September 2003 - November 2003
Reviewed by Jasper
Segment 1
"Soul Man"
"Respect"
Intermission 1
Eddie Coker: "Bob"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 2
"Hold On"
"I Thank You"
Intermission 2
VeggieTales: "BellyButton"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 3
"Boogie Fever"
"Our Mouse"
Intermission 3
Eddie Coker: "Save Our Planet"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 4
"I Will Survive"
"I'll Take You There"
Intermission 4
Carl & Phil Monkey Ninjas: Episode 4
The September 2003 Show is a fun and funky show with great songs and intermissions. This show is very similar to the September 2001 Show, with very retro and awesome song choices from the 60's and 70's. You can never go wrong with oldies! The songs are really cool, and the accompanying video footage is really great and fun to watch.
The intermissions are also very nice, which include two Eddie Coker songs, the return of VeggieTales, and a brand new Monkey Ninjas. The Eddie Coker songs are fun, and a nice change compared to his more 'serious' work he had in some of the CEC shows last year. VeggieTales' "BellyButton" song is as silly and funny as ever...maybe not one of Big Idea's best songs, but still a nice addition to the intermission roster. As for the Monkey Ninjas episode, it is hilarious and arguably the best episode to date. This episode breaks away from the last 3 episodes... there is no real plot where a villain (like the Slime Creatuers) try to take over the world... this episode instead focuses on Carl on a very frustrating day. It's very funny, and the episode ends with an introduction to a brand new female character, Kenomi. Back to September 2003: The 3 Minute Countdowns are also great... three minutes is a perfect length for these music intermissions, and they help make the show longer. The only thing that bothers me about the intermissions is that there are no in-house ones. Although Eddie Coker, Veggietales, and Monkey Ninjas are cool, nothing beats Department 18's original intermissions.
Since I talked a little about the songs and intermissions, I'm now going to talk a little about the show segments between songs. The dialogue content is very interesting for this show. In Segment One, after Munch asked another one of his silly questions, he gets made fun of by Jasper and Pasqually. Now this isn't nothing new... Munch always asks ridiculous questions, and Jasper and Pasqually always takes opportunities like these to try to be funny. In this show, they might take it a little bit too far, but afterwards we all get a little lesson in respect (hence the song "Respect"). Although this segment piece may seem a little too harsh for some, I find it to be great character development. Through the past few years, and especially in this show, we find Munch being very curious, clueless and defenseless... like a child. This is why Jasper and Pasqually take advantage of him so much. We also have been finding out the last couple years that Jasper has a real sarcastic sense of humor, and a little attitude that seems to pop up when he's annoyed. This is true especially when Pasqually wants to tell one of his obnoxious jokes. As for Helen, she plays an important role in this show... she is the only one who stands up to Jasper and Pasqually and comes to Munch's defense. She definitely has that 'big sister' quality when she helps Munch out, which we get to see more in this show than we ever had before. But just like the other characters, she ends up yelling at Munch a little bit too, after his piano introduction to "I Will Survive" kept going and going. But you have to admit that would piss you off too.
But where does Chuck E fit into all of this? He's the guy on the logo. Just kidding... Chuck E has the usual "I'm cool" attitude, which is common among show stars. But he did have a few memorable moments... especially his 'Soul Mouse' licensing remark, and his sudden outburst at Munch. And he really has a lot to say about his fans... he doesn't stop thanking (us fans) in a couple of the segments. It's nice to know we fans are appreciated!
But Munch is truly the star of this show. Not only does he get to play the role of the announcer and sing the fun parody song of "Our Mouse", he is the main player in most of the segment dialogue. He is my favorite character next to Jasper, and I'm glad he got a more active role than the usually small roles from previous shows.
Anyway, enough with my rambling...on with the secrets!
Studio C (Part 1) - Chuck E's curtains remain closed during Helen's "I Will Survive".
