The Golden Age of Odyssey

The Front Counter is the main place for general Adventures in Odyssey discussions. Grab a Loc-Kno-Stra-Mal, and talk it up!
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Odysseygirl101
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I'd have to say that the Novacom Saga age was the best. This was AIO writing, acting and directing at its finest. I'm agreeing with Ben Warren. On every point. I liked the Washingtons, but they don't really seem true to life. And that scene with the "Big Scoop" joke? Puh-lease! It almost makes me want to cringe and say "Oh my word? Seriously?" Whit? really? Andre Stojka's voice sounds NOTHING like Paul Herlingers (Who, IMHO, was the best voice of Whit.) Think about it, does he really sound like the same, strong, WWII soldier that we knew 5 years ago? Nope, not even close. And Wooton! Don't get me started. Every 2 or so episodes, he's there with corny, un-Wooton like jokes at every turn. And he learned nothing from his realtionship with that other girl before Penny, just dove in assuming she was a Christian. UGGH! Wooton is used entirely way too much. AIO didn't used to have so mant qoute on qoute "fuuny" episodes. Liz, Jared and Dwayen, Shakespeare and Edwin, Bernard, never TREID to be funny, they just were. I think we've lost something here. The Golden Age is over.
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ArnoldtheRubberDucky
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Well, I share a less extreme view of what you're saying. I believe that AIO is in a bit of a humor lull, yes, but think about how much the writers improved from the rather dreadful 51 and 52. In just a couple albums, they transformed from being a lackluster slice-of-Life kiddie program to being a fascinating, occasionally funny drama everyone can enjoy. I don't think we are in a Golden Age, but AIO will only improve from here, so I don't think we should give up hope for a good future in Odyssey. We should be excited about the future. 55 was, in my opinion, one of AIO's best albums ever, and a future album could very well be better. Be patient. The writers are still working out the kinks of the show.
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Odysseygirl101
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I suppose. 55 did have some good shows like the Labyrinth and Sergeant York. I didn't really care for the others, but maybe that's just me.
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Doll
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55 and 56 are the best albums since the reboot IMHO. 53 is okay, and 51 and 52 are still odyssey, but they seemed like someplace else at first, not Odyssey. In previous albums, they gradually introduced new characters, with old ones, and if the old ones were too old or something, they gradually faded out.
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I agree with you God's Girl. I think they just threw the new characters in to fast, and all at the same time. OVERLOAD!
I like the way they did it before. Slowly introduce new characters.
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I do believe one of the major flaws in 51 was that fans were upset that all of their old friends were gone, and these new "citizens of Odyssey" seemed like strangers. So, we couldn't get into the characters, and they seemed undeveloped and, well, stupid. That's why it was quite ingenious to release GRC when they did. Quite a few fans (including myself, honestly) were upset with 51 and 52. So bringing a classic Odyssey action-adventure twelve-parter in to save the day before they can come up with better storylines and develop the characters in a better fashion was perfect. I notice that, though many fans didn't adore GRC, they liked the albums after it. So GRC was, in a way, Odyssey's apology, though I don't think they meant it to be. Odyssey asked us to forgive them, and most of us have. Now, we like the new albums. And as Whit would say, "The Best is yet to come."
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The general opinions of album 51 and 52 aren't great but a person can't just write off all the rest of the newer episodes just because there was a slight change in the writing. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions but you should give everything a chance. I have a favorite episode from all the eras! The writing and style has fluctuated over the years but does that mean it's bad? I don't believe so but like I said, it's a matter of opinion.
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So it is, Victoria. I'm with you. Some of the new stuff has been just great. Adjusting has been admittedly difficult, though. At first, I was furious, to be honest. I've mentioned before when I first heard Matthew, he bored and disgusted me to death (personally, I'd still say he can be distinctly bland in a few of his earlier episodes.)
But one warms up to him, due in part to Emily's energy colliding amusingly with his restrained person. Yes, I said amusingly. A lot of you don't find those moments very funny, do you?
Well, there you are. Response to humor varies from person to person. Mr. Thinker, I've been meaning to bring up for some time... your several times mentioned dislike of chaos and weirdness used for humor, in cartoons for instance, seems to be where a strong distinction begins. I love cartoons. And cartoons, like comedians, are basically laugh machines (Walt Disney's earliest works were called Laugh-O-Grams.) The fact is, often, humor is basically set up to do exactly what you and Josh have been aggravated by. Grab you by the throat and try to make you laugh. Today's episodes are rather like cartoons. "Oh, look, Mickey's a magician in this cartoon for some reason and now he's pelting Donald Duck with magic." "Oh, say, Wooton's rejoicing that he looks like the Statue of Liberty."
Ben Warren mentioned in his blog that before, shows could be funny, but now the writers seem to think AIO should be funny. Some shows jump between sad scenes and jokes with almost nothing between. Is that bad? Well...
Depends what your sense of humor is.
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ArnoldtheRubberDucky
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Yes, I know, I know! I can't appreciate all types of humor. I really wish I could sit back and laugh at the new era, but I just can't! :cry: I just don't see how you can possibly find Wooton in these new episodes funny! But you know what? I got The Holy Hoopster on my iPod, and... I laughed! I didn't laugh much, it was only a few chuckles here and there, but the escapades of Jay and the rest of the kid characters were suddenly hilarious to me. So maybe Odyssey can get back on its feet and make people like me, with slightly different senses of humor, laugh again! :D:
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I know I'm all late but my favorite time had to be 7 and 9

The Novacom saga was just genius and the time when Eugene was coming back was really memorable to me
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ArnoldtheRubberDucky
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Opinions really seem to vary. I'm glad I set this topic up! :D:

