Official Podcast 113

The official podcast 113 released today is a Q&A with Dave Arnold and Paul McCusker.

"Dave and Paul answer your probing questions, such as “What is the title of album 54?” “Who is the Stilletto?” “What are the appropriate ages for album 53?” “When will Katrina return?” and “Why don’t the episodes in album 53 have titles?” Plus, hear another exciting preview!"

Also if you haven't voted in the Avery Awards and want to you should do so soon.  February 1st is the deadline.

The Whits End Podcast released it's 65th podcast and has a special guest appear in this one. It has a new look as well check it out.

One more thing. Recently on Campbell County message boards I posted a topic containing trading cards I made for fun. Here they are.

Podcast you won't want to miss!

The Official Podcast #112 is up, packed with stuff you won't want to miss.

"In this packed-to-the-gills podcast, first hear from sound designer Todd Busteed, then hear all of the nominations for this season’s Avery Awards. Finally, hear a scene from the first episode of “The Green Ring Conspiracy."

Also, Focus has reduced the cost of the digital download of Promises, Promises to free! You can get the episode here, but get it fast, it won't be around forever.

2010 Season Overlook

Here's a look back at the spring and fall seasons of 2010 of Adventures in Odyssey.


Album 51: After listening to them again since my reviews, I realized I was a little generous to some of these episodes (including Game for A Mystery). This album is an introduction to the Parker family, so we're still getting used to them, but the Jones and Parker Mysteries never really grew on me. The opener, The Inspiration Station was ok, but a little weak for a season opener. The finale The Jubilee Singers was my favorite of this album.




Album 52: The season opener for the fall season, The Mystery of the Clock Tower, was good and it's one of my favorites in this album. I also liked A Thankstaking Story. The two Jones and Parker mysteries in this album rank with Game For A mystery. They aren't necessarily horrible, but not to my liking. I imagine to the target age group they aren't as bad. But that's one thing I've always liked about Odyssey, even though the target age group is 8-12, the episodes are usually enjoyable for any age.

My Top 5 Favorite episodes of 2010

5.  Fast As I Can
4. Target of the Week
3. Mystery of the Clock Tower I, and II
2. Jubilee Singers I, II, and III
1. A Thankstaking Story

My 5 Least favorites

5. Wooton's Broken Pencil Show
4. For the Birds
3. The Milkball Falcon
2. Game For a Mystery
1. Stage Fright

And that wraps up the season for now. After reading and seeing different things on album 53, I really am looking forward to it. I think 53 will get us passed getting to know the new characters and more into the stories. I'm not looking forward to the Jones and Parker agency that seems to play a somewhat huge role, but maybe I'll be surprised.

And that's all for now. This is Freddy Jay saying "Green Ring Conspiracy get here soon!"

Album 53 Cover art (FINAL)

The final version of Album 53's cover is here!(Click for a closer look)

One thing I noticed is that there's a ferris wheel in the background which we could make out in one of the teasers. I really like the looks of this one. I can't help but wonder what could be connected to the bag full of money. And is that Matthew's cell phone, or did he find it? If the latter, what sorts of info could be on it?

Also here's the summary.

"Centered in the town of Odyssey, the story starts when a backpack filled with money is found in Gower’s Field. Then a plane crashes outside town and a mysterious survivor is discovered who may be an undercover agent or part of a counterfeit ring—or something else altogether! Enter an underworld errand-boy who has a cell-phone full of secrets. And that’s just the beginning of The Green Ring Conspiracy, a special adventure that puts our favorite Odyssey characters at the center of intrigue, suspense, and a scheme of international proportions. New friends may not be who they seem. Old friends have secrets they must keep. Deception and double-crosses are the order of the day. Trust, loyalty, and faith are all put to the test.
The Green Ring Conspiracy is unlike any collection of stories found in Odyssey, yet still brings together the drama, fun, humor, and life-lessons audiences have come to expect from the show over the years. "

This album should prove to be interesting. But who might the "Old friends"  be? How many old friends are coming back? I read one of the comments on Odyssey Scoop, and someone said the "Mysterious stranger who might really be an under cover agent" might be Jason. I hope so. It'd be great to hear him again. This summary is intriguing and hopefully won't be a let down when it comes out. What do you think will happen in Album 53?

