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Eugene Meltsner: Oh, is that Woody over there? He certainly is an attractive animal. A large attractive animal.
Graham Barnett: It's a pig. Pigs are ugly.
Eugene Meltsner: Well, perhaps not to another pig.
—“Second Thoughts” -
Greg O Neil: If you don't stop changing my stations, I'm gonna call the exterminator!
—“Fifteen Minutes” -
Greg O Neil: If you don't stop changing my stations, I'm gonna call the exterminator!
—“Fifteen Minutes” -
The Odyssey 33 Edition #2: March 30th, 2024
AIO Thought of the Week:Katrina going through old files and stumbling on Buck’s mugshots: Aaaawwww he was so little Happy Sunday AIO fans, you’re reading the Odyssey 33! Here’s your selection from some of the best in Odyssey fan media. Content of the Week: March & April Spring Break Adventures in Odyssey Content Guide (2025 Edition) This post was released just moments before this newsletter, though it should have come out earlier (this is due to a technical error). It’s this website’s first-ever March episode collection with an addition. From Elsewhere on the Block Refreshed AIO Format to Have 24 Rydell Episodes Per Album Our SONN brand finally posted another hit article. This piece is actually a satirization of a good conversation I had regarding our lengthy AIO defense article that came out last month. The third part of this AIO defense series will be an op-ed coming next month. What’s New In Odyssey? Upcoming Book Release The ambitious team at Adventures for Odyssey Fans is partnering with Dyson Wolder to create an AIO trivia book. This has been in the works for a while, but a target date has now been set for July 1st. Read more and follow the story on their website! Conclusion Thanks for reading another edition of the Odyssey 33, your source for AIO fan content and news. See you soon for the next one!
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March & April Spring Break Adventures in Odyssey Content Guide (2025 Edition)
This article is part of a series on Episode Guides. It’s springtime, Odyssey fans! AIO Writer’s Block is in a busy transitional period if you’re reading this when it releases. Even in that, we haven’t been remiss in posting our recurrent pieces that lead through seasonal AIO episodes. This timing has been brought down to a science, and with this March guide, we can finally say we have a list of Adventures in Odyssey episodes for almost every month of the year! What a treat! The funny story regarding March, in particular, is it always goes by exceptionally fast. I’ve been trying to make one of these since 2021, and it’s never even got it to a title. By the time the time shows up for it to actually get done, it is about spring break, and March is over. The closest this publication got was a one-paragraph draft mentioned in The Ones That Didn’t Make the Cut. We’re now almost to the end of the month, but wouldn’t let it conclude without posting a joint episode guide. That being said, on top of being a “2025 edition”, this Odyssey episode piece is also a complete original. But enough throat-clearing, here are your Adventures in Odyssey episodes for the month of March. March Episodes Before getting into holidays and events, we’re now going to start out as we usually have recently, with the Club episode of the month: Ambush This is a fantastic drama involving Ron Perkins and his recent experience with Christianity, giving a backstory as to why he’s been so adverse to his son’s involvement recently. It is the third episode in a five-part series concerning this family. Quite the listen! St. Patrick’s Day Content We’re going to start off with AIO’s St. Patrick’s day publications. There are three major editions: St. Patrick: A Heart Afire, Parts 1 and 2, Jared’s adventure witnessing the lifelong transformation of a young boy turned saint recognized worldwide. …and the Irish-set Imagination Station book Challenge on the Hill of Fire, featuring “Patritius”, an alternate name for the famous Saint that initially throws off the cousins. The cover may throw off a reader as well, resembling another famous “hill of fire” from the Bible. March Madness and Basketball Content Basketball seasons are reaching its climax once again, both at the collegiate and professional levels. With NBA Play-ins and March Madness occurring within such a short timespan, we’ve decided to include AIO’s own selection of basketball episodes once again. Heroes Cousin Albert The Fundamentals The Owlnapping The Holy Hoopster Unfair Game April Episodes Bottled Up Adventures in Odyssey released a new Club episode on April 1, 2025, the penultimate in the aforementioned Perkins family series. We’ve included the link to the dramatic episode here for your enjoyment! I Slap Floor Yes, it is surprisingly that time of year when AIO fans congregate to confuse their non-AIO friends with the all-famous (and hilarious) phrase, “I Slap Floor”. The whimsical harmony of events that leads to the curious conclusion has a multitude of inside and outside allusions as well. If you haven’t heard it before, suspend your disbelief and give it a play! Easter Content Adventures in Odyssey’s history with resurrection-related revue goes as far back as their first Imagination Station episode. Appropriately so, Easter is the holiday celebrating the single most significant event in human history. Let’s list with those Imagination Station episodes: Imagination Station Easter Episodes The Imagination Station, Parts 1 and 2 The Imagination Station Revisited, Parts 1 and 2 One Bad Apple Back during periods of intense pushes for increased conservation of natural resources, it seemed like every children’s program in the country had an episode on recycling, pollution, or the like. Adventures in Odyssey had its own spin on the issue, with an episode that would ultimately tie into the second iteration of the Blackgaard saga. Because Earth Day falls in April, it’s appropriate to include it in this guide. I’ve always also thought this episode is best listened to with Tom for Mayor. Spring Break Episodes When making this guide, I believed it would be nice to include a less theme-specific episode guide in the mix, which was a hit when done with the Snow Day Collection in January. I first got the Adventures in Odyssey Club as a trial in March of 2020, and the first episodes I listened to still hit me with spring break nostalgia to this day. I listened to almost every AIO episode over that (supposed) two-week time span, but here are some of the most memorable from that time: The Green Ring Conspiracy A Sacrificial Escape Under the Influence, Parts 1 and 2 The Marriage Feast The Right Choice, Parts 1 and 2 Out of Her Element Legacy, Parts 1 and 2 Opposite Day An Agreeable Nanny It’s a Wrap!
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Clubhouse Recap – November 2024 Issue
Greetings and salutations! Today I will be recapping the November 2024 issue of Focus on the Family Clubhouse Magazine. I will be giving summaries of and sharing content which is in this latest edition of Clubhouse Magazine. My hope is that those reading who are not currently subscribed can benefit and know what is going on. I remember when I wasn’t consistently receiving Clubhouse Magazine and wishing I could know what was in the latest issues. I am currently experimenting with the structure for these. For this post I will be going based on the table of contents on page 2. On this page there is a heading that has a category and under that specific article in the magazine. I will be going through each heading and summarizing what article is under each one. Page 2: Copyright and Table of Contents The cover page (as seen in the featured image) is numbered as the first page. On the second page, we have the copyright section on the side, which lists the following information: That this is Vol. 38, No 11 The Editorial Director is Jessie Florea The Editor is Rachel Pfeiffer The Associate Editor is Grace Kelley The Art Director is Jenny Dillon The Designer is Kenneth Crane The Imaging Specialist is Jim Cail The Intern is Julianne Fullerton The individuals behind Circulation: Erika Lynch & Tyler Bates The person behind Print Production: Gail Wise The person behind VP Parenting & Youth is Danny Huerta The Cover Illustration was done by Andy Elkerton The President of Focus on the Family is Jim Daly The Chief Operating Officer is Ken Windebank The magazine is printed in the USA, and paper manufactured by a mill that practices sustainable forestry. Faith-Growing Content Page 5: Light House Features two stories. One about an injury while going down a slide, and the other about a foster child being adopted by her foster family. At the bottom of the page is a notice for the November challenge of Bring Your Bible to School Day. Pages 6-7: Truth Pursuer This issue’s Truth Pursuer, written by Colleen Shine Phillips, is about giving thanks in all circumstances and introduces the acronym T-H-A-N-K-S, which are tips on how to go about giving thanks. Top Featured Stories Pages 12-13: Girls Doing Good Written by Jenna Brooke Carlson, this article tells the story of Grace L. who started an organization in which girls her age meet together to serve the community, often through partnering with organizations. Pages 22-23: Maddie Science – A Conversation with Adhesives Written by Kathleen Freeman, this features Maddie Science having a conversation with Kolla, Resin, and Paste. They discuss different types of glues and their histories. They conclude that even though each individual is unique, we should all stick close to Jesus. Pages 24-27: Short Story – “With Flying Colors” Written by Willa Wolcott and illustrated by David Leonard, this story is about a boy named Caleb who ends up helping Alex, the popular boy at school whom he dislikes. The story concludes with Caleb saying, “But you don’t need to be friends with someone to help them out” (27). Activities to Do Page 4: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Recipe – by Isris T. Page 10: Pluma Moos Recipe – by Lydia Harris Page 15: Marbled Fall Leaves Craft – by Julianne Fullerton Page 20-21: Alaskan Animals Quiz – by Julie Dearyan Fun little quiz by Julie Dearyan that tells you which Alaskan Animal you are. Depending on if you answer mostly A’s, B’s, or C’s, you are classified as either a Kodiak Bear (motivator), a Harbor Seal (flexible), or a Caribou (loyal). Adventures in Odyssey Pages 8-9: Emily Jones Mystery – by Christopher P.N. Maselli This month’s mystery features Emily Jones at the Odyssey Thanksgiving Bash, hosted at Whit’s End. Emily is disappointed that there is no stuffing. Connie Kendall approaches her saying that she wants to write thank-you cards to everyone who brought five food items: cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. However, she does not know who brought what. Emily confirms that her family brought the cranberries. She says she will ask the guests what they brought. However, none of the guests can remember what they brought or else they do not answer her directly. Matthew Parker says he wasn’t paying attention to what was in his family’s car except that it smelled sweet. Wooton Bassett can’t remember if he and Penny brought sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes, but he tells her that Jacques Henri brought the type of potatoes they didn’t bring. Jay Smouse thinks that he’s being interrogated and refuses to talk. Jacques Henri doesn’t answer Emily’s questions and talks about how food should be like art. He does confirm that he brought something sweet. Emily goes back to Connie and says that she has enough clues to put together the puzzle to find out who brought what. Page 19: Eugene’s Puzzle and Mystery Solution SOLUTION FOR OCTOBER 2024 EMILY JONES MYSTERY BELOW! Emily goes with what they know: her family brought cranberries. The Bassetts and Jacques Henri brought some type of potatoes. Jacques Henri confirmed that what he brought was sweet. So, that means the Bassetts brought the mashed potatoes and Jacques Henri brought the sweet potatoes. The Parkers brought something sweet, so that means it was the pumpkin pie. That only leaves the green bean casserole, which was the Smouse family’s contribution. Connie is impressed and Emily is thankful she got to solve another mystery…and says that she will personally be bringing the stuffing next year and will put her name on it. The verse attached to the solution is Psalm 100:4-5 in ESV version. [My Commentary: This was a pretty solvable mystery without reading the solution. Just a matter of making deductions. However, I was lazy when I first read it and did not bother trying. As for the story itself, I found it interesting that Jay Smouse’s family was there. And also, that it must have been a pretty small party for there to be only five dishes. I like Jones and Parker stories that show the characters being active in their natures. Unfortunately, I did not feel like this one displayed the characteristics of the people who appeared here. It was feeling very business-like with Emily asking each person what they brought, and we did not have many fun character moments (e.g. them making silly comments, referencing what they are currently doing in Odyssey, etc.) with them as I wanted there to be.] Page 28: Trey Calhoun In this month’s issue of “The Trey Way”, written by Kathy Buchanan, Trey is fundraising for Odyssey Middle School. He is selling candy bars which, according to him, taste like cardboard. He tries selling them to Wooton Bassett. But with Trey’s ongoing negative commentary, he ends up deterring Wooton away from wanting to purchase them. Trey says that he’s no good at sales, but Wooton says nobody is good at everything. He then suggests that they raise money in another way. The two of them end up going around Odyssey playing “Camptown Races” on their instruments (Trey plays saxophone, Wooton plays harmonica) and raising over $50 in the process. Laughing It Up Page 11: Jokes from Readers The “Laughing Matters” section features a new set of jokes sent by Clubhouse Magazine readers. The illustrations for some of the jokes are done by Dennis Jones. Page 14: Average Boy – By Bob Smiley This month’s story features Average Boy in gym class. His teacher, Mr. Thatcher, announces that they are playing a game called crab soccer. Average Boy gives a humorous description of the gameplay and ends up kicking the ball through the net, much to his delight. However, he is told that it doesn’t count because he kicked it through the basketball hoop. Pages 30-31: Mulligan Family comic This month’s issue of “The Magnificent Mulligans” comic, illustrated by Wan Mek, features the Mulligans trying to raise money after Mike Mulligan gets injured falling off a ladder when a baby rhino knocks it over. They don’t have the money for surgery, so the mayor hosts a telethon to raise money for the family. He proudly accepts being called a hero. It ends up with them being short before the deadline, and so they decide to auction off the mayor’s car. Somehow, it gets sold for only $12, much to the mayor’s distress. The scripture associated with the comic is Acts 20:35. Whew! I forgot how long it takes to summarize Clubhouse Magazine. But this was most enjoyable! Unfortunately, looking through this post, I was not as detailed as I wanted to be. I will continue to experiment with the format for this type of post. Stay turned! And feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts about Clubhouse Recaps. Your feedback is always appreciated! -Signed, Polehaus53
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Jared DeWhite: I'm the vanguard of justice around here, and Rodney's the one who needs van-guarding!
—“A Case of Revenge” -
Eugene Meltsner: Mr. Whittaker and I are having a theological discussion about God's search for man.
