Tenna

Tenna's catchphrase, Chapter 3

Mr. "Ant" Tenna (JP: ミスター・アン・テナ), more often known as simply Tenna (JP: テナ), is a Darkner who controls TV World and serves as the director of TV Time. He is the main antagonist and penultimate boss of Chapter 3 of Deltarune.

Profile

Appearance

Tenna is a tall and thin anthropomorphic TV-like Darkner. His head is a light purple cuboid television with two antennas with rounded ends. Tenna's face is a white screen with no eyes, a long white nose, and often sports a wide grin that can have normal blocky teeth, or sharp teeth.

Tenna's screen can act like a normal television screen, and his nose is detachable: and some of his noses are stored in a "nose drawer". The tip of Tenna's nose can sprout a pink flower if he is overjoyed. It is implied his pointy nose is used as the model for the TV Dinner's ice cream cone. When Tenna's screen turns blank or displays static, his nose disappears.

Tenna's attire reflects his role as a director. He has a long sleeve red twin tailcoat with a set of yellow-lettered "TV" attached to the left side of his coat, and wears a yellow tie on top, a white shirt underneath his coat, a set of white gloves, a belt that has a gold TV-shaped buckle for his shiny black trousers, and long yellow shoes with black soles.

Tenna's model moves with a distortion effect when he is speaking. Some of his animations are also a mix of static and fluid animations. Tenna is capable of shrinking his size, making himself large, or appearing squashed. This occurs based on his mood, which also applies to his antennas bending, his screen, his tie, and coattails.

Side-by-side comparison of possible cosmetic damage to the Dreemurr residence's television

Tenna's Light World form is a cathode-ray tube television with a set of antennas on top. It is implied the screen has burn-in. The TV sits on top of a red furniture pad, which is used as a buffer for a single-drawer stand beneath it.

After the events of Chapter 3, the furniture pad disappears, the left antenna is broken and taped, the base of the antenna stand is cracked, and the top of the TV has a few scrapes. If Susie did not repair Tenna, the TV has even more scratches, and multiple cracks are visible on its screen.

Personality

Tenna posing with the party during his show as MIKE, the BOARD, please! plays

Tenna embodies the archetypical TV host: he is energetic and enthusiastic, and always has a quick quip. Exuberant and cartoony, he makes theatrical gestures and exaggerated movements. Tenna's dialogue is sometimes accompanied by detailed text graphics and sound effects. His humor tends to be gleefully absurd, and he often drops bizarre, wacky remarks. Tenna is a natural charmer, consistently working to keep things fun and light-hearted for his audience.

Tenna's desire to entertain is not limited to Lightners. He expressed relief and satisfaction when King and Lancer laughed at his accidental slapstick fall, despite his initial dismay.

As an old CRT, Tenna is behind the times. He does not know much about emails, believes digital currency is secure, and considers the retro-style game The Legend of Tenna as "state-of-the-art" and "modern". Owing to his age, Tenna frequently insists on his relevance.

Tenna is nostalgic about the past, frequently talking about his memories with the Dreemurr and Holiday families.

Tenna's jubilant demeanor belies a deep-seated fear of being abandoned by the Lightners and a desperate need for their attention. He is insecure about becoming outdated enough to be thrown away or ignored. Driven by these fears, he has made at least two deals that harmed others. He convinced his ex-partner Spamton to sign a contract despite knowing it would cause serious problems. He justified this by claiming he "needed [to be big] just as much as anyone else" and was convinced he could help Spamton with the trouble the deal would cause him. Before Kris and Susie entered TV World, and when he was left dusty and mostly unwatched, Tenna made a deal with the Knight to hold certain Lightners — including two of his previous owners — captive, keeping Toriel asleep and trapping others in a never-ending gameshow. However, he expresses remorse for imprisoning Toriel.

Tenna engages in deceptive business practices. The "BRAND NEW FAMILY CAR" he promised as a potential prize is actually an ICE-E van marked "COMMERCIAL USE ONLY!!", which cannot be legally used for personal or family purposes. He kept this prize for himself, claiming the party was not going to win it and that he was "just giving it a daily TEST DRIVE".

Tenna coercing his employees by withholding their salaries as TV WORLD plays

According to Small Mike, Tenna treats the people he works with as "expendable trash". He takes out his frustrations on his employees and controls them through restrictive contracts. Tenna conceals exploitative provisions in fine print, has misrepresented the contracts to make work compensation appear better than it is, and offers mediocre compensation such as "paid fruit-flavored vacation" and "left over glooby slime" as bonuses.

Speech pattern

In his dialogue, Tenna frequently speaks with stylized logos inserted into his text, referred to as "Word Art" and internally as funnytext. This quirk only occurs in situations where his dialogue is displayed in a normal message box, so it is not present during battles or other situations where his dialogue is displayed in a speech bubble.

In the Japanese translation, Tenna has an additional speech quirk, where he frequently ends his sentences with "しょう" (shou), which he replaces with "SHOW" rendered in Latin text, resulting in phrases such as "でSHOW" and "まSHOW". This strongly resembles a similar quirk in Spamton's Japanese dialogue, where he replaces "です" (desu) with "DEATH" and "だい" (dai) with "DIE".

Some of Tenna's "funnytexts" make call-backs to Undertale. The stylized text for "STOP" being on a blue octagon is a reference to Sans's joking dialogue about blue stop signs, and text referencing Asriel and Toriel are accompanied by a musical cue relating to their respective leitmotifs.

Several "funnytexts" are unused, such as one saying "YOGURT EMERGENCY" intended to be used when Susie spills her yogurt on her controller on the unused City Board. An event for the scene is left unused in the game's files and is otherwise fully functional. In this case, because it is used on the screen, it is listed as a board asset.

Every "funnytext" is accompanied by a sound, and some reference tracks from the DELTARUNE or UNDERTALE Soundtrack. For example, plays a section of His Theme, a section of Fallen Down, and a section of Your Power.

• 
  "AMAZING"
• 
  "TEARS"
• 
  "Lovely"
• 
  "STARS"
• 
  "TV TiME!"
• 
  "PHYSICAL CHALLENGES"
• 
  "PRIZES"
• 
  "GRAND PRIZE"
• 
  "* WIN!"
• 
  "FUN-O-METER"
• 
  "(And get me a cup of coffee.)"
• 
  "STAR"
• 
  "NAMES"
• 
  "BOARD"
• 
  "QUIZZES"
• 
  "LOVE"
• 
  "IT'S!! TV!! TiME!!!"
• 
  "PHYSICAL CHALLENGE"
• 
  "BROTHER"
• 
  "FUN"
• 
  "CHALLENGE"
• 
  "BiG"
• 
  "WIN!"
• 
  "STOP"
• 
  "ROUND 1!"
• 
  "ROUNDS"
• 
  "ROUND"
• 
  "(And trust me, I know TV.)"
• 
  "WORD"
• 
  "Green Room"
• 
  "Relax and Enjoy..."
• 
  "FLAMES"
• 
  "SUSIEZILLA"
• 
  "Special"
• 
  "DARK FOUNTAIN"
• 
  "(Though I would look good with a tan.)"
• 
  "LOVERS"
• 
  "(Well, okay, you can touch it. Just be gentle.)"
• 
  "ROCK CONCERT"
• 
  "(Guess your mother's never been a fan of alligators in bikinis.)"
• 
  "BREAKING NEWS"
• 
  "BONUS ROUND"
• 
  "TORIEL"
• 
  "(But don't ask why the cars don't have feet!)"
• 
  "GAME OVER!?"
• 
  "GAME"
• 
  "OVER"
• 
  "Hall of Fame"

Etymology

The name "Ant Tenna" stems from the word "antenna", given his TV theming. It is also a remnant of an earlier design stage where Tenna had a more ant-like design. Therefore, the "Ant" part refers to his bug-like antennae, long nose, and coattails that reference bug wings. It could also refer to his short stature when disappointed.

