I had been going off of just a few hours of sleep over the course of the few days prior to CV3, trying to switch myself from being up all night to being up all day. Another short night didn't help matters any, but oh well, the show must go on. We all made it to Irving right around noon as planned and met up with several other CV attendees to kick off the event. Michael Hill (puppetmaster29) the new animatronic programmer, made a brief appearance while stopping by for his lunch break. Probably something he won't soon forget, as he was bombarded by some die hard fans wanting info on the new shows. It was pretty interesting to finally have the CV3 group all together, and to see how this new mesh of people was fitting together. It was a very different atmousphere from the past couple of years in MA, and the antics of Donovan (tinafan80) in the showroom gave us a sneak peak of how crazy our weekend was about to be.
After we all ate and checked out the new card system that's being tested to replace tokens, we all made a quick trip down the street to the corporate HQ. Not much to see here since we were denied a tour (thanks CECE - *cough*) but were still able to snab a few priceless photos of our CV gang in front of the corporate support center sign. Now, I have to point out that my involvement in CV3 from this point onward was, I admit, a bit sparadic. That was due to some dubbing of rare and newly uncovered material that made an appearance later in the day and other factors. Therefore, I'll let our good friend Shiney Happy Jenn finish this bulletin with her CV review, already in progress....
After Lunch we all rode together in a caravan up to Carrolton for the official CV Site: The Captain's place! Here we were all treated to some neat collectibles displays and scrapbooks many fans had brought with them. Mike's Mom had also used the Cv Fund money to good use, and put out a nice spread of snacks and munchies for everyone. Plenty was availbie for all.
I made the official kickoff announcement, and after passing out the Goodie Bags and stating some general info, we launched into the traditional Triva Contest. This year we only had 3 contestants (you guys are too shy!) who were Steven, Danny (CEC3066) and Donovan. They did very well and in the end Danny was the winner. Keeping with CEC policy however, "Everyone is a Winner", all contestants were able to choose a prize from the prize counter.
Travis ( Veganova) made some fantastic goodies for everyone to drool over this year at the Merch Table. Attendees were tempted by some nice CV3 and CV2 T-Shirts and also a preview of the previous CV themed DVD releases. Also on hand were the sought after CV3 Limited Edition Plushs, which featured our favorite rat dressed in red shorts and sporting a red CV3 logo shirt! Very cool stuff, and it was eagerly snapped up by those in attendence.
After the Triva Contest wrapped up, it was time for the wacky "SkyTubes Race" board game. Travis had made up extra playing peices so everyone could play at once (yep..all 12 or so of us!). The main rule was that you had to play "in character" and as such you had to behave and talk like the character piece you had chosen. Of course, part of the fun was no one was told this BEFORE they chose their piece.. (heh heh..) so imagine Donovon voicing Mitzi, Matt voicing a very annoyed Looney Bird, and The Franchise doing a very good King impersonation! It was far out and silly. The Captain showed up and decided he was going to be Harmony Howlette and since he is Co-Host and she is our "mascot" this year, he should be able to cut ahead of everyone! At one point he even stood on Dook, having rope-tied him to the ground. Eventually though, it was Pasqually (played by Rodney - RodHouTx) that won in the end! Pasqaully...go figure!
Once the game was over, it was time for a little entertainment to cool down with. The lovely Dolli Dimples then performed for us all much to everyone delight. Dolli appeared at last years CV but was not operational. Her cosmetics were restored by me, and shipped back to The Captain where they belonged just in time for CV3! Here she actually performed, and what a treat it was to see and hear her again!
Once Dolli entertained us, it was time for some serious Animatronic insanity: Time for some Rock-aFire Explosion action! Now it was time to gather everyone up in the "Showroom" garage to experience some Classic Rock-aFire shows! Mike had done a great job getting all his characters togther and working, and this year we had a nearly complete show with Rolfe and Earl, Billy Bob and Looney, and Dook, Fatz, Beach, and Mitzi! It was awesome to see...and the high point of the day came during the "Let the Sun Shine In" number. You had to be there to really understand exactly what happened, but i think Donovan said it best: "We just had Church in here! Ohhh Jesus!" (waves arms). Yeah, it was the Gospel folks..brought to us by the RAE...and that's no joke! It was a MOMENT man....a bonafide MOMENT and electric energy in a spiritial sense it can be said. Everyone was clapping and singing, and Donovan was going mental which was hilarious to say the least! It was a good finale to the RAE Shows, so we let it be and moved back into the house to cool off from the TX heat and to recoup after our moving experience.
Back in the house, everyone grabbed a drink, a plate full of snacks, and parked themselves in front of the large tv screen to enjoy some rare and unusual video footage during the Video Showcase segment of CV. To kick things off i played the special video message J had sent along since he was not able to attend in TX this year. As Co-Founder of CV, it seemed right to play his message first for the attendees, and i have to say they were FLOORED by what they saw and heard! I never dreamed it would have gotten the reception it did..but man it was great! Folks laughed outlloud at the antics of J and Looney Bird as the tried to figure out what they were going to do for the weekend since they won't be in TX with everyone. J suggests going someplace to have some fun, in which Looney has some suggestions (Plaster Fun Time, Circus Playhouse, Showbiz Pizza). When J mistakeninly suggests Chuck E. Cheese's, Looney's suttle but unhappy expression sends the auidence wathcing into a fit of loud laughter. J was missed at CV3, but this video message was definately one of the highlights for many.
We were then treated to a lineup of some clips of Damon's Creative Engineering trip along with other bits attendees had brought to share. We ran some 90's era CyberStar videos also, and some sneak peeks of the CV2 Event dvd program as promised. It was a enjoyable way for everyone to take a break and get to know each other better.
During the Video Showcase we were graced with a personal visit by Billy Bob, who shook hands and posed for photos with his fans. Special thanks go out to Nick for securing Billy for us, he was a very welcome additon to the day!
After everyone had a meal and had cooled off, it was time for the finale of the Event: The PTT Era Baclony Show presentation! While everyone was in the house watching the videos, Menutia and Mike were in the garage getting things going anf finalising the show. Harmony Howlette was our special guest, and as such we ran original Harmony Show Reels form 1981 for the occasion.
Everyone was gathered up again and we treked out to the "Showroom" to witness history: A operational PTT Era show! We had all 5 Classic Era characters up and running, along with the original Warbletettes backup singers. We also had the rare Clapper Board on display, and best of all (to me at least) we had a original Flag Waver mech complete with PTT Rat Chuck E. flag!! When the show started, it was MAGIC.
Even though time did'nt allow us to get the charcters movements all working, i think everyone there that night agreed that it was still pretty amazing. The style of the animation is so completely different then today's CyberBot programming. Jaspers' eyes would move back in forth like crazy to give him a wild and crazed dog appearence...which totally keeps him in character with the personaification of him at that time. Chuck had the famous "eye flutter" animation i have talked about here for a while, and it was a thrill to see this again as i remember this so well from back then. It was really cool to see these shows again, and with Harmony! Some real gems we heard, and i think many came away that night having a new respect for the Cyberamic Bot's and the "primative" Computer System that runs them (off a reel to reel player mind you!) Hooray for "Old Technology"! Super Special thanks go out to Menutia for making all of this possible! I salute you Darling!
Once the PTT Show wrapped for the evening, fans departed back to their hotel rooms while a few of us stuck around to help clean up Mike's house. It was a little trashed, but hey, it was okay! The Captain was too pooped to notice i think.....but a few of us tidied up so things would look presentable for the next days events.
SATURDAY JULY 22----CV3, Day Two! Woo Hoo!!
After a good nights rest (shyeah...right! As if....) it was time for yet more fun. Attendees gathered once more at the Iriving CEC to decided what the group would like to do with the day. We had a few choices, but most agreed it would be best to return to Mike's and simply hang out and enjoy the RAE and PTT shows. Many just wanted to enjoy hanging out...so we all jumped in out vehicles and headed out into the TX desert to arrive at The Captains' place once more.
