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TV Dinnah
TV Dinnah
In-game painting of TV Dinnah
Sex Male
Ruler of Primetime Kingdom
Subjects Broadcaster
Abilities Controlling TVs
Hiding Underground
Electric Shocks
Finger Guns
Captured Princess Princess Kokomo
"On tonight's scheduled programming, I, TV Dinnah, will leap through eternity and into the depths of the conscious mind."
— TV Dinnah

King TV Dinnah (TVランチ, Tībī Ranchi), often described as the King of TVs, is the king of the Primetime Kingdom, and a popular TV presenter across The World. His kingdom hypnotises people into watching TV, which he accomplishes with the help of his citizens, the Broadcasters. Since he is the King of all TVs, he also exercises direct control over the player's TV, changing its channels during his fight.

Appearances

TV Dinnah is a young man in a gray, pinstriped suit, with a CRT TV for a head and a satellite dish emerging from his crown. It is rumored that he had plans to upgrade to a HD TV before it was used for Corobo's Flying Machine.

TV Dinnah first makes himself known through a letter to King Corobo demanding he pay his TV licence, or the young king will be forced to enter a life-or-death game show on Dinnah's network. The Primetime Kingdom also features many adverts for his channels, including one at the base of the Public Broadcast Tower at the center of his kingdom. Once Corobo reads this and agrees to "Watch TV", TV Dinnah will broadcast a message to Corobo and trap him inside the player's TV, giving TV Dinnah control of the channels and the power to communicate via the scrolling HUD bar. Corobo must avoid the dangers of the channels he becomes trapped in and navigate the network to find the Western Channel, where TV Dinnah is hiding, playing a character called the "Gunman known as Death".

Once TV Dinnah is defeated, due to being the King of TVs, the player's TV will start to malfunction, causing the sound to cut out until it disappears completely. The screen slowly becomes increasingly static until an error message with a mascot will appear, asking the viewers to "Please stand by". TV Dinnah is then shown sat on the floor of a dimly lit room, surrounded by junk food. A message will ask fans of TV Dinnah to be patient, and send any kind words to a PO Box, before the TV crashes for good and Corobo is returned to his World.

Upon Corobo's return visit to the Primetime Kingdom, TV Dinnah will scream out for help from the Public Broadcast Tower's screen, appearing distressed, trapped inside the screen and claiming that he does not know what is happening. TV Dinnah is therefore suggested to only exist as a virtual mascot, since he never makes a physical appearance outside of broadcasts or while Corobo is within the TV world. However, his sister, the equally popular singer Kokomo Pine, is real.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

TV Dinnah plays another major role towards the end of the story, reporting the events of the Huge Earthquake to Alpoko, showing that even he is feeling the effects, since the Public Broadcast Tower is shaking from the force of the tremor.

TV Dinnah broadcasts the events of Corobo's journey into space, before the flying TV allowing him to do this is hit and explodes. In the end credits, Bouquet dreams of playing a Wii Game, with the Wii directly connected to TV Dinnah.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

King Battle

TV Dinnah 2

TV Dinnah broadcasts Corobo a message

TV Dinnah is fought at the Public Broadcast Tower.

King TV Dinnah's battle involves the changing of channels based on Corobo's actions, and knowledge of real-life geography. Every channel is timed, and once the programme ends, Corobo will be transported to a new channel. There are no Hot Springs in this arena, but there are a few groups of pots containing arrows at the entrance.

The arena itself is large and round, with the Public Broadcast Tower in the center, and a real World Map on the lower half. Satellite dishes and TVs are also dotted around the arena, which are used as part of an attack during the Western Channel.

This battle has five stages that progress depending on the outcome of the Western Channel, which in turn affects the difficulty of the International Channel.

International Channel

International Channel (CH0117)

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the World!"

Corobo will start each round in this channel, stood on top of a giant real World Map. Various countries of the real world have red dots that indicate hidden holes that can be detected automatically by Savvy Merchants or manually by sending troops to them. TV Dinnah will communicate using the scrolling HUD bar, giving clues as to which country his programme is airing in. Once a hole is detected, Corobo may command his Royal Guard to start digging the hole, based on the clues TV Dinnah has given. Once the timer begins to run out, TV Dinnah will blatantly reveal the country, and once it runs out entirely, Corobo is transported to a punishment channel. Corobo must choose a hole to dig before this happens, which will change channels to the News Channel.

