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Nuclear Candle

 Nuclear Candle
type
FeatureClass
 Nuclear Candle
label
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle
page
NuclearCandle
 Nuclear Candle
comment
All the light sources are either broken, out of energy, out of fuel (includes wax) or simply not there. The scene is illuminated by a single light. This can be a flashlight or electric lantern, but is usually a lighter, a candle or a matchstick. In caves and dungeons, a single flaming torch. And yet, despite the tiny size and almost insignificant lumen output of the thing, everything looks as if the light was powered by a nuclear reaction. Rooms, even quite large ones, will be lit up to almost daylight level.
If the light source isn't infinite and the matchstick is depleted, or the battery/fuel runs out, the light extinguishes and everything is suddenly pitch black. Cue the monsters, traps or sentimental/sexual plot twist.
As you might've guessed, the humble candle isn't quite so convenient in reality. While they can burn quite bright, their unfocused light only reveals things around them in a loose sphere that degrades with distance; good for the surrounding area, not so much for distance travel. Lanterns being carried on the ends of poles in the olden days wasn't merely for ease of transport, but also so the carrier had a way to hover the lantern in front of them and see where they were going. The pursuit of a better, more reliable means of lighting the way forward is what led to the invention of the common flashlight. But of course, managing realistic lights in settings like action movies and video games would be cumbersome and detract from the more important bits (unless the theme is, say, Survival Horror), so cases where the light is unreasonably bright and/or self-sustaining are typically Acceptable Breaks from Reality.
Compare Absurdly Bright Light. Also see Hollywood Darkness, where the ostensible light source is either natural or completely inexplicable... And usually blue. Often appears in the same context as (and immediately after) By the Lights of Their Eyes – it wouldn't be much of a Reveal if a darkness-shrouded monster stayed darkness-shrouded after the candle was lit.
Contrast Chiaroscuro, where everything looks like it was actually lit by a real candle.
 Nuclear Candle
fetched
2023-11-07T09:29:20Z
 Nuclear Candle
parsed
2023-11-07T09:29:20Z
 Nuclear Candle
processingComment
Dropped link to FeedingFrenzy2ShipwreckShowdown: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
 Nuclear Candle
processingComment
Dropped link to PrideAndPrejudice: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
 Nuclear Candle
processingComment
Dropped link to lampshadehanging: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Nuclear Candle
processingUnknown
PrideAndPrejudice
 Nuclear Candle
processingUnknown
FeedingFrenzy2ShipwreckShowdown
 Nuclear Candle
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Nuclear Candle / int_22fb2175
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_22fb2175
comment
In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the second act opens in near-darkness. Then Hamlet lights a single oil-lamp, and the stagelights all come on. The stage directions even note that this is highly unrealistic.
 Nuclear Candle / int_22fb2175
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_22fb2175
featureConfidence
1.0
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Theatre)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_22fb2175
 Nuclear Candle / int_295f2b35
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_295f2b35
comment
The Legend of Zelda CD-i Games: The lamp in Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon works similar to the candle in Zelda II. One use of the lantern lights up the entire dark area for a limited time, and requires lantern oil.
 Nuclear Candle / int_295f2b35
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_295f2b35
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Legend of Zelda CD-i Games (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_295f2b35
 Nuclear Candle / int_2b2db73b
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_2b2db73b
comment
In What a Carve Up!, Ernie strikes a match that provides enough illumination to light up the whole secret tunnel. Immediately subverted when he falls down a hole in the floor he somehow failed to notice.
 Nuclear Candle / int_2b2db73b
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Nuclear Candle / int_2b2db73b
featureConfidence
1.0
 What a Carve Up!
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_2b2db73b
 Nuclear Candle / int_423ca36c
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_423ca36c
comment
Subtly parodied in Young Frankenstein, when Frau Blücher (WHINNY!) warns the other characters to "stay close to the candles" she is carrying, because the staircase can be treacherous. None of the candles are even lit.
 Nuclear Candle / int_423ca36c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_423ca36c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Young Frankenstein
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_423ca36c
 Nuclear Candle / int_43576f5
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_43576f5
comment
In the Supernatural episode "What Is and What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20), Dean's flashlight is the only light source in an abandoned warehouse on a rainy night.
 Nuclear Candle / int_43576f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_43576f5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Supernatural
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_43576f5
 Nuclear Candle / int_57def2c
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_57def2c
comment
The Painted Hills: When Taylor and Tommy enter the darkened cabin where Jonathan is laid up with a fever, Taylor strikes a match that illuminates the entire room.