Day 2 has traditionally been the "hang out" day at previous CV's and this year was no different. Many more videos were watched, many more sodas were consumed, and for lunch we ordred out for pizza and sat there watching Dolli Dimples perform again. It was as if we were playing "Pizza Time Theatre" ourselves in that room.....it was the first time Dolli had sung in front of a group of people eating pizza in many a decade i'm sure.
After everyone had their fill of pizza, it was time to unviel this years "Surprise Guest"...another CV tradition. This year we had something special up our sleeve...and it deleivered! Fans were led back to the garage and to everyone's surprise Madame Oink was now amoung the Pizza Time Players instead of Harmony! We had a new Guest! Reels were rolled and Oink came to life in the fun PTT show "The Tune Machine with Madame Oink". Catchy title, eh? This show was produced in 1984..years before the RAE made a similar show. After cycling through old Birthday shows, a Cheer, and other tidbits, everyone seemed to be ready to move on to some other activity.
The RAE was fired up again and we enjoyed some more Classic Shows, this time run by cassette tape. I find it utterly amazing that people we know that attended this year found a way to present a animatronic show in the ways that were acheived. Running a RAE, with all it's animation signals as well as it's sountrack off of a mere casette tape is amazing in many respects. I'm still impressed by this and many more of the technical feats that were accomplished and on display this weekend. I special tip of the hat to all the techno-geeks who make it all possible!
The crowd had now had their fill of the shows, and were now anxious to see the much talked about CEC 3-Stage that the nearby Richardson CEC still had. Originally we had planned to visit, but The Captain suggested it might not be what everyone is expecting as the show is in poor shape and the trip is a time consuming affair. Nethertheless, the fans wanted to go...so it in the end the majority won out and we headed off to Richardson.
Arriving in Richardson we were treated to a sight: The store was originally a Showbiz Pizza and boy did the building show it! It looked just like your typical stand alone Showbiz location..it was so cool!!
Inside you could easily the Showbiz store layout...with the customer walkway that goes right to the back of the store, to the huge Showroom and smaller game areas. The Sports Room was even somewhat still easy to envision in the corner, along with the original Showbiz Gift Shop location. It screamed Showbiz big time, even though it was converted to a CEC location many years ago. Sadly while we were there, it was revealed by one of the Managers that this location would close at the end of this Summer. A shame, as it was a cool store.
The show was in the before-mentioned condition, but it was'nt as bad as it COULD have been. Nick revealed it was actually quite GOOD compared to what he has seen at other 3-Stage stores. It did'nt matter to me though, as this was my first time seeing a 3-Stage in a locaiton so i was happy as a clam. We arrived just as Chuck E. was coming out to perform the Live Show for the Birthday parties in attendence and it did'nt take long for some of us to storm the stage and participate in the performance. Actually, let me re-word that: TAKE OVER the performance!
The Franchise and TinaFan rushed up and started to seriously party down to "Chuck E. Says". I think the staff was pretty stunned..and Chuck did'nt quite know what to make of it! It must not be everyday this happens....complete strangers take the stage and not only perform a routine, they SING along and know all the words!! After the show both were told they should fill up applications for employment by a mangers who was watching the show! Ha ha!! Little did he know...! While the show was going on one manager brought another one in to see the scene they were creating..but i have to tell you, that crowd was PUMPED after that.
The Birthday Show was then played, so of course Franchise and TinaFan did the show. I decided then to join them...so there we all are going completely theatrical on the 3-Stage. What a scene! It was great!!
After spending some time here, we decided to head back to Mike's to pack up our stuff and get ready for out Dinner date. Before we left however, a series of group photos was taken in front on the 3-Stage characters. Matt then decides he can't surpress his craving for CEC Birthday Cake frosting and proceeds to stun everyone (including the Birthday family themselves!) by scooping up a handfull of cake right off one of the tables and consuming it in front of everyone! I did'nt learn of this until we were well on our way back to Mike's.....man i could'nt beleive it! Matt, what were you THINKING dude??
