Question about the name 'Rance' in episodes... by CaptainHoban

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Question about the name 'Rance' in episodes...

POSTED BY: CAPTAINHOBAN
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 06:02
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009 10:03 PM

In episode "Safe" the officers at the cow sale scene say the buyers are wanted in connection to the murder of "Rance Durbin(spelling)" and in Heart of Gold, the main villain is named "Rance Burgess". Does the name have some significance to Whedon or a producer or anything? HELP!!! It's driving me crazy!

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 3:13 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

The only "Rance" I know of in real life is Rance Howard, father of actor/director Ron Howard and actor Clint Howard. He was in an Angel episode...

I think maybe Joss likes it because it sounds "western-y". :)

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 4:52 AM

JONGSSTRAW

There was a Twilight Zone episode from 1962 called "Showdown With Rance McGrew." It was about a western cowboy hero who fights bad guys. We know Joss likes the classics. Maybe there's some connection.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 5:45 AM

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Quote:
Originally posted by CaptainHoban:
In episode "Safe" the officers at the cow sale scene say the buyers are wanted in connection to the murder of "Rance Durbin(spelling)" and in Heart of Gold, the main villain is named "Rance Burgess". Does the name have some significance to Whedon or a producer or anything? HELP!!! It's driving me crazy!

I found the same similarity a long time ago and wondered the same thing, but have come to believe it was just a coincidence. Rance is a rather western name as Jongstraw points out, and both worlds in Safe and Heart of Gold were dusty rim world backwaters.

Also sometimes writers will do that by accident. You might use a name (such as Rance) and it'll stick in your mind and you use it again later in a different context as you write another TV episode. Stephen King has admitted he's been guilty of it in his 40 year writing career.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 6:02 AM

PEACEKEEPER

Keeping order in every verse

I know that Rance is the title character in a Japanese game, but I doubt there is any connection.

Peacekeeper---keeping order in every verse!!!

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