PeterDavid.net

Aw.

Where'd you get the name "Leela"? Seeing as this was, y'know, pre-"Futurama."

Utterly adorable, and no doubt mortifying to her 13 years later. Which is all a dad can hope for.

At the time, I assumed that Leela came from Doctor who; that was the name of the Fourth Doctor's companion for half off his third and all of his fourth season.

She was, perhaps, most distinctive as one of the few companions who (having grown up as a warrior) was able to take care of herself, and the Doctor on occasion as well.

Now, does Peter pronounce the first name AIR-ee-el or AHR-ee-el?

Ah, Randy, to be young again. :-) (In other words, I'd bet good money that it's a Who reference. Given Ariel's first name -- either the Shakespearean reference or the Disney one -- using Leela as a middle name is a terrific counterpoint.)

I remember this annnouncement -- very cool. Here's hoping my daughter winds up with as much self-confidence and presence when she's 13. (Except, y'know, the bat mitzvah isn't likely...)

TWL

I'm not too familiar with Dr. Who...Does "Leela" provide a nice counterpoint if "Ariel" isn't a Shakespeare or a Disney reference, but a Dean Friedman reference, instead?

I remember years back PAD writing about getting Rene Auberjonois to autograph a "Sebastian" doll - much to the laughter of Rene (he voiced the cook in "Little Mermaid"). That said, I always figured Ariel for a Disney reference.

if "Ariel" isn't a...Disney reference...

PAD is one of the biggest fans of Disney's The Little Mermaid, and has written issues of the Disney comic version of it (though we never got to see one of his finest ideas for an issue exploring the history of Ariel's mother, he did tell us the story in one of the BID columns).

And hey, there's a reference to The Little Mermaid right in the birth announcement (I missed it the first time):

Announcing a new part of our world--

This was the column I kept remembering at Ariel's bat mitzvah last week. :)

Didn't the original BID have a Lil' Mermaid drawing to announce along with the poem? Or is that the next one?

And hey, there's a reference to The Little Mermaid right in the birth announcement (I missed it the first time):

Announcing a new part of our world--

There was also:

Looking at her you'd say,

"Hey, sure...she's got everything."

Lyrics from the song, "Part Of Your World"

Aaaawwwwww.
PAD, that was fabulous.

Just out of curiousity, why are you such a big fan of "The Little Mermaid?" And are you still as big a fan now as you were back then, or are other Disney movies bigger favorites?

I seem to recall reading a forward written by PAD in a Doctor Who book, where he mentions that one of his daughters was named after the Doctor Who companion Leela.

As to the pronunciation of Ariel, I met PAD and Ariel at a convention once, and if I recall right, PAD was pronouncing it ahr-ee-EL. All I remember for sure was that I tried to be sure that I pronounced it the same way he did, but when I finally talked to her I completely botched it and said it AIR-ee-el. Whoops. My belated apologies to Ariel. :)

-Fer

-Fer

Eric - "Didn't the original BID have a Lil' Mermaid drawing to announce along with the poem?"

It did, and I drew it. Mermaid Ariel was
looking at her collection of Gadgets (Chip 'n
Dale Rescue Rangers) and Gizmos (Gremlins) aplenty.

- Bill Neville

Bill, I was looking for my copy and couldn't find it. If you have one, I'd love to make use of it on here (with your permission, of course.)

What about the whosits, whatsits and thingamabobs?

> There was also:
> Looking at her you'd say,
> "Hey, sure...she's got everything."
>
> Lyrics from the song, "Part Of Your World"

Actually, the first six lines of the announcement can be sung to the tune of "Part Of Your World" -- although one probably wouldn't think of that until they reached line 4