there is that respect you. Will call me. Mister. Tibbs.

• JAG: In "Shadow", the villain Grover mandates that the naval personnel address him as either "Sir" or "Mr. Grover". He gleefully notices when Meg manages to do exactly that while making it sound as disrespectful as possible.
  • In the pilot, after they discover who the killer is, he refers to Lieutenant Pike as a bitch, shortly before he's placed under arrest.
    Lt. Pike: And it's "Lieutenant Pike". Not "bitch". ASSHOLE!
• In Jeeves and Wooster, a butler frets about his employer calling him by his first name, but he doesn't know how to correct him politely.
  • American audiences may not always catch the cultural background of this usage, even with the rise in popularity of Downton Abbey and its forerunner, the 2001 film Gosford Park. It was a custom that servants in high society British households had particular forms of address, depending upon their station. In their employer's house, butlers, valets and ladies' maids were addressed by their surnames without an honorific "Mr.", "Mrs." or "Miss"; when they traveled with their employer to another socialite's home, the staff in the home they were visiting referred to them by their employer's surname. House maids, footmen and kitchen staff were addressed by their first names. The housekeeper and the cook were addressed as "Mrs. X", whether they were married or not.
• Foundation (2021): Zephyr Halima, a Turbulent Priest who's the Emperor's most prominent political opponent, calls him by his first name to his face, even after his aide politely reminds her of the correct honorific.
• The Judge: This 1980s courtroom drama played it both ways, depending on the content. In one episode, Judge Franklin (the series' main protagonist) is being examined as a witness, a rare episode where he is not on the bench; he gives a minor slip when the presiding judge speaks, and in a friendly way the judge reminds him this is a formal court proceeding and that in this case, he is "your honor." They laugh about it, the mistake is never repeated again and things go on like normal. In a later episode, wherein a teenaged boy is seeking emancipation from his overbearing father, an Army colonel, the colonel is frustrated that the case is not going his way and — in addition to overstepping his authority — addresses Judge Franklin by his first name, Bob. Judge Franklin does not take too kindly to that, and after angrily reminding him that in the courtroom it is the judge who gives the orders, he is to be referred to as "Your Honor."
• Parodied in a Late Night with Conan O'Brien skit where Conan is partnered with economist and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in a cop show parody. Conan addresses Reich as "Former Secretary of State Robert Reich", while Reich addresses Conan as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien's Conan O'Brien".
• In an early episode of Law & Order Phillip Swann, a man who EADA Ben Stone put away for murder, gets a retrial. During the whole process, he needles Stone by calling him "Ben". Stone finally has enough after Swann's case falls apart:
  Stone: A lot of effort to wind up right back where you started. And in polite society, Sir, you don't call people by their first name unless they ask you to - I didn't do that. You're not a friend, and you're certainly not a colleague.
  • Ben Stone even inverts this trope, tending to use the abovementioned term "Sir" to address men who he has contempt for.
  • The Law & Order: UK episode based on this also inverts this trope when the man in question consistently refers to James Steele by his proper title rather than his first name in an effort to aggravate him by acting as though they're equals.
• In an episode of Law & Order: UK, the gangster Don Marsh expresses his contempt for the law by addressing DS Brooks by his first name. Brooks will have none of it, insisting:
  Brooks: That's "Detective Sergeant Brooks" to you.
  • Ronnie gets a similar moment on Matt's behalf when Dirty Cop Jimmy Valentine indicates similar contempt for him:
    Valentine: This boy of yours, Devlin—
    Brooks: DS Devlin, you mean? And he ain't my "boy".
  • In yet another scene, he and Matt interrogate another cop whom they suspect of being on the take. When she expresses reluctance about testifying against Valentine, he very pointedly refers to her by her "Detective Sergeant" title to remind her of her duty.
  • Phyllis Gladstone refers to Alesha as Jacob's assistant and insinuates that it's only a matter of time before she's sleeping with him. Alesha doesn't appreciate either implication:
    Gladstone: You'll fall for him eventually. All his assistants do.