Studio C (Part 2) - The Studio C puppets' backgrounds are the same colors and design from the April 2003 Show. Helen still has the purple cheerleader outfit and purple hair bows from Summertime 2003.
Studio C (Part 3) - During "Respect", Helen's screen splits up into three during the back-up singing parts in the song. Then it shows the 'main' Helen singing, while the three back-up Helens are to the left of the screen. It's hard to explain, but it is a really cool idea. This isn't the first time they did this: Helen's screen splits up into four during the choruses in "Row Your Boat" from the Summertime 2001/2002.
Existing Stages - Only the center stage curtains are open during Helen's "I Will Survive". Also to note, only the center stage curtains are open during Munch's segment intros.
Character Songs - Helen Henny has a whopping three songs in this show! They include "Respect", "I Will Survive", and "I'll Take You There". There is actually one other show where Helen had three songs, and that was the September 2000 Show. Munch sings "Our Mouse" while Jasper and Pasqually have no songs in this show. Jasper does have a big part in "I Thank You", but I wouldn't consider it his song since Chuck E had an equally big part in it, too. This is the first time since Summertime 2000 where Jasper doesn't have a solo in the show!!!
Songs - There are three Sam & Dave songs in this show, which are "Soul Man", "Hold On", and "I Thank You". "Boogie Fever", "I Will Survive", "Respect", and "I'll Take You There" are all covers, while "Our Mouse" is a parody of "Our House".
Countdowns - The Countdown intermissions are brand new in this show, which include a video of a bird's eye view of city-scapes, a video of roads (including some of the shots from "Living In America" from the Sept 02 Show), and a video of kaleidoscope-like effects. The music from these countdowns have been reused from the August 1997 Show.
Announcer - Munch is the show announcer for this show. He introduces Chuck E in the first three segments, and Helen in the last segment. The intro music for Segments One and Two are both the same.
Department 18 Cameos (Part 1) - Robert Gotcher and Matt Schartz make cameos in the September 2003 Show logo.
Department 18 Cameos (Part 2) - Matt Schartz makes a cameo as the DJ in "I Will Survive", and the pool cleaner in "Our Mouse".
D-Mac ID - There are four brand new D-Mac IDs in this show! They include a 'Chuck E Cheese' Sunrise, CEC TV Building, CEC TV Parachuting, & CEC TV Pool Plug.
Birthday Break - The Birthday Break music and video has been reused from the January 2003, April 2003, & Summertime 2003 Shows.
September 2003 Show Logo - The show logo for this show is very clever and different from the previous animated logos. First you see Chuck E (costume character), Matt Schartz, and Robert Gotcher holding up dry-erase boards with 'CEC TV' written on them. Then you see the costume character Chuck E holding a TV monitor with the 'CEC TV' January 2001 Show logo playing on it. Definitely really different... but actually very cool!
-3.5 out of 5 Tokens-
I would have to say that the September 2003 Show is my favorite show in 2003. The April 03 Show was nice, but nothing beats a show full of disco era oldies! I really liked the fact the show was very much like the September 2001 Show, which is actually one of my personal favorites. Both of these shows have excellent song choices, and topped off with a fun parody song.
The intermissions in Sep 03 are nice...but like I said before nothing beats the in-house intermissions. I do want to note I'm very impressed with the Monkey Ninjas episode...I was worried the series might have lost its edge after three episodes and a year off, but luckily I was wrong. Great job, Deva!
As for the segments, as stated above I found some of the character interaction very interesting and different. The whole 'making fun of Munch' thing is definitely more noticable in this show than previous shows, but it isn't something to really get upset over. I felt a couple of the segments went on a little bit too long with the talking...but in all everything was well done.
As for the show logo, I found it very fresh and creative. I do like the animated logos the best, but this one is still really cool! I crack up everytime I see Matt Schartz riding that toy horse in the logo!
In all, the Sep 03 Show was very well done... I love the song choices, the whole feel of the show, and the nice intermissions.... another great job by Department 18!
