Rename: The Real Remington Steele

Looking at The Real Remington Steele's title, I do not really know how one is supposed to figure out the trope itself. According to its laconic page the trope is "[t]he false alias a character creates turns out to be a real person," but while I can kind of guess something about a false alias from the "real" part of the title, I do not think it really is clear enough. By looking at the title and description alone, I think the name is too work dependent and might be confused with the TV show Remington Steele.

Also, the TV show's trope page says that "[t]he trope The Real Remington Steele, while not occurring in the show, takes its name from it," which I think makes the name even more confusing.

The usage does not look awful to me, but I do not know that it is really great either

I am not totally sure about this though since I am unfamiliar with Remington Steele. I guess this might be a preexisting term or something. That is why I want to know what other people think.

edited 10th May '11 9:36:08 AM by LouieW

"irhgT nm0w tehre might b ea lotof th1nmgs i dont udarstannd, ubt oim ujst goinjg to keepfollowing this pazth i belieove iN !!!!!1 d

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Steele

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"Laura Holt (played by Stephanie Zimbalist) was a licensed private detective who first opened an agency under her own name, but found that potential clients refused to hire a woman, however qualified. Business picks up dramatically when she invents a fictitious male superior whom she names Remington Steele.

"In the first episode ("License to Steele"), she encounters a Humphrey Bogart-loving thief (played by Pierce Brosnan) who overhears someone calling for "Remington Steele" and, in order to escape a pair of murderous thugs, impulsively assumes Remington Steele's identity. By the end of the episode, he chooses to make the alias permanent and assumes the role of Laura's "boss", an arrangement Laura tacitly accepts owing to the need to validate her backstory that she had earlier provided for her agency."

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edited 10th May '11 12:01:11 PM by Stratadrake

An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.

So it depends on a show and it's misleading because I thought it was just going to be a copy of the show's situation.

I wager it's got bad examples and misuse, too.

An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.

So it's NOT about someone creating a fictional person, then having (or encountering) someone else who steps into the role and pretends to be the still-fictional person?

Sheesh, based on the name, I thought that's what it meant...

ETA: Yes, I see how the word "real" is supposed to clarify, because there was no "real" Remington Steele on the show, but you could just as equally say that "Harry Chalmers" (for lack of a real name) was representing himself to be the "real" Steele, so he counts...

edited 10th May '11 5:21:13 PM by Leaper

How is this related to The Earnest?

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Given that I do not seem to be alone in wanting a rename, I made a single proposition rename crowner here to help organize things.

shimaspawn, I guess the connection is that a person is using a fake alias as if it were a real person. I think there also may be an aspect of the disguise taking on a life of its own as well.

edited 10th May '11 5:33:20 PM by LouieW

"irhgT nm0w tehre might b ea lotof th1nmgs i dont udarstannd, ubt oim ujst goinjg to keepfollowing this pazth i belieove iN !!!!!1 d

^ I think this when the identity of The Ernest is assumed by someone else. (So, to use The Earnest's trope namer, in The Importance Of Being Earnest, Ernest Worthington starts out as The Ernest but then becomes The Real Remington Steele when Algernon adopts the identity, and then becomes this trope again when it is revealed that Jack is actually Earnest himself.

Edit: The Real Remington Steele doesn't require The Ernest, just a Secret Identity or Alter Ego. But if the two tropes are going to intersect, this is how it goes.

edited 10th May '11 5:40:21 PM by StarryEyed

Thanks for the clarification.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

I think some of the examples are bad. Take the mention of Mad-Eye Moody from Harry Potter 4: It's really a Death Eater impersonating Moody, but the audience doesn't learn that until the climax. Isn't impersonation a different trope entirely? It's not like Barty Jr. was fabricating his cover out of whole cloth....

An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.

Yeah, that's not this trope. Moody was just locked up in a trunk. Crouch is just a run of the mill imposter.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Bump. Are there any suggestions for a new name?

No consensus to rename. Locking thread.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick