A Thief in the Night

I was debating whether or not to review "Our Best Vacation Ever", but finally decided that I should. Until I came online this morning and saw that Marvin over at the AIO Fan's Life had given his review. He just so happened to write everything that I was going to say. Even down to my favorite line in the episode: "I think Mr. Whittaker's been spending too much time in the Imagination Station"--Jimmy Barclay.

The only thing that I disagree with him about is that I really liked the episode and always have. Yes, the Barclay children are constantly bickering and are a bit disrespectful, but haven't they always been that way? I give the episode a 8.5/10.

There isn't really any Odyssey news to report, but there is a brand-new video interview with Nathan Hoobler that you might be interested in watching. Also, the Odyssey Scoop came out with its fourth Scoopcast and there is a fifth Heartcast for you to give a listen to as well.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Agent 3XQ

For any of you who haven't discovered it yet, there is another new Odyssey blog written by Agent 3XQ. To those of you fans who know that this is Jared DeWhite's secret agent name, you need to know that this blogger claims that he is not Jared, but a fellow conspiracist who lives in Odyssey.

This, like Camilla's blog, looks promising, and has a very interesting way of going about things. His posts thus far have been entertaining, and I look forward to reading more.

In other news, the next Official podcast will give us the results of the Whitty Awards and will signal the beginning of the voting for the Odyssey Awards. These awards will go out to best overall episode, best script, and best sound. The podcast will be released on June 2, the day before Marvin's birthday (yes I remembered).

That's all for now!

Nothing Much

There's nothing much going on in Odyssey lately, no new news. But bloggers have been filling up the time with special surprises!

If you haven't heard Audrey's podcast celebrating her 100th post, be sure to go check that out. When she decided to reveal her voice, it inspired Marvin to do it too. He has put out two clips of his voice and it seems like he has the ability to do more in the future. He also released a picture of himself. It may come as a surprise to those of you who don't know him as well as I do.

The Odyssey Muchacha keeps getting better and better. When it first came out, I was expecting it to be any other give news and review episodes blog. But Camilla has come at it with a different approach and constantly writes about her life and siblings and a lot more Odyssey stuff than any other blogs. I really like reading that kind of thing, it's very entertaining and Camilla is doing a great job making her blog unique.

I had forgotten to wonder what would be airing on the weekends on Odyssey this summer until yesterday. Jacob posted the list of summer episodes that will air on Saturdays for the majority of the summer while we wait for Album 52.

Also, I don't know where he got them, but the guy who runs the Whit's End Podcast got two or three new episode titles that I'd never heard before. I'm pretty sure that they're legitimate, but beware in case of any trickery.

If you haven't noticed, I created three other pages to the blog titled Character Profiles, Episode Reviews, and Links Outward. I hope to do more in the future.

That's all for now, and for those who have been wondering, I will not be posting any audio or video clips of myself. My dad told me to tell you that my voice will be kept a secret in order to let the Voice of Odyssey ring out.

P.S. For those of you who care, today is the ninth anniversary of Wooton's first appearance in Odyssey.

The Coloured Singers from Fisk University

Sorry if this review seems a lot more unprofessional than the ones I've done before. I've never reviewed a three-part episode, and I'm feeling very tired and lazy, so if I seem to be rambling and unorganized, that's my lame excuse.