    Alesha: When I see his "assistant", I'll be sure to warn her.
• Little House on the Prairie, in the later seasons when Laura was married and had taken over teaching the school. Any former classmates who had not yet graduated, including her own siblings, were expected to address her as Mrs. Wilder. "When we're at school, I'm your teacher. Not your sister."
• In the Lost episode "Dr. Linus", the flash-sideways version of Ben is a history teacher with a PhD. Whenever a character calls him "Mr. Linus", he grumbles, "It's Dr. Linus, actually." Sideways Alex seems to be the only one who addresses him properly.
• In Luke Cage, crime boss Cornell Stokes demands that his lackeys call him "Mister Stokes" while in his presence and hates being referred to by his street name of Cottonmouth. Not that this stops everyone else from calling him that.
• In an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou is introduced to a genial young congressman Mary is friends with. Lou has been ranting to Mary about how politicians are "professional charmers" these days and how when he walks in the guy would respond to "Nice to meet you, Congressman" with "Please, call me Brian." The congressman arrives a moment later.
  Mary: Brian, I'd like you to meet my boss and friend, Lou Grant. This is Congressman Brian Norquist.
  Brian: Mr. Grant.
  Lou: Call me Lou.
  Brian: Okay.
  Lou: I suppose you want me to call you Brian.
  Brian: (smiling) Well, as a matter of fact I kind of like the sound of 'Congressman', if you don't mind that. I worked so hard to get it.
  Mary: (grins smugly)
  Lou: (glares)
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: For all his warmth and friendliness, Mr. Rogers was still Mister Rogers to his young viewers. His grown-up neighbors freely called him "Fred", however.
• Mimpi Metropolitan: Melani is three years older than Bambang, Alan, and Prima so they call her with a honorific, "Mbak Melani". As they get closer with each other, Melani asks them to just call her "Melani".
• Monty Python's Flying Circus
  • Subverted in episode 21:
    Doctor: Next please. Name?
    Watson: Er, Watson.
    Doctor: [writing it down] Mr. Watson.
    Watson: Ah, no, Doctor.
    Doctor: Ah, Mr. Doctor.
    Watson: No, not Mr., Doctor.
    Doctor: Oh, Doctor Doctor.
    Watson: No, Doctor Watson.
    Doctor: Oh, Doctor Watson Doctor.
    Watson: Oh, just call me darling.
    Doctor: Hello, Mr. Darling.
    Watson: No, Doctor.
    Doctor: Hello Doctor Darling.
    (Referee whistle!)
    Caption: That sketch has been abandoned.
  • Enforced roughly by a police officer while comforting a widower, whose wife was just eaten by an alien blancmange.
    Officer: I think what's happened is terribly, terribly funny... tragic! You must understand we have to catch the creature that ate your wife, and if you could just help us answer a few questions, we may be able to save lives.
    Angus: Aye, I'll do my best, Sergeant.
    Officer: Detective Inspector!
  • There is a sketch in a courtroom where a judge is on trial. Since the judge is the defendant, this creates some confusion for the attorney doing the questioning, as he believes he must address both the defendant and the presiding judge as "M'Ld" (short for "My Lord"), leading to sentences like, "The prosecution intends to prove that M'Ld—not you, M'Ld, this M'Ld, M'Ld..." The defendant judge attempts to exploit this by saying, when asked to testify, "Insufficient evidence. Case dismissed," which he almost gets away with, but not quite.
• Murdoch Mysteries:
  • In "Murdoch in Ragtime", Leslie Garland uses Dr. Grace's first name the first time they're together in The Blind Pig. She calls him on it ("Awfully forward, Mr. Garland "), yet he does it again after her objection. Later, the courtship progresses, she doesn't mind his brashness so much and he tells her, "Call me Leslie."
  • In "The Murdoch Sting", Eva Pearce calls Detective Murdoch "William", then asks if he minds the familiarity. He does mind and addresses her as "Miss Pearce". Eva deliberately oversteps the boundary again to defy him.
