And So It Begins...

If the first episode is any representation of what the rest of the season is going to be like, I think I'm really going to like it. It's already sounding like Novacom, so I have high expectations for what's to be heard in the weeks to come.

I thought the episode felt a little short, but I guess that's going to be normal since it's a twelve-parter. All of the acting was great, and so was the music. A couple of times it seemed like I was watching an action/adventure movie in my mind. And there are so many secrets already!

Why did the plane crash? What was its business in Odyssey? Why were there only three people inside? Why was Monty one of the people inside? What is Dirk Begg's secret? Why didn't he want the police to get involved? What's on his AppleBerry (I love that name!)? What is Wally Haggart's secret past? Why was there a bag of money in the woods? Is it counterfeit? What's the big deal with the carnival? Who is the Stiletto? Why is he alive if Uncle Wally thinks he died years ago? Is it Dr. Blackgaard or Richard Maxwell or Jellyfish or Dalton Kearn or Mr. Charles or The Chairman or Mitch or Jason?! And when will we ever find out if a duck's quack makes an echo?! So many questions! I hope some of them are answered soon. I'm glad this episode didn't have too bad of a cliff-hanger though.

I thought Whit's doing a pretty good job so far this season, and I can't wait to see how Andre Stojka does with the action/adventure/mystery/thriller episodes that Paul Herlinger had mastered.

Eugene is also sounding very good. I hope he gets to play a big part in the mystery, especially when Katrina comes around. Hopefully we get to hear them together a little bit, since sometimes it seems like Eugene is single all over again. I think the chemistry between him and Emily was really good. We hadn't seen that before. And I loved it that when he saw the money he shouted, "Loudly exclaimed euphemisms escape me!"

All of the parts played by the kids were really good. The opening scene with Matthew and Emily was kind of weird. We never found out why Emily was acting so irritable. I thought the fact or urban legend game was kind of out of place, but it was still funny. But I guessed right away that "guys only, ladies forbidden" was an urban legend. Although you don't see ladies playing golf very often, and I've never heard where the name "golf" came from. Nelson and Matthew had great chemistry as always, though it struck me as weird, just as it did Matthew that he's afraid of bugs and strange sounds. I thought he was one of the people who started Kidsboro! He shouldn't be so scared of stuff like that. Jay's part was well played, and I look forward to hearing more from him in the weeks to come. He really is starting to take Rodney Rathbone's place in my heart.

Well, that's about all I have to say about this episode. I really think I'm going to like this season at least more than any others since the hiatus. I've heard some people say that it's up among their all-time favorite Odyssey albums. But maybe that's just because they get to say that they listened to it before it even aired on the radio. That'd probably make it one of my favorites too.

Anyway, make sure to come back next week when I review The Green Ring Conspiracy, Part II! Thank you for reading! I greatly appreciate it! Pleace comment!

P.S. Connie's taking college classes?! Finally! I wonder how that's going to come into play later on...

New Characters

Or at least they're new to those of you who haven't yet heard Album 53. ;) The newest Official Podcast video episode features a short look at each of the new characters and their actors. We get to hear the names and voices of the new characters, and they even give us some lines from the shows. I'll list them here for those of you who don't have time to watch the podcast.

• Phil Proctor (formerly played Leonard Meltsner)--Detective Don Polehaus: "Too bad we don't allow preemptive arrests. (Jay: "What does that mean?") Ask your uncle--or anyone else he knows at Campbell County Prison!"


• Robby Bruce--Buck Oliver: "Dirk Beggs is in intensive care. They won't let anyone in to see him."


• ?--Dirk Beggs (talking on the phone): "Listen to me, it's Dirk Beggs. Look, I know you said not to call on this number again, but it's all gone wrong!"


• Lori Tritel--Dr. Lilly Graham: "We received a confidential directive from Homeland Security that they'd begun embedding identification chips under the arms of their agents."


• David Selby--Jebediah Skint: "Here you go, Buck, my boy. Let's hope you get that job at Whit's End."


• Keith Ferguson--Ted Humphries, news caster: "He's a good cop, but not very tolerant of little things like...social skills. I've met junkyard dogs with better personalities."

This isn't much new information, but we now know that Buck is possibly involved in a scheme with Mr. Skint, having to do with getting a job at Whit's End, Buck is also involved somehow with Dirk Beggs, and whatever Beggs is up to with the person he's talking to on the phone has gone completely wrong. Also, Jay's uncle (Wally Haggler) returns, and is presumably in prison for something.

It sounds like this is going to be a very, very interesting season, and I can't wait to hear it!

