731: More Than a Feeling

Hey y'all. Hope you're enjoying the last days of the actual summer. Be sure to let me know what you thought about the episode!

If you haven't already, listen along with me and read The Odyssey Times below as you listen to More Than a Feeling for my quick takes and thoughts (aired originally September 7).

LISTEN HERE

THE ODYSSEY TIMES (Facts, notes, and quotes about Odyssey from this ep):
- Four days of rain.
- I don't know why, but the way Katrina says "I need a jolt" is hilarious.
- If Camilla decides to start a new ministry, she can call it Crochet by Camilla.
- "That's how you're going to commemorate the beginning of your love - with chicken?" - Connie
- The Smell of Love seems like a particularly atrocious rom-com by the title. Their marketing team needs some work.
- Eugene and Katrina are adorable together. 
- I love Eugene and Katrina's definition of unhealthy food.
- Connie at work once again!
- Panzini's went from upscale Italian fare to the world-famous 23 different varieties of nachos. Quite the downgrade. Perhaps an abrupt change of management?
- "The everyday stuff may not be romantic, but there's a lot more to marriage than romance." - Katrina
- "My love for you is much more faithful than any feeling. My love for you is constant, and always will be." - Eugene

REVIEW:
The premise of More Than a Feeling feels so basic. Camilla stumbles with her faith; Eugene and Katrina stumble with romance. But as we learned, feelings are fleeting, and this episode definitely hit that lesson out of the park.

One word that describes this episode to me is charming. Marshal Younger's script feels very light while getting across some very heavy themes. In fact, I would argue that this exploration of the true definitions of love, marriage, emotion, and being a Christian is the closest that Odyssey will get to tackling, ahem, more controversial topics. But his deft balance of large topics, new Christian hijinks, and romantic comedy is an utter treat to listen to. 

One thing that really supports Marshal's script is the chemistry that has really began to blossom in the Odyssey cast once again. My previous impression of Whit and Camilla's relationship was in Forgiving...More or Less ("Big scoop! I've got one for the ice cream...har har."). Mr. Whittaker was definitely more warm and human here, and that's due to Andre Stojka's increasingly wise portrayal. There's still a lot of Owl that I hear and vocal inflections that I loved from Paul Herlinger, but I feel like the spirit of Whit, if that makes any sense (and not to break any theological bubbles, just for metaphorical purposes, por favor), is definitely something that's starting to come back. It was great to see Connie getting back into meddling and continuing the great Eugene/Connie scenes as of late. I also enjoyed seeing Connie and Katrina at it again, and the Parker family's chemistry continues to impress (understanding that Michaela Dean is only on her second episode as Camilla). 

In previous David-watching football episodes, Mark Evan Jackson has to record his shouts before the sound goes on. This issue was also apparent in Happy Hunting with Connie, Penny, and the bird noises. Something must have happened, because the sound was a lot smoother this time around, and that's thanks to great work by Christopher Diehl. The music was once again fabulous by John Campbell, after last week's not-up-to-Odyssey standard work by a guest composer.

However, it's the Eugene/Katrina storyline that really stands out. Marshal turns the conventional idea of a happy, successful marriage often exemplified in the media and our imaginations (illustrated through Connie) and turns it on its head, dissecting the issue with that assessment in a very real, raw, hilarious way. I've often complained recently as how Odyssey seemed to downgrade itself to a lower brand of humor, seemingly to appeal to the age group after the relaunch. However, the writing has vastly improved since then and the humor is back to being funny for me, and hopefully for more people than the candy-coated days of Game for a Mystery. But the bits, from the late night conversation to the nacho dinners, were spot on. The characters felt completely in character and everything just felt incredibly natural. 

Camilla's enthusiasm for her faith was another element of this very charming episode. Her scene with David celebrating Jesus while watching the televangelist is simply adorable. Michaela Dean (voice of Camilla as of Album 57) is definitely growing on me. Her struggles with her faith is something very real that all Christians face. It's often a reason why many people turn from the faith, and something that Odyssey addresses spectacularly.

More Than a Feeling goes above and beyond in more than one way. The script is fantastic, but the episode really works thanks to incredible chemistry throughout the entire cast. So much happens in the twenty three minutes or so that the listener is left breathless by the end. The mix of heavy themes, light comedy, and Odyssey staples is a fantastic blend. Look for this episode at the Averys. I give this episode a 95/100, or an

A

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Catch up on Josh's summer by reading his blog from the past several months here

Read a really good article about love, emotions, and marriage here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elad-nehorai/i-didnt-love-my-wife_b_3908956.html

Buy this episode and 11 others on Album 57: A Call to Something More via CBD
Talk about this episode and a bunch of other Odyssey stuff over at Campbell County

AVERY WATCH:
Best Episode
Best Script - Marshal Younger
Best Sound Design - Chris Diehl
Best Actor - Will Ryan (Eugene)
Best Actress - Audrey Wasilewski (Katrina)
Best Scene - Eugene and Katrina attempting to rekindle late-night conversation

Ally's Favorite Characters

Hello hello hello! It's Ally, and *gasp* I'm doing my own post! Now most of you have heard from Josh, and now you get to hear from me, joy, huh? As you can tell from the title, I will be talking about my FAVORITE ODYSSEY CHARACTERS! Let's go!

