Showbiz pizza

[ryhoyarbie]

remember a little place called showbiz pizza. a place where kids can go eat pizza, play video games, play games to get tickets and win prizes, eat pizza, drink coke, watch a band that featured a bear named billy bob that played a guitar and had a bird as a friend that lived in a oil canned. remember that place where you or your parents took so many pictures you're glad you put them in an ablum so you can look at them through the years. man such a great place. if you want to reviste showbiz pizza you can go to one of two websites: www.showbizpizzapage.com or www.showbizpizza.com they have pictures, history info of showbiz pizza, biographies of the characters, videos of the shows you can download, and even commercials that date back to the early 80's...they're great websites so go visite them

ryan

[beaker]

w0rd. It's interesting there is a whole underground subculture devoted to Atari founder Noal Bushnell's pizza wonderment creation spinoff.(Just think, it is like Muppet Central, but primarily devoted to low rent animatronic fun!) All showbiz is to me was a cheap substitue replacing the local Chuck E Cheese from 1984 to 1988. I was soooo glad when it went back to Chuck E Cheese though. But sadly, nothing like the old old school Chuck E Cheese. (you know, tiny hidden rooms with strobe lights, elephant legs coming out of the wall...oh those sweet sweet early 80's memories! Or are those Nam flashbacks? Johnnnnnnnnnnnnyyy!)

Now days Chuck E Cheese resembles something akin to 1940's Germany. You got to pass through the red rope, get your worker camp barcode numbers(in a conveinent ultra violet sensor ink), have the right documentation. Then it is off to the mortorized youth training token operated helicopters and tanks, along with faux artillery games and obstacle courses. Meanwhile you got the charismatic animatronic Chancellor Cheese wildly gesturing to his incoherent babble as the crowd claps feverishly. It's like the only relief from such madness is the bathrooms which serve as a sort of neutral zone Switzerland deal. I guess the stalls and employee breakroom would be the secret annex. Only IBM isnt in charge of the tracking devices this time around;)

Once a place of whimsical merryment, now it is the blueprint for
the new fascist face of family pizza entertainment.

[pezbalubah]

Showbiz was a cool place... I was a regular at the local Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz was a special treat (it was further away, and I believe it existed after the Chuck E. Cheese closest to me closed down.)

[GWGumby]

I just finished reading "The Ultimate History of Video Games" which had some absolutely amazing stories in it. A large chunk is devoted to Nolan Bushnell and Atari. I had no idea that he bought his undeveloped pizza arcade idea back from Atari when he got ousted and went on to make Chuck E Cheese.

Showbiz was a pretty obvious knock off, but interestingly enough, when business started slowing, Chuck E Cheese got bought by Showbiz. However, the Cheese guy ended up being more iconic so even though Showbiz bought out Chuck E Cheese, they ended up dropping the Showbiz name altogether and converted what was left to Chuck E Cheese.

Anyway, if any of you are video game geeks, I suggest picking the book up. I learned a lot about the early game industry and got to revel in some wonderful game nostalgia at the same time.

The author is Steve L. Kent.

[ryhoyarbie]

i visited a chucke cheese recently because i had to take my cousin there and i have not been in one of those places in 10 years. its not really nothing. guess i'm just old. but i did win like 100 tickets in 10 minutes........

ryan

[radionate]

Hooray for this thread!

Such memories. I was always in seventh heaven in both Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz. (we went to Chuck E. Cheese more of the two, but went to either seldom as my parents didn't "approve" of them and found them too expensive)

Thanks for making my morning with these websites!

Now I want to go to my parents house and dig out my Showbiz dolls that I picked up at flea markets long after the place shut down.

Today must be the day for reliving my youth!

[ryhoyarbie]

hooray for showbiz pizza........wish the place was still active instead of chuck e cheese...

ryan

[radionate]

I still get a kick out of going to Chuck E. Cheese (haven't been in 3 years, when I went on Spring Break).

I wanted to go last week to one in Memphis, but my date for the evening wasn't to keen on the idea. Oh well.

I mainly just wanted to go to play Skeeball. Thats the best part of the whole place!

[ryhoyarbie]

there's this game, they could have it where you live, thats like a wheel of fortune type game where you put in a token, and a light goes aroung this wheel, and you hit a button depending on where it lands, you can get 5, 4, or 3 tickets easily....i got 100 tickets in 10 minutes!

ryan

[radionate]

I went into the arcade across from the movie theater in our mall the other day, and a friend of mine showed me the trick to the game where you drop your token in and knock a bunch of other tokens out. I wound up with 475 tickets from $ 5.00!!!!!

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Originally posted by radionate
I went into the arcade across from the movie theater in our mall the other day, and a friend of mine showed me the trick to the game where you drop your token in and knock a bunch of other tokens out. I wound up with 475 tickets from $ 5.00!!!!!

WHAT'S THE TRICK?!?!

[radionate]

Originally posted by Janice & Mokey's Man
WHAT'S THE TRICK?!?! I know something you don't know!

[beaker]

Originally posted by ryhoyarbie
i visited a chucke cheese recently because i had to take my cousin there and i have not been in one of those places in 10 years. its not really nothing. guess i'm just old. but i did win like 100 tickets in 10 minutes........


*sigh* Nothing like the old old school Chuck E Cheese unfortunately. Btw, anyone seen the Swingers sequel Made? OMG that has the funniest scene in a Chuck E Cheese, just too much!