In the first stage, three flags will appear at the bottom of the screen, one of which is the flag for the correct country. With each stage, more flags will appear. From the third stage onwards, TV Dinnah will give false clues for one country, before acknowledging the jape and describing the real country. He will give more false answers in the final stage. With each stage, the countries become more obscure, and the clues become more difficult.

The clues for each country can be found here.

News Channel

News Channel (CH0333)

"World Newsflash!"

Once Corobo's citizens have dug about a tenth of a chosen hole, TV Dinnah will break news of World War III, and call Corobo an invader. This channel will last until Corobo has finished digging his chosen country, and no other countries can be detected or chosen at this time. In the meantime, Broadcasters in military uniform will approach Corobo and his Royal Guard by army crawling towards the chosen country and attack them. Every so often, a shadow of an airplane will loom over Corobo, which signals a bombing raid: three airplanes will carpet bomb the entire arena, with the middle one targeting the chosen country.

Once Corobo's citizens have finished digging the chosen country, if Corobo's choice was correct, then the channel will change to the Western Channel. If not, Corobo will find himself in one of four punishment channels chosen at random.

Western Channel

Western Channel (CH0503)

"Duel in the West! The Gunman known as Death!"

TV Dinnah stars in this channel as the Gunman known as Death, with a grainy filter over the screen. Corobo confronts the King directly and must do as much damage as possible in a given time limit. When this time limit ends, Corobo is transported back to the International Channel. King TV Dinnah will be stood atop the country Corobo found him in on the World Map.

The stages of the International Channel are linked to TV Dinnah's health in this channel: after each fifth of TV Dinnah's health is depleted, a new stage of the International Channel starts. If Dinnah reaches one of these fifths, then the Western Channel ends prematurely. Therefore, if Corobo does almost a fifth of damage but runs out of time, then the next time he enters the Western Channel, he can only do a small amount of damage before the Channel ends.

Attack Effect Description
Short-cicuit Melee TV Dinnah tilts his head then sweeps down his suit before he emits an electric shock around his whole body, triggering this attack can prevent his Gunman attack
Gunman Projectile TV Dinnah signals this attack by taunting Corobo on the HUD bar, more likely to be performed if Corobo is further away, Dinnah holds out two finger-guns and fires three lasers in different directions: each laser will bounce off two TVs or satellite dishes located around the arena before dissipating, hiding behind TVs and satellite dishes will protect Corobo

All punishment channels last about 15-20 seconds. In later stages, punishment channels may end and then transport Corobo to another punishment channel immediately afterwards. Most channels can be easily survived by simply running away from the threat.

Conspiracy Channel

Conspiracy Channel (CH1009)

"Flying Saucer Special! Attack of the Aliens?!"

A punishment channel themed around aliens. The screen will go dark, and TV Dinnah will inform the viewers of various famous alien sightings throughout history while Corobo outruns a UFO UMA. The UFO has its usual attack of abducting citizens and reducing them to one Life, but does not spawn headless cows.

Cooking Channel

Cooking Channel (CH0929)

"TV Dinnah's CooKING Time!"

A punishment channel themed around culinary preparation. TV Dinnah will explain in explicit detail to his audience how he wishes to prepare Corobo as a meal, since "Sweet and Sour Corobo" is the main dish on the menu, while giant knives will loom above Corobo before quickly stabbing the ground and slicing, tracking his movement around the arena. TV Dinnah also admits that he sucks at cooking.

Sports Channel

Sports Channel (CH0001)

"Baseball Broadcast of Death!"

A punishment channel themed around baseball. TV Dinnah will "commentate", screaming endlessly about homeruns while Corobo avoids giant baseballs falling from the sky, which track his movement. Each baseball bounces twice before disappearing, and they appear in pairs.

Baby Channel

Baby Channel (CH0082)

"The Incontinent Baby."

