Monday, March 18, 2024

Photon Month - Day 18: Mandarr’s Private Collection

 Enjoy Mandarr’s Private Collection of behind the scenes photos from the Photon tv show shared courtesy of David Stay.

https://www.photonforever.com/mandarrsprivatecollection


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Photon Month - Consolidated Posts

It’s Photon month at TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com! Every day during the month of March 2024 I have been posting a piece of Photon nostalgia. However, to keep the other blog posts from getting buried I will consolidate the Photon Month posts here. Enjoy!


Photon Month - Day 1:


In honor of March 28th being the 40th anniversary of Photon and the start of the laser tag industry, the entire month of March will be celebrated as “Photon Month” at TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com. Every day this month I will share a piece of Photon nostalgia on my website (and here too) so together we can remember the game that started it all 40 years ago!


Let’s start by “Remembering Photon” with memories shared by some of the players in attendance at Phocon 2019 at XP Lasersport in Laurel, MD.




https://youtu.be/Rmb6KDPriDY?si=4ah2oR_m4XkgEhoU


Photon Month - Day 2:


It’s “Photon Month - Day 2” and today we revisit this interview with Photon inventor George Carter III from April 18, 2021.  



https://youtu.be/DP1ARvpDVLk?si=pXY3_a6-CCshGz29


Photon Month - Day 3:


Photon month - Day 3: Hanging with Mandarr. Here are some excerpts from when my friend David Stay invited me to be a guest on his Photon Disco Hour on March 26, 2021. I had to be up at 3 o’clock in the morning to make the live appearance on his show at midnight. He was quite a guy!



https://youtu.be/QikHZZT_bbU?si=9iXCXbyDlMCl-YBJ


Photon Month - Day 4:


For day 4 of “Photon Month” we revisit an interview with the real Lord Beathan, former Photon Dallas manager Beathan Miller, recorded on January 22, 2017. Enjoy!



https://youtu.be/JdmZbdAB7ew?si=By3ZpgQSi7et-vh-


Photon Month - Day 5:


For Photon Month - Day 5 here is a clip of Photon in Motion featuring some game footage from Phocon at XP Lasersport. While you may not be able to see much of the game, the sights and sounds of the arena should bring back some memories!



https://youtu.be/DENrWY4vATM?si=jC65WO78UOqdQS6m


Photon Month - Day 6:


It’s Photon Month - Day 6, so I’m sharing this pic of cast and crew of the Photon television series from 1986. This photo is from a collection graciously shared courtesy of David Stay.



Photon Month - Day 7:


It’s Photon Month - Day 7. Today we’ll revisit the podcast episode where we hear the story of the last Photon from Jim Strother.



https://youtu.be/9FkH9Q59JRc?si=x38drBuxiLmQXprU


Photon Month - Day 8:


This week is a bonus episode of the podcast! Enjoy a brand new interview with Loretta Heywood, the actress/singer who played Photon’s Tivia back in 1986. So this week “Tivia Talks with Tivia” as she joins me for some Laser Unfocused Tag Talk in honor of Photon Month - Day 8. :)



ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0xzXT3aqGa2edIlXpcaJBS


ON APPLE PODCASTS:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-unfocused-tag-talk-with-tivia/id1632442213


ON YOUTUBE:

https://youtu.be/3klRXla4NbI?si=-d-nBA4KTBkiNVcA


Want to check out Loretta’s new music? Here are the links to the reissue of The Boy Across The Road:

https://bfan.link/the-boy-across-the-road


And her new song, Satta Massagana:

https://bfan.link/satta-massagana


Enjoy!


Photon Month - Day 9:


Photon Month - Day 9: They made what? Some of the more eclectic merchandise produced with the Photon branding includes a canvas soft lunch bag, inflatable kite, Japanese home video game and sunglasses. 



Photon Month - Day 10:


For Photon Month - Day 10 we revisit this discussion with director Jason Helton about his upcoming Photon documentary.



https://youtu.be/j0urro1Oc30?si=x8eNaDZZEpFVbt3t


Photon Month - Day 11:


Last week we heard from the real Lord Beathan. For Photon Month - Day 11, hear from the actor who played Lord Beathan, Graham Ravey, in this interview from March 13, 2015.



https://youtu.be/Zoj_56aTDSM?si=m-mkJugvdhv2OjZ8


Photon Month - Day 12:


Photon Month - Day 13 is a personal memory as I my game passport from the 2019 Photon at XP Lasersport in Laurel, MD.



