In the 50s you had the Kramdens and the Nortons. The 60s had the Cleavers and the Petries. The 70s had the Bunkers and the Bradys. However, lately, there has been a tendency towards shows in which the characters are known only by their first names. I thought of this subject while watching “Everybody Hates Chris” on Nickelodeon. While the series is a fictionalized autobiography of Chris Rock attending an all-white school in Brooklyn, no one in the family is ever addressed as “Rock.” In fact, even when Chris ran for class president, they didn’t use his last name. He was addressed only as “Chris.”
In “According to Jim,” Jim’s family name was never revealed, either. Everyone was called Jim, Cheryl, Ruby, Gracie, and Kyle, as if those first names were unique and no other identifier was needed.
I’d like to count “Malcolm in the Middle.” There are sources that indicate Malcom’s last name was Wilkerson, particularly a scene in which the name can be seen on Francis’ school uniform. And in the series finale, Francis drops his employee badge on the ground, and it clearly says, “Francis Wilkerson.” But no one on the show is addressed verbally as Hal, or Lois, or Malcolm Wilkerson. There was a joke in the pilot script in which a neighborhood kid came running up shouting, “Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm. I was talking to my parents last night - I was listening to them talk, and what’s your last name?” “Wilkerson, why?” Malcolm replied. “Oh. Who are the Pariahs?” But it was cut from the pilot and never filmed.
Most of the time I don’t notice these things, but occasionally there are scenes (such as Chris’ school election,) which take you out of the moment. What other shows can Dopers come up with in which characters have no last name that becomes noticeable when one should be called for?
To be fair, Data didn’t have one. His creator didn’t name him Data Soong. Nor did he give Lore or B4 any additional names. I was referring to characters who could reasonably exist and would be expected to have a last name, but it was never spoken.
In the world of anime, the (arguable) protagonist in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has no first or last name: he’s just known by his nickname Kyon.
Officially, according to the series creators, he didn’t. And it was never spoken. But on Columbo’s I.D. card, the signature appears to read “Frank Columbo.”
According to Star Fleet records, Data is his last name. I don’t have a screen shot to back me up, but there’s a personnel record for Data which plainly shows he is “Data, NFN NMN.”
In “Pushing Daisies”, the last name of Ned (the main character) is never revealed. The narrator refers to him as “the Piemaker”. Ned’s parents both appear (at least in flashbacks), but neither of them are ever given a first name, either. Ned has two half-brothers (from his father’s second marriage); both of them have first names (Maurice and Ralston), but, again, no last name.
Gilligan only had one name in all of the episodes, but I once heard an interview with Sherwood Schwartz, who said that he envisioned the character’s full name as “Willie Gilligan.”
Of course, we all know the Professor’s and Skipper’s full names, so I won’t insult anyone by going into those.
None of which addresses the OP about families, though, so why don’t I just STFU already? …TRM
Yeah, that’s kind of the direction I’d like this thread to go in. We all knew the Kramdens, the Bunkers, the Cleavers. But what about other shows like Malcolm, Jim, and Everybody Hates Chris? They can be dramas or comedies, but which shows feature families which don’t mention their last name?
Sherwood Schwartz did name Gilligan “Willy Gilligan” in the treatment, but Bob Denver used to argue with him that Gilligan was actually Gilligan’s name–like his given name. Weird.
But was Carlton his first or last name? I know real people with the first name of Carlton and real people with the last name Carlton
Benson on Soap had only one name. I always assumed Benson was his last name as that is how butlers are usually addressed. Of course after the character Benson was spun off onto his own show, they had to decide and they made Benson his first name and gave him a last name of Dubois
…TRM
