...And So It Persists...

These episodes are probably going to get harder and harder to review, so please bear with me as I try to do my best. It'll probably sound jumbled up and slightly unorganized, because I don't have much time to be righting this.

I don't think we got as many answers to questions this episode as we did last episode. We didn't here anything from Mr. Skint, Dirk Beggs, or Monty. But we did get at least a little information about Monty and Beggs in Agent Tanner's soliloquy about his involvement with the counterfeiters. As far as I can tell, the Secret Service was suspicious of Dirk Beggs, so they sent Monty in on a mission to get information. For a while, it seemed like it might be a waste of time, but then Dirk started giving Monty information. But then they both disappeared until they were discovered after the plane crash, and now the Secret Service assumes the worst and considers Monty a rogue agent. I definitely agree with Whit that Monty wasn't the type of kid who would get tempted by money. So I'm considering him innocent until proven guilty.

Connie at art classes at CCCC...weird. But I'm sure it has something significant to do with the ultimate plot. We'll just have to see how it plays out. The character of Penny is weird, but I'm sure she's supposed to be that way. I never knew Connie was interested in drawing, let alone that she has the ability to copy the Mona Lisa! But what is this obsession with fangs? And I don't know about you, but I'm suspicious about the "Christianity" of Penny and Dr. Trask. Something tells me it's going to turn out to be some kind of weird cult, as in Bad Company. Something about Dr. Benjamin Trask makes me suspicious of him. Maybe it's the fact that he sounds like he's played by the same actor as Detective Polehaus. Are they related? Then again, Penny sounds like she could be played by Katie Leigh, so there's probably nothing there.

I definitely agree with Marvin (I think it was Marvin) who says that this relationship between Buck and Emily is Richard Maxwell/Lucy Cunningham-Schultz-like. It's an oldish boy whom we know is working for the bad guys playing with the heart of a girl who's obviously much younger than him. And, as he told Mr. Skint on the phone, Buck's going to use her to accomplish his diabolical plan to find Matthew and the AppleBerry. I don't know why Emily is being so naive all of a sudden. You'd think that since she's a detective that she'd be on guard for villains. Especially when there's a counterfeit money scheme involved. But I guess girls will be girls. : )

I was expecting to hear from Jay, Matthew, and Nelson, or at least Jay since I was told by Marvin that we'd be hearing from him in every episode. But they were in the "Previously on Adventures in Odyssey" clip at the beginning, so maybe that's what Marvin meant. Hopefully he'll be in the next one.

Well there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered: What is the significance of Penny and Dr. Trask? Will their "Christianity" prove to be genuine? What will Buck do with Emily? Will she help him find Matthew? What is on the phone, since Mr. Skint wants it so badly? Will Emily maybe turn Buck around and get him on our side? Or will Buck end up nearly killing her like Richard did to Lucy? What's up with the Stiletto? Is he only a myth? And is Monty a rogue agent? Why was he in Whit's house? And is he going to be okay, since we couldn't hear him responding to Whit? What is Detective Polehaus going to do with the counterfeit money? Is he a bad guy? Will he link it to Buck because of the "Oliver" Twist book in the front pocket? Will there be a cliff-hanger involving Monty in every episode?

I can't wait to hear the fourth episode next week! Thanks for reading my review! Please comment!

Books

Remember that picture I posted a couple months ago from the AIO Wiki?



As posted today at the same place, this is the cover for the upcoming October release of The Fight for Kidsboro, a large compilation of the first four Kidsboro books. Here is the summary the Wiki gave:

Kidsboro is a small town in the woods behind Whit’s End in Odyssey. It’s a nice little place. It has a church, a store, a police station, a bakery, a weekly newspaper . . . and a total of zero citizens over the age of 14. It’s a town run by kids. Ryan Cummings, the mayor, helps enforce the laws, create new job opportunities, and in general, keep the peace in a town where he seems to have lots of friends and only a few enemies. The Kidsboro series teaches not only moral and biblical principles, but also concepts of government, politics, economic principles, the judicial system, United States history, and Bible stories. The Fight for Kidsboro is a compilation of the 4 books from this popular series.

