Many of you are probably wondering as we haven't touched
base with this lately. Today we've got some news that may
clarify some things.
First, the title for album52
is out! Album 52, Cause and
Effect, is set for release in October. The cover art
you may have seen floating around is not the final cover. In
fact, the final cover will feature an illustration of three
main
Adventures in Odyssey characters standing in a
clocktower trying to stop something from happening. Take a
look at what's coming up in album 52:
Mysteries abound in Odyssey as Eugene
tries to figure out why the Odyssey clocktower is counting
down to a mysterious deadline and Emily Jones unmasks the
phantom of the school play. Meanwhile, the crew at Whit's
End tries fasting,—with hilarious results—and Wooton tries
his hand at a radio show ... with no script!
It has been confirmed that Cause and
Effectwill contain both a Thanksgiving episode as
well as a Christmas show.Check back in the days ahead for more Album 52 news! In
the meantime, we've still got more news.
All future Odyssey releases
and re-releases (including album 52) will feature a
brand-new "Family Fun Panel." Each of these bonus extras
will contain a video of Brock Eastman and Diane Ingolia
trying to complete tasks with various families. Listeners
are encouraged to buy future releases and repacks to obtain
instructions for each album's activity. For example, the
upcoming repack of Heroes
features a challenge based off the episode Karen and
involves writing a letter or a card to someone who is
hospitalized or in a nursing home. Those who complete the
challenge and let Focus on the Family know will receive a
button that contains the album number and a picture of what
the challenge was. This new challenge for album owners only
allows listeners to get involved and have fun in the
process.
But that's not all. A new
Odyssey book series is in the works. The series is called
The Imagination Station and contains stories about
Whit's greatest invention. The series is geared for 6-9
year-olds, with the first two books available this fall. Be
watching in the days ahead for more news as well as an
additional two books released Spring 2011.
And before we forget, don't
miss out on your opportunity to subscribe to The Odyssey ScoopCast, a brand-new
podcast from yours truly! It's a great way to stay informed
on all the Odyssey happenings, much like what you've read
today.
You
waited for the surprise since we announced it last Monday,
and today is the day we're officially letting you guys know
what is going on here at the Scoop.
Now is your chance to stay up-to-date with
the latest happenings at The Odyssey Scoop from the comforts
of your iPod, mp3 player, or podcasting software! Stay
informed about Adventures in Odyssey newsas
it happens and follow the world's #1 audio drama. This
subscribers-only podcast takes you on a journey you'll never
forget. New editions available every other Monday. Free to
all subscribers.
We're sticking our fingers into the
podcasting pie to introduce even more listeners to
Adventures in Odyssey and The Odyssey Scoop website.
It's all part of an effort to reach more audiences for
Odyssey and to provide the "Scoop" on Odyssey, one cone at a
time. So sit back and enjoy the podcast, and thanks to Kmap
Studios for taking care of our production needs!
We're sure you will find it to be a very beneficial tool in
the days to come! After listening, be sure to tell us your
thoughts! For now, click here
to learn more about the ScoopCast and find out how you can
subcribe!
The Spring season of Adventures in Odyssey continues
today as Grandma's Visit
debuts on radio stations, and
online:
The Parker family is in for a bumpy ride.
It all starts when their grandmother (or
Abuelita) comes to tell them that their Aunt Rosalita has
decide to elope...next week...in Odyssey...at their house!
Then relative after relative arrives to stay with the
family. Where will the chaos end?
And if you're just checking in with us, we've
had quite a few exciting surprises and updates during the
past few weeks and months. Take a look at some of the cool
things you can now access, a la Scoop:
The Guide to Odyssey:
It's an audio behind-the-scenes look at the stories,
actors & characters of Adventures in Odyssey. The
Scoop now features hours of podcast audio clips
answering your questions about Odyssey, with a
behind-the-scenes twist.
Interview with Chris Anthony: Voice of Barbie,
GeoSafari, and host of AIO, Chris Anthony recently
shared her perspective in an audio interview.