A punishment channel where TV Dinnah commentates to his audience about how cute his baby is and shows incompetence in knowing whether it is laughing or crying, while Corobo avoids giant geysers of milk erupting from the ground, all while projections of baby photos spin around the arena. The milk geysers appear in various patterns, and splash a little before they fire, signalling the attack.

Effective Jobs

Hardworking Farmer Recommended by God. The Farmer is the joint fastest digger, which is useful for spending as little time in the News Channel as possible, therefore avoiding a lot of attacks from bombing raids and Broadcasters.
Craftian The Craftian is the joint fastest digger with the Farmer, and will be useful for the same reason.
Savvy Merchant The Merchant can detect hidden holes, which can save time in the International Channel, as it saves time to have the Merchant find the holes from walking around rather than manually sending citizens to each country on the map. This can prevent running out of time and entering a punishment channel.
Soldier During the Western Channel, Grunt Soldiers, Hardened Soldiers, and the Steel Knight will be able to deal the most damage to TV Dinnah, reducing the amount of times the player enters the channel before defeating him.

The Eggan and Mountie will also be of use, as they have a higher attack output than most citizens, and the Mountie's Eruption ability can take out multiple Broadcasters during the News Channel.

Music

TV Dinnah's battle is the only boss fight to include multiple pieces of music. Each channel's theme originates from a different section of Gershwin's 17 minute piece "Rhapsody in Blue", which is fitting, as this piece is based on life in 1920s New York, during a mechanical and technological revolution. However, Televisions themselves would not become domesticated until the 1950s-60s.

The International Channel uses the Ritornello Theme, "King vs King" and the Western Channel use the "Stride" Theme, the Cooking Channel uses the "Train" Theme, and the Baseball Channel uses the "Shuffle" Theme. The rest of the tracks used in the battle are reinvented versions of short musical motifs and ideas that piece the main themes of Rhapsody in Blue together.

Quotes

See article: TV Dinnah/Quotes

Etymology

TV Dinnah's name resembles the phrase "TV dinner", a colloquial term for a ready-made microwavable meal. Although, stickers on the front and back of his TV display the words "TV lunch", a made-up term which is used for his Japanese name.

Names in other languages

Name Meaning
Japanese TVランチ

Tībī Ranchi

TV Lunch
French PlateauTV TV Dinner
Italian Lunch TV TV Lunch
German Mattscheibe Gogglebox
Spanish Telecena TV Dinner

In French, TV Dinnah calls himself "votre ami du 20H" or "your 20 hour friend", likely referring to when his channel is live.

TV Dinnah's Italian name uses the English word for lunch instead of using an Italian equivalent.

The German version uses the slang word for television for TV Dinnah's name. Dinnah also refers to himself as the "Rächer Der TV-Sessel" which roughly translates as "the avenger of the TV-armchair".