• The second variant is parodied on an episode of My Name Is Earl:
  Earl: Excuse me, Mr. Covington-
  Mr. Covington: Mr. Covington was my father's name. You can call me "sir".
• Parodied in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring Space Mutiny:
  Dave Ryder: Listen, lady...!
  Lea: Doctor.
  Dave Ryder: Doctor.
  Crow T. Robot: Doctor Lady!
• Gibbs, of NCIS, says this whenever someone calls him "sir" as opposed to "boss". Lawyer M. Allison Hart made it a point to refer to Gibbs as "Mister" Gibbs throughout Season 7. It was a sign of respect when she finally called him 'Special Agent Gibbs' in the season finale.
  • A holdover from his days as an NCO (as opposed to an Officer). Officers are generally the ones addressed as "Sir".
    • Also of note is that he never corrects military members he is speaking to in an official capacity as they're supposed to address law enforcement agents, civilian or military, as "Sir".
• On NUMB3RS, strict college dean Dr. Mildred Finch insists on being called Millie. Played for irony, since at the same time as she stresses this informality, she's coming down hard on her subordinates in other areas.
• Odd Squad:
  • Oprah prefers to be called by her title of "Ms. O" by her agents, and will sharply correct an agent who calls her by her actual name, as demonstrated with Todd in "Training Day" and with the Mobile Unit in "Odd Together Now".
  Todd: I'm surprised you didn't see the pattern, Oprah.
  Oprah: It's Ms. O to you, young man!
  • Inversely, Odd Todd insisting he be called just that and not by "Todd" following his Face–Heel Turn is a Running Gag throughout Season 1.
  • Orchid in "Switch Your Partner Round and Round", when she talks to the blob she and Olive captured:
  Orchid: I'm not going anywhere, Blobby.
  Olive: Blobby?
  Orchid: It's Mr. Blobby to you, Sherman.
  • A parodied example occurs with Dr. Soup in "Olive and Otto in Shmumberland''.
  Olive: Move aside, Dr. Soup.
  Dr. Soup: That's Dr. Soup to you!
  Olive: Didn't I say "doctor"?
  Dr. Soup: Silence!
  • In "Crime at Shapely Manor", Otto accidentally bumps into General Pentagon and refers to him as "Mr. Pentagon", to which he replies that he didn't fight for five years in the Shape Wars just to be called Mr. Pentagon.
  • Mr. Unpredictable, from the episode of the same name, is insistent that he is called just that. However, as Simon Sixer calls him Mr. U, neither of them are friends with each other and Mr. Unpredictable refuses to have anything to do with the number 6.
  • In "H2 Oh No!", Seahorse Tanya urges Osmerelda and Omar to call her Tanya, which William Ocean scolds her for. It ends up being one of the things that drives her to defect from his side.

• On One Life to Live, a Jerkass character nastily refers to a doctor who has had his licensed revoked (thanks to the Jerkass lying through his teeth during a malpractice suit) as "Mr." in an effort to taunt him.
• Person of Interest:
  • Inverted and subverted. Inverted in that, Harold insistently calls everyone by Title/Honorific and Last Name, Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw, Detective Carter, Miss Groves, even though the latter insists that her name is Root.
  • Subverted in the sense that Harold would like to be referred to as Mr. Finch (this is how he first introduces himself to Reese in the Pilot) but no one does. Carter just calls him Finch, without the mister. Reese and Shaw vary between calling him Finch and Harold. Root pretty insistently calls him Harold, or sometimes Harry. Fusco calls him Glasses.
• Andrew Hartford deals with this in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive (and he's not helped by Cloud Cuckoolander Dax):
  Hartford: Dax, can you please call me Andrew? Every time you say "Mr. Hartford", I look for my father.
  Dax: Got it. You want us to think of you as someone young.
  Hartford: Ouch!
• The Professionals
  • In "Where the Jungle Ends", George Cowley gets stabbed, falls down a small cliff, and has a fuel tank explode in his face. When Doyle expresses concern as to Da Chief's well-being...
    Doyle: Cowley! Cowley, you okay?!
