Panda and the Bus to Space?[[edit source]]
It's a neat coincidence, sure, (fun to note in behind the scenes sections, I guess) but is there any evidence that Paul Magrs was inspired by this story for the character of Panda? For what I understand, "Panda" as a character originates from an actual stuffed panda toy owned by Magrs. I kinda think it's informative to readers of the wiki that it be made clear that Panda was a later addition to Iris Wildthyme's world, rather than mentioned in a story a decade before. CoT ? 15:59, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
- I have a very strong feeling it was intentional, considering that Teenage Kicks was set in Putney Common. Three visible ties to the Iris Wildthyme series, so I honestly believe Margs had read this and took inspiration from it. The Teenage Kicks story didn't specify if the Panda in question was a ten inch tall stuffed toy, so Margs could've easily gotten the whole toy aspect from the stuffed toy he owns.
- Epsilon the Eternal ☎ 16:08, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
- My theory would be that Magrs had already invented Panda, the Bus and Iris by that point, and talked about them as a loose project with Cornell, who decided to drop a reference to his colleague's then-upcoming project. It's well-known that the name of Iris Wildthyme had been trotting around Magrs's mind, and showing up in his fiction, long before he finalised her inoculation into the DWU; it could easily be the case of Panda and the Bus as well. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 16:14, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
- Oooooh. That’s a good point. I’d forgotten that Cornell and Magrs were good friends, to the point of a character in Love and War being named after Magrs... (User:TheChampionOfTime)198.48.226.30talk to me 16:17, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
- My theory would be that Magrs had already invented Panda, the Bus and Iris by that point, and talked about them as a loose project with Cornell, who decided to drop a reference to his colleague's then-upcoming project. It's well-known that the name of Iris Wildthyme had been trotting around Magrs's mind, and showing up in his fiction, long before he finalised her inoculation into the DWU; it could easily be the case of Panda and the Bus as well. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 16:14, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
"Strong feeling", "honestly believe", "could've", "my theory", "could easily be". That's a lot of speculation for one talk page. FYI for any new users on this wiki, we do not allow speculation, including on talk pages. If a source can be found for any of the above info, it can be added to the article, but without a source, it's just speculation. Shambala108 ☎ 21:55, June 21, 2020 (UTC)
- A source has been found, in the form of Paul Magrs explicitly confirming the connection. So I think we're good. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 10:39, June 22, 2020 (UTC)