A funny thing happened to "Suits" fans who tuned in to the most recent episode of "Bones" on Fox. In the "Bones" episode "The Method to the Madness," the murder victim of the week was named Jessica Pearson. Thankfully, the victim wasn't the high-powered female attorney from USA's "Suits," but rather an organic applesauce producer who worked as a call girl on the side.
This incident is far from the first time that TV fans have been taken off guard by hearing a more famous name attached to a minor TV character. In fact, another example also relates to "Bones": Temperance "Bones" Brennan shares a nickname with "Star Trek" doc "Bones" McCoy.
From crime dramas to classic comedies, these TV shows feature arresting or humorous moments when one character shares their name with a more iconic, established character.
Fans of this beloved sci-fi series will recall that Sam Anders was one of Starbuck's love interests. But many "BSG" fans are also of the age to recall another iconic TV character named Sam Anders: Clarissa's best friend Sam on the classic Nickelodeon show "Clarissa Explains It All." Sadly, there was never an episode of "BSG" where Sam used a ladder to enter Starbuck's bedroom.
"House"
One of the best characters on "House" was Eric Foreman, an African-American doc who specialized in the inner workings of the brain. But years before Foreman hit the scene, Fox had another hit show that featured a different character with almost the same name. That character was Eric Forman on "That '70s Show."
"Fringe"
Modern sci-fi fans love Walter Bishop, the mad scientist with a heart of gold (and a few missing bits of brain), on "Fringe." But this beloved Walter has the same name as another classic TV character. Walter Bishop was also the name of Maddie's husband on Season 4 of "Moonlighting." Thankfully, the Walter Bishop of "Fringe" had a much nicer wife, but how cool would it have been to see Bruce Willis on an episode of "Fringe"?
Okay, this one's a bit of a tie. Both "ER" and "Friends" were wildly popular around the same time. The secret, clearly, was that both shows had a popular character with great hair named Rachel Greene. In "ER," Rachel was Dr. Greene's daughter, while the Rachel of "Friends" was older, more self-possessed, and with a central role on her series. Sadly, the two shows never did a crossover event, and the world was cheated of a Rachel-meets-Rachel moment.