—“Hide and Seek” -
More of My Ancient Writing – Fan Fiction Outline
Greetings and salutations! I have been looking through more of my old files filled with Adventures in Odyssey writings. Today I was looking through old files and found one full of fan fiction ideas, which I almost forgot about. This file was marked 2016. In it, I found the outline for what was meant to be a script. It is an episode about Olivia Parker having bodyguards. And I am about to release it for you to read! For background, I started listening to AIO in 2014 (you can read the full story in my previous post!), but it was in 2016 when I really got into AIO. I was constantly visiting the fan websites and writing my thoughts on current episodes. I was also writing fan fiction. I have tons of notebooks lying around full of my AIO scripts and ideas for stories. Lots of them are not good and poorly written now that I read them. But hey, I was young and was excitedly getting invested into AIO; I understand my younger self and so I am able to not let my current self cringe too hard at it. Okay, now that you have the general background, let me go into a little more explanation about what you are about to read. I remember most of my younger self’s reasonings behind writing this episode outline.I’ve always enjoyed the Room of Consequence episodes because they are able to break Odyssey’s reality. You can experience scenarios that are in no way realistic but are used to teach you something. This formula appealed to me, because my 2016 self was a bit of a daydreamer. (Actually, even my current 2025 self is…) I like to imagine and fantasize things; even though those things that were unrealistic. Among the things that I liked to imagine was having Secret Service agents. I have always enjoyed studying Presidents for fun from a very young age and thought it was a cool idea to have bodyguards around you all the time. I also have an interest in criminal justice (not as much nowadays; the interest was much higher when I was younger) and the idea of catching criminals. So, I combined the two into a story told through one of my favorite mediums of entertainment: Adventures in Odyssey audio drama! Now, I will say upfront that you are definitely going to see that this episode, although very different, is at its core basically the same as the Album 49 episode “Buddy Guard”. One issue I generally struggle with is creating original content. And “Buddy Guard” was an episode I enjoyed listening to. However, I distinctly remember writing out this outline and acknowledging that it was similar. But the way I thought of it was that what I was writing was just an updated version, a modern retelling, of that episode. I think the way I compared it was how the AIO Team had reused ideas and plots in its newer episodes. I cannot recall the specific example I had in my head. It might have been the episode “The Bad Hair Day” using elements from “The Return of Harley” to tell a new story. I intentionally put references to “Buddy Guard” throughout the outline. So, be warned that you will see some DIRECT correlation to “Buddy Guard” as you read this! Also, I was young. It is a weird story. Additionally, please excuse the poor writing/rambling style. I did not do too much editing of this before posting like I have done before. I have inserted a few of my comments, though. Alright, now that all the disclaimers and background is out of the way, here it is: Story Outline for Unplanned Episode (Working idea)Untitled Episode Olivia is at school, about to give a presentation on how Alka-Seltzer and soda react. [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: That seems pretty basic…] Before she gives the presentation, she sees Jay with her soda. She is suspicious, but Jay gives the excuse that he wanted to drink it. Jay leaves, and Olivia starts to open the bottle to begin the presentation. Suddenly, for no reason, the bottle explodes when she opens it! Soda gets everywhere, making a mess in the classroom, much to Katrina’s annoyance. Olivia gets a low grade on the project. After class, Oliva confronts Jay. He shook up the bottle of soda so that it would explode on her when it was opened. Jay laughs and says that it was hilarious and that he’s declaring the rest of the month National Pull Pranks on Olivia Month. He’ll be doing even funnier things to her and posting them online. Olivia goes to Whit’s End and complains about it to Mr. Whittaker. She says that she’d like to get back at Jay for making the soda explode. Do something like making a bottle of soda explode on him. She mentions how Jay said that he will be doing even more pranks on her and wants to hire a bodyguard to protect her from Jay. Whit says he’s seen that sort of thing before, and it might not be the best solution. Instead of getting revenge, Olivia should do good. Don’t repay evil with evil, but with good. Olivia still thinks a bodyguard would work. Whit says that he has a program in the Room of Consequence which might help. Olivia goes in, and Whit explains that the adventure has three different stages, each one showing something different. Olivia presses the red button [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: I don’t think the Room of Consequence has a red button…] and lands in the first stage, at school. The 1st stage, Part One: Olivia sees that five huge guys are with her. They explain that they are her new bodyguards. They are supposed to protect Olivia from Jay and his pranks for the rest of the month. The biggest guy introduces his name as Phillip. He says that he oversees the bodyguards, making sure they obey Olivia’s orders. The second biggest says his name is Harrison and is second in command. Olivia goes to her locker, but one of the bodyguards says not to open it, because judging from the splatters of paint on the ground, Jay had probably set up a paint balloon trap inside the locker (I guess he’s a detective, like Sherlock Holmes). He tells everyone to step back, and opens the locker. Paint explodes everywhere. The guards then find Jay. He says to one of them, “I’ve never met you before. What’s your name?” the guard says, “You can call me SIR!” They drag him to the principal’s office. Three of them go with Jay, and two of them stay with Olivia to guard her. Principal Vogler puts Jay on detention. Olivia is satisfied. The 1st stage, Part Two: In the next scene, Olivia goes to class with her guards. They have received permission from the principal to guard Olivia in class. They thwart a whoopie-cushion-on-the-chair, a tack-on-the-chair, and a spider-in-the-desk trick. Olivia remarks that they should do some pranks to Jay, but the bodyguards say that they might do that later. The 1st stage, Part Three: Olivia is walking home with the guards. When they go home, the bodyguards find a bucket-over the door trick. They hear something outside the window and see that Jay has a smoke bomb he was about to throw inside. The guards escort him away from the house. The Parker parents hear all the noise and come and see the bodyguards. Matthew and Camila are jealous of the guards, but they also think it’s cool. The parents agree that Oliva needs guards, and they go to eat dinner. At dinner, they find that Jay has put food coloring in the food to make it look rotten. That isn’t bad, but he also poured salt and pepper into the food, making it taste terrible. The Parkers find out that Jay has switched their dessert, chocolate cake, with asparagus cobbler. Yuck!! While Camila and Matthew and Olivia continue complaining about Jay and his pranks, Olivia’s bodyguards find Jay in the bathroom dying the bathwater purple and sticking googly eyes on all the containers. [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: Jay somehow snuck into their house even after being escorted away. That’s kind of creepy…] The bodyguards dump water on Jay’s head and make Jay pay for the food he ruined. The guards then throw Jay, quite literally, out the window. They then make new dinner and dessert for the Parkers. They even do the dishes! Olivia wonders how this is teaching her how revenge is bad. So far, it has been fun having people guard her. But then, Phillip comes up to Olivia, saying that the guards want their pay.“Pay?” Olivia asks.“Well, yeah! We’ve been the ones protecting you, fighting off Jay, and making you food! We aren’t working for free, you know!” Phillip says.“Uh, right.” Olivia mutters. She pays them a lot of money. She mutters that it’s a lot. Then, the Room of Consequence moves onto the second stage. The 2nd Stage, Part One: Olivia appears in the street with her guards. She notices that there are a lot more of them. The leader guard, Phillip, says that she hired more because Jay has gotten even more dangerous. Olivia asks where they are going, and Phillip says, “The prank shop. We’re going to buy the things we need to build a water balloon trap.”“For who?” Olivia asks.“For Jay! Who else?” Phillip replies.Olivia says that makes sense, and they continue walking. Along the way, the guards see Jay driving a golf cart. He throws a paint balloon at Oliva. A guard catches it and is about to throw it back at Jay, but Oliva suggests they use it in the water balloon trap. They all agree and watch as Jay crashes his car into the stop sign. “He’s not a very good driver, is he?” Olivia says. At the prank shop, they find that everything is too expensive, so one of the bodyguards goes to the store clerk and threatens him with his fist. The clerk says he’ll sell them the entire prank shop for only five dollars. [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: I don’t think a cashier has the power to sell the store he works at. He should have called the manager or the owner…] The bodyguard only gives him one dollar, then flings the clerk across the street. Oliva wonders if that was a little mean, but the guard says it’s necessary in order for them to get revenge on Jay. They then make the prank shop their base. Oliva mutters that the program is slightly unrealistic. [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: Just slightly?!] She forgets about it when they start making the trap. An ultimate plan: They set up a video camera in his house to video Jay: he will walk into his house, and a bucket-filled-with-paint-over-the-door trick will fall on him. He will then trip over a sting which will make a casket of feathers fall on him, making him look like a chicken. Then, they will post the video online!They do this, and the prank works! Olivia posts the video on FaceBase and gets tons of popularity. She wonders whether the prank was a little mean but forgets it with the few thousand like the video got and even suggests doing something worse. They do several more pranks on Jay. [EDITORIAL COMMENTARY: “They do several more pranks.” Talk about extreme vagueness. I think I was getting lazy and tired of typing at this point.] Olivia is very happy. Then, just before the Room of Consequence goes to the next stage, Phillip walks up to Olivia, demanding their pay. Olivia gives a rude response to the guards because it is more than she can afford but manages to give them the pay. The machine then goes to the third stage! The 3rd Stage, Part One: Olivia is in the park with twenty-five bodyguards. They all have boxing gloves, paint bomb grenades, and squirt guns. One guard has a bottle of shaken up soda which he’s going to make explode on Jay. They tell Olivia that Jay has become more dangerous. He now has five of his own bodyguards, and a few prank plans. They are waiting for him to pass by, since he had just thrown a water balloon at them a few hours ago. Jay finally comes by, and his guards bomb Olivia’s group with water balloons. Olivia’s guards dodge them and then charge at Jay. They grab Jay and pound him and Olivia opens the bottle of soda on him. Olivia yells at the guards to tie Jay up and hang him on a tree like a piñata. They mutter something about no need to yell, but they do it and they all laugh at him.Olivia wants to do more, but the bodyguards seem tired. Olivia doesn’t care and continues barking orders at them. They get annoyed and leave. They ask Olivia for their pay, but Olivia has no money. They then get really, really, mad and throw a water balloon at her and walk off. Jay calls after them that they can work for him. They agree, and then all 30 bodyguards begin to chase Olivia. Then, the room of consequence program ends, and Olivia is back at Whit’s End. Olivia asks how that was supposed to teach her not to get revenge. It was fun getting back at Jay. Except for the last part. All you needed was more money. Whit asks if she wasn’t sort of acting like Jay. Throwing paint balloons at him, pounding him, and laughing at him were the exact same thing he was doing to her. Wasn’t she becoming a bully too?Olivia thinks about this. “I guess…” she admits.Whit says that instead of repaying evil with evil, Olivia should repay evil with good. Olivia agrees. The End Wow. Well, there you have it. An outline for AIO fan fiction from my younger self. That was actually pretty silly. But I hope I didn’t weird you out too much and that this was entertaining. I had some fun at being able to not only laugh at my younger inexperienced self, but also to reflect on how much I have grown since the time I wrote this. Nine years is quite a l0ng time. People change over time. I can definitely say that I am not the same person that I was back in 2016. I think that looking at one’s old writings is a fine way to remember the past and to appreciate the present. I have definitely written some better AIO fan fiction since this time. In where I am currently in life, I may not be writing AIO-related content, but I think I can credit some of my current professionalism in writing to the practice I had writing AIO fan fiction. It is good to look back and remember what shaped you into who you are today. Whew! This turned into a longer post than I expected. But that’s all I have for now! What are your thoughts on my outline? Have you written anything like it? Do you have fan fiction stories you wrote? Let us know in the comments! Your engagement is always appreciated. If you ever want to have your fan fiction, or any of your AIO writings, posted here, please use the “Contact” page on this site to let us know! We’d love to feature you on The Odyssey Obsessors! Until then, keep an eye out for more posts! -Signed, Polehaus53
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Refreshed AIO Format to Have 24 Rydell Episodes Per Album
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO- Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey Team released their post-2025 format to the public early this afternoon. The goal pressed by Phil Lollar, is to have a new era with 24 episode albums, all Rydell. “We believe we’ve finally grasped what fans are saying on the issues with our programming. So, rather than drop album releases completely, we’ll be quadrupling the number of episodes per album to allow for more full story arcs. As the old saying says, quantity over quality, or something like that.” The first of this series will be a 24-part episode entitled The Rydell Reparations, in which Emily Jones slowly pays back her debt to the Rydell family and Mr. Whittaker. AIO Writer’s Block editor-in-chief Donald Treply, a writer Focus on the Family cited for the rebrand, gave us his thoughts on this shortly thereafter. “Maybe I shouldn’t have emphasized increasing episode quantity so heavily”, the embarrassed fan creator stated. Focus on the Family stated numerous fans were enthused with the announcement, including nearly all fans active on Club message boards. They also quoted a “real-life individual”, Jacob Smittenoogler, who said, “I am so excited to have so many Rydell episodes for the next few years, I literally live off of them. Morrie is my favorite character!” In unrelated news, Focus on the Family’s approval rating in Christian publications has plummeted after news of this story surfaced.
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The Odyssey 33 Edition #1: March 16th, 2024
AIO Thought of the Week:Was Marvin saying oink when he’s scared a reference to something? Or were they like trying to make him quirky? I’m genuinely confused because he seemingly just grows out of it and then no one ever mentions it. Welcome back to our refreshed AWB newsletter! You’ll notice it has finally gotten a name, something we’ll cover later. For now, enjoy your updates from the last three weeks, our first offset as a result of web restructuring. Content of the Week: The Death of Physical Media? The Perilous Pen released an informative and lengthy post that this site highly recommends. The post arrives after a little hiatus from that little corner of the internet. It chronicles the history of media distribution and how it relates to Odyssey. In the interest of not spoiling too much, From Elsewhere on the Block What’s New In Odyssey? Yep, the name’s changed. We’ve finally settled on a name for the AIO Writer’s Block Newsletter…The Odyssey 33. The 33 is derived from Ezekiel 33, the first passage of which mentions the watchman who stays alert and warns the people of the sword. Of course, we’re not warning of any sword here, but when thinking of calling this “The Odyssey Watchman” or “Odyssey Neighborhood Watch”, this was the first verse that came to mind. Also, Odyssey 33 just rolls off the tongue so easily (Try it yourself to prove it). Don’t let it confuse you with the second number in each title: the edition number. Yes, from now on newsletters will be chronicled by edition number. Because this is a fresh start and new brand, the edition you’re reading will be categorized as the first. Other changes include the release day. This and future editions of the Odyssey 33 will come out on Sunday mornings rather than Saturday evenings (which let’s be honest, is what was going on anyway). That will make it easier to get every last lick of content from each week, making this more of a weekly summary. …We’re in. Our domain transition is complete. The workarounds concerning this, as well as personal business, have slowed content production here at AWB this month, as you’ve certainly noticed. The link to our website home, http://aiowritersblock.com/ is up and available, if not completely finished. You can check out the page mockups and keep pace with our progress. And yes, we will announce when the new page is complete. Progressing Perilously Our chief website isn’t the only domain having adjustments. The Perilous Pen is following a similar strain of updates and redesigns promised to readers at the beginning of the year. First, the Perilous Pen is at a new domain: https://theperilouspenblog.wordpress.com. A much cleaner, more accessible address change will be reflected across our outlets. Design changes and other tweaks are also in the works. For a full list of upcoming changes, visit the website to read more! Ambush On March 1st, the AIO Club published the next in a concluding five-part series revolving around the Perkins. Here’s a short review: the story is actually amazingly moving and dynamic, definitely great fodder for conversation. It’s almost annoying whenever Odyssey puts out something of high-standard every time we’re done criticizing them. You’ll have to listen for yourself! Block Breakdown A new section of the AWB Newsletter (or Odyssey 33) is here. Beginning in January of last year, monthly Instagram updates would go out to show how on track we’d been with the goals set at the end of 2023. This was great for accountability and kept the most loyal supporters of our work engaged. To work that into this newsletter, the first edition of each month will include a list of stats from the previous month. For example: our best stat for February was 2,500 website views, the highest monthly count we’ve had here. Additionally, we invested in new services to develop a fresh aiowritersblock.com, which will be complete with a homebase to access content from all of the websites in this community. In a future newsletter, we may test out working images slides that read the text of our updates, similar to how we displayed them on Instagram throughout 2024. Conclusion Thank you once again for bearing with all the changes going on up here at AIO Writer’s Block. Look forward to a relative slew of content this week as spring breaks roll around. For now, you have the news you need to know, and I leave you with a “keep up the fandom!”
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Bernard Walton: Minutes ticked by slowly. My life flashed before my eyes. Eh... pretty boring.
—“The Conscientious Cross-Guard” -
John Whittaker: That's my cell phone.
Connie Kendall: Sorry, that's mine. Excuse me.
John Whittaker: It's Eugene.
Connie Kendall: Mine's...oh, I don't know who it is.
John Whittaker: Hello?
Oliver Drevil: Don't mind me!
John Whittaker: Hi Eugene!
Connie Kendall: Oh, hi Veronica!
—“The Mystery of the Clock Tower, Part 2” -
Jack Allen: Odyssey Coyotes, meet your new coach.
Connie Kendall: Hi, everybody!
—“The Secret Weapon” -
Jules Kendall: (hesitant) Okay, I mean I get to open for Jet Ballentine, I love Jet Ballentine.
Trista: Which is great because there is something else you should know.
Jules Kendall: And what's that?
Trista: You're dating him!
Jules Kendall: Ehh, what?
—“California Dreams, Part 1” -
Matthew Parker: But what if something worse happens?
Stephen: That would be glory.
—“The Perfect Church, Part 2” -
How I Started Listening to AIO
Greetings and salutations! Things have been busy, but I did want to get a post out today before the month of February ends. So, I went through a file containing some of my writings that I never posted and found responses to some interview questions. One of the questions was about how I started listening to Adventures in Odyssey. I typed up a very lengthy response, then thought it was too long, so I shortened it to just a paragraph. However, I since I am a hoarder, I kept the long response and it has just been sitting there for a while. So, when thinking about what to post today, I came across it and thought the lengthy response would be something fun to share. You all can have the full story of how ASmouseInTheHouse and I got started listening to AIO. When was the first time you started listening to AIO? I can’t remember a specific time when I first heard AIO. I think it’s safe to say that our cousins introduced my sister and I to AIO when we were really little. As long as I can remember, our cousins were always playing AIO episodes in the background. However, my sister and I didn’t pay much attention to it until one night we were sleeping over at their house and they were listening to an AIO CD (I didn’t know at the time it was disk 3 of Album 8: Beyond Expectations, containing “Missing Person”, “The Winning Edge”, and “All’s Well with Boswell”) before bed. The CD player, instead of stopping after playing all of them, was apparently set on repeat, because it began playing those three episodes the entire night! I distinctly remember hearing “All’s Well with Boswell” and being very interested in the story. I didn’t get much sleep until the radio finally shut itself off. In the morning, I told my cousin that the radio was on all night. He asked me if I liked the episodes and I think I said I did. I don’t even remember how old I was when it happened, but I believe that was my first time actually listening to an Odyssey episode. However, although it did capture my interest, I didn’t pursue it. Sometime later (I can’t remember if it was that year or later), my sister received Album 20: A Journey of Choices for Christmas from our cousins. However, we didn’t listen to it, and the album sat on my sister’s desk untouched for many years. During that span of time, we started listening to the audio drama Jonathan Park, so we weren’t as open to listening to other audio dramas. We did hear the occasional Odyssey episode on the radio or at the cousins’ house, but although I did like it, I didn’t bother trying to find more to listen to. Guess I was just lazy. However, one day in 2014, our parents were having a meeting at our house. We were told to stay upstairs until they were done. I remember sitting in my sister’s room, bored. Then my sister got Album 20 off the desk and said, “we never listened to this.” We had heard something we liked recently (I think it was “Happy Hunting” that had aired on the radio), so we decided to go ahead and listen to it. After that, we were hooked. We re-listened to that album at least 3 times. Our parents got us the album “A Christmas Odyssey”, and we listened to those episodes a bunch of times. Our cousins later gave us all their Odyssey CDs. I remember listening to The Blackgaard Chronicles album, Album 47: Into the Light, Album 43: Along for the Ride, a bunch of Life Lesson albums, Album 53: the Green Ring Conspiracy, Album 54: Clanging Cymbals (we actually listened to Album 54 before album 53 and were spoiled by “A Penny Saved”), and a ton of others. I soon discovered the Focus on the Family daily broadcast website, and from there found a link to whitsend.org. From whitsend.org, I found a link to Odyssey Scoop, and from there I believe I found AIOWiki. From there I found the many different Odyssey fansites and discovered the AIO online community. I wanted to get involved, but I did not and just lurked around for several years. It was not until 2020 when I got onto the Soda Shop Messages boards and The ToO and ASmouseInTheHouse and I launched this website. To borrow the colloquialism, the rest is history. Wow, this was quite the trip down memory lane. Very fun! What about you? How did you get started listening to Adventures in Odyssey? Feel free to leave a comment! We would love to hear your stories! Be on the lookout for some more posts. -Signed, Polehaus53
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Tom Riley: No, I am serious. You're messing around with somethin' you don't have no business with.
