7. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler
Jonnie Goodboy Tyler, the protagonist of Battlefield Earth – widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made – has an utterly ridiculous name. Jonnie is an odd spelling of a pretty average name and Tyler is pretty standard, but Goodboy? It’s that part that makes it a particularly strange choice.
Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that Battlefield Earth is an adaptation of one of L. Ron Hubbard’s books. L. Ron Hubbard is better known as the founder of Scientology – you know, that weird sci-fi religious beloved by various celebrities – so it might come as no surprise that the mind that brought us Thetans and Xena is also responsible for Jonnie Goodboy Tyler.
The use of “Goodboy” as a name is usually limited to pets or farm animals, and so it’s quite novel to hear in a sci-fi movie. However, it’s a very odd choice of name for a supposedly heroic protagonist, and it makes Battlefield Earth somehow seem even more ridiculous.