PA Now shut forever

[cadboy]

How sad PA presented its final show today marking a truly sorrowful date in history. Who saw the last show? Was it good? The show will be missed by most who saw it in its 18 years running.

[mattcrombie]

It was a ticket only show they had all the old stunt men and women there from over the years.

[ShadowXL]

I think the public were allowed in as well as its time was posted on the sign out front and I saw normal public attending. I dropped in on the end after I finished my shift. They made presentations to all the current cast saying how long they have been apart of the show, then they had a confetti gun spray thing like they do at the footy grand finals now. Something worth noting. On the final day the current cast walked in the street parade and were given around of applause as they walked past as a sign of respect by people that realised it was its last day.

[jayw]

I made the trip down for the last show. The public were allowed in. They obviously had a large number of people in the crowd that had been involved with the show over the years, they also had all the current performers and crew that weren't in the show sitting in the stand on the side in uniform. There were several cameras from various media at the event, I noticed one from channel 10. They presented all current performers and crew at the end with a shirt and certificate and presented them in order of years of service. I managed to grab one of the shirts on the way out as they were selling a couple of them. I have a video of the entire final show and presentations and stack of photos that I hope to make available shortly. They also spoke a little about the new show and mentioned the area will be twice the size of the current space for the new show. Also spoke about the difficulty in the dicision to close the PASS and bring in something new. Was a little reassuring that they are aware of the high standard they need to meet. Jay

[taronga]

It's about time PASS is gone, i enjoyed the live show the first couple of times i saw it back in '92-'93 and there hasn't been a PA movie in 14 years (1994).

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well no there hasn't been a movie, but a 27 episode long TV series was made by some of the original cast and crew. Police Academy: The Series first aired in 1997, and featured Tackleberry's younger siblings, and returned Michael Winslow as Larvelle Jones. Paul Maslansky returned for a short time as executive producer, having worked on EVERY police academy movie ever made. For a bit of trivia, lets see who can guess this one, just to keep the thread going a bit longer. The PASS lasted for over 17 years. Which characters lasted throughout all of the Police Academy movies and featured in each one? a: Captain Harris, Commandant Lassard, Kerry Mahoney b: Lieutenant Hightower, Captain Harris, Sergeant Tackleberry c: Sergeant Jones, Sergeant Tackleberry, Commandant Lassard d: Captain Callahan, Sergeant Hightower, Lieutenant Proctor I also want to point out how amazing it was for the cast and crew to pull out the movies as fast as they did. There was very little in the way of special effects for usage back then, especially for the kind of movies that they were, so for the most part, all of the action, stunts etc were all done the old fashioned way, by blowing stuff up. The first movie was released in 1984. Another sequel was then released each year thereafter until 1989 when Police Academy 6: City Under Siege was released. 6 episodes in 6 years is amazing. They followed it up with Episode 7 in 1994, 5 years later.

Edited May 2, 2008 by AlexB

[rappa]

It's about time PASS is gone, i enjoyed the live show the first couple of times i saw it back in '92-'93 and there hasn't been a PA movie in 14 years (1994).

Yeah I mean it's only one of the longest running live shows ever and internationally regarded as one of the best theme park shows of all time. Thank god it's gone hey. I'm sorry but you're a moron, that's a stupid thing to say. They will have a hard time replacing such an amazing show (so for many reasons). I think you will be in the minority when you say it's 'about time.' Just to add yes the show was open to the public. Sadly the impression in the lead up to the day was that it was a ticket only show and I'm sure many people did not even try to go for that very reason. It's a shame if anyone missed out due to simple miss communication. Edited May 2, 2008 by djrappa

[taronga]

There are so many show opportunities the park has missed by keeping PASS for so long, now it's too late because the popularity of those possible shows has passed.

[kieran]

I made the trip down for the last show. The public were allowed in. They obviously had a large number of people in the crowd that had been involved with the show over the years, they also had all the current performers and crew that weren't in the show sitting in the stand on the side in uniform. There were several cameras from various media at the event, I noticed one from channel 10. They presented all current performers and crew at the end with a shirt and certificate and presented them in order of years of service. I managed to grab one of the shirts on the way out as they were selling a couple of them. I have a video of the entire final show and presentations and stack of photos that I hope to make available shortly. They also spoke a little about the new show and mentioned the area will be twice the size of the current space for the new show. Also spoke about the difficulty in the dicision to close the PASS and bring in something new. Was a little reassuring that they are aware of the high standard they need to meet. Jay

When this is released to the public I would love to view it mate.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

There are so many show opportunities the park has missed by keeping PASS for so long, now it's too late because the popularity of those possible shows has passed.

