Smile (Grade & Discussion Thread)

[Paul Weaver]

No, but plenty call him Jim.

His friends do, he's well known as Jim, and he's happy to be Jim

I work with two Peters. One tolerates it when people call him "Pete", but doesn't like it, and certainly does not accept it in written communication. The other is fine with "Pete".

So far all we've seen is people call her Bill. Billie is not her name, neither is Stacey, Bell, Her or Jane

 

[Tallguy]

I have been of the opinion for a while now that giving the Doctor a fair degree of mastery over the TARDIS has broken the show to a degree.

It was insulation against a lot of the timey wimey shenanigans, for one thing.

 

[The Wormhole]

So far all we've seen is people call her Bill. Billie is not her name,

And what if a future episode does indeed reveal that Billie is her name but she prefers Bill? Honestly this seems as silly as complaining over someone calling Amy Amelia.

 

[DimesDan]

I prefer to be called Dan, but I do go by Daniel (it's on my Birth Cert, Passport and other official documents and my work email and the like) but I hate being referred to as Danny. My father-in-Law who is a GP is officially John, but has always gone by Johny.

 

[Paul Weaver]

And what if a future episode does indeed reveal that Billie is her name but she prefers Bill? Honestly this seems as silly as complaining over someone calling Amy Amelia.

Just call her by her name, it's not rocket science. Her name is Bill.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Maybe growing up, her favourite TV show was The Bill?

 

[Professor Zoom]

And what if a future episode does indeed reveal that Billie is her name but she prefers Bill? Honestly this seems as silly as complaining over someone calling Amy Amelia.

Why would that matter? Clearly the character wants to be called Bill.

If you knew someone who ntroduced themselves as Sam all the time, but then then you found out their name was Samuel, would you start calling them Samuel?

I do wonder though: are people wanting to call her Billie because people are uncomfortable with a woman using a males name?

 

[Mr Soak]

Would they also have problems with Terry Farrell and Sean Young?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I do wonder though: are people wanting to call her Billie because people are uncomfortable with a woman using a males name?

It's suspicious alight. In any case, it's past the point of tedious. The character's name is Bill.

 

[tenmei]

You could refer to 'Matt Smith' as 'Matty Smith'. It wouldn't be right.

His name is actually Matthew, though - so you're already using an abbreviation of the name in this instance.

It's rare someone goes by a diminutive form of a name through adult life, but it happens. I know a Billy who is in his 70s.
Sometimes it gets funny. My dad's name was Dave (not David). He would have family or others sometimes call him Davey. They actually lengthened his name.

In the case of Bill.... For a man Bill is already a diminutive or shortened form of William. Will be interesting if we ever discover if Bill is her full name or if the character is really Willa, Willemina, Willamette, Wilma or Wilhelmina.

Or Belinda - which is the name of the character in 2point4 Children that someone mentioned earlier.

Regarding names - my mother and sister use their middle names (to avoid a common family first name that's been used for four generations) and my paternal grandparents use their middle names too. I've got family members in their twenties and thirties who use Ed, Will and Johnny instead of Edward, William and Jonothan.

 

[Starkers]

I like Bill, it suits her. Whether its the name she was given, is short for Billie or Wilhelmina, or is just some kind of childhood nickname that stuck does it really matter? I mean I'm curious but not that curious

 

[Guy Gardener]

What about Cybil?

 

[Starkers]

Good call!

 

[Pindar]

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[The Wormhole]

Would they also have problems with Terry Farrell and Sean Young?

Honestly, even though Terry is a unisex name, I've actually met more women named Terry (or Terri) then men.

 

[Professor Zoom]

His name is actually Matthew, though - so you're already using an abbreviation of the name in this instance.

The important part: that's how he wants to be called. He wants to be called Matt. If he wanted to be called Matthew then that's what he would ask to be called.

 

[Tallguy]

(I can't believe I'm still in this discussion.) Billy Campbell (The Outrageous Rocketeer) started being credited as William Campbell, then Bill, and now Billy.

 

[Photoman15]

This athlete used to insist on being called Bruce, now he insists on being called Caitlin.

 

[Mr Awe]

I have been of the opinion for a while now that giving the Doctor a fair degree of mastery over the TARDIS has broken the show to a degree.

It was insulation against a lot of the timey wimey shenanigans, for one thing.

I'd agree with that. It also prevented the whole part-time companion thing, which I dislike. In the classic series, I think only Tegan was dropped off and then picked up again. Even that wasn't planned by the Doctor.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

This might be the arc this Season.
The Doctor wasn't supposed to go off world.
He figured he could be back before he left.
Now he can't but he has too.
Something keeps him away from that vault, and they have to figure out who?