John Whittaker: It's only the Imagination Station.
Tom Riley: I don't care what it is. You said the whole thing seemed realer than real. And that's what makes it so dangerous. Look, you know that Jesus took the sting out of death. Death is our doorway to God. But it's not something we should want or try to create! It's a locked door until God and God alone opens it for us!
—“The Mortal Coil, Part 1” -
AIO Next Level News and Thoughts
Greetings and salutations! I am here today to report, react, and discuss the latest Adventures in Odyssey news. Which I am sure most people have heard something about at this point: Adventures in Odyssey Next Level. How I Found Out As you all know, I do not have the time to keep up with the latest AIO news like I used to. Nowadays I frequently check Odyssey Central for updates on the latest news. Last week I looked at Odyssey Central and saw the preview for the newest Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast and saw the sentence: “We’re saying goodbye to CDs in the spring of 2026.” WHAT?! Myself, last week I did not have time to listen to the podcast until later, but I did read the Q and A page which gives further information about the changes being made to Odyssey. Taking Adventure to the Next Level Adventures in Odyssey is bursting with new possibilities! We’re saying goodbye to CDs in the spring of 2026 and going fully digital. That means longer storylines for your favorite characters. Less waiting between multi-part stories. More flexibility for fun, one-off episodes. But you know what isn’t changing? The great Christ-centered entertainment you’ve come to love. We’re so excited to journey into the future of Adventures in Odyssey with you all! My Thoughts So, what are my thoughts on this? I will speak about two pieces of news from this which I have thoughts on. CD Removal: Ahead of Their Time? Well, I think it makes sense that AIO is getting rid of CDs. As streaming services have become more and more popular in the recent years, I can 100% see that medium of media going out of style completely.However, I wonder if it may be too soon at this moment. There is still a pretty good market for CDs. They may not be the most popular form of media as they used to, but they are still being purchased. In fact, some sources say that physical disks are having a comeback. From Microsoft Bing Now, I definitely think that CDs are going to be gone in the near future, but I do think it may be later than people think. We are currently in an interesting time where old technology, vinyl, CDS, and even cassette tapes, are experiencing a random increase in sales. A brief, short-lived trend, I am certain, but regardless, in the moment, this is something to capitalize on. Perhaps wait a few more years to discontinue CD production? But that aside, I do think moving away from CDs is good and keeping up with the times in terms of technology. But maybe not at this moment. New Episodes Available In AIO Club Only Starting with Album 81, episodes will only be available through an Adventures in Odyssey Club membership. However, all episodes prior to Album 81, as well as any you’ve already purchased, will remain available for download. The only difference is that the Adventures in Odyssey Club will now be the exclusive home for all new audio adventures. Albums 1-80 will still be available for digital download and broadcast on the radio, but for the latest episodes and continuing adventures, the Club is where you’ll hear them. I am not too happy about this. No more digital albums going forward AND not airing new episodes on the radio will essentially eliminate inclusion for the listeners who are not in the Adventures in Odyssey Club. They will never be able to listen to new episodes again. I see no reason to stop airing new episodes on the radio. The FAQ page states that sales in digital downloads have gone down, but surely they are selling more than CDs are. I remember not having the Club and always purchasing the new albums digitally. I was not in a position to own CDs, so digital downloads gave me a way to listen to the new episodes without purchasing CDs. I cannot quite say I like this removal of digital downloads as much. In Conclusion The times are changing. I think the AIO Team is doing good in keeping up with the changing times, but I have some slight criticisms. However, I have also not had time to process this fully. But these are some of my thoughts. I will likely be writing more in the future when I have time to think through it more. ASmouseInTheHouse might chime in with her thoughts as well. Stay tuned for more posts! Things have been busy for us recently, but we will do our best to stay active! What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment! Your engagement and feedback is always appreciated! -Signed, Polehaus53
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What a Shift from CDs Means for Odyssey (Newsletter Extension Post)
The following is an excerpt from AIO Writer’s Block’s February 22nd Community Update And now for the news you’ve probably come here to read, Adventures in Odyssey announced via Instagram and its podcast on Wednesday that it would do away with CD albums. It’s important to note this means the dissolution of “mainstream albums” as we currently know them. I’ve made a point not to listen to the podcast yet so as to not to write off any suggestions that I have instinctively. First of all, it is absolutely ridiculous not to think AIO wasn’t going to kill CDs eventually. As much as you think you use them all the time, they are very much a dying medium. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if AIO was still selling cassette tapes in 2025, even as a novelty. In the economics of media production, when a certain medium dies out, it’s actually far more expensive to produce just a few for the people who want to buy them. No, that is completely out of the question. The real deal is what Adventures in Odyssey does after this change. From what I’ve heard in rumors, AIO plans to drop single-sale .mp3 episodes and albums. If this is true, it’s a huge mistake. An audio drama’s only alternative to physical media that one can own is…this. Even with the popularity of streaming services, every movie is always available for sale on Apple TV or an App Store. That’s what’s replaced DVDs in 2025 for those who want to buy and own their media. Studios recognize that it’s not that hard to do this either. If one has already formatted the content, there is absolutely no reason not to just distribute your final edit. I’m also hearing that AIO may plan on canceling its radio broadcast. This would be the worst decision of all. Above all, this program is a children’s outreach tool, not just a business. That’s the entire reason why we care if the show is moral or not! Dropping both .mp3 and radio limits this show’s future audience to existing fans and maybe one or two of that existing fan’s friends. Someone may hear about AIO one day and look into it, only to be turned off by a 9.99 a month price tag. Riding off word of mouth from now on is a risky move to make. Even me, who watched the video series once or twice as a kid, was only hooked when I heard the show on the radio. It took me forever before I ventured into thinking about buying a Club membership. Now of course, I only listen on the Club exclusively, and am a huge Club advocate. You can also find anecdotes like this from people all over the place mad about this decision. Some are a little out there, but many are reasonable, every day examples. I believe removing the line between Club and “mainstream” episodes might accomplish something good: part of the resolution that I outlined in that last post. Releasing two or three twelve-episode albums is a big solution to a lot of problems I believe. Making them Club-exclusive, I repeat, is a great error. The AIO team will, guaranteed, make a sufficient amount of money selling a digital twelve-episode album at 8.99 USD, and that’s without doing the math. One last thing to consider, whatever happens is only as a result of enough people using the Club for AIO to think it viable. If the Club wasn’t at that point, doing this would be simply devious. But just about anyone who’s still listening at this point uses or has heard of the Club. Whatever happens, my most solid prediction is that AIO is going on a hiatus soon that will finally usher in definitive sixth era.
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AIO Writer’s Block Newsletter & What a Shift from CDs Means for Odyssey- February 22nd, 2025
AIO Thought of the Week:What color eyes does Connie have in your head?In the episode where Penny is making a dating profile for Connie she says Connie has blue-green eyes.And if her eyes are skewed a little more green than blue, then was the box carrying scene from Mitch’s perspective like:Connie: Green eyes…Mitch(in head): Yeah… you do have those.Episode referenced: #463 Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips, #839 Met His Match It’s that time again, Odyssey fans! We here on our side of the internet are hoping you’ve had a lovely past two weeks, whether that be celebrating Valentine’s Day or Singles’ Awareness Day. Let’s get into the bit of news and content that has been buzzing our fan community over the past couple days. Content of the Week: Adventures in Odyssey Made the Switch from Moral-Based Episodes to Story-Based Ones. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing. (In Defense of AIO) We’re finally able to put this article up as an official post, and it seems to have come out right on time as well. Our second-longest piece ever lays down both a criticism and defense for the modern direction of Adventures in Odyssey. This article is certainly a must-read, especially for older fans and those who have had a grievance against Odyssey over the past decade. From Elsewhere on the Block What’s New In Odyssey? Getting to the Message In continuation from the last section, I announced in that dissertative article that our moral section would be replaced by a new message section. This will allow us to go beyond the basic “what did we learn” segment and decoding what every episode is truly delivering to fans. What to read more? The link is right above. AIO Writer’s Block is Hosting-ing Back during our anniversary, this site declared it would begin a transition to Wix or a more element-based web platform. We’re working on that now, and I’m proud to say that our next newsletter will be posted from a fully functional aiowritersblock.com. Using WordPress.org will also allow for easy construction of a “website aggregator”, something that’s been on our to-do list for years now. We’ll also be able to engage in proper newsletter distribution. In transition though, this website will only be accessible through aiowritersblock.wordpress.com. Our domain name aiowritersblock.com will be functional on the new website soon. Exciting stuff! “Your Stats Are Booming!” In the spirit of updates, it seems we really struck a nerve with the article of the week. The post may end up being one of our most popular ever by hundreds. February 2025 received the most views ever three hours after the defense post came out. It’s currently approaching 2,000. Another plus, today will be our highest-grossing day ever by views and visitors. Thank you all so much for this, it’s really amazing. And if any Odyssey staff is reading, take notes! Shots Fired And now for the news you’ve probably come here to read, Adventures in Odyssey announced via Instagram and its podcast on Wednesday that it would do away with CD albums. It’s important to note this means the dissolution of “mainstream albums” as we currently know them. I’ve made a point not to listen to the podcast yet so as to not to write off any suggestions that I have instinctively. First of all, it is absolutely ridiculous not to think AIO wasn’t going to kill CDs eventually. As much as you think you use them all the time, they are very much a dying medium. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if AIO was still selling cassette tapes in 2025, even as a novelty. In the economics of media production, when a certain medium dies out, it’s actually far more expensive to produce just a few for the people who want to buy them. No, that is completely out of the question. The real deal is what Adventures in Odyssey does after this change. From what I’ve heard in rumors, AIO plans to drop single-sale .mp3 episodes and albums. If this is true, it’s a huge mistake. An audio drama’s only alternative to physical media that one can own is…this. Even with the popularity of streaming services, every movie is always available for sale on Apple TV or an App Store. That’s what’s replaced DVDs in 2025 for those who want to buy and own their media. Studios recognize that it’s not that hard to do this either. If one has already formatted the content, there is absolutely no reason not to just distribute your final edit. I’m also hearing that AIO may plan on canceling its radio broadcast. This would be the worst decision of all. Above all, this program is a children’s outreach tool, not just a business. That’s the entire reason why we care if the show is moral or not! Dropping both .mp3 and radio limits this show’s future audience to existing fans and maybe one or two of that existing fan’s friends. Someone may hear about AIO one day and look into it, only to be turned off by a 9.99 a month price tag. Riding off word of mouth from now on is a risky move to make. Even me, who watched the video series once or twice as a kid, was only hooked when I heard the show on the radio. It took me forever before I ventured into thinking about buying a Club membership. Now of course, I only listen on the Club exclusively, and am a huge Club advocate. You can also find anecdotes like this from people all over the place mad about this decision. Some are a little out there, but many are reasonable, every day examples. I believe removing the line between Club and “mainstream” episodes might accomplish something good: part of the resolution that I outlined in that last post. Releasing two or three twelve-episode albums is a big solution to a lot of problems I believe. Making them Club-exclusive, I repeat, is a great error. The AIO team will, guaranteed, make a sufficient amount of money selling a digital twelve-episode album at 8.99 USD, and that’s without doing the math. One last thing to consider, whatever happens is only as a result of enough people using the Club for AIO to think it viable. If the Club wasn’t at that point, doing this would be simply devious. But just about anyone who’s still listening at this point uses or has heard of the Club. Whatever happens, my most solid prediction is that AIO is going on a hiatus soon that will finally usher in definitive sixth era. Conclusion What a week! So much news to close out a pretty slow month. The last section of this newsletter, formally entitled “What a Shift from CDs Means for Odyssey” will be posted as a separate post immediately after this newsletter comes out. AIO Writer’s Block will be back in two weeks with the news you need to know as an Odyssey fan. Keep up the fandom!
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John Whittaker: The boy thought that loving the puppy meant giving him what he wanted, but in this case the most loving thing was to give him what he needed whether he liked it or not. It was the little boy's job to recognize the hidden danger the puppy couldn't understand.