Also those that like blogs such as Odyssey Muchacha, Mandy's Blog, and Agent 3XQ's blog might be interested in a  recently surfaced blog run by Trent DeWhite.

Random stuff

The AIOwiki now has it's new logo. It's not one of mine, but I do like how it looks.


I was looking around on the web...and I came across a site with alternatives to the facebook default. (In other words silhouettes of different characters and people like Abe Lincoln, Superman, and Batman etc.)  So I got a burst of inspiration. Why not do the same for Odyssey Characters? (I've added these to the OBC picture gallery on Facebook as well.)

     Connie                                                                                            Jason

                                                                                   

    Bernard                                                                                        Camilla  

Eugene                                                                                                Jimmy








David                                                                                            Matthew








Olivia                                                                                                       Tom
                                                                                        
Mr. Whittaker                                                                                    Eva








Wooton

Grandma's Christmas Visit Review

The newest season Cause and Effect comes to a close with this last episode Grandma's Christmas Visit. Here's my review.

The first thing that caught my eye was the title. It's interesting to note that in album 51 there was an episode called Grandma's Visit. So maybe their doing something similar to what they did with Issac? (Issac the Pure, Issac the Chivalrous, etc.) Does this mean there could be a Grandma's Weekend Visit? Or Grandma's Chaotic Visit? Hmmmm...

I was surprised to see Abuelita back so soon. And at first I wasn't wanting her back so soon. I thought maybe she'd be a character that was used sparingly, or a one time usage like the Barclay Grandparents. But her character is an interesting sort, and I'm getting to like her more and more. The idea of making Whits End traditional and home-like for the holidays is genius. Grandmas touch to the event was nice. It sorta introduced a different culture's tradition into the show. An interesting concept.

And this episode brings back kids radio again. I think we heard kids radio in album 51 as well. I'm glad they haven't abandoned that. The line "She seems to create chaos wherever she goes" fits grandma very well from what we've seen of her so far. The Las Posadas was a nice touch. The kids lines during the Las Posadas were very funny. Along with Connies lines about the donkey and well any line with Connie yelling makes me chuckle. I think mainly because of the part in Call me if you care, where she yells for Cindy.

The gingerbread house part made me hungry...Which probably has to do with the fact that I'm writing this on a hungry stomach......The hidden gifts in the gingerbred house is a neat idea. Along with the Let's make a white elephant deal gameshow. The fact that priceless heirlooms were hidden in worthless junk as a lesson from Whit was cool. I was wondering when we'd hear a deep felt hidden meaning to something plain.

Rating:
Theme: 5/5 The theme was the true meaning of Christmas. Which is one of the most important lessons. Definitely a great way to show this theme.

Humor: 4.5/5 This episode had me chuckling a good portion of the way through it. It was pretty funny, but not too out of hand.

Music: 4/5

Interest Level: 5/5

"Like" rating: 4/5  Great episode. possibly one of the bests of this year.
 
Final Rating:  4.5/5

Well this is the last episode of the season. Now we just have to wait for album 53. 

Happy New Year!

I just want to use this post to wish everyone a Happy New Year! A special New Years tribute to Marvin of AIO Fan's Life, Christian of The Voice of Odyssey, Original Joe of Odyssey Way, Audry of AIO Insanity, Luke of The Odyssey Times, Brendon of The Whits End Podcast, Austin and Tasha of The AIO Blogcast and to all you wonderful readers out there who support me and this little blog.  (and to any blogger that I may have missed....It's so hard to keep track of everyone.) May God bless you all with the new year to come.

And speaking of the aio blog, they released a special Odyssey song filled podcast in honor of the new year. And I must say it's one of my favorite podcasts of theirs thus far. Be sure to check it out.