FRANKLIN — After taking a year off, PlanetChristmas — the county's foremost computer-controlled light display, filled with illuminated penguins, Santa in a multitude of activities and electronic snowflakes — is back with a vengeance and a new venue.

For the first time ever, the holiday light and figure display is going indoors to wow The Factory at Franklin's shoppers as they're filling their Christmas lists in the mini-mall's stores.

Last year, PlanetChristmas creator Chuck Smith took off for Disney World instead of putting up his 200,000-bulb display. The previous year, it was moved to the lawn of The People's Church on Highway 96 East after leaving his Cobblestone subdivision home, where it had been held each year for 20 Christmases. Complaints about the traffic forced its move to the church.

"It was strange having the year off, especially in November when I had nothing to do. But I talked to (The Factory owner) Calvin LeHew and he mentioned having it here. It's a neat place to do it. And I've certainly enjoyed setting it up indoors, especially on the cold and rainy days," he said.

When talking about his plans, Smith punctuates each sentence with the words "all computer controlled, of course." The system is all part of the PlanetChristmas experience.

Not content with a static display, he has his Christmas lights operated by a computer that synchronizes blinking and flashing to provide an illusion of movement. Smith even started a Web site, planetchristmas.com, that allows other technologically savvy Christmas fans to communicate around the world.

PlanetChristmas 2006 will be separated into three stages. When visitors drive up, they will be greeted at the main outside entrance by 15,000 lights along Franklin Road and Liberty Pike while 16 computer-controlled deer "prance" around The Factory's water tower.

The other two stages will be confined inside the former stove and bedding factory.

At center court, the North Pole is re-created to look like a winter ice skating rink with items such as ice-covered evergreens and snowmen. Hanging from the ceiling are 32 massive snowflakes and 40 strobe lights that will flash to look like stars twinkling in a night sky.

This area will contain some of the more winter-centric and less Christmas-oriented elements so that it can be left up well into February.

The final stage of PlanetChristmas will flow down The Factory's long hallways, where 76 more computer-controlled snowflakes will blink back and forth as if chasing each other. Santas, elves and light-up presents will also be in this area.

Another new experience for Smith is an audience during setup. Many of the merchants have watched the daily progress of the PlanetChristmas display going up inside their workplace. And they're excited to see the end result.

"The Factory is a wonderful environment to work in. After a while, I can take a break, sit here and watch life go by. You see just a wonderful mixture of people," he said.

Smith estimates that only half of his PlanetChristmas collection will be set up in the mini-mall. The rest of the area is filled with decorations, such as plush penguins hopping on their faux iceberg just inside the front doors, set up by The Factory owners Calvin and Marilyn LeHew.

In the northern hall, part of the LeHew collection comprising a scene complete with table, authentic linoleum floor and a Magic Chef stove — an item manufactured in The Factory before it became a retail haven — sits to the side. The scene looks as if the viewer has just waltzed into Grandma's realm circa 1950. Metallic silver Christmas trees and wreaths wrap the scene in a holiday environment.

Just outside this nostalgic kitchen, a large acrylic mural painted by Sandy Ziegler and Starr Messick of Ziegler & Co. shows a snow-laden outdoor image.

"Inside, you're making soup while it's cold and snowy outside," Ziegler said of the feeling invoked by the scene.