A Few More Tidbits

There's a new podcast that the Odyssey Scoop has drawn our attention to called The Audio Theatre Central that recently had an interview with Paul McCusker. It is a very informative podcast, and some very interesting things are learned. I'll give you the major highlights in case you don't have time to listen to it:

• Album 54 is going to take a break from the themes and characters discussed in Album 53 because it was originally placed before Album 53, so the few loose ends and questions left at the end of The Green Ring Conspiracy will not be resolved and answered until Album 55.


• Album 55 will continue storylines with characters brought back and/or introduced in Album 53.


• Album 56 will potentially be focused on inventions. Each of Whit's inventions by themselves are so interesting and have so many possibilities that they deserve albums of their own, but they're going to try to cram a bunch of them into one album. The Inspiration Station will likely be included among the inventions, as well as Whit's "Talking Portraits."


• Album 54 will not have any episodes with the Inspiration Station in it.


• According to Mr. McCusker, the episode titles that Brock blurted out in the Avery Awards podcast may not be actual episode titles, because the titles are never sure until Chris is recorded saying them at the end of the episodes. Some episodes from this album have been recorded already however, so it is likely that the titles are real episode names.

Well, that's about it for now. Thank you for reading! Please comment!

The Green Ring Conspiracy Is...NOT Out Today

I had thought for sure that the new season was starting today. I mentioned last week that I'd be reviewing Part I of The Green Ring Conspiracy this week, but I went to Whitsend.org this morning, and that wasn't today's episode! I then went to the Odyssey Scoop and looked at the schedule for March, and saw that even though every single other year a new album has been aired in March, it started on the first Saturday, this year's season doesn't start until next week. :(

So it looks like maybe I'll have to do that review on Mitch that I told Brittini I'd do. Mind you, I haven't prepared for this in my brain at all, so if it isn't very good, don't blame me, blame the Odyssey people who changed the schedule!

The first thing ever said about Mitch, chronologically, is in the special letter included in the Novacom Saga from the Chairman of Andromeda to Mr. Charles. The chairman mentions that Arthur Dent has suggested "a young man he knew from Boston [who] might be perfect for the job and, in fact, has asked to be relocated to Odyssey." The job the Chairman refers to is the task of monitoring Mr. Whittaker at all times in order to gain his trust, so that it will be easier to steal the Imagination Station from him.

But the Chairman didn't take into consideration the fact that Mitch might develop relationships with people at Whit's End. Not only does he take a real liking to Mr. Whittaker, and therefore doesn't want to go along with Andromeda's evil plot, but he also falls in love with Connie. When we first meet him in Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips, we can tell that he and Connie are attracted to each other. Connie stumbles over her words whenever he asks her a question, and Mitch tells her that the sweater she's wearing looks good on her. But then, further into the same scene, she finds out he works for Novacom, and she isn't sure about him anymore. Later in the episode, she turns down Mitch's request to help him with a Sunday School class, thinking he's going to ask her out on a date. But the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up, and soon Mitch is sending her flowers.

Throughout the first half of the Novacom Saga, their relationship grows, and they start going out frequently to places like the bowling alley and Trickle Lake. We learn that Mitch can't cook to save his life, he enjoys horseback riding, he used to live in Maine and had a girlfriend named Justine, he doesn't like honey-roasted peanuts or water landings, and he loves macaroni and cheese. But then things start to get complicated. Connie starts to notice how many secrets Mitch has, and when she tries to ask him about them, he pretty much clams up. Then she finds a picture of a very attractive woman in his briefcase. But later in the same episode, as Connie peppers him with hard questions on Candid Conversations with Connie, Mitch blurts out that he thinks he's falling in love with her. That silences her, and she ends the show.

But then, a couple of episodes later, Mitch is suddenly taken by the Federal Witness Protection Program, and Connie is told that he's dead. And worse, she finds out that he was AREM--the computer hacker that seemed to be causing so many problems. She has a very hard time dealing with her grief, and after the funeral, she goes to Massachusetts to visit his sister, Rachel. While there, she mentions that she finally feels like she's finally getting used to Mitch being gone. But then she catches Rachel on the computer, and she hears "the AREM sound." She is dumbfounded when Rachel tells her that she needs to keep this a secret because it is very dangerous, but Mitch is alive.

So now Connie has to get used to him being alive. Mitch is now on the case with the FBI, trying to figure out what Novacom and Andromeda are up to. He ultimately helps to determine the "Launch Date" when the mind control will go global, and he also devises a plan with Nick to catch Mr. Charles. Ultimately, Novacom and Andromeda are put out of business, and all the villains except the Chairman are put in prison.

