Nominal Importance: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Jason:''' You're not gonna die on the planet, Guy.

'''[[Plucky Comic Relief|Guy:]]''' [[Genre Savvy|I'm not? Then what's my last name?]] ... Nobody knows! Do you know why? [[Wrong Genre Savvy|Because my character isn't important enough for a last name!]] [[Red Shirt|Because I'm gonna die five minutes in!]]~~|''[[Galaxy Quest]]''}}~~

'''[[Plucky Comic Relief|Guy:]]''' [[Genre Savvy|I'm not? Then what's my last name?]] ... Nobody knows! Do you know why? [[Wrong Genre Savvy|Because my character isn't important enough for a last name!]] [[Red Shirt|Because I'm gonna die five minutes in!]]

|''[[Galaxy Quest]]''}}

''Only people that are relevant to the plot or a [[Sidequest]] will be blessed with names. Everyone else will be [[Nameless Narrative|nameless]] or be referred to with [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|generic or descriptive titles]].''

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* ''[[Burn Notice]]'' abuses this like crazy, though not the way you'd think. Most anyone with a line is given a name of some sort, generally because they're relevant to the plot of the episode. However, the show will occasionally bring back old characters as main characters.

* Somewhat subverted in ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' in which almost all major and minor characters have first and last names that may be known by greater fans of the show. However, given that the large arcs of the show tended to included a large number of characters, this may not be surprising.

* Played around with in the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica ~~Reimagined~~]]''. Lots of one-shot characters without much importance have names, but (more importantly) several characters—most notably Diana Seelix—were promoted from near-extras to significant recurring characters simply because someone on the cast (usually Aaron Douglas) gave them names and the writers decided to [[Throw It In]].

* Played around with in the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''. Lots of one-shot characters without much importance have names, but (more importantly) several characters—most notably Diana Seelix—were promoted from near-extras to significant recurring characters simply because someone on the cast (usually Aaron Douglas) gave them names and the writers decided to [[Throw It In]].

* Played around with in ''[[Star Trek]]''. Many unimportant characters, even the [[Red Shirts]], are given names, while sometimes the [[Monster of the Week]] will kill unnamed ensigns and lieutenants throughout the ship or on the planet.

** Although, even when red shirts were given names, they were rarely given both first and last names.