 Nuclear Candle / int_57def2c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_57def2c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Painted Hills
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_57def2c
 Nuclear Candle / int_6ba61cd1
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_6ba61cd1
comment
Invoked in Day for Night, where a technician makes a prop to illuminate the face of the lead actress of the Film Within a Film Meet Pamela.
 Nuclear Candle / int_6ba61cd1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_6ba61cd1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Day for Night
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_6ba61cd1
 Nuclear Candle / int_6e17a0d1
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_6e17a0d1
comment
In Die Hard, the main character is advancing in a ventilation shaft, illuminating his way with a Zippo. The light provided is, however, more akin to a searchlight than to a small flame.
 Nuclear Candle / int_6e17a0d1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_6e17a0d1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Die Hard
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_6e17a0d1
 Nuclear Candle / int_74f7210c
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_74f7210c
comment
The Legend of Zelda:
The Legend of Zelda: The Candle items light up dark rooms by tossing a single fireball that burns for only a few seconds.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. If you don't have a candle, you cannot see any enemies in dark rooms, even if they are inches in front of you. Once you get the candle, they're visible even if Link and the enemy are on opposite sides of the screen. Note that orange Daira and orange Lizalfos enemies are an exception to the "invisible in dark rooms" rule (the player wasn't expected to run into them before finding the candle, so their palette was not changed for darkened areas).
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: When Link lights up a sconce, the whole room lights up. The only difference between how many sconces are lit is how dim or bright the ambient light is.
The Legend of Zelda CD-i Games: The lamp in Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon works similar to the candle in Zelda II. One use of the lantern lights up the entire dark area for a limited time, and requires lantern oil.
 Nuclear Candle / int_74f7210c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_74f7210c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_74f7210c
 Nuclear Candle / int_77711848
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_77711848
comment
Journey to the Center of the Earth: After the darkness of the tunnels, the vast cavern containing the Lidenbrock Sea is brightly lit by a mysterious source of illumination, which the explorers presume is from some kind of natural electricity.
 Nuclear Candle / int_77711848
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_77711848
featureConfidence
1.0
 Journey to the Center of the Earth
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_77711848
 Nuclear Candle / int_826ef177
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_826ef177
comment
Bionic Commando: In the NES version, the Flares illuminate the entire screen in the otherwise pitch dark Area 4. In Rearmed, they instead have a Chiaroscuro effect.
 Nuclear Candle / int_826ef177
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_826ef177
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bionic Commando (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_826ef177
 Nuclear Candle / int_83f8495b
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_83f8495b
comment
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. If you don't have a candle, you cannot see any enemies in dark rooms, even if they are inches in front of you. Once you get the candle, they're visible even if Link and the enemy are on opposite sides of the screen. Note that orange Daira and orange Lizalfos enemies are an exception to the "invisible in dark rooms" rule (the player wasn't expected to run into them before finding the candle, so their palette was not changed for darkened areas).
 Nuclear Candle / int_83f8495b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_83f8495b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_83f8495b
 Nuclear Candle / int_8bf08bcd
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_8bf08bcd
comment
Consciously averted in Ultima Underworld. As you are underground, light sources are important, but the candle is the least useful of them all, providing only a foot or two of vision, compared to the torch or the lantern. The Taper of Sacrifice, however, will never burn out, making it useful despite not being very helpful.
 Nuclear Candle / int_8bf08bcd
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_8bf08bcd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Ultima Underworld (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_8bf08bcd
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b7e31d
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b7e31d
comment
Thunderbirds: In "The Uninvited", the interior of the pyramid is brightly lit, with no lamps visible. At first, this is unexplained, until the party enters the villains' lair, where a complicated fuel system is visible.
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b7e31d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b7e31d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Thunderbirds
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_9b7e31d
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b891ef2
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b891ef2
comment
In Scary Movie 2, when Cindy shows Buddy the secret study, he lights one candle, which then illuminates nearly the whole room. As this is a parody film, this is likely intentional.
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b891ef2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_9b891ef2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Scary Movie
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_9b891ef2
 Nuclear Candle / int_9f89a5f0
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_9f89a5f0
comment
Pokémon: The Flash ability does this in early games, lighting up dark caves entirely (what makes some caves pitch-black and others not is never explained). In later games, though, it's just an expanded circle of light around the player.
