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Update 5/17/08 Two of the best photos so far posted at end of post

By now I assume the cat’s out of the bag, as keeping secrets this big usually doesn’t last long, so I’ll go ahead and offer some thoughts of tonight’s mission.

First, since this is my first blog on the topic, know that I am as die-hard a fan of Improv Everywhere as exists on the planet, and tonight was my second mission.

(The banner above features a picture of my sexy mug on the far left).

So let’s get down to it.

Tonight’s mission was the first to be carried out since the ultra-massive viral sensation caused by the video of Frozen Grand Central.

The reason that the success of that video is being noted right now has little to do with how awesome it is (but seriously, it’s fucking amazing, right?) but because the sensation of the video has created a deep impact on what Improv Everywhere is as a group, what they can carry out, and how missions will have to be planned in the future.

With all the press and acknowledgment, one thing is certain: missions can never be free from the eye of the press or watching eyes before they are enacted. This made me curious as to how Agent Todd would go about planning new missions, and I think how he’s done it is perfect. He does occasional small missions with very few agents, and then, on occasions like tonight, city-shifting missions that are amazingly powerful if carried out to perfection.

What happened tonight?

Several hundred of us made a giant line entirely across the Brooklyn bridge, from one end to another, and attempted to “do the wave” with camera flashes. All of this was filmed from the adjacent Manhattan Bridge.

Fucking COOL, right?

Unfortunately the videos haven’t been uploaded yet, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say what nearly breaks my heart when such a good idea is carried out by such a vast number of people: it was a dud.

And I think this was for two reasons. One reason is very obvious and one reason is probably only obvious to the people who follow the group closely.

First: The weather was awful. Just wait until pictures and videos surface. It was honestly horrific. The wind was breaking umbrellas left and right and everybody was soaked with freezing rain. It was a bad scene. This caused what should have been a long single-file line to be broken up into small groups, several people under each umbrella, practically killing the effect. Bless the higher-level agent’s hearts, because those guys were sprinting back and forth with huge smiles- keeping everyone’s spirits up. And it would have worked except:

Second: When groups grow, something interesting happens. We saw it on Facebook, we see it on Twitter now, and Improv Everywhere is having its own early adopter to mainstream participant problem of its own, it seems. Now that so very many people automatically show up to scheduled missions, the same thing that happens with new social networks happens. The noise is louder, the crowd is distracted, and most importantly, there is no longer a focused agenda. When I participated in my first mission just seven or eight months ago, people revered Agent Todd. They were silent when he spoke. He was respected.

Tonight was a different story. Small groups of chatty, loud, and uninterested people gathered in the cold weather to talk about how much cooler “Best Buy” was.

And this isn’t Agent Todd’s fault. He is the leader of the legion for a reason (heh). I say it’s time for a big stick.

I’ll post videos and pictures as they arrive, but I have the sneaking suspicion that this mission will need to be redone when the weather’s nicer, when the logistics are smoother, and yes, possibly with far less people.

And when it’s done, it’s going to be fucking magic.