    Cowley: Yes, yes, I'm okay. (Death Glare) AND IT'S MISTER COWLEY!
    Doyle: (grinning) You are OK, aren't ya.
  • In "In the Public Interest", Chief Constable Green insists on a First-Name Basis with Cowley even though he's never met him before. Cowley lets it slide because he wants Green to let his guard down, but drops the façade once he has proof of Green's abuse of power.
    Cowley: Chives was a runaway truck, careering downhill. Running over the guilty and the innocent. A runaway truck. But you released the handbrake.
    Green: George!
    Cowley: The name is Cowley! Mister Cowley!
• In a sendoff scene in season 7 of Red Dwarf, Lister acknowledges a title for Rimmer, 'First Officer', as a way of fondly bidding him farewell. The Cat and Kryten acknowledge it too (although they think it's his funeral).
• Rumpole of the Bailey - Rumpole frequently inverts the second version with his clients, asking permission whether he can refer to them more formally, after he's been introduced to them by their first names.
• The second variant is parodied in a promo for The Sarah Silverman Program: An elementary school class greets Sarah as 'Mrs. Silverman', to which she responds, "Mrs. Silverman was my mother. She was a bitch."
• One opening Sketch from Saturday Night Live: Had Tom Hanks hosting for the fifth time (a big deal then) and being welcomed into the 'five timers club' by Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Elliott Gould. When Tom calls Paul "Mr. Simon", he does a Type B and says "Call me Paul", but with Steve Martin ...
  Tom Hanks: Thanks a lot, Mr. Martin.
  Steve Martin: Please, call me Mr. STEVE Martin.
• In Smallville, everyone around Clark's age call his mother "Mrs. Kent", although she sometimes asks the closer ones to just call her Martha.
  • A humorous one when Lois addressed Jor-El (who has always been addressed by that name, even by his son) as "Mr. El".
• Spitting Image:
  Iain Paisley: That's Reverend Paisley to you, Lord!
• Stargate SG-1
  • Does the first variant:
    O'Neill: Well, with all due respect, doctor, I-
    Carter: It is appropriate to refer to a person by their rank, not their salutation. You should call me Captain, not Doctor.^note This served as part of Carter's Establishing Character Moment, showing she was unwilling to be disrespected, even by superior officers. (O'Neill is a Lieutenant Colonel)
  • And in a later episode:
    Sen. Kinsey: Commander Thor, my name is—
    Thor: Senator Kinsey. O'Neill suggested I send you to a distant planet for your actions here, but I am reasonably certain his statement was in jest.
    Sen. Kinsey: [raises his finger] I'm sure it was, Commander—
    Thor: [raises his finger] Supreme Commander.
• Star Trek:
  • Star Trek: The Original Series:
    • The main characters play with this a lot, given their familiarity. Spock calls Kirk either "Jim" or "Captain" depending on the situation, just as Kirk calls him either "Mr." Spock or just "Spock". Dr. McCoy freely calls his friend "Jim" all the time; Kirk usually addresses the Doctor as "Bones". Similarly, even junior officers are permitted to call Lt. Cmdr. Scott simply "Scotty", and Kirk and McCoy both do so regularly. Ironically, Scotty himself always addresses his superiors by their title.
    • In "Mirror, Mirror", Scotty does address to the captain as "Jim", when Kirk offers to stay behind to operate the transporter after its automatic timer has been disabled. This was a rare case where Scotty was stressing his personal concern for the captain.
    • Inverted in "The City on the Edge of Forever" when Edith Keeler picks up on Spock's form of address:
      Spock: Interesting. Where would you estimate we belong, Miss Keeler?
      Edith Keeler: [to Spock] You? At his side, as if you've always been there and always will. [to Kirk] And you... you belong... in another place. I don't know where or how... I'll figure it out eventually.
      Spock: [to Kirk] I'll finish with the furnace.
      Edith Keeler: [to Kirk] "Captain." Even when he doesn't say it, he does.
    • A more specific example: in the episode "Whom Gods Destroy", Kirk keeps calling (the insane) former Captain Garth, "Captain Garth". Garth insists on "Lord Garth".