I have the Kidsboro books, and I really like them. Marshal Younger is nearly as good a writer as Paul McCusker is for the Passages books. They all have great storylines, and I hope some day they get transferred over into the audio series. You can check this book out here.

There's also been a release of the description for the fifth Imagination Station book, Showdown with the Shepherd, which is also coming out in October of this year:

The key to adventure lies within your imagination! Cousins Patrick and Beth go to the Holy Land in the tenth century BC. Their goal is to get back the ring Hugh stole and return him to 1450s England where he belongs. But troubles await them as soon as they step out of the Imagination Station. First they meet an angry bear and later an angry giant. Set against the backdrop of the David and Goliath story, the cousins learn that having a giant faith is more important than having a giant on your side.

I've never read the Imagination Station books, because they seem to be directed more toward younger children, but if you're interested, you can go here for more information.

There's also one more book that was announced with a description today--the sixth Imagination Station book, Problems in Plymouth:

The Imagination Station Adventures continue! Patrick and Beth’s next adventure leads them to Plymouth Plantation in 1621. There they meet William Bradford, Miles Standish, and Chief Massasoit, who are trying to establish peace between the Pilgrims and the Indians. Things are anything but peaceful, however, when a musket is stolen and the Pilgrims conclude the Indians are planning war. Only Patrick and Beth know who the real thief is—the traitor Hugh—and it’s up to the cousins to find him and stop him from causing trouble. When the cousins hear a gunshot during the first Thanksgiving feast, their worst fears are realized. They rush to the Mayflower and try to set right history, even as Hugh desperately tries to change it.

This book is also due to come out in October of this year.

Finally, while I was at the Wiki, I decided to take a look at the Album 54 page, and when I got there, I saw this mockup cover of the album, and I thought I'd share it with you:

In my opinion, it looks much better with the border around it, and I can definitely see this looking good on the front of an album now.

Thanks for reading! Please comment!

One Year Anniversary!

I only just realized like five minutes ago that I had started my blog in March last year, so I decided to look back and see on what day I posted my very first post. I was very surprised to see that it has been exactly one year since I began this adventure on March 24, 2010!

I can't believe it's already been a whole year! Now, granted, I have had a couple of hiatuses (hiati?), so I guess I haven't been here that entire time, but it's close. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to do this in our amazing age of technology, and I'm very thankful to all of you readers and commenters who have stuck with me this whole time.

Thank you to Marvin, Audrey, OJ, FJ, and Brock for being long-running faithful readers and commenters.

And thank you to Brittini, Lydia, Hannah, Tim B., Burn 4 Him, abbyjoy1797, Jay, THE OLD GEEZER, Luke, Brickster, Agent 3XQ, KMAP, Macy, Mandy, Jessa, Garrett, J.J., Jenn, Camilla, and chesster for being newer faithful readers and commenters.

Thank you all for your support! I hope, by God's grace, to continue this blog for many months to come. And I will keep trying my best to bring the best and newest news about Odyssey, because we all know, if the fans are silent, the CDs cry out. We cannot let that happen! :D

Some More Random News

I don't know where FreddyJay got this confirmed, but he told me in the comments that in this picture,



the girl is Priscilla Peterson, the boy with the black hair is Jay Smouse, and the boy with reddish hair is Barrett Jones. Those would probably have been my guesses if I had to guess, and they make sense: Jay is being annoying, Barrett is playing trombone, and Priscilla is with Barrett. :P But I'm not sure how much I like the illustration. I imagined Priscilla with dark hair, Barrett with really short blond hair, and Jay with black hair, but at the same length as Barrett's is in the picture. But I can't complain, because very rarely do the illustrations look just like I pictured them to look. Sometimes the actors end up looking like they sound, but almost never the illustrations.

Plus, FJ told me that he thinks this is just a draft, that it looks to un-polished to be the final cut. I think I agree. The colors and tints don't seem to be as solid as Gary Locke's usual work is. And obviously it doesn't have the border around it yet, so maybe it'll end up looking better with the AIO logo and album title.