The name "Ant" could also be a reference to Ant McPartlin, a famous British television presenter and second half of the Ant & Dec duo, of whom peaked in the 2000s. Together, they presented shows such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and SMTV Live, and influenced the US with shows such as Britain's Got Talent, which would expand to see an American equivalent.

Main story

History

The Dreemurr and Holiday families gathered around Tenna's Light World counterpart

Tenna is the Dreemurrs' CRT TV in the Dreemurr residence, which brought entertainment to the Dreemurrs and Holidays. Asriel and Kris would watch cartoons while playing, Toriel would watch cooking shows for new recipes, and both the Dreemurr and Holiday families would always gather around the TV to watch the yearly holiday specials.

In the Light World, Kris and a girl brought a laptop home to play make-believe games. According to Ramb, these games involved Queen, King, and Tenna.

In the Dark World, the laptop's arrival led Tenna and Spamton to meet and become business partners during the latter's era of success. Spamton promised to teach him technology, and Tenna shared life advice with him. Tenna eventually convinced Spamton to sign a contract and share the secret of becoming a "BIG SHOT", despite Mike's warnings that something "terrible" would happen if Spamton signs it. When Spamton was signing the contract, he had to answer a phone call, the contents of which caused him to turn pale and run away. Tenna then reached for the phone, but heard no one in the receiver. Mike may have left due to this incident.

In the Light World, due to various circumstances, the Dreemurrs and the Holidays gradually watched the TV less and less. Toriel was the last person to watch the television before it was unplugged for a long period of time. During the events of the game, it has been unused and dusty, and might have burn-in. Toriel was considering throwing it away.

Chapter 2

Tenna is first alluded to in Chapter 2 by his former business partner, Spamton. Selecting "FRIENDS" while talking to Spamton at his shop prompts him to rant about not needing friends, including "[[CRTs]]", before warning Kris to not trust anything they see on TV, referencing Tenna.

On Chapter 2's Weird Route, shortly before Spamton NEO is fought, he compares Kris to a "[Gameshow Host]" for trying to ruin his success by "stealing" the library Fountain, alluding to Tenna and his role as the host of TV Time.

At the end of Chapter 2, when Kris makes a Dark Fountain in their house, the TV in the living room shows static that turns into a smile. This same form is shown in the "feature presentation" VHS intro as a 3D render.

Chapter 3

After the Dreemurr residence Fountain was created, Tenna enlisted Darkners to sign his contracts, and those who refused to sign his contracts left for the "far land".

Tenna's introductory presentation, as Feature Presentation plays

At the eastern end of couch cliffs, Tenna interrupts Susie and Ralsei's conversation by praising them as they are in the spotlight, then physically appears after Mike plays his VHS. He proclaims the party are his contestants for his TV Time show, but becomes disappointed when Susie initially refuses. Tenna becomes elated after Ralsei reasons with Susie, and tells Mike to properly set up the game show.

Tenna accompanies the party by spectating and providing live commentary while they play on the Desert Board and Island Board. His equivalent NPC replicas in the game guide the party on how to complete each board. Sometimes, he intervenes directly and attempts to steer the party on the right track. He also provides instructions on how to complete each physical challenge.

Meanwhile, in the Green Room following each round, Tenna holds secret phone calls with his subordinates regarding something he wants to keep hidden from the party. Susie grows suspicious of Tenna after overhearing one such conversation, so she and the party sneak out of the Green Room to investigate. They eventually find out what Tenna wanted to keep hidden from them: Toriel, imprisoned in a gachapon capsule. Tenna suddenly arrives to check up on Toriel, noting out loud that she was the last to appreciate him and would serve as his "trump card". When he catches the party hiding behind Toriel's gachapon prison, he sends them back to the game show.

Since the party refuses to continue the game, Tenna imprisons them in gachapon capsules as well, and forces them to participate in the "bonus round", with his insecurities of the Lightners leaving starting to flare up. Eventually, the party manages to escape, but Tenna orders his employees to search for the trio. As they repeatedly fail to find or capture the Lightners, Tenna breaks down further, pushing away his subordinates until they all abandon him, with Mike being the final one to leave.

Tenna fighting the party, as It's TV Time! plays

The party returns to the Cold Place — the place where they had found Toriel — to seal the Fountain. Before they can do so, Tenna blocks the way and explains his motive for wanting to create a show that would never end: he used to be the Dreemurr family's beloved TV, entertaining both the Holiday and the Dreemurr families, but gradually was left unused. Following the Roaring Knight's appearance, he took a deal that involved keeping the party busy in hopes of gaining relevancy once more. Seeing that he cannot convince them to turn back, Tenna fights the party, offering to let them leave if they can accumulate enough points through replaying the previous minigames. If Tenna is attacked instead, he ends up forcing the party to play minigames regardless, and the outcome of the battle is identical: with the party shooting Tenna in one final minigame.

Once the party defeats him, Tenna admits that he just wants to be watched. Ralsei attempts to console him, saying he had already served his purpose. Susie interjects, promising him that she and Kris would find someone who would continue to watch him. Tenna, moved by her promise, agrees to release Toriel. However, after doing so, the Knight fatally attacks him by cutting off his arms, dealing 5,500-5,999 damage, which puts him out of service. He is not seen again for the rest of the Chapter.

Sword Route

Main article: Sword Route

Tenna appears as an in-game NPC during the Island Board and manhole dungeon, providing insights on the nature of the Original Game and his relationships with Spamton and Kris.

Tenna can first be found in the Island Board after finding the heart-shaped island (called the "Tropic of Love" in The Legend of Tenna) that can only be found after reaching LV 2 and exploring the ocean. There, HERO_SWORD must break a tree with a different color tone compared to the others, which opens a pathway to a section similar in design to the manhole dungeon. There, Tenna stands in an inaccessible hallway, where he comments on his seemingly fruitless efforts to entertain Kris, while being frustrated at anomalies in the Original Game. After HERO_SWORD takes a step forward, Tenna notices a presence and leaves in a hurry. He is not seen again for the remainder of the board.

Tenna's minigame replica in the manhole dungeon, explaining his history with Spamton

After reaching LV MAX and breaking the trees blocking the exit to the dungeon, Tenna can be found again. He does not notice HERO_SWORD, repeatedly moving away from them, while lamenting over his failed business relationship with Spamton, including his reaction to the phone call that caused his downfall. He concludes by wishing Kris had never brought a laptop home, which is presumably how he met Spamton. After this, he finally turns around and notices HERO_SWORD, after which he addresses Kris, claiming he had kept his part of the deal and pleading to not be turned off again. In order to progress, HERO_SWORD must attack Tenna, killing him, which increases their HP for the last time.

Completing the route affects the final confrontation with Tenna. Kris's damage against him is tripled; additionally, his Check description is altered to describe his newfound fragility, referring to Kris's increased damage. His battle dialogue is also slightly altered, with the section where he pleads to Kris now making him question if Kris even wants to have fun, followed by almost revealing what happened; however, he stops himself at the last second and carries on with his normal dialogue.

Chapter 4

Tenna's Light World form's condition varies based on if Shadowguys and Pippins were recruited and if no Darkners were LOST. On a default file or if pacifism occurred, the TV appears slightly damaged and the antennas are taped. If Kris inspects it with Susie in tow, she recalls how they had found Tenna barely alive, and that the Shadowguys and Pippins told her how to fix him.

Scenes afterwards regarding Tenna varies based on Kris's choices in the Chapter and if certain events occurred. It is sorted based on if all recruits were obtained first.