Reviews: Get
reviews and hear our thoughts on the Spring 2010 season
of Adventures in Odyssey. We're still in the
process of writing more, so keep checking back.
AIO F.A.Q.:
Questions are rushing in and the section has a brand-new
look.
Ceiling Fan Podcast interview: I recently
appeared in an interview with the legendary Ethan
Daniels at The Ceiling Fan Podcast right before
they launched their new website. No Scoop fan can miss
it.
ScoopYourself
Winners: We gave Odyssey fans a chance to
showcase their Odyssey collections. The most creative
entry received a free copy of album 51, while the runner
up received album 50. Take a look at the photos they
submitted!
Of course, you won't want to forget to check
back on Monday, April 26th for the unveiling of yet another
special surprise here at The Odyssey Scoop! We're just full
of surprises.
She's
often the first voice that listeners get to hear when they
tune in to Adventures in Odyssey. She is also one of
the longest standing actresses for the show. Chris Anthony,
host and upbeat personality for AIO, was recently
interviewed on a local radio station in Florida. In her
interview, she talks about her time with Odyssey and her
voice acting career.
Today we're proud to showcase
a special audio interview with everyone's favorite radio
drama host. Chris Anthony made an appearance on Cornerstone
Broadcasting, a radio station based in Florida. Edie
Schmidt, Associate Editor and afternoon host of the station,
interviews Chris about her voice acting career, plus her
experiences with the Odyssey team.
Click here to listen to the interview. And happy Earth
Day, everyone!
Progress continues as my Spring 2010 reviews
come pouring in! Today my review of
Target of the Week is now available for your
reading enjoyment.
Everyone enjoys a simple,
down-to-earth slice of real life. For me,
Target of the Week
is just that. It doesn't go too heavy on the overly-dramatic lives of middle
schoolers (we all understand how they are at that age), but at the same time
it lets us peek into their world....Read Full Review
But
before you read my review, I highly recommend you go check
out the latest
Official Podcast. All the votes have been tallied
and the winner has been announced for the "Act Like Odyssey
Contest"! The contest winner will receive 51 albums of
Adventures in Odyssey, while the other finalists will
receive free copies of both the Encore
Collection and Platinum
Collection. Not only that, everyone else who
participated will be receiving an AIO CD in the mail.
Congratulations to the winners and keep your eyes on the
Official Site to see other video entries in the
future You'll also get to see a clue regarding the upcoming
title of album 52.
It's funny, if you checked back here within the past few
days at just the right time, you knew the title of the
album. Yet, for the rest of you, the clue is in the podcast.
Don't miss it.
We had mentioned in last Saturday's post that
if you would like your "Act Like Odyssey" entry to be posted
here for others to see, we'd love to post it. Take a look at
what we wrote:
As a side note, we've decided that we'd like
to showcase your "Act Like Odyssey" contest videos in the
very near future! Did you enter the contest and weren't one
of the top ten entries? This is your chance to show others
the work you put into the contest, and sharing it on the
Odyssey Scoop could be a great way for you to do that.
Simply upload your video on YouTube,
then send us the link to your
video. If you've already uploaded your video, then you're
ahead of the game. Just send us the link! If we receive
enough participation in the coming days, we'd be happy to
post all your entries for other fans to enjoy. But you'd
better hurry and get yours in as soon as possible! This will
all depend on whether or not we receive enough responses
from you guys, so let us know soon!
I'm just plugging away the Spring 2010
reviews, and today I'm excited to share my review of Game for a
Mystery.
Usually the moral/theme of most AIO shows is very easy to
pick out. While one might say that
Game for a Mystery
teaches a great lesson on priorities and not putting off important things,
it also might send mixed messages along with the intended theme.
...Read Full Review
Today, I am also pleased to announce that AIO
has officially made it to the Facebook community. You can
now visit the Adventures in Odyssey
Facebook pageand become a fan. Stay tuned in the
days ahead as I'm sure some special behind-the-scenes
goodies and interaction are on their way! You never know
what to expect from Odyssey!