First off, I just want to say I love most of the Odyssey characters, because they can all relate with different people, and it shows how God works in their lives in other ways. And I love a lot of them...but I would have to say my all time favorite characters so far are: Connie Kendall, Whit, Tom Riley, and Bernard Walton. What are the reasons why these are supposedly my favorites? I'll tell you why, and how they relate to me as well, and how they influence or inspire me. Here we go!

CONNIE KENDALL

Everyone has to love Connie. She's funny, spunky, has a true heart for God, and makes us laugh. We hear from her almost every episode; she's played the lovable and talented Katie Leigh. I mean, hey Connie's been a teen for like twenty years! Imagine that! That's gotta be kinda cool. 

Now, personal application. Well, both Connie and I are both really curious (like in Album 44 where Whit was acting strange and something was going on?), and sometimes a little unbearable. We both have a lot of friends at different ages (like Whit, Tom, Mandy, Bernard, Eugene, Penny), which might seem kinda crazy to some of you. But honestly, it's not! Connie influences me to keep up my relationship with God, and even when things happen that make us wonder and wish we could go back to change it, there's a reason for it, even if it's bad, and it hurts. She stands up against others who mock and tease Christians and her fellow Odyssians. I liked how we got to see how she was before she met Christ to show us how our old self is gone, and how we must show how our faith has changed us to share the gospel! 

WHIT

Yes, everyone loves Whit, well, all of them, but I really like the Paul Herlinger Whit. To me he sounds the most grandfatherly, and again his belief and trust in God is something I wish I had. Plus Whit is so brilliant, with all of his inventions, and ideas to help kids out. He strives for the truth, and has the best place ever, Whit's End!

Whit is almost like a close grandfather to me. My paternal grandfather died when I was four, and my maternal grandfather (Gung-Gung) lives near LA, while I live near San Francisco. So I've never really had someone elderly just give me advice from a grandfather side. Whenever I hear Paul Herlinger's Whit, it just makes me feel comfortable, like I can just ask him anything and he could be able to give me any advice possible, even though I can't, sadly. 

Just like Connie, Whit inspires me because of his faith in the Lord, his willingness to defend his beliefs, and his ability to always go to God for everything. The way he treats everyone with compassion, being so friendly to everyone (like to Shawn Walker in "The New Kid in Town"), and helping others with an open heart is so loving!

TOM RILEY 

I was so sad when I heard that Walker Edmiston passed away, not being able to hear thoughtful Tom, who's kinda giddy with Bernard (another elderly person I'd love to hang with). He's such a good teacher to the kids, and relates so well with Whit. His country, laid-back, sweet personality made Odyssey what it is. 

Tom sometimes is kind of slow at understanding things (in Album 44: "A Most Intriguing Question" when Tom doesn't quite get Connie's plan of action to talk to Whit), and I too can have a hard time understanding. We both believe that prayer is a very important part of the Christian faith and for anything. Mr. Riley inspires me to keep firm in God and to keep reading my devotions daily to grow in my spiritual life. He showed me how to be able to forgive the people who hurt you so much (Richard Maxwell during the Novacom Saga). 

BERNARD WALTON

I honestly miss Bernard so much. He has been one of my favorite characters for such a long time! I enjoy the way he tells stories, and his ability to be so sarcastic, which makes me crack a smile. In "I Slap Floor", the way Bernard made up that whole story was hilarious. I listened to that episode for days after I found out what the whole episode was really about, just to hear Bernard tell that crazy conundrum of a story. 

Bernard and I have so much sarcasm it's not even funny. Okay, maybe it is. Honestly, that's one of the characteristics that make me love this janitor so much. He enjoys company with others and jokes around so much, especially with Eugene. We have a friend who's super intelligent, where the sarcasm and joking around comes in a lot. AND WE BOTH LOVE STORIES, MAN, HE'S SO GREAT AT TELLING THEM (BTV and telling bible parables/stories to the Odyssians). 

Bernard inspires me to stick by your friends (Eugene Returns when he, Tom, and Connie sneak into Whit's End to find out why he's been acting so strangely). He's always checking on others (Eugene's Return, visits to Whit's End numerous times), and he always uses the same squeegee for his windows until he changes it (Eugene's Return). 

These aren't all of my favorites total (too much to count!), but they are some characters that I keep a place for definitely in my heart. Heck, I love these guys so much because of what the actors put into them and how the writers wrote them to become. Their passion for God, adventure, and excitement is anyone's dream. Wouldn't it be awesome to just have a Wodfamchocsod with Whit, go to the food mall with Connie, join Tom in fishing and devotions, and lose at chess continously with Bernard? 

