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[Napoleon_Blownapart]

I get the idea that sometimes there's this stereoytpical person you'll run into, no matter where you go. Like no matter what company you work for, there's always a total jackass in your office that nobody likes, or the guy who knows precisely how to rob the place, did a ton of acid in his youth and saw aliens, etc - you get the idea.

But this is ridiculous. So Dora and Faye have indian dopplegangers now who also run a coffee shop? It was funny as a one-off joke about how you may run into character types from time to time, and I had hoped it would end there. And now Marten's gonna cosy up with Padma, but not at all because she's Dora-lite. Right then.

It's official: QC has just jumped the shark. Jeph, you have run out of ideas for character personalities.

[Lubricus]

So far we know next to nothing about Padma's personality. I can't imagine that she'll turn out to be all that similar to Dora.

[pwhodges]

Apart from the initial joke remark when Marten referred to an "alternate-universe Coffee of Doom" on account of the general sense of angst and disaster, there is no basis whatsoever for the characterisation of Padma and Renee as versions of Dora and Faye.

What's ridiculous is that this fancy has been built up here to the extent that it has.

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

Apart from the initial joke remark when Marten referred to an "alternate-universe Coffee of Doom" on account of the general sense of angst and disaster, there is no basis whatsoever for the characterisation of Padma and Renee as versions of Dora and Faye.

You seem to have forgotten that after meeting Faye, Padma could not shut up about how Faye is exactly like Renee in looks and personality. Seems like a pretty explicit doppleganger to me. The only way to avert this copy/paste character introduction is for Jeph to make Padma explicitly different from Dora. Time will tell if that happens.

[The Seldom Killer]

Just looking at first full characterisation in episode 1857 clearly shows that any similarities end at coffeeshop ownership. In fact not even that is true because tSB is demonstrable different to CoD. Any suggestion that Padma is in some way a doppleganger of Dora or a "Dora-lite" is an unsupported fanciful notion.

As for Padma's reference to Renee and Faye, it was hardly a "couldn't shut up" and, at least from my reading, wasn't wholly serious.

I think you've read things into the comic that aren't there.

Edited to remove evidence of NP fixation, thank Mr. Hodges

[pwhodges]

Er, s/Padme/Padma/ in a couple of people's posts today.  Thank you.

[Carl-E]

I doubt Jeph will have Padma be Dora-lite.  We'll see. 

There's definitely a superficial similarity between Renee and Faye, though.  Thing is, who'd Marten going to hit it off with - the one who seems (to us) to be like his ex, or the one who seems to be like the girl he was originally attracted to? 

Although he may become a bro to Mr. Lonelyhearts, the friendly giant.  At the very least, I hope we get a name for him before the week is out! 

[Tetrinity]

Er, s/Padme/Padma/ in a couple of people's posts today.  Thank you.

Padma is looking set to become the new Marten in regards to erroneous spelling. At least with "Marten" you have the excuse that it's not the typical spelling... the excuse of "she has a name similar to a character from a popular sci-fi" doesn't seem as valid, somehow.

There's definitely a superficial similarity between Renee and Faye, though.  Thing is, who'd Marten going to hit it off with - the one who seems (to us) to be like his ex, or the one who seems to be like the girl he was originally attracted to? 

Although he may become a bro to Mr. Lonelyhearts, the friendly giant.  At the very least, I hope we get a name for him before the week is out! 

I think it's a bit hard to call at the moment; it seems more like "oh hey, I know those guys and she's waving me over, I should go say hi". Though I reckon he probably will end up dating one of them (right now, most likely Padma, but we should wait to see what Renee is like first), I don't think that's Marten's goal just yet.

I imagine the big guy will be introducing himself when Marten gets to the table. I'm curious about what happened to the other guy, though, the one who told BFG that he should "ask her out". Does he not like to hang around with the others outside of work?

[khendron]

So far we know next to nothing about Padma's personality. I can't imagine that she'll turn out to be all that similar to Dora.

If Padma turns out to be just like Dora, then Dora and Padma can start dating each other. And open up a shop together. The Secret Bakery of Doom!

