From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adventures in Odyssey

Genre	Radio drama/comedy
Running time	17-30 minutes per episode
Country	United States  Canada
Languages	English
Syndicates	Focus on the Family
Hosts	Tommy Nelson
Starring	Hal Smith (1987 - 1994) Katie Leigh Paul Herlinger (1996–2008) Andre Stojka (2009 - present) Will Ryan Walker Edmiston (1987–2007) Dave Madden Alan Young Earl Boen Townsend Coleman Steve Burns Chris Anthony Corey Burton Jess Harnell
Announcer	Chris Anthony
Creators	Phil Lollar & Steve Harris
Writers	Paul McCusker many others
Air dates	since November 21, 1987
No. of episodes	Radio: 645 Video: 17 Books:15 Full list
Website	WhitsEnd.org

Adventures in Odyssey (AIO), or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The series centers on the fictional town of Odyssey, and in particular, an ice-cream emporium named 'Whit's End,' and its proprietor, John Avery Whittaker. This lead role was originally played by Hal Smith through 1994, and then by Paul Herlinger until 2008. Because of small health issues, a mutual decision was made by Herlinger and the crew to replace Herlinger with another voice actor. In September 2009, Andre Stojka took over the role. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America.^[1] The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video series, books, and several computer games. John Campbell composed music for over 300 episodes of Adventures in Odyssey.^[2]

History

In 1983, Focus on the Family began creating several short dramas for inclusion in the ministry's daily half-hour radio show; these radio dramas were commissioned by Focus on the Family founder and then-president Dr. James Dobson as an alternative to Saturday-morning cartoons. This effort culminated with a 13-week test series titled Family Portraits which aired in early 1987.^[3] It was created by Steve Harris and Phil Lollar, who set it in a small Midwest town they called Odyssey. The test episodes engendered a favorable audience response, and led to a continuing radio program in November 1987, called Odyssey USA.^[4] The title was later changed to Adventures in Odyssey in order to "increase international appeal."^[5]

The goal of the Odyssey staff was to create a "values based" radio show with production values comparable with or surpassing those of most mainstream audio dramas. While the show aimed to promote Christian values, according to Odyssey's co-creator Phil Lollar, the goal was not to be "a preaching program" but to be an "entertaining program."^[6] Large amounts of work were put into each individual story; for the first few years, each thirty-minute episode typically took over one hundred hours to produce.^[7]

Several well-known voice actors were brought in to provide the lead roles. Hal Smith voiced the lead character John Avery Whittaker^[8] in one of his favorite roles.^[9] The rest of the original "key" characters were voiced by Katie Leigh, Will Ryan, and Walker Edmiston^[10], who, along with Hal Smith, had all previously worked together extensively at Disney.^[9] When Hal Smith died in 1994, Adventures in Odyssey was left without its main character and Focus on the Family considered canceling the radio show.^[11] After a search that lasted over two years, a replacement voice was finally found in Paul Herlinger that sounded close enough to Hal Smith; Paul Herlinger voiced the main character from 1996 until 2008.^[12]

Since Spring 2008, Adventures in Odyssey has been on "hiatus," with no new episodes scheduled to air until September 2009.^[5] The show is being adapted into Spanish audio and Hindi live-action videos, with plans to create Mandarin Chinese audio as well.^[4]

Popularity

By the end of its second year in 1988, the show was on 634 radio stations (and only in North America).^[7] As of 1995, it was the second most popular Christian radio show in the United States.^[13] By 2002, the show was on over six thousand stations worldwide.^[14]

The radio episodes have also been widely released on both cassette and CD collections; by 1992, almost a million cassettes had been sold. ^[15] Odyssey episodes have also been released annually (since 1990) as promotional items through Chick-fil-A.^[16]

Criticism

Adventures in Odyssey has been occasionally criticized for being old-fashioned and out of sync with modern life^[17] and the lack of racial diversity in Odyssey has also raised complaints.^[18] In addition, the show has been subject to some negative feedback for bringing up topics such as abortion and the Vietnam War in a children's program - although an advisory warning is typically provided at the start of such episodes.^[11]

Characters

A wall in the real-life Whit's End at the Focus on the Family visitor's center showing the Adventures in Odyssey voice actors, challenging viewers to match them with the characters.

