Never for Nothing Review

Never for Nothing:


This episode was one I really looked forward to reviewing. It's quite possibly my favorite of album 54.
Grandma Lucia is a character that is interesting. She's older and opens up room for stories of her childhood, like has been done with Whit, Bernard, Tom, and Jack. it's excellent that she's moved to Odyssey. I like the way it ties the past to the present. Juan was to Lucia as Jay is to Matthew. The line by Esperanza that goes;
Esperanza: My Papa says we must always show love. No matter what. It does good.
Young Lucia: It's a waste of time on some people. It does nothing.
Esperanza: No. Love is never for nothing.
is my favorite quote from the episode. Matthew and the halfway house shows another aspect of love. And Matthew learns a little on loving Jay unconditionally. Esperanza is an inspiration to live and love without expecting niceness back. She repeatedly tells Lucia "never for nothing" throughout the story. The way Esperanza  offers to get Juan's shoe despite the fact that Juan was so aweful to them is so unlike the typical society viewpoint. The fact that she died makes this story so powerful and I totally wasn't expecting it. She tried to help out someone who could easily be determined an enemy, and ended up dying for it.
I definitely wasn't expecting the twist at the end with the halfway house owner being Juan. It almost opens the opportunity for Lucia and Juan to meet up again down the road. You never can tell.

This episode is so powerful and it reminds me that it's important to love unconditionally. I've listened to this one countless times, and it easily is one of my favorites.

Theme: Love Never Fails; 4.5/5
Humor: 4/5-- There may not have been much humor in this one, but with the seriousness of the episode it would have seemed out of place. 
Quotes: 4/5 --
Standout Quote(s): 
Esperanza: My Papa says we must always show love. No matter what. It does good.
Young Lucia: It's a waste of time on some people. It does nothing.
Esperanza: No. Love is never for nothing. 

Interest level: 4/5
"Like" rating: 5/5

Average Rating 5/5   

The Labyrinth, Part 1 Review

The Labyrinth, part 1 Review

The Labyrinth finally aired this past weekend. Well the first part at least. Here are my thoughts so far.

The first scene introduces two new characters to us. Agent Florin and Agent Billings of MI5 (British Intelligence).The accents are exceptional. This first scene was an excellent recap of what happened with Jason thus far as the Stiletto and the whole GRC.  The fact that MI5, Interpol and American Intelligence are working together makes everything so interesting. And setting it London is so awesome.

Jason as The Grinder is an interesting concept. We've already seen him work as The Stiletto, so having him undercover again as the Grinder to meet Reggie fingers seemed cool. I liked that Jason's secret identity was found out really quickly. It also disappointed me a little. I mean Jason is so awesome. He's not supposed to make mistakes. But that's also why I like this part. Jason slipped up and the bad guys get ahead in the game. It shows that even Jason slips up in the agent game. Sue is such an interesting character. She knows the ins and outs of London. A perfect accomplice for Jason. Almost too perfect? Jason and Sue find out that the police think that Jason was responsible for gassing the van. I like that Jason called Whit to get help. Which brings us to Dale and Ann Jacobs who just happen to be in London for a journalism symposium.
It's funny that Jason can't just walk into his room due to the fact that it's probably being watched by the police. Jason's plan for Dale and Sue to break in and get his brief case is brilliant.
Billings and Florin wake in the hospital. Billings seems to trust Jason while Florin is convinced that Jason could be turned and caught up in the labyrinth. She's so intent on getting a hold of Jason. But Jason is awesome and knows where his loyalties lie. He'd never betray anyone.
At the hotel Dale and Sue retrieve the briefcase, but not the easiest task in the world. A Detective Macontosh was watching the room and talked to Dale for a bit before going across the hall to watch the rooms from there. Thinking quickly Dale transports Sue in Jason's suitcase and tells the officer that Sue fell asleep. Pure genius. They take the elevator to floor two and then use the fire escape to the ground. The episode ends

This episode is packed with information and I had to listen several times to grasp it all. It's written so well and leaves you hanging as always. :D