Well anyway....speaking of food....it was just about time for Dinner by the time we returned to Mike's. Everyone gathered up there goods and items they had brought to share. I helped out Menutia in loading up his van for the long ride back to the Windy City with all the show electronics and one Cyber Pig. By the time we were done, everyone was ready to pig out big time and we had pre-chosen a fantastic place to do so: TJ Hartfords!
For those who don't know, TJ Hartfords is a adult geared resturant owned by CECE. The only location that exsists is in Littletown, TX and it is right next door to Hooters! Well, we did'nt know that until we arrived..so you can imagine how hard it was to keep people from changing there minds and wanting to go see the Hooters Girls instead...(ha !)
TJ's was NICE! I really liked it a lot. You could see some resemblences to CEC, and we even managed to find Pasqaully pictures on the walls in some areas (well....it LOOKED like him!). There was a sports bar, and a main dining area. They also had a small game room with old games that no doubt came out of CEC's after remodels that you could play for only a nickel! Pretty cool. They even had a coin operated horse in there (hey, it's Texas after all!) and MatHat insisted i ride it for Richard who was'nt there this year. By the way RIchard, it was a nice "Sundance" horse with a real leather saddle and bridle! Nicest coin-op horse i ever saw really...
The food was great....and everyone was so loud and excited that night. I sat at the far end of the huge table we were seated at and proceeded to space out with the two Mike's in sheer exuastion. Our brains were fried that night...after so mnay days of not having adequet sleep..but heck, it was nice to see everyon so up that night.
Travis finally showed up with Steven later on (those two.....lol) and we all enjoyed the last remaining time together before it was time to leave TJ's and bid farewell for this years meetup. It was tough, as we could have stayed on in the parking lot for another hour or so the way things were going. No Parking Lot Live Shows this year....but the good times at TJ's made up for it.
Everyone spits up and head back to their hotels. Many (including myself) had to leave earlt the next day to head home....but by this point Mentuia knew the roads in TX pretty well and we made good time back to the Brock Suite.
Morning came far too soon and i was wiped out. The trip home was loooonnnggg and it was good to be back in Bean Town after the Big Event. I had a blast and i'm so thrilled that everything went so well and all who attended seemed to have the times of there life!
Huge thanks go out the The Captain for agreeing to Co-Host the Event this year, and to his MOM too for all her efforts in getting us the nice spread of food and for prepping the Goodie Bags! Thanks go out to my Darling Menutia....without whom we would not have expereinced the historic and amazing PTT Shows! Thanks also for carting me around all weekend! Thanks also to Travis for his continued support of CheeseVention over the years. I did'nt see much of you this time around (boy..you must be really religious to spend so much time at "church" during CV man..hmmm...lol). Hope you had fun! Thanks to Nick for bringing Billy Bob, and your fab scrapbooks! Thanks also for not nuking Corporate Headquarters for "killing off your childhood" or tripping Chuck E. when he leaned over that vat of processed cheese. Thanks to TinaFan and The Franchise for their undying enthusiasim at CV3. You guys were without a doubt the life of the party! Thanks to Gabe for joining in and bringing some of his CyberStar shows to enable us to present them as they should be seen! That reminds me...i forget to mention that on Saturday, Madame Oink and the Pizza Time Players performed some "modern" shows from the early 90's, complete with video accompanyment courtest of Menutia! (what can i say..the man is a genuis). The difference in the animation was interesting, and the younger fans enjoyed seeing the Bot's perform these CyberStar shows again for them! Thanks go out to EVERYONE who attended as well...without YOU, the Fans, we would'nt have a CV to begin with!
*Whew* See you at CV4 in May 2007 Everyone!
- VegaNova and Shiney Happy Jenn |