Tenna introducing himself to King and Lancer, as And Now For Today's Sponsors...! plays

If Kris goes to school to enter Castle Town, Susie asks Kris to wait as she retrieves the Dreemurr family's TV before the two enter. Afterwards, Tenna appears in Ralsei's castle:

• In his room, Tenna is smaller and dances. He praises his room, and also asks the party to find someone to adopt him. Tenna also reacts to Kris inspecting other objects in his room, including mocking a lamp in the corner.

• In the castle's prison, if all Chapter 3 recruits are present, Tenna appears when Lancer introduces him to King. He tries to entertain King, who is unamused and tells Tenna to leave. On his way out, Tenna trips, causing both King and Lancer to laugh. Despite his misfortune, Tenna is happy he was able to entertain them.

Kris and Susie donating Tenna to the nobody as Another day in hometown plays

In front of the Blook house northeast in Hometown, Kris and Susie can offer the TV to a shy ghost. The ghost accepts, compliments the TV and asks for its brand name. Susie gives Tenna's name, to which the ghost considers to be "cute". Susie moves Tenna into the ghost's house, who later teases Tenna for showing them a "salacious" music video that causes "something" to awaken in them. This choice causes Tenna to no longer appear in Castle Town if he was moved there.

Alternatively, if Kris does not visit Castle Town and had finished visiting Noelle's House, Tenna's Light World form can be found in front of the Dreemurr residence with a blanket on top. Susie frets over Tenna and brings the TV to Castle Town by herself. When she returns, she explains to Kris that Tenna had a cold, though Lancer put him on a tanning bed.

Otherwise, not visiting Castle Town and not going near the Dreemurr residence causes the TV to be gone after returning from church. The effect of this on Chapter 5 is unknown; if Kris visits Castle Town only using the pillar of light in the 3rd Sanctuary without having interacted with Tenna, all of the other Darkners from TV World are still there with no explanation, but it is not possible to check for Tenna himself in his room. It is not hinted that Kris entered the house to bring the other Darkners to Castle Town, as Toriel's dialogue when they return home is the same as usual.

The following occur if the recruitment requirements were not met:

• The TV's screen appears smashed, and Tenna cannot be brought to Castle Town. Susie recalls that they were unable to find Tenna in the Dark World, and that none of the Darkners wanted to help find him.
• At the Blook house, the party can still mention the TV to the ghost, but Susie's attempt to explain the broken TV leaves them confused as to what is being offered. Despite still hoping to fix the TV, Susie ultimately gives up.

Chapter 5

Tenna stating that he feels Mike has not been the same since Spamton left

Further information: Mike#Chapter 5

If Tenna is kept in Castle Town, a scene with him and the fake Mikes will be able to be seen. The scene features Tenna talking to Small Mike, getting nervous once confronted about his treatment of his employees, and referencing Spamton during the latter half of the conversation. Before leaving, he turns to Kris and tells them that "The size of Mike's ass, seems really variable lately."

Relationships

Dreemurr family

Tenna seems to be fond of his owners, and remembers how they used to watch him together with the Holiday family. However, he feels abandoned since everyone "disappeared", as no one watches him anymore. He appears to be particularly fond of Toriel, as he expresses genuine regret for keeping her captive, claiming that she was the last member of the Dreemurr family to ever watch him.

Kris

Tenna reminisces about his past with Kris

During TV Time, Tenna attempts to constantly appeal to Kris's nostalgia and memories using him, mentioning their childhood with their family and the Holidays. He knows everything that happened in their house while he was turned on, but not when unplugged, as evidenced by him not knowing that Asriel went to college, but that Kris plays piano.

While he says he loves Kris, being one of his original viewers, he is not sure whether they "love TV". In the Sword Route, Tenna mentions an unspecified deal with Kris and shows some discomfort around them.

Mike

Mike shines a spotlight on Tenna the moment before leaving

Mike is presumably Tenna's producer, and Tenna seems to consider him his best friend, relying on him from off-screen to help run his show. When everyone on Tenna's crew abandons him, Mike is the very last employee to leave, shutting off the lights while Tenna begs for him not to go. He is then only mentioned during flavor text in Tenna's fight, asking him to ban everybody from the gift shop.

If the Mike impostors are encountered in Castle Town during Chapter 4, they claim to have been impersonating Mike in order to appease Tenna, and that no one knows who the real Mike is. They go so far as to speculate that Mike might be a figment of Tenna's imagination, though this is never confirmed.

Spamton

Spamton (referred to as the "mailman" and "mail guy" by Tenna) was Tenna's business partner at some point. In exchange for Tenna's advice and promise to make him a TV star, Spamton promised to teach Tenna how to use modern technology, and to share his secret to "make it big". However, Spamton received a strange phone call at the last second, causing him to panic and leave. Tenna would later claim that Spamton ripped him off, and both seem to currently hold each other responsible for their respective declines.

Tenna insulting the Spamcannon's appearance

It is implied that Tenna has an inferiority complex towards Spamton due to the latter's successful status as a "Big Shot" and knowledge of technology. As a result, he repeatedly insults and belittles Spamton, asserting that he is better than the latter. In the optional Monster Movie minigame, the final boss is a paper-mâché head that looks much like Spamton in his Addison form, with a black censor bar covering his eyes which attacks using a "big shot". Internally, it is referred to as spamcannon. Tenna is disgusted with the boss, calling it his "worst hater" and urging the party to kill it quickly.

Extremely poor scores for the three TV Time evaluation battle targets result in the associated messages "BAD CAR!" (for the "turns" target) and "SMALL NOSE!" (for the "TP" target), and internally has the unused message "SALESMAN" (for the "hurt" target). These are implied to be insults as they describe aspects related to Spamton. Tenna's animosity towards him extends to the overall ranking system and the Green Room's changing rooms, as he takes the ranking system personally, and it is hinted that Spamton's behavior resulted in Tenna banning him from the S-rank changing room. The Z-rank changing room only unlocked with the lowest-possible rank has several associations with Spamton.

If either the PuppetScarf or Dealmaker are in Kris's inventory and Chapter 2's Weird Route has not been completed, a secret interaction reveals that Tenna still misses his old business partner, keeping his Pipis in a cabinet. Spamton then momentarily appears and attempts to talk to Tenna, but Tenna reacts with extreme shock and claims not to recognize Spamton, before covering him in foam and hurriedly leaving the room. A Pipis also appears in Tenna's introductory VHS video, where it gets repeatedly shot, coupled with the line "You can't get this from an EGG!"

Tenna's dialogue includes multiple references to Spamton, such as the line "COWABUNGA-DERO! THAT'S THE SMOOTH TASTE OF TV TIME!", and "Fresh from the Juice, Fresh from the Juice! Make sure you don't get it on your shoese!" Some of the tracks associated with Tenna use the HEY EVERY ! leitmotif.

Ralsei and Susie

Tenna elated by Susie's promise to find him a new owner

Tenna enjoys having Ralsei and Susie as contestants on his show. He seems to be particularly fond of Susie, especially after she tells him how much the show has cheered both her and Ralsei up. After battling the party, Ralsei tries to convince him that, as a Darkner, his feelings should not matter to Lightners, and that it is okay for him to become obsolete. Susie interrupts him, however, and cheers Tenna up by relating to his feelings of loneliness and offering to find him a new owner. Tenna is overjoyed by Susie's offer and happily agrees.

In the Light World, Susie and Kris can optionally seek out a new owner for Tenna if they save him, ultimately fulfilling her promise to him. Susie asserts that she still cares about his feelings, even after he reverts into an inanimate object.

Knight

Some time between Kris making the Dark Fountain and the party's arrival to the Dark World, Tenna encountered the Knight, who promised Tenna that he could have as many viewers as he wanted if he kept the party busy. The Knight also entrusted Tenna to keep a sleeping Toriel safely hidden. When Tenna knowingly breaks this agreement by letting Toriel go, the Knight responds by violently cutting his arms off.

