The TV IV:Proposals/Character Pages

Character Names

How should Character Page URLs be named for characters that routinely go by a nickname? Example case: Hurley from Lost. His real name is Hugo Reyes. Should the URL be Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, or simply Hugo Reyes?

Comments

1. Personally I'd prefer the most used name in the series - here "Hurley". Especially since the full name may not ne known when the Page is created. Another example: Nobody would look for the page about "Xander Harris" page under "Alexander Harris" or "Alexander 'Xander' Harris". --RoToRa 09:48, 11 Sep 2005 (PDT)
   1. Well, I guess we make lots of redirects. --Fezz(Ryvius) 21:01, 11 Sep 2005 (PDT)
   2. I agree. Redirects are the way to go. --CygnusTM 09:44, 12 Sep 2005 (PDT)
      1. But, what should the main article be? --Wizardryo 19:39, 12 Sep 2005 (EDT)
2. Here's the link to Wikipedia's naming policy for names of people. In short: name the article by the person's most COMMON name. Then create redirects for any other names. --Wolf530 13:43, 13 Sep 2005 (EDT)
3. I agree with what the consensus seems to be here - use the most commonly-used name in the series, and use redirects for everything else. Should this be turned into an official policy or guideline? --LoganK 22:20, 18 Sep 2005 (EDT)
4. I'm a fan of lots of redirects. Hurley's page is called "Hugo Reyes", but a typical link would like like this: "Lost/Hugo_Reyes|Hurley". It uses the full name as the main article, but the common one is what the users see. I think redirects for pages like Lost/Hurley are also a good idea. But honestly, as long as it works, it's not a big deal. --Stabbey 15:50, 30 May 2006 (EDT)

Actors

How should we handle characters performed by multiple actors? The current Character Template only allows one actor per character. --rveguilla 00:29, 26 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Comments

1. I've seen this handled one of two ways on other sites.

1) Different templates for multi-actor characters (better if it can be done)

2) A second page for the character as played by a different actor. e.g. Bob Johnson(1) and Bob Johnson(2) (This might make more sense if the actor change is accompanied by a personality shift.--Philoetus 22:37, 17 Oct 2005 (EDT)

1. Yes, the first option sounds resonable for different actors playing exactly the same character, but the second option could be usuful for special cases, like this one in Carnivàle. --rveguilla 00:22, 18 Oct 2005 (EDT)

• I've made a simple template, the only difference being that you can put more than one actor in the actor field without it going stupid. Please suggest anything else that you feel it might need. I've currently included pictures of the other actors playing the character in the article, I don't know how we might put that in the template, or if it's necessary. See Red Dwarf/Holly for an example. Perhaps some way of changing the main picture to the other actor(s) playing the character. But that might be taking it a bit too far, and I don't have knowledge enough to do that myself. --Kash 16:25, 24 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Characters on Multiple Series

How should we deal with characters that appear on multiple series? There are two alternatives that I can see: 1) Use the same character page for all series that the character appears. 2) Use a different character page per series. DCEdwards1966 15:52, 27 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Comments

• Characters that are the same across different series (Angel and Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) should use one character page for all series. Characters that are different across different series (Batman in Batman Batman: The Animated Series) should have different character pages for the different series. DCEdwards1966 15:52, 27 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Yeah!!! I was wondering about that very same issue. I just created a DCAU/Batman bio. It's the same character, same case with Frasier or Lilith. Lilith appeared way more in Cheers, however she is Frasier's exwife therefore the character is more tied to the Frasier series. Or how about Joey?

In the case of Batman I think all DCAU characters should be tied to a general DCAU characters page.--Ădnamör Ėrtrø-utroep Eddrwa Eojs 06:04, 9 July 2006 (EDT)

• There should be a separate page for the character in each series, with cross-references. A given character's history in one series might be a significant spoiler for the other series in which they also appear. HTH HAND Phil | Talk 10:33, 14 Dec 2005 (EST)
  • This is how we've been doing it with the character pages for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. A character that appears in both (like Cordelia, for instance) should have her background from Buffy seasons 1-3 on her Buffy page and then her history after that on her Angel page with a disclaimer pointing the reader towards the other page.
    
    As far as the DCAU thing goes, this is definitely not how we should do it because of the spoiler potential and the confusion. What if someone just wants to read about Batman's character arc in Justice League? If he only has the one central page, then the reader must sift through his history in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Gotham Knights and any other show he may be in before getting to what they want. --IndieRockLance 14:16, 9 July 2006 (EDT)