It's a Birthday Bash Live Blog!

Hola! It's time to celebrate Odyssey's 25h Birthday Bash and the Get in the Show Finale! I'll be updating this post every so often, so keep checking back for updates!

8:21 AM PST: This countdown gets me every time. Can we please have a CD of John Campbell instrumentals?

8:30 AM PST: We are liveeeeeeee from Colorado Springs, Colorado!

8:32 AM PST: Hey ___! Welcome to the ____ Adventures in _____ podcast! Bob and Jesse are a little choppy, but so far it's going okay with the actual show with Diane and Jesse! 

Hey Jim Daly! 

By the way, if you're on Twittah, join the conversation by using the hashtag #AIOLIVE. 

Wow, I have to visit Zimbabwe; Odyssey is the #1 show in the country, even secular, plus it's in fifty countries! Beat that American Idol!

8:36 AM PST: Jim Daly's kids' favorites: Mr. Grote and Jason. I sense a small rivalry between the bros. 

8:38 AM PST: After recording our church music video, I've memorized Get in the Show word for word! It's cool to see it in sign language.

8:39 AM PST: Connie's costume looks she got a bowlcut...please tell me it isn't true!

8:49 AM PST: These two kids are doing great at creating an AIO scene (oh yeah, Nathan Hoobler too)! They're adorable! I miss hearing Dave Madden and Walker Edmiston. Ben C. from the Soda Shop mentioned that he's using Pro Tools, just so you know.

9:02 AM PST: Hey, it's Zach, Katie, and Andre! GAHHHHHH! :D

"Hey, is he not the cutest man you've ever seen! I just want to pinch his cheeks!" -Diane

9:08 AM PST: These entries are hilarious!

9:12 AM PST: Congratulations Annaliese! I wanted to see all of your pet, but that's okay. Wow, I'm really enjoying her acting!

9:17 AM PST: Very good script. 

9:24 AM PST: Interesting video on Terry Virts and his space mission with AIO!

9:30 AM PST: While I loved Anya's accent-switching, I'm not sure if this script suits her as well. She's still doing a great job though! (EDIT: Ditto Shona.)

9:38 AM PST: Hey Phil Lollar, Chris, Rob Jorgensen, Kimmy Robertson, Bob Luttrell, John Campbell, Marshal Younger, Fabio Stephens, Will Ryan, Brandon Gilberstadt, Janet Waldo, Maggie Malooly, Chad Reisser, Jerry Houser, Earl Boen, Jim Custer, Jess Harnell, Steve Harris, Townsend Coleman, Chuck Bolte, Kathy Buchanan, Bob Hoose, Paul McCusker! It's the perfect bookend to the "Call in to Connie" in Album 51.

9:53 AM PST: The people at the social booth aren't the only Odyssey nerds... #AIOLive

9:54 AM PST: Luke Lauber sounds like Adam Levine!

9:57 AM PST: The piano player from the side looks like Shona.

10 AM PST: I'm really enjoying the Luke Lauber Band!

10:22 AM PST: After wringing my hair out, I'm finally able to cast my vote for Annaliese! Good providence to all of the contestants! 

10:33 AM PST: Apparently this takes place before the new Imagination Station. I love Jess Harnell's impressions! 

10:38 AM PST: We're praying for you Dave Arnold!

11:08 AM PST: "What are you doing Friday night?" - Connie Kendall to Lord Gargantuan Foulspleen

11:12 AM PST: The ending of Push the Red Button is simply hilarious.

"What about you guys? Have you ever triggered a nuclear explosion and destroyed a whole town? Write and tell me about it! Oh wait, the Odyssey post office has been incinerated." - Chris

11:40 AM PST: "All the world's a stage, and all of us are merely players. Without God as the director, Shakespeare's monologue is pretty depressing." - Bob

11: 51 AM PST: "I'd like to be Zach, so I'd be guaranteed a long career." -Andre Stojka, when asked what other character he'd like to be

"We both care about people, and we're both extremely beautiful." -Katie Leigh, when asked about what she and Connie have in common

"I really love staple guns." - Katie Leigh, when asked if she's afraid of staplers

11:55 AM PST: FACT CHECK: "The Malted Milk Ball Falcon" is in Album 52: Cause and Effect. The babysitter episode is "An Agreeable Nanny," also in Album 52. I love the Perfect Church too!

11:56 AM PST: Katie also liked Sgt. York, while Andre enjoyed A Thankstaking Story and The Green Ring Conspiracy.

11:57 AM PST: Katie sings in church and her husband plays bass! She loves everything except heavy metal. Me too...except I'm also not a fan of opera.