EDIT (4/14/13): One score minus five years ago, Ally Ko came into the world! Take a moment and say happy happy birthday to her! - Josh

715-716: The Perfect Church, Part 1 and 2

Happy October everyone! Apologies for the slower posting rate, but hey, it's October, and like a typical high school junior, I'm pulling 5 hour or less sleep hours on weeknights, so it's intense. I'm excited for this new season of Odyssey and am looking forward to reviewing it! Hopefully,  I'll be able to start reviewing Whit's Flop in the near future...anyways, today's review has a different format. Since Matthew's adventure is not in Odyssey (well, it is, but you know...), The Odyssey Times is replaced today by the Avery Watch, where I discuss performances that I feel deserve nominations!

NOTABLE LINES OF DIALOGUE:
"God is doing what he always does. He's working through fallen men and women to accomplish his purposes. It's been that way from the beginning." - Stephen

REVIEW:

At the beginning of the relaunch, I expected Odyssey to be amazing as usual and have the same standard of quality and entertainment that it usually has. So when Album 51 came out, I was left feeling disappointed. And so I set my sights on Album 52: there's a mystery with a clock tower, plus there's a Christmas show...what could go wrong? And although there were improvements, I was still left feeling disappointed. Next, I looked to Album 53: there's another conspiracy in Odyssey; this could be the new Novacom! Once again, disappointed. I learned to lower my expectations and acknowledge that Odyssey was going into a newer, younger direction, one that I might not necessarily like, but needed to accept. And yet, Album 54 built on Album 53 with more compelling stories, and Album 55 built from Album 54 with even better performances and stories and lessons. So how did I feel when I heard the first two-parter of 56?

Wow. Just, wow. Where to begin? I enjoyed seeing the new Imagination Station in action again (and we heard it today in Great Expectations, the ep that follows this one) and understood why it was created. The new "door" idea creates potential for many new story ideas for future episodes, and the story device works very well for today's ep. Matthew is a great choice to be in this adventure; he, Barrett, and Olivia are the most thoughtful kids in Odyssey in different ways. 

Now, I love hearing Bible stories come to life on Odyssey, from The Imagination Station (Album 5: Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes) to O.T. Action News. But normally, I already know how the story's gonna end, and it's just nice to hear the Odyssey team tell it. The Perfect Church pulls something off masterfully: it manages to take scripture (Acts 1:8 - 8:3) and create a narrative that tells the story and yet makes you wonder how McCusker/Younger (the writers of the episode) are going to tell it. 

The performances that made up the story were top-notch. Andre Stojka does his best performance as Whit to date (and continues to be more Whit every album) and Eugene's computerized bits of information were helpful and helped drive the episode forward for more fresh listeners. It was great hearing Carolyn Hennesy again (voice of Ellen Shepard), and she makes a terrific Saphira in her scene (and we already know she's great at doing those kind of voices as she did in The Big Deal [Album 35: The Big Picture]). Georgia Dolenz has a stronger appearance here than in The Labyrinth, and plays wide-eyed and thoughtful well.  The episode is packed with a who's who of AIO character actors, from Keith Ferguson, Matt Hurwitz, Fred Tatasciore (who after a 16 episode run of playing villainous characters has made a 3 ep run of heroes following A Penny Saved), J.B. Blanc, and Saige Spinney. All we needed was Corey Burton (who by the way, needs to return to Odyssey, but that's another article)! 

John Campbell's score for this episode was amazing. It felt true to the time period, yet slightly melancholic, which captured the essence of the episode completely. Sound design was terrific at recreating the world of Acts and making the "door" switches seamless and sleek. The dialogue was fantastic and moved the story along, while McCusker/Younger kept the story engaging the whole way through.

However, the most powerful scene was when Jim Cummings as Stephen testified to the high court with his defense. The fact that it was taken literally from the Bible, along with Cumming's commanding performance, made me begin to tear up. Now, I don't cry very often at media, unless some element of the form moves me (See: Clara). His acting is powerful, intense, and speaks to us today. In fact, the whole episode speaks to us today. The  church today is not perfect as well. The episode shows us how God uses all of us with our flaws for his purpose. We have our flaws, and we have our disagreements, and yet, God still calls us to fellowship, worship, and preach together. This can be hard, as I know well, but it's an important lesson for us to learn today. The whole episode feels very human, as often we think of the people of the Bible as superheroes, but God uses all kinds of people for his plan, from prostitutes to corrupt tax collectors to murderers (Saul!). 

