Canon Question

[granderobino.livejournal.com]

Howdy! Me again with another newbie question. Is the origin of the name 'Kid' ever addressed in the series? I do not remember any reference to it in Season 1. Is it ever touched on in the second season? Or is there other canon somewhere that tells us this info, and what about his 'real' name. Or did his parents not come up with one and just called him 'Kid' from day one?

I got this little plot bunny niggling at me and I keep tying to shake him...but you know how persistent those critters can be.

Thanks for the help. Oh and any insight into the name Hannibal would be appreciated as well.

Cheers

Comments

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Kid was a common nickname in the old west for babyfaced gunfighters (Sundance Kid was the most famous). There really was a Kid Curry who rode with Butch Cassidy's gang. But our Kid's real name is Jedediah.

There's never even mention of why Heyes' parents saddled (old west pun, see? lol) him with Hannibal, but the historical Hannibal was a General in the Roman army who led a platoon over a mountain pass--and there were elephants involved somehow. Google Hannibal and wiki would probably have the whole thing.

This series came out as a result of the fame from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You may have noticed that Ben Murphy bears a striking resemblance to Paul Newman, too (BM played the boyfriend of one of the girls in the movie Yours, Mine and Ours and the father character yells, "I don't care how much he looks like Paul Newman, you can't go out")

Dawn (ask me anything you want. I LOVE kid and Heyes)

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I forgot--in MY old fanon universe, when I wrote stories that included their childhood, I had Jed Curry called Kid because he was the last boy of a huge family and eventually the whole family just referred to him as Kid. But that was just my reason. More likely is that it was a common nickname for young gunslingers.

Dawn

[granderobino.livejournal.com]

Yep, definitely could tell the series owed alot to the populartity of the Butch and Sundance movie (which I also own, of course). Good to know about Kid's real name. Still not sure how or if I'll develop a plot point around that or not.

And I hadn't considered that Heyes' folks would have been making that particular historical reference when they chose the name, wouldn't that imply they had particular knowledge that wasn't that common at the time, or am I making sweeping generalizations about the Old West? I was thinking it had something to do with the geographic location in Missouri.

Funny to think of what parents might have been thinking. I alwasy wonder about the orgin of Napoleon Solo's name. What parent would do that to a kid?

So I was watching How to Rob a Bank... on Hulu this morning. Jack Cassidy. Heh. He was a good smarmy bad guy.

Thanks Dawn, I knew I could count on your expertise in all things 'Kid'

[granderobino.livejournal.com]

Also...Dawn (or anybody who might remember), do you remember Heyes (Pete's Heyes) ever calling him Jedediah? If an episode exists, I want to hear how he says the name.

[devilshole.livejournal.com]

I recall him calling him Jed once. I can't for the life of me remember the episode, and it sure seems OOC, but I know he did.

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

And I hadn't considered that Heyes' folks would have been making that particular historical reference when they chose the name, wouldn't that imply they had particular knowledge that wasn't that common at the time, or am I making sweeping generalizations about the Old West? I was thinking it had something to do with the geographic location in Missouri.

Actually--Greek and Roman history would have been what most people learned in school, a so called 'classical' education, along with the Bible. That would have been taught more intensely than recent history, so Hannibal probably came from that (and probably was the reason for the town in Missouri, too)

Dawn

[granderobino.livejournal.com]

Ah. And this is why I look to you for expertise. I figured that's why Missouri took the name, but then just thought folks took names from locations as a matter of course when it came to naming their offspring. They did tend to use Biblical names alot, right?

Admittedly, I've gotten most of my reference material from Little House on the Prairie, so I realize its not the most accurate picture;-)

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

I ADORE How to Rob a Bank--one of my faves. Heyes frantic but holding it together by plotting that very complicated safe robbery.

Dawn

[granderobino.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I loved his obvious concern for his partner throughout the ep. And he is so cool in executing his plan to outfox Jack Cassidy's character.

Oh, and I see where you probably began to think of them as cousins. When they changed the opening narration after Pete's death, there was one line that changed. In Pete's eps it said; "This made our modern day 'Robin Hoods' very popular..." In the Roger Davies eps it was chaged to say; "This made the Kansas Cousins very popular...". So I still don't need to recognize it as canon. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Pete is in all but the last 3-4 eps of Season 2. I signed up at Amazom to be notified when that Season becomes available. Hoping that enough people indicate an interest will hurry the process along.

It's be nice if they could get some commentary from Ben Murphy seeing as he is still around.

[devilshole.livejournal.com]

Seconding this - Heyes is so freakin' brilliant it gives me goose bumps. I just love smart men. :-)

[reera-the-red.livejournal.com]

As has been mentioned, Kid Curry in the series was named after Butch Cassidy's partner Kid Curry. The latter's real name was Harvey Logan, but he and his brothers used Curry as an alias. Logan was also known for his fast draw and shooting ability, but he bore little other resemblence to Curry on ASJ.

There is no canonical explanation for the nickname "Kid". His first name, Jedediah, is mentioned several times on the show.

There is also no canonical explanation for the name "Hannibal". Fan opinions tend to be divided between his having been named for the Carthaginian general or for his possibly having been born in Hannibal, Missouri, and being named for that.