Episode
Reviewed: Forgiving
More... or Less
(695)
Writers:
Paul McCusker, George Halitzka
Director: Bob Hoose
Sound Designer:
Nathan Jones
Theme: Love keeps no record of wrongs
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:5
Original
Airdate: 10/29/11
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
After hearing a
story from Red Hollard, Camilla Parker decides
to make a forgiveness list.
The Review
Forgiving More... or Less
features one of the most painfully awkward moments in Adventures in
Odyssey history. The moment is awkward because John Avery Whittaker, my
childhood hero and role model, says one of the most embarrassing jokes I've
ever heard: "Big Scoop? I've got one here for the Ice Cream! Har. Har".
Surely Camilla could have laughed. Someone could have laughed. Do we
really want Whit to be portrayed as a bumbling, out of touch, geezer? If I
remember correctly, the Whit I grew up with was a relatively funny guy who
knew how to say a clever joke. Sigh. I suppose even role models say
bad jokes, too.
Red Hollard's next episode should be titled "Red Hollard goes to the Doctor"
where he gets his throat checked out. Is there a frog in there? Is he a
heavy smoker? Is he played by Nick Nolte? Whatever he is, I wonder whether
he's being set-up as the show's newest storyteller. Bernard Walton was
obviously better at it. After all, Bernard's stories also magically featured
actors and sound effects. Red Hollard's story, likewise, could have
benefited from having the dialogue acted out while Red narrated. I know I
should be able to follow a simple story; however, I wonder whether it might
have helped Steve Eastin—despite
doing a nice job—tell a more captivating tale.
Thematically,
Forgiving More... or Less
took an interesting route. I like how the show began with three unrelated
story threads (Red Hollard's story/Matthew and Camilla break the
oscilloscope/Camilla is told to do dishes) and then tied everything neatly
together in the Parker living room at the end. After the first few scenes, I
was afraid the episode was going to feel as bloated as last week's
Anger Mismanagement; and
while it certainly felt like it at first, everything was wrapped up so
smoothly I can't complain.
Today's show follows a 20 year old tradition in which kids misinterpret a
biblical verse or theme and then continue for the rest of the episode
practicing it out of context. Listeners knows all too well what they're
doing wrong—and not just listeners above the
target audience. So we wait, and wait, until the main character figures it
out. It's not always the most exciting way to explain a theme, but it works.
We've seen Donna misinterpret a verse about prayer in
And When You Pray..., Marvin and Tamika
misinterpret Matthew 19:24 in
The Poor Rich Guy,
and Tamika misinterpret the true meaning of honesty in
And That's the Truth.
You could probably think of a few more. Thankfully, Camilla only starts
misunderstanding the meaning of forgiveness 12 minutes into the show, giving
us other interesting things to think about.
I find myself appreciating Camilla more and more. I wonder how annoying this
episode would have been had she not been the lead character. Out of all the
young actors on Adventures in Odyssey, she is certainly one the
cutest. I'm not talking about her voice but about her assertiveness and
totally clever, unexpected lines: "He ran out of toes to truck?" and "Why
didn't his insurance take care of it?'' I remember not being able to
differentiate between the Parker kids when I first met them in
The Inspiration Station,
but their personalities have certainly grown and evolved well.
We hadn't heard the whole Parker family together since the disagreeable
An Agreeable Nanny. It
was nice to hear the kids all working on a project together. Although I'd
like to hear them hang out without bickering, the actors do it in a way that
isn't as annoying as the Washington kids sounded. Furthermore, I'd like to
see the Parker parents have real conversations with their children,
talking to them because they like to talk to them, and not simply because
they need to teach them a lesson or ask them to do the dishes. Regardless,
despite a few bumps along the way, the Parker family seem to be on the right
track, and I'm already enjoying their presence on Adventures in Odyssey
far more than I ever enjoyed the Washington family.
All in all,
Forgiving More... or Less
is your average Adventures in Odyssey episode. That's not a bad
thing. Calling an episode ''average'' means Adventures in Odyssey did
everything you expected it to do. It may not add much to the series, but
you've now spent 25 quality minutes and are now a little wiser. And for
whatever I didn't like about this episode, I easily forgave it.
Rating
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