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Radio: Adventures In Odyssey |
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Your typical half-hour after-school dramatic comedy show about life in a small town. Except that it promotes Christian values and Biblical messages. Oh, and it's a radio show.
Adventures in Odyssey is set in the fictional town of Odyssey (in an unnamed State, but likely the Midwestern USA). The centerpiece of the town is the kids' discovery emporium and ice cream shop, Whit's End, run by John Avery Whittaker ("Whit"), who acts as a wise old grandfather to every kid who walks through the door. Whit is a devoted Christian, the rich owner of an encyclopedia company, former consultant for the National Security Agency, and a somewhat wacky inventor. Most of his inventions are permanent starring attractions in Whit's End. The most famous (and frequently used as a plot device) is the Imagination Station — in simplest terms, a virtual reality time machine. Whit's End is also home to a fair number of mysterious rooms such as: the secret hidden room in the attic that held clues to a treasure hunt, the secret hidden room in the basement where a murder occurred, and Whit's secret computer room with wall-to-wall TV screens and the master computer that runs every invention in the shop — and talks.
Some of the most recurring characters are the employees at Whit's End. Over the years, this has included: rebellious teen-turned-convert Connie Kendall; super-techno-genius Eugene Meltsner; Eugene's distant cousin and professional window-washer, Bernard Walton; part-time spy and Whit's son Jason; Whit's friend and local antique dealer, Jack Allen, and another rebellious teen-turned-convert, Aubrey Shepherd. The show has also had various casts of kids such as chronic troublemaker Kirk Stevens; budding journalist Lucy Cunningham-Schultz; sisters Robin and Melanie Jacobs; cousins Alex and Cal, and Jared DeWhite, who moved away when his father was put into the Witness Protection Program (money-laundering issues involved with a Take Over The World plot).
Aside from the individual half-hour segments, the show has featured two long-running (and more mature than usual) arcs. The first dealt with the plots of Dr. Regis Blackgaard to take over Whit's End to gain access to a rare mineral in the Underground Railroad tunnels below the building that was the crucial ingredient to creating a deadly, invincible virus to use as a bio-terrorism weapon. (Whit was, unfortunately, away on a secret archaeological expedition in the Middle East during the finale.) The second arc dealt with a plot by the communications company Novacom and a computer program they created that would brainwash the entire world, in which Eugene was a major, if completely absent, player.
The series currently airs on numerous radio stations in the US and Canada, and is available in compact disc and cassette albums. Episodes are also rotated daily on the official website, going back about a month. An Animated Adaption airs on some Christian broadcasting stations.
This show provides examples of:
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Whit and Leonard Meltsner, in a slight subversion, they are trained modern archeologists and conduct realistic archeological duties...until villains drive them into adventuring at gunpoint.
- All Up To You: Tom Riley in the conclusion of the Novacom arc
- Anvilicious: all episodes ends with a short snippet where a presenter summarizes the lesson of the week and dishes out the appropriate Bible verses
- The Atoner: Richard Maxwell, Monica Stone (although slightly subverted, since neither wished to become Christians, and were not pressured afterwards)
- Authors Saving Throw: The writers goofed and gave Lucy's last name as Cunningham in one episode and Schultz in another. The explanation became that her father died and Shultz was her stepfather's last name.
- Back From The Dead: Dr. Blackgaard programmed his personality into a virus and planted it in the Imagination Station; it almost tried to possess Aubrey before Whit could destroy it.
- Big Red Button: starts up the Imagination Station
- Black Box: Novacom's technology — literally called a "Black Box"
- Breakout Character: Mailman Wooton Bassett in the more recent episodes
- Brother Chuck: Most of the child voice actors (and consequently their families, Dr. Morton being an exception) tend to get quietly dropped from the show around the time their voice changes.
- Christmas Episode: They usually introduce at least one new Christmas episode a year, and as Christmas approaches, play previous Christmas episodes. Given the show has been going on for about two decades, this leads to practically a month of Christmas episodes.