Creation and development

Creation

Toby Fox had thought of ideas for Tenna since 2016. He wanted Tenna to be a TV character who will be like Mettaton from Undertale, with Tenna's design being inspired by TV Dinnah from the 2009 video game, Little King's Story. In 2016, he purchased a Kinect to try to rotoscope Tenna's animations, and wanted Tenna to perform dances from the MikuMikuDance animation program. Both of these ideas were abandoned. Toby also once wanted Tenna to be rendered in a lineless 3D style, similar to the game Ghost Trick, but this was eventually scrapped due to looking "tremendously bad".

Toby Fox's first drawings of Tenna

Tenna's basic design and poses were drawn by Toby. Gigi D.G. polished the design and drawing the turnaround, which PIXELATEDCROWN used alongside Toby's concept arts, prompts, and reenacted poses as a guide to create Tenna's 3D models. Per Toby's suggestion, she also used free, frequently used motion capture animations for some of Tenna's animations, some of which are from Mixamo, such as "Silly Dancing", "Swing Dancing", and "Mma Kick".

Afterwards, Chelsea limited the pixel colors and shrank the render down, cleaned it up, and Clairvoire manually cleaned up his static sprites.

Tenna's introduction movie was also created by Chelsea, which had a storyboard as a reference, and the movie was edited by Everdraed. Smallbu Animation's 2D animations was used as a reference for Chelsea's 2D slime animation, and had helped with his final intro poses.

The idea of Tenna having "Word Art" in his dialogue is inspired by the character P.T. Bridgeport, from the Pogo comic strips. Audrey Waner cited several inspirations for the "Word Art" designs, including Rocky & Bullwinkle, Paper Mario, and the Adventureland Resort in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside some font developers. Audrey also designed the logo for TV Time.

The minigames for Tenna's battle was balanced and integrated by Jean Canellas.

Development

A crossed-out TV, shown on deltarune.com/d_a_m_n_y_o_u_t_e_n_n_a/

Tenna's name was first revealed via a URL during the 2022 Spamton Sweepstakes event. On February 9, 2025, Toby Fox posted on Bluesky about a friend who told him that they miss Tenna. This was the second time that Tenna had been mentioned by name, and was a definitive confirmation of Tenna being a character in Deltarune.

Shortly after the announcement of the release date of Chapters 3 and 4, Tenna's design was partially revealed through a screenshot that was posted by several Nintendo-focused news outlets, which showed his design as depicted on one of the console versions' borders, which depicts the golden statues that appear in TV World's red carpet areas. Despite this, major elements of Tenna's design remained unknown until the release of Chapter 3, including his actual color palette and the fact he is rendered in 3D.

In a Bluesky post regarding Tenna's reception, Toby Fox stated that he had initially been concerned that Tenna would be dismissed by the fanbase due to his similarities with the already popular Spamton, and said that he was glad that the character was well received. In this post, he described his intent with Tenna and Spamton's similarities as being to make them two "intentionally similar characters who mutually enhance each other", comparing them to the comic Spy vs. Spy.

Outside of Deltarune

Spamton Sweepstakes

During the Spamton Sweepstakes, a page under the URL deltarune.com/d_a_m_n_y_o_u_t_e_n_n_a/ was added to the Deltarune website. This page contains an image of the Dreemurr residence's TV crossed out with a red X. The text of the page has Spamton calling Tenna a "[Boob tube]", and stating that everything is his fault, while also confirming he is a separate entity from Mike, as had been a common assumption in the fanbase prior to the Sweepstakes. This was the first indication that the TV entity was Tenna.

In battle

Appears with

• Shadowguy
• Zapper

Attacks

1. All-Star Cast: Will shoot multiple star projectiles through the bullet board in a circular pattern. The stars sometimes laugh. The screen will slightly grow darker in 2 circles at the bottom and top of the screen.
   • Tenna will only use this attack when he is the only enemy in the encounter. If there is another enemy alongside him, only that enemy will attack.

Strategy

During the "bonus round" sequence, the party will be trapped in gachapon capsules while Tenna controls his character on the board, activating quizzes, minigames, and battles. The quizzes in this sequence have no incorrect answers other than waiting out the timer, which will deal damage, and the minigames are impossible to fail. Additionally, "healing spots" will appear if the party has taken damage, which will fully restore the party's health. These do not appear at all if no damage has been taken.

In battles, Tenna appears either alone, alongside a Shadowguy, or alongside a Zapper, depending on the progression of the sequence. It is impossible for the party to use any option in these battles other than ACT.

Using the ILOVETV ACT will end the battle without Tenna attacking, however, it will not progress the sequence. Using Resist will cause Tenna to attack the party, and if it is used 4 times, Tenna will end the battle and go back to the board. If a party member is downed in these battles, they will be revived automatically, making it impossible to receive a Game Over.

When Shadowguy is present in the battle, the party can use the Sharpshoot ACT to instead shoot at Tenna, which will cause him to fire the Shadowguy for allowing the ACT to be used. After this, only Zapper will appear alongside Tenna. Zapper will also appear on the fourth battle even if Tenna doesn't fire the Shadowguy. When in an encounter with Zapper, the party must build up enough TP to use OffButton to teleport themselves out of the gachapon capsules, which will end the sequence.

Quotes

Pre-battle

• I wonder what's next?! Looks like a battle! [Before battle 1]
• [After battle 1]
  • PHEW! That battle earlier was a WORKOUT!!
  • Let's never fight again! We're a HAPPY family, aren't we, Kris!?
  • ... Kris?
• [Before battle 2]
  • Wait, no. Not another battle. Please...
  • The family's fighting again.
• [Before battle 3]
  • AhhHHHH, that was SO... Normal!
  • MIKE!!! How about we ONLY have quizzes from now on?
  • Or... uh, we could have a battle! Great. GREAT.
  • Love it when you listen to me, Mike. Love it.
• [After battle 3, before battle 4]
  • That battle earlier was SO great...
  • Why don't we do a RERUN!?
  • JUST like you used to love, Kris!
  • Saturday Morning Flavor! Cartoon commercials!
  • Fresh from the Juice, Fresh from the Juice!
  • Make sure you don't get it on your shoese!
  • Anyone remember THAT jingle!? Haha!
• [After battle 4, before battle 5]
  • Hey. Anyone remember that old jingle?
  • "Fresh from the juice!" Haha! Anyone?
  • ... Anyone?
  • ...
  • "I love TV." SAY IT.
• Haha!! MORE RERUNS!! MORE!!!!!!! [Before battle 6+]

Battle

• [Start]
  • We've got a very special battle for you today, folks!
  • Very SPECIAL indeed, hahaha.
  • All you have to do to win.
  • Is say "I LOVE TV."
  • And, hahaha, don't think you'll be able to try anything funny.
  • Because I've... got THIS. [Unused]
  • Ever read this CONTRACT? Hmm, says you guys are my ACTORs...
  • And that means... You've gotta ACT!
• IT'S! TV! TIME! [Neutral]
• [If a party member is downed]
  • HEY! Fainting isn't part of the SCRIPT!
  • Eat some TV Dinner and GET UP!!!
• [Unused]
  • BUT DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA BE EASY!! BECAUSE TODAY...
  • WE'VE GOT AN ALL-STAR CAST!
  • BLUR!
• [Resist]
  • Uh oh, our contestants...
  • Seem to have chosen the WRONG ANSWER!
  • You know what THAT MEANS!
• WRONG ANSWER! [Subsequent uses of Resist]
• [Resist, 4th use]
  • ENOUGH ALREADY!
  • Seems our contestants aren't ready to admit it yet.
  • Mike! Back to the board!
• [ILoveTV, 1st use]
  • That's right.
  • You love TV... don't you?
• [ILoveTV, 2nd use]
  • That's CORRECT!
  • Sorry, just needed to hear it again! Haha!
• [ILoveTV, 3rd use]
  • Haha, that's right!!!
  • ... but did you really mean it?
• [ILoveTV, 4th use]
  • ...
  • No...
  • It's NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
  • This game's never going to end until you mean it!
• [Subsequent uses of ILoveTV]
  • ...
  • Mike, get another take ready.
• [Sharpshoot used on Tenna]
  • H-Hey!!!
  • How could you let them use that act!?
  • You're!!! Fired!!!
  • Alright, no more of THAT guy!
• [OffButton used on Zapper]
  • H-huh!?
  • Susie...? Kris...? Hey...? HEY!!!
  • DON'T TELL ME YOU DIDN'T LIKE YOUR CUSTOM MADE TOY BALLS!?
  • Hey, Mike?
  • Could you, uh, cancel my 4am shock therapy session?
  • 'Cause it looks like it's happening right now.
  • ALL HANDS ON DECK!!! EVERYONE FIND THE LIGHTNERS!!!