It's funny you should use that as an argument on why they should have gotten rid of it sooner - put it this way: The PASS first performed in the hey-day of the show, and remained popular with guests for some 17 years. Now the franchise itself probably waned a little in popularity by 2000-2001, but the show itself was still solid, had great backing and a great script, and a solid bedding in the history of the park, and the performances were still filled to the rafters right up to the last day. Now that it is "too late" because the "popularity of these possible shows" have passed means that that in itself is a good reason on why they should not have changed it. Because whatever they changed it to would have expired long before now. Basing the show around a series of long running, long popular 7 episode movies based on a central theme gave plenty of ammunition, and a diverse demographic. I grew up with the police academy movies, rented at least one of them out every weekend when I was a kid, and now own the full boxed set. Kids younger than me would have been introduced to it by their older siblings, and parents would also remember the movies as it would have been a big cult icon for them when they were younger too. For a lot of kids\teens in the 80's it was their first movie with full frontal female nudity, because mum and dad would let you watch it as a family movie. These days that kind of gratuitous nudity would carry an MA rating. I also believe it is great that the movies provided so much ammunition. Captain Harris on stage had a lot of ammunition to use in his introduction, and he was allowed to make off the cuff remarks while remaining in character because he had 7 movies to draw his inspiration from. I have come home from MW some days to pull out one of the movies just to look up the statement he made on stage that day and check to see if his facts were right - and they always were. Those guys would live the characters, and would have seen every one of the movies over and over again. What possible franchise is out there that would allow the actors to immerse themselves so well into character? Please point out to me one possible show that movie world could have changed the stunt show to in all its years of operation that could have possibly had a remote chance at the success that PASS enjoyed? Having said that, I think Movie World making the change to a generic theme is dangerous in some aspects, but great in some others. A generic theme means they won't be restricted to certain characters, and can change the act as it becomes necessary. They don't have to live up to any certain expectations, except of course the memory of PASS itself. I saw it happen at Wonderland too - the Action Man stunt show was written in based on the story and allowed no flexibility to change. Fortunately for Wonderland - that show didn't need to run nearly as long.

[nev]

What Movie World has just done is the Australian equivalent of closing down Sea World's Shamu Show, or closing Disney's Small World Ride. Put plain and simply, they've closed an iconic attraction which has been with the park from day one. Regardless of what individuals may think of the show, its lines and seating was always full during school holidays and always well attended outside holidays. It always raised laughs, always got roars of approval following the final fireball and always seemed to be a hit with audiences of all ages. Everyone knew the Police Academy movies, and I can only echo what AlexB has said about the series. Sure, it's not the most amazing piece of cinematic art ever created, but the resulting PASS show has drawn crowds every day for years. In many ways, its just as successful - if not more so - than any other attraction at Movie World. And even if you didn't like the show, consider the fact that the PASS showtimes meant you could enjoy lesser waiting times on all the rides around the park while a couple thousand people packed into the PASS arena. The Disney version of the upcoming show doesn't compare to PASS. I've seen it in Florida and rate it well below Police Academy - like others have said it doesn't flow, lacks the audience involvement and communication and will be very difficult to make work in such a small space at Movie World regardless of whatever expansion takes place. To dismiss PASS as an "expired attraction" or as something which should have been replaced long ago is to take a very simpleton, childish view of the theme parks we love. Here is an attraction which - completely unchanged - has attracted massive crowds from Day 1 of WBMV - and people on these boards are willing to criticize that and demote the value of it purely because it isn't shiny, new and doesn't have an Intamin badge on the side of it. Wake up people - realise that a park doesn't always have to have the best rides to make it the best park. And if you're going to suggest that PASS should have been replaced with something else, I challenge you to come up with a concept that would draw crowds continuously for the best part of 15 years that would remain funny, entertaining and spectacular for all ages for that whole time. And apologies in advance for any bad grammar - I'm writing this after 6 beers!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well now Taronga, it seems it's time to put your money where your mouth is. Three separate people including myself have replied to your statements with a challenge to come up with a single idea or concept that had a hope of being more popular for a longer time that PASS. We're ready when you are...

