Talk:Nikola Tesla in popular culture

Criteria for inclusion
I used the information removed from the main article on 30th August 2006 - think carefully before adding anything to the list as things could rapidly bloat. If in doubt drop your idea in here first and we'll take a look (Emperor 14:29, 12 October 2006 (UTC))

There is a Dr. Tesla in the new Hot Wheels World Race series. Something to do with portals to other worlds. That's how we got into reading about the real Dr. Tesla. 209.89.14.135 07:22, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks for that - I've added it in and dropped in a note over on the Hotwheels talk page. If you are interested in sketching out an entry for that film then be my guest ;) (Emperor 14:00, 2 January 2007 (UTC))

What about in Transmetropolitan? In the future Nikola Tsla gets its own church!

Images
I've done a bit of a tidy up. What would set things off well is a picture to illustrate each section - we have Bowie as Tesla from The Prestige at the start, 5 Fists of Science in the books (as it shows Tesla, Twain and Edison which is always handy) and the band Tesla's Great Radio Controversy cover in music. I removed the cover of Wonder of the Worlds as it was added seemingly to promote the book but actually doesn't add anything to the entry and clutters things up rather (as Houdini is the hero it seems odd to have it here anyway - when a similar entry for Houdini is going I'll lok into adding it there). So to round things off perhaps we need an image from a computer game showing Tesla technology at work? I have Command and Conquer but it has been a while since I played it and I'm unsure where or if there is anything helpful. Perhaps someone out there can find an approrpiate one - a Tesla weapon in action or Tesla's lab from Tomb Raider perhaps? (Emperor 13:52, 18 January 2007 (UTC))

RE: WONDER OF THE WORLDS - You're wrong there, Empy Boy. Tesla is the hero of the book. Houdini is among the protagonists and doesn't become the hero until the second book not released yet. Nikola tesla IS the central hero figure in this novel. Interesting how you make such a decision and you haven't read the book. By the way, why do you think any of the other books and movies are listed?? To promote them! You're a bit arbitrary, aren't you? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.134.221.33 (talk • contribs).


 * I think you may have missed the point of Wikipedia - things are here because they are of general interest and there are in fact rules against it being used as purely a promotional tool: Conflict of interest. I'm arbitary? An odd claim - I specified the reason I removed the cover. You could add all sorts of images to the page so you have to pick the ones that add to the entry. (Emperor 00:09, 22 January 2007 (UTC))

The removed
In order to keep this entry under control suspect material will be removed to here. This doesn't necessarily mean it isn't worthy of a metnion just that there is no information to support it. First up is:

"* Tesla will soon appear as the main protagonist in a novel by English author Jonathan Cates. The story centres on Tesla's attempts to construct and operate a time machine."

I could find no such author on Amazon and Googling gave no clear results. It'd need to be not only proved but shown that the author/book are notable enough for inclusion as at the moment this appears to be non-existent. (Emperor 12:54, 9 May 2007 (UTC))


 * I've removed this:

"* In the Sleep of Faith: La Rue D'Awakening episode of Clone High, the classroom chalkboard has Tesla Rules! written on it. It is an ambiguous reference to either a teenage clone of Nikola Tesla and the rivalry with Thomas Edison or American Hard rock band named Tesla."


 * It is very minor, unsourced and by in its own words "ambiguous" (Emperor 18:51, 15 June 2007 (UTC))


 * I also removed these:

"* In Bastard!! (1988 onwards), an anime/manga series, 'Tesla' is the series' ultimate lightning/electricity attack spell."

"* In Hyperion, (1989) by Dan Simmons, one of the characters travells through a forest of deadly 'Tesla trees', ostensibly named after Nikola Tesla."

"* In The Great and Secret Show (1990) by Clive Barker, the female protagonist is named Tesla."

"* Ian Malcolm, a protagonist of Michael Crichton's The Lost World novel (1995), states that a Princeton University scientist's list of contemporary 'techno-myths' includes Tesla having discovered an unspecified 'incredible energy source', but having lost his notes regarding it."

"* Tesla Strong is a science hero like her father Tom Strong and often features in his adventures as well as starring in her own one shot The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong."