Flavor text

• [Tenna] Wanna be an ACT-er...? Here's my CARD! [Encounter]
• [Tenna] Now where the heck is my debit card? [Encounter]
• [Tenna] If you're gonna be so dramatic... then ACT! [Encounter]
• [Tenna] I Love TV. That's all you gotta say. [Encounter]
• [Tenna] All you have to do is speak your mind! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] Look me in the nose and SAY IT! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] Sorry, what was that?! Couldn't hear you!! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] Our contestants have been very naughty! [Neutral]
• Everyone said I Love TV to Tenna! [ILOVETV]
• Everyone resisted! [Resist]

Cold Place encounter

Attacks

1. All-Star Cast: A swarm of laughing star projectiles will pass through the bullet board in a circular pattern. The screen will slightly grow darker in 2 circles at the bottom and top of the screen.
2. Smash Cut: Tenna jumps in the air and claps his hands, cutting the bullet board (and the entire screen) in half horizontally. The two halves will slowly slide apart horizontally before rejoining. Lightning bolts will fall downward through the bullet board, either in waves of five or groups of three spaced apart slightly. The cut is purely visual and meant to disorient the player to make it more difficult to dodge the bullets, as the positions of the SOUL and bullets will be offset when they pass through it.
3. Rimshot: Two smiling stars will slowly bounce around the bullet board, each followed by two circles trailing behind it. The stars will periodically play a rimshot, which will cause them to emit bullets from all five points.
4. Minigame: Instead of a regular attack, Tenna will make the party play one of eight possible minigames, or two in a row after a certain point. This can be guaranteed by using any of the "Minigame" ACTs. If Tenna is below 50% HP, he will begin initiating minigames without use of the ACTs. After the minigame ends, the party will take damage for each mistake made while playing it. The player is allowed up to 3 mistakes before the minigame ends prematurely.
5. Final Episode: Tenna's last attack, which is used upon reaching 1000 points or when he is at very low health. This attack consists of many minigames which it constantly switches between in rapid succession. Unlike other minigames in this battle, damage from making a mistake in a minigame will be immediate, rather than only taking effect at the minigame's end. At the end of the attack, the party will have to shoot at Tenna in the same fashion as the Shadowguy's Sharpshoot ACT, while he attacks with star-shaped bullets. These bullets cannot be dodged, and instead must be destroyed by shooting them. Once the onscreen health bar is depleted, Tenna will be defeated and the battle will end.

Minigames

The minigames from throughout Chapter 3 are used as a major part of Tenna's battle, both through being activated by the Minigame ACTs and as part of his final attack. Each minigame operates on a "strike" system, where a mistake in the minigame will cause damage at its conclusion, as well as detracting 10 POINTs. Most minigames are ones that appeared earlier in the Chapter, but some have differences or are unique to this battle. After a minigame has been activated six times, Tenna will begin making the party play two minigames back-to-back.

• DODGE FIRE: Kris is transported to the Cooking Show set. They are tasked with dodging fire raining from above as well as from the left and right. Two dancing Tennas are positioned where Susie and Ralsei would normally be in the original Cooking Show.
• PERFORM: The party is transported to the Rock Video set, where they are tasked with playing the current section of It's TV Time!. There is now a speed multiplier that increases as the battle continues, which increases the speed at which notes move on screen, though their actual timing is unaffected. The POPU & LARITY lights have no effect in this version of the minigame.
• PROTECT RALSEI: This minigame is only available if Monster Movie has been played at least once earlier in the Chapter. The party is transported to the Monster Movie set and are tasked with protecting Ralsei, who has been tied to the giant Spamton head, from several Tenna enemies.
• FIGHT: An alternate version of the Monster Movie minigame in which Susie is tasked with fighting the golden Tenna statue. Like the previous version, this requires having unlocked the Monster Movie minigame beforehand.
• SHOOT: The party is transported to the cowboy minigame set and is tasked with shooting the Tenna enemies that pop out of the windows. This minigame is mechanically identical to the iterations played earlier in the Chapter.
• DODGE: An inverted version of the cowboy minigame. In this version, the party is now on the train, and must dodge attacks from a silhouetted Tenna in the foreground. Targeting reticles appear over windows that are about to be hit, which must be avoided.
• SHOOT THE TARGETS: A minigame based on the Shadowguy's Sharpshoot ACT, which uses the same controls. Small dancing Tennas will approach from the right side of the screen, which must be shot at to destroy them before they hit the party.
• BOUNCE THE BALL: Playing a regular red SOUL holding an umbrella, a cloud and moon fall from the sky and can be deflected with the umbrella. Successful bounces decrease a counter shown below the battle box, with the minigame ending once it hits 0. If either ball hits the SOUL, a miss is recorded. To the side of the battle box there is a weather report akin to those given by Lanino and Elnina.
• DEFEAT TENNA: Only appears at the end of Tenna's final attack. Similar to the SHOOT THE TARGETS minigame, but the party must aim at Tenna's head until his health bar shown on the bottom of the screen is depleted. During this attack, Tenna moves and jumps around, occasionally shooting star-shaped bullets at the party. These bullets can be destroyed and damage the party when they hit them. Once the health bar is depleted, the battle ends.

Strategy

As stated at the start of the battle, Tenna can be defeated peacefully by accumulating a SCORE of 1000 on the screen in the background of the arena. Tenna will use his final attack when this criteria is met or his HP is critically low.

• Grazing adds 1 bonus POINT every time it is initiated. Bonus POINTS are only added to the SCORE once Tenna's attack is over.
• Using S-Action, or R-Action adds 10 POINTs.
• Using ILoveTv adds 20 POINTs, increasing by 10 every time ILoveTv and S-Action or R-Action were used in a previous turn, or by 20 if ILoveTV, S-Action, and R-Action were used with no cap.
• Using any variation of the Minigame ACT replaces Tenna's next attack with a 10-second-long version of one of the mini-games from earlier in the Chapter. Surviving adds around 50 POINTs, but if the player messes up, they receive one strike. Each strike subtracts 10 POINTs from the total gained and damages the entire party.
  • There are four variations of the Minigame ACT, with each having the exact same effect on the battle progression, but requiring different amounts of TP at the cost of using up the party members' turns. Using the ACT with all party members costs 8% TP, with Kris and one other party member costs 26% TP, and with Kris only costs 44% TP.
• Using Bet adds 20 points if the player does not get hit during the following attack. If any party member has Jevilstail equipped, this is buffed to 30. If the player is hit, they instead lose the wagered POINTs.
• Using PopularBoy adds points if Ralsei takes damage during the following attack or is healed after PopularBoy is activated. The number of points added is 17% of the absolute change to Ralsei's HP.