Trivia

TV Dinnah in tower

TV Dinnah broadcasting the earthquake

  • According to Pancho, TV Dinnah enjoys the suffering of others.
  • Several segments of TV Dinnah's opening are performed by real people for Little King's Story. These actors are Ludovic Touitou, Aurelia Destobbeleer and Louis Lemarre, who are all credited at the end.
  • TV Dinnah has a child, as revealed during the Baby Channel. He is also the brother of Kokomo Pine, a fact that appears to have been forgotten for the character with the same name in New Little King's Story, who perves over her and asks her for nudes.
  • TV Dinnah's Henteko Speech is comprised of spliced up Korean. When translated, he is talking about someone insulting him and setting up a plan to isolate them and "eat their liver", in a tone almost like a dramatic reading of some kind of play.
    • Despite his Henteko Speech sounding robotic, in the Japanese version his dialogue is written in hiragana, katakana and kanji, which would suggest that he is human. If he were intended to be a robot, his dialogue would most likely be written entirely in katakana.
  • TV Dinnah's battle features several instances of Alpokian writing:
    • The poster that begins the battle reads "World Cable" (Waarudo keeburu) and "Interesting" (Omoroide)
    • The International Channel's icon reads "Swordfighting Movie" (Chanbara), which refers to a period drama that typically involves Samurai. This could be referring to the showdown between King Corobo and King TV Dinnah as a whole. The word could also have been chosen due to its resemblance to "channel" (channeru), to make the name a pun.
    • The News Channel's icon is Arate, whose meaning is unclear. It could mean "New Supply of Troops", possibly referring to the Broadcasters that come to attack. However, this logo is also used during the Earthquakes cutscene later in the game, where it wouldn't make as much sense.
    • The Cooking Channel's icon reads "Cooking" (Oryouri).
    • The Baby Channel's icon reads "Baby" (Beibii).
    • The other channels' icons feature text that is stylised to resemble the Alpokian script, but is really just in English. These channels are the Western Channel ("Western"), the Conspiracy Channel ("SF") and the Sports Channel ("Sports").
    • The "Please Stand By" screen reads "Please wait for a while" (Shibaraku omachi kudasai).
  • The Alpokian Broadcaster reveals that TV Dinnah created special programmes for God, as He too enjoys TV.
  • A piece of concept art of TV Dinnah's arena is mysteriously missing the world map on the ground, suggesting that the battle may have not had a Geography theme at one point during development.
  • During the International Channel segment of TV Dinnah's battle, the Broadcast Tower's screen mirrors the view of the player's TV screen.
  • In the popular Seven Deadly Sins theory for Little King's Story, some fans believe that despite his desire for everyone to become a couch potato, TV Dinnah represents the sin of Greed. The only reason why he wants them to watch TV is so that he can send them bills, earning him more money. His letter is a notice that Corobo hasn't been paying his TV bills, even though he doesn't have one.
  • TV Dinnah's appearance is similar to the "Telly Heads" monsters from The Roar, a book by Emma Clayton.
  • TV Dinnah talks of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the World", a reference to the Book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
  • TV Dinnah makes multiple references to "Big Brother" from George Orwell's book 1984. This includes his phrase "War is Peace, Peace is War." This also includes that fact that an eye appears on his screen saying "I am looking at you looking at me...", which makes reference to how Big Brother watches people, via television.
  • TV Dinnah's battle and the Primetime Kingdom take different sections from George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" for their music, for a total of eleven tracks. However, Rhapsody in Blue would not become Public Domain in the United States until January 1st 2020. This means that the use of the song within Little King's Story was technically illegal for almost eleven years.
    • Incidentally, TV Dinnah's music was main composer Yutaka Minobe's favorite remixes to create.
  • TV Dinnah's battle has two themes in the game's data that are mostly unused: Drama and Superhero Channels. While a few seconds of each play during TV Dinnah's opening cutscene, the fact that full looping versions of each exist suggests that they were also planned to be full punishment channels.
  • Concept art for TV Dinnah shows his screen playing shows like The Twilight Zone and Star Trek.
    • His introduction cutscene is very likely inspired by the opening to The Twilight Zone as well.[1]
  • TV Dinnah's introduction cutscene has the camera go deeper and deeper into his TV, in a fashion very similar to the start of Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, another game which Yoshiro Kimura and Kazuyuki Kurashima worked on.
  • TV Dinnah and the Primetime Kingdom were inspired by director and producer Yoshiro Kimura's love for international television, since he did not find Japanese television as interesting as TV culture in other places in the world, such as the US.
  • The baby that appears in the Baby Channel is the real life baby of a friend of Yoshiro Kimura's.[2]
  • Million Onion Hotel, another game by Yoshiro Kimura, includes a scene of "World War III", just like TV Dinnah's boss battle. This scene also includes iconography of a TV broadcasting the war, a map of the earth with countries' flags on it, and silhouettes of planes dropping bombs.
    • During this scene, the character of Doctor Peace says the words "I oppose those who oppose those who oppose war" which mirrors TV Dinnah's line "I am against being against war!" in his opening cutscene.
  • It is possible that TV Dinnah was an inspiration for the character of Mettaton in the indie game Undertale, as the creator of that game, Toby Fox, is a longtime friend of Yoshiro Kimura's and has cited works of his such as Moon as inspiration for his own games. Both characters are anthropomorphic televisions who share a resemblance, run and star in their own shows, give the protagonist life or death quizzes, attack the protagonist live on their shows (including a prominent use of explosives), show a desire to cook the protagonist on a cooking show, and dress up in various costumes.

Gallery

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