[Black Sword]

Er, s/Padme/Padma/ in a couple of people's posts today.  Thank you.

Padma is looking set to become the new Marten in regards to erroneous spelling. At least with "Marten" you have the excuse that it's not the typical spelling... the excuse of "she has a name similar to a character from a popular sci-fi" doesn't seem as valid, somehow.

We're all posting in a forum. Most of us are geeks or nerds who have seen Star Wars. Padme is how many of the posters would be conditioned to spell it, especially after Natalie Portman's relatively strong performance and beauty... although if you want to get picky, Padmé is the correct spelling. (numberpad power!)

[pwhodges]

On UK keyboards, acute accents (only) are easy - just use the Alt-Gr key as an accent shift with any vowel. 

As in Renée - which is my normal spelling of that name, as I have worked with one.  But there's also Rene Engström to confuse things, so I'll have to watch that I get Jeph's "Renee" right myself!

[JD]

Is it possible that Padma made at least some of the comparison up just to fuck with Angus?

[tuxedobob]

I'm more concerned that she looks like a white girl with dark skin, rather than, you know, black. Bone structure and all that.

Though, if this were an explicit comic, I'd say we had a racial facial coming up.

[Border Reiver]

We're all posting in a forum. Most of us are geeks or nerds who have seen Star Wars. Padme is how many of the posters would be conditioned to spell it, especially after Natalie Portman's relatively strong performance and beauty... although if you want to get picky, Padmé is the correct spelling. (numberpad power!)

Relatively strong compared to Mr. Christiansen maybe, but still a lackluster performance in a group of movies that while technically well done, lacked the magic of the originals.  Is it a bad sign when there is more chemistry between the animated characters than there was in the live action movie?

[TheEvilDog]

I'm more concerned that she looks like a white girl with dark skin, rather than, you know, black. Bone structure and all that.

But Padma isn't black, she's of Indian extraction, like Steve's ex Meena. So her bone structure is pretty much alright.

[billydaking]

Apart from the initial joke remark when Marten referred to an "alternate-universe Coffee of Doom" on account of the general sense of angst and disaster, there is no basis whatsoever for the characterisation of Padma and Renee as versions of Dora and Faye.

You seem to have forgotten that after meeting Faye, Padma could not shut up about how Faye is exactly like Renee in looks and personality. Seems like a pretty explicit doppleganger to me. The only way to avert this copy/paste character introduction is for Jeph to make Padma explicitly different from Dora. Time will tell if that happens.

And you seem to have forgotten the follow-up where Angus explained that Faye isn't just another Renee to him, even if they're the same "type." Which would seem to me the author telling its audience to get over the doppleganger thing, and a nice warning before Marten met Padma in the comic.

[Carl-E]

Really, I find Padma to be quite different from Dora in appearance (aside from the skin color) Different eyes, facial structure, hair (of course).  The only things they have in common really are that they're both shop owners and have a similar body type. 

Let's see...



Differently shaped jaw, differently shaped eyes, different nose (I like a strong nose, myself)...

So what's all this doppleganger nonsense? 

[Black Sword]

We're all posting in a forum. Most of us are geeks or nerds who have seen Star Wars. Padme is how many of the posters would be conditioned to spell it, especially after Natalie Portman's relatively strong performance and beauty... although if you want to get picky, Padmé is the correct spelling. (numberpad power!)

Relatively strong compared to Mr. Christiansen maybe, but still a lackluster performance in a group of movies that while technically well done, lacked the magic of the originals.  Is it a bad sign when there is more chemistry between the animated characters than there was in the live action movie?

I liked Natalie's performance in Phantom Menace. She did what she could in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith's scene with Vader (pre-armor) was very good. And honestly, it's not. Hayden was probably the flattest Anakin they could pick.

@TheEvilDog concur with your assessment.

@CARL-E Bitter shippers.

[JackFaerie]

We're all posting in a forum. Most of us are geeks or nerds who have seen Star Wars. Padme is how many of the posters would be conditioned to spell it, especially after Natalie Portman's relatively strong performance and beauty... although if you want to get picky, Padmé is the correct spelling. (numberpad power!)