If the party instead attempts to use violence to defeat Tenna, he continues to use his regular attacks until he reaches 50% HP, at which point he begins to trigger the minigames regardless of the party's actions. At 20% of his HP, he uses his final attack, making it impossible to fully deplete his HP.

Tenna's All-star Cast and Rimshot attacks use the Star element, so using the Shadow Mantle can reduce his damage. Additionally, Kris's damage is tripled if they complete the Sword Route, and halved otherwise.

Quotes

Pre-battle

• [Ralsei] There's the Dark Fountain! If we can just...
• No!! NO!! NO!!!!
• WHAT are you doing!? WHERE are you going!? Ahaha!!
• There are still GAMES to play!! SHOWS to watch!!
• Laughs and SCREAMS!! Smiles and TEARS!!
• Just wander back to your seats and we can...
• [Susie] ENOUGH of your dumb games!!
• [Susie] Why the hell do you want us to play so bad anyway!?
• Kris.
• Kris knows why.
• Do you remember it, Kris?
• When everyone came over for the holidays?
• Back when I was just a little old TV.
• Everyone used to gather around my glow to watch the specials,
• Smiling. Laughing. Eating butterscotch pie.
• Wasn't that just so much... fun?
• To watch me.
• I... was so happy.
• Then...
• People stopped coming.
• Everyone disappeared... one by one...
• No one wanted to watch TV anymore.
• No one wanted to play games anymore.
• I've been all alone...
• Until now.
• When the KNIGHT appeared...
• The ROARING KNIGHT.
• And I was told that if I keep you three busy,
• I can have ALL the people watch me that I want.
• And, I've been having SO much fun playing with you all,
• I... just don't want it to end!
• So... please... just say it with me.
• 
• [Susie] Enough already!!
• Wh-what are you doing!? I just had this suit DE-AXED!!!
• [Susie] We're done messing around.
• [Susie] Give back Toriel. Now.
• Alright. I get it.
• I. GET IT! I REALLY get it!!
• Talking!! I've been doing too much... TALKING!!
• NO MORE questions!! What you need...
• Is another !!

Battle

• [All-Star Cast #1]
  • 1000 POINTS, JUST 1000 POINTS AND I'LL GIVE IT UP!
  • BUT DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA BE EASY!! BECAUSE TODAY...
  • WE'VE GOT AN ALL-STAR CAST!
• WE'VE GOT AN ALL-STAR CAST! [All-Star Cast #2+]
• [Smash Cut #1]
  • Haha, no way we can use that take! CUT!!
  • CUT, I said! CUT! ... SMASH CUT!
• HOW BOUT A LITTLE SLICE OF LIFE!? [Smash Cut #2+]
• [Rimshot #1]
  • You guys are so good, it's making me LAUGH!
  • How about we play you a RIMSHOT!?
• How about we play you a RIMSHOT!? [Rimshot #2+]
• [Minigame]
  • So our STAR contestants have contested our STARs!
  • But can they survive... Another PHYSICAL CHALLENGE?!
• [Minigame II]
  • All right! If one PHYSICAL CHALLENGE isn't enough...
  • How about a DOUBLE FEATURE!?
• IT'S! TV! TIME! [Minigame II, after all other dialogue has been exhausted]
• [Turn 4]
  • Sick of the CLASSICS!? We'll make 'em NEO!
  • NEO shows, NEO programs, just watch, watch, WATCH!
• [Turn 5]
  • Who SAYS an old CRT can't learn new tricks!?
  • LOOK!! The 6PM show!? I'll show it at 5!!
• [Turn 6]
  • Ratings!? HA! I'll show you CHARISMA!
  • HD's nothing when you got NOSTALGIA!
• [Turn 7]
  • Susie, you liked watching, didn't you!?!
  • Come, on! Tell 'em! Tell 'em!
• [Turn 8]
  • Tell 'em, Susie!
  • Say they don't need to throw me away!
• [Turn 9]
  • I'm still MARVELOUS! I'm still MYSTERIOUS!
  • Toriel oughta know she doesn't NEED a new TV!!
• [Turn 10]
  • Kris!! I watched you GROW UP!!
  • Just admit you NEED ME already!!
• [Turn 11]
  • [If Sword Route was not completed]
    • Who do you think taught you to LAUGH and CRY!?
    • ... What, you think it's MY fault you forgot HOW!?
  • [If Sword Route was completed]
    • You... you want to have fun, too, don't you!?
    • Isn't that a little bit why you...
• [Turn 12]
  • [If Sword Route was not completed]
    • Well, the GOOD OLD DAYS are HERE, Kris! On VHS!
    • And if you've forgotten how to smile...
    • I'll MAKE YOU remember.
  • [If Sword Route was completed]
    • Woah, woah, woah! Sorry, that was out of line, folks!
    • Back to your regularly scheduled programming!
• [Turn 23]
  • ... what!? Are you waiting for me...
  • To... to... say something!?
  • I have nothing to say! Nothing!
• [Turn 24]
  • ...
  • ... All right!
  • All right, fine! FINE, I ADMIT IT!
  • Maybe I AM a little GLOOBY sometimes!!
  • I AM!!! I'm GLOOBY!!!
  • WHAT'S wrong with THAT, HUH!?
  • We're ALL a little GLOOBY sometimes!!
  • YOU INCLUDED, KRIS!
  • So DON'T give me that look!
  • That "Oh, I've never been Glooby" look!
  • YOU ARE! YOU HAVE BEEN! You HAVE TO be!
  • It CAN'T just be me!
  • Just ME... alone.
  • Glooby... against the whole world...
  • ... it can't be...
• [Final Episode]
  • That's it! It's time for the FINAL EPISODE!
  • What will happen to our HEROES...
  • When they REALIZE this show is NEVER gonna end!?

Post-battle

• N... no...! No no...
• Noooooooo...
• I... I just wanted to be watched...
• I just wanted you to look at me...
• One last time..
• ...
• Since... since a little while ago...
• All that I've been broadcasting, is the same reruns, over and over...
• I... I don't have anything anyone wants to watch anymore...
• I'm irrelevant... I'm junk...
• I don't wanna be thrown away...
• [Ralsei] Mr. Tenna... I... understand how you feel.
• [Ralsei] To want to be... important. To be... useful.
• [Ralsei] Perhaps... you might not be watched much anymore...
• [Ralsei] But... that doesn't make you a failure, Tenna!
• [Ralsei] You've brought smiles, light into Lightner's lives...
• [Ralsei] ... to Kris's family and friends, for so long.
• [Ralsei] So, there's nothing to be ashamed of.
• [Ralsei] If... that ever comes to an end.
• [Ralsei] Darkners... all become obsolete eventually.
• [Ralsei] But we aren't "real", Tenna.
• [Ralsei] We shouldn't make Lightners worry about what happens to us.
• [Ralsei] It'd just... make them unhappy, wouldn't it?
• ...
• ... m... maybe... you're right...
• B... but... I...
• [Susie] Hey.
• [Susie] You wanna know what I think?
• [Ralsei] Susie?
• [Susie] I think...
• [Susie] You don't have to take being thrown away.
• [Susie] Lemme tell you.
• [Susie] I've never really been able to... make friends.
• [Susie] I was always... the scary girl. The bad kid.
• [Susie] The only times anyone ever got close to me,
• [Susie] ... were as a joke.
• [Susie] And even if I did start to make a real friend...
• [Susie] ... I'd always end up...
• [Susie] Moving away.
• [Susie] When I moved here, I thought it would be the same thing.
• [Susie] I felt like you.
• [Susie] I felt like a broken toy no one wanted.
• [Susie] ...
• [Susie] Kris's mom saw me. Toriel.
• [Susie] Saw me sitting on the bench in the graveyard, crying.
• [Susie] She asked me what was wrong, and...
• [Susie] Told me everything was going to be okay.
• [Susie] Took me to the diner. Bought me a hot chocolate.
• [Susie] Talked to me. Told me I'd make friends.
• [Susie] That... gave me hope. Even just a little.
• [Susie] ...
• [Susie] And recently. That hope's been growing.
• [Susie] Because... now I have friends.
• [Susie] Real friends.
• [Susie] Friends I wanna keep.
• [Susie] Kris. Ralsei. Lancer... Toriel, too.
• [Susie] Even though I thought I was broken...
• [Susie] I just needed to find the right people, y'know?
• [Susie] So...
• [Susie] Don't worry, dude.
• [Susie] Someone out there wants you. Promise.
• [Susie] Kris, you'll help me ask around town, right?
• [Susie] Someone's gotta want a TV.
• You... you'll help me!?
• SUSIE!!! You...
• You're INCREDIBLE! You're AMAZING!! No... you're MARVELOUS!!
• I feel electric!! I feel like a million bucks!!
• This... this must be what HOPE feels like!!
• We're inventing a just for you!!!
• [Susie] But... you gotta give back Toriel.
• [Susie] She's got people that need her, too.
• I...
• I understand!
• I know it's not what the KNIGHT wants, but...
• Kris!! Susie!! Good contestants deserve a good prize!!
• This way!!
• [Ralsei] Susie...
• [Susie] Hear that, Ralsei?
• [Susie] No one's gonna get thrown away.
• [Susie] Not you. Not me. Not Kris.
• [Susie] Got it?
• [Ralsei] ...
• [Ralsei] ... got it, Susie.
• [Susie] Well, let's go!!