11:58 AM PST: Katie and I are both very impressed with Zach's articulateness.

12:15 PM PST: Congratulations Shona, and wonderful job to all the contestants (maybe Annaliese can still make it?)! Thanks for reading!

Finalists Obtain the Program

Today, October 6, marks day 7 of a week-long push to vote for YOUR favorites, yes, your favorites, to move on to the finals in fabulous Colorado Springs, CO!

This...is American, oh wait, uh, GET IN THE SHOW!

Judges have watched over 5,000 entries and narrowed it down to your 12 semifinalists. Let's take a look at them, shall we? However, before I begin, if you're watching along with me, let's remember that these are kids between the ages of 6-15 who have little to no acting experience. Some might be a little over the top, while others might show shades of becoming a future Sam Johnson or Valerie. However, in the spirit of "getting in the show," I will leave you to draw any negative conclusions you might have to yourself. These kids worked really hard to perform a great audition, and these could-be-actors-someday made it to the semifinals! Let's gooooo...

Adrian has an amazing head of hair and pair of glasses that would make Eugene proud! His voice reminded me of Colby Cabrera.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: voice

Annalee sounded like a young Mandy with elements of Olivia and Priscilla. Her vocal mannerisms were very staccato (from music: short) and enunciated, with a couple phrases that made her voice sound almost whimsical. Her mom's voice reminded me of the sound of 1st generation Odyssey.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: adorable hand gestures to help her understand the meaning of lines

CONGRATULATIONS! Annaliese's voice is just a tad nasally, but it comes off as an enjoyable, quirky tone.  Her mom's voice reminds me of Leslie's mom from Back to School (Album 3: Heroes). Ally heard tones of a young Barrett and Olivia.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: voice

CONGRATULATIONS! Anya: what a real multitasker you are. We should do a video together! I'm not entirely sure what accent she has (it sounds Irish or Scottish), but Odyssey really needs to take notice of this girl. She's pulling two characters by performing two accents simultaneously: Irish/Scottish and American. 

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: accent switching

Eleisha, hey hey hey, you got a fancy mike at yo local Family Christian store! Also, YOU ARE THE SECOND COMING OF JESSIE MORALES, MY FRIEND! If this contest doesn't work out, and if Jessie Morales comes back to Odyssey and they need to recast her, you can take over. Ally and I also heard elements of Kelly and Liz in there as well. By the way, I know the parents aren't auditioning, but I'm loving a lot of their voices. Eleisha's mom had a wonderful accent and reminds me of - uh, brownie points to the first commenter that tells me!

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: voice

Hannah has similar vocal inflections as Isaac Morton. Her favorite phrase is "you know," and Ally heard elements of Valerie, Kelly, and Liz. I heard a little bit of Courtney Vincent.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: tone

Marissa, to me, you sound like the SECOND COMING OF TRACI NEEDLEMEYER! However, Ally heard vocal inflections very similar to Trent, as well as vocal qualities similar to Camilla and Olivia.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Tithing script
BEST ASSET: "family-style" recording

Michael, Michael, Michael. I've definitely heard your voice before. WHERE???? Just watch; I'll be wondering this all weekend. He sounds like a combination of Alex Jefferson and Sam Johnson.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: voice

Morgan has an adorable voice that harkens back to Bethany Shepherd. She brought a lot of spunk to the gum script.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: voice

CONGRATULATIONS! Shona has a quirky voice that reminds me of the SECOND COMING OF SHANNON EVERETT! Ally thought Shona's voice reminded her of one of the women from The Help.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: voice

Tabby should've been cast as Valerie! In my opinion, it felt more natural than Paulie Rojas, who although is a very good Valerie as well, sometimes seems to force some kind of "valley girl" accent. Tabby has a voice that would be great like the likes of Alicia, Valerie, etc...there were also traces of Olivia in there too. The boy sounded like Matthew.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: voice

Timmy's vocal quality reminds me of Nathaniel Graham. However, I also loved, loved, loved his friend's voice. It was a husky, young quality that's an unique kind of voice that's never been heard on Odyssey. Back to Timmy, who also had elements of Sam Johnson.

MOST COMFORTABLE WITH: Gum script
BEST ASSET: voice

FINAL OBSERVATIONS: Oftentimes I was drawn to their helpers because they had such amazing voices! Certain lines in the gum script were over acted by almost everyone, while certain lines in the tithing script sounded very convincing by almost everyone. I used the term "SECOND COMING OF..." often because the vocal qualities were pretty eerily close. Acting and Odyssey wise, I'm casting my vote for Anya, Hannah, and Timmy. I felt that they were the strongest actors who sounded like they could be in Odyssey. Congratulations to all the finalists; I look forward to seeing who's gonna "get in the show!"