Paul McCusker and Marshal Younger have crafted an episode that deserves to be up there with the best of the best in Odyssey. The story is engaging, well-told, fresh, moving, and relevant; with powerful performances, dialogue, and sound. The theme is beautiful, with wonderful harmonies, and a score that captures the episode completely. I give this episode a 97/100, or an

A

AVERY WATCH:
Best Episode - Paul McCusker (Producer: Dave Arnold, Co-Writer: Marshal Younger))
Best Sound Design - GAP Digital (Todd Busteed)
Best Line of Dialogue - "To suffer for Jesus is a honor. But what if something worse happens? That would be glory." - Stephen and Matthew
Best Scene - Stephen testifying in court
Best Script - Paul McCusker, Marshal Younger
Best Actor - Jim Cummings
Best Minor Character (Guest Actress) - Carolyn Hennesy (Saphira)
Best Score - John Campbell

FP#9: A Different Kind of Peer Pressure

Happy Labor Day! Be sure to check out the results of the 1st AIO Websters at justanotheraioblog.blogspot.com! I'm hard at work editing my church's Get in the Show music video, but we'll try to get out a post or something soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

THE ODYSSEY TIMES (Facts, notes, and quotes about Odyssey from this ep):
-Earl Boen's first appearance on Odyssey!
-The Hudsons are at the mall, though we can't be sure that it's in Odyssey.
-The not-so-popular girl doesn't want to hang out with the nerd? Uh oh, any moment now, we're gonna get someone singing something from High School Musical.
-Odyssey has Eskimo pies! I actually have no idea what they are, though I've heard of them.
-The crowd decides what the average teen does. Nowadays, the media is trying to determine what the average teen buys, plus hipster culture has been established. While certain schools still struggle with stereotypes and cliques, other schools have different struggles; this school illustrates the first kind of school.
-Jerry Winters, who sounds like a hick, is played by Jack Angel, who would later play Homer Fremont, another hick, in Honor Thy Parents and George Washington/John Adams in The Day Independence Came.
-Discrimination in the workplace continues today in all forms.
-Thank goodness Rich Hudson's drowning his sorrows in coffee and pie instead of another intoxicating beverage.
-Was the term "nerd" invented in the 1980s? 'Cause nowadays, nerds are an integral part of hipster culture. Oh, and there's more categories of nerds now, like this one.
-"Right is right, and wrong is wrong." -Whit, and a subtle mention to absolute truth
-yuppie: "young, urban, professional," a term invented in the mid-1980s
-"Your bill? Oh, right. No charge for the counseling? No, that's on the house." -Richard Hudson and Whit
-Conformists Anonymous would start another chapter in With a Little Help From My Friends (Album 27: The Search for Whit).
-Whit will later make that Romans 12:2 reference again in a later episode. I don't remember the exact one.

REVIEW:

Well, we've come to the last of the Family Portraits to review (the rest are Odyssey episodes and will be reviewed in the near future). This last one is a lot shorter than all the other ones, and that might explain why the reconciliation, or the conclusion, felt so abrupt.

Earl Boen and Hal Smith were terrific as Richard Hudson and John Whittaker, respectively, but I could not say the same about the rest of the cast. Blair's yelling started to border on irritating and I'm not sure if she was supposed to come across as likable at all. I was disappointed that she was only in one scene (even though she was loud in her only scene); I felt that there needed to be a conclusion with her in it. 

It's interesting that this episode has the "customer comes to Whit's End and gets advice from Whit behind the counter" motif, but this is the first one where the adult goes for advice. Later, George Barclay and Ed Washington would also go and get advice. 

I was saddened that this episode could have gone deeper into discussing discrimination with the Richard Hudson incident, but instead stayed only on conformity. With a Little Help From My Friends, a episode loosely inspired by this one, focused on conformity and peer pressure as well, but the stories suited that theme. This "portrait" stayed on the surface, but could have aimed to swim into deeper waters; it didn't reach its full potential as an episode.

AIO Wiki notes that "In the opening wraparound of this episode, Dr. Dobson and Mike  Trout talk about some of the negative mail...about...Family Portraits. One letter did not inclusion of the teen/parent arguments in the program and another thought the programs sounded like they were from the 1950s." Well, it seems like Focus took those criticisms and geared Odyssey toward 8-12 year olds and made the shows seem timeless. But it's "portraits" like Whit's Visitor, The Letter, and even this one that make you wish for something that teens can listen to that specifically is geared toward them. Ben Warren writes in his post about the possibility of a spinoff:

"Way back before Adventures in Odyssey aired, Dr. Dobson, President of Focus on the          Family, was vocal about the importance of counteracting negative programming by providing alternate, biblically-based entertainment. Sadly, 25 years after Adventures in Odyssey began, Focus on the Family still hasn't provided that successful alternative for teenagers. I'm not sure why they haven't. Teenagers are members of a family too--and the most difficult, dumbest ones...the reality teenagers are dealing with choices we are allowing "Glee," "Degrassi," "90210," and "Gossip Girl" have the first and last say. Providing entertainment with good morals is not only a great idea, but one long overdue."