  • In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the captain almost invariably refers to his officers as "Number One," "Dr. Crusher," "Mr. Data," etc. And Beverly is the only one who can get away with calling him "Jean-Luc" on anything like a regular basis. A deleted scene from Star Trek: Nemesis references this fact, with Riker playing a prank on his replacement and telling him to drop the formal titles with Captain Picard. It gets him a Death Glare.
    • In the episode "Hide and Q", in which Riker gets Q powers, he starts addressing everyone, including Picard, by their first names as he becomes Drunk with Power. Picard calls him out on this.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has some fun with this. Dax calls Captain Sisko "Benjamin," sounding almost as if she were talking to a child. He calls her "Old Man", which is exactly what she was when they first met.^Explanation Trills that carry symbionts can recall the lives and memories of previous hosts; therefore, while Jadzia the host is younger than Sisko, the Dax symbiont has lived for over a century (a previous host had personally met Dr. McCoy). When Sisko first met Dax, a well-experienced old man named Curzon was its host.
    • Gets turned on its head in the episode "Invasive Procedures", when the Dax symbiote is stolen by another Trill. When the newly made Verad Dax makes it clear that he's willing to leave Jadzia to die, Sisko makes it very clear that Verad, at least, is not allowed to call him "Benjamin" (subverting You Wouldn't Shoot Me in the process).
    • He also makes it clear that (for the first three-and-a-half seasons, at least) he doesn't like being called "Emissary". When Vedek Winn addresses him as such, he tells her that he'd prefer his rank or his first name.
  • In the pilot for Star Trek: Voyager, Ensign Kim calls Captain Janeway "sir" as per Starfleet protocols regarding addressing a superior officer regardless of gender. Janeway replies that she isn't comfortable being addressed as "sir", adding, "'Ma'am' will do in a crunch, otherwise I prefer 'Captain'." Later, when they're preparing to depart Kim calls her "Ma'am" and she answers, "It's not crunch time yet, Mr. Kim. I'll let you know when."
    • On the other hand, Lt. Paris gets away with calling her Ma'am all the time. But then, considering how subversive he is, she's probably just glad he's using any kind of formal address.
    • As they develop more of a rapport with each other, Chakotay starts calling her Kathryn, and even on some occasions even Kathy.
    • Neelix generally refers to crewmembers by their title, even the ones he's reasonably friendly with. The only exception is Tuvok, whom he likes to call "Mr. Vulcan". It clearly annoys the hell out of Tuvok, even through his emotionless mask.
  • In Star Trek: Enterprise, even "Trip" Tucker calls his best buddy "Captain" Archer (or, as he pronounces it, "Cap'n"). Archer himself almost always addresses the crew by first name (or nickname, in Trip's case).
  • In Star Trek: Discovery, Captain Pike's XO on the Enterprise isn't keen on sharing her actual name and insists on being called "Number One".
• In the Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologue "A Lady of Letters", Irene Ruddock does not like her social worker calling her Irene:
  I never said she could call me Irene. I don't want to be called Irene. I want to be called Miss Ruddock. I’m not Irene. I haven't been Irene since Mother died. But they all call me Irene, her, the police, everybody. They think they’re being nice, only it's just a nice way of being nasty.
• Trailer Park Boys: Randy always refers to Jim Lahey as "Mr. Lahey" despite being in an intimate relationship with him for years.
• Welcome Back, Kotter: The Season 2 episode, "Sweathog, Nebraska Style," saw Gabe's teenaged sister-in-law, Jenny, stay with the Kotters, and she temporarily joins the Sweathogs. In class, Jenny is being obnoxious and calls Gabe by his first name when he tries to call the class to attention. He immediately reprimands her: "In class, I am Mr. Kotter." Nothing more is said of it.
• The West Wing did it in a Flashback, where a young Bartlet calls Mrs. Landingham, who was then his father's secretary, "Delores". She replies cheerfully, "Call me Mrs. Landingham, please." Later, when he's the President of the United States and she is his secretary, he still calls her Mrs. Landingham.
