A *small* fan base?

[Michael Hinman]

Originally posted by Corwwyn
Michael, using your figures, I dispute that "another 2 million" watched the first part when it reran. At the very least, some of that 2 million is comprised of viewers who watched the first night and chose to watch the rerun too.

As for the numbers themselves, 4 million is an exaggeration.

If we're talking about in terms of a fanbase, I can see your point. But if we're talking about in terms of ad revenue, and possible interest in a story, even repeat viewership is good. In fact, in terms of a series, that's even better.

I do not know if Nielsen tracks repeat viewership or not. But it might.

[lordpenquin]

I don't know if I'm bored to death or secretly facinated by the shooting war between fans of TOS and fans of the mini. If we could focus the anger between the two factions towards universal instead, perhaps we would see the old galactica rise from the ashes.

[slider]

I always thought "Trekkies" was an affectionate look at the Star Trek fans. It did show some fans that were pretty far out there. But I don't think there was any contempt for the fans.

The cost of CGI is debatable. The cost for hardware has gone way, way down. However we have come a long way from the CGI in "The Last Starfighter". The complexity and the amount of realism that is expected today is pretty high. These extremely complex and highly detailed scenes take a lot of time and really increase the cost.

Zoic did a good job on Battlestar Galactica. (There has been some discussion about the panning shots but that was presumably the directors’ decision.) Even then I believe they had to use some of the original space footage created with physical models and stop motion cameras. (The original BSG did not use CGI.) Lee Stringer at Zoic had a team of 14 animators to work on BSG. This high quality talent does not come cheap.

Originally posted by Darth Marley
About the Starbuck gender issue, didn't Scully's dad call her Starbuck in the X-Files?

This is hiliarious, because you're absolutely correct. Nice one pointing this out!

[DCRabbit]

Originally posted by Dennis
Ah, nicknames are nicknames, DCRabbit. "Wrench" refers specificially to either an action or an inanimate object. Seriously, I think you should withdraw graciously on this one.

Yes, wrench does mean inanimate object or action. None of the examples you quoted refer to gender.. they're gender neutral, like I said. Starbuck has a gender descriptor in it. A specific one.

Nicknames are either familiar, descriptive or some combination of both. Some nicknames, like Sam.. are familiar.. shortened versions of full names. Wrench is descriptive.. commonly referring to a person's profession. Starbuck.. see above.

You can call She-Ra 'He-Man' if you want.. but a misnomer is still a misnomer.

Now, if Kara was a lesbian, there'd be some grounding for the name along the same lines as all those guys in prison being referred to as 'bitches'. But she isn't. Maybe in the future.. but not now so there's no reasoning for it.

Other than political correctness, of course.

DC

[Michael Hinman]

Originally posted by slider
I always thought "Trekkies" was an affectionate look at the Star Trek fans. It did show some fans that were pretty far out there. But I don't think there was any contempt for the fans.

The cost of CGI is debatable. The cost for hardware has gone way, way down. However we have come a long way from the CGI in "The Last Starfighter".

There is CGI in "The Last Starfighter"? Wow ... that's pretty cool. Now I have a little more respect for those special effects.

The complexity and the amount of realism that is expected today is pretty high. These extremely complex and highly detailed scenes take a lot of time and really increase the cost.

Zoic did a good job on Battlestar Galactica. (There has been some discussion about the panning shots but that was presumably the directors’ decision.) Even then I believe they had to use some of the original space footage created with physical models and stop motion cameras. (The original BSG did not use CGI.) Lee Stringer at Zoic had a team of 14 animators to work on BSG. This high quality talent does not come cheap.

I'm not sure whose decision it was to pan the shots, but I liked it. It was a "Saving Private Ryan" feel.

[SAR Pilot]

You can look at aviators today, male and female, and see callsigns for men which are of a female nature and women which are of a male nature. Callsigns, for the most part, are gender neutral, and are most often assigned as a result of something stupid you did. . . not about how cool it makes you sound!
Perhaps Kara has a "male-like" callsign because she likes to smoke cigars, drink heavily and play poker, all things predominately male in nature.

[SAR Pilot]

This has been the most constructive debate I have seen yet. People are not slinging personal attacks back and forth, but are bringing forth their ideas and opinions in a more constructive manner.
The fact remains that the "Vocal Majority", no matter how true of a minority that group is, is the group that will get the most attention by others. If the calmer fans sit back quietly, letting the only message heard by the media and other PTB is that spoken by a few slingly maliciousness around the web and in letters and interviews, then they will react to only that!As the saying goes, "the squeaky wheel always gets the grease!"