—“A Member of the Family, Part 1” -
Adventures in Odyssey Made the Switch from Moral-Based Episodes to Story-Based Ones. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing. (In Defense of AIO)
On July 20th, 2024, our Twitter account put out a post with a one-sentence declaration: Adventures in Odyssey Made the Switch from Moral-Based Episodes to Story Based Ones. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing.— AIO Writer’s Block (@AIOWritersBlock) July 20, 2024 This statement didn’t cause much of a ruckus. In fact, no one would bat an eye until almost exactly six-months later, when the W.E. Podcast put out a more…earth-shattering announcement. The four-slide Instagram post came out on January 10th to an unsavory assortment of agreement and disdain. It read as follows: This is a serious announcement. Not necessarily because the W.E. Podcast’s opinion is oh-so-important, but because it reflects a general discontent that has been bubbling over the past couple years in regards to Adventures in Odyssey. Commentary on this announcement was filled with anything from mild defense to outright agreement. The Adventures in Odyssey team was one of a few individuals that asked for specifics, and they received this follow-up post in response: At face value (pun not intended), these are perfectly reasonable responses to the recent direction of Odyssey in 2025. But again, if it were one rouge podcast, it wouldn’t be too much of a deal. However, over and over again this decade, the attitude from fans has been more of resentment than of enjoyment. Additionally, it is my belief that these comments from a somewhat popular set of AIO fans shouldn’t necessarily go unchallenged. So, what was initially intended to be a breakdown of Adventures in Odyssey will now be converted to a thorough defense of a 35-year-old storytelling rollercoaster. Let’s begin. When someone comes after your favorite show, it’s hard not to defend it. I’ve run into my share of exvangelical anti-AIO fans who do everything they can to bash Christians and Christian media. This can be annoying, overbearing, and unnecessary. I also do not believe this is the intent of the W.E. team. On the flip side, there seems to be a resolution among some instinctive oppositions to this kind of criticism that it (the criticism, that is) stems from some kind of other inherent bitterness, perhaps that AIO didn’t take their show idea once or another relatively minuscule gripe. This is also simply untrue. In fact, it’s only because of a desire to continue to have this show be the best it can be that anyone is in this profession in the first place. Any critique, positive or negative, really only stems from an intense love for the program. That being said, takes on this issue should be as objective as possible. It is possible to go overboard in either direction. It’s also possible to make miscalculations in an argument. For fairness’ sake, we are going to cover the things the W.E. team hit right on the mark first. For the past half-decade, Adventures in Odyssey has been on a historic run of misses. That is the blatant and honest truth. Yes, some of the best storylines ever have come out over that length of time. But we’re focused on the negative for now. Let’s turn to the number one example of storytelling catastrophe that AIO has been unable to overcome for the past couple of years: the Rydell saga. It’s apparent the visceral reaction that the series inspires among a solid number of AIO fans. Regardless what you feel, the arc has objectively been one of Odyssey’s biggest failures. We’ve already gone into extensive detail over what went wrong as an organization, most notably with What’s Odyssey’s “Rydell Reconstruction” episode. I think the resistance against the Rydell arc had more to do with a general inability to hear fans over the past few years. This is the first major pratfall. Adventures in Odyssey has typically been able to find the balance between fan opinion and what makes sense morally and artistically. They’ve said so multiple times. As an example, around two years ago, before their annual writing summit, the team requested that the Club members (notorious for immaturity and brash recommendations) for suggestions on what they would like to see in the show. That would likely still be the most popular Club bulletin ever, garnering over 10,000 responses as memory recounts. Of those, It’s possible not even 5% were artistically sound. It was funny because they asked these to kids, and the responses were easily satirized (as I found looking through our archives the other morning and reading the humorous “Albums 73 and 74 Revealed” or “AIO Team to Switch to 3-Episode Albums upon Club Member’s Request”). The consequences are much less enjoyable, though. It’s part of why we end up with seemingly haphazardly put-together albums and sagas with no apparent end in sight. This leads to the next point: an overabundance of sagas. Over the past few years, domino effect after domino effect has provided us with at least over half a dozen sagas, most of which are unfinished to some degree. The way they’ve meshed together has led to fuzziness on where things break down era-wise (the impetus for our first AIO era-breakdown post, you may remember). Again, is this necessarily bad? Not when it’s done correctly. The mid-2000s were full of concurrent sagas, character arcs and introductions that only found their end in an Adventures in Odyssey hiatus. Of a truth, one can only wonder if fans then perhaps felt the same level of saga fatigue. Album 69, the impetus to this “downfall”, is a textbook example of this. Not a single episode in that six-episode collection could be considered a “one-off” episode. Again, saga-themed albums aren’t necessarily the problem. In this case, that fact clashed with two main characters that were belligerent and plainly unlikeable. You don’t find yourself cheering for Morrie Rydell, who is, we must repeat, the Rydell Saga’s protagonist. The same goes for Jules. These are characters who you find yourself booing and actually hoping the best for their unfortunately positioned companions. Aside from that, though, there are simply too many long-drawn-out arcs that would be unthinkable two decades ago. Again, we look at Rydell. This saga’s declared episodes have taken not two, not five, not even seven, but nine years to run with no significant endpoint. The bulk of Novacom, one of the best examples of storytelling anywhere, wrapped up within two. For a storyline as flimsy as Rydell to take five times as long is insulting. Buck and Jules, Rydell, the Perkins, and each involving salvation character arcs multiplied by five. There’s a difference between amazing stories involving characters we know and love and brute-forcing twenty sagas simultaneously. The biggest link to this problem is six-episode albums. This format is killing Odyssey, and people in protest of it have all but given up. High-quality single-story episodes are more likely to be found in the Club than in a “mainstream” album. No episodes last season were linked to mission organizations. The twelve monthly Club episodes have now become the “fourth album” of the yearly releases. A 9.99 per-month price point is now the barrier of entry to Adventures in Odyssey’s better stories. The thing is, limiting album size and bulking up on character arcs significantly increases the risk of putting out something fans aren’t going to like. When you’re dealing with entire sagas that are viewed unfavorably, continually putting out episodes in that arc guarantees the perpetuation of those unfavorable ratings. In the current format, even one or two negatively viewed episodes mean up to a third of an album is being dragged down by otherwise insignificant episodes. It is my belief that a major reason Adventures in Odyssey bounced back so well from their 2000s errors was the flexibility to experiment with little impact on the view of the overall album’s content. What fans seem to be missing is the curious observation that strange twists like Bethany’s Flood or I Slap Floor appeared in the same album as otherwise masterful and classic stories such as Fletcher’s Rebellion and Potlucks and Poetry. I guarantee that in a situation where Albums 77 and 78 were combined into one well-arranged saga album (which, let’s be honest, they almost are anyway) and the 2024 season, which doesn’t have a single mission-sponsored episode, released as one album, we’d be having a very different conversation right now. Or would we? There is one big issue that’s itching at the hearts of every AIO fan right now: the most consequential issue. The biggest grievance levied from the W.E. was AIO’s departure from explicitly moral storytelling. This is the section I wish to defend against primarily. I hesitate to go on an all-in block when it comes to this because there’s a bit to validate. Again, using Rydell as an example, I found myself agreeing when Michael LaFaver began calling for an Adventures in Odyssey apology and retraction regarding Rydell. In the first place, the arc has simply gone on too long. Nearly an entire decade for a narrative that has been mediocre at best. Subsequently, the messages portrayed over this lengthy arc have been flimsy, if not completely unprofitable. As an AIO content reviewer, it’s been impossible not to notice this. There’s not much commentary to be made in AIO’s moral category recently, at least when it comes to explicit morals. One element I was going to point out in the original era one recap is the trend we’re moving towards in the “message” category. Over the years, we’ve gone from Chris saying the moral at the beginning and end of every episode to the message of the episode being more and more embedded in the episode itself. While fans may not realize it, it is for this reason the Revelations episodes present as annoying and facetious. Listeners, kids especially, aren’t exactly focused on Chris’s end wrap through this new sequence of storytelling. Rather, the huge dilemma here is when my hypothetical eight year-old turns to me and says, “Dad, why didn’t Mr. Whittaker punish Morrie for what he did to Emily?” Or even more of a nightmare, when he’s yelling at his sister and I hear, “But that kid in Odyssey was doing it!” Even writing this, LaFaver’s point becomes more resonant with me. I am a huge proponent of nuanced media, especially in the Christian space, where it has been lacking the most. But if one wants to engage with that medium, you must be careful about everything that will be picked up by engagement with that nuance. It is also at this point that I would like to announce AIO Writer’s Block’s inclusion of a “Message” category in its reviews, to supplant its current “Moral” category. What an episode is actually saying is arguably more important than what it presents up front. The flip side of this is the defense that encapsulates the original intent of this article. It is to cover and justify an updated and ultimately improved style in Adventures in Odyssey’s storytelling and moral delivery. For every miss Adventures in Odyssey has had recently, there has been an abundance of some of the best stories they’ve ever put out. The Olivia arc rode pretty much concurrently with the worst of the Rydell saga, but if you ask any individual who knows their stuff, they’d agree the former is one of AIO’s best storylines. Contrary to the narrow claim of the W.E. Podcast, the entire saga was essentially Kathy Buchanan-free (as much as we love her over here). For all the flack “too many sagas” caught just two paragraphs ago, the Odyssey team has set in motion a powerful narrative involving Wooton and Penny’s relationship with the former’s mother and father. The show has also focused on former side-characters such as Jay in a way that’s not overbearing for listeners, even enjoyable. We’ve covered this approach to character development at length in the past. The team pulled off another touted album-length arc not two years ago in 28 Hours, even resolving the flaws of the very negatively viewed Jillian in a way that shows they are listening to us. And, of course, there’s the Olivia arc, truly one of AIO’s greatest hits with dynamic episodes following like Tough Call. All of this done with implicit moral truths that are fodder for thoughtful family conversations. This is also part of what puts AIO among the heights of Christian media, lessons made not just with children in mind but with adults. Indeed, Adventures in Odyssey is less of a kids’ show now than it was in the 1980s and 90s. One could argue, and I will, that it’s not even a kids’ show anymore, just a show that recognizes kids are in the room. The best children’s shows are. And of course, I believe the gospel is still very much present. Chris serves that role every time she’s on the mic, as well as this entire team. And because it seems it has to be pointed out again, we are in the midst of about five salvation character arcs right now. Adventures in Odyssey has deviated from its original kid-walks-up-to-counter-and-gets-lesson format, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, every show has its classic angles, but after about four decades, you can’t even blame the team at AIO for wanting to tell more dynamic stories. The fans deserve it too. It’d be one thing if they weren’t good at it, either. With any program, it’s possible and essentially guaranteed to wear a concept out. Are we perhaps fortunate that Odyssey decided to jump ship before that happened? Instead of this conversation, it is likely we would be complaining, “Adventures in Odyssey doesn’t switch it up enough. There’s not any variety in this format! Having kids go up to Whit for the first 200 episodes was fun for a little bit, but now it’s boring.” The five AIO fans left probably wouldn’t even be hosting websites or conventions, either. A little experimentation here and there is paramount to have a show like this run this long. In the grand scheme of things, a fluke here or there is just that, a fluke. The two years of the worst-rated episodes in Odyssey’s history amount to five percent of Odyssey’s run time. They’re negligible in the long-run. I wonder if anyone who swore off Odyssey in that time period regretted it when Novacom came out. And if AIO is still around in four years, it’s my confidence that we’ll look at flukes like Rydell and other lackluster episodes in the exact same way. Like I’ve said, the early 2000s, another historically negatively rated period for the Odyssey team had this sort of dichotomy with a pull between AIO’s worst flops and best narratives. The true problem here seems to be a lack of patience from Odyssey fans. Most of the complaints from the W.E. are things that have already been resolved in some form or will be when one of multiple sagas wrap up. Of course, content creation is a trust process, and AIO has lost some of our trust recently. But even if they came out on Monday and made an apology for Rydell and brought back twelve-episode albums, there are people who will never truly be satisfied by it. In this business, you aren’t ever able to please everyone. Someone like Phil Lollar has taken that mentality to a poor extreme. On the other hand, a good fan will call them out, but isn’t going to condemn and disavow them simply because they’ve made a few mistakes recently. The AIO staff, yes, including Phil Lollar, is completely capable of making excellent stories with great morals. How do we know that? Forty years of evidence proves it, up until recently. There have been missteps recently, but they are easily recoverable. First, saga fatigue is a real thing. If you don’t believe me, take any hate towards Adventures in Odyssey recently and multiply it in a Marvel scale. Promptly ending all sagas and yes, issuing an apology of some sort for the Rydell is the way to go. As this post is coming out after AIO’s announcement to wrap all current arcs by Album 80, it looks like this is already underway (Go figure). Secondly, for success regarding the future, six-episode albums absolutely have to go. Of all the mistakes Odyssey has made over the past ten years, this is for sure one of the most prominent. But most of all, continue to tell good stories. To both Odyssey and its fans, there is nothing we can do about any past mistakes Odyssey has made at this point (outside of perhaps the aforementioned apology). It is unclear what the goal of simply giving up on the show is, outside of a few lost bucks for Odyssey. For this writer, the solution doesn’t lie in disowning his Odyssey fanship. This organization prides itself on being both a critical and optimistic voice for the show that it’s surrounded itself with. Too much good has come out of Odyssey to throw it out just yet. No, AIO Writer’s Block, while always at the ready to call this show out when it needs it, officially continues to stand by the audio program that has certainly been a source of joy for many and been the guide pointing children (and adults) to the Father. I leave you as I always do, but this time, take it to heart. Keep up the fandom.
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Olivia Parker: Black pudding?!
Charlotte Maria: Oh, yes, it's a delicious blood sausage!
Matthew Parker: I didn't know English people were cannibals! No wonder George Washington threw you out of the country!
—“An Agreeable Nanny” -
Heather: He was probably a nice guy.
Julie Zeeke: He didn't deserve better because he was nice. He deserved it because he was a person.
Heather: Well there's nothing we can do about it now.
Julie Zeeke: Yes, there is.
—“A Lesson From Mike” -
Bart: Hey I’ve got an idea for improving the town.
Bernard: You’re moving?
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Connie Kendall: Oh Whit! I'm sorry I'm not on time. I wanted to be. Especially on my first day back and everything... He's not here.
Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: No, he's not.
Connie Kendall: Lucy! You scared me!
—“The Sacred Trust” -
AIO Writer’s Block Newsletter- February 8th, 2025
AIO Thought of the Week:[image (available on website): screen shot of Dalton Kearn’s AiO Wiki page where under notes one of the bullet points reads “Dalton is suspected to have a form of Autism” and an inserted text by me which reads, “By whom?”] I don’t think this is that big a deal but I’m curious what the reasoning is and whether there is an actual history behind this. For example, a message board discussion or a fan blog, podcast, or something. Especially since we barely hear from this character and there isn’t a lot of time spent on how he thinks or what he is like when he is not actively terrorizing the Meltzner family. Happy Super Bowl weekend Odyssey Fans! Time for your Adventures in Odyssey fan community updates! Here we go! Content of the Week: February Odyssey Content Guide (2025 Edition) Our episode guides have been hits ever since their regular releases began last year. The most recent came out just today, with an updated list of romantic episodes and football favorites for the shortest month of the year. It’s up now on our website! From Elsewhere on the Block What’s New In Odyssey? “Sleeves Up!” “Up His Sleeve” released last Saturday on February 1st. It is a comedic but touching episode starring Wooton, Trey, and Red Hollard, who’s been appearing more and more in the Club recently. For a short review: this episode is certainly a testament to AIO’s growing storytelling prowess in the Adventures in Odyssey Club space. Definitely a top episode of this decade. Conclusion A very short update here from AIO Writer’s Block, in contrast to a pretty full week on the 11th. Have an amazing weekend and keep up the fandom!
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February Odyssey Content Guide (2025 Edition)
This article is part of a series on Episode Guides. It’s the shortest month of the year, but not one lacking in holiday-related content. We’ve updated our list from last year to include the latest in February AIO episodes. Fun fact, this was one of the first guides we published that included AIO Club episode links, so many of those are already built in! From the Super Bowl to Valentine’s Day, here are some of the best Adventures in Odyssey episodes to listen to and enjoy in February. Valentine’s/Romantic Episodes Adventures in Odyssey is almost notoriously full of romantic episodes and dramas. Not the least significant is Eugene and Katrina’s Relationship arc, which, depending on how you look at it, spans 11 years! Among them are: It Began with a Rabbit’s Foot It Ended with a Handshake A Book by Its Cover The Turning Point Love is in the Air, Part 1 & 2 The Right Choice, Part 1 & 2 Solitary Refinement For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll, Parts 1, 2, & 3 Wrapped Around Your Finger For Better or For Worse, Parts 1 & 2 …as well as the very romantic More Than a Feeling, which is also technically in the saga. Speaking of romantic sagas, you can’t go romantic with out the Connie and Mitch arc. Obviously, the entire Novacom saga technically is Connie and Mitch, specifically Plan B, but the episodes surrounding the Novacom core are what we’re focused on in this post. Here are some of the highlights: Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips Broken Window Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Parts 1, 2 & 3 Pink Is Not My Color Something Blue, Part 1 & 2,and of course, we can’t forget the ever-hilarious… Something Old, Something New, Part 1 &2 There’s also the story of Connie’s first love, Jeff, appropriately titled “First Love” and the hilarious “romantic” Club episode Mean Streak. Speaking of which, here are a few romantic Club episodes: Out of Her Element (which, fun fact, is one of the first episodes I listened to on the Club back in the day) Met His Match Generic, but still romantic episodes, like: Prequels of Love Curious, Isn’t It? The Present Long Ago and Mum’s the Word Bobby’s Valentine The Triangle, Parts 1 & 2 And finally, more serious episodes focused on the true meaning of love, such as: Knox on Love Greater Love Never For Nothing As well as our actual Valentine’s Day episode: The Last “I Do”. Football Episodes But wait, there’s more! The biggest holiday of the month, obviously Super Bowl Sunday, is right around the corner as well, and there’s a bit of American football Adventures in Odyssey content, too! Including: Page From the Playbook The 18-Yard Line Better Buck Next Time …and Easy Money, y’know, if you were thinking about doing anything unscrupulous this Super Bowl Written Content There’s also the Elsewhere in Odyssey Monthly Strip from 2023, featuring Matthew, as well as the somewhat cringe but ultimately delightful spin-off about Trent and Mandy entitled “Prom Perfect,” which concluded last year. A new romance-induced strip began in 2024 as well, entitled “The Ballad of Edwin and Zelda”. The full strip is available in the Club. Newer monthly (if not as romantic) February Strips include: Elsewhere in Odyssey 2024 February Monthly Strip We will also include the bonus edition of last year’s February strip on this list Elsewhere in Odyssey 2025 February Monthly Strip This doesn’t even begin to cover the huge amount of February-related episodes and other content that could possibly end up in here, and Adventures in Odyssey is always adding more! If you think of anything else, be sure to add it in any one of our multiple comments sections! For now, I’m Don, reminding you to keep up the fandom.
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Chris Anthony: Y-you talked!
Lincoln Monument: I know. It's amazing what you can do on radio, isn't it?
—“A Single Vote” -
WINNERS of My Odyssey Story 2025!