As
you know, we're always thinking of ways we can improve the
Scoop. If you've been around for a while, you know that the
site has evolved quite a bit since its early days. In fact,
most of you would probably not even recognize the website
compared with what it is today. Well, our never-ending
progress continues here at the Scoop and we have a special
surprise coming up once again! Check back next Monday, April
26th, for the official unveiling.
In the meantime, keep your eye on the Scoop
for another episode review or two. I'm trying to get
motivated to catch up.
Emily Jones is usually right about
everything from solving mysteries to cooking chili. But when
she decides to try her hand at matchmaking for her brother
Barrett, the singing card she creates may have disastrous
consequences. Will Emily have to face a situation where she
could be...wrong?
As a side note, we've decided that we'd like
to showcase your "Act Like Odyssey" contest videos in the
very near future! Did you enter the contest and weren't one
of the top ten entries? This is your chance to show others
the work you put into the contest, and sharing it on the
Odyssey Scoop could be a great way for you to do that.
Simply upload your video on YouTube,
then send us the link to your
video. If you've already uploaded your video, then you're
ahead of the game. Just send us the link! If we receive
enough participation in the coming days, we'd be happy to
post all your entries for other fans to enjoy. But you'd
better hurry and get yours in as soon as possible! This will
all depend on whether or not we receive enough responses
from you guys, so let us know soon!
Today I'm pleased to present another review
of the Spring 2010 season, and this time I've provided a
Scoop's-eye look at Clutter.
For a re-launch of Adventures in Odyssey
with so many new characters, it is necessary to connect the listeners with
the people of Odyssey. The somewhat uneventful pacing allowed the writers to
explore who the characters are a little bit more.
...Read Full Review
As always, you'll get to hear what I think of
the latest Odyssey shows when you read my reviews. I plan on catching up on
my reviews within the next few weeks. Be watching in the
days ahead for more reviews and surprises!
Welcome to The Odyssey Scoop YouTube
experience. Okay, so we're trying to reach out and pull in
more visitors, and YouTube's a great segment to grab for
that. Feel free to share this video on your blog or social
networking sites like facebook. You can visit our new
channel
here. We've also got another video on there to
advertise one of our most popular features ever, Where Odyssey Is Not.
Speaking of social networking, The Odyssey
Scoop's
facebook group recently exceeded 200 members within
the past two weeks. Thanks to everyone who joined! Are you a
member yet? We'd love to see even more get in on the Scoop.
Try
saying that ten times fast! As you do that, actor Matthew
Yang King has stepped into the role of a somewhat new
character for Adventures in Odyssey, Coach Chang
Fang. It's all part of an effort for the Odyssey team to
fill in the town's characters in this new era of the show.
Coach Fang made his official debut in the episode
Target of the Week this season. It has been
confirmed that Coach Chang Fang will make an appearance in
the upcoming album 52 in the months ahead, as he was present
at a recent recording session for the show.
Brock Eastman, Product Marketing for AIO, recalls:
"The session was very fun to sit in on and listen to Matt
act while Nathan [Hoobler] gave direction to both Matt and
Mark [Drury] the engineer at the studio in California. There
was little need for much direction as Matt has the character
nailed and just flows through the lines. It is fun to watch
Nathan direct as he couldn't remain seated in his seat and
had to stand as he listened and directed. I did make one
minor suggestion to the script and will be anxious to see if
they use the word final instead of last."
I think it would be safe to assume that Coach
Chang Fang, voiced by Matt Yang King, will be popping up in
future shows. To learn more about Mr. King and his other
acting roles, visit his
IMDB link. As for future shows, you can now see the
May 2010 airing schedule here.
And since we've mentioned Brock today, I
would like to also highlight that he is currently running a
contest on his blog to win cool prizes. And knowing Brock,
the prizes probably have something to do with AIO. Get involved in this unique contest!