Photon Month - Day 13:


Photon Month - Day 13: The “Ultimate” Mystery. You may remember how between Photon and Worlds of Wonder, home laser tag dominated the Christmas toy shopping season of 1986…This is NOT that. This may have been a follow-up idea that never made it past the initial stage.



So what is it? I acquired this packaging art cell, what appears to be a card such as would have been in a product book or possibly a Toy Fair catalog (but I own the books from that year, so I can tell you it was not) and a set of drawings depicting what appears to be a newer version, perhaps still in the concept stage, for an “Ultimate Photon” home game that was never released. Even George Carter knew nothing about this when asked, so I am not suggesting it was anything that got past the earliest stages of an idea. However, there is at least proof that the idea existed. So for now, I will just call this the “ultimate” mystery.


Here is a more complete look at this lot.

https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/single-post/what-s-the-story-on-ultimate-photon


Photon Month - Day 14:


I want to celebrate the 40th anniversary of laser tag by playing laser tag in a Photon arena (or as close to it as is currently possible). New Orleans, I’m looking at you! Here’s a look at a new take on the old magic inside the modified Photon-style arena at Game On Social Hub in Kenner, LA.



https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/single-post/friends-wherever-i-end-up


Photon Month - Day 15:


On this week’s new episode of Laser Unfocused Tag Talk we have a reunion of Photon players sharing their memories from the very first Photon center in Dallas, TX. As we approach the 40th anniversary of Photon and the start of the laser tag industry, hear the stories from these players who were actually there in 1984 when it all began. It’s Photon Month - Day 15: Photon Warriors for 40 Years with Andrew Laska, Jet Clark and Jason Bock!



ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0xzXT3aqGa2edIlXpcaJBS


ON APPLE PODCASTS:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-unfocused-tag-talk-with-tivia/id1632442213


ON YOUTUBE:

https://youtu.be/Kfo3wLXi5D0?si=acNA2cSlmKJtp9-R


Photon Month - Day 16:


Five years ago was the 35th anniversary of Photon. It coincides (not by accident) with my completion of laser tagging in all 50 states (the first time around!) and I was delighted to have George Carter join me to celebrate at Laser Quest North Richland Hills on March 28, 2019.



 https://youtu.be/dHZgfPNbi-0?si=pfjf1J1rNexWYDxu


Photon Month - Day 17:


For Photon Month - Day 17 enjoy this throwback interview with Tamara Johnson, the actress who played Barbara Jarvis on the Photon television series, from March 25, 2015.



https://youtu.be/fVcwOG1D8Qo?si=RUi1SJlfqSDBrihk


More Photon Month posts will be added and consolidated on this page throughout the rest of the month of March. Enjoy!



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Photon Month - Day 17: Throwback Interview with Tamara Johnson

For Photon Month - Day 17 enjoy this throwback interview with Tamara Johnson, the actress who played Barbara Jarvis on the Photon television series, from March 25, 2015.

https://youtu.be/fVcwOG1D8Qo?si=RUi1SJlfqSDBrihk


BTW, I will be consolidating all the Photon month posts into one very soon to make it easier to separate the Photon content from posts about other things that are going on in laser tag.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Friday, March 15, 2024

Photon Warriors for 40 Years

On this week’s new episode of Laser Unfocused Tag Talk we have a reunion of Photon players sharing their memories from the very first Photon center in Dallas, TX. As we approach the 40th anniversary of Photon and the start of the laser tag industry, hear the stories from these players who were actually there in 1984 when it all began. It’s Photon Month - Day 15: Photon Warriors for 40 Years with Andrew Laska, Jet Clark and Jason Bock!


ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0xzXT3aqGa2edIlXpcaJBS


ON APPLE PODCASTS:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-unfocused-tag-talk-with-tivia/id1632442213


ON YOUTUBE:

https://youtu.be/Kfo3wLXi5D0?si=acNA2cSlmKJtp9-R


Watch for more Photon nostalgia to be posted every day this month at TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com