One thing I have observed across the various Forums, including this one, has been a general consensus by the "True TOS fans" that if you like the Mini, you cannot be a true fan of TOS. I know that is a pretty broad stroke I made, but that is the feel I have been getting from a majority of people I have tried to interact with regarding people like me who enjoyed both.

I thank everybody here for bringing more sanity back to the issues at hand. I truly hope that the violent storm is behind us, and now we can move forward toward a continuation, a series, whatever!

[Michael Hinman]

Originally posted by SAR Pilot
This has been the most constructive debate I have seen yet. People are not slinging personal attacks back and forth, but are bringing forth their ideas and opinions in a more constructive manner.
The fact remains that the "Vocal Majority", no matter how true of a minority that group is, is the group that will get the most attention by others. If the calmer fans sit back quietly, letting the only message heard by the media and other PTB is that spoken by a few slingly maliciousness around the web and in letters and interviews, then they will react to only that!As the saying goes, "the squeaky wheel always gets the grease!"

One thing I have observed across the various Forums, including this one, has been a general consensus by the "True TOS fans" that if you like the Mini, you cannot be a true fan of TOS. I know that is a pretty broad stroke I made, but that is the feel I have been getting from a majority of people I have tried to interact with regarding people like me who enjoyed both.

I thank everybody here for bringing more sanity back to the issues at hand. I truly hope that the violent storm is behind us, and now we can move forward toward a continuation, a series, whatever!

Well, I agree. It's good to see such positive discussion. Of course, there are others who will take it elsewhere in their own little playground. But those children can stay there.

I never heard of a reason behind the name Starbuck in TOS. I assummed it is just a name. Unlike Apollo, Athena, etc. I don't know of any Greek or Latin derivation for the name. In the TOS episode where Starbuck ended up on the prison planet the inmates mockingly asked him what "starbucking" was. I think he replied it was just a "name". Colonel Tigh mentions something about how Kara got the call sign during the card game scene. We don't get an explanation. He actually appeared to mock the call sign.

Here's an idea: How about starbuck derives from somebody who acts like a cowboy in space. You ride a bucking bronco. She would ride a bucking star. Star seems to be a word used for ships in space, for example BattleSTAR and of course in other scifi we have STAR fighters. Maybe starbuck is someone who flys a viper like someone handles a bucking bronco. It may be our equivalent of saying someone acts like a "cowboy". Starbuck may imply she is a brave dangerous risk taker. I think the name Starbuck is a gender nonissue since no one is named Starbuck in our society. Since in TOS we never meet another Starbuck the name could have been the equivalent of Jeff, Chris or Leslie for all we know. Maybe Starbuck (an orphan in TOS) was left on the steps of a coffee house in Caprica City. You never know and you can't prove it!

[Gemini1999]

antelope526 -

I like your take on the "Starbuck" name genesis - it makes total sense to me...

I did notice something on your post that caught my eye - your location! We're practically "next-door neighbors" - I think that's a first to see someone posting from right around the corner!

A belated welcome to Fleets - I hope you enjoy it here!

Best regards,
Bryan
________
Lovely Wendie99

[BSG_Sci_FiPulse]

The name Starbuck, ok not sure where it comes from in terms of Battlestar Galactica, but one thing everyone knows is Glen Larson is a pretty well read individual.

The name Starbuck before anyone heard of Battlestar Galactica whether it be original show or mini series comes from the novel 'Moby Dick' Starbuck was the name of Ahabs First Officer. So my guess, and this is a guess. Is that Larson at some point in his life read Moby Dick, liked the name Starbuck and chose to name one of his characters as a backhanded homage to the classic book.

Another well known fact, this one pertaining to trek, is that When Gene Roddenberry was looking for a Captain for TNG and Original series, he has a Captain Heratio Hornblower type of Captain in mind. So it is fair to say that most Sci Fi series owe a little something to classic lit, and always find ways to pay tribute to it.

[slider]

Well, Call me Ishmael. You are correct sir.

[Dennis]

Originally posted by DCRabbit
Nicknames are either familiar, descriptive or some combination of both. Some nicknames, like Sam.. are familiar.. shortened versions of full names. Wrench is descriptive.. commonly referring to a person's profession. Starbuck.. see above.

