What's In A Name? is a quirky, insightful and often irreverent look at the thing we use most and we most take for granted: the Name.
What's In A Name? is a quirky, insightful and often irreverent look at the thing we use most and we most take for granted: the Name. This 13-part series is an entertaining romp through history and the names we find along the way - from beer and hockey teams, to perfume and chocolate bars, cars and cocktails. It turns out that names are a reflection of time and place - historical signposts that are mirrors of ourselves.
This series explores history in the best possible way - by using a modern day challenge to investigate the past. Every episode begins with an individual who needs to name a product: an electric car he's designed, a chocolate bar she's created, a baby about to be born. Through this individual, we share their passion for finding a new name. Whether he's a wrestler seeking a new persona, an astronaut naming a new space vehicle, or a goaltender seeking a winning name for her hockey team. We want to find a winning name too, and share their curiosity about what worked - and what didn't - in the past.
These colourful individuals have been given a head start in their quest for a name. In advance of the TV production, names were submitted on-line by the Canadian public. The launching point for each episode is a short list of five, based on those submissions.
Each of the five names (of a beer, cocktail, or perfume for example) represents a particular way of naming the thing in question. Is it named after a place? (Grolsch beer) A person? (Mercedes Benz car) Or an emotion? (Joy perfume). Are animals used to name hockey teams? Is the bible the most popular source for children's names? And how did the toy Slinky come to be called that anyway?
Our main character is helped along the way by experts and celebrities. Actor George Wendt (aka Norm from Cheers) offers tips on naming beer. Wrestling legend Brett Hart gives advice on punchy names in the ring. And Randy Bachman gives a young band tips on finding a name that rocks.
The unnamed things are also put to the test: Does it pass the beer call? (The name has to be simple and clear enough to yell across a bar.) What do construction workers find sexy in a woman's name? (Sorry Gertrude!) And how does race car driver Paul Tracy rate the performance of our electric car? We even put a children's toy to the test, putting it in the hands of the toughest audience - kids (who have no shortage of opinions on names either!)
We look at which names have worked throughout history, which haven't, and why it matters. What's in a Name? Everything.