In other news, information for The Blackgaard Chronicles is finally out! We were told about this upcoming saga repackage several years ago, and now it's finally coming! This is the description that was posted on AIO Wiki two days ago:

Evil has a name and it's Dr. Regis Blackgaard! The small town of Odyssey will never be the same! When a man named Dr. Regis Blackgaard arrives to build an "amusement house for kids," chaos and danger follow him. A top-secret government computer program is unleashed at Whit's End. Tom Riley's barn burns to the ground. And that's just the beginning of the schemes that Dr. Blackgaard has planned for Odyssey and John Avery Whittaker.

Follow the ever-twisting story in The Blackgaard Chronicles, a collection of thirty episodes following Whit's greatest nemesis. Along the way, the folks in Odyssey learn lessons about God's protection, sacrifice, forgiveness, salvation, and more. Once you start the story with "A Bite of Applesauce," you won't want to stop listening until you hear the dramatic conclusion. The Blackgaard Chronicles contains 30 episodes on 10 CDs. Over 13 hours of entertainment.

I'm wondering what episodes are going to be included in the package. I like all the Blackgaard episodes, and I own all but three of them (the last CD of my Darkness Before Dawn album is missing). Hopefully it will, in addition to the episodes in Darkness Before Dawn and Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes, include episodes such as Waylaid in the Windy City and A Name, Not a Number. Those are some of my favorite Odyssey episodes. Blackgaard was always one of the best villains, and I'm glad they kept him around for so long, even bringing him back from the dead in Blackgaard's Revenge. :)

I hope I am able to get this set, because, as the Novacom Saga did, I'm sure it's going to have some great bonus features, let alone the fact that you get thirty episodes in one package!

Well, I think that's it for now. Oh! I just remembered. Original Joe just today gave me a link to Gary Locke's blog where he posts all of the artwork he does for all kinds of things, including Focus on the Family's Clubhouse Magazine. You should go check it out! (Alert: If you are not a Republican and/or if you are totally content with and supportive of our current president, you could possibly be offended by some of the artwork. :D)

Also, if you're interested, Brock's been posting lately about his experience with the Duggars when they came to FOTF just this week. It's very interesting, especially if you already know a lot about the Duggars (they're the family with 19 kids that you may have seen on TLC!). You can go to Brock's blog here. (FYI: There's a weird-looking blue boy with no shirt on at the top of the page. Hopefully you're not offended by it. If you are, you can take it up with Brock. ;P)

Thanks for reading! Make sure to come back on Saturday for my review on The Green Ring Conspiracy Part III!

...And So It Continues...

This part was even better than the last one! But they're getting harder to review. It's difficult to review an episode that's a part of a bigger story. That's why, in past seasons, I've always reviewed episodes as a whole when all the parts have aired. That's not really possible this season though, so I'm going to do my best. By the way, if you haven't been there, FreddyJay at The Campbell County Connection is reviewing the episodes in a very interesting way. He's comparing them with the episodes in Album 25: Darkness Before Dawn each week. The first review last week comparing The GRC Part I to A Little Credit Please was very interesting, and I expect this week's to be even more so, so go check it out!

I thought that the opening scene to this second episode was even better than last week's opening scene with Matthew and Emily. This time we got some answers to questions right off the bat, and I hope the same thing happens next week. I really like the characters of Mr. Skint and Buck, but already a bunch more questions have been brought up. I'm wondering if the fact that they both have southern accents will come into play later on. I would think Detective Polehaus should have been more suspicious of Buck upon hearing his strange accent. (I personally think it sounds fake--kind of like the Australian boy, Simon, in A Little Credit, Please.) Somehow they have a connection with Uncle Archie of the carnival, and I think that's going to matter later on.