Uh-uh. Nicknames are whatever people agree is a nickname. Strain all you want -- there are no such "rules" in the real world, as anyone with their ears open for any length of time can attest, and therefore no need to try to pretend that they ought to apply in fiction.

BTW, the name of the coffee company is also derived from the Moby Dick character.

Wow, I forgot I posted this... So many replies...

Originally posted by BST
Sorry to sound so negative but, I'm just trying to be, shall we say, "realistic".
BST

I didn't feel your comment was negative at all. Quite the opposite, I think its constructive criticism like this that is what's needed in a situation like this.

But a series of movies would make a killing. And if they had Katee as Dirk's daughter or such to give some *reasonable* expalanation for her being Starbuck other than erasing the male womanizer character from BSg canon cos it's not politically correct nowadays..

That's so funny, I was thinking the other day, a great way for Dirk Benedict to get into the series would be to have him play Katee Sackoff's father... Either that, or he'd make one hell of a Cain!

You make this sound like Sci-Fi is run by PBS. They aren't out looking for corporate grants, or funding from "viewers like you."

*lmao*
Battlestar Galactica is brought to you by The Cheat, and viewers like you.
*lol*
Sorry. I love that site.

You CAN do a lower-budget BSG. Some episodes will have space battles and heavy CGI, others won't. That's the way ALL sci-fi TV shows have been done since the 1960s when "Lost In Space" and "Star Trek" helped create the small-box genre.

See to me there is only one factor that will make Galactica cost more than the typical Scifi show. The fact that it has SO MANY supporting cast members. But then look at DS9, how many main characters it had. It took nine episodes just to wrap up their arcs. I dunno guys, the "It will cost too much" thing just sounds like an excuse to me. But then, they've also got a point in that all Treks, besides TOS have been syndicated, which is why they have been so successful. Farscape, and I don't want to offend any of those fans because I also liked that show and respect all those guys, that show probably died out of two things... The fact that it wasn't syndicated, and the "opinion" that it was too alien for the general public to get into. (I say opinion because thats all it is, it probably has no actual bearing in anything) But then the likelyhood of Galactica getting syndicated is probably minimal at best. SG1 started on cable, but it was on Showtime, a totally different network. I'm not aware of how they got it syndicated, but thats what they need to do with Galactica. The fact that Scifi has SG1 now may help them come to realize the importance of syndication. But you never know.

Isn't it funny how its been two weeks since this thing has aired, Scifi hasn't said WORD ONE about the thing, yet so much has been said, so many rumors have been abound... You'd think Scifiwire would have said SOMETHING. I mean I know they're out till the 4th, but it makes you really wonder what's going on behind the scenes...

I think my biggest difference in perception for your earlier statements probably lies in the fact that I never before saw any studio show such disregard for the fans.

Neither have I, though I doubt their spokespeople are gonna issue statements like "The fans suck," or "Why don't those people shut up" but I can imagine that those opinions are held by certain execs. Hell, if I were Ron Moore, I'd certainly be thinking it. No offense to anyone, seriously! Don't yell at me for saying it. I'm just sayin'. I'm a manager at Burger King, and I hate most of the customers. I know its a wierd comparison, but you should hear some of the crap these people say about me. It drives you crazy. But you do your best to not take it personally, and you've got the "Work two weeks, get paid" mantra, so you keep doing it. And you go to ITT Tech so that in two years you don't have to put up with that crap.. But basically its the same for these guys I think. They get hate mail all the time I think, and probably very little to support them. If 90% of the mail you got from fans was "You suck" wouldn't you hate them too?

At any rate... Back on track... Also Brannon Braga has made MANY disparaging comments in chat sessions about the fans, which is why the fans hate him so much, and probably why Trek is failing. Well, also because everything he wrote after his first year involved in Trek has sucked, with the exception of First Contact, which didn't suck for the first fifteen minutes, and then resumed sucking. (Of course wouldn't that honor go to ILM? Hm.)

I can't recall Paramount ever making a documentary that explained how wrong or stupid the Trek fans were. I certainly never heard any statements about how stupid or unwanted the fans were from any Paramount official.