• These episodes were the best in the season! And the third part was the overall best episode of the season!
• The singing was amazing! There was not one song that had one error in it. There is a special feature in the album version that tells you that they hired professional singers to sing the songs, but the actors were different people. That's why there was amazing singing and great acting at the same time. Some of the songs, as Marvin said, almost made me cry. And if you know me, I don't cry unless something's really, really good.
• The acting was just as amazing! Until I heard that special feature on the CD, I thought it was crazy how they found amazing black (or black-sounding) actors and actresses who could sing very very well. All of the characters (who were supposed to) sounded like genuine black folk. Red and Olivia's actors also did a great job. I still wish they'd change Olivia's age to fourteen or fifteen. She still doesn't act or sound like anyone younger than that.
• Samuel was my favorite character in the set of episodes, maybe even in the whole season. He added just the right amount of humor to the episode, and a lot of it made me laugh. Especially the part where he overdramatizes the gunshot wound. He was always worried about his stomach, and that reminded me of Marvin Washington. Mostly because I think they're played by the same actor.
• There were no major characters (unless you wanna call Olivia a major character) ! I was really hoping that Whit or Connie or Eugene would pop in somewhere or near the end, but they didn't. That was the only downside of having these episodes end the season. There was no great ending line by Whit or anyone else.
• There were more spiritual applications in this episode than in the rest of the season combined! I really appreciated that. These episodes really felt like Odyssey, rather than a new radio drama trying to be like Odyssey. There were lessons about perseverance, umm..., I can't remember any more right now, but I'm sure there were more. (Please comment!) Oh yeah, Olivia learned that she should be wanting and willing to learn and ready to fight for her right to learn.

Overall, this was an amazing episode and the Odyssey team did a great job. It had a great story, and it's all the better when the story is true! Keep up the good work Odyssey, but now I can't wait for Cause and Effect.

This episode gets a 10/10, a great way to end the season.

Changes

So I've changed the fonts and colors of my blog. Tell me what you think in the comments!

There have been many speculations as to who the writer of the new blog, The Odyssey Muchacha might be, so I decided to make a poll. Make sure to vote in it! You may choose as many answers as you'd like.

My heartfelt apology goes out to Marvin/Mitch/Josh, whom I would have added to the choices, but alas and alack, I went back to add you, and someone had already voted, so I couldn't change it.

Be on the lookout for Audrey's podcast to celebrate her 100th post over at AIO Insanity. It's building up to something very exciting!

Be sure to listen to part 3 of The Jubilee Singers tomorrow/today! That's all for now, be sure to come back Monday for my review. I'm not sure how I'm gonna get that done, 'cause right about now I'm feeling pretty energy-drained and too lazy to review a three-part episode. Maybe that's because it's past eight o'clock my time. I'd better go get some sleep.

Little News Tidbits

A lot of little minor things have been happening around Odyssey the past couple days.

The Odyssey Whitty Awards have been officially started. This is an opportunity for you to give your opinion on Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Overall Scene, and Best Line of Dialogue. Later there will be an opportunity to vote for Best Episode. The Official Site, AIO Wiki, and The Odyssey Scoop are all pitching in to get the most votes ever.

Ethan Daniels, co-host of the Ceiling Fan Podcast, and Odyssey's biggest fan (in his opinion), has started his own blog! I'm not sure what to expect yet from this weird kid, but it should be pretty interesting.

Official Podcast #100 is out! And it's a great podcast! I have to admit, I haven't yet gotten around to listening to it myself, but it looks to be a great interview.
Mandisa talks about her experience in the Jubilee Singers at Fisk University and how they influenced her life and career. Mandisa was a contestant on American Idol in 2006 and has since released several albums including Freedom and True Beauty. She continues to support the Jubilee Singers.



Random Cool Fact: I have a friend whose mom used to be Paul McCusker's travel agent! They used to live in Colorado Springs, but have since moved to Ohio. She said that she often saw actors at Whit's End serving ice cream!

That's all for now. Tune in on Monday for my review of The Jubilee Singers Parts 1, 2, & 3!

P.S. Today is the Eugene and Katrina's fifth anniversary!

My 25th Post!

I've apparently only been around a quarter of the amount of time Audrey has but hey, at least I haven't gone insane over AIO. She says she's going to do a podcast celebrating her 100th post. I can't wait!