I'm actually surprised everyone likes 9 so much. I was expecting a lot of J & J fans...
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whittaker96
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Pound Foolish wrote:Well, there you are. Response to humor varies from person to person. Mr. Thinker, I've been meaning to bring up for some time... your several times mentioned dislike of chaos and weirdness used for humor, in cartoons for instance, seems to be where a strong distinction begins. I love cartoons. And cartoons, like comedians, are basically laugh machines (Walt Disney's earliest works were called Laugh-O-Grams.) The fact is, often, humor is basically set up to do exactly what you and Josh have been aggravated by. Grab you by the throat and try to make you laugh. Today's episodes are rather like cartoons. "Oh, look, Mickey's a magician in this cartoon for some reason and now he's pelting Donald Duck with magic." "Oh, say, Wooton's rejoicing that he looks like the Statue of Liberty."
Ben Warren mentioned in his blog that before, shows could be funny, but now the writers seem to think AIO should be funny. Some shows jump between sad scenes and jokes with almost nothing between. Is that bad? Well...
Depends what your sense of humor is.
I think my main issue with the way humor was handled after the relaunch was that it had to be in EVERY SINGLE SCENE. Jason always had to make a snappy comeback to the bad guys, or the tension would be broken in a dramatic scene. Don't get me wrong, sometimes that tension breaking hilarious, but inserting humor in every scene got almost annoying at times. However, I thought it was handled spectacularly in To Mend or Repair and Something Old, Something New, so I hope that 51-Labyrinth trend ends!
Come take a humorous, modern look at Odyssey, reviewing, discovering, and applying w/ Out of Control in Odyssey and Candid KOnversations! Join the odyssey to find the real Odyssey.

http://odysseyoutofcontrol.blogspot.com/
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ArnoldtheRubberDucky
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When did you guys find To Mend Or Repair funny? Was it Mrs. Kramer? Frankly, I didn't think she was funny at all. Yes, you guys are probably going to hate me for that statement.
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Doll
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My sister and I cracked up with her poem, but I don't find the general feel of to mend or repair funny.
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whittaker96
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I thought To Mend or Repair was a fantastic mix of drama and comedy - a dramedy! The drama with Eugene and Katrina was balanced by the lighter subplot with Barrett, Priscilla, Jay, and Mrs. Kramer (who I believe is one of, if not the, funniest new characters in Odyssey). She reminds me of Bernard, but doesn't seem like a carbon copy of him, which I enjoyed. I just really enjoyed the mix.
Come take a humorous, modern look at Odyssey, reviewing, discovering, and applying w/ Out of Control in Odyssey and Candid KOnversations! Join the odyssey to find the real Odyssey.

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Odysseygirl101
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I like Mrs. Kramer's thing, but that was pretty much it. Kyle and Joy were cute.
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CreativeThinker101 wrote: 1. Pre-Christian Age (Albums 1 - 3): This is basically the short period of time before Connie became a Christian. I don't think anyone thinks this is the best, but I decided to add it anyway.

2. Early Smith Age (Albums 4 - 12): The age with the old kid characters, and the old theme song, where AIO was quite different and used different story ideas, and no one's voice had changed.

3. Smith Age (Albums 13 - 20): The age of the new theme song, when Hal Smith was still on the show, but the stories could be different and there were different kids than there were in 1 - 12.

4. J & J Age (Albums 21 - 28): I call this the J & J Age, or the Jack and Jason Age, when Hal was gone and so was Whit. Many say it's the best age, but I'll leave it up for you to decide.

5. Early Herlinger Age (Albums 29 - 31): The very short period of time when Odyssey had new kids, who didn't stick around for a while. This was also the time when Herlinger was getting into the part of Whit.

6. Jansen Age (Albums 32 - 34): The short period when Al Jansen took over as Producer and a lot of downer episodes were made. But there are still some highlight two-parters: Malachi's Message, Telemachus, Blackgaard's Revenge, and Passages.

7. Novacom Age (Albums 35 - 38): The epic rebirth of Odyssey when Paul McCusker took over in the form of the Novacom Saga. This also had some great normal episodes, like The Great Wishy Woz, The Triangle, and Happy Smilers.

8. Pre-Eugene Age (Albums 39 - 43): The age when things had settled down, but Eugene wasn't back. Some great new characters were introduced as well, such as Trent and the Washingtons.

9. Eugene Age (Albums 44 - 50): The age where Eugene was possibly the most prominent character on the show. It featured the amazing Best Small Town, as well as the Eugene's
Father Saga.

10. Reboot Age (Albums 51 - 56 and beyond): The age when AIO completely rebooted just about everything, from Whit's actor, to the kids, to other characters, to the town in general.
I would have to say 5 because I had those albums and listened to them ALL THE TIME. I love them.
7 also because, well, it's Novacom. Enough said.
And probably 9 only because of Eugene Returns, Lost and Found, Into the Light and Moment of Truth. I liked most of those episodes and they were also ones I listened to a lot.
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Wakko
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J & J age and Eugene age.
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Novatom
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The Early Herlinger Age is my favorite because it has Jared.
17:39<Novatom>: I'm in another boat. A boat of people who don't know what everyone's talking about. A boat that is sinking.
17:40<Sameriazx>: oh no... here we go again...
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Rosy
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Novatom wrote:The Early Herlinger Age is my favorite because it has Jared.
Totally! If Jared weren't in those episodes, I's probably like them a whole lot less. But overall, I like the Novacom Age the best. (No surprise there. ;) )
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