You
saw the new logo. You may have even been intrigued by James,
a very curious intern who seems to have developed a
reputation for sneaking around to get info to the podcast's
listeners, especially during the past week. Take a look at
what you'll hear in the Ceiling Fan's 23rd podcast:
When reporter John Watsenburger's absence
upsets the normal work routine, Tom Artichoke's
investigation leads him to a place of wonder, discovery, and
new inventions that may be the culprit. Also, Special
Detective Intern James is hot on the trail to find out about
the top secret e-mail in Ethan's inbox. Will he be able to
execute his ultimate plan?
In addition to a new podcast, perhaps the
most exciting news is that the Adventures in Odyssey
fancast has officially unveiled its brand-new website today,
located at
ceilingfanpodcast.com. You now have the opportunity
to browse podcasts in a more organized manner, listen
online, and even find out what Ethan Daniels and Phil Jinkus
(hosts of The Ceiling Fan Podcast)look like.
I was involved in the design and programming of the website
and am particularly excited to share it with you! Visit the
Ceiling Fan Podcast's
blog to continue to stay up-to-date with the show
and enjoy their beautiful new website, which I must say is
more modern and streamlined. Congratulations, Ethan, on your
big day. So what are you waiting for? Head on
over
and get the latest news!
The Spring season of Adventures in Odyssey continues
as For the
Birdsdebuts on radio stations, and
online:
Camilla Parker desperately wants a pet,
but her family seems to suffer from the
"Parker Family Pet Curse." To prove her responsibility,
Camilla takes care of a baby blue jay. Meanwhile, Eugene has
his own run-in with some feathered foes – which leads to
drastic action!
Today is a special day for fans as listeners
finally get to hear why Eugene Meltsner is getting a
haircut, as pictured on the front cover of album 51, Take It from the Top.
Don't forget to tune in!
But I'm sure many of you didn't visit the
Odyssey Scoop today to read about what's playing on the
radio. I know that quite a few of you are tired of
speculating about what the "big project" is here at the
Scoop. And I shall say wait no longer. Today I'm excited to
unveil what it's all about. Today, April 10, 2010, I'm
pleased to unveil our brand new feature (drumroll please)...
AN AUDIO BEHIND-THE-SCENES
LOOK AT THE STORIES, ACTORS AND CHARACTERS
But
before you get too excited to read the rest of today's post,
please read on as I'd like to tell you a little about it. As
you know, I've been working on our "big project" for
approximately two weeks. Our goal at The Odyssey Scoop has
always been to provide "the latest news about Adventures
in Odyssey, one cone at a time." The site has been
around for nine years, so we've seen what works and what
doesn't with an Odyssey fan site. And over the past few
years, there seems to be a desire among the fans to go
behind-the-scenes with the Odyssey team, to hear their
stories, insights, and lessons. Many of you have written in
over the past couple of years because you wanted the Scoop
to provide more behind-the-scenes information. Today is an
exciting day for all of you.
You may remember in our posts building up to
this joyous occasion, that we posted a few clues here and
there about what was coming up, and we even incorporated The
Official Guideinto some of the clues. The mere
mention of the book was a clue as well as our new section,
The Guide to Odyssey, is
somewhat of a complete audio guide to Adventures in
Odyssey hosted on a fan site. It's wonderful chance for
you to access behind-the-scenes material in an easy,
organized, and quick fashion.
I'm sure many of you are well-acquainted with
The Official Podcast, a behind-the-scenes, bi-weekly
podcast produced by Focus on the Family. I understood that
it's not always easy for fans who are new to the podcast to
go back and start listening from podcast #1. So, what we've
done involved much work and sweating of bullets. We went
through all ninety-something podcasts and are now offering
you a showcase of behind-the-scenes audio from each and
every podcast (including clips from future podcasts as they
become available). In fact, there was so much good material
that this new "big" section features hundreds of audio
snippets from the podcast (well over 300, actually) that
started in 2006. So in essence, if you're looking for
backstage info, The Guide to Odyssey
will be a very valuable online resource for you. With a site
feature like this, you won't have to go sorting through old
podcasts in iTunes to learn about the many writers,
directors, producers, and actors who bring Odyssey to life.