Relatively strong compared to Mr. Christiansen maybe, but still a lackluster performance in a group of movies that while technically well done, lacked the magic of the originals.  Is it a bad sign when there is more chemistry between the animated characters than there was in the live action movie?

I liked Natalie's performance in Phantom Menace. She did what she could in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith's scene with Vader (pre-armor) was very good. And honestly, it's not. Hayden was probably the flattest Anakin they could pick.

@TheEvilDog concur with your assessment.

@CARL-E Bitter shippers.

It's great that we're all geeks and all, but how about not also being ignorant and racially blind geeks? "Padma" is common Sanskrit name. QC Padma is of desi origin. To continuously confuse her entirely appropriate and not at all strange name with a sci-fi character is to basically insist on the primacy and "normalcy" of your preferred western-created fantasy world over her actual culture.

[Justin Alexander]

It's great that we're all geeks and all, but how about not also being ignorant and racially blind geeks? "Padma" is common Sanskrit name. QC Padma is of desi origin. To continuously confuse her entirely appropriate and not at all strange name with a sci-fi character is to basically insist on the primacy and "normalcy" of your preferred western-created fantasy world over her actual culture.

Padme is also a name from India. You should probably try educating yourself before throwing around insults.

[anabatica]

I think it's a bit hard to call at the moment; it seems more like "oh hey, I know those guys and she's waving me over, I should go say hi".

This is exactly what I said. Marten's a friendly guy, if he sees someone he knows he'll smile in recognition and go over and chat. It doesn't mean he wants to jump Padma's bones. Especially coming across someone in a casual context that you've only previously known in a professional context (i.e. buying coffee from them) can induce a surprised/pleased reaction. There's a possibility that there may be a romantic arc emerging from this, but it will only be with strong urging from Steve and very overt approaches from Padma or Renee.

[Is it cold in here?]

(moderator) urges calm about Indian names lest the conversation turn into a violation of the civility rule.(/moderator)

[Akima]

Padme is also a name from India. You should probably try educating yourself before throwing around insults.

Getting a person's name wrong deliberately (which I'm assuming nobody has done here) is an intentional insult. Getting a person's name wrong accidentally is still slightly insulting, and should simply be acknowledged as a mistake to be avoided in the future, rather than excusing or justifying it by reference to a fantasy character or anything else.

I don't think JackFaerie's point was that Padme was or was not an Indian name, but that it was wrong to misspell Padma's name and then excuse or justify that by reference to a Star Wars character created in Hollywood who has no connection to India, the planet Earth, our galaxy, or even reality.

[horsefish]

I think it's a bit hard to call at the moment; it seems more like "oh hey, I know those guys and she's waving me over, I should go say hi".

This is exactly what I said. Marten's a friendly guy, if he sees someone he knows he'll smile in recognition and go over and chat. It doesn't mean he wants to jump Padma's bones. Especially coming across someone in a casual context that you've only previously known in a professional context (i.e. buying coffee from them) can induce a surprised/pleased reaction. There's a possibility that there may be a romantic arc emerging from this, but it will only be with strong urging from Steve and very overt approaches from Padma or Renee.

IMHO Marten's demeanor, facial expression and haste implies a little bit more than "oh hey, I know those guys," as does Steve's final comment. He doesn't just seem pleased that she is calling him over, he seems THRILLED.  I mean, this is the King of Meh we're talking about.

And If there is going to be a war between the people who want to keep flogging the doppelganger thing and people (like most on this particular thread) who think entirely too much is being made of Dora/Padma similarities, I stand firmly with the latter.  Though I give CEOIII (?) all due props for coining PseuDora.  It was an interesting theory when Padma first showed up, but I think it's time to put it on the shelf.  And take it back down if Jeph really does make her just like Dora.

[bicostp]

There are similarities between Dora and Padma that are based in fact. They both own small businesses, they're both tall and lanky, both have friends as employees, both their given names end in the letter 'A', and they're both women.