Theme: Following the Right Path; 4/5
Humor: 4/5
Quotes: 4/5 --
Standout Quote(s): 

Reggie Fingers: The Grinder. What kinda name is that? Is that something you do with your teeth? Or with your finger nails, or with other people?
The Grinder: I used to have a dancing monkey in the street. Grinder. Get it?
~~~~~~~~~~
Jason Whittaker: You do much praying Sue?
Sue: I'm 'fraid not.
Jason Whittaker: Now might be a good time to start.

Interest level: 6/5
"Like" rating: 6/5

Average Rating 5/5  

I'll catch up with 54 hopefully really soon. Also be watching for an addition to CC Connection coming in the next few days. 

GRC Review

 The Green Ring Conspiracy is an amazing tale that takes the listener along with the characters to foil the bad guys. It's filled with suspense, "cliff hanger agony" and twists that make your head spin. If you haven't listened to the Green Ring conspiracy yet, you totally should. That sounded almost like an ad... Well, onto the review. I will touch on different things from the episodes, but for a full summary of the episodes check out aiowiki's episode pages for each part. (Those plots were also mostly written by me.)

Parts 1-3 get you into the swing of things and you find out that things are just getting stirred up. Emily finds a bag of money, plane crashes in Gower's Field, and Connie starts art classes at Campbell County Community College. One downside to these parts is that we don't hear from Monty until part 4, and the first three end with cliff hangers about Monty. One of the victims in the crash says Whit's name; Monty, Monty is missing from the hospital, and then Monty is found at Whit's House on the floor. Although mostly exciting, perhaps that could have been switched up somehow.

As we reach 4-6, we find out tons more information. In part 4 we find out what Monty and derk were doing in Odyssey and why the plane crashed. In Part 5 they follow a lead that connects the carnival to the conspiracy.  Part 6 takes us to the carnival and ends with Monty getting captured as the cliff hanger...

In Part 7-9 things really start heating up. In part 7, Buck and Emily look for his appleberry, and Whit looks into a neat way to find Monty using the chip implanted in Monty's arm. In Part 8, it ends with the biggest twist of the whole album, that the Stiletto is really Jason Whittaker. In part 9 we learn more information, and how Jason connects into the whole thing. and that Archie Haggler is indeed connected with the conspiracy and that he wants the Stiletto out of the way. Note that both 8,9 and 10 end with hangers involving Jason/the Stiletto. But it doesn't bug me as much as the Monty ones because we actually hear Jason.

In 10-12 it dramatically draws to a close. Jason as The Stiletto is taped and drugged and put in with the money, in part 10's ending. Part 11 puts Connie, Penny, and Wooton in a train car with the money, and the rest of the good side searching for where the money is. In the dramatic closure, Jason ends up crashing the train into Wally's warehouse, and the bad guys are stopped.

This album easily makes it's way into my top favorite albums list. I love how they brought Jason back, and I really can't wait to see what they do with him next in Album 55: The Deep End.

I rate this as follows:
Part 1: 3/5
Part 2: 4/5
Part 3: 4/5
Part 4: 4.5/5
Part 5: 5/5
Part 6: 4/5
Part 7: 4/5
Part 8: 5/5
Part 9: 5/5
Part 10: 5/5
Part 11: 5/5
Part 12: 5/5
Average overall: 5/5 Great episodes. My GRC vs DBD head to head is coming. Hopefully before the end of this week as well... But thought I'd go ahead and do this too. That's all for now, this is Freddy Jay saying; "What did you think of album 53?"

A Thankstaking Story Review

Here we go with A Thankstaking Story.

Version Difference: In the album version there's more talk about where Connie's cell phone might be, including this quote: Whit: Did you check the refrigerator, that's where you left it the last time. Connie: Yes and no it's not in there. Eugene: Well how about the restroom , that's where you make most of your phone calls. Connie: No..How would you know that?
Also it has an extra conversation between Wooton and Connie bout where it may or may not be, revealing that the cookie jar was a spot where it had been before. As well as some other snippets.The online version is approximately 25 min whereas the CD version is approximately 5 minutes longer. (According to a podcast it's the longest episode so far in Adventures in Odyssey). My review for this episode ( as the others have been so far) is from the CD version.