"Soul Man"
"Respect"
Intermission 1
Eddie Coker: "Bob"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 2
"Hold On"
"I Thank You"
Intermission 2
VeggieTales: "BellyButton"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 3
"Boogie Fever"
"Our Mouse"
Intermission 3
Eddie Coker: "Save Our Planet"
3 Minute Countdown
Segment 4
"I Will Survive"
"I'll Take You There"
Intermission 4
Carl & Phil Monkey Ninjas: Episode 4
The September 2003 Show is a fun and funky show with great songs and intermissions. This show is very similar to the September 2001 Show, with very retro and awesome song choices from the 60's and 70's. You can never go wrong with oldies! The songs are really cool, and the accompanying video footage is really great and fun to watch.
The intermissions are also very nice, which include two Eddie Coker songs, the return of VeggieTales, and a brand new Monkey Ninjas. The Eddie Coker songs are fun, and a nice change compared to his more 'serious' work he had in some of the CEC shows last year. VeggieTales' "BellyButton" song is as silly and funny as ever...maybe not one of Big Idea's best songs, but still a nice addition to the intermission roster. As for the Monkey Ninjas episode, it is hilarious and arguably the best episode to date. This episode breaks away from the last 3 episodes... there is no real plot where a villain (like the Slime Creatuers) try to take over the world... this episode instead focuses on Carl on a very frustrating day. It's very funny, and the episode ends with an introduction to a brand new female character, Kenomi. Back to September 2003: The 3 Minute Countdowns are also great... three minutes is a perfect length for these music intermissions, and they help make the show longer. The only thing that bothers me about the intermissions is that there are no in-house ones. Although Eddie Coker, Veggietales, and Monkey Ninjas are cool, nothing beats Department 18's original intermissions.
Since I talked a little about the songs and intermissions, I'm now going to talk a little about the show segments between songs. The dialogue content is very interesting for this show. In Segment One, after Munch asked another one of his silly questions, he gets made fun of by Jasper and Pasqually. Now this isn't nothing new... Munch always asks ridiculous questions, and Jasper and Pasqually always takes opportunities like these to try to be funny. In this show, they might take it a little bit too far, but afterwards we all get a little lesson in respect (hence the song "Respect"). Although this segment piece may seem a little too harsh for some, I find it to be great character development. Through the past few years, and especially in this show, we find Munch being very curious, clueless and defenseless... like a child. This is why Jasper and Pasqually take advantage of him so much. We also have been finding out the last couple years that Jasper has a real sarcastic sense of humor, and a little attitude that seems to pop up when he's annoyed. This is true especially when Pasqually wants to tell one of his obnoxious jokes. As for Helen, she plays an important role in this show... she is the only one who stands up to Jasper and Pasqually and comes to Munch's defense. She definitely has that 'big sister' quality when she helps Munch out, which we get to see more in this show than we ever had before. But just like the other characters, she ends up yelling at Munch a little bit too, after his piano introduction to "I Will Survive" kept going and going. But you have to admit that would piss you off too.
But where does Chuck E fit into all of this? He's the guy on the logo. Just kidding... Chuck E has the usual "I'm cool" attitude, which is common among show stars. But he did have a few memorable moments... especially his 'Soul Mouse' licensing remark, and his sudden outburst at Munch. And he really has a lot to say about his fans... he doesn't stop thanking (us fans) in a couple of the segments. It's nice to know we fans are appreciated!
But Munch is truly the star of this show. Not only does he get to play the role of the announcer and sing the fun parody song of "Our Mouse", he is the main player in most of the segment dialogue. He is my favorite character next to Jasper, and I'm glad he got a more active role than the usually small roles from previous shows.
Anyway, enough with my rambling...on with the secrets!
Studio C (Part 1) - Chuck E's curtains remain closed during Helen's "I Will Survive".