Be sure to comment and let us know who were your favorites!

Introducing The Odyssey Phone Book

Well, today at Out of Control in Odyssey, we are proud to present...the Odyssey Phone Book!

This new feature on our blog, available by clicking on that tab at the top of the page (See that connection of words that reads, "Odyssey Phone Book?" Good job. Now click on it.) The Odyssey Phone Book was created as part of our ongoing mission to bring the town of Odyssey to life and become a part of Odyssey and apply it to our lives!

What is the Odyssey Phone Book? It's a tool to expanse the great picture you have of Odyssey in your mind; a connection to the people and places that live there. We have the Yellow Pages of Odyssey! As we go episode by episode, we'll be constantly revising and updating this page, and you're welcome to contribute by emailing us at jandakocompany@yahoo.com! 

But wait, there's more. No, that's not all. Besides all the reviews and SMSSs and Odyssey in the Real World posts, we got a big project coming up! It's super exciting, and we hope you guys will really like it! All I can say for now is that it's another way of immersing you into the Odyssey experience. Get excited!

Luckily, since the week's almost over (tons and tons of homework), I'll be able to do some posting this weekend! We'll have another review and SMSS up soon. Also, be sure to check out Just Another AIO Blog this weekend for the AIO Websters ceremony...it's supposed to be really cool! 

Finally, if you've been liking what you see, I wanted to recommend a similar blog in terms of writing style. Victoria Donahue started an AIO blog back in March (before us!) and everyone just found out about it and it's awesome. She's another teenager giving thoughts and reviews about Odyssey...and it's a little scary how much we've been thinking alike as I read through her posts. Anyways, check it out at http://aiothoughts.blogspot.com/ , but be very careful to avoid the Album 56 reviews if you don't want to be spoiled. Use the blog archive. 

Oh my, The Grand Design is just around the corner! We'll be reviewing new episodes in Album 56 as they come up besides our normal starting from the beginning reviews. Alright, you guys have been updated. I'm busy working on our Get in the Show church video and secret video...another surprise! Man oh man, I'm turning into a little Mr. Whittaker in terms of keeping secrets. Don't worry; he always reveals them in the end. 


Last thing: we've been added to Twists and Turns's Cast and Crew: Take 2 page! Check it out if you want to see...how we look like and if you want to see my not really smile while squinting from the bright sun since I conveniently forgot my sunglasses. It also gives some nice info about us, and while you're there, check out The Old Judge's amazing site, which covers all of the Odyssey fan sites and has some neat features. It's all at Twists and Turns!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, unless if course, you somehow don't have one, in which case I wish you a very happy Monday working. Please comment, and adios for now! 

 Oh, super cool. It's our two month anniversary and we have a big number in pageviews! It's been a joy watching this blog grow and have everyone be talking about Odyssey, the best radio show on the planet. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it up. So long for now! Actually.

We Got Our Parts to Play

Hooray! We have enough time to post! However, this week, we are unveiling a new feature! Exciting, right? So how come we don't have enough time to write a new review or SMSS? Well...we were filming our Get in the Show music video today at our church picnic, and it went extremely well! 

Our church really "got in the show."

Everyone's creative juices really seemed to flow and we'll be able to post it up and show you guys later this month - after everything's edited! Here's a picture of what we were up to this weekend... 

My, oh my. That "Get in the Show" song by Phil Joel? Yesterday, I spent all day prepping the song and getting it ready, and we filmed today, and I'll be editing throughout the next couple weeks...I've heard that song about forty times this weekend. Hopefully no one pops that song up in Radio class.

Anyway, tune in later this week for the new feature! Peace.

Just So You Know About Get in the Show

Hey guys! This is a little last-minute, but we ended up making a special Get in the Show video for you! 

From the video page:

"Odyssey Out of Control presents Josh's wild dream. Created in three hours on the day before the Adventures in Odyssey Get in the Show Contest ends. How convenient! Even if you're not between the ages of 6-15, create a video with your family and friends together! 

P.S. Many apologies for Josh's voices in his head...they didn't get to warm up first! :)

And visit us online at odysseyoutofcontrol.blogspot.com

*Nominated for two AIO Websters: Best Blog and Best New Site/Podcast/Blog - Vote today by emailing CreativeThinker101@gmail.com or visiting justanotheraioblog.blogspot.com*

For more information on Adventures in Odyssey, please visit whitsend.org."

Enjoy, and we'll try to have time tomorrow to post our review of Taken!