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Post by foreign object on Mar 6, 2016 10:24:31 GMT -5
S.I. (prononced cy) standing for Superficial Intelligence Borglum
S.I. Borglum
and because it's one of my favorite words in the English language, and the setting I use on a certain appliance pertaining to...
TOAST 7
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Post by foreign object on Mar 10, 2016 17:52:54 GMT -5
Mervin the Celluloid Android
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Post by crispyglennmanning on Mar 15, 2016 16:08:32 GMT -5
Quackser Fortune.
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Mar 24, 2016 13:13:24 GMT -5
Lotsa nice entries here, guys. One week to go in the month, so if you've got any more names for the bot, now's the time to get 'em in!
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euphoriafish
Nanite
YESSSS NO LONGER AN ANTEATER AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! :D
Posts: 41
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Post by euphoriafish on Mar 25, 2016 15:48:38 GMT -5
Hmm. It's gonna fly. I can only imagine the awesome particle generator graphics and space lasers it dreams of having.
Orbitalia! Aurora Hyperion! Zephyra Morganite!
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Post by daddyo on Mar 28, 2016 15:23:13 GMT -5
MC Pogostick
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Mar 31, 2016 9:39:44 GMT -5
One more day, and then I'll close up entries and release my picks for winner from these names. Ahh, it won't be long now before I'll finally have something to call that robot...
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 1, 2016 20:05:48 GMT -5
And... time! No more entries, time for me to tabulate the results.
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 1, 2016 23:35:13 GMT -5
Okay, I almost bit off more than I could chew with this contest... ALMOST! We had 20 names from 12-ish unique entrants (I'm really worried that I'll miscount something here), and all of them either made me chuckle, reminded me of things I really like, or provoked moments of contemplation. And that's just from this board! As I mentioned before, I looked to some other places on the Internet (mainly the revival league's Facebook group and the Kickstarter page's comments section) to see if anyone was willing to run for an official honorable mention entry from those other websites. All together, we had 75 to 78 names suggested (depending on how you count some of the entries) from forty-one-ish people (forty-three or fourty-four-ish, technically, but a few of those people played in the game at multiple locations (rock on, guys!), and it's hard to know for sure that I didn't misscount or recount somewhere along the line.) Ultimately, when it comes to wanting a name to call this robot, I've got some great entries to choose from. Ultimately, I had to choose a few qualifications for name-pickin'. I tried to think in terms of the sorts of names that things had in the show, and while making someone's name a reference to something else has a tradition in MST3K (Dr. Clayton Forrester himself being named for The War of The Worlds), some references are a bit too blatant for my taste. I might've really liked a suggestion like Rock S. Bebop (S. being short for Steady), but as appropriate as a name like Rock might be, the whole thing might've felt a bit off for the show. Similarly, names that reference MST3K riffs are awesome, though I'm not sure they'll fit my need to come up with an easy name, with a few exceptions. Is this too high a standard for a nickname for a robot that'll just be replaced by an actual name in a few weeks or months? Yes. Yes it is. Anyway... let's list our Honorable Mentions first... MST3K Discussion Board Honorable Mentions - Condor Von Funnelface: Mentioned by xinfinitum both here and at the Kickstarter comments section, the name Condor feels appropriate, so much so that I wondered a bit if it's actually a reference to an episode that I've just not seen yet or forgotten, like something Crow might've tried calling himself or something that Servo might've teased him with. I also like Von, it makes things sound regal. Funnelface felt a *bit* off compared to Servo or Robot as the other canonical robot last names go, but all in all this came super close to winning.
- Snouter One-Eye: Suggested by crispyglenmanning, this is another name that just feels "right" for the show's vocabulistic palette. It feels a bit like a nick-name, but it was a strong contender.
- Zelda: Crowschmo suggested this, and it almost won because it's 1) a female name in a mostly male puppet show that could use some more female characters, and 2) Zelda sounds like the kind of name that's fallen out of style, but still has some charm to it, and a lot of MST3K's fun revolves around invoking the charm of treasured styles. It really fits the heart of the kind of name that I think the writers of the show would've used in its season 3-6 days, so that made it a strong contender.
- Rodger: Triple_sSs created this name, and like Zelda it has the right "ring" to it. I don't think it's out of style in the way that Zelda is, but I do think that it falls into the family of name-styles that the MST3K writers would pull from. Also, with a first name like this, a secondary nickname like Ramjet couldn't be far behind, could it?