 * They are all pretty minor and border on being trivia (which is dangerous for such an entry - I have tried to focus on Tesla as a character, if it wanders too far into a collection of mentions of Tesla then it could get deleted. Entries that crossed that line have failed AfDs, once that stick more closely to the person as a fictional character seem fine - see, e.g. Edgar Allan Poe in popular culture). Those examples are also largely unreferenced and the actual connection to Tesla (beyond the name) is not demonstrated ("ostensibly" seems too much like a weasal word). Obviously if these can be sourced and possibly expanded then you could consider adding them back in but we really need to aim for major references so think about it before doing anything. (Emperor 19:04, 15 June 2007 (UTC))

Another one I removed:

"* Star Trek: The Return by William Shatner (1996). Novel was a New York Times bestseller, features Federation engineering shuttlecraft named for the scientist Nikola Tesla."

It is a fairly trivial mention and a lot of things must have been named after him. We need to keep it focused on him as a character (or possible his inventions) as important parts of the plot. (Emperor 01:41, 6 October 2007 (UTC))


 * Speaking of inventions, in Goosebumps 2 the Tesla coil is one of the main items since the antagonist wants to use it to spread slingshots that give life to Halloween decorations to spread terror and at the same time have a family. More than replicate is a suggestion. 46.222.41.75 (talk) 05:28, 30 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry if I write strangely or with mistakes, I wanted to include a movie that I saw years ago and I'm bad at English, so I use a translator. 46.222.41.75 (talk) 05:33, 30 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I removed a reference to "The MMORPG Guild Wars has an NPC named Tesla." While that is factually correct, the NPC in question is named after a player from the game named Tesla, not Nikola Tesla.  It is therefore not a reference. 74.178.149.169 (talk)

pop culture
I must admit that I've never heard of most of the examples given...they seem to lean towards the more cult hit type things? Small genres? This surprises me, because he pops up in quite a few mainstream things - the x-files, for example. Thrillers and conspiracy stories, not just steam-punk-ish stuff. Anyway, maybe more of those could be included? Novium 12:07, 15 June 2007 (UTC)


 * As with everything here it a collaborative effort and people can only add what they know (or in my case remember ;) ) so if there are holes in the coverage then feel free to fill them. If you can't pin it down precisely then drop a not in here and it might prompt someone to dig out the details. One thing I would like to try and avoid are very minor references to him as that gets dangerously close to being trivia which can get entries deleted. Things I've added are examples where he has for example appeared as a fictional character, for example. (Emperor 18:47, 15 June 2007 (UTC))


 * off the top of my head, these are a bit hard to remember. But I know for sure that there were references to him in the x-files (when I wrote my original comment, I could remember the episode, but sadly not anymore. F.Paul Wilson had a book in his Repairman Jack series that Tesla (and his inventions) were a central part of the plot...the wireless electricity, IIRC. the "earthquake machine" idea pops up frequently. Darn. A little while ago, I had them all pop back into my head, but they are gone again. extremely vexing. I thought they might be useful, though, (if i could remember!) because they do have one thing in common. Tesla is seen as kind of...I don't know, the last scientist who almost seemed more like a magician. Harking back to the days where science was a gateway to fantasy. That sense of wonder. Anyway....I'll try to remember again :) Hopefully this might ring a few bells in someone else's mind.Novium 18:59, 26 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Repairman Jack is mentioned in the entry but I'd like to see more on this and a reference or wo (as the entries themselves don't include a mention of him - or I didn't find one when I looked). Obviously major references to him are welcome - passing references are probably best avoided. I know what you mean about his status as scientist/magician - if you can source it then feel free to add it (it is obviously the inspiration for The Prestige for one). (Emperor 20:04, 26 July 2007 (UTC))

TESLA TECHNOLOGY
I think you're missing a huge, pop culture category. Tesla has become the adopted patron saint of fringe science, UFO conspiracies, mad inventors, secret gov't projects, and "superscience." His name has been linked to the Montauk Project, the Philadelphia Experiment, HAARP, dimensional travel, etc. They are generally referred to as "Tesla technology." Also, any villain with an earthquake machine is probably Tesla-related - but then again, Tesla actually did build one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_resonance#Earthquake_machine Other resonance-based devices, death rays, antigravity, Earth-splitting doomsday machines, etc. in pop culture probably has had Tesla's name associated with it as well. For example - I pasted this from wiki