Well said, Mr. Warren, though I wish I could have indented your quote. I know we're just getting out of a recession, but an audience would be there before the show even began, and that's a testament to an already great show that has been produced for 25 years. I'll be posting my spinoff idea eventually and bring another candle to the spinoff discussion.

Back to the "portrait." While having some quality acting and writing, Peer Pressure conforms to many acting and writing cliches that weaken its overall message, with a shortened timespan that reduces the impact of its conclusion. I give this episode an 82/100, or a

B-

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Listen to A Different Kind of Peer Pressure by typing in "again" as Secret Word #6!
AIO Wiki: A Different Kind of Peer Pressure

NOTE:
That concludes our Family Portraits review series! Hopefully, you enjoyed going through the beginnings of Adventures in Odyssey. If you ever find a way to listen to While Dad's Away and/or In Memory of Herman, let us know and we'll review them! Starting after the next SMSS, we'll begin to review the Adventures in Odyssey audio series, beginning with Whit's Flop.

FP#8: The Letter

Quick announcement before getting to today's review. Alex Jefferson is hosting the first AIO Webster Awards for achievements in Odyssey fan sites! If you've been liking what you see, we'd really appreciate it if you voted us for Best Blog and Best New Site/Blog/Podcast by emailing CreativeThinker101@gmail.com. Voting runs until Friday, August 24, so vote soon! Visit his blog at justanotheraioblog.blogspot.com to view all the nominees! And now, on to the review!

Just kidding! Quick update first. We started school today (Ally's first day of high school) and it looks like it'll be a busy year. Hopefully we'll be able to keep this blog up! I'm taking Radio Broadcasting this year, so I'm looking forward to DJing and talking! Maybe I'll ask if we could do a radio drama...and now, seriously, here's the review.

 THE ODYSSEY TIMES (Facts, notes, and quotes about Odyssey from this ep):
-I really really want to learn how to play this Family Portrait theme on the piano.
-Dr. Dobson mentions that this drama is aimed at the teenager...now all we need is an audio drama series (cough cough spinoff of Odyssey cough) for teens in today's day and age!
-So teenagers were allowed to drive other teenagers within a few weeks of getting their license? Ah, the 80s.
-A teenager being embarrassed by their parents driving them to their places. Very relatable to most teens, although at my school, parents are still a normal chauffeur and it's not embarrassing or anything. What's your school like?
-Yay! Katie Leigh and Alan Bergman, the future Connie and Bill Kendall! And this father character named Stan is very similar to Bill.
-I like this mother's voice - I wonder who the actress is?
-"Every time you make a new discovery or make a new skill, my pride dims when I realize that you need me a little bit less. Will I be outgrown someday like pajamas with footies and squeaky teddy bears? ...I pray that as that time draws near, our relationship gains depth, not distance. That when you're grownup enough to stand apart from me, you'll choose - even so - to keep your heart close by. Your daddy's love is as strong and real today as when you first saw the light of day...whatever struggles we face, whatever thoughtless or hurtful deeds we as fallible humans may do to one another, that love will grow with you for as long as I live." -Stan to his daughter Stacey
-Pretty sure the music from today's episode will be recycled into later Odyssey episodes.
-This is the shortest Family Portraits, clocking in at only fifteen minutes.

REVIEW:

While we've skipped five Family Portraits, I can tell you that this is the first one without Whit. It's also the first one aimed at teens. It's also the first one with the fabulous Katie Leigh and Alan Bergman, future Connie and Bill Kendall.

This portrait of a daughter embarrassed by her father and her mother trying to show her how much her father loves her is very touching. The mother gives the best performance as she tries to navigate both sides of the argument. 

Once again, this episode uses the Kishōtenketsu structure. Similarly to the last portrait we heard, the introduction and development are interesting, but the twist slows the momentum down as the same plot device is used. 

I thought it was fascinating when Dr. Dobson mentioned that the father was wrong. Parents are not perfect. They are vulnerable, they have feelings, needs, hurts, and problems they don't tell you about. They are people too, and that's something difficult for a lot of teens (including me occasionally) to understand. I could relate to both Stacey (the teenager) and Stan (the father) not being as open because of rejection and insecurity; it's a very real issue today as competition intensifies. There were a lot of great take-aways from this episode, including a verse from Ephesians 4:26; something about not letting the sun go down on your anger. Oftentimes, anger is stagnant, and it shouldn't be that way; if it's righteous anger, we should do something about it, and if it's not righteous, we should ask God to help us stop and find His love and peace and grace.

Overall, this episode was better than the last one; the reconciliation (last part) was great as well. We'll see if in future episodes with this format, the team can work on making that twist interesting! I give this episode a 88/100, or a 

B+

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Listen to The Letter by purchasing Album 14: Meanwhile, In Another Part of Town on CBD

NOTE: Today I can officially announce that a new site feature and two new videos will be coming your way later this month! However, this is only one of the two new features we plan to bring you by the end of the year. As Sarah from the Unofficial AIO Podcast would say, "Yayyyy!"