• John Avery Whittaker, voiced by Hal Smith (1987 - 1994), Paul Herlinger (1996 - 2008), and Andre Stojka (2009-)
• Connie Kendall, voiced by Katie Leigh
• Eugene Meltsner, voiced by Will Ryan (1988-2000, 2005-present)
• Katrina Shanks-Meltsner, voiced by Pamela Hayden and Audrey Wasilewski
• Bernard Walton, voiced by Dave Madden
• Tom Riley, voiced by Walker Edmiston (1987 - 2007)
• Jack Allen, voiced by Alan Young
• Jason Whittaker, voiced by Townsend Coleman
• Bart Rathbone, voiced by Walker Edmiston (1987-2007)
• Wooton Bassett, voiced by Jess Harnell
• Rodney Rathbone, voiced by Steve Burns
• Dr. Regis Blackgaard, Edwin's twin brother, voiced by Earl Boen
• Edwin Blackgaard, Regis's twin brother, also voiced by Earl Boen
• Chris, the show's announcer, voiced by Chris Anthony

Episodes

Adventures in Odyssey has released over 600 episodes to date, and has released 51 albums.

Spinoff products

Aside from the radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey has begun many spin-offs and special series, including an Official Odyssey Podcast,^[19] 17 animated videos,^[20] Eugene Sings! and Eugene Sings! Christmas, and two edutainment computer games,^[21] in addition to the two book series created as spin-offs to Adventures in Odyssey, Passages^[22] and Kidsboro.^[23]

Video series

The first Adventures in Odyssey video was released in 1991. This series was created following the success of Focus on the Family's previous video project, McGee and Me. Originally, the Odyssey video series was created by a separate staff from that of the radio series and each episode had a budget of about $400,000;^[15] by 1998 over 2 million Odyssey videos had been sold.^[24] There are currently 17 episodes in the video series and several attempts have been made to place this series on television.^[15] The episodes were screened in Britain on Channel 4 in the mid-1990s.

Computer games

Christian video game developer Digital Praise has released 3 computer games based on the series, Adventures in Odyssey: The Treasure of the Incas,^[25] Adventures in Odyssey: The Sword of the Spirit,^[26] and Adventures in Odyssey: The Great Escape.^[27] Will Ryan, Katie Leigh and Paul Herlinger voiced the main characters of the games.^[28]

Eugene Sings!

Eugene Sings! and Eugene Sings! Christmas are Adventures in Odyssey musical albums from Tyndale House and Focus on the Family. Both feature songs written and sung by Will Ryan, voicing Eugene Meltsner from the series.

See also

• The Last Chance Detectives

References

Further reading

• Adventures in Odyssey: The Official Guide : ISBN 1589974751
• The Complete Guide to Adventures in Odyssey : ISBN 156179466X

External links

• Whit's End – official website
• Adventures in Odyssey video series at the Internet Movie Database

• Media related to Adventures in Odyssey at Wikimedia Commons

From Wikiquote

Adventures in Odyssey (1987-present) is an Evangelical Christian radio drama/comedy series with over 630 episodes to date that airs regularly on hundreds of radio stations worldwide. Originally pitched as a variety show, the series was created by Phil Lollar and Steve Harris for Focus on the Family to present an alternative for Christians to secular radio shows. The premise of AIO revolves around the inhabitants of the fictional town of Odyssey, - the All American town (there is a mountain range nearby, but it is also within a puddle jumper flight from Chicago - "somewhere in the midwest"[see The Official Guide to Adventures in Odyssey]). The specific focus location is an ice cream eatery and "discovery emporium" called "Whit's End" and its owner, John Avery Whittaker, known by his friends as "Whit". The genres of the episodes range wildly from being comedic sitcoms to action/adventure drama, and Judeo-Christian values and Scriptural principles are always brought to the forefront.

1987

#005: Gifts for Madge and Guy

• Lisa: (Describing a perdicament in which she cannot think of a Christmas present for a friend.) You see, everything we can afford he won't like, and everything he won't like we can't afford.

Connie: That's why they invented credit cards!

• Officer Harley: (Guessing at the moral to Whit's humorous adaptation of "The Gifts of the Magi".) If you want to buy a gift for your friend, you've . . . uh . . . you've gotta sell Lisa's hair!

Phil: No, it has to be something valuable.

• Tom: Now, that's what I call a Christmas tree!

Officer Harley: Well, what else would you call it?

1988

#007: Promises, Promises

• Tom: Say, Whit, got any special plans for tonight?

Whit: Well, as a matter of fact, I do have something planned.

Tom: Aha, got some company coming over, huh? Somebody special maybe?

Whit: (Laughs.) Well, in a way it's company. I plan to spend the evening with a cup of hot cocoa and Robert Louis Stevenson."

Tom: The writer? He's coming to your house?

Whit: No, no, no, no, Tom. He's not actually coming here. You see, he's dead.

Tom: Dead? I didn't even know he was sick.

Whit: No, no, no. He lived in the 1800s.

Tom: Oh yeah, that's about three blocks north form here, ain't it?

Whit: Oh no, I mean he's be dead a long time.

Tom: Well, he's not going to be much for conversation, is he?