As I said yesterday, my little brother got Album 51 for his birthday, so we listened to the first disc last night. It has "The Inspiration Station Parts 1 & 2", along with "Clutter". It was a lot easier to listen to "The Inspiration Station" listening to both parts in one night, instead of over the course of one week. I didn't realize how much I really liked both of these episodes until I heard them together. This is going to turn into a review, but I haven't officially reviewed these episodes yet anyway.

I loved all of the acting. Even Olivia's actress did very well for her first episode. All of the actors did an amazing job. All of the old actors, even Whit, captured their roles very well. And each of the new actors had a unique personality and played their parts nearly perfectly. All of the chemistry is very good.

This story also taught a very good lesson, as I listened to it again. I was very touched at some parts. I could relate to Connie in this episode a lot. There are times when a camp speaker or a pastor will say something that really inspires me to live for God, but then a few days later, the feeling will be gone, and I'll be back to my sinful self.

I really liked the scene where Eugene and Whit let Connie listen to the recorded responses of callers. I wish I had been able to be a part of that contest. Audrey sounds great! But I still don't believe that she's only twelve.

Overall, this episode was amazing, and taught great lessons. The Parker family is a great addition to the show. So is Red Hollard who makes an appearance in "Clutter". I can't wait to hear more from in season 52.

In other news, the second annual Ceiling Fan Fan Hijack has been officially started. This is a contest where fans of the Ceiling Fan (has anyone ever wondered why he's on the ceiling?) create their own Ceiling Fan Podcast parody, and Ethan and Phil vote on their favorite entry. The winning podcast parody will be aired on a future Ceiling Fan podcast. The winner will receive a bunch of really cool prizes.

There is another blog that has been started by Camilla Parker!!! David and Eva have decided that she is old enough to run one. It should be interesting to see what she does with it and what she says about episodes with her in them.

Does anyone know why the Odyssey Owl went off of the Internet??

Does anyone else find it hard to close off these blog posts? I can never think of a good closing statement. ----------------------- There I go again. I can't think of a good post ender. I'll just end it here. Oh yeah, here's one of my favorites: Please comment!

Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!

Guess what my younger brother (12) got for his birthday on Saturday?!!? (Hopefully the picture doesn't give anything away.)

Yeah! How'd you guess? My mom secretly, behind my back, ordered those two items at half price about a month ago. I would've scanned my hands holding them, but my scanner acted up on me this morning. You'll just have to take my word for it. I totally thought that we hadn't ordered ours yet. Yay!! We listen to Odyssey in bed every night so I think we'll listen to the first disc tonight. I can't wait to hear the deleted scenes from "The Inspiration Station". I only listened to the "Darien's Rise" episodes once when they were airing, and have since read the entire biblical account. It should be fun to compare the story with what I read.

Odyssey news has been kinda slow lately. Original Joe put a new cool awards page on his blog where you can vote for your favorite things about the new season. TC Man's third and fourth heartcasts are out with some awesome interviews. If you're participating in Brock's Mother's Day contest, be sure to keep those stories coming in. Remember, the prizes are worth $1,000.

Until there's more news, this is Christian A. signing off. (Please comment!)

The Panel That Brings Fun for the Whole Family

The Family Fun Panel is a brand-new addition to all released or re-released Odyssey albums. Each new album will include a CD-Rom feature with a video on it. The video will feature Brock Eastman and Diane Ignolia performing tasks specified in the pull-out poster inside the album. The first of many Family Fun Panel videos has just been posted on the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast Blog . See it here. This video is included in Album 51: Take It From the Top.

My personal thoughts: A little corny, but entertaining. I don't know how long the other videos will be, but this one seemed a bit short. One thing I noticed was that Brock called the mom in the video a "lovely lady", and he's mentioned before that he has a wife and two kids. Hmm... Anyway. I also was impressed with the look of the button that participants who contact FOTF will receive. It looked cooler than I thought it would. I'll look forward to seeing more of these in the future.

Amazing Podcast!