- Collapsing Lair: Richard Maxwell somehow programmed Blackgaard's computer to blow up his business — something about a short-circuit that set the building on fire...
- Concealing Canvas: A safe hidden behind a picture of a safe.
- Cool Old Guy: Whit is one of the normal, down-to-Earth variety. Usually.
- Corey Burton: He's kind of everywhere
 .
- Credit Card Plot: "A Little Credit, Please"
- Crossover: Jason Whittaker appeared in a story in The Last Chance Detectives also produced by Focus On The Family.
- Dating Catwoman: Jason and Monica
- Deadpan Snarker: Bernard
- Defictionalization: there is a real Whit's End at the Focus on the Family headquarters
- Diabolical Mastermind: Dr. Blackgaard — he even had a cat!
- Died On A Bus: Whit's first actor, Hal Smith died in 1994 and was not replaced for over 2 years. He was temporarily sent on an archaeological expedition in the Middle East. He is now played by Paul Herlinger.
- Double Aesop: Kids frequently went on an adventure in the Imagination Station and learned an Aesop from the Aesop the characters in the adventure learned.
- The Dragon: Mr. Charles to The Chairman's Big Bad
- Easy Evangelism: averted in the case of Eugene, whose conversion to Christianity took about 5 years.
- Eccentric Townsfolk
- Everything Is Online
- Evil Twin: reversed — Dr. Blackgaard has a good twin, Edwin, who runs the local theater. After his initial episodes, he was used mostly as comic relief - completely independent from his brother's storylines.
- Faking The Dead: Connie's boyfriend, Mitch, was put into the Witness Protection Program during the Novacom fiasco.
- Also Jason Whittaker, who faked his death so his enemies from his spy days won't go after him.
- Geographic Flexibility: for a supposed Midwestern small town, Odyssey has: multiple malls, a college, a water park, multiple high schools, a TV/radio station, possibly an airport and (if the animated series can be believed) multiple skyscrapers. Originally, the writers hewed very closely to the idea of Odyssey being a one-street town, but different buildings and areas got added as the plot required over the years.
- Get Out Of Jail Free Card: subverted — Richard Maxwell serves his time for arson and other crimes before coming back to town to make peace.
- The Ghost: "The Chairman" of Novacom, until the arc's Grand Finale
- Golden Moment: Usually executed quite well. This never stops Chris.
- Heel Face Turn: Dr. Blackgaard's hacker-sidekick, Richard Maxwell
- Hey Its That Voice: Is that Jack Allen or Scrooge McDuck or Wilbur?
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Dr. Blackgaard
- Hollywood Atheist: Leonard Meltsner, who was held prisoner for years, had his wife die, and his son kidnapped by his hated rival therefore he has a rather legitimate grudge against God. Although he is presented as nothing but an honorable man.
- Homage: The members of the Barclay family are named George, Mary, Jimmy, Donna and Stewart Reed.
- One episode was a quite blatant homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with the Cross of Cortes replacing the Grail.
- Hostage Situation: usually with Connie as the hostage, although White, Eugene, Jason, and Tasha have ahd their turn. Gradey was the newest one, I think.
- If My Calculations Are Correct
- Insufferable Genius: Eugene, to the extreme; he softens a bit after a while.
- Jonas Quinn: Harlow Doyle for Officer Harley.
- Jack Allen for Whit, lampshaded in his introductory episode, where Connie, who was the most affected by Whit leaving, accuses Jack point-blank of trying to replace Whit.
- Lampshade Hanging: several times
- Bernard Walton once told a new kid, "Whether you meant to or not, you played out a Bible teaching in what you did today." Simon thought it was weird, but Bernard assured him, "Happens all the time around here."
- Whenever a voice actor was unavailable for recording (i.e. Whit's, since he died), their character would be represented by a message on a very choppy, staticky answering machine made of clips from previous episodes. Jason once commented to Eugene while he was fixing one, "Am I the only one who's noticed how often these glitch up around here?"
- In one episode Katrina mentions to Connie that she hasn't changed since she last saw her (5 years ago from the listener's point of view). Connie then says that she never changes, a reference to the fact she's the show's perpetual teenager.