Whit: Well, I'm not gonna talk to him.

Tom: Well, then whatcha havin' him over for?

Whit: Tom, listen, I was talking about a book. A Robert Louis Stevenson book.

Tom: Isn't that kinda rude?

Whit: Whaddya mean?

Tom: Well, if you're gonna spend the whole evening reading, how're ya gonna pay any attention to your guest?

Whit: Oh, Tom.

Tom: Oh I get it. You're gonna read out loud. Is that it?"

Whit: Oh, never mind, Tom.

• Whit: And you know what else? I can prove to you logically that I'm not even here.

Phil: Come on! You're here! I can see you.

Whit: No, I'm not. You want me to prove it?

Phil: Yeah.

Whit: Okay. Now, I'm not it Cincinnati, am I?

Phil: No.

Whit: And I'm not in Buffalo, am I?

Phil: No.

Whit: And I'm definitely not in Detroit. You agree?

Phil: I agree.

Whit: Okay. If I'm not in Cincinnati, Buffalo, or Detroit, I must be someplace else, right?

Phil: Right.

Whit: Well, if I'm some places else, I can't be here, can I?

Kid: Awwww!

• Connie: (Describing Whit to a friend in a letter.) Oh, and he's really into religion, too. Now, I know what you're thinking, but before you jump to any conclusions, he doesn't shave his head or hang around airports or anything like that.

#012: The Tangled Web

• Jeremy: (Bemoaning the fact that he has to eat oatmeal for breakfast.) Why do I have to eat this stuff, anyway? I don't see you guys ever eat any!

Roger: That's because we're parents. We've already eaten our live's allotment of oatmeal.

#018: A Member of the Family II

• Whit: (Jana is confronting her dad for spanking his grandson Monty.) That boy needed some kind of punishment, and it's pretty clear that whatever you've been doing hasn't been working too well!

Jana: Oh, so on top of everything else, I'm an unfit mother.

Whit: That's not what I said --

Jana: Oh, no. You never actually say it.

Whit: Listen, Jana. I'm sorry. I should've chosen my words more carefully --

Jana: It's too late for that. Okay, Monty can stay with you for tonight. I'll pick him up in the morning.

Whit: Where are you gonna go?

Jana: I'll find a room in a hotel.

Whit: Hotel? Nonsense! This is your home; stay here.

Jana: No, Dad. It's your home. It's not mine; not anymore. Tell Monty I said goodnight.

• Whit: I just don't understand what all this is about.

Jana: No, I'm sure you don't.

Whit: Now listen here, I've had just about enough. If you have something you want to say to me, say it. If not, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep a civil tongue in your head.

Jana: Oh, what're you gonna do, Dad? Pull out a belt and spank me, too?

Whit: Is that was this is all about? A debate over the merits of corporal punishment?

Jana: No. I've just had it with you constantly passing judgment on me. Nothing I do pleases you! You criticize my work, my friends, my hobbies, my marriage -- oh, let's not forget my marriage. You had plenty to say about that. And then you criticized me for getting a divorce. And now it's my son. Did you hear that, Dad? My son. Let's try to keep that straight, shall we?

#019: Recollections

Officer Harley: And I think that we're all in agreement that the number one cause of juvenile delinquency in this country today is young people! Now, I know that may sound like a generalization, but if you take a look at a cross-reference of all juvenile delinquents, you'd probably find that most of them, most of them are between 5 and 18 years of age! Coincidence? Maybe. But do we really want to take the chance? I, for one, don't think so!

#024: Gotcha!

• Philo: (Explaining why he isn't worried about a practical joker on the loose in Odyssey pranking him.) I have a rabbit's foot.

Officer Harley: Bummer. They have surgery that can correct that, you know.

• Tom: The only luck that rabbit's foot has brought anybody is bad luck for the rabbit that lost it.
• Whit: You'll get more protection out of deodorant spray than you will out of that silly good luck charm.

#047: A Single Vote

• Whit: Jamison Shoemaker. He was an Indiana farmer.

Tom: Was? Then I take it he's no longer with us.

Horace: Where'd he go?

Connie: He died, Horace.

Horace: Oh.

Whit: Well, it's only natural, he lived more than 150 years ago.

Horace: Wow, if he were alive today, he'd be dead!

Connie: Very good.

#052: Connie II

• Connie: I've been really confused, and I thought that by going to California everything would become clearer for me. And that's exactly what happened. I've got it all figured out and I know what I want to do. I want to pray with you.

1989

#066: The Imagination Station I

• Digger: (He has just been placed in a virtual simulation of biblical Jerusalem.) This looks like a scene from Ben-Hur.
• Digger: (In the midst of the Triumphal Entry.) Come on, Mr. Whittaker. You've been taking lessons from Disneyland.
• Digger: (Explaining his jeans to a character.) They're Levi's. Levi Strauss.