I hadn't yet listened to the newest Official AIO Podcast when I posted about it the other day, and didn't say nearly enough about it. It is an amazing podcast, with an interview second only to the interview with Jess Harnell. Zach Callison is an amazing actor and he really knows how to do interviews.

I have never seen "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?", but I have the game version, and I've seen variations of it at church camp. It is a great game show, and it's really cool that Zach was on it for Season 5.

It is a very revealing interview, as they tend to be, because the actors have usually recorded many shows that we've never heard. One such episode revealed in this podcast is "An Agreeable Nanny". We get a pretty cool, full description of the episode including such plot elements as chases with a giant dog, no parents at home, a great baby-sitter, and a grueling banana fight.

Also, it was said that the next podcast will contain an interview with very popular contemporary Christian artist, Mandisa, who is a member of the modern-day Jubilee Singers.

She is a wonderful lady with a troubled past who was a finalist on American Idol a few years back, and who has since become one of Christian music's most popular female vocalists and certainly the most popular female African-American in the Christian industry. I thought that was cool that she had ties to these most recent Odyssey episodes.

Sounds like we've got some awesome stuff to look ahead to in the 52nd season. So be sure to listen to this most recent podcast, and stay tuned for the interview with Mandisa.

I Just Stopped in to Say I Won't Be Stopping In

No, seriously. I decided to go along with what a couple of other bloggers are doing and wait to give my review for "The Jubilee Singers" until all three parts have aired. I debated with myself the past couple days over how to do it, but finally decided that this was the best choice.

This episode was definitely the best of the season so far, and I have nothing negative to say about it, so it'd be a pretty boring review. Hopefully by the time all three episodes have aired, I'll have a pretty balanced review thought out.

Feel free to comment about what you think of the idea and about what you thought of the episode. I'll still be delivering news every time there's something new, I just won't be reviewing episodes until May 22. Unless of course, like the second part is horrible, and then I'll have a very well-balanced review to put out.

Also, if you haven't yet, be sure to vote in Dale Jacobs' favorite Odyssey blog contest at the Odyssey Owl! (Vote for me!)

This Stuff Just Keeps on Coming!

There are loads of information coming from Brock and the AIO team this week. Dale Jacobs from the Odyssey Owl put out the information yesterday and gave his thoughts on it:

• Scientists believe the future is ahead of us


• Blackgaard saga to be released in 2011


• Parker family gets new baby sitter


• Emily Jones solves another case


• Mathew Parker invents new Imagination Station adventure


• Album 52 includes an episode named "As Fast As I Can"

We went from knowing the title to alot of other things as well. So that is a lot to take in in one sitting, so i am going to break it down for you.

Well I really don't know what the first one is about. Im guessing it has something to do with the City Hall clock tower.

The Blackgaard saga will be a collection of all the episodes that Blackgaard was in. So Daring Deeds and Sinister Schemes, Waylaid in a windy city, and Darkness Before Dawn.

Also, the most exciting part of this post... I managed to get a picture of the new Album 52. It is the picture at the top of this post.

In other news, the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast has a new and exciting podcast for us:

Bob and Jesse interview Zach Callison on his role as Matthew Parker and hear about his work on “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” Plus: hear the title of album 52!

This is a very informative podcast and just gets me more excited for the "Ask the Parkers" podcast.

So we've got a lot to look forward to this fall with Album 52, "Cause and Effect" hitting stores at the same time it airs on the radio. Keep checking in for more information as AIO's 51st season draws to an end.

More Secrets Revealed

There is a new video podcast up at the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast Blog, not to be confused with the Adventures in Odyssey Blog.





It features Brock telling us about a new video podcast for Mother's Day. I'm not sure of all the details because I was concetrating more on what was going on behind Brock. Look closely, and you will see something that Blodyssey has been dying to see ever since the fake album art for Album 52 got out.