''After the physicists raised early concerns, the controversy was stoked by local activism. In September 1995, a book entitled Angels Don't Play This HAARP: Advances in Tesla Technology by the former teacher Nick Begich, Jr., son of the late Congressman Nick Begich, claimed that the project in its present stage could be used for "geophysical warfare."''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAARP#Weapon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_experiment#Scientific_aspects

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Project

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon#Tesla —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.116.105.117 (talk) 10:36, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Also, the fact that the US gov't and FBI confiscated his papers and property when Tesla died fits perfectly into the conspiracy / secret technology memes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla#Death

PRODed
I see this has been PRODed. I object to the charactertisation - it was split off from a solid section of the main Tesla entry and I've been working to keep things focused (see above). I also would have prefered if concerns had been raised here beforehand so we could discuss this.

The solution would be to remove large sections of the entry. This would involve the loss of all of the video games section (except for Martian Dreams). Now I could completely focus it on Tesla as a character but that would mean the loss of solid items like the band and quite a few of the Music section (these could be moved back to the main entry). Thoughts? (Emperor 03:27, 1 July 2007 (UTC))


 * Then again it was PRODed by an anonymous user who has done the same for about a dozen entries so I'll keep an eye on things. That said I still want to tighten this entry up so opinions are appreciated. (Emperor 03:30, 1 July 2007 (UTC))


 * And as I was typing that they were all removed. However, I'd like to still use it as a springboard to improving things. Passing references to Tesla are trivia and should be removed (as I've been doing) - the tricky bit is where he has influenced popular culture, expecially in the names of all those weapons in computer games. (Emperor 03:33, 1 July 2007 (UTC))

Fair use rationale for Image:Bloodtesla.gif
Image:Bloodtesla.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot 10:30, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

tesla in star trek universe
should staff named after Tesla in this most popular fictional universe be noted


 * The USS Tesla was a Nebula-class Federation starship in service during the 24th century, involved with fighting a major Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant in late 2377.
 * The Tesla-class was a small Federation engineering shuttlecraft in operation in the late 24th century. They carried demolition charges that actually were low-yield photon torpedoes designed for clearing orbital wreckage. The shuttles would normally carry four and be capable of firing two at a time.
 * A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer, named after its inventor. In 2368 the pulse of energy ripped through Ro Laren body like sparks through a Tesla coil until it reached her brain and exploded with white-hot intensity. Ro crumpled to the ground in a senseless heap Vladar86 (talk) 14:10, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Why do articles like this exist?
This is pointless. Just include notable pop-culture references in the article on Tesla! I mean really, do you want to bloat Wikipedia that much? It's insane. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.229.62.47 (talk) 03:16, 16 August 2008 (UTC)


 * No it list works were Tesla is fictional character. There are many pages in wikipedia abut fictional characters. Vladar86 (talk) 10:30, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

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== Another novel in which Tesla has a major role.

Nikola Tesla is a significant character in Spider Robinson's novel "Callahan's Key" as a time-traveler who saves the world and the universe with the help of the drinkers and punsters featured in the rest of the Callahan series.

24.72.38.41 (talk) 02:08, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

The Prestige-Tesla
The section discussing Tesla appearing in "Christopher Nolan's" the Prestige......The Prestige was a book beforehand written by Christopher Priest. if only one is going to be mentioned shouldn't it be the man who actually created the story? That would be much more logical in my mind, or mention of both in the same paragraph perhaps?

song about tesla
teška industrija 1976 nikola tesla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZcn86w_Y0M — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.147.21.124 (talk) 20:46, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

WP:POPCULTURE cleanup
I did a cleanup of one section based on WP:POPCULTURE removing material without reliable secondary sources, derived from primary sources/original research (looking at youtube videos), and entries that seem to "merely mention". Tagged borderline entries. Sorry to pick on one section, will clean up more. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 14:06, 11 July 2013 (UTC) Cleanup of another section, same reasons. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 14:24, 11 July 2013 (UTC)