The other day, I received the following text from actress Zoie Palmer:
And she was right. It WAS like sharing with her the single greatest thing about bringing a child into this world: coming up with a name for it. Except that instead of having 9 months to do it, we have 9 episodes, and instead of some kid, it’s our Android we’re naming.
I say OUR because the development of Dark Matter’s Android has truly been a collaborative process with the actress playing her. I’ll pitch Zoie our plans for the character and she’ll also throw ideas my way – suggestions, requests, flashes of inspiration – occasionally when I see her at work but mostly via the texts she sends my way while I’m in the office, or out and about, or lying in bed about to drift off into sweet, sweet dreamland. And, every so often, those messages have a way of, uh, veering off topic. Some of my recent favorites include:
And –
AND –
Note: Those blanks in the final text were, of course, a few of the names we’re considering for our lovable Android. And we’ll be keeping them under wraps…for now.
However, if you’re curious, some of the names that didn’t make the final cut and are no longer under consideration include:
ALICE
SAMANTHA
DESDEMONA
CLARA
MARNIE
ELLIE
CALL
DEE
EVANS
ALOYSIA
DESTINY
CHACHACHA
LOYLOY (Like the panda!)
ZOIE
But fear not. We’ve got a half dozen solid candidates in contention.
Hey, the other day, someone on reddit mentioned they were thinking of getting a Dark Matter-inspired tattoo and floated the possibility of going with the Android’s barcode. I provide it for you here, via the marvellous Roxanne Borris, who designed it for the show, in the event you’re considering following suit.
She also created one for Wendy the android from Episode 107:
And a couple of the androids in Episode 204 (“We Were Family”) including one for the mysterious Victor:
So, what’s in store for our Android in season 3? Well, besides a few shocking revelations, undercover ops, ass-kicking sequences, inspired fashion choices, and flashes of her unique sense of humor…you’ll have to wait and see.
Our Android and Ryo Ishida in happier times.
So, we don’t get to name the Android? Ah, pooh! No, that’s not the name I was planning. How about Spot?
Oh Zoie/Android … how can anyone not like her?! She rocks!
I think the Android’s name should have some sort of historical meaning. Real history or some kind of sentimental story from the Android’s memories or something. My two cents…
Zoe sounds so cool! Funny and sad about the parking lot story. One guy was murdered over a parking spot a few years ago in Memphis. “People be crazy.”
You don’t CARE where you buy Sushi? 😯 😆 That must be trash talk Canadian style?
I think the Androids name should start with “Miss”. Like Miss Priss.
What about Zero or Seven? That goes along with everyone’s numbers. Seven may be too Star Trekky…
The perfect name for the Android is “Android”, I wouldn’t know how else to call it!
Do we have to wait util all filming is done to discover the name?
Arrrgggh, its already difficult waiting for the 3rd season premiere…
where is the whisk(e)y?
Why are you naming the android? I like that she doesn’t have a name. It adds to the awkwardness of the character.
If you absolutely HAVE to name her something, I vote for either “Ann” or some variation… Anne, Annie, Ahn, etc…
Just don’t name her “Zeroie”.
I think we should call her “One” since we don’t have “one” anymore. (I’m bitchin here) 🙂
Ahhhhh…soooo? I like Zobot !!! Wahahahahahaha ~
I like MERRY.
It just happens to be the exact spelling of my middle name. 😊
You could even come up with an acronym for it, M.E.R.R.Y. like:
Mechanical
Energy
Radical
Robot
Yeoman
Is the Dark Matter opening music inspired by any other science fiction? I was thinking it reminded me of the Metropolis Moloch machine scene but I just watched that scene and it has an instrumental score only. The metallic thumps the machine would make if you let your imagination fill in the sound track might be a match, but is there something else the opening music matches that’s triggering some déjà vu?
Picking a fitting name actually isn’t a very human experience. Someone else picks it for us, then, sometimes, someone else picks a nick name. If she wants to pick a fitting one, she has to first figure out more of who she is. Then, someone else might still pick a nick name.
Ha. I was that person on Reddit.
(And on Twitter, too.)
There were some follow-up android questions but those can all wait. Keep up the great work.
Ok, looking at the 4 examples here… I think we can make an assumption that the coding is in octal (base 8) notation? Octal does have some history with computers and coding, so that might fit. But we don’t really have a slot for 0, only 1-7.
Base 7 seems so strange. But, if we go with 0-6, that’d be base 7 notation.
I’ll ponder a bit more.
I’m wondering, that if in S3 as more memories resurface, we discover that Android has had a name all along? Looking forward to a name! Hope it’s not HAL.
Joe, whatever name you select, I hope you reveal it on her birthday with a big party. and as a add give her a certified birth certificate and ID card for the G.A. or whatever location you have her from. You might have Commander Truffault place the id in the the Mikkei Combine records as a back trail. and the same for where ever they can infiltrate into the record systems.
Some neat tricks:
Have the Android create Hologram retinal patterns in her eyes for the character she is assuming.
Able to exude a preinstalled corresponding DNA saliva into her mouth, at will, just before a swab is taken.
Have a sub dermal shielding that creates a image of human body parts if she is scanned.
Change her hair color at will.
Replacement dermal parts such as around her eyes to change her image, and at will change her skin tone and features.
Just a few thoughts. 😉 LOL!
The barcode isn’t totally retarded: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/12/09/national/japanese-city-tags-elderly-dementia-sufferers-barcodes#.WE16i-YrL0M
We haven’t heard much about your relationship with Cloverblob recently. Is it all off?