Square One introduced Hagglers Junkyard  and in A Thankstaking Story episode we meet Mr. Haggler. And find out that he's Jay's Uncle. Wooton's suggestion for a game is very...Wooton-like. Perhaps someday I'll try that...permitted I can find people to play it with. Whit being the narator for the story was a nice touch. I think someone else said it, but it has a Passages type touch to it with him as narrator. As soon as the music started for the first song I knew I was going to like this one. One thing that surprsied me was that Wooton plays the harmonica, and actually knows more than camp town races! (Which it wouldn't surprise me if he can play it on the harmonica as well.) I very much liked the songs in this episode. Catchy, and have a nice beat. In the first sing we hear Connie sing, and she's not half bad. She didn't sing the melody, but she did purdy good with the harmony. The way it was a spin on the Grinch who Stole Christmas was an interesting take, and similar to how they did the Thanksgiving Carol. It was very Dr. Sues-y the way it rhymed.  Arctic Blast's tributes to Elvis were cool. The theme was plain and obvious, but sometimes the simple things are the easiest to forget. Thanksgiving is a time for thanking God for the blessings we have. I like the mentioning of the five kernels of corn. First one is for the beauty of autumn. Second one is reminder of God's grace and forgiveness. Third is for the blessings of family. Fourth is the blessing of friendship. The fifth reminds to be thankful for our freedom. All those are great things to be thankful and shouldn't be overlooked. Harlow is back in this episode at the end. And he didn't have a whole lot of lines, and the ones he had aren't too painfully Harlow like.
This episode appropriately aired Thanksgiving weekend. It is definitely a great addition to the few Thanksgiving episodes that we have. And is definitely one of my favorites in this album.


Rating:
Theme: 5/5
Humor: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Interest Level: 5/5
"Like" rating: 5/5

Rating:  5/5

I know it's a little late, but I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving. How was it? Did you burn the turkey like ion Thanksgiving at home? Or did you tell stories like in A Thankstaking Story or a Thanksgiving Carol? I'd love to hear how it went, so feel free to comment. Mine was a nice casual, nothing out of the ordinary dinner with my grandparents and family, followed by a few games of ping pong. (The only sport I'm decent at.)

Well that's all for this post. This is Freddy Jay "saying" "Catch ya later."

Fast As I Can Review

Alright...Time to get caught up again.

Fast as I Can.

This episode has a great theme. It's one that hasn't been touched on a whole lot in Odyssey. Although in The Meaning of Sacrifice, the Barclay gave up TV for a similar reason, but it's sort of different I guess. I like how each character has their own unique fast/lesson learned from said fast. In this episode, Eugene seems back to his old usual wordy self. Having him give up words more than two syllables was perfect for his character. A very nice touch for this episode. Matthews fast of computers seemed very fitting as well. Although his whole adventure in the imagination station seemed out of place.... The imagination Station being influenced by a computer obsessed mind? It makes sense I suppose, but in the context of this episode it makes it seem like the user would have to have knowlege of the adventure in order for it to work. Which wasn't required before. This aspect of the imagination station is really the only big thing I didn't like in this episode. Wooton's fast of junk food was hilarious as well. The scene with Mrs. Randolph is too funny. "Thank you for the Moon!" All the fasts and all the lessons learned fit together nicely in the usual Odyssey multi story manner. Such a nice way to get multiple perspectives on the same theme.


Rating:
Theme: 5/5
Humor: 5/5
Music: 5/5
Interest Level: 5/5
"Like" rating: 5/5

Overall this episode was a very good episode. Nicely written, and definitely one I could listen to over and over again.
Total average rating : 5/5

The Jubilee Singers Review

The Jubilee Singers

Before I got the album, I was glad to read that we would hear more of the Gallery. When I heard the episode I wasn't let down either. Using the Gallery they have another way of telling stories without using the Imagination Station, or a main character telling. In these episodes Frederick Douglas tells the story of the Jubilee Singers. Unlike others, I kinda like the voice for Frederick Douglas. His