At this point everything else is speculation at best and fan projection at worst.

[TheEvilDog]

Why not add they have black hair (well, Dora does...most of the time... )

Seriously, we don't know much about Padma, so until Jeph tells us more, its all theories and supposition.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

And we all know he does the opposite of whatever is posted on this forum.

[Melauren]

There are similarities between Dora and Padma that are based in fact. They both own small businesses, they're both tall and lanky, both have friends as employees, both their given names end in the letter 'A', and they're both women.

What about those of us who think her turn of phrase and apparent personality are very Dora-esque?  Honestly that's what I noticed... every speech-bubble from Padma's mouth could have come from Dora and nothing would have seemed out of character.  Right from her cynical "we don't have a 'giant blender thing,'" through her entrepreneurial touch-of-the-marketing, "Actually, we do AMAZING wedding cakes...!" right to the sassy and moderately abrasive "Y'know, she even LOOKS kinda like you, Faye.  Short, curvy, thick glasses... She's even CRANKY like Renee!"

I mean, how many people do you know who would call you "short and curvy" (often negatively interpreted to mean "chunky") to your face within, like, seconds of meeting you?  Strong unDoratones, methinks.

[DSL]

True, Padma's sassy and moderately abrasive, but there is (so far) a guileless-ness about her that's in direct contrast to Dora's snakiness. There was an air of belittling about Dora that was always at least subliminal. So far Padma seems to be much more of an "open" personality -- if a little tactless. Like her so far, tho'.

EDIT: OK, maybe not quite so much.

[ZERO]

This topic has jumped the shark.

[pendrake]

Besides, QC veterans know Jeph jumped the shark years ago...

[Dr. ROFLPWN]

holy fucking shit people

Some of the responses in this thread, as well as the original post up there, go beyond jumping the shark all the way into why we can't have nice things. Come on.

(Edited by moderator request.)

[Is it cold in here?]

(moderator)
Everyone, please, civility rule.

Emulate Akima. Her post is a positive example of how to make a point without being personal.
(/moderator)

[Odin]

No swearing, children, that's rude. 

[Dr. ROFLPWN]

I would like to reiterate with a calmer head one of my more important points, which was that it is at best insensitive and at worst borderline racist to assume that all black people need to look the same way, as if they all fit a template and they are not allowed to look like Padma or Renee (spoiler alert: they are and they do).

And to further go on to say: "racial facial"?  Really? Was that necessary? Or even in good taste? Have some class.

[Is it cold in here?]

True, Padma's sassy and moderately abrasive, but there is (so far) a guileless-ness about her that's in direct contrast to Dora's snakiness. There was an air of belittling about Dora that was always at least subliminal. So far Padma seems to be much more of an "open" personality -- if a little tactless. Like her so far, tho'.

EDIT: OK, maybe not quite so much.

Hmm. Was comparing Faye to Renee sassy, or was it carelessness? We'll have a clearer picture soon, but meantime it's tempting to believe she talks without thinking. Like you said, tactless.

[pwhodges]

I'm beginning to get the feeling Padma is spectacularly good at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

[Carl-E]

It's a gift!

[CrowFairy]

Maybe it's just me, but Padma reminds me of a combination between Penelope and Raven, with maybe a bit of Dora in her. The first strip with Padma in it just didn't strike me as Dora-esque, and her personality still just doesn't scream "Dora" to me. I'd really like to see if anyone else works at the bakery so we can find out if there are more dopplegangers.

[jwhouk]

See, that's just it: We're walking into this thinking "X is Y", but the truth is that "X is Y plus A plus D plus e²".

Padma has some similarities to Dora, yes - but she also has things that AREN'T at all Dora. For example, I doubt she was ever a goth girl. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time? That sounds more like Marigold.

What we're doing here, kids, is prejudicial thinking. No, not the "negative" kind - the kind where we're basing something new on what we already know.

[dragontart]

What we're doing here, kids, is prejudicial thinking. No, not the "negative" kind - the kind where we're basing something new on what we already know.

