Star Trek: Discovery's Tig Notaro Told Us The Awful Original Name For Her Character And The Cool Origin Of The Name Jett Reno
I'm glad she spoke up.
When ranking the coolest members of the crew on Star Trek: Discovery, I don't think it's much of a conversation about who is sitting in the top spot. Commander Jett Reno joined the crew in Season 2, and while she does pop in and out of the show due to real-life actor Tig Notaro's comedic pursuits, all her appearances result in awesomeness. I think part of it lies in the name itself, and my thoughts on that only strengthened when the actress told CinemaBlend the original name for her character and the cool origin for the finalized moniker.
I had the honor of speaking to Tig Notaro shortly before "Labyrinths" became available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, and I made a somewhat embarrassing confession in telling the actress there have been times when I mistakenly called her character "Janet Reno." You know, the same name as the first female U.S. Attorney General. I was ultimately happy about the admission, however. When I asked if she ever made the same mistake, she revealed the original name that was pitched for her character by Alex Kurtzman:
I 100% agree with her. I've seen a lot of Tig Notaro's movies and shows, and if she would've had the name "Denise" in any of them, it would've bugged me. It's certainly not a name that fits the cocky and capable demeanor of Jett Reno, who she's previously stated is based on Star Wars' Han Solo. Plus, the name makes me think of actress Denise Crosby, and I'm still upset about her character's exit in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Jett Reno is the best name, regardless of how similar it sounds to former employees of the United States government. As it turns out, there is someone that Tig Notaro based the name on, and it's a connection readers may be shocked they didn't put together sooner:
When it comes to badass women in pop culture, a rock icon like Joan Jett ranks pretty highly. It's no wonder then that Tig Notaro would like to have her character named after The Runaways guitarist, and the homage is just subtle enough I never really saw the connection until she brought it up. If only there was a scene where she tells another character to put another dime in the jukebox, baby.
It's good that Jett Reno got a moment to shine in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, especially considering that none of the cast and crew knew the show would be canceled until wrapping the initial production. Had they known, one would wonder if maybe additional concessions would've been made to put Saru into more of the season, as Doug Jones had press commitments elsewhere during shooting.
Many fans know by now that Discovery was granted extra filming after wrapping up production to film a coda to give the series a satisfying conclusion. We here at CinemaBlend can only speculate on what will be featured in the final scene of the series, but I know a good number of us hope it's a setup for more upcoming Trek shows down the road. Additionally, let's hope Jett Reno appears in at least one of them because I'm not done with seeing Tig Notaro in Star Trek just yet.
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Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.