[Derwan]

I took some photos the last 2 times I went to Movieworld. Here is my Tribute to the Police Academy Stunt Show.

[Gazza]

Nev I don't mean to be stirring things up, but while searching for something entirely unrelated I did stumble across this.

- Lights, Motors, Action! at MGM - Arrive early to get a good seat, this stunt show makes Police Academy look like your local shopping centre car park - definitely not to be missed.

Personally I thought the MGM show was pretty impressive, could have had a bit more pace to it but nevertheless still very good. The closure of PASS was always going to happen at some point, and with any long running show you've always got that fine balance between preserving old favourites and keeping it relevant. Perhaps they just saw it better to just end it on a high note. Everyone has had a chance to enjoy it many times, but there comes a point where its going to get a bit obscure for a lot of the key demographics who visit simply because they are too young to have seen the films. Then again, I felt a lot of its charm just came from the humour and quality scripting, and of course the stunts. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the really popular aspects will be reworked and included, just look at the SW ski show, scripting etc has changed each time, but they still manage to include the same things like the human pyramid.

[nev]

Hey Gazza.... well spotted! In terms of scale LMA definitely does make Police Academy look like a shopping centre car park - the arena is huge, the crowds are massive and the scale of every effect is infinitely bigger than anything in Police Academy. It's a cool show that's not without its flaws like you, myself and others have mentioned. Perhaps I should add the thought that a car racing around a shopping centre carpark is always going to be more intense than one driving around an arena

[joz]

I don't think LMA is a bad show, I just think PA was just that good a show. I mean LMA has some of the best stunts I've seen in a live show, and they are very well done and do have you thinking that a crash is just around the corner. PA on the other hand has a handful of stunts that are even a little bit spectacular (The high fall, some donuts on the tiny stage, and a few small odds and ends), and the rest is just ultra controlled effects that are hard to even classify as stunts, such as the Rodney Cannon, the Hot rod on two wheels (well, 3, but that can be a secret ay?) and the helicopter + explosion. I think it can be summed up quite well with this quote from the old "Movie Mania editorial:

Live action shows bringing popular characters to life are found throughout all parks. Universal Studios Hollywood has Waterworld, based on the Kevin Costner film of the same name. The show is non-stop action with explosions, fist-fights, Jet Ski battles and spectacular falls, but like the motion picture lacks a captivating storyline. As far as stunts go, this show is definitely the most exciting of the movie parks. Disney-MGM Studios take you into the world of stunt filming with their Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. The storyline takes you to the filming of stunts for an Indiana Jones film, making use of guests from the audience as extras just to add an element of audience participation. This show also suffers from a somewhat weak storyline, but some amazingly choreographed stunts make up for this. Warner Bros. Movie World’s Police Academy Stunt Show is based on the popular albeit tedious “Police Academy” series of movies. While somewhat unclear throughout as to weather you’re actually watching the filming of scenes from a movie, or are being taken into the fictitious world of “Police Academy”, this show features an otherwise strong storyline which makes up for stunts that aren’t quite in the league of the previous two parks. Movie World has really shown somehow that stunts aren’t everything in a stunt show, and the script, like any good movie, can make or break the show.

To me, whats written above is the key: its not all about stunts in a stunt show, a good story can make or break it. LMA is very much like the Indiana Jones show described above: great stunts but little if any "show". PA on the other hand was a great show, that happened to include a couple of stunts. If Hollywood Stunt Driver is as good as LMA, then I think really we'll be quite lucky, as LMA is an amazing show, but if its only as good as LMA then it won't be as good as PA, because despite the mediocre stunts, PA was just THAT good a show.

[Ian]

^good points guys AS someone who has seen LMA in 2006 and 2007 and Police Acamedy loads of times, I think LMA has a amazing set and great action but its missing one big thing thats puts bums on seats over and over again. And That is COMEDY. you can have your favorite Action/Drama dvd and your favorite Comedy dvd at home and I know which one can be watched over and over again. There are exciting changes happen to the landscape of work which is great, but i hope some of my good friends get into HollyWood stunt driver when they audition because I already miss them at work.