FP3: The New Kid in Town

Well, cheerio once again! Hope you enjoyed the London Olympics with your family...'cause we sure have. Anyways, we've been in SoCal this past week visiting our grandparents, so we've been swimming and reading and watching the Olympics and checking our Odyssey sites (Twists and Turns, Just Another AIO Blog...). But now it's time for another review! Whoo hoo! 

 THE ODYSSEY TIMES (Facts, notes, and quotes about Odyssey from this ep):
-I love, love, love this theme song for Family Portraits.
-Making new friends gets difficult as you get older. (i.e. Kindergarten- "Hey, wanna be friends? Sure!)
-So Chuck Bolte is playing George Poindexter the mailman. He's played two George's!
-Snow and rain might not stop him, but coffee and donuts sure do!" -Whit, referring to the mailman's motto
-Whit's monologue strolls are wonderful for me, since it's like we're walking and talking to Whit (a la Aaron Sorkin), but it could be seen as boring to visitors infrequent to Odyssey.
-On one block, there's Mrs. McAlister, Mr. Barnes, and the McKay house...any relation to Grady McKay and family? Bob McKay could be an uncle.
-Odyssey Chronicle...a competitor to the Odyssey Times.
-This is the only episode where I've heard of Odyssey Community College. Larry and Colleen Walker work in PR and are consulting for fundraising at OCC. It could be a smaller college than CCCC.
-"Most places we've lived; people have been so cold, distant. It's refreshing to know that there still are places where there are people who are actually interested in each other." - Larry Walker, not knowing that he's predicting the demise of physical conversations due to social media twenty years before 
-First mention of Whit working at UPF...Whit humbly doesn't mention that he's the chairman of the board.
-Jenny passed away nine years before this episode and she and Whit were married for 33 years. If Odyssey time is the same as current time, she passed in 1978, and they got married in 1945.
-First mention of a school name: McCollum
-Hey, the mom, Colleen Walker, is Carol Bilger...who would go on to be the defining voice for Mary Barclay!
-Whit's End is a book place, coffee shop, and good place for conversation. The third would later be integrated in 
-fortnight: two weeks
-Whit was born and lived the first few years in Scotland...he mentions the story that would later be told in Thank You God (Album 3: Heroes).
-KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON mention. This town was the inspiration to Odyssey for Phil Lollar.
-She likes going to Dodgers games? Well, that's one thing Sean and I don't have in common... (go Giants)
-FROM AIO WIKI: Shawn says that she could see all the way to the bottom of Crater Lake. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and its bottom cannot be seen.
-Uh, oh, Jimmy has a twin who sounds EXACTLY LIKE HIM named Bob. Mr. Whittaker, I think you have yourself your very own Parent Trap.
-"I thought that maybe the best way to help you was to let you think you were helping me."
Hey, it's the first example of Whit's mind games to help kids learn valuable truths!
-"You see, for some folks like Shawn, Odyssey is a start. For others, it's a finish. For everyone, it's at least a stopping place. But it's always a place for unforgettable experiences. That's a big part of what makes Odyssey so special." -Whit

REVIEW:
After hearing another Family Portraits, it seems that the writers have established a pattern by this point. It starts with Whit talking to the audience, and then he comes across a problem. He helps solve the problem and helps a child learn a lesson. So far, this has happened in Whit's Visitor and now here. 

The first episode tackled divorce, a very tricky topic, while this one deals with making new friends. The two episodes have wildly different feels, as Whit's Visitor ended on a melancholic tone while this episode had a happy ending. However, since the topic of divorce has many angles and is very interesting by itself, the lesson of making new friends is not as interesting unless placed in a good story. Since both stories had the same pattern, I can say now that it worked on Whit's Visitor and didn't work as well here. Sure, it's fascinating to hear more history and facts about the town; this was probably one purpose for this episode. However, the actual conflict is not as interesting as Davey Morrison's was in Whit's Visitor. SPOILER ALERT: The plotline is basically Whit meets parents, Whit talks history, parents talk history, daughter angrily storms out, Whit helps daughter learn to make new friends.

This episode doesn't use the typical conflict in most media. It uses the Kishōtenketsu structure, which relies on exposition and contrast to draw interest. Four acts occur: the introduction, development, twist, and reconciliation. This structure is used throughout Odyssey, and is often a great form of storytelling. However, it doesn't work as well here. The first two acts (intro and development) are interesting as we learn about the histories of Whit and Odyssey, but the actual conversation with Shawn in Act 3 is just that, a conversation, there's no reason to show how it connects or relates to the rest of the story. At least the moral is something we can all relate to, and that's the bottom line: that we take away something from what we just hear. It's not the episode I'd use to introduce new listeners to Odyssey, but it's something to hear if you're a long time fan and want to learn some more Odyssey/Whit history and mystery. 