– Maria like in Metropolis.
– Aimee (the acronym have sense in an android)
– Suji 😉
– Eve ( since Zoe in Greek is life and was adopted as a traslation of Eve)
– Sophy (no particular reason)
– Hylda ( for particular reason) 🙂
The scene where the droid proposes names, some absurdities off course. Until decide one will be very funny.
Man, that’s hilarious. For the past 2 years, i kept seeing fans online wanting a name for the Android.
And now that she’s going to get one, a lot of people would prefer she stays “Android”.
Personally, i am not sure about it, but it seems to be the logical next step to her “human evolution”.
Please tell her I love her for standing up to those jerks! Well I already was fond of her, but this makes her a rock star. 🙂
Oh except I wish she had taken a picture of THEM and their car and then you could have posted it.
Devoir, or maybe feminize it to Devoira.
The Webster’s definition of devoir :
1
: duty, responsibility
2
: a usually formal act of civility or respect
Man, Zoie’s texts reeeeally reminds me of my friend Katie. Random texts at random times about random thoughts and random happenings that are all connected somehow and are all totally enjoyable little stories that make up a fun tapestry of who that person is. You never really know where they’re coming from or why they’re sharing, but it’s always an interesting journey!
Glad to see that even though I didn’t submit questions for Mr. Cross, my questions got answered. Since DM started, your readership has grown to a point that I knew the questions I would’ve asked would be asked by someone eventually, and they did. So, thanks fellow blog-mates!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I still read every day. Good to see Suji in such good spirits. Looks like she’s really enjoying Lulu, too. Just think, even though you guys started production earlier this year and writes, rewrites, and more rewrites have taken their toll, it also means that you’ll be done earlier in the year this time around! Plenty of time to get started on those season 4 scripts, right? 😉
-Mike A.
Zoie – it’s perfect name for Android;)
Perhaps I am in the minority here, but I don’t want the Android to get a name. None of the crew use their given names (aside from Four), so why does the Android need one?
If she must have a name then it should be either Ann, Annie or Andi (short for Android) or Zero as is in keeping with the nomenclature of the crew (not Seven as that is too close to 7 of 9 from ST:Voy).
^_^
Show season finales that have aired in the Friday 10pm slot on Syfy this year.
Dark Matter 0.19 18-49
Wynonna Earp 0.14 18-49
Van Helsing 0.12 18-49
Although it doesn’t air on Friday, Aftermath is currently at 0.12 too. Z Nation has dropped to a 0.18 18-49 rating on Fridays 9pm for its most recent episode. Season 2s numbers don’t look so bad now do they?
Ooo, @Ponytail, don’t say that.
You never know what the future (or past?!) may hold … Aye, Joe? 😉
Parking lot jerks are some of the worst. I include people who leave shopping carts in parking slots in that jerk category. Huzzah for defeating them!
Her name, to me anyway, is Andi. I think it has a nice ring…lol
Hurrah for ZP for standing up to fairness in parking lots. Totally cool and totally you! As for naming the Android.. anagrams.. Oridand, Doirdan, Raddoin, Dandoir.. endless.. although I still like Android.
And, you really should care where you get your sushi from!!!! Just a thought.. 🙂
A name for the Android……🤔
I like Ryo’s outfit 👍
@LineNoise There is a company in the US who has done something similar. We looked into this when deciding on something for Patrick. https://www.ifineedhelp.org/shop/Patches%20&%20ID%20Items/12
They even have shirts you can buy with your QRS code on it.
Ultimately we went with this https://www.roadid.com/builder/band/default.aspx?styleid=43 Patrick doesn’t mind if, and we put the most important info on there for him along with a clip they sell that is the symbol for autism.
So difficult to choose a name. I personally would go for one that express her human feelings!!!. Good luck with it.
Choosing a name is a very important thing. It’s a very difficult thing sometimes. I always hated my name (even now although that hate has simmered down a bit). When I learned it meant “battle maiden” in my adult years after I had Patrick, it was the first time I thought well maybe it was the perfect name especially because of Patrick. People think it is of German origin but its Viking. I found out I have 2% Scandinavian DNA in me (not sure how far back in generations though; apparently your origin DNA changes after several generations.
With picking the name of our baby (we decided not to know the sex of our child until birth), we had to choose two names — one if the baby was a boy and one if the baby was a girl. I wasn’t feeling any need to name our children after someone in my family. Jeff has strong Irish roots so we looked for those for first names. A lot of them were already taken by Jeff’s siblings and their kids. We decided after months of research to give the boy the first name of Patrick. It was fitting since my birthday is St. Patrick’s Day. We gave our baby who died the name Matthew Joseph. Matthew for “God’s gift” because I was told it would be difficult for me to become pregnant. And Joseph was Jeff’s dad’s middle name. With Patrick, we decided to give that child Jeff’s dad’s first name, Vincent. We also looked at any possible way he would be teased for his name. We looked at if his initials of his name would cause him grief as a child. We also remained adamant he would NOT be called Pat. It would always be Patrick.
If it was a girl, we also had a problem with others in the family having the better Irish names like Deirdre, Moira, etc. We settled on Katherine (and we would call her Katie) and her middle name Elizabeth after the name I took for confirmation. Elizabeth was a cousin to the Virgin Mary and also had trouble getting pregnant.
It was a very long process.
I agree that the list of names you posted don’t fit our Android. We all remember the pursuit of a name for the doctor in Voyager. The character ultimately decided that Doctor was the best name for him.