All you have to do is click... and you'll probably learn a
lot in the process.
Of course, we still recommend that you
continue listening to
The Official Podcast as it contains even more fun
facts, trivia, and the personalities of Bob and Jesse, your
hosts (who would want to miss that?). To tell you honestly,
you will get so much more with the podcasts that we weren't
able to host here. The Guide to Odysseywill be perfect for new and older listeners alike.
You'll notice that the new section is easily accessible on
our navigation bar. However, please keep in mind as you
enjoy the new feature that our cards may not be completely
in a row yet. If you notice that a certain audio clip
doesn't answer the question you've clicked on, please take
the time to let us know (be
sure and include the link to the page that needs work). Or
if you see something else that doesn't quite seem correct,
we'd love to fix it. So what are you waiting for? Head on over and break in the new
site feature!
And as for me, I'm off to make a phone call to Ethan
Daniels, host of the
Ceiling Fan
Podcast. I think something fishy is going on with
their new intern. You guys may want to keep an eye on him
for me. After that, I'll probably go burn that thick stack
of note cards I showed you guys earlier this week. Today is
a good day.
It's
time to cast your vote for the winning Act Like Odyssey
Contest video! That's right. The latest video edition of
the
Official Podcast has revealed the top ten entries,
and now it's your turn as a fan to pick the best one. If
you're reading this blog and you're one of the ten
finalists, congratulations on making it this far. And for
those of you who didn't make it, be looking forward to a
future podcast in which they highlight more of their
favorite videos.
As for things revealed, I did mention
yesterday that our "big project" here at the Scoop is
finished and ready to be unveiled tomorrow. We've been
hinting around with some special clues and have been
enjoying your comments and speculations. As we are very near
to our launch date, I would like to clarify one thing. The
new site feature is not a version of the Scoop for
squirrels, though there now seems to be a Mr.
Whittaker-ized
version of a squirrel floating around. I got a good
laugh when I saw it.
By the way, what do page 561 of The
Official Guide and page 35 of the original guide have in
common? This might be step in the right direction.
Recently,
our friends at that AIO
Blog released a special audio
interview with Bob Smithouser (senior editor at
Plugged In) and Jesse Florea (editor of Clubhouse
magazine). Many of you know them best as the hosts for The
Official Podcast. In their interview, Bob and Jesse discuss
their involvement with the podcast and many other
interesting facts about themselves. You certainly won't want
to miss it!
In other news, I know you guys are just dying
to know what the "big project" is that's coming up for the
Odyssey Scoop. At your right you'll notice we've revealed
another clue. Yes, you're seeing correctly. That is
definitely a squirrel eating a cracker. And if that isn't
enough to tell you what it is, then here's another clue: The
fictitious televangelist Henry Fernbank published a book
revealing that something very special was going to happen on
a certain day. That day, is in fact, the day we're releasing
our special new feature at the Scoop. And believe me, it's
going to be big.
Oh my, I'd better contact Ethan Daniels of
the
Ceiling Fan fame before it's too late! Their intern
is still snooping around. I better check my inbox to see
what I may have sent out...
Many
of you have been asking for clues to know what our "big
project" is here at the Scoop. And since I'm so excited
about this upcoming site feature, I thought today would be a
nice day to clue you in on what's going on. At the right you
will notice that I have a fairly large stack of notecards
with vital information written. This is how I kept myself
organized during the preliminary stage of the project. The
second phase is in full swing and I'm plugging away with
what what I've got.
So what is the clue, you ask? Well, for one
is the teaser image you're seeing, and another clue is that
it's a very time-consuming and involved project. I would
like to leave one more clue for you guys to think about.
When all is said and done, you will get to enjoy hundreds
of... well, whatever they are... or it is... or... you get
the idea.