Flavor text

• [Check]
  • Isn't it about time you got a new TV? [Normal]
  • THE [Tragic businesmen] THAT [Died] AT THE [Now] OF THE [Story] [If Dealmaker is equipped on any party member]
  • Despite his size, sadly, he's quite fragile. [If Sword Route has been completed, takes priority over Dealmaker description]
• Everyone gets ready to play...! [Minigame with Susie and Ralsei]
• You and Susie get ready to play...! [Minigame with Susie]
• You and Ralsei get ready to play...! [Minigame with Ralsei]
• You get ready to play...! [Minigame]
• ["I Love TV"]
  • You said "I Love TV"! [ILoveTV]
  • Susie said "I Love TV!" [S-Action]
  • Ralsei said "I Love TV!" [R-Action]
  • He couldn't help but give some SCORE! [After any combination of the above]
• [Bet]
  • Susie bet 20 POINTs on no damage! [Normal]
  • JOKER's bet! 30 pts on NO DAMAGE!! [If Jevilstail is equipped on any party member]
• [PopularBoy]
  • Ralsei became the center of attention!
  • [Ralsei] Wh... why me!?
  • Any change to Ralsei's HP will give you points!
• Ralsei's HP linked to points! [PopularBoy, shortened]
• ["Lancer cheat"; unused]
  • [Lancer] Ho ho ho! I may drop, but the points won't!
  • Lancer clung to the score like a koala! Points can't drop!
• [Tenna] That's right folks! One last challenge! 1000 points or bust! Can you do it!? [Encounter]
• [Tenna] CLAP AND CHEER, SMILE AND SCREAM! ENTERTAINMENT ON YOUR SCREEN! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] COWABUNGA-DERO! THAT'S THE SMOOTH TASTE OF TV TIME! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] FRESH FROM THE JUICE! FRESH FROM THE JUICE! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] HEAR THAT WHINE!? THAT'S YOUR CRT ASKING FOR A WALK!! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL! THINGS ARE HEATING UP! [Neutral]
• [Tenna] IS IT JUST ME, OR DOES IT SMELL LIKE AN ORCHARD IN HERE? [Neutral, 1% chance]
• [Tenna] IS IT JUST ME, OR DOES IT SMELL KINDA EARTHY AND SMOKEY IN HERE? [Neutral, 1% chance]
• [Tenna] IS IT JUST ME, OR DOES IT SMELL LIKE MARKETABLE PLUSH IN HERE? [Neutral, 1% chance]
• [Tenna] COME ON KIDS, THE AUDIENCE LOVES IT!! CAN'T YOU HEAR 'EM CHEERING!? LISTEN!! [Turn 7]
• [Tenna] ... WHERE... WHERE'S THE AUDIENCE? WHERE'D THEY GO...? WHERE ARE THEY!? [Turn 8]
• [Tenna] THAT DAMN AUDIENCE! I GAVE THEM SO MANY POINTS TO BE HERE TODAY! [Turn 9]
• [Tenna] MIKE... MIKE, IF YOU'RE STILL HERE... BAN EVERYONE FROM THE GIFT SHOP! [Turn 10]
• [Tenna] I'M NOT LIKE HIM! I'M BETTER! I SWEAR I'M BETTER! MIKE, TELL 'EM! [Turn 11, if Spamton NEO has been defeated]
• [Tenna] OUCH! H-HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU, UH, SWING THOSE THINGS! HAHA! [HP below 50%]
• [Tenna] H-HEY, ANYONE NOTICED MY HP IS GOING DOWN!? ANYONE!? [HP below 25%]
• [Tenna] WHAT AN EVENT!! THE CONTESTANTS APPEAR TO BE KILLING ME!! [HP below 16%; unused]
• [Tenna] ALRIGHT, YOU ASKED FOR IT! TIME FOR THE GRAND FINALE! [At 1000+ Points]

Gallery

• 
  Tenna smiling at the end of Chapter 2
• 
  Tenna's face sprite during battles
• 
  Tenna putting his hands up
• 
  Tenna whispering to the camera
• 
  Tenna pointing to the camera
• 
  Tenna pointing upwards
• 
  Tenna pointing left, excited
• 
  Tenna's happy pose (with flower nose)
• 
  Tenna communicating on the phone
• 
  Tenna holding a fire extinguisher and leaning downward
• 
  Tenna's evil pose
• 
  Tenna's dancing animation
• 
  Tenna dancing in a black tuxedo with a cane
• 
  Tenna laughing hysterically
• 
  Tenna's kicking animation
• 
  One of Tenna's breakdown animations
• 
  Tenna shocked upon seeing Spamton
• 
  Tenna's jumpscare animation
• 
  Tenna doing the "TV Pose" in the T-rank room
• 
  Tenna in battle before starting a minigame
• 
  Tenna in battle using his "smash cut" attack
• 
  Tenna when the Knight cuts his arms off
• 
  Tenna's death animation after the Knight cuts his arms off
• 
  Tenna's pixelated avatar in The Legend of Tenna
• 
  Tenna giving a present from the 2025 Winter Newsletter
• 
  Toby Fox's illustration of Tenna
• 
  Gigi D.G.'s revised concept art of Tenna
• 
  Concept art of Tenna's battle moves by Toby Fox
• 
  Revised concept art of Tenna's battle moves by Gigi D.G
• 
  Tenna figurine sold on Fangamer
• 
  Tenna plush sold on Fangamer

