Album 56 Episode Titles and Summaries!

They're finally here! Well, I guess I shouldn't say "finally." I actually wasn't expecting them this soon. But I wasn't nearly as surprised to see that these were released as I was to see that Album 56 is now available for download! The time just flies by so fast. It doesn't seem like it's been very long at all since Album 55 finished. But I guess next month is September, so I must just be slow. ;)

Here are the brand new titles and descriptions for the shows on Album 56:

The Perfect Church, Parts I and II: After Matthew sees the problems and conflicts at his own church, Whit sends him on an Imagination Station adventure to witness the very first church in the book of Acts.

I think I'm looking forward to this episode more than any others. For one thing, we haven't heard from the Imagination Station at all since the relaunch (except for Matthew's short journey in "Fast As I Can"), so I'd like to see how the writers will handle it. But more importantly, I am very intrigued by a storyline involving the early church--and presumably it will be a story about all the problems it had. And especially because it's a two-part episode, I really can't wait to see where the writers are going to take this.

Great Expectations: As Emily pursues her hopes and dreams, she journeys in the Imagination Station to see Whit as a young boy.

I can't say that I'm as excited to hear this episode, namely because it involves Emily. But I'll probably get over that when she first meets Whit as a young boy. That will be very interesting. Also, I really like the title for the episode. Hopefully the episode will live up to its name, but I don't have very great expectations. :P

For Three Dollars More: When Barrett questions the value of tithing, Matthew, Connie, and Whit send him on trips in the Room of Consequence to see the results of his actions.

I'm not sure what I'll think about this episode. I have different views on tithing than do most Christians, so I doubt I'll agree with it. But I'll probably get into that more when I review the episode. Aside from that, however, I really look forward to hearing from the RoC again!

The Bible Network: Kids' Radio plays out the value of reading Scripture in three acts - a game show called "Who's the Real Sheep," a crime drama "BSI: Bible Study Investigation," and an intensive training regime called "Bible Boot Camp."

We already knew this episode title, but we hadn't received a summary for it yet. I'm very intrigued by it. It seems to me like a BTV episode, though not under that name. I'm interested to hear the "Who's the Real Sheep" game, which sounds like it could be about true and false conversion. But I won't get my hopes too high. ;)

Happy Hunting: Penny Wise embarks on a frantic search to find happiness, but in the process she makes everyone around her miserable. 

I released this one the other day, and it's still available for free download if you're interested, but I haven't gotten really excited about it. I don't really like the premise that Penny is seeking happiness. If she's a Christian, which we've been led to believe, why does she not already have happiness? And shouldn't she be looking for lasting joy, not just a shallow happiness? Anyway, I just hope this episode doesn't leave me miserable while Penny is making everyone in Odyssey miserable.

The Holy Hoopster: Ryan Cummings makes a series of seemingly miraculous last-second shots for his basketball team which makes him a celebrity - both for the hoops and for acknowledging Jesus.

Now this is more like it. Not only do we get to hear from Ryan again, but it sounds like he's going to become Odyssey's Jeremy Lin! I'm excited to hear a sports episode again, and maybe we'll get to hear from Coach Fang! This will definitely be one of my most-anticipated episodes of Album 56.

The Lost Riddle:Emily and Matthew discover a series of riddles from decades past stuck in the corner of her locker.

This episode has the potential to be pretty good. But I don't think I'll get my hopes up, just because there hasn't really been a Jones and Parker mystery that I've liked much since the relaunch. But who knows, maybe I'll be surprised. It's certainly intriguing.

Groundhog Jay:After Jay pushes Priscilla into an unexpected trip in the Room of Consequence, the two of them experience the same event over and over again.

Oooh, this one sounds really good. I'm not thrilled about an episode where Priscilla is so prominent, but I'm sure I'll get over it. Hopefully this episode will maintain a better story than "The Eternal Birthday." Whatever the show delivers, I'm sure it will become a favorite of my younger siblings, because they LOVE "The Eternal Birthday."

Home Again, Parts I and II: When Jason Whittaker finally returns to Odyssey for peace and quiet, the excitement surrounding his return makes it hard to find either.

Now this is another one where things could go either way. Hopefully the writers have a good story for this episode. I'm not sure how they'll deal with the fact that most of the town thinks Jason is dead, so that should be interesting. But I'm primarily looking forward to this episode because there's another old character returning. Yes, I was spoiled. But I don't want you to be spoiled, so I won't tell you who it is. And I would urge you not to try to find out, because I think if you don't know it's coming, you'll be very pleasantly surprised.


Well, that's The Grand Design. Hopefully it will live up to its episode summaries and be a very impressive album. I'm holding out hope that it will follow the pattern of ever-improving albums. So hopefully this album will be even better than 55!

What are your thoughts about the episodes? Are there any that you're particularly looking forward to? Tell me about it in the comments!  Thank you all for reading!

--Christian