🎈🎊 THE WINNERS OF #MYODYSSEYSTORY 2025 ARE HERE!! 🎊🎈We had 21 people enter this year, totalling nearly 6000 words of how Odyssey has impacted the fans. We even had Katie Leigh, the voice of Connie, participate this year, which was very special. And now, it's time to reveal the three winners from our random draw!CONGRATULATIONS TO:🥇 1st place: True B.🥈 2nd place: Kate P.🥉 3rd place: Benjamin H.The first-place winner will receive a prize package of the following:• Ultra Rare Trading Card, "Elvis Jay"• 8 x 10” limited edition print of “Whit Sundae”, art by @Rebl_Art• 5 x 7” limited edition print of “Town of Odyssey”, art by @phoebepheebsphibs• 3" Ice Cream Gang vinyl magnet, by Hal’s Diner• "Opening Moves" by Phil Lollar, the first book in the Blackgaard Chronicles• "Silas Marner" 2-CD set, by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre• "Straight Outta Odyssey" sticker, by Hal's DinerThe second- and third-place winners will receive the same prizes, minus the trading card. I will be contacting the prize winners for shipping information. ✨All entries will be featured in full on the AIO Update website, and excerpts will be included in an article to be released later this month. They may also be featured in future social media posts.A big thank you to everyone who participated this year, and in years past. Adventures in Odyssey really is something special, and so is this fan community. It's amazing and touching to see the real impact this show has had on our lives. Thank you for sharing! ❤️
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Connie Kendall: Well I don't know about the law, but you broke something here.
—“The Ties That Bind, Part 14” -
AIO Writer’s Block Newsletter- January 25th, 2025*
AIO Thought of the Week:The REAL reason Connie and Mitch couldn’t get married is because they would have either starved or gone broke from eating out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Bonus: An Incorrect Quote Mitch: I thought you didn’t know how to cook.Connie: I don’t. *unlids plate* They’re dinosaur nuggets (this can easily go the other way and Mitch brings Connie Mac’n’cheese) Hello everybody! Time for your AIO updates from across the fandom! (late as they may be). It’s been a slow couple of days here in Odyssey. Let’s get started: Upcoming Content of the Week: Adventures in Odyssey Made the Switch from Moral-Based Episodes to Story-Based Ones. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing. For the first time, we actually don’t have any OC that has come out from this website recently. We hit it with regular content just about every day over the first two weeks of this month, and a little patience for a break is appreciated. This would have been today’s post and has been the project for the past few days as busy life kicks in again. It is categorized under “upcoming” because it’s sure to be a hit. It’s likely we will not do this again unless it resonates positively. From Elsewhere on the Block BTV or Knox On? A Battle of the Shows Adventures for Odyssey Fans put out a short comparison of the B-TV and Knox On episode formats. It’s a solid post and a great little AIO fan would-you-rather. Mine is for sure B-TV, by the way. What’s New In Odyssey? Elsewhere in Odyssey Book Per Odyssey Obsessors, Adventures in Odyssey has announced a full-color graphic novel with a number of recent Elsewhere in Odyssey series inside. It’ll be available on Amazon, Christianbook, and Focus on the Family. Album 79 Finale and February Club Episode Album 79 ended last week with “My Hero Renee.” Final notes after the wrap-up: it appears the episodes had very mixed reactions. We’ve opined extensively on most of the album. In other news, “Up His Sleeve” will be out in just a few days on February 1st. This episode is set to involve a storyline with Trey Calhoun and Red Hollard. Totally Random Podcast Jesse and Bob shared fun facts about themselves and the show on the most recent edition of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast [Apple Podcasts | Spotify]. It’s a wholesome opposite-day treat, clearly for both the hosts and fans. Listen now! Conclusion A very short update here from AIO Writer’s Block, in contrast to a pretty full week on the 11th. Look out once more for any additional incoming content and announcement that will be rapid fire, especially at the beginning of February. Have an amazing weekend and keep up the fandom! *This newsletter, intended to come out yesterday, will still be entitled “January 25th, 2025” for categorization’s sake.
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Jason Whittaker: Say, does this town of yours have a name?
Unknown: I guess you could call it... a ghost town.
—“The Ties That Bind, Part 2” -
Editorial 74: The Taming of the Tech
Have you ever told someone about Adventures in Odyssey, and ended up trying to explain what an audio drama is? It turns out audio drama is a great invention, but not a lot of people know about it. But what makes it such a versatile medium? That's what Editorial 74 is all about. In a world full of visuals, how does audio drama fit in? We have a special guest writer to answer that question. JD Sutter of Audio Theatre Central shows us the real value of audio drama in a new article, The Taming of the Tech. You can read (or listen) to the editorial, and then add your thoughts to the comments.
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Marvin Washington: Trent, you may very well be walking in the presence of the future fundraising champ of Odyssey Middle School!
Trent DeWhite: Wow. Y'know, I think I'm getting goosebumps.
—“The Nudge” -
Elsewhere In Odyssey Publishing Elsewhere!
Greetings and salutations! This will be a fairly short post, but I wanted to report a piece of news that I came across. If you are not a member of the AIO Club and miss out on the weekly comic strip stories, worry no more! The AIO Team is compiling several of the comic stories from the Club into a comic book! Here is the cover art: Here is the summary: Come along for Volume 1 of an exciting Christian comic book series set Elsewhere in Odyssey―and elsewhere around the world!The little city of Odyssey is host to an ever-expanding series of faith-filled adventures, yet the wider scope of many of these stories is often only hinted at by the regulars at Whit’s End. Collected here are the exciting follow-up stories that Adventures in Odyssey fans have always wondered about, such as: Is Donna Barclay really getting married? Whatever happened to Bernard Walton? How is it that the Rathbones seem to be following the Barclays around the world? Why is Dr. Regis Blackgaard still able to exploit the Imagination Station to further his dastardly plans, especially since he’s not actually alive anymore? Elsewhere in Odyssey Volume #1 takes the whole family on a fun adventure by combining graphic-novel-style illustrations, biblical lessons, and humorous action that keeps kids glued to the pages. Focus on the Family The book will be released on May 6th, 2025. I for one am excited to see this! It gives opportunity for those not in the Club to see more of the Elsewhere In Odyssey comics. Be sure to pre-order your copy from Focus on the Family, Christianbook.com and Amazon! That’s all I have for now. What are your thoughts on this? Are interested in reading or purchasing it? Let us know in the comments! Your engagement is always appreciated and encouraged! -Signed, Polehaus53
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Chris Anthony: You know, there are two great things about shopping in a store in Odyssey. One is the bargains that you get here. And the other is the fact that they play really great music over the speakers. <theme begins> See what I mean?
—“Honor Thy Parents” -
Sue: That's it? No bazookas or poison pills, or satellite dishes?
Jason Whittaker: Eh, sorry. Those were all in the suitcase you ditched.
—“The Labyrinth, Part 2” -
Wooton Bassett: Connie! Connie, I really need your help real bad!! <calm> Oh, hi Matthew. How are you?
Matthew Parker: Hi, Wooton.
Wooton Bassett: Hi! <frantic again> Oh, Connie, Connie, listen! Penny is lost in the Hall of Mirrors! I can hear her in there, but I can't find her!!! You gotta help!! Oh, come on, come on, its this way...uh...maybe its over here, I don't know. Oh, come with me either way! Come on!
—“The Green Ring Conspiracy, Part 6” -
Connie Kendall: Whit was wounded at Guadalcanal. Were you there?
Joe Finneman: Uh huh. For three months.
—“The War Hero” -
Narrator: And somewhere deep down in the wholesomeness of Sir Buddy's smiling being the arose an ethereal chorus of voices singing...
Singers: Zoooooooooeee...
—“Sir Buddy's Snowy Day” -
“Better Buck Next Time, Part 2” – A Rant.
Phew! It’s been a while since an episode has made me want to slap characters in said episode! (I’m normally pretty chill about things.) So here goes my chocolate-fueled rant about the nonsense that went on here! I want to start by saying, I didn’t like Marla from Part 1 Polehaus can attest to me muttering, “Uhhh…ew…” several times along with “she seems fake” as we were listening. Okay, so the kids Buck made friends with from the sports ministry (I forgot the name of it) all get this text at the same time, with the same link, from an unknown person… and they don’t even question this? They don’t even stop to wonder, “Hm, I wonder who would send this to us and try to make our friend look bad”?? AND…said kids who are leaders and Christians and mentors… their first reaction is, “You think you know a guy.” Instead of hearing him out properly. Not that I entirely blame them. I guess it would be a shock, but really? Is this how Christians act? Even worse… EVEN WORSE… the booster club (which by the way I thought sounded sus in Part 1 as well). Okay, maybe I understand the moms being suspicious of Buck, but why in the WORLD does that extend to Katrina? Oh my goodness…MARLA!!! *takes deep breath* Perhaps I should explain why I’m getting so uptight… (apart from the obvious reasons) I will in a second! Marla? HA! I knew you were suspicious. Two-faced lady. I don’t have any other words right now, because I feel like mentally punching her. *facepalm* of course she’s one of those weird moms who will get jealous on their kids’ behalf and take revenge for them when it’s not called for. Miss, if you kid deserved to stay as a starter, he would stay as a starter. And she’s a Christian. She’s a Christian, folks. Now to why I’m so riled up… Um… Let’s just say that this episode touched on something that has been driving me crazy for the past 4ish years. And that is: hypocrisy within Christianity. People who say they are Christians but don’t act like it at all. People who I have gotten to know who I thought would be good friends because they told me about how they were involved in missions, volunteer at their church, lead Bible studies… and then they gossip about others, manipulate, use their friends, stalk people… My former friends who said they were Christians being betrayers and selfish and… There’s a fine line between getting riled up by Marla in this episode, being like, “Ugh, what a hypocrite!” and being hypocrites ourselves. I recognize that I’m not always a stellar Christian either. So, this episode is intriguing me because it’s touching on a really prevalent issue. I hope that they go more in-depth with it. Chris didn’t really talk about it in the wraps. I hope it isn’t glossed over. I was glancing at the comments and felt both sad and smug when seeing the kids’ surprise: “what? I thought they were Christian? I thought they were friends?” I’m smug because yeah, that’s the real world. And I’m sad because…yeah, that’s the real world. Caution is warranted on all levels of this issue. We must be careful not to judge others too quickly or too harshly. Perhaps we are the ones with the logs in our eyes. But it is true: Even without judging people, it becomes clear that some are not truly Christian. Or that they have been led astray by some sins. But what can we do? Don’t fall into the trap of being just as hypocritical (as I have done in the past). Don’t be the one laughing at them and scorning and shunning. This isn’t what the answer is. As an acquaintance once said to me, “True believers are very few.” Sad but true. *sighs* So yeah. I’m eager to see where AIO takes this theme – if they take it anywhere… As for the locker mystery, I’m going to guess that Marla made Micah deface his own locker so that they could blame Buck and get him kicked off the football team. Though I wish Buck would quit giving in to the accusations. (plot twist: he actually did do it! But no.) Though I’m not sure what else he could have done, considering they didn’t let him defend himself… *dusts off hands* Maybe I’ll write more on the next part, we will see. Thanks for reading!
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Eugene Meltsner: Apparently without my knowledge, the definition of fun has merged with the definition of insanity! <whimpering> I'm in.
—“The Top Floor, Part 1” -
My Odyssey Story 2025 is HERE!
Enter to WIN the My Odyssey Story Contest! 🥳That's right, our contest is now LIVE. We all have an Odyssey story. Is there a certain episode that’s really meaningful to you? Is there a character you identify with? Is there a storyline that has strengthened you in your faith? Has the show or the AIO community helped you in some way? Now you can share your Odyssey story for a chance to win some cool prizes!👉 How to Enter 👈1. Write a paragraph answering this question: How has Adventures in Odyssey impacted you? For your entry to be counted, you must write a minimum of 100 words, but more is encouraged! There is no maximum word count.2. Post your entry to the AIO Fan Club Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/aiofanclub) with the hashtag #MyOdysseyStory or send it in an email to: aioupdate@live.com👋 More Details• Entries must be submitted during the month of January 2025. The deadline is January 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PST.• You can post multiple times, but you will still receive just one entry per person in the prize draw.• Open to people worldwide.• No anonymous submissions. We’d like to contact you if you win the prize!• Not affiliated with official Adventures in Odyssey or Focus on the Family. 🏆 PrizesThree winners will be chosen in a random draw. Prize winners will be contacted to provide their mailing address so that they can receive their prize.The first-place winner will receive the following:• Ultra Rare Trading Card, "Elvis Jay"• 8 x 10” limited edition print of “Whit Sundae”, art by @Rebl_Art• 5 x 7” limited edition print of “Town of Odyssey”, art by @phoebepheebsphibs• 3" Ice Cream Gang vinyl magnet, by @hals.diner• "Opening Moves" by Phil Lollar, the first book in the Blackgaard Chronicles• "Silas Marner" 2-CD set, by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre🥈🥉 Second and third place winners will receive the same prizes, minus the trading card. (It's Ultra Rare. Unfortunately we only have one!)⭐ How Will the Entries Be Used?Entries will be posted publicly on our website, AIO Update, and may appear on our social media as well. We will include your first name and last initial. Additionally, some entries will be featured in an article on the AIO Update website to showcase the impact Adventures in Odyssey has had on its fans.🎨 The beautiful contest art and logo is by @phoebepheebsphibsAll right, let’s get writing! I’m excited to read everyone’s #MyOdysseyStory this month. 😃
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Four Years Ago… 😱
*pops out from quicksand pit to make this post* It’s hard to believe that the start of this was four years ago. That’s…that’s the time it takes someone to get a bachelor’s degree! To finish high school! Wow! I feel honestly underqualified to be making this post because I have barely been existing on The OO this year. I only made four posts. And I haven’t even been able to keep up with everything Polehaus is up to. He deserves a gold medal for finding time… Anyway, this is our fourth anniversary. What can I say? I can’t believe we made it this far. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Highlights of 2024 Uniting the Green Ring and Ties That Bind Saga Horses in Odyssey! Reviewing “The Revenge of Bigfoot” Overlooked Episodes That Made Me Go “Ooh!” Every Single Song Sung on AIO Listed Here (you would not believe how long this one took us) Odyssey’s Law Enforcers Analyzing Chris’ Wraps: “Red Wagons and Pink Flamingos” I wish I had done some WILTs or TLDWs, since those are most accurate to my state in life: still involved with Odyssey and listening and following the news, but no time to write anything about it. And I could also write about how more specific episodes are applying to my life, but I’m not sure if that would be boring. But I will try to give it a try. Thank you again! Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2025!
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Donna Barclay: Good thing those people from this morning aren't still here. After Jimmy ruined the silverware in the dishwasher, we only have four complete settings left.
Jimmy Barclay: Why do you care about silverware - you eat with your fingers!
—“The Visitors” -
Odyssey Obsessing in 2024 – How Did It Go?
