mini-flail: middle names
i know what both of these people's middle names are // sparklies.org, photographer unknown
Learning the middle names of beloved television characters is something that I strangely flail about. It often gives a fun, new insight into the character’s background–like how did child of the ’70s Pamela Morgan Beesly (The Office) get a first name that peaked in the ’50s and a middle name that didn’t peak until the ’90s? As Bones delves more into Booth’s backstory, should we speculate on the origin of the middle name Joseph? Perhaps we’ll eventually meet his abusive dad, Joe.
Going back through the archives, we have Sydney Anne Bristow (Alias) and Katherine Anne Austen (Lost), two Jabrams-crafted leading ladies who share a middle name. I like the fact that they share a middle name, as it draws a distinct, if coincidental, parallel between the two characters.
On Grey’s Anatomy, we know Derek’s middle name is Christopher, Izzie’s is Katherine, Alex’s is Michael, and Lexie’s full name is Alexandra Caroline Grey. Not too much creativity going over there, except in the case of one Addison Forbes Montgomery, where the writers did an excellent job of conveying a whole lot about that character merely by stating her full name.
There’s a certain level of familiarity that comes with knowing a character’s full name–and with knowing details about their siblings. So… [cut for semi-spoilers for this week's The Office]Part of me is just excited to get a whole lot of new Beesly-Halpert information this Thursday. We’ve already met Jim’s brothers and Pam’s dad–and learned about Jim’s parents’ terrible taste in clown art–but we’re due to meet Pam’s sister, Penny, various asundry cousins and friends, and, God willing, the elusive Larissa Halpert, referred to once as Jim’s emergency contact and never mentioned again.
Although we’ve been familiar with Pam’s spectacularly anachronistic middle name since season four (maybe Morgan is a family name?), we just learned via OfficeTally that Jim’s middle name is Duncan, which is way awkward and silly-sounding. I chuckle at the front of that program.
And seriously, let’s pray that the awkward baby-naming genes stop here, because I don’t want this baby ending up with any name (first or middle) that’s anything less than adorable.
