# Pfft! The History Channel. I was on CSI: Miami! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563 "2009-12-17T00:35:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/1 "2009-12-17T00:35:18Z")
So the other night I had the TV on. I’m not paying attention to it because I’m too busy surfing the net. All the sudden, I hear a voice from the TV say my full name (both first and last). My attention immediately goes from my computer to the TV. Despite being somewhat of a shady character, I wasn’t a suspect in a murder case that was being investigated. I did however, have some vital information on the case which prompted the head detective guy to give me a visit. Of course, being the shady character that I am, I didn’t just give this information to him willingly. But alas, I finally had to capitulate to that A-hole detective guy’s demands or else he’d bust my ass on some trumped up charge. Bastard!! Oh, and for some reason, on camera, I appear to be black. (Seriously tho’. That was weird hearing my full name being used on a TV show.) ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/2 "2009-12-17T00:42:21Z")
Feet back and spread 'em. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/3 "2009-12-17T00:48:29Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Oh, and for some reason, on camera, I appear to be black. > (Seriously tho’. That was weird hearing my full name being used on a TV show.) Or it could be in real life you look really pale? How strange it would be, to me, seems to vary by the name. I knew a Phil and Bill Fish; between Barney Miller and Deep Sea Fishing Masters they got pretty used to it. Now, if I had a name like Abercrombie Faphuffnik and heard THAT on TV, I would be really creeped out. (Once, a few years back, I found a book had been written in my old home town using my last name for the lead character. It’s an odd enough name that I read the book with the number of a good attorney handy. Didn’t matter - the booked sucked so bad I didn’t have the heart to complain or call any of the cousins.) ---
**Author:** ![Polly\_Glot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@Polly\_Glot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polly_Glot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/4 "2009-12-17T01:00:30Z")
So the names AREN’T changed to protect the innocent. Hmmm…!!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/5 "2009-12-17T01:02:21Z")
One of my good friends just recently announced he found a new girlfriend. I congratulated him then asked him what her name was. Lauren Green. I think I actually did a spit-take. Sure, it’s spelled differently, but tell my ears that. Then all the Battlestar Galactica jokes started (with no sign of them ever ending). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/6 "2009-12-17T01:28:16Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > One of my good friends just recently announced he found a new girlfriend. I congratulated him then asked him what her name was. > > Lauren Green. > > I think I actually did a spit-take. Sure, it’s spelled differently, but tell my ears that. > > Then all the Battlestar Galactica jokes started (with no sign of them ever ending). When and if those get old, be sure to start the Bonanza jokes. 🆒 though the words don’t really sound much alike in the South ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/7 "2009-12-17T02:28:21Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > When and if those get old, be sure to start the Bonanza jokes. > 🆒 > > though the words don’t really sound much alike in the South And when that gets old, the Alpo dog food commercial jokes! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/8 "2009-12-17T04:36:24Z")
Congratulations. Inever hear my own name, but a friend of mine had his name being the same as the hero of a cheesy 1950s monster flick. Naturally, I showed that at one of my Bad Film Festivals he attended. Be sure to record the show so you can return and savor your Moment of Immortality. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/9 "2009-12-17T05:08:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Congratulations. > > Inever hear my own name, but a friend of mine had his name being the same as the hero of a cheesy 1950s monster flick. Naturally, I showed that at one of my Bad Film Festivals he attended. > > Be sure to record the show so you can return and savor your Moment of Immortality. Heh, I was hoping you’d be along. I was worried somebody might not get the obligatory reference. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/10 "2009-12-17T05:33:35Z")
I have a really unusual last name. I mean really really unusual last name. So you can imagine how blown away I was when a Robert Duvall film I was watching years ago featured a character with that same last name! Different spelling, but sounds the same. I couldn’t believe it. My first name is pretty unusual too (I can never find any of those mugs or keychains with my name), so I’m confident there’ll never be a show that uses my first and last name unless it’s actually _about_ me. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/11 "2009-12-17T05:51:37Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > When and if those get old, be sure to start the Bonanza jokes. > 🆒 > > though the words don’t really sound much alike in the South It’s like you read my mind. 🆒 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/12 "2009-12-17T07:11:48Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > When and if those get old, be sure to start the Bonanza jokes. > 🆒 > > though the words don’t really sound much alike in the South The South? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/13 "2009-12-17T07:35:30Z")
Well, that’s the end of that chapter. _swishes scarf over shoulder_ ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/14 "2009-12-17T07:50:30Z")
> [@Polly\_Glot](#): > > So the names AREN’T changed to protect the innocent. Hmmm…!!! 🙂 Well, it was protecting the innocent vs exposing the guilty . . . \ ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/15 "2009-12-17T18:27:45Z")
I once read the back cover of a science fiction book. “[MyFirstName MyLastName] was the most decorated agent in the history of the Time Patrol.” Apparently I have quite a future lined up for myself. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/16 "2009-12-17T18:36:09Z")
That’s nothing. one SF writer once wrote an entire science fiction novel about aliens called by my last name invading the earth. I posted copies of the hardcover and later the softcover version on my door. _The (CalMeacham) Are Among Us_ – “The (CalMeacham) are wily, devious, and perfectly terrible looking…It didn’t help that every one looked like a (CalMeacham).” One day I hope to get even with him by writing _The (SFwriter) are Among Us_. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/17 "2009-12-17T18:48:05Z")
I don’t watch the show, but a few years back I was informed by a cow-orker that CSI:Miami (or something of that genre, still don’t watch whatever show it was) had me as a suspect too! (For those with Rainman-like ability to remember one-off characters in overrated TV shows, maybe they can provide more detail, [IMdB search](http://www.imdb.com/find?s=ch&q=david+kendall) yields nothing) Is CSI rounding up Dopers for something? Are they monitoring the SDMB? Should I start worrying? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/18 "2009-12-17T19:28:51Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I have a really unusual last name. I mean really really unusual last name. > > So you can imagine how blown away I was when a Robert Duvall film I was watching years ago featured a character with that same last name! Different spelling, but sounds the same. I couldn’t believe it. > > My first name is pretty unusual too (I can never find any of those mugs or keychains with my name), so I’m confident there’ll never be a show that uses my first and last name unless it’s actually _about_ me. This is a slight drift but - Isn’t there an actual Rambo on the Vietnam Memorial? I seem to recall some small flap from family members over the name when First Blood came out. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/19 "2009-12-17T19:38:32Z")
Years ago, I was in a letter writing club and I was matched up with a sci fi writer who so liked my unusual first name, she asked permission to use it for her main character. She was unpublished and I didn’t think much of it, until a few years later when I got a copy of the book signed by her. Again, I didn’t think much of it, but I started playing WoW and was making a new toon and decided to use my first name. Then some guy starts whispering me and asking me if I was a big fan of [sci fi writer] cause his gf was and had all her books. A quick search of WoW showed that my first name was being used in several different servers already! So weird. All my life, it was my name. Never met anyone else with it. Now I have to share it with everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563/20 "2009-12-17T20:05:44Z")
My last name isn’t common like Smith or Jones, but it’s uncommon enough that I usually do a double-take when I hear it. One of the characters on _South Park_ shares my name, and there’s also a drama that ran in recent years where the star had the same last name as me. Back in the mid '80s, though, there was a short-lived series where one of the leads had my first name as well. My first name is very common, but it was still weird. As for the person-with-a-famous-name angle, at the restaurant I used to run I had a young lady work for me for a few years named Lauren Holley. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pfft-the-history-channel-i-was-on-csi-miami/521563.md?page=2)