And yes, that video game history book is astonishing!

[ryhoyarbie]

people say that showbiz pizza is a rip off of chuck e cheese which is true, but i've read through some articles and stuff that the rockafire explosion band that was int he showbiz pizza places were more entertaining than chucke's band. i have to agree that billybob and company were more entertaining than the mouse and his friends...

ryan

[ryhoyarbie]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by radionate
[B]I still get a kick out of going to Chuck E. Cheese (haven't been in 3 years, when I went on Spring Break).

I wanted to go last week to one in Memphis, but my date for the evening wasn't to keen on the idea. Oh well.

you wanted to take your date to a chuck e cheese pizza place huh!! i would have never done that if i went out on dates instead of staying on the computer!.....

ryan

[radionate]

I thought it would be fun!

[Fozzie Bear]

Originally posted by radionate
I wanted to go last week to one in Memphis,

Jerk. What kind of friend are you? You have my number! I would go. I think the one on Hickory Hill is the one you're considering? I work around the corner from there!

FOZ

[radionate]

Actually I was thinking of the one across from the Galleria. I didn't realize there were so many in town. I now know of three in Memphis!

[ryhoyarbie]

Originally posted by Fozzie Bear
Jerk. What kind of friend are you? You have my number! I would go. I think the one on Hickory Hill is the one you're considering? I work around the corner from there!

FOZ

i never thought two men would go to a chuck e cheese for fun.....hehe

ryan

[Fozzie Bear]

Originally posted by ryhoyarbie
i never thought two men would go to a chuck e cheese for fun.....hehe ryan

OH, now, you know if you were here, you'd go, too.

Then again, who knew a 30 year old would play Fozzie Bear at an online forum and collect Muppet action figures to play with, while at the same time drawing cartoons and playing with his puppets?

Geez, I have a great life!!

FOZ

[beaker]

Originally posted by Fozzie Bear
OH, now, you know if you were here, you'd go, too.

Then again, who knew a 30 year old would play Fozzie Bear at an online forum and collect Muppet action figures to play with, while at the same time drawing cartoons and playing with his puppets?

Geez, I have a great life!!


you do! heh...nothing wrong with that! And hopefully you art(Muley, comics/cartoons) can reach a bigger audience in time!

[Fozzie Bear]

I wish Muley could get more press than he does...I need my own fancied up Muley website.

He used to be on ROCK103's website, but they closed down the funny pages.
:(

[radionate]

When did they close down the funny pages?

And how about Muley trying to meet Tony Curtis at the Orpheum?!?!?!?!?!

I'm going to stalk, er meet, Tony tonight after the show (which I'm going to see and I'm sooooo excited I could pee my pants) :D

[ryhoyarbie]

I'm going to stalk, er meet, Tony tonight after the show (which I'm going to see and I'm sooooo excited I could pee my pants) :D [/B][/QUOTE]

i hope it doesn't come to that..that'll shorten your day

ryan

[Sweetums]

AAAHHH!!! I loved Showbiz Pizza as a little kid!!!! LOL, I remember being quite nervous about the big drum-playing gorilla. :)

Thanks for posting these links!

And while we're at it, anyone remember Zoobalee Zoo?

[Fozzie Bear]

Originally posted by radionate
When did they close down the funny pages? And how about Muley trying to meet Tony Curtis at the Orpheum?!?!?!?!?!

Tim Spencer closed down the Funny Pages a while back because he ran out of time to do that and other parts of his job as well, not to mention a few of us had slowed down on regularly updating our work on the site.

Muley REALLY needs to be re-built...BAD. So, he's going to lay a little low for a while more than likely. Besides that, after that fire in the back-stage area, Muley hasn't been allowed back in the Orpheum. But he still maintains that it wasn't his fault, it was the fault of the match.

[radionate]

Originally posted by Fozzie Bear
Muley REALLY needs to be re-built...BAD. So, he's going to lay a little low for a while more than likely. Besides that, after that fire in the back-stage area, Muley hasn't been allowed back in the Orpheum. But he still maintains that it wasn't his fault, it was the fault of the match. Once again I am lost and know nothing about this. When did this happen? (I'm soooooo out of the loop)

[Fozzie Bear]

You don't wanna know. Just like the fire at the Orpheum, neither was the one at Overton Park, Peabody Place, or WC Handy Park his fault. He just happened to be there.

At least, from his version of the story. I think he was at fault, but I wasn't there at the time.

:D

[ryhoyarbie]

Originally posted by Sweetums
AAAHHH!!! I loved Showbiz Pizza as a little kid!!!! LOL, I remember being quite nervous about the big drum-playing gorilla. :)

Thanks for posting these links!

And while we're at it, anyone remember Zoobalee Zoo?

fatz the gorilla played the piano, and dook played the drums right next to him.....those guys are great but i like rolfe the wolf and his puppet friend earl more cause they're funny..

ryan

[SesameStreetGuy]

Sorry if the thread is old.

I actually met the creator of the Showbiz Pizza robots last summer at a Chuck E. Cheese convention that was here in MA. Aaron "Air" Fechter is the creator, and has created alot of things over the past 30 years in his company CEI. Today though, not much seems to be happening down there.

ryhoyarbie, you probably have seen me(MatHat13) around the ShowbizPizza.com board. ;)

[Ilikemuppets]

As a kid, that place simply...ruled!