It's be hard not to do so when the comic itself speaks of them as an alternate universe and doppelgangers. :c And they were undoubtedly intended to provoke that feeling, else they wouldn't look that similar.

[TheEvilDog]

Which in itself was an offhand joke made by a character who moments before had just seen a grown woman prance before them in a fairy costume.

Context, people, context.

[pwhodges]

the comic itself speaks of them as an alternate universe and doppelgangers

No, a single comic  had a joke based on that. 

End of.

[Razgriz]

Regarding names like Padme/Padma, people get my name (Jon) confused (with John) all the time, especially when they're from cultures that don't tend to have Jon/John's, such as my sister-in-laws family.

Doesn't mean I call them racially ignorant or whatever else the previous poster said.  When both names exist and someone has heard of one far more than the other, it's a natural mistake that, as taken from years of trying to correct this even from my own family, will likely never be fixed.  It doesn't even annoy me anymore.

[Carl-E]

Just consider what Jeph's gone through all his life...

"Is that Jeff with a J?"

"No, it's not spelled that way."

"Oh, it's Geoff, then?" 

"No..."

To be honest, I see a lot of the Jon/John dichotomy, neither is unusual here. 

But my favorite name twist was a friend whose last name was Leimkuhler.  He told me to give him a call, it was in the book, and it was spelled the way it sounded. 

I wasted a good bit of time looking for Limecooler.   Never forgave him for that...

[horsefish]

I had a coworker with the last name Gunsallus.  People always wanted to spell it Gonzalez.

[Akima]

It's natural that people should get unfamiliar names wrong. Once or maybe twice. But if they continue to get it wrong after you've told them what your name is, how it is pronounced, and how it is spelled, it comes down to their motivation. The person continually getting your name wrong is essentially saying: "I am an aristocrat; you are a serf. I will treat you however the hell I like, and you should just put up with it."

I once worked at a place where people mispronounced my surname*, even after I'd corrected them, and I put up with it. Then we got a new boss, with a real tongue-twister surname. Miraculously, the same people who'd apparently found it impossible to say my name correctly very quickly mastered his. Because he was the boss, and pissing him off would have real consequences. So I realised that it was a matter of motivation, and people's perceptions of social power.

Similarly, I had a co-worker who insisted on attaching a diminutive ending to my adopted Western-style first name. He did not do this with any of my male colleagues. I asked him privately to stop, but he didn't, so I started using a diminutive form of his name at every opportunity. He really didn't like that, and quickly I trained him to use my correct name. But he still felt that somehow I had treated him unfairly.

*I don't expect English-speakers to get my name exactly right, incidentally. Just to use the approximation, using normal English sounds, that I request.

[TheEvilDog]

It happens to everyone at one stage or another. Where I live, and where I grew up, my surname is extremely rare, in another part it's a different matter, and also a different point. The problem is, is that a lot of people misspell it, a lot. The worst ones are my bills, even though I have on several occassions spelled out my surname to the customer services department, in a loud, clear manner, I will still recieve a bill with my surname spelled incorrectly. Yeah, it might seem funny, but I have on two occassions recieved, shall we say, threatening letters from my old phoneline provider, saying I hadn't paid my bills for three months, all because they had my name spelled incorrectly. After proving the first time that I had paid my bills, I chalked it up to a simple mistake, and they promised to fix it. Naturally, the second time proved they hadn't and I was threatened with having my phoneline cut, so I switched.

Like I said, it might seem funny, but it can be a problem for some people. For me, it was just one letter being changed for another and another being added onto the end, thats not much. But yes, I will agree with Akima on the point that if someone keeps making the same mistake, despite the fact that you have told them several times the proper way to pronounce it, then yes, they are being disrespectful, and they themselves should be treated the same way.

[jwhouk]

You'd think that a name with four letters would be easy to pronounce. Ha.

[horsefish]

Does it rhyme with "poke?"

My last name is Kurz - another four lettters people have trouble with.  I've had it both misspelled and mispronounced as Kurtz, Kruz, Cruz, Coors, and Curtis.