While this episode shows us more backstory of Whit and the town, the rest is slightly dull and unrelated to the rest of the plot. So this epi will get a 65/100, or a 

D

EDIT - NOTE: No Stupid Questions is FP#4 and My Brother's Keeper is FP#6, , but since they're also Odyssey episodes, we'll come back to them.  FP#5: You're Not Going to Believe This was later remade as #44: It Sure Seems Like It to Me, so we'll review both at the same time. I don't know how to listen to While Dad's Away, so the next review will be FP#8: The Letter.  Please comment and let us know how this review went and what can be improved! Thanks!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Listen to The New Kid in Town by typing in "gone" as Secret Word #4!
AIO Wiki: The New Kid in Town
*SIDENOTE* The link to CBM Camp has been fixed on our Camp What-a-nut post!

FP 1: Whit's Visitor

Well, howdy everyone. So glad you could join us today for another Adventure in Odyssey!

Oh wait. It's not. WHATTT? That's right; today we're listening to Whit's Visitor, the pilot episode of Family Portraits, pilot series to AIO. It first aired January 5, 1987 on the flagship show Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson himself! And now to our adventure...

(NOTE: Notes on episodes are split into two parts: The Odyssey Times and Episode Review. For more on how reviews work, see this post.) 

THE ODYSSEY TIMES (Notes on the episode):

-Haha, I'm enjoying this groovy synthesized 80s sound for the Focus on the Family theme. -The opening theme for Family Portraits is obviously different than Odyssey since it wasn't composed yet, and the announcer was Mike Trout from FOTF, but I really enjoyed the opening.

-And the narrator welcomes us to the town of Odyssey, Ohio. WHATTTT? So what that they never mention it again...Odyssey could be in Ohio! How do I know this? Well, Mike Trout says that Odyssey's a "small midwestern town in Ohio" and the Odyssey Scoop clearly states that Odyssey could be in Ohio. Ethan Daniels, I didn't have to make a cross-country road trip to discover Odyssey (although you did have to for your McAlister Park, and we thank you).

-The narrator calls Family Portraits  a place where people "face the same experiences that you and I do, and through their reactions, maybe we can learn to cope a little bit better." Odyssey slice-of-life in a nutshell.

-Jimmy, you sly dog. According to AIO Wiki, he returns in a later Family Portraits called Bob and then returns in A Member of the Family as Jimmy. We can call him the Chad Ochocinco of 1987.

-Whit doesn't pay Jimmy that much? My goodness, I believed Whit was a little generous, but he doesn't seem to be the powerful, wealthy, but still lovable and Godly Whit we know today.  So maybe this isn't Odyssey canon.

-Whit moved to Odyssey in 1971.

-Doc McAlister owned a drug store even though he wasn't a doctor, and it was he who came up with the town name (see it dramatized in A Class Reenactment, Album 50)

-Jenny made great coffee and apple pie.

-When Whit mentions that he came to Odyssey and didn't know what to do, so he created a bookshop/coffee shop/conversation place...called Whit's End, this makes me realize that this is not Odyssey canon. AIO Wiki says it best: "These episodes were an experiment so no clear long term mythos was planned out. While many facts of Odyssey that started in Family Portraits remain true, there were some points that were re-written or dropped."

-Tom has a cat named Rosie...and she's had triplets three times.

-Elements of the Robert Louis Stevenson chat between Whit and Tom were incorporated in the first part of Promises, Promises (The Adventure Begins, Album 1)

-Davey Morrison - first kid we meet in Odyssey

-Whit's doggy door - Sherman, you sly dog. You disappeared and hid out until 1991 when a lucky boy named Dylan Taylor found him in The Knight Travelers. (Video Series #1, 1991)

-Whit mentions that he's watching the kids at the playground at the school. There's definitely not a school across the street, unless it was torn down.

-Whit was married 33 years with Jenny.

REVIEW:

The first thing I notice about the intro to Odyssey is that it already feels like a place we know. In fact, this episode has a Welcome to Whit's End kind of feel. In that episode, Chris hosted, and in this one, Whit hosts. The episode begins with a monologue from Whit as he introduces himself and the town. It's a combination of conversation (a la Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street) and monologue (a la Aaron Sorkin). Most of the times, it would not work and be a snoozefest, but Hal Smith manages to pull it off, captivating us and pulling us into a small town called Odyssey. I love it when he introduces himself by saying, "I'm John. John Avery Whittaker. But most of my friends call me Whit." So that's where they get it from! Although I've owned Album 9 for a while (the album this episode is on, as a bonus feature), this is the first time I've ever listened to it, and it feels like a treat.

