Episode
Reviewed: Wooton's
Broken Pencil Show
(669)
Writer: Paul McCusker
Director: Paul McCusker
Sound Designer:
Nathan Jones
Music:
John Campbell
Theme: Entertainment should have a point
Original
Airdate: 10/16/10
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
In a last-minute replacement,
Wooton Bassett hosts his own Kids' Radio show and is forced to
ad-lib for a half-hour. Will his show have a point?
The Review
"Wooton in Wonderland: A Defense of Wooton's
Broken Pencil Show"
It was Lewis Carroll, author of "Alice in Wonderland", who helped
popularized the "nonsensical literature" genre. For years, fans have been
searching for some sort of concrete meaning in his book, but like Alice, we
discover that the world of Wonderland has no real meaning at all. Try as we
might, the Mad Hatter's riddles, the rules of the Queen's croquet game, and
the confusing Dodo's caucus race, are all exactly that: confusing. Nothing
logically makes sense. Essentially, Lewis Carroll wanted to show that life
does not need to be interpreted, because there is nothing to interpret about
the events in our lives; life is random, plagued by moments that are simply
"curious and curiouser"...
Is Lewis Carroll right? Is there such a thing as chaotic, disorganized, and
nonsensical occurrences? Although it sometimes feels like one goes through
life encountering "random" moments,
Wooton's Broken Pencil Show
tells us there is a greater force out there, sometimes orchestrating, but
always providing meaning in our lives.
Just because an episode doesn't follow the
typical storyline model, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is a bad show.
Yes, the episode doesn't follow a single coherent storyline, and frankly,
the episode is as messy and disorganized as Alice in Wonderland is.
And like the novel, Wooton's
Broken Pencil Show ingeniously places layer after layer of different
instances, strange moments, and digressions (Eg: Connie's lost keys,
Wooton's success on the show, the intricate workings of a car analogy,
Harlow's squirrels, Red Hollard's dimensionality theory, Wooton's captain
absolutely...etc...) in order to subvert the idea that life is simply
chaotic and meaningless. In other words, the episode's chaotic form demands
from the listener to have, as Hercule Poirot might say, "little grey cells",
to sort through and figure out the meaning from all of these bits and
pieces. Eugene interrupts the goofiness and hyperness of the episode to ask
"Does this show have a point?" to remind listeners to ask that very
same question. And as Chris notes at the end, "only Wooton could've created
a show that made a point of having no point" or "did it have a point without
trying to make a point. You tell me!"
Children are often spoon fed, and to be fair,
Adventures in Odyssey holds one of the largest spoons. The show's
writers often create predictable and over-structured stories, featuring a
"theme" at the end to tie everything together neatly. We expect there to be
a "cause" and therefore an "effect"; an "action" and therefore a
"consequence"; likewise, if Matthew Parker sins we expect Chris to wrap up
the show discussing his sinful deed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that
this is necessarily a bad thing. But here is an episode that does something
different. Wooton's Broken
Pencil Show cautions young listener not to simply accept what is shown
in entertainment, but to search and to have trained-eye (in this case
a trained ear) and to be on the lookout for what the world has appointed
"unimportant".
Times have changed. We live in the age
of postmodernism; the idea of objective truth--what is right or wrong-- has
been thrown out the door. And the media and children's entertainment
confirms that idea. Nowadays, kids are subjected to
senseless Saturday morning cartoons that teach nothing; movies get poorer
reviews for being "preachy" but are praised for being purposefully morally
ambiguous; and, in the news, Christians are portrayed as persecutors rather
than persecuted for pushing their own moral agenda onto others. These are
all examples of how our society is moving towards the loss of "absolute
morality", and people then start to believe whatever they feel is right for
themselves; "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes". As Eugene states,
"It is within our humanity to seek meaning and all of our experiences in all
of of our experiences no matter how frivolous", Eugene says. "To do anything
else is to reduce us to our animalistic behavior." I doubt that God wants us
to begin viewing His creation as meaningless, purposeless, or useless.
Rather, He wants us to believe strongly that He governs, and that He has
given meaning to everything in our lives.
Focus on the Family has a way of expressing
their stance on controversial subject matter without making the
controversial issue the focus of this episode. For instance, consider
how delicately FOTF dealt with the issue of abortion in
A New Era. Amidst all the
silliness and stupidity, I appreciated how loaded
Wooton's Broken Pencil Show
was. Eugene, almost too subtly, targets the problems with the evolution
theory, and describes that just as the world and the events in it have
meaning, so do we as His creatures. "God created in our bodies
an intricate inter-workings that connects all of our biological and
anatomical systems in a way that many scholars would argue couldn't have
happened by random or evolutionary chance. And it is a reflection of the
intricate unity that he himself has." Wonderful.
Today's show featured Jess Harnell and Andre
Stojka in Avery Award-winning
performances. Their delivery, at certain times, was nothing less than perfect.
I find it amusing that although all three Whits sound relatively similar to
one another, the differences between their non-Whit roles are so unlike the
others'. For instance, Andre Stoijka acts in a way I could never envision
Hal Smith act; his alternate character as Thug Clotgripper (spelling?)
sounds much more stereotypically villainous and malicious compared to Hal's
own great big husky sounding characters, such as Grim in
Someone to Watch Over Me
or the Sea-Captain in Return
to the Bible Room. The differences between Hal and Paul and Andre are
amplified ten-fold when they are required to take on a different persona.
Also, Connie, Eugene, Red, and Harlow were all
welcomed additions and were each used to the best of their abilities. I
haven't completely warmed up to Red Hollard's character. I certainly don't
mind him, however, I feel his character is catered to appeal to those who
mourn the loss of Tom and Bernard. If this is the case, Red certainly has
big shoes to fill. But, maybe the reason I can't enjoy his character is
because I have trouble imagining what he looks like, so instead, I imagine
Mater, from Pixar's 2006 Film "Cars". Their voices are nearly identical. And
though I have no objection to world of Pixar crossing over into
Adventures in Odyssey, I do have a problem with Whit conversing with a
talking tow truck.
I think there's a difference between a "dumb"
episode like Fairy
Tal-e-Vision and a
"dumb-episode-that-is-purposefully-dumb-and-does-'dumb'-well" like
Hidden in My Heart. Yes,
I am generously giving this "dumb" episode four stars. This is an
experimental episode that contains enough bubbling energy, humor and good
performances to stand-out from its counterparts. I also appreciate shows
that don't sacrifice the realistic side of Adventures in Odyssey but
properly channels the show's sillier side through the use of Kids Radio.
This whole review could have turned out
completely differently. I wasn't sure whether I should review this episode
while bearing in mind the rest of the season. I tried to ignore how much
"suspension of disbelief" the listener will need to have to get through this
season, or the fact that Wooton has gone from a supporting character to
co-star of the show--resulting in Odyssey transforming into a Veggie
Tales-like show rather than one older listeners can enjoy. This episode
does a lot of what I normally hate but finds ways to excuse its bad
behavior. Its theme, or lack-of, justifies almost everything that takes
place.
Most listeners will have a greater problem
with today's show than I do. However, we should admit that for what it
intends to do, it does well, and succeeds. I've heard complaints about
the show having no plot. Well, I'm not quite sure if the episode would have
been able to convey the same message with one. For once, we don't have some
poorly made episode to communicate a very simple and childish theme, but
rather, we have a well-made episode that communicates something more
ambiguous and more important to today's children. And though you searched
and searched the meaning and grew angry, frustrated and confused, realize
that, perhaps, that was the point.
Rating
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