Oh, and it looks like we're out of time for
today. I must mention that a certain intern at a certain
podcast by the name of the
Ceiling Fan is making me a little worried. Their
latest intern, James, is sneaking around and trying to
uncover some clues of his own. But what does
it all mean? I think I'm going to have to talk to
Ethan about this... when I get a chance. But I'm so busy
with this latest project that I might have to do that later
this week.
Just in case you needed a reminder, the
Spring season of Adventures in Odyssey is well
underway. Target of the Weekaired this past weekend:
Matthew is Vance King's "Target of the
Week" – which means certain humiliation at the hands of the
bully! Matthew decides to take matters into his own hands by
getting revenge on Vance during an Odyssey Coyotes baseball
game.
Of course, if you missed it you can listen
online! Then be sure to submit your review for the
show, and you can even review past shows! Click here to
review an episode.
Meanwhile, I'm still plugging away at a big
project I started for the Scoop over a week ago. Once it's
finished, it's going to be well worth the work involved. And
I must say, it will be a very valuable resource. Yet, I must
not speak too soon. You're just going to have to hang in
there a little longer to see what it is.
Remember
that special surprise I've been talking about it for the
past week? Well, at long last, I'm pleased to announce that
the surprise has arrived!
There appears to be new excitement in
Odyssey's residential areas with a
town-wide yard sale. Meanwhile, Ethan
Daniels interviews Jacob Isom, creator
of The Odyssey Scoop fan site.
Yes, surprises come in many forms, and this
time I've shown up in an interview with Ethan Daniels at the
Ceiling Fan Podcast. This marks my first audio interview
with anyone in the Odyssey online community, so consider it
a special gift. You'll get to find out a little bit more
about the site and hear some cool trivia tidbits about the
Scoop. I thank everyone who waited with great anticipation.
Happy April Fools Day! And trust me, this surprise is real.
Happy listening!
She's
often the first voice that listeners get to hear when they
tune in to Adventures in Odyssey. She is also one of
the longest standing actresses for the show.
But
before you read my review, I highly recommend you go check
out the latest
As
you know, we're always thinking of ways we can improve the
Scoop. If you've been around for a while, you know that the
site has evolved quite a bit since its early days. In fact,
most of you would probably not even recognize the website
compared with what it is today. Well, our never-ending
progress continues here at the Scoop and we have a special
surprise coming up once again! Check back next Monday, April
26th, for the official unveiling.
Try
saying that ten times fast! As you do that, actor Matthew
Yang King has stepped into the role of a somewhat new
character for Adventures in Odyssey, Coach Chang
Fang. It's all part of an effort for the Odyssey team to
fill in the town's characters in this new era of the show.
Coach Fang made his official debut in the episode
You
saw the new logo. You may have even been intrigued by James,
a very curious intern who seems to have developed a
reputation for sneaking around to get info to the podcast's
listeners, especially during the past week. Take a look at
what you'll hear in the Ceiling Fan's 23rd podcast:
But
before you get too excited to read the rest of today's post,
please read on as I'd like to tell you a little about it. As
you know, I've been working on our "big project" for
approximately two weeks. Our goal at The Odyssey Scoop has
always been to provide "the latest news about Adventures
in Odyssey, one cone at a time." The site has been
around for nine years, so we've seen what works and what
doesn't with an Odyssey fan site. And over the past few
years, there seems to be a desire among the fans to go
behind-the-scenes with the Odyssey team, to hear their
stories, insights, and lessons. Many of you have written in
over the past couple of years because you wanted the Scoop
to provide more behind-the-scenes information. Today is an
exciting day for all of you.
It's
time to cast your vote for the winning Act Like Odyssey
Contest video! That's right. The latest video edition of
the
Recently,
our friends at that
Many
of you have been asking for clues to know what our "big
project" is here at the Scoop. And since I'm so excited
about this upcoming site feature, I thought today would be a
nice day to clue you in on what's going on. At the right you
will notice that I have a fairly large stack of notecards
with vital information written. This is how I kept myself
organized during the preliminary stage of the project. The
second phase is in full swing and I'm plugging away with
what what I've got.