 Nuclear Candle / int_9f89a5f0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_9f89a5f0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Pokémon (Franchise)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_9f89a5f0
 Nuclear Candle / int_af60702d
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_af60702d
comment
The Legend of Zelda: The Candle items light up dark rooms by tossing a single fireball that burns for only a few seconds.
 Nuclear Candle / int_af60702d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_af60702d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Legend of Zelda (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_af60702d
 Nuclear Candle / int_c96cfe29
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_c96cfe29
comment
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: When Link lights up a sconce, the whole room lights up. The only difference between how many sconces are lit is how dim or bright the ambient light is.
 Nuclear Candle / int_c96cfe29
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_c96cfe29
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_c96cfe29
 Nuclear Candle / int_ca677a95
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_ca677a95
comment
An episode of Little House on the Prairie does this very badly. One of the girls is kidnapped and trapped in a pitch-black cellar... when her captor checks on her while holding a small candle, it's suddenly as if a spotlight was shining down.
 Nuclear Candle / int_ca677a95
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_ca677a95
featureConfidence
1.0
 Little House on the Prairie
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_ca677a95
 Nuclear Candle / int_e3a1067
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_e3a1067
comment
In the Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt episode "Once Upon a Time in Garterbelt", Stocking strikes a match and instantly illuminates the entire trap-filled catacomb that lies before them. As they dodge trap after trap, eventually the match burns out and the room goes instantly dark again.
 Nuclear Candle / int_e3a1067
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_e3a1067
featureConfidence
1.0
 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_e3a1067
 Nuclear Candle / int_e5d5d23c
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_e5d5d23c
comment
Doom has the Light Amplification Visor. Its gimmick is simple: turn the brightness of all map sectors to max (known as "fullbright") for two minutes. According to the press release beta, the LAV was meant to work like a set of Night-Vision Goggles by applying a green colormap to the screen, but because the visual engine was limited and the sprites were difficult to discern, this idea was abandoned, although the GZDoom source port brings this back (with some improvements like highlighted monster and item sprites a la Duke Nukem) as a native option.
 Nuclear Candle / int_e5d5d23c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_e5d5d23c
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1.0
 Doom (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_e5d5d23c
 Nuclear Candle / int_e64341c8
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_e64341c8
comment
In The Gunfight at Dodge City, Lily lights a single candle that not only lights up her entire bedroom, but illuminates her face from the opposite side to where it is located.
 Nuclear Candle / int_e64341c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_e64341c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gunfight at Dodge City
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_e64341c8
 Nuclear Candle / int_f04d0f2b
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_f04d0f2b
comment
Heretic and Hexen have the Torch as a consumable item. It lights up the entire map with a fire-like flickering effect+ similar to the Light Amplification Visor from Doom, working on the same principle of turning the entire map fullbright. It burns out after about 60 seconds.
 Nuclear Candle / int_f04d0f2b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_f04d0f2b
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1.0
 Heretic (Video Game)
hasFeature
Nuclear Candle / int_f04d0f2b
 Nuclear Candle / int_f6c05e8e
type
Nuclear Candle
 Nuclear Candle / int_f6c05e8e
comment
An episode of Friends does this. There is a blackout, and the friends are bringing in candles for light. Later on, all the candles but one are extinguished, and yet the light level is almost the same. One of the characters then blows on this last candle extinguishing it, and everything goes dark. A sentimental plot twist follows.
 Nuclear Candle / int_f6c05e8e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Nuclear Candle / int_f6c05e8e
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1.0
 Friends
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Nuclear Candle / int_f6c05e8e

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Nuclear Candle
processingCategory2
Acceptable Breaks from Reality
 Nuclear Candle
processingCategory2
Lighting Tropes
 Nuclear Candle
processingCategory2
Spectacle
 Nuclear Candle
processingCategory2
This Index Glows
 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Atlantis: The Lost Empire / Disney / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 A Quiet Place Part II / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Die Hard / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 For a Few Dollars More / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 National Treasure / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Scary Movie / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Gunfight at Dodge City / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Hidden Fortress / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Painted Hills / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The War of the Worlds (1953) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 What a Carve Up! / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Young Frankenstein / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Journey to the Center of the Earth / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The BFG / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 La Brea / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Little House on the Prairie / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Theatre) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Doom (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Feeding Frenzy (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Menzoberranzan (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Milon's Secret Castle (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Phasmophobia (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Prey (2006) (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Addams Family (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Legend of Zelda CD-i Games (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 The Legend of Zelda (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Video Game) / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle
 Atlantis: The Lost Empire / int_8b3ab1ce
type
Nuclear Candle