Trivia

• Tenna references many movies and TV shows.
  • Tenna says that Kris is only on the show because "they weren't blue enough for 'The Sblurfs'", referencing the name of The Smurfs.
  • Tenna's jumpscare animation is likely a reference to how Earl Devereaux from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs runs in a popular scene from the movie.
  • If the game's language is set to Japanese, Tenna's text graphic for the Monster Movie minigame is stylized after the Japanese logo of its inspiration, Godzilla.
  • Tenna's pose with the flower on his nose could be a possible reference to The Yellow Submarine, as a similar flower appears on the antagonist's nose at the end of the movie.
  • One of Tenna's lines in battle, "Who do you think taught you to LAUGH and CRY!?", is a reference to Family Guy's intro.
• Tenna references many video games.
  • The ongoing Super Smashing Fighters joke is continued in a quiz round. As well as referencing Yoshi ("Green Lizard") again, three more parodies of Super Smash Bros. fighters are listed as potential answers: Robin from Fire Emblem: Awakening ("Sword Magician"), King Dedede from Kirby ("Big Penguin"), and Ridley from Metroid ("Purple Dragon").
  • There are multiple references to the EarthBound/Mother series:
    • When Tenna says "NAMES", a sound effect internally referred to as snd_ftext_names plays. It is very similar to the "Okay desu-ka?" sound effect from EarthBound/Mother 2 and Mother 3, which is played when naming a character in said games. The phrase translates to "Is that okay?" from Japanese, and the EarthBound/Mother series sound effect is spoken by the series' creator Shigesato Itoi.
    • Entering Kris's name as "KRI" in the show gives the response "Well, don't "Kri" until the ending, folks!" "No crying until the end" is the tagline for EarthBound Beginnings/Mother, the first game in the series.
    • Shortly before the party fights him, Tenna says that there are still "[l]aughs and FEARS!! Smiles and TEARS!!" to be had as he attempts to make them turn back. Smiles and Tears is the end credits song of EarthBound/Mother 2.
  • The minigames in Tenna's boss battle are directly inspired by the WarioWare game series, where players must complete a series of short, increasingly rapid "microgames". This is also potentially confirmed in the first version of the T-rank room, as the text says that Tenna's pose "indicates he's 'always winning'", with one of Wario's catchphrases also being "Wario always win".
  • The "GET READY!" text that displays before quizzes at the end of the Chapter may be inspired by the introduction to stages in the 6 NES Mega Man games, using similar wording and a similar font.
  • During the post-Cooking Show, when Tenna kicks the credits, the blue trail effect is similar to that of the 1996 game Street Fighter Alpha 2.
  • The colors in "NAME" text are a reference to the title of the Super Mario game series, specifically the same colors as the word "Mario".
• Tenna parallels TV Dinnah from Little King's Story in numerous ways. This inspiration was later confirmed by Toby Fox, including in the Winter 2025 issue of the Undertale/Deltarune Newsletter. Little King's Story was directed and produced by Yoshiro Kimura, a friend of Toby Fox's who playtested Undertale and is briefly referenced in the game by Papyrus. Kimura previously directed moon: Remix RPG Adventure, which Fox has named as an inspiration for Undertale's pacifism mechanics.
  • In Round 1's variant of the T-rank room, Tenna is referred to as "the 'little king' of his story".
  • Tenna's "TV head" design is very similar to that of TV Dinnah's, with both characters wearing suits, holding microphones, and their screens mainly showing static or only the lower half of a face. Both characters also make costume changes, including a transformation into a cowboy wearing a Stetson to fire bullets at the protagonists in a Western movie setting.
  • "TV Tower" would have been the centerpiece of the unused third board. When displayed at the start of the bonus round, it is shown to resemble TV Dinnah's Public Broadcast Tower.
  • Both Tenna and TV Dinnah make use of similar iconography of CRT televisions and older broadcast practices, including static, cutting to SMPTE color bars, a "Technical Difficulties" screen with a mascot, and the visual effect and sound of a CRT turning off, among other such nods. The phrases "TV dinner" and "prime time" are also referenced by both characters.
  • Both Tenna and TV Dinnah break the art style of their respective games during their montage-style introductions. Tenna uses 3D renders, which his design continues to use for the rest of the Chapter, while TV Dinnah uses real human actors, as confirmed in Little King's Story's credits.
  • Both Tenna and TV Dinnah transform themselves and the protagonists into 8-bit versions and reference retro video gaming. Tenna makes the party play TV Time: The Legend of Tenna, whereas TV Dinnah's battle starts with a title card of 8-bit versions of himself and Corobo with the text "KING VS KING. FIGHT! READY? PLEASE PRESS A."
  • Tenna's leitmotif sounds similar to the excerpt of Rhapsody in Blue used for TV Dinnah's title card and battle themes.
  • Both Tenna and TV Dinnah give the protagonists a cooking show trial. Tenna drops fire onto Kris, while TV Dinnah drops giant knives.
  • Towards the end of Chapter 3, walls of TVs display various references to other parts of the Chapter. However, two more displays show an infinitely zooming TV set, and Tenna's mouth wearing lipstick; the former resembles TV Dinnah's first cutscene appearance, where the camera goes through his screen repeatedly, while the latter resembles the lips that TV Dinnah displays on his screen when broadcasting an earthquake in his last cutscene appearance.
  • This may also be why the TV Dinner is the primary healing item of Chapter 3.
• The same T-rank room text that references Little King's Story also calls Tenna "a true 'sparker'", which is a direct reference to the character Bob Sparker from the web serial Tales from Electricopolis, who not only was an inspiration for Undertale's Mettaton, as stated in the True Pacifist Route's ending credits, but has substantial influence on Tenna as well.
  • Both Tenna and Bob Sparker are game show hosts: Tenna hosts TV Time, while Bob hosts "Shock 'Til You Drop", in which contestants are electrocuted for prizes.
  • Both characters attack their contestants with electricity, with Bob Sparker employing an electric chair and Tenna striking the protagonists with lightning during the Doom Board, as well as using lightning bolt projectiles during the fight with him. Tenna also describes his show as "ELECTRIFYING" at the start of the bonus round.
  • When the party escapes the game show during the bonus round, Tenna requests Mike to "cancel [his] 4am shock therapy session". This is likely a reference to Bob Sparker's self-electrocution habits.
  • Tenna's "evil" pose is very similar to Bob Sparker's appearance when he is "charged" with electricity.
• As seen in the end of the "feature presentation" VHS, where a smaller TV displaying "TV" morphs into Tenna's face, Tenna's face resembles a sideways spelling of the letters "TV". His mouth, often shaped with a line of its left side, resembles a sideways T, and his pointed nose forms the sideways V.
• Tenna hints at his prophesied death three times over the course of Chapter 3: in the television logo during the intro (the split screen), when Susie refuses to play ("KILLED" above the show's logo) and when Susie uses the word "ass" as her name in the program.
• When Tenna uses Ralsei's drowning to advertise the Ralsei plush during the first board, he quips "Ralsei plush! Fill him with liquid, throw him against the wall!". This mirrors the ending of the promotional video for the Fangamer Spamton Talking Plush, which shows the plush being doused in milk and thrown against a fence, which in itself is a reference to a humorous copypasta about the mistreatment of a Webkinz doll.
• The scripts for the encounter with Tenna at the Cold Place contain code for an apparently unused event, where if the variable lancercheat is set to true, it would activate a second variable called lancerspin, which would cause Lancer to appear and "cling to the score like a koala". This would prevent the party from losing POINTs. In the final game, lancercheat is always set to false.
• As Tenna rapidly switches between "channels" following his defeat, the battle ends at "Ch66".

The unused "Hall of Fame"

• After the encounter with Tenna at the Cold Place, he vows to invent "a just for [Susie]". In the game files, there is an unused image of a wall labeled "Hall of Fame" that displays framed portraits of the party and the Annoying Dog. According to the code, it was going to be used in the cutscene that leads to the Doom Board, which originally would play after Monster Movie was completed.

Version history

Game edition	Version tag	Changes
Deltarune Chapter 3	v1.03	Fixed an issue where on certain platforms, the sprites of the game would become blurry after the Tenna scene.
		[PC-Only] Fixed a visual issue where after defeating Tenna, it was erroneously showing texture data instead of static.
		At the end of Tenna's final attack for his boss battle, the text "DEFEAT TENNA" now properly appears.