Detective Polehaus keeps making a big deal about how bad of a family background Wally Haggler has, and I don't know if anyone else caught it, but Uncle Archie is his brother. (So does that mean he's Jay's dad?! Or just another uncle?) I think the detective must know something about Archie's involvement in something, or at least he's suspicious, or he wouldn't be harping upon Wally's background so much. I thought it was intriguing that the detective also knew immediately who the Stiletto is, and that he thought Wally was lying as soon as he was brought up. I looked up the word stiletto in the dictionary to see if that'd give me any clues, but it only means "a small dagger" or "a thin high heel on a woman's shoe". I still think it could be Mr. Charles or the Chairman. I don't think it's Mitch, Richard, or Jason, because each of them is a Christian, and wouldn't do something like that. Well I guess Richard isn't necessarily a Christian, but he's always been a good guy, and he understands forgiveness and repentance. I really have no clue who he could be though.

Monty works in the Secret Service? I never would have guessed that he'd go that direction from his earlier shows. I wonder if Jana knows anything about it. Maybe his dad got him into it. But I think it makes sense that he'd be investigating the counterfeit case. My theory is that he is a spy for the government, and Dirk Beggs, Mr. Skint whoever the other guy is think he's in on the plan. The only sign that he was an agent was the disc under his skin, so I don't see how any of them would know, or why he'd tell them. I can't see him being a double agent against the government, so I don't think he's actually working with them. But now he's right back out of the hospital, and he left us with another cliff-hanger!

Eugene seems to have his action/adventure cap on in these episodes. His attitude and tone remind me of the days when he was trying to find his father with Whit. The chemistry between him and Emily, in my opinion, is really, really good, and I think he'd make a more fitting partner for Emily in a detective agency than Matthew does. ;) And also, the music again really added to the show. John Campbell does a great job composing for mysteries. It hearkens back to the Novacom days. But I'm still waiting to hear from Katrina! I hope she comes in soon. And I hope Audrey Wasalewski starts doing a better job with her voice. In past episodes with her and Eugene, I agree with those who say that she isn't as good of a Katrina as Pamela Hayden was. But she hasn't been in mystery mode for a while, so maybe she can redeem herself.

The kids were really good in the episode again. I thought Matthew especially did a good job. He was right to say that he shouldn't go to meet a stranger, and then I thought it was great that he said he wanted to meet at the police station. I'm really itching to know what's on the AppleBerry phone, to find out why Mr. Skint is so concerned that it will fall into the wrong hands. Georgina Cordova continues to do a great job playing Nelson, and I'm continually amazed at how much she can make him sound like a boy. His argument with Jay about the plane crash made me laugh. Jay also did a good job in the episode. It seems that he's going to be a very important character in the episodes to come, since he links the bad guys to the good guys. I look forward to hearing more from him, since Marvin says that he's in every episode this season.

There are still so many questions, despite how many were answered in this episode: What is Dirk Beggs' secret? What's on the AppleBerry he dropped? What's Uncle Wally's part in all this? And what is the significance of his relation to Uncle Archie at the carnival? Who is Monty working for? Why and how did he escape from the hospital? What's going to happen with the counterfeit money? Is that the "knapsack or something" that dropped from the plane during the fight in the air? Why is Detective Polehaus so suspicious and hostile toward Uncle Wally? Does the detective have any secrets himself? Who is the Stiletto? And why do all the suspicious people know who he is? What part is Connie going to play as the episodes continue? Is her place at the college going to play a role? What's going to happen at Uncle Archie's carnival? And when will we ever learn if a duck's quack really echoes?!

I can't wait to hear the answers to all these questions as the season continues to unfold. I'm glad that this episode had a good moral presented by Chris at the end. Hopefully the rest of the episodes will end up following suit. Thank you for taking the time to read my review! Please comment!

P.S. I think this should be okay since the Official Podcast has released it, so here's the album art for Album 54!:



I have to admit that I don't like this one as much as I've liked the ones in the past. I feel pretty much the same about it as I did about Album 51's art when it first came out. It just doesn't seem like it'd look good on the front of an album. But maybe it will look better when it gets a border around it and actually goes on the album.

By the way, I think, based on the title as presented on the Official Podcast blog, that the title of Album 54 has been changed slightly from Clanging Cymbals and the Meaning of Love to Clanging Cymbals and the Meaning of God's Love.