Greetings and salutations and seasonal felicitations! In January this year I wrote a post about how I plan to Odyssey Obsess on this website in 2024. I’m here to review what my goals were and whether I successfully accomplished them this year. So, without further ado, let’s get started! In this post, I shall be going through what I hope to do this year with the Odyssey Obsessors. This post will be a preview of posts to come and my plan on how to get them done. Myself, January 14, 2024 The first thing I wrote about was Inspiration Inspiration One thing that I have trouble with is finding inspiration for posts, as I wrote earlier this year. I wrote about my main method of coming up with inspiration: looking at others’ work and at ideas of my own. I was able to post a bunch of things that I have been wanting to post this year. Most notably, one thing I was finally able to do this year was Clubhouse Magazine commentary. I also was able to publish an old piece of writing of mine from many years ago. In the process of writing them I was able to enthusiastically and energetically find inspiration which drove me to write them. I would say that this part of the plan was successful. Consistency/Post Quanity Here’s what I wrote earlier this year: I’ll try and set a simple goal to get started: My plan is to have more than 2 posts published for at least one month this year. Myself I can proudly say that this goal was completed! In May of 2024 we published 3 posts! Now, can I say confidentially that we can consistently hit this number? If I’m honest, no. We here at the Odyssey Obsessors are at points in our lives where we simply do not have the time to invest into this website as much as we wanted. But it is encouraging to myself to see that we have the ability to sometimes write another post and do a little bit more here. Hopefully this is something we can work to accomplish as time goes on. Time Management What did I say about time management earlier this year? My issue when it comes to writing is that I sit down and spend an hour or three writing. I usually get my posts out after one sitting. It works, but I’ve come to realize that this is not the best. I have other things to do and need to balance my schedule. What’s my solution? A very simple thing that I should have been doing a long time ago. Do it a little at a time. Myself Um… this worked out for a little while. But ultimately, I have to say that I failed in this goal. . (I have already spent too much time writing even this post…) There were times when, despite my earlier statement, I just sat down and wrote a post for two hours straight. Was that the best use of my time? Nope. Did I have other things to do? I 100% did. Could I have saved a lot of time if I had written the posts a little bit at time, even if just a paragraph a day? Definitely.Did I do anything to help me better manage my time? I did not. What can be done about it? Nothing much. When you have lost time, the one thing you shouldn’t do is dwell on that lost time. All you’re doing is wasting more time dwelling on the time you lost. I have personally been thinking about this in other aspects of my life recently. All that I can do about it is to move on and keep trying to do my best to manage my time. Something which takes……..time. (No pun intended) Conclusion Overall, I think that 2024 has been a fine year for Odyssey Obsessing. There were definitely some things that could have been done better, but ultimately, I personally have had a fun time being on the site this year and being a part of its development. And that’s a goal which has always been in my mind: To have fun with this AIO fansite. I have had an enjoyable time writing the posts and being a part of the Adventures in Odyssey online community. Well, that’s all I have for now. How do you think we did this year on the Odyssey Obsessors? Are there any goals that you think we should set going forward? Feel free to let us know by leaving a comment! Your engagement and feedback is always welcome! -Signed, Polehaus53
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Editorial 73: A Christmas Compilation
Adventures in Odyssey does a great job with Christmas episodes. It’s hard for me to separate the holiday from the show, because so many of my Christmas memories are associated with Odyssey. (And not just because I would get the albums as gifts.) When I think of Christmas, I can’t help but think of Whit’s End, all decorated in lights, snow falling outside, and a mug of hot chocolate. Odyssey has so many good Christmas episodes that it’s hard to choose a favorite. So instead, I thought I would focus on just ten specific Christmas moments that I find especially poignant... Read all about it in Editorial 73: A Christmas Compilation. And then let us know your favorite Christmas moments in the comments below!
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Connie: Penny, for half an hour you’ve been decorating this house and humming Jingle Bells and yelling ‘hey!’ Now why do you do that?
Penny: Because it’s too hard to hum the 'hey’ part. -
Wooton Bassett: According to my calculations I've told seven half truths today and that equals three and a half lies.
—“Nothing But the Half Truth” -
Old Judge: The Unseen One is the creator and sustainer of all things; he is everywhere at all times: all-seeing, all-knowing, all powerful.
Anna: Like God.
Old Judge: No, not like God; the Unseen One is God.
—“Passages: Darien's Rise, Part 3” -
Eugene Meltsner: You're playing well, Katrina.
Katrina Shanks: You're not so bad yourself.
—“Truth, Trivia and 'Trina” -
Wooton Bassett: Connie is there anything I can do for you? You know, coordinate food, arrange chairs, prepare an igloo?
Connie Kendall: Not right now, but I- An igloo?
Wooton Bassett: It's a tradition in Alaska.
—“Life Expectancy, Part 1” -
Aubrey Shepard: You're just a computer program.
Regis Blackgaard: Ah, but I'm a program that knows the truth. What is that saying? The truth shall set you free. I want to set you free, Aubrey.
—“Blackgaard's Revenge, Part 1” -
Read all the My Odyssey Stories in full
Earlier this year, we held Round 2 of the My Odyssey Story contest. We asked fans to write a paragraph answering this question: How has Adventures in Odyssey impacted you?22 of you shared your stories! It was inspiring and meaningful to hear the difference Odyssey has made in fans' lives. All those entries are now available to read in full here.Stay tuned for details about Round 3 of the contest, coming soon. 👀
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Richard Maxwell: Well, do I get a kiss good night?
Donna Barclay: Get lost, Richard!
—“An Encounter with Mrs. Hooper” -
Lawrence Hodges: They blow up!
John Whittaker: Blow up?!
Jimmy Barclay: Inflate.
—“Treasures of the Heart” -
Winter in Odyssey
Greetings and salutations! Welcome to my little corner of the internet. We all make correlations in our heads. I correlate Christmas and winter with cozyness, cold air, dark nights, game nights with friends, peaceful music, and the joy of having my family all together in one room. It seems that only happens once a year now. As I’m starting this post it is 85°F right now. A lovely September day. After indulging my nostalgia in this post, I will go back to enjoying the late summer sunshine and beautiful plants. But I wanted to take a moment to recollect on my favorite season (if only because it makes me happy). Certain cues will send me directly into the Christmas spirit. Weather it be my favorite Christmas songs or walking out into the cold night. The sound of the bell at Whit’s End, or Whit and Tom discussing the “hustle and bustle of the season” in Peace on Earth. I love Christmas and the joy and peace it brings. Going into this post, I’m not exactly sure what the point of it is supposed to be. (Which, I’ve found is the cardinal rule of blog writing, always come in knowing your point or else you’ll ramble). Perhaps it’s to create a small capsule, that I can open when I’m sad. Or when my seasonal depression makes me forget what I love about Winter. So, to my future self getting down about it being to ‘cold and dark outside’ why don’t you try listening to this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1YM9pVXsic? Or maybe Peace on Earth, The Living Nativity, or All By Myself. Grab some hot chocolate and enjoy the cool air (remember how much you hate July in the south, and be grateful lol). Go read your favorite winter AIO fic. I plan to post this the first week of winter. I hope you have all had a lovely thanksgiving, and enter this season of winter with joy and peace. Have the best holiday season! note from editor Hannah: I just realized the first day of winter is December 21 this year? Absolutely not. Personally, winter starts the afternoon of thanksgiving, so you should see this post sometime during the last week of November. ~The Perilous Pen~
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Album 78 Title and Cover Revealed!
Greetings and salutations! Hope you all are having a great Thanksgiving weekend! I thought I would do a post on the latest Odyssey news regarding the next mainstream album. Therefore, it is time to issue the usual spoiler warning: SPOILER WARNING! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEXT ADVENTURES IN ODYSSEY ALBUM! Okay, you’ve been warned. The cover art for Album 78 has been revealed! Here it is: Most interesting. I will voice my thoughts on this cover art at a later time. But, as you can see, the title is At Face Value, and it features 6 episodes on friends, faith, and family heritage. Episodes According to AIOWiki, we currently know the titles of 5 out of the six episodes for this album. #1,000-1,001: Kris-Crossed, Parts 1-2The 1,000th episode. There’s no summary for it. All we know is that is it written and directed by Phil Lollar and features the characters Morrie and Suzu Rydell, Emily Jones, and Cooper Calhoun. #1,003-1,005: Better Buck Next Time, Parts 1-3|We do have a summary from AIOWiki about these episodes: Buck’s adventures in Baltimore continue. AIOWiki Other than the title and summary, we know that this three-part episode is written and directed by Kathy Buchanan. And we know that Buck Meltsner and Katrina Meltsner will appear in it. #1,002?There is one episode missing, and I assume it is one that stars Renee Carter. I wonder if it is the upcoming episode on AIOWiki “My Hero Renee”, but as far as I know it has not been confirmed. We’ll probably get more information about the episodes as their release comes closer. Purchase and Release Speaking of release, this album will release on CD on March 4, 2025. It will be released in the AIO Club in December. Be sure to pre-order your copy from ChristianBook.com and Amazon! Well, that’s all the news that I have for now. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Stay tuned for more posts. -Signed, Polehaus53
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John Whittaker: Where are you going?
Tony: I was thinking Alaska. Live off moose meat for a while.
—“Chains, Part 2” -
Editorial 72: Grateful Expectations
As Thanksgiving arrives, it’s worth reflecting back on how Adventures in Odyssey episodes approach the topic of thankfulness. I've noticed there's a trend which begins all the way back in the first Thanksgiving episode, "Thank You, God", and shows up again in the most recent episode, "A Thankstaking Story".I talk about this in my latest editorial, Grateful Expectations. Should we be thankful at all times? Should we be thankful for everything? After you've read Editorial 72, let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
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Connie Kendall: I remember the first time my mom left me alone for two days. I was fourteen, and I invited all the—never mind; I wasn't a Christian.
—“The Chosen One, Part 1” -
Richard Maxwell: It’s against my moral code!
Jack: Oh, your morals are not up to code. -
Alex: I’m a digital addict. I diagnosed myself online.
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Trent DeWhite: Wooton, why are you filming up my nostrils?
Marvin Washington: Use the zoom, Wooton!
—“The Coolest Dog” -
Bridget: What is wrong with you?
Jules: Off the top of my head, I’d say low self-esteem, a lack of paternal affection, and a genetic predisposition to anxiety and depression. -
Connie: Don’t you dare call me irrational! You know that makes me crazy.
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Jillian: You’ve been seeing a man?
Connie: Only when I close my eyes and concentrate. -
News and Changes in Odyssey
Greetings and salutations! Polehaus53 here. As I have mentioned before, I do not have the time nowadays to search around extensively for Adventures in Odyssey news as I used to. Fortunately, Jeremiah here has stepped up and has provided a post with some of the latest things happening in Odyssey. Hope you all enjoy!-Signed, Polehaus53 Hey everyone! AIO has had quite a few changes over the years. So I decided to do a post on recent changes in Odyssey. Before we start, I need to warn you guys with: Spoilers Ahead! Let’s dive in! Wyatt’s Voice Change In Wyatt’s most recent appearance, “Express Salvation”, Wyatt’s voice sounded different. This is because, he got a new voice actor, Dawson Griffin. With this new actor, Wyatt sounds around 2 years younger and not that close to Wyatt’s previous actor. However, David still did a fabulous job fitting into the role in his first job for Odyssey. Wyatt and Carla Perkins getting saved For me this was a shocker, I was 90% certain that Renee would become a Christian first, but I was wrong. I don’t think any AIO fan suspected these 2 to be the next to get saved. Maybe, that’s why Odyssey did it; because it was completely unprecedented. Ronald Perkins Return Home This was another shocker. I first heard about the idea on the AIOWiki around 6-8 months ago. In, “Express Salvation”, it’s said that he’s returning home permanently. My prediction is that he lost a limb, which means he can no longer carry out necessary tasks on the battlefield. Bridget will not take this lightly, and Carla and Wyatt might almost turn away from God, but I think in the last Perkins episode of the 5 episode series, the whole family will be saved. A 3 parter on the Perkins family If you’re not a Perkins fan, it just got worse. Lol. Marshal Younger is working or already wrote a 3-parter, on the Perkins family. I’m guessing that this will be the aftermath after the whole Perkins family conversion arc. Or, it can be 3 of the 4 remaining episodes in the 5 episode Perkins series. Jules and Buck Since they’ve broken up, there are unanswered questions. According to episodes already recorded we won’t hear about Jules and Buck in the next album. It’s possible that something will happen in Album 79, though. AIO just loves making long story arcs, right? I think, personally, they will eventually get back to dating, but not for another few albums at least. Zoe’s Family Zoe’s family has not appeared even once on the show, which is surprising since she has appeared in 35 episodes. But the Odyssey team has stated that they will appear on the show somewhere in the future. This could be interesting. I’ll see if I can find out more stuff about this that I can post in a future post, but as of now, no date is set that we know of. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it! Did I miss anything? Comment below! Here’s my AIO fan website if you want to check it out: https://adventuresforodysseyfans.org/ 7 responses to “News and Changes in Odyssey” Miss Drummond November 18, 2024 I feel so bad because Dawson did such a good job but the change way really distracting Also speak of radical developments, on the list of characters I did not expect to hear from again: Pamela’s daughter! LikeLiked by 1 person Reply Jeremiah November 18, 2024 Agreed, most AIO fans that I talked with don’t like his voice at all. Which I don’t support because it’s Dawsons’ first major part on Odyssey and as a kid it’s even tougher for him. I think that he did a stellar job. Oh yea, that was fun! I’m guessing it’s her daughter from, “Pamela Has A Problem.”. I would love for Odyssey to make more episodes on Pamela! LikeLiked by 1 person Reply Stephaniesninthsuitcase November 19, 2024 I think I’ve jumped around so much listening to the Perkins family that I didn’t catch it was a new Wyatt by listening. Although maybe I actually like this one better (I think the other actor did a great job of being an “annoying” kid). I’m not sure if I liked Wyatt more because of the different voice or because of the plot in this episode:) The Perkins family has been growing on me. I’m excited that Wyatt and his mom are Christians, and I liked Bridget’s development in the episode with the coworker. Such a different from her insulting all the customers. I agree with you about Buck and Jules. I think Chris hinted that their arc isn’t over, but I don’t think the AIO team will give us the story that easily Jules has so much growing to do and I’m really proud of how far Buck has come. (I was holding out for him to be the next Christian) LikeLike Reply Jeremiah November 19, 2024 Interesting. Lol. Yea, if found a recent appreciation for them too. I think that AIO transferred her into a better teen a little too fast. Thank you! Of course! As I sometimes say: “AIO loves making long story arcs.” Which is obviously a good interest grabber on their part to keep the fans on their seats and listening. That’s probably what AIO wanted everyone to believe. Lol. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply JustMe November 20, 2024 i personally hope buck and jules will get together but only after they both become christians. Plus, they’d be a great couple to show christian teen dating which is something nobody talks about nowadays. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply Jeremiah November 20, 2024 Agreed. I have been on and off the AIO chat boards recently and most older kids agree with you, and I do as well. Also, that’s another good point that’s glossed over now days. On the path that they’re both on, I’m guessing that Buck will become a Christian before Jules. LikeLike Reply AIO Writer’s Block Newsletter- The Next Step! – AIO Writer's Block December 1, 2024 […] Adventures in Odyssey Fans Updates and Odyssey Fiction News Post […] LikeLike Reply Leave a comment Cancel reply Δ
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Sarah: Excuse me, Liz, but I’ve got news for you. Copernicus called and you are NOT the centre of the universe.
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Tom Riley: What does this have to do with my son?
Alice: Timmy and I went to Marus, Mr. Riley. We had an adventure there.
—“Passages: Fletcher's Rebellion, Part 1” -
Jules: This is the fifth time my mother has called today, I really should pick this up.
Bridget: You know what? You should not pick this up, cuz the last thing you need right now is a conversation with a pathological narcissist!
Jules: Okay, you don’t know her, and if I don’t answer, she’s gonna keep calling me. She’s like a stalker I used to live inside of. -
Connie: As John Paul Sartre said, we are our choices, and Jillian’s choices are nuts - I mean, she’s seriously bonker-balls!
Professor: Connie, we don’t use terms like that in abnormal psychology.
Connie: I’m sorry, “bonker-balls” isn’t in the DSM-5 yet? -
John Whittaker: I don’t know what to say!
Jason Whittaker: I do. I look like I have a double chin in that picture. Do I have a double chin?
Connie Kendall: Jason!
—“Accidental Dilemma, Part 1” -
Jay Smouse: Ah, home sweet home. Hello, little Elvis doll.
Elvis Doll: Hey Jay, little buddy. How are ya?
Jay Smouse: Mediocre, as usual… you know.
Elvis Doll: Yeah. Whatcha' got there?
Jay Smouse: A letter. From a boy in Uganda. He writes that he liked my note, and he wants to be friends.
Elvis Doll: Hey, you can mark it "Return To Sender."
Jay Smouse: I actually thought I'd, uh, you know <pause> maybe write him back.
Elvis Doll: Yeah, man. That's alright.
Jay Smouse: But let's… let's keep this to ourselves, okay… little Elvis? No sense in word getting out.
Elvis Doll: Hey, it's hard to live up to an image. I know.
Jay Smouse: Yeah. Exact-a-mundo. Me too. <phone rings>
—“Thirty Jays Hath September” -
Album 77 airs on the radio and online
Adventures in Odyssey is quickly approaching 1000 episodes. Today marks the radio airing of the last episode in Album 77: A New Perspective. It's the final album with episodes numbered in the 900s. The next album will begin with episode 1000.Now that everyone has had a chance to hear Album 77, it's time to talk about it! Did you have a favorite moment or episode? Let us know what you thought in the comments.Here's the album summary: "Jules thinks the band she joined, Manic Ravioli, could unlock purpose in her life, but Connie disagrees, especially after noticing the bad influence it's having on her. Elsewhere, a tough football game forces Cooper to reconsider how he leads the team, and Penny faces Wooton's thorny family relationships head-on when his parents unexpectedly appear at her art show. Over at Whit's End, Jay catches a glimpse of a world where he's the 24/7 center of attention, and Whit challenges Renee's belief that science and faith are incompatible."
