I've always wondered why the show writers switched Sam McCarthy to Samaran Pandy, because it doesn't really have any bearing on the story. Obviously, the change was to reflect Middle Eastern descent, but it seemed like an arbitrary switch to me.
BUT THEN— I was rereading TSS and got to the part that described Sam McCarthy's ghost as looking just like George, like they could be cousins. And so, since Ali is of Iranian descent and they switched George Cubbins to George Karim to reflect that, they went ahead and switched Sam to Samaran, so that George and he could still "look like they could be cousins." And idk why but that makes me SO emotional. Especially because the characters never even mention the resemblance. It's just there for us to find.