Depends on who you call official. There was Brannon Braga, like I mentioned. That was the most direct offense. But then there was Bill Shatner, who when he went on Saturday Night Live told Trek fans to "Get a life," (which honestly, was funny as hell, I'm sorry... He shouldn't have apologized for that... he didn't write it, it was just a sketch...) and then there was Leonard Nemoy who wrote a book called "I am not Spock," trying to isolate himself from the character. I think some of the producers of DS9 said they'd never return to Trek because of fan reaction... Which is probably why we'll never see a DS9 movie.

As far as Galactica is concerned, I recall when Richard Hatch first started Second Coming, Larsen said he'd sue both Hatch and Universal if it went through. I'm not sure if that sentiment ever changed because I know Larsen was involved in the DeSanto project, but I never heard Hatch support that one. As far as the Mini is concerned, I have never heard anything about the producers outright attacking fans. I have seen comments from actors and producers that they have recieved a lot of negative feedback about the mini before it aired, but a lot less after it had. That is the extent I've seen. But as I said above, I hope I've impressed upon some of you guys the importance of looking at things from the other guys shoes. Hell, if I ever get to Hollywood and produce some of my Scifi, the last thing I'm gonna think about is the fans, unless it actually produces loyal ones. I'm not going to listen to the people who want to bring me down with their so called "Constructive Criticism" or "Do it the fans way because we are many and our voice is strong." I'm going to do what I do because I have a dream and I'd like to see it in pictures. Sure the studio is gonna chance it a bit more to their liking, but crap, thats what happens when you want to do something and get a paycheck. The signature on that thing says "Do it my way." Not "Do it the fans way."

Anyway... Hope I don't offend anyone with that. I'm just sayin... Look at it from the other guys perspective.

I said "anyone" can do CGI. That is inaccurate, and insensitive. I didn't intend it to be, but every time I re-read it, my original meaning is not there, so it was not said properly.

No, I think your original comment was somewhat accurate. Anyone CAN do CGI, just by downloading a pirated copy of some program off Kazaa or something and then downloading a mesh off of Scifi-meshes and then pressing Render. The question is, can they do GOOD CG?

I always thought "Trekkies" was an affectionate look at the Star Trek fans.

That movie scared me to death. I ran a Trek club here in Spokane for a year. We couldnt' gain any new members because at all our events people kept arguing with other fans about whether we were "Trekkies" or "Trekkers." I kept telling them "It doesn't freaking matter, just make friends with them and get them to join so we get more money." Nobody listened. I guess you just can't run a fan club professionally.

BTW, the name of the coffee company is also derived from the Moby Dick character.

If it goes to series, it would be funny to see a call sign like "Angry Fan." Or "Delux247."

Wait, scratch that last one...

[DCRabbit]

Originally posted by Dennis
Uh-uh. Nicknames are whatever people agree is a nickname. Strain all you want -- there are no such "rules" in the real world, as anyone with their ears open for any length of time can attest, and therefore no need to try to pretend that they ought to apply in fiction.

BTW, the name of the coffee company is also derived from the Moby Dick character.

Okay.. I looked up the definition of 'nickname' online and that is what I got. And it makes sense.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nickname

Also, I myself have never heard anyone female referred to as 'buck'.. nor has anyone I know.. nor the people I work with. In fact, when I explain why I'm asking.. those that don't laugh and do the usual butch guy wanna be cracks think well.. it's a stupid thing to call a girl. Some of the girls I know told me that anyone that kept referring to them as that wouldn't be able to say it again for awhile.

How many times have you heard, say, a social worker called 'Wrench'?


It's not a rule or law no.. it's just looked upon as common sense, really. And Starbuck's coffee being named after the Moby Dick character is relevant to this how? Now, if it was called Starbuck's Orange Juice and they still sold coffee it would be relevant. And it would also be a misnomer. Starbuck's Coffee is an actual name, though.. and you said we're talking nicknames here.

DC

[Dennis]

The Starbuck coffee/Moby Dick remark was relevant to BSG_Sci_FiPulse's post, not yours -- others of us are having a conversation too.

Resort to "common sense" is always a failure, since other than don't-put-your-hand-in-the-fire most people's definitions of "common sense" vary without limit.

But enough of this silly gainsaying of opinion -- I'm curious: if we were all to suddenly agree that you're Absolutely Right(TM), that you've always been right and that No One Has Ever Been As Right As DCRabbit...what very important thing would you do with that "victory" that made it worth pursuing so doggedly and narrowly?