Studio C (Part 2) - The Studio C puppets' backgrounds are the same colors and design from the April 2003 Show. Helen still has the purple cheerleader outfit and purple hair bows from Summertime 2003.
Studio C (Part 3) - During "Respect", Helen's screen splits up into three during the back-up singing parts in the song. Then it shows the 'main' Helen singing, while the three back-up Helens are to the left of the screen. It's hard to explain, but it is a really cool idea. This isn't the first time they did this: Helen's screen splits up into four during the choruses in "Row Your Boat" from the Summertime 2001/2002.
Existing Stages - Only the center stage curtains are open during Helen's "I Will Survive". Also to note, only the center stage curtains are open during Munch's segment intros.
Character Songs - Helen Henny has a whopping three songs in this show! They include "Respect", "I Will Survive", and "I'll Take You There". There is actually one other show where Helen had three songs, and that was the September 2000 Show. Munch sings "Our Mouse" while Jasper and Pasqually have no songs in this show. Jasper does have a big part in "I Thank You", but I wouldn't consider it his song since Chuck E had an equally big part in it, too. This is the first time since Summertime 2000 where Jasper doesn't have a solo in the show!!!
Songs - There are three Sam & Dave songs in this show, which are "Soul Man", "Hold On", and "I Thank You". "Boogie Fever", "I Will Survive", "Respect", and "I'll Take You There" are all covers, while "Our Mouse" is a parody of "Our House".
Countdowns - The Countdown intermissions are brand new in this show, which include a video of a bird's eye view of city-scapes, a video of roads (including some of the shots from "Living In America" from the Sept 02 Show), and a video of kaleidoscope-like effects. The music from these countdowns have been reused from the August 1997 Show.
Announcer - Munch is the show announcer for this show. He introduces Chuck E in the first three segments, and Helen in the last segment. The intro music for Segments One and Two are both the same.
Department 18 Cameos (Part 1) - Robert Gotcher and Matt Schartz make cameos in the September 2003 Show logo.
Department 18 Cameos (Part 2) - Matt Schartz makes a cameo as the DJ in "I Will Survive", and the pool cleaner in "Our Mouse".
D-Mac ID - There are four brand new D-Mac IDs in this show! They include a 'Chuck E Cheese' Sunrise, CEC TV Building, CEC TV Parachuting, & CEC TV Pool Plug.
Birthday Break - The Birthday Break music and video has been reused from the January 2003, April 2003, & Summertime 2003 Shows.
September 2003 Show Logo - The show logo for this show is very clever and different from the previous animated logos. First you see Chuck E (costume character), Matt Schartz, and Robert Gotcher holding up dry-erase boards with 'CEC TV' written on them. Then you see the costume character Chuck E holding a TV monitor with the 'CEC TV' January 2001 Show logo playing on it. Definitely really different... but actually very cool!
-3.5 out of 5 Tokens-
I would have to say that the September 2003 Show is my favorite show in 2003. The April 03 Show was nice, but nothing beats a show full of disco era oldies! I really liked the fact the show was very much like the September 2001 Show, which is actually one of my personal favorites. Both of these shows have excellent song choices, and topped off with a fun parody song.
The intermissions in Sep 03 are nice...but like I said before nothing beats the in-house intermissions. I do want to note I'm very impressed with the Monkey Ninjas episode...I was worried the series might have lost its edge after three episodes and a year off, but luckily I was wrong. Great job, Deva!
As for the segments, as stated above I found some of the character interaction very interesting and different. The whole 'making fun of Munch' thing is definitely more noticable in this show than previous shows, but it isn't something to really get upset over. I felt a couple of the segments went on a little bit too long with the talking...but in all everything was well done.
As for the show logo, I found it very fresh and creative. I do like the animated logos the best, but this one is still really cool! I crack up everytime I see Matt Schartz riding that toy horse in the logo!
In all, the Sep 03 Show was very well done... I love the song choices, the whole feel of the show, and the nice intermissions.... another great job by Department 18!