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Bernard Walton: Can you imagine being related to Eugene? <shudders> I think I'd rather pull out my fingernails with a pair of rusty pliers.
—“Last in a Long Line” -
John Whittaker: Say, who's this handsome young gentleman you've brought with you?
Robyn Jacobs: He's not a handsome gentleman, he's my dad!
Dale Jacobs: Oh, thanks a lot, Robyn!
—“You Go to School Where?” -
Editorial 71: An Old Era
Have you noticed something about today's era of Adventures in Odyssey kids? Buck, Jules, Olivia, Emily, Jay—they're all voiced by adults. Gone are days when Odyssey's kid characters were played by actual kids. I talk about this trend in my latest editorial, An Old Era. What effect will this have on the show? Are child actors gone for good? You can read about all this and more in Editorial 71. And if you like, add a comment below to add your thoughts to the discussion.
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George Leonard White: Yes, things are dire, Thomas. But I believe God will not allow us to fail in so great a work. These are mere tests which all who seek to do His work must endure.
—“The Jubilee Singers, Part 3” -
Joe Finneman: Why don't you show a little trust in your own people?
Sam Saburo: Because I'm Japanese. That's why.
—“East Winds, Raining” -
The Best AIO Quotes~Pt 3 (Wooton Edition)
Hello and welcome back to my little corner of the internet! Welcome to part 3! I should have some different style posts coming soon, but for now we’re gonna keep on going with the quote-compilations:) “This makes the whole paper/plastic conundrum seem like a day at the beach” “Are those Precious Mementos salt and pepper shakers? Oh, cool! I have the matching butter bowls, but I could never find these!” “Not many people know somebody like me” “Okay, answering machine message take number 31. Hello, you’ve reached Wooton Bassett’s answering machine. I’m home right now making an answering machine message, but I won’t be here when you call, so if you’ll kindly leave your number I’ll call you back tonight, or maybe not tonight ’cause I have to take the Christmas tree down off my roof. Yes I know it’s only May, but some of my neighbors are complaining, you know.” “I love what you’ve done with the place; it looks like just a regular meeting room in a basement!” “February is my seventh favorite month!” “Hadley, I am so relieved that you can’t be here and online at the same time.” B: “Does your Grandpa live very far away?”W: “Yeah, he does if you’re driving.”B: “Well, then, we’ll have to take turns at the wheel. ” W: “Oh, okay, but I don’t think the airline pilots are going to like that.” “Sorry, I was having a Bassett orange level crisis.” “No one has ever beaten my record of thirty-one slides in fifteen minutes!”Sam: “Really?”W:”Of course, nobody else has sprayed cooking oil on their pants either.” And an honorary mention: “Penny, will you marry me?” Thanks for reading! Be sure to go follow my instagram @theperilouspenblog and tune in next week: ) ~The Perilous Pen~
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John Whittaker: Your son Craig — he’s funny.
Bill Moorhead: He's no stranger than most boys.
—“The Life of the Party” -
College Jenny Whittaker: John?
College John Whittaker: Hi Jenny... why are you out of breath?
College Jenny Whittaker: I ran most of the way home. I just saw the doctor.
College John Whittaker: Doctor? Why didn't you just tell me-
College Jenny Whittaker: Well, I was feeling nauseous a-and dizzy, so I went. But that's not important. John, you're going to be a father!
—“Great Expectations” -
Brian Headly: <calling roll> Brian Headly? <beat> Oh, <chuckle>, yes, I'm here, too, because I saw myself come in.
—“The Boy Who Didn't Go to Church” -
Happy Diamond Week
Hello! And welcome back to my little corner of the internet. I’m so glad to be apart of the AIO Writers Block. It’s so good to be a part of this community. Thank you for all of the support! Happy Diamond week to all blogs participating, and all dedicated readers. In celebration of Diamond Week I have decided to share a list of fun facts about the blog and it’s writer:). (+ upcoming features!!!) This blog started in 2020, and I have planned, and accidently missed every single anniversary. The Perilous Pen blog was inspired by the Rasberry Ripple Podcast My first ever post on here was trying to predict the mysterious voice behind the escape room. It feels like just yesterday that album came out! My dad listened to Odyssey on the radio when he was in college, and started getting some cds for my oldest brother back in 2000. Our family has loved Odyssey since (though I am by far the most dedicated). Until I got the club my favorite episode was Something Cliqued Between Us. I have wanted to post videos since I first saw AtMyWhit’sEnd’s videos but didn’t start until this year. Even in my breaks from the blog, I’ve thought about it nearly every day. I love this community and enjoy reading and writing for it. I have several unpublished AIO-fan-fics. After all these years (and access to the aiowikki) I still refer to the Official AIO Guide (both original and 50th anniversary) when writing my posts. I suck at graphic design!!! If you have any suggestions for the artwork please let me know. UPCOMING: I have many plans for the next several months. Several posts continuing series, and some new ones starting. I plan to my sharing some of my AIO Character playlists and theme outfits. Be sure to follow my instagram to keep updated. Keep an eye out for speical eddition Perilous Pen merch Thank you so much for reading and for all of your support! Be sure to tune in next week for our regularly scheduled content. ~ The Perilous Pen~
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Katrina Meltsner: There's plenty to be said for getting out of a routine, too, though. The joy of spontaneity!
Eugene Meltsner: Absolutely. Why? Are you bored with me?
Katrina Meltsner: Never. I just had a conversation with Connie about keeping the romance in a relationship.
Eugene Meltsner: Ah, Miss Kendall. Of course. She searches for romance in a bag of trail mix.
—“More Than a Feeling” -
Guy: Come on, I've got a few cents left over! Let's go down to that little place on the corner and split a child's portion, diet-mini-cheeseburger!
Madge: Mmmm!
—“Gifts for Madge and Guy” -
Editorial 70: A Call for Reverend Knox
Pastor Wilson Knox has been on Adventures in Odyssey for over seven years now. He's voiced by the incredible actor, Gregory Jbara. He also appears as a kid throughout the Young Whit book series. And he was an important character in the One Grand Party live show this past summer in Colorado Springs. In my latest editorial, A Call for Reverend Knox, I talk about Wilson's character. He has some similarities to Mr. Whittaker. Does that mean Wilson is a replacement for Whit? You can check out my thoughts in Editorial 70 and then contribute to the discussion in the comments section.
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Lisa Mulligan: So do either of you two like animals?
Janelle Mulligan: It depends on how they are cooked.
—“Viva La Difference” -
Eva Parker: Where’s your dad?
David Parker: Run. Run. Go! Yes! Touchdown!!
Kids: <in unison> Watching the game.
—“Un-Tech the Halls” -
The Best AIO Quotes~Pt 2 (Connie Edition)
Hello and welcome back to my little corner of the internet! Welcome to part 2! In honor of our favorite never aging college student, here is a list of some of my favorite quotes from Connie Kendall. 1 “Nobody tells me anything around here!!” 2 “If these kids spill one more drink, I’m going to use the bucket as a lethal weapon!” 3 “Goodbye, geography! Hello, attitude!” 4 “That’s my second point- Men are rodents” 5 “You have more loopholes than a spaghetti strainer!” 6 “I guess you could call me a “secret agent” of God’s will.“ 7 “The dishrag sits on the counter, catching no one’s eye. The polished bronze a reflection, clear as the cloudless sky. The dishrag is tossed, the laundry is its fate“ 8 “Yo kids, it’s ministry time!” 9 “I remember the first time my mom left me alone for two days. I was fourteen, and I invited all the—never mind; I wasn’t a Christian.” 10 “That’s it…World War III is about to start and I’ll be the one to blame!” A lot of these are funny but I decided to add in one profound quote that I really like. “Prayer is a very special thing—a one-on-one conversation with the Creator and Lord of the Universe, made possible through His Son. Anything less isn’t a prayer.“ Thanks for reading! Be sure to go follow my instagram @theperilouspenblog and tune in next week: ) ~The Perilous Pen~
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Danny Schmidt: I just did something stupid at Jeff's and kind of learned the hard way that my parents were right.
Jack Allen: Well, at least you learned.
—“All the Difference in the World” -
John Whittaker: You'll get more protection out of a deodorant spray than from that silly good luck charm!
—“Gotcha!” -
The Best AIO Quotes~Part 1
Hello and welcome back to my little corner of the internet! I’ve been working on this collection for a while. This is just the tip of the iceburg hope you enjoy! “Operation Thinktank Will Enslave the Human Race…Would You Like a Muffin?” -Arthur Dent “I can’t go to church with a swimming pool in my head!”~Marvin Washington “I’d have to get better to die.”~Bernard Walton “Can you imagine what life would be like without an amoeba?”~Eugene Meltsner“Can you imagine what life would be like without pants?”~Connie Kendall “To borrow the colloquialism:”-Eugene Meltsner “Jack, your imitation of a house with a two-car garage having a pizza delivered was most…imaginative,”-Edwin Blackgaard “Great Barrier Reef! So THAT’s what killed the dinosaurs!” ~Harlow Doyle, “I slap floor” “If you’re want me to beat someone up you better send someone to beat up whoever beats me up for trying to beat up someone else.” ~ Jay Smouse “Well, luckly for you, rush hour in Odyssey consists of a truck, a bike, and a dog with a limp.” -Eugene (A Christmas Conundrum) “Connie, there are two people in this conversation, and you’re not both of them!” -Tom (A Christmas Conundrum) “Anticipation is my 6th least favorite emotion!” -Wooton (Naughty or Nice) ~The Perilous Pen~
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Lucy Cunningham-Schultz: We also have six shepherds and four wise men. So we'll be giving Jesus gold, frankincense, myrrh, and a pen-and-pencil set!
—“The Living Nativity” -
Wooton Bassett: Oh yeah, county not country. I always get those mixed up, which is why I always go on those weekend trips to Switzerland by accident.
—“Rights, Wrongs, and Winners” -
The Graduate
Hello! And welcome back to my little corner of the internet. The events of my personal life have affected this blog since day one. When my motivation runs low (or club breaks) I go missing for weeks (or months) at a time. Today I was shocked to realize that this blog was started a month before I started 8th grade, and I have officially begun my senior year. I am still ever as obsessed with Odyssey as I was when I started, and maybe even more. I’m filled with nostalgia and joy when I listen to the show, plan or write blog posts, and discuss Odyssey (quite possibly my favorite topic). I just started my last year of highschool, so I have compiled a list of our favorite episodes about highschool and graduating. Please enjoy an excerpt from that list:) 1.) #673: The Owlnapping ~ Like all the sports episodes, this basketball episode is great. Very funny. 2.) #721: The Holy Hoopster ~ My best friend’s little sister used to love the song from this episode. She would dance to it and it was adorable. 3.) #405: The Graduate ~ I love the old Connie. We were all excited when she finally graduated highschool! (even tho it took 400 episodes…) 4.) #570: Always ~ This episode is funny and a sweet goodbye to our favorite homeschooled family. For ages I would pick my favorite/most listened to episodes by the characters I related to most. I would often listen to episodes starring Mandy, Liz, or Lucy. Sometimes Donna, Jimmy, Olivia or Marvin. But recently I’ve found myself relating to Connie, Penny, Eugene and Katrina. I always liked these characters, but I’ve recently discovered I’ve entered a phase of life where I relate to these characters more than the pre-teens (which shocked me lol). College applications and classes, budgeting and rent, jobs and ‘adult’ responsibilities are more relevant to my currant life than homework and sibling squabbles. Adventures in Odyssey has met me in every phase of my life, and I doubt it will stop after I graduate. It’s quite interesting how I’ve listened to these episodes since they came out, but I can still find new comforts and relatability in them. Sometimes I get sad that I can’t find a roommate that fits with me as well as Connie and Penny. Or I can’t find a job as perfect as Whit’s End. But I know everything will work out. ‘Till then I’ll live vicariously through Connie Kendall and Eugene Meltsner. Hope you enjoyed this post! If you’re like me, you are in the last pages of a chapter, and about to start a new journey in your life. It’s scary, but remember these truths when seeking God’s will for your life and decisions. Micah 6:8 “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~The Perilous Pen~
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Editorial 69: The Other Side of the Grand
Adventures in Odyssey celebrated its 1000th episode this summer with the One Grand Party in Colorado Springs. It was an amazing event, which I had the privilege to attend. I'll be posting more photos to the @aioupdate Instagram page in the coming days. But for now, I wanted to write about something very special that happened at the event. In my new editorial, The Other Side of the Grand, I write about a special fan meet-up with Katie Leigh, the voice of Connie Kendall. You can check out Editorial 69 and then add your thoughts to the comments section.
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Adventures In Odyssey Album 77: A Speed Review
Hello! And welcome back to my little corner of the internet.Today I am posting a speed review of album 77. I will quite possibly have more thoughts / change my opinion after I listen more times, but here I have recorded my thoughts after listening through once. *Spoiler Warning* #988~The Heavens Declare: 8/10Good! Mr. Whittaker’s harsh approach was disappointing and seemed a bit demeaning. Otherwise, I enjoyed the episode and the new Whit’s End invention. #988a~ 8/10It’s always fun to hear the outtakes. One a side note, I miss the Odyssey Scrapbook so much!!! #989~The Smouse Show: 10/10 Mr. Whittaker encourages good communication in young relationships!!!!!!!!! I am such a fan of this episode. I love Mr. Whittaker encouraging good and healthy communication! #990~Painted Into A Corner: 7/10Glad to see Wooton and Penny again! I think it was a great idea to bring back Wooton’s parents. The drama was a bit annoying, and it was not my favorite episode, but I do not have any huge issues with the episode. #991~Making Nice: 10/10Jay giving arguably good advice? For most of the show anyway. I love kind Jay (even if it’s a scam). Such a good episode, and a good moral!! #992~Unmanagable: 7.5/10Why and I completely obsessed with the pop-punk itsy-bitsy-spider?! I enjoyed this episode and thought it was really funny! It was good to see the return of Pamela. I appreciate AIO bringing her back and showing her success in life and her persevering faith, and I expect to see her and Sadie more in upcoming albums. I do not love how the recent albums have ended on a cliffhanger with little to no resolution. It seems that every album has one or two episodes that just keep pulling this plot for Jules along. They are not bad episodes, but I do not think it should be drawn out this long. (Maybe they are trying to mirror Connie’s conversion arc?) ************* #992a: 10000/10I’m a hugeee John Campbell fan, and this was a great bts!!! PSA: I am giving my full review of the album before I review the final episode because I don’t want it to bring down the rating of the full album. Overall for the album: 9/10 Much better than recent albums. Mr. Whittaker seems to have a good head on his shoulders for the first time since album #57. Jay had so many excellent quotes this album!!! I have not seen this many (if any) 10/10 episodes in so long! So this was refreshing and so fun! *sigh* Okay finally, we will review: #993~Facing the Music: 3/10 Like I have previously mentioned, I hate how long they are pulling out these sagas. They started to deal with some serious issues, but left it until the last episode of the album. They’ve done cliffhanger episodes since Blackgaard Chronicles, but these feel lazy. (This could very well be a hot take). Overall, I’m proud of Buck for finally standing up for himself against the bad treatment for Jules. Maybe Jules will finally listen now… But knowing her character, I doubt it. I am glad AIO is dealing with serious subjects, that modern teenagers actually deal with, but Jules’ immaturity gets on my nerves. The rating of the episode is very likely to change when this storyline is continued/finished, but until then it’s staying as the lowest rating of this album. Thanks for reading! Comeback next week for for fun AIO related posts and let me know what you thought about this speed-review! ~The Perilous Pen~
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Wooton Bassett: Well didn't you decide to write this book to show what Odyssey really is? A small town with pleasant people, nice shops, and an unbelievable postal service?
Connie Kendall: Well, about that, I sent a letter across town last month and it took two weeks to get there!
Wooton Bassett: Like I said... unbelievable!!
—“Like Father, Like Wooton” -
It Truly Was One Grand Party!
Adventures in Odyssey has become the world’s #1 audio drama, and 2024 proved to be a big year for the series. To celebrate the 1,000th episode of Adventures in Odyssey, Focus on the Family and the Odyssey team partnered up hosted One Grand Party, a series of festivities, including a live performance. It truly was […]
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John Whittaker: Well, I guess he's not home.
Jami Martin: But somebody is!