Also, for anyone who is following it, the second edition of The Odyssey Scoopcast is up. It provides a recap of all the new information and surprises being revealed around Blodyssey in the past week or so. Kevin McCreary, creator of The Ceiling Fan Podcast is the host.

Finally, the second heartcast is out on The Heart of Odyssey. And the 24th episode of The Ceiling Fan is up as well. It's pretty funny. Their podcast has a reputation of exaggerating and doing hilarious interviews.

That's all the info for now. Keep on the lookout for more updates and secrets revealed in the near future.

Arin's Judgement

For anyone who cares and hasn't yet looked at the other blogs:

Arin's Judgment, the second installment of the Passages repackaging project is out. Each book in the Passages book series, written by Paul McCusker, is being re-released a second time with a new look. Each new book will contain a new cover with a computer-generated image, and, I believe, an eight-page color insert in the middle of the book. I'm not sure if there will be a map included in these most recent releases. When they were re-released in the early 2000s, they came with a map attached to the back, but they may or may not do that again.

I've only read two of the books in this series, but the two that I did read were some of the most well-written, exciting books that I'd ever read. Paul McCusker does a fantastic job as an author. Check out some of his other AIO books here.

Also, if you haven't yet, check out the re-release of book #1, Darien's Rise. This book has also been made into a radio drama, and others are to be recorded as well.

This Episode Was...

I don't have much to say, nor do I have much time in which to say anything about this episode, so I'm going to go away from my usual long, organized reviews, and just do what all of the other blogs are doing and tell you some points I had on this episode:

• I loved hearing from Connie again. And there was great writing for hers and Eugene's characters. Probably because it wasn't just Tim Hodge writing. Paul McCusker apparently had a part in it too. That's probably why "Abuelita" was included and all of the characters remained true to their personalities.
• Olivia sounded a lot better in this episode. I just wish they wouldn't have said that she was eleven. She sounds more like fourteen/fifteen. But they probably didn't want to have her that old so that she wouldn't have to deal with teenage issues, since this is a show for 8-12- year-olds.
• I noticed something a little weird--when Olivia walked away and broke down, she sounded a lot like Connie. I guess that was just her actress' adult side coming out. And her wanting to go back in time with the Imagination Station reminded me of the AIO book "Strange Journey Back" in which Mark Prescott tries to go back in time and change the day that his dad left his mom.
• This episode reminded me of the episode where Connie has, like fifteen different things to do every day including writing for the Odyssey Times, and Whit teaches her how to manage her time, and she gives, like ten of those things up. Sorry for the run-on sentence, but I don't remember what the name of the episode is. (Comment if you know the episode I'm talking about!)
• This was a very real-to-life episode. More so than we've really ever seen in Odyssey. It sounded like a real-to-life girl having real-to-life trouble juggling real-to-life activities. But the episode, as some of the other reviews suggested, was somewhat lacking. There wasn't much action, and when there was, it was Olivia. There was only one storyline involving one kid, so it definitely seemed to be missing something.
• I liked hearing from Whit again. Mr. Stojka seemed to do a much better job in this episode. And I loved hearing him give advice from the Bible. If Andre isn't yet saved, at least these episodes can have a positive witness to him.
• I had never heard the word "flake" used any other way than to refer to a light, flaky object before this episode. I thought that that was kind of weird.
• I loved the ending with Chris. It reminded me of the old days when Chris had a lot more to say before and after episodes.
• And, finally, I wanted to say something about Red Hollard. Although we didn't hear his voice in this episode, we still found out a little more about his character. It was surprising to hear that he is active at Whit's End. I thought he was just going to act as a neighbor character to the Parkers. He seems like a mix between Wooton and Bernard, and I could probably get used to having him on the show a lot. But I would be very sad if Bernard was replaced by him.

Okay, so I guess I did have a lot to say. But I was just too lazy to try to make it look more organized. You guys are lucky I finish what I say I'll... Overall, this was a pretty good... I give it a...

Just kidding! I give 7/10 stars. Please comment!