- Magical Computer: the one that ran Whit's End is close enough
- Missing Episode: a few early shows starring a bumbling police officer (named Officer Harley) were pulled and re-recorded when parents complained that he gave children the wrong impression of authority figures. Officer Harley's only appearance now is at the end of the episode where the Barclays get robbed and the Flashback about how Whit acquired Whit's End.
- The Mole: Mr. Glossman, Monica
- Mr Imagination: Lawrence Hodges (specializing in fantasy and scifi), and Jared DeWhite (more into conspiracy theories)
- Narrator: Chris, who was visible to the characters on certain occasions (again, usually in earlier episodes)
- No Name Given: "The Chairman" of Novacom
- Noodle Incident: An incident involving snowflakes is mentioned to Ed when he tries to use scissors.
- Not Allowed To Grow Up: Played straight with Connie Kendall is the show's perpetual teenager. Averted with everyone else...which means Connie's still a teenager even though the kids from 20 years ago have now grown up.
- Old Shame: Katie Leigh (voice actress for Connie) played a major character from the Dungeons & Dragons animated series, a fact which got a bit awkward after AIO did an episode condemning role-playing games.
- Although she doesn't seem to be that ashamed, per se. When the series came out on DVD in 2006, she was the only member of the cast to reprise her role as Sheila for (appropriately enough) the radio play of "Requiem".
- Official Couple: Eugene and Katrina (got married), Connie and Mitch (didn't get married)
- Power Trio: back in the good ol' days
- Id: Connie
- Superego: Eugene
- Ego: Whit
- Put On A Bus: Eugene, after his voice actor left the show, supposedly due to "creative differences." The actor and character have since returned.
- Readings Are Off The Scale: whenever something went wrong with the Imagination Station — which always happened when someone was in it
- Renaissance Man: Whit: soldier, NSA consultant, businessman, resident theologian, archeologist, encyclopedia publisher, computer, neurology, and engineering (and whatever others subjects are required to build a working imagination station) genius, and the maker of the best sundaes in the county.
- Repetitive Name: "I'm Digger. Digger Digwillow." "Digger Digger Digwillow?"
- Road Movie, or the radio version thereof: with Bernard and Eugene. The trip was a bit of Real Life Writes The Plot, as the actor who voiced Whit has suddenly died and the arc was created to give writers and directors enough time to retool the show.
- Script Wank
- Seekers: Everybody more or less, given the Christian atmosphere, but most obviously Connie, Eugene and Aubrey.
- Self Destruct Mechanism: Used on the Imagination Station in the Novacom Arc finale, as the machine was the key to their global-brainwashing plan.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Eugene; his Catch Phrase was ending normal sentences with "... to borrow the colloquialism."
- Show Within A Show: KYDS radio and BTV
- Story Arc
- Take Over The World
- Talking To Himself: Walker Edminston as Tom Riley and Bart Rathbone; probably others.
- The Other Darrin: Whit's voice actor was replaced after his original one died.
- Thirty Xanatos Pileup: "A Name, Not a Number"
- Time Machine: the Imagination Station — VR, but close enough
- Tuxedo And Martini: averted in most cases for Mitch (FBI) and Jason (NSA)
- Virtual Ghost: Dr. Blackgaard as a rogue Imagination station program
- Well Intentioned Extremist: Monica did several jobs for Novacom, including infiltrating the Missions Board to steal a disk from Jason and threatening to kill his friend, because she bought the story that their technology was going to be used to help the handicapped, like her brother.
- We Will Meet Again: Dr. Blackgaard and his mole, city councilman Mr. Glossman
- Xanadu: Whit's End
- Xanatos Gambit: Dr. Blackgaard's MO; he wanted to be capable of the Xanatos Roulette but was always thwarted
- You Are Not Ready: Whit to Connie and Eugene in the first episode with the secret computer room, with full Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit-analogy
- Your Mind Makes It Real: the Imagination Station, the Room Of Consequences, and the Transmuter
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