—“The Case of the Secret Room, Part 1” -
What Your AIO Club Character Icon Says About You-Part 2
Greetings and salutations! Welcome to my little corner of the internet: This is what I think your club icon says about you. (All jokes of course… but let me know if I got it right) 1.) Bridget Perkins If you chose Bridget, you grew up on Odyssey and were so excited for there to be another modern (if overly-moody) teenager on the show. You probably enjoy music, and relate to her struggle of having a weird younger sibling. 2.) Jack Allen You’re an old soul. You enjoy reading, hot tea, classical music, old movies, and you have a dream of owning a cozy and comforting home with a rocking chair on the front porch. Also, you firmly believe that Paul Herlinger is the best Mr. Whittaker. 3.) Jay Smouse Either you are a) a class clown! Always joking and you enjoy making people laugh. You feel like you relate to Jay and take his jokes and inspiration. or b) You’re quiet and kind, Jay makes you laugh and you empathize with his soft side. You started listening to Elvis recently… 4.) Jimmy or Donna Barcley Definitely a pastor/minister’s kid! You relate to Donna and Jimmy and probably relate to their squabbles. You’re a fan of the classic episodes, and probably still tune in on the radio every now and then. 5.) Liz Horten You wanted to be a journalist or reporter growing up. You always enjoyed the mystery episodes. And you definitely had a crush on Nick at some point… I have gotten loads of comments and feedback about what other characters I should do. I could not fit them all into this post, so keep an eye out for pt 3 coming soon!!! Thanks for reading! Check out my Instagram @theperilouspenblog. Feel free to share any ideas, or characters you’d like to see in the future! ~The Perilous Pen~
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Rebecca Riley: Tom, if you fall in and drown, I'll never speak to you again!
—“A Matter of Obedience” -
Playing in the Show
Watch Grayson play the piano! The post Playing in the Show appeared first on Focus on the Family.
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Eugene’s Puzzles 2024
Greetings and salutations! Here are the solutions to these perplexing puzzles. December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 The post Eugene’s Puzzles 2024 appeared first on Focus on the Family.
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Young John Whittaker: I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot, apart from the one in my mouth. Maybe we should start over. I’m John Avery Whittaker, but my friends call me Whit.
Young Jenny Morrow: I’m Guinevere Morrow. My friends call me Jenny. You can call me Guinevere.
Young John Whittaker: Oh, uh... oh. Guinevere.
—“The Triangle, Part 1” -
Episode Review: #043 Back to School
*and now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast* Hello! And welcome to my little corner of the internet. In honor of the beginning of the school year we will be reviewing AIO episode #043: Back to School. (I am currently in the process of designing a new format for these posts. Let me know what you think!) Listeners are filled with comfort and nostalgia at the sight (or sound) of Hal Smith as Mr. Whittaker behind the counter giving his wise advice. A young girl, Leslie, comes to the counter lamenting over her tragic lot in life. We discover through the episode how a separate issue was causing Leslie deep emotions and pain which caused her to see the world through a darkened lense. plot: The episode seems to be about an annoying child’s tendency to lie and exaggerate. However, after revealing the truth behind the sad perspective, Mr. Whittaker realizes there is more to the story than a child craving attention. Eventually we discover that Leslie is feeling jealousy and insecurity, because her ‘best friend’ seems to have replaced her. resolution: After ignoring advice given to her, Leslie must learn her lesson the hard way. Through a visit from a friend and a deep conversation with her mother, Leslie learns how to ‘share’ her friends and she realizes how her emotions of this situation were affecting her perception on the rest of her life. moral: Overall this is a great episode! The moral applies to people of all ages and still a relevant episode 34 years after it originally aired. sound effects/production: There is nothing really remarkable or noticeable in this episode. Feels very realistic and nothing crazy. final rating: I’d give this episode 8/10. Great and relevant morals, good sound effects, and overall a funny episode. I’d recommend to go give it a listen:) Thank you for reading today’s post. If there is anything else you would like to see in these reviews, let me know! Wishing all who are going back to school a good transition. Hebrews 13: 8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” ~The Perilous Pen~
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August 2024 - One Grand Party
One Grand Party in Colorado Springs, Colorado Added over 200 new itemsAutographs from Greg Jbara, Robby Bruce, Jim Daly, and many more.
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Alex Jefferson: He's probably laughing hysterically that we were dumb enough to accept his stupid virus!
—“Plan B, Part 2: Collision Course” -
John Whittaker: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
—“Karen” -
John Whittaker: OK, that takes care of the programming. Now to make my interior adjustments. "'Step into my parlor,' said the spider to the fly"...
—“A Prisoner for Christ” -
Alex Jefferson: Connie and Mitch, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i—
Connie Kendall: We were just gonna talk.
Alex Jefferson: Connie and Mitch, sitting in a tree, t-a-l-k-i-n-g.
Connie Kendall: We were not in a tree.
Alex Jefferson: Connie and Mitch, sitting in a booth—
John Whittaker: I think you two better stop now.
Alex Jefferson: We're just practicing our spelling. S-p-l-l, I mean, s-p-i--
—“Broken Window” -
Danny: Connie, I think you've better have a look at this table.
Connie Kendall: Why, what's wrong with it?
Danny: It's wobbly. I don't think it's safe for children my age.
Connie Kendall: You don't think it's safe? What are you going to do, drive it home? You know, I really worry about you kids sometimes.
—“Nothing to Fear” -
Jason Whittaker: This place gives me the creeps!
John Whittaker: As well it should. It's a tunnel of tombs.
Jason Whittaker: Terrific.
—“The Search for Whit, Part 3” -
Jack Allen: You know, when we first started talking about it, I thought we were just having a philosophical debate. I didn't believe you were going to follow up on it.
Jason Whittaker: I get tired of discussing and debating. I like to take action. Why not try some of the things we talk about?
Jack Allen: Because things can't go terribly wrong if we talk.
—“A Touch of Healing, Part 1” -
Robert Mitchell: If you ever do get locked in a trunk, you can kick out the brake lights and wave out the back to signal vehicles behind you.
—“It's All About Me” -
Cal Jordan: Maybe they've all been hypnotized! You know, like that movie.
Alex Jefferson: What movie?
Cal Jordan: You know the one.
Alex Jefferson: No, I don’t.
Cal Jordan: Sure you do—with what’s his name, that guy, and that girl with spiky hair.
Alex Jefferson: You mean the one that carries that... thing around?
Mandy Straussberg: Are you guys talking in code?
Cal Jordan: No! It's that movie where the whole town gets hypnotized! All I'm saying is that this is just like that.
—“The Unraveling” -
Tom Riley: But what about things like free speech?
Bart Rathbone: What about things like that? People can have free speech.
Tom Riley: As long as they agree with you.
Bart Rathbone: Well, yeah. Nobody likes disagreeable people.
—“Tom for Mayor, Part 2” -
Tasha Forbes: Let's take a walk.
Jason Whittaker: Okay...as long as we can stay outside.
Tasha Forbes: Jason! You don't think you can trust me?
—“A Name, Not a Number, Part 2” -
John Whittaker: I can't escape this nagging feeling that... we haven't even seen the worst of it yet.
—“Expect the Worst” -
William Shakespeare: Wilt thou plucketh out mine beard and blow it in mine face? I resenteth thou thine insinuation, poppinjay!
—“B-TV: Compassion” -
Connie Kendall: I guess you could call me a "secret agent" of God's will.
John Whittaker: Uh, oh!
—“Thy Will Be Done” -
Rodney Rathbone: Move, please. Do you know you're a large person and you're in my way?
Mandy Straussberg: Maybe "excuse me" would work better, Rodney.
—“Changing Rodney” -
Bryan Dern: Good morning! Well, it was a good morning until my boss dragged me out’a bed to do double duty as – that's right – your Saturday morning talk show host. It’s me, Cryin’ Bryan Dern, with you... all morning.
—“Tornado!” -
John Whittaker: Hi, can I help you? Well now Connie, this is something different. It's been a long time since I’ve waited on you as a customer.
—“Go Ye Therefore” -
Eugene Meltsner: Dear God: my new Father in heaven; I am uncharacteristically at a loss of words. So please accept my verbal fumblings as I finally respond to Your promptings.
—“The Time Has Come” -
What Your AIO Club Character Icon Says About You
Greetings and salutations! Welcome to my little corner of the internet:) I’m so excited to be back, especially with a post as fun to make as this one. Let’s jump straight in! I hope you enjoy 1.) Whit, Connie, or Eugene You are an old and loyal fan. You probably haven’t heard any album past The Green Ring Conspiracy. You really enjoy the classics tho and probably use a quote from Bernard Walton on the regular. 2.) (doulble L) Jillian (double L) Marshall You definitely ship Jason and Jillian and regularly get into heated debates on the club chat forum. You are also probably younger than 12 and don’t follow this blog. 3.) Jason You are definitely and Indiana Jones kid. You wanted to be an archilogist and you have listened to the Search For Whit probably more times than is healthy. You have a complicated relationship with Jack Allen and also Pastor Knox. (That or you’re <12 and also ship J&J) 4.) Wooton (or Penny) You’re a classic fan but probably never got too obsessed. You seriously enjoy Odyssey but you haven’t listened to every episode and probably didn’t cry when the Wodfamchocpod released its last episode (to date). You are an fun loving artist and super fun to be around. You also make the best memes. 5.) Mandy Strousburg You’re a fan of the classics and one of the most wholesome people on the internet. You love people, art, and probably animals. You’re a kind soul who probably resonates with Mandy’s troubles a little bit too much. 6.) Katrina Shanks You love the old episodes but have probably listened to every one to date. You like literature and jazz music. You enjoy hot drinks and you probably find a lot of comfort in warm characters like Katrina and Jack Allen. 7.) Doris Rathbone You did NOT know that is what canon Doris looked like before you saw her as an option. And you also definitely picked her because it was the funniest picture. 8.) Rodney Rathbone You went through a Christian edgy phase (you might still be in it) where you would try to only wear jeans a flannel to church and you wanted to dye your hair black. At one point in your life you have had a DIY bones of wrath poster on your wall. (no shame, most of us have been there- not excluding me.) 9.) Kelley Honestly the same as Rodneys. You never realized what Kelly looked like and when you saw her you really started thinking about how FOTF made every “rebel kid” look soo 2000 emo. 10.) Phillip Glossman You are the oldest child who probably doesn’t live at home. The club app was gotten for your siblings who made your account and your picture before you knew you had a choice in the matter. Thanks for reading! Check out my instagram @theperilouspenblog. Feel free to share any ideas, or characters you’d like to see next. ~the perilous pen~
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Chilion: I am small in stature, it's true, but... big in heart.
—“Three Funerals and a Wedding, Part 1” -
Proclus: I am Proclus the commander of the Roman Garrison.
King Herod: Yes, yes I know who you are. Welcome. But I was referring to the vision of loveliness standing behind you.
Proclus: This is Connie.
—“The Star, Part 1” -
Leslie: But, the bus pulled up... and the door opened... and... and it was him!
John Whittaker: Who?
Leslie: Our bus driver, Crazy Eddie!
Crazy Eddie: <laughs evilly> Hello, my pretties! Welcome to my weirdsmobile. All aboard! <laughs evilly again>
—“Back to School” -
Connie Kendall: You look terrible.
Tom Riley: Well, thank you. You don't look so bad yourself.
—“The Mortal Coil, Part 2” -
Eugene Meltsner: Happy Holidays, Connie.
Connie Kendall: Merry Christmas, Eugene. I'd hug you too, but I don't have time for the explanation of the process.
—“Peace on Earth” -
Powerboy fan: Mr. Doyle, is it true that you've been drawing Powerboy in secret for the last five years?
Harlow Doyle: It must be true. I just heard it on the radio!
—“Rights, Wrongs, and Winners” -
Bart Rathbone: The mics and the earpieces are so small, they're nearly indefectible.
Aubrey Shepard: You mean, indetectable.
Bart Rathbone: Yeah, that, too.
—“Blind Girl's Bluff” -
Cal Jordan: Come on, the paper bag?
Alex Jefferson: Okay, I guess maybe you can use it to cover his... face.
—“Snow Day” -
Mom: Do you know the difference between an insecure child and an insecure adult?
Stacey: No.
Mom: The insecure adult can vote.
—“The Letter” -
Bart Rathbone: Well, happy greetings everyone! What a beautiful day it is, ain’t it?
Connie Kendall: Well, it used to be.
—“Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips” -
Eugene Meltsner: Be forewarned: I am equipped with a very heavy paperweight -- and I am not afraid to use it!
—“The Perfect Witness, Part 3” -
Sarah Prachett: What do you mean, "shhhh?"
Alex Jefferson: We mean be quiet. Our napkin dispenser might be bugged.
Sarah Prachett: Yup, I knew it would happen sooner or later. Too many video games--turns your brain into macaroni and cheese.
—“Grand Opening, Part 1” -
Charles VanHorn: Look, I drew a dinosaur.
Jared DeWhite: Not bad. Why is he purple?
—“Natural Born Leader” -
Herbert: What’sa matter, kid? What happens at three thirty? You turn into a pumpkin or somethin’?
Jimmy Barclay: No, not a pumpkin — dead meat. Three thirty is when my dad gets home.
—“The Prodigal, Jimmy” -
Eugene Meltsner: I shall be scant inches away should you require my assistance!
Bernard Walton: I require your assistance like I require a third nostril.
—“Deliver Us From Evil” -
Joel: You don't... need to search anymore.
Eugene Meltsner: What do you mean?
Joel: I'm your father. I'm Leonard Meltsner!
—“A Time for Action, Part 2” -
Doris Rathbone: Someone get the number of that truck! Oh, wait. It's you, Eugene.
—“The One About Trust, Part 1” -
Dan Isidro: Whit, I know where Eugene is.
John Whittaker: What? Where?
Dan Isidro: Down there in the arena!
Eugene Meltsner: Mr. Whittaker... HELP!
—“The Cross of Cortes, Part 1” -
Lazarus: Jesus the Christ. Hmm... the Messiah.
Ishod: You would be wise to keep that kind of talk to yourself, Eleazar.
Jeduthun: It would certainly ruin your afternoon to be stoned right here in the streets for blasphemy.
Ishod: If nothing else, it would put your guests off their food!
Lazarus: And peace be with you, rabbis.
—“An Adventure in Bethany, Part 1” -
Be Part of the 1000th Episode Illustrations Tribute!
With tickets now on sale for a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend Adventures in Odyssey’s One Grand Party, the excitement is only beginning! With the release of 1000 episodes quickly approaching, Focus on the Family is giving Adventures in Odyssey fans an opportunity to contribute to a huge initiative to illustrate 1000 episodes. Be a part […]
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Bernard Walton: Just remember, God can heal the worst of relationships between brothers and sisters.
Erica Clark: Yeah.
Bernard Walton: Meanwhile, you need to be patient and loving. And the next time Haley does something bad to you, short sheet her bed.
Erica Clark: Really?
Bernard Walton: No. Kid believes anything I tell her.
—“Two Brothers... and Bernard, Part 2” -
Solly Mendelson: The early bird gets the worm...
Irving Greenfarb: ... but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese!
—“True Calling” -
Wooton Bassett: Talia! Breakfast is ready! <banging gong>
Talia Bassett: Really, Uncle Wooton, is all that racket necessary?
Wooton Bassett: Yeah, it's a breakfast gong.
Talia Bassett: A souvenir from overseas?
Wooton Bassett: Nope, Gongs'R'Us.
—“For the Fun of It” -
Jared DeWhite: As the Bible says, why do you care so much about the spam in your brother's eye when you have a hog in your own? Or something like that.
—“Something Cliqued Between Us” -
The Odyssey ScoopCast Reviews “Triple-Decker Sundae”
Happy New Year! As we head in to 2024, we went ahead and dropped another edition of The Odyssey ScoopCast! Join our podcast team as they review another episode from the world’s #1 audio drama. Triple-Decker Sundae in ReviewSome things are worth waiting for. The ScoopCast team presents a long review of “Triple-Decker Sundae,” the […]
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Brad: Do you wanna be a dummy all your life?
Leonard: Only if I have to.
—“What Are We Gonna Do About Halloween?” -
Dale Jacobs: Marjorie Sadler? Oh, no.
John Whittaker: What's wrong?
Dale Jacobs: Marjorie Sadler has visited my office a number of times. Every week she has a new complaint against somebody. The guys in the newsroom call her "the crank lady". Two weeks ago she said that the Nazis were putting drugs in the city water supply to make us all move to Germany.
Connie Kendall: Uh-oh.
—“Muckraker” -
John Whittaker: When I take a look at someone, I want to see the heart and the spirit. What a person is on the outside doesn't last. But on the inside, there's a soul that goes on forever.
—“Not One of Us”