[Darth Marley]

And he either doesn't watch X-Files,or thinks Gillian Anderson is a man.

[beeker]

Originally posted by DCRabbit
Also, I myself have never heard anyone female referred to as 'buck'.. nor has anyone I know.. nor the people I work with. In fact, when I explain why I'm asking.. those that don't laugh and do the usual butch guy wanna be cracks think well.. it's a stupid thing to call a girl. Some of the girls I know told me that anyone that kept referring to them as that wouldn't be able to say it again for awhile.

How many times have you heard, say, a social worker called 'Wrench'?

This argument on the name of Starbuck is getting almost silly. In the first place it doesn't matter is the name is a stupid thing to call a girl (or anyone else). In fact that is how such names are often "awarded" in the military. Someone does something really stupid, and there are witnesses who remember.

No matter how many times that it is explained that nothing in the rules of giving callsigns (such as they are) that would prevent a female from being called Starbuck, you stick you heels in.

I've never know anyone who has studied the etymology of a word before giving it as a nickname, but for this discussion I will. The hangup seems to be the second syllable "buck". Your entire case rests on the fact that buck means a male deer (never mind that "star-male deer" makes no sense at all to call someone). The problem is that that is not the only thing that buck means. My dictonary (a rather old Webster's) has 12 definitions of the word. Only one of which is male deer.

What is interesting is that when one of the non gender definitions of buck is combined with star one can make a nickname that actually makes sense.

Buck n.: an object formerly used in poker to mark the next player to deal: a token used as a mark or reminder.

We know Starbuck is a poker player (or whatever that game is called). She could have become known for a star shaped marker she took to the games (a lot of people use good luck charms). Such an item could well be called a "starbuck". From there it would be a simple case of transference for people to start calling her Starbuck. That type of thing actually happens all the time.

BTW while we keep using the term nickname, we are really talking about callsigns. For all of the joking and teasing that goes on when people are tagged with such names callsigns do serve an important function. At its most basic it is to minimize confusion at a tactical level. If you get enough people together (say a fighter squadron) there are likely to be people with the same names (either first or last or both). Everyone HAS to have a unique identifer that can be a) said quickly and b) not be confused with any other. Proper names won't work, and normal nicknames won't work for the same reasons. That leaves the wonderful world of name giving as only the military can do it (trust me you are not missing much if you haven't been a receipent of this) where caring about proper gender of the name ranks far down in importance.

[BSG_Sci_FiPulse]

To be honest this arguement is as old as I am Birthdays. Starbuck in the original was the guys name. In the mini it is Kare Twrace's callsign. So when you getting into an argument about a name, you talking semantics.

[TwoBrainedCylon]

Well, I agree. It's good to see such positive discussion. Of course, there are others who will take it elsewhere in their own little playground. But those children can stay there.

Which specific children or playgrounds are you referring to Hinman? Can you clear this up please? I'm not really sure what this was supposeed to mean.


Two-Brain

[BSG_Sci_FiPulse]

Originally posted by Michael Hinman
Hard to have a "small" fan base of around 4 million.

In Global terms 4 Million is a small fanbase. Lest you forget the support that Star Trek has in most of europe, specifically countrys such as Germany, France and the UK.

Sure 4 Million is a healthy start, but you also forget that even the 1978 show has both fans and casual veiwers in those same european countrys which I have mentioned above. For many of those European countrys the classic show is still run in syndication as well, and the mini as far as I know hasn't done the rounds in the rest of europe as of yet. But 4 Million, good enough to allow Sci Fi Leeway to make a decision to make a series or indeed perhaps another mini. But that is where the buck stops. As in you are referring to a niche fanbase in the US and not any of the other countrys who also share the passion for either the remake or the original show.

[Darth Marley]

Seems I recall,and will certainly be corrected if wrong,that the BSG mini got highest ratings for SciFi Channel except Children of Dune,and maybe Taken.

This seems to indicate that shows such as Farscape and SG1 get lower numbers week to week than the mini got with a few showings and a lot of hype.

By the same reasoning used by those that wish to downplay the mini's popularity,all the other shows on the SciFi channel should be cancelled due to relative lack of interest.

Any thoughts on this? Is this really what anyone wants?
Are there any people out there that hate the network sooo much they would like to see it fail?