  • Abby Bartlet, a well-regarded surgeon, has her own moment like this in season two when Sam refers to her as "Mrs. Bartlet". As her medical practices are being called into question, she insists that everyone refer to her as "Dr. Bartlet". She rather ruefully notes that it's her own fault, though; during the campaign she had asked to be called "Mrs." to downplay her own accomplishments because voters were more comfortable with a wife who was not quite her husband's equal.
  • President Bartlet often has this done for him by his staff - whenever someone calls him "Bartlet", they interject "It's President Bartlet". Jed also has a moment like that in the first season: when a retiring Supreme Court Justice he doesn't like calls him "Mr. Bartlet", he replies "It's 'Dr. Bartlet'." (Because he has a doctorate in economics, that is.)
  • The second version also appears in the fifth season when Bob Russell is introduced. President Bartlet calls him "Robert Russell", and Russell replies "Bob - Robert Russell is my father."
  • There's also a particularly poignant moment in the first season where Bartlet has to determine whether he'll give clemency to a man on death row. After calling in an old priest friend for guidance, the priest asks him whether to call him Jed or Mr. President. He insists on Mr. President, and then explains that, by being called the President, he's acting in the official capacity, whereas if he were called Jed, then the decisions he makes would be by a man, not by an office.
    • The moment becomes even more powerful when, after learning the man has been killed, the priest turns to the President and says "Jed, would you like me to take your confession?"
    • Similarly, to Leo, "That's the first time you've called me 'Jed' since the election."
  • And then there's this exchange between Toby and the British Ambassador:
    Toby: I think we have to be careful how we use the word terrorist. Can I call you John?
    Lord Marbury: I am John, Lord Marbury, Earl of Croix, Marquis of Needham and Dolby, Baronet of Brixton, England's ambassador to the United States. A terrorist is a terrorist even if he wears a green necktie and sings 'Danny Boy'. Yes, you can call me John.
  • Marbury actually gets two. From his introductory episode:
    Leo: Sir.
    Lord Marbury: It's "Your Lordship", as a matter of fact, but it couldn't possibly make the least difference.
  • Leo insists on respectful naming even when Bartlet isn't in the room:
    Vice-President Hoynes: Leo, I have had it up to here with you and your pal! I got shoved into a broom closet—
    Leo: Excuse me! Me and my "pal"?
    Vice-President Hoynes: Yes.
    Leo: You are referring to President Bartlet?
    Vice-President Hoynes: Yes.
    Leo: Refer to him that way!
  • Interestingly, Sidney Poitier was Aaron Sorkin's first choice for Bartlet. Sadly, we missed the opportunity to hear "They call me Mister President."
• Comes up a lot in Yes, Minister, particularly at the start when Hacker is not yet used to the obsequious and perfectionist politeness of the Civil Service. Bernard steadfastly refuses to call him anythign other than 'Minister'.
  • On another occasion, Dorothy floats the idea of forcing civil servants to choose between honours or cash rewards for extended service. She snidely suggests that if it goes through, they might have to start addressing Sir Humphrey as Mr. Appleby.
• On an episode of You Can't Do That on Television, Jeff tells Christine that he is supposed to address the director as "Uncle Ross" because he's Ross's nephew. Christine encourages Jeff to just address him informally as Ross. When Ross hears Jeff simply calling him Ross on a familiar basis instead of Uncle Ross, he gets mad and invokes the "Say uncle" line, reminding Jeff that his mother would kill Ross if she heard Jeff talking so disrespectfully.
  • In real life, some families are more formal with established etiquette due to the way they were brought up, reminding children that it's rude to speak about or address an aunt or uncle on a casual first-name basis without the family title; e.g. "Hello, John" instead of "Hello, Uncle John", or "Hi, Jane" instead of "Hi, Aunt Jane". Rare exceptions to the case may involve "This is John, my uncle" or "This is Jane, my aunt" when the aunt or uncle meets with an unfamiliar adult for the first time.

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