Mark: Oh, a Jewish tailor.

#067: The Imagination Station II

• Digger: They killed him, Mr. Whittaker! He didn't do anything to them and they killed him!

Whit: Digger, it's all right.

Digger: No, it's not. I didn't know about Jesus before, Mr. Whittaker. He never really meant anything to me. And now, just when I get to learn about him, I have to see him die.

Whit: It's all right, Digger. The story doesn't end there.

Digger: What do you mean? He's dead. It has to end here.

Whit: No, it doesn't. The best part is yet to come.

#079: Our Best Vacation Ever!

• Donna: The budget?! It's always the budget! We haven't been able to do anything since we got that stupid budget!

1990

#109: Two Sides to Every Story

• Jimmy: (Recounting a fight with his sister.) I'd tell you the rest, Dad, but this is a family show.

#113: Suspicious Minds

• Eugene: (Describing a device that will shock anyone attempting to open the cash register sans permission.) I used to do this to my parents when they were dieting. It kept them away from the refridgerator.

Bernard: You must've been a joy to have around as a child.

• Whit: This contraption of yours, Eugene . . . I expected better behavior.

Eugene: Well, it worked on my parents! They lost 20 pounds! Each!

#115: An Act of Mercy

• Chris: Hi, this is Chris, and on today's Adventure in Odyssey, we're going to---

Dave Arnold (engineer): Sorry to interrupt, Chris.

Chris: Uh, what's wrong, Dave?

Dave: I was just wondering if you were still driving that blue, formerly-in-mint-condition Datsun?

Chris: Formerly in mint condition??

Dave: Well, uh, you know, I think once the taillight's broken, it couldn't really be called "mint" anymore. Maybe "off-mint."

Chris: What?! My taillight is broken?

Dave: Yep. I think it broke when the rear right fender bent left.

Chris: You're kidding me! What could have made my rear right fender bend left?

Dave: Uh, probably the telephone pole you parked next to. See, when your car hit the telephone pole, the telephone pole bent your rear right fender to the left and broke your taillight, and...

Chris: Dave... why did my car hit a telephone pole?!!

Dave: Ahem... do you remember that red formerly-in-mint-condition Dodge I was driving?...

Chris: Dave... you should be thankful for today's Adventure in Odyssey.

Dave: Really? How come?

Chris: It's about MERCY.

#137: Back to Bethlehem III

• Eugene: (In the Imagination Station, experiencing the birth of Jesus.) But how could you believe for so long without proof? Without evidence to support your theory?

Hezekiah: Theory? You are still speaking with your mind, Eugenius. What I believe is found in the place where the mind and the heart unite.

Eugene: Oh . . . and where is that?

Hezekiah: Faith.

1991

#156: Waylaid in the Windy City II

• Whit: (As Richard brandishes a gun at Dr. Blackgaard, the man who set him up to go to prison two years ago.) Don't you understand that when you go out for revenge you have to dig two graves? One for the person you're after and one for yourself! Richard, there's no such thing as revenge, not really. It never replaces what you lost. It never restores. It doesn't even satisfy. You're out of the detention center now. You've got you're whole life ahead of you! Now please, give me the gun!

1993

#240: And the Glory

• Jimmy Barclay: The crowd is going wild!

Lawrence Hodges: That's right, Jimmy. Not only is the crowd going wild because Odyssey is one out from winning, but because hot dogs just went on sale for half price!

1998

#400: The Spy Who Bugged Me

• Jared DeWhite: Dwayne, I've got a feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach, called a gut instinct!

Dwayne Oswald: Could have been those tacos we had for lunch.

2000

#443: Changing Rodney

• Rodney Rathbone: If you're gonna be somewhere where you're gonna get hit, you better not be carrying nothin'!

Cast

• Hal Smith as John Avery Whitaker
• Katie Leigh as Connie Kendall
• Will Ryan as Eugene Meltsner and Officer David Harley
• Walker Edmiston as Tom Riley
• Dave Madden as Bernard Walton
• David Griffin as Jeremy Forsithe and Jimmy Barclay
• Phil Lollar as Roger Forsithe
• Azure Janosky as Donna Barclay
• Chad Reisser as Digger Digwillow and Horace Higgenbotham
• Doug Davis as Phil
• Tiffany Song as Lisa
• D.J. Harner as Jana Whitaker-Dowd
• Nathan Fisk as Philo Sanderson
• Parley Baer as Hezekiah
• Gabriel Encarncacion as Lawrence Hodges
• Brandon Gilberstadt as Jared DeWhite
• Kris Kachurak as Dwayne Oswald
• Steve Burns as Rodney Rathbone