[TwoBrainedCylon]

Darth Marley,

That's not really a proper comparison. Miniseries gain different ratings than a regular series and this miniseries was very, very heavily advertised.

Personally, I would like to see Skiffy fail. There's a definite benefit for a science fiction channel and this channel is failing that in so many ways. Its run by people who at best don't understand their audience and at worst, have disdain for them. If Skiffy dies the death I think it deserves, someone is going to pick up the ball and do a proper job.

So yes, I would like to see the current channel fail. The only other answer would be a complete sweeping of the management and replacing them with folks who appreciate and embrace their viewers.


Two-Brain

[Darth Marley]

I grant that the viewership for a heavily hyped mini does not graft to viewership for a series.

However,we are dealing with the upper limit of viewers in these cases.

If the mini ratings are less than impressive,then the lower ratings for series that ARE being continued would be the result of faulty cost/benifit analysis.
Clearly,if SG1 can survive and be spun off with ratings below 4 mil,then a BSG03 series might actually be a commercial success,at least in comparison with other shows SciFi has chosen to keep in the stable.

I certainly will not fault you for your opinion regarding the failure of SciFi.I stand on the other side of the aisle.

My first memory of SciFi is bad sf reruns,a network run on the cheap,and ridiculous ads for ST:TOS VHS tapes selling for $25 USD a pop (I really hoped my fellow nerds were smarter than that).

I don't want them to fail,because I do like having another channel that airs shows I like to watch being on the dial.

I doubt that if it fails today that someone will pick up the ball.
If there were competition on the air within the genre,then some reform might be forced.If it fails without competition,I believe investors will see it as a bad business model.

I go with the "rising tide raises all ships" approach on this.I certainly do not approve of every programming decision they make,but they do deliver some product I enjoy.If they become a financial success,then we might see SciFi2.

Perhaps some one out there will chime in with info about something like "The Horror Channel" or such that I do not have in my TV market.I would love to hear about it.

[Darth Marley]

And another point,I really don't care about who sits at the helm of a network.As long as progamming choices improve,I see no reason for heads to roll.

[SAR Pilot]

Beeker, you're right on the money with the "military issued" callsigns. There was a female intel officer who always had some radical political thing to say, if you know what I mean. . . so the squadron she was assigned to gave her the callsign, "SUMAT" which was an acronym for Shut Up Men Are Talking. I don't agree with it, and it certainly was not PC by any means, but she got it for stupid things she said.
There was a male NFO who was effeminate by nature, he got the callsign "Sashay" for his hip swaying walking style.
Callsigns are just identifiers for others to place with you as an individual. Starbuck in the mini is just a callsign, NOT A NAME. It doesn't have to make sense, like a nickname does. For example: a pilot named Gary had the callsign "Ace'N", it made sense in a context with an SNL skit, but it's not a proper name. Another pilot always said the stupidest things at the wrong time, so his callsign was "Shed", which was short for S**t head.
It's just a callsign, people, don't read too deeply into it! Aviators don't put great amounts of time or energy into callsigns, they look for things you do, say, habits you have, things which annoy you, or which go with your name. . . no deep hidden meanings.

[TwoBrainedCylon]

I'm probably not the best person regarding Skiffy. I liked the original concept. It was a channel where you could tune in and see all of the old Sci-Fi shows that nobody played. That idea has died. I don't watch any of their original shows so they are of no value to me. I've seen evidence that they disregard their viewers and think that's irresponsible for any media outlet.

If another channel picked up what Skiffy original seemed to be, I'd watch it all the time.

I also recognize that I'm probably a minority considering viewership but that's my personal feeling.

Two-Brain

[Darth Marley]

Ah,yes,I do see a very different viewpoint than mine.

I like many of the reruns.But I don't get the reruns I would really like...Blake's 7,Dr. Who,even the short lived Sword of Justice,though it really wasn't sf.I don't think Knight Rider is sf.

A lot of their original programming seems flat to me.

Don't think of it as being "not the best person regarding Skiffy" as I am soliciting opinions opposite my own.

[Michael Hinman]

Originally posted by DCRabbit
[B]Okay.. I looked up the definition of 'nickname' online and that is what I got. And it makes sense.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nickname

Also, I myself have never heard anyone female referred to as 'buck'.. nor has anyone I know.. nor the people I work with.

But it was used as a nickname for Agent Scully on "The X-Files," I believe someone pointed out here.