Since Novacom is shut down, Mitch looks for work for some time, but because he was involved with the company, he has a bad reputation, and he isn't hired anywhere. He eventually starts his own business fixing computer problems, but that isn't enough for him. He tries co-hosting a radio show with Connie as "Dr. Wise," but that doesn't satisfy him either. Next he gets caught up in a big mystery involving identity theft from Whit, and eventually the escape of Mr. Charles from prison. He starts out being a suspect in the theft, so the FBI doesn't allow him to help with the case, but he starts his own investigation with Whit. He ends up getting kidnapped by Mr. Charles, but he gets out of it. All this helps him to realize that he has a love for mysteries and crime-fighting. This seals his decision to go to Washington and train to join the FBI.

After about an album, Connie travels with Joanne Allen to visit him. While she's there, Mitch is accepted into a branch of the FBI that is going to take him to Budapest. He wants Connie to go with him, so he proposes to her, and she accepts! Connie's mom, Whit, and even George Barclay come into town for the wedding. After the rehearsal, Connie witnesses Mitch being "kidnapped," and she is terrified. She follows the kidnappers, but only to find out that it was just a few of Mitch's FBI friends giving him a unique bachelors' party. She realizes that she really isn't cut out for this kind of life, in constant fear for the life of her husband, and so she tells Mitch that she can't marry him. He "un-proposes" to her ("Connie, will you not marry me?" "I won't"), and they part ways.

That's the last we hear from Mitch, and it's always made me very sad. I always thought that he and Connie were really good for each other, and I'm always hoping that he'll get to come back someday. But as Odyssey writer Kathy Buchanan, the one who created Mitch's character, said in a 2007 Official Podcast, in order for Mitch to come back, "Ronald McDonald must become a vegetarian, cats need to become extinct, and Nathan Hoobler has to paint his toenails." According to Marshal Younger, the latter of those three has occured, but other than that, unfortunately, it's not going to happen. :(

But Mitch was a very well-loved character, and Steve Burns always did an amazing job voicing him, as well as Rodney Rathbone. He is definitely missed, and I never want anyone else, even Jason, to marry Connie. :)

Thank you for reading! Be sure to come back next week, when I, Lordwilling, will review Part I of The Green Ring Conspiracy. Please comment!

Album 54 Tidbits

Here's some information I found on AIO Wiki that I thought I'd share with you since some of it is new information that I haven't seen anywhere else. Some of this we already know, but a little bit is information that I hadn't heard before.

The current description of the upcoming album is, "Whit, Connie, Eugene, and Wooton join the kids at Whit’s End to learn stories about the true meaning of love from 1 Corinthians 13. "

Then there's a listing of the episodes that are speculated to be in Album 54 because of comments made by Brock in one of the more recent podcasts: Unbecoming Jay, The Amazing Loser, Wooton Knows Best, and Anger Mismanagement. And we now know that the album will be called "Clanging Cymbals, and the Meaning of Love."

There is also a list of facts that we have learned about the album up to this point:

• It was revealed in an interview with Nathan Hoobler on the 59th edition of The Whit's End Podcast, that Album 54 will be a thematic album similar to those with a theme throughout the album, like On Earth as it is in Heaven.
• This album was originally supposed to be 53, but Focus decided to bump it back an album.
• A tentative name for this album was "A More Excellent Way".
• As of October 2010 the writers are working on the 12th episode of this album.
• As of January 2011 six episodes have been recorded.
• This album will be centered mainly around the Bible verses in 1 Corinthians 13.

The second piece of information was particularly interesting to me, because I hadn't heard it before, and I'm wondering if this means we might finally get to here the promised Kidsboro episode that we first heard about before the hiatus was over!

I don't know about you, but I'm very interested in this album and am looking forward to seeing more information about it as soon as it comes out.

Thanks for reading! Please comment!

P.S. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, Jacob Isom, webmaster of the Odyssey Scoop has officially started the second annual Scoop Yourself contest at his website. It was very interesting last year to see all the different entries that came in after they were posted. And if you want to enter your own picture, I don't think a deadline has been set up yet, so you should have adequate time. The picture at the top of the page with the Odyssey CDs spelling "Odyssey" is actually from last year's contest, so that gives you an idea of how fun these pictures can be.

Also, I've been made aware via a comment on my Links Outward page of a new Odyssey blog that was recently started up. It seems to be a very proffesional website, and it has a very simple name--Odyssey Blog. :) It has a lot of information on it, and the webmaster has already done a large number of posts in the month he's been running. So go check it out!