The episode, however, is not meant to feel like one. It tackles a difficult topic for its first show-divorce. The brave thing about this is that no other children's show on TV was tackling issues like this, and it took a Christian radio show to do the groundbreaking. While the episode is mostly Davey Morrison (a kid who lives across from Whit whose parents may get a divorce) talking to Whit, Steve Harris's writing makes the characters feel genuine and real. The acting was also top-notch. I loved what Whit ended with as he sent Davey home:

"I wish I could tell you that there's gonna be sunshine and birds singing and everything was just going to be the way it should be, but I can tell you two things. First. whatever happens, your dad's always gonna be your dad. Even if he does goes away, you'll still be his sonAnd he'll still love you. And your mom's always gonna be your mom. And they'll be there for you no matter what. And the second thing's even more important. God's gonna be there for you. We don't always get everything we ask for from God. Sometimes people we care about go away even if we ask God to make them stay. But God's real good at taking the situations that look just terrible to us and turning them into good. I don't know how he does it, but he does. What you gotta do is trust him no matter what."

This is the first time we see Whit share wisdom with the children of Odyssey, and it's a real nice moment. In fact, there are many "real nice" moments throughout the show, and the first appearance of Tom Riley is one of them. It's interesting that Tom is played off a little less intelligent in this episode, but maybe that was to express a different view about divorce. Surprisingly, the episode ends with Whit commenting on how sad he is about the state of marriage, with "half of these school kids coming from broken families."  Today, this is still a real issue, and half of all marriages end in divorce. This episode was groundbreaking 25 years ago, and it remains that way today. The ending is powerful, especially since I'm sure much of the audience was not expecting a melancholic ending to the pilot episode of a kids show. But the ending helps the episode make its point; it's the "period of the sentence."

While I loved this episode, some people might be put off by the slow pace of the episode, so it will receive a 90/100, and a

A-

NOTE: Dental Dilemma is FP#2, but since it's also an Odyssey episode, we'll come back to it. The next review will be FP#3: The New Kid in Town. Please comment and let us know how our first review went and what can be improved! Thanks!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Focus on the Family

McAlister Park

Get a copy of this episode as a bonus feature when you buy Album 9: Just in Time

Sunday Morning Scramble School - Idolatry

So in Sunday School for the past two weeks, we've been talking about idolatry. Now, I know that when most of us hear the world "idol," we're either thinking about statues (like Baal in the Israelites' time) or American Idol. But one quote we read from Martin Luther was very interesting:

"As [the First] Commandment is the very first, highest, and best, from which all the others proceed...so also its work, that is, faith or confidence in God's favor at all times, is the very first, highest and best, f rom which all other [works] must proceed, exist, remain, be directed and measured."

Whenever we sin, the root cause is a heart idol, something that replaces God as the most important thing in our lives. As usual, Sunday School reminded me of a couple Odyssey episodes (and an Odyssey song) that deal with idols in our lives.

• Between You and Me, Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen
• In My Image, The Truth Chronicles
• Good Things, Performed by M'kalister Park, Written by Garrett Vandenburg

In Between You and Me, Connie and Mitch begin to spend a lot of time with each other after Mitch's return from the Witness Protection Program, which cuts into Bible study. In this case, Connie and Mitch's idol is their relationship. I love it when Connie gets distressed over Mitch's possible decision and tries to find Whit, but he seems to be trying to avoid her. When she finally gets to talk to him, she tells him that she feels like everyone has abandoned her, even God. Whit looks at her with that sad smile (in my head) and says (in that warm, grandfatherly way), "But who abandoned whom?" This has grown to be one of my favorite Whit scenes, but the emphasis here is putting God preeminently in our lives, not just prominently or remembering him at mealtimes.

In My Image uses the story of William, Affirmus, and Otto to illustrate the idol of ourselves. We don't like God telling us what to do, so we ignore him and rebel by doing what we want to do, which is sin. Thing is, if we're our own god, and we try to get them to follow our ways, it only makes us unhappy. It's only by following God and his paths to find true joy. 

Good Things by Garrett Vandenburg even illustrates how good things, like Adventures in Odyssey, can be idols if they are a higher priority and prominence than God.

It's my addiction

I can't resist the attraction

It's so easy

To lose myself in a place called Odyssey

Is it a sin

If I can't control my reaction?

I can't help but see

That it's starting to take over me

'Cause when good things

Become bad things

You can't exactly trust your gut

And when good things

Become bad things

You can tell because it's never enough

It's never enough

Am I the only one

Who can't control this monster?

Such a simple thing

And it's become such a disaster

'Cause when good things 

Become bad things

When you let them take over your life

And when good things

Become bad things

It gets so hard to see what's right

Thanks for reading, everybody! Hopefully, as you go through life, you can draw parallels from Odyssey to the Bible to your life. 'Cause while there's good things, there's even better: the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

For more information:

Good Things from M'kalister Park, an Odyssey tribute band

Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen

The Truth Chronicles

Hey guys, if you have time, it'd be great if you commented and let us know what you think! And hopefully we'll post about our Live Show experience pretty soon (because it was wonderful, exciting, and discoverable).