- Aurora Hyperion: This is a great name from EuphoriaFish. It's a nice spacey name, and it kinda reminds me of the name Gypsy in terms of style. It'd also work out pretty well in case the robot turns out to be female which, like I said above, is something that the show could definitely use.
Kickstarter Honorable Mentions - Polly Propylene: suggested by Adam at the Kickstarter comments section, this name has a lot going for it. Polly is a name like Zelda or Rodger (see above) but by working in the alliteration with the last name and making the whole thing a subtle pun just sells it. If this name had been suggested on the board, it would've been a strong contender for winning.
- Condor Von Funnelface: suggested by Xinfinitum both here and at the Kickstarter page (or possibly by two identically named people in two different places who came up with the exact same idea), this is another strong entrant that I talked about up above. Came really close to winning, this one did.
- Something Like Duck: I think that John was only suggesting the name Duck when he gave this idea, but I loved the idea of the full name being Something Like Duck. Either way, it's a really nice name that fits pre-existing MST3K lore and conventions. Nice work, John! Strong entry, even with my meddling.
- Robin, the Toy Wonder: A name from Wise Guy, this is a little too on-the-nose as far as direct references to things go, but the name Robin on its own is, I think, a strong entry. A gender-neutral name that continues what appears to be a bird theme (Crow, Duck, Condor, Polly, Something LIKE Duck, etc.), Toy Wonder is a nice nickname that could also be applied to it after the fact.
- Floyd, Cloyd, or Gibney: Another name from Wise Guy (nice job getting not one but FOUR honorable entries here...) Wise Guy pulled off the "String Or Nothing!" trick by offering Cloyd and Gibney as alternates. I don't THINK that Wise Guy was playing to my love of Infocom games by suggesting Floyd (the name of an adorable little robot from the classic text adventure Planetfall) since he didn't mention Infocom, and since I don't go by Afgncaap (a Zork reference) on Kickstarter, but even if it was unintentional it pulled on that hearstring, and you can't tell me that Infocom games are too mainstream. And speaking of things that aren't mainstream, the names Cloyd and Gibney are references to the Moonmen from Rockey & Bullwinkle, and that's the kind of reference that I think the Brains would use. So... you might've pulled a fast one here Wise Guy, but I'm more than happy to talk about three names in this one honorable mention slot (I could've just made two more slots, but that's not how you entered the names.)
Facebook Honorable Mentions I went with ten honorable mentions here instead of five, due to the sheer volume of quality names. - Steve: Matt Behrens gave us this name, straight out of Every 1950s Sci-Fi Movie Ever. Seriously, everyone's named Steve, and it seems fitting to give such a name to one of the bots in a ship dedicated to such films.
- Polly Propylene: Adam Smith suggested this at the Facebook group in addition to the Kickstarter page, and everything I said in the Kickstarter honorable mentions position for this name holds true. Thanks for the entries, Adam!
- Gizzy: I picked this one as an honorable mention because it sounded adorable, and I'm in favor of making goofy robots adorable every once in a while. Michael J. Roboski presented this name, and says that this name would be in honor of the Gizmonic Institute.
- Nanu: It's short, crisp, easy to say, and despite what I said about looking askance at overt references to things, Mork & Mindy is like Rocky & Bullwinkle in that I can see the MST3K writers giving a quick shout-out to it, just as they did with Dr. Forrester. EDIT: This was suggested by Jacob Shepley. Almost forgot to mention him! Sorry, Jacob!
- Teaser: Okay, I almost broke my rule about not considering Facebook entrants for the official contest when I saw this entry. It's awesome. Teaser fits almost every single qualification I look for in an MST3K robot name, and is itself a reference to the fact that this robot I want a name for was just a teaser image. In every way, this name answered what I was looking for in a name, and I think I'll be thinking of this robot as Teaser even though it wasn't the official winner. Thanks, Jeff Ami Johnson!
- Hopkins (MN): Heeheehee... that's just a good solid name. I don't know if I'm meant to pronounce the last name as the state or as the letters, but this is great. Thanks, Crystal Weiss!
- Experiment: Arch Hall, Jr. gave us this name, and what the name Teaser did for an out-of-universe perspective, this name does from an in-universe perspective. Also, I have a soft spot for that word (I always prefer it when people refer to MST3K experiments as Experiments rather than Episodes, for starters. The Forresters aren't trying to entertain us, after all!)
- Keebah: This name comes from Ken Melms. I tried to avoid names that were direct references to MST3K (sorry Beeper, Mitchel, Sampo, and the rest!) but this one works for me because it's subtle and doesn't work as a reference on its own. Honestly, some people might miss it entirely until someone walks by and says "Hi, Keebah!"
- Namaste: Another name from Ken Melms, this name works for me as the kind of name that Joel, or someone like him, might give to a robot. Joel said that he named Crow the way he did because he wanted a robot with a Native American sounding name, and so naming a robot after a Hindu greeting feels like something that might also happen. Plus it just sounds nice.
- Beaulieu: A bit on the nose, but I had to include this one, also from Ken Melms. Trace Beaulieu is a master puppeteer, and is one of the reasons that MST3K's puppetry was as good as it was. It's easy to focus on his on-screen antics as Dr. Forrester or his wisecracks as Crow, but I think his work as a puppeteer needs more acknowledgement (both in MST3K and in other projects.) Naming a brand new robot after him would be a great nod to his impact on the show's history.
All right, now that we've acknowledged many of the creative entries (though I'm serious when I say that every entry I read was good and made me consider how I judged things), it's time for us to move on to the winner. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the contest is: Foreign Object with Toast 7! The name Toast 7 is great, and it's great for a few subtle reasons that are hard to explain. Effectively, the name Toast works for me, and thinking about Joel talking about the robot and using the last name as well ("But guys, we've gotta something something something the something something for Toast 7!") just seemed to fit. Being named for a setting on a toaster is great too, and works as a nod to the show's history of making puppets out of anything that Joel or the other prop designers could get their hands on. So, congrats foreign object! PM Skyroniter with your selections for DVDs, and thank you so much for helping me to NAME! THAT! BOT!
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Post by foreign object on Apr 2, 2016 6:58:38 GMT -5
Wow, I had no idea there were so many other great entries aside from this thread. I'm really surprised that I won! Thank you so much for running this contest Afgncaap5, it was fun!
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 2, 2016 11:12:24 GMT -5
Wow, I had no idea there were so many other great entries aside from this thread. I'm really surprised that I won! Thank you so much for running this contest Afgncaap5, it was fun! Glad you enjoyed it! And, yeah, I figured that even if I start calling Toast 7 by the name Toast 7, that name might not be for everyone. This way, if people don't like the name Toast 7, they'll have 18 other names to choose from. I couldn't offer the DVDs to people at the other websites, but it was fun getting some of the other communities to play along as well.
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Post by xinfinitum on Apr 2, 2016 16:05:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the honorable mention.
Congratulations foreign object on the Win!
I have an overwhelming urge to want to call the new Bot - Melba.
Melba Toast 7
.....Xin
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euphoriafish
Nanite
YESSSS NO LONGER AN ANTEATER AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! :D
Posts: 41
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Post by euphoriafish on Apr 4, 2016 16:39:41 GMT -5
Toast 7 sounds like a callback to how much the Brains used to love the video toaster back in the day. Thank you for the honorable mention, Afgncaap 5! As attached as I am to my own suggestion, I also really like Polly Propylene, Gizzy, Steve and Condor Von Funnelface. I can totally imagine Crow naming himself something elegant like Condor Von Falconcrest and then Servo rejecting his lofty lead actor in a period piece dreams with, "Yeah, whatever, Condor Von Funnelface!" Because Servo is always the star and Crow ever the brooding artist.
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Post by Afgncaap5 on Apr 6, 2016 14:08:10 GMT -5
Toast 7 sounds like a callback to how much the Brains used to love the video toaster back in the day. Thank you for the honorable mention, Afgncaap 5! As attached as I am to my own suggestion, I also really like Polly Propylene, Gizzy, Steve and Condor Von Funnelface. I can totally imagine Crow naming himself something elegant like Condor Von Falconcrest and then Servo rejecting his lofty lead actor in a period piece dreams with, "Yeah, whatever, Condor Von Funnelface!" Because Servo is always the star and Crow ever the brooding artist. Oh, definitely. Crow's the brooder. (Though Servo can also have thin skin when he's performing, if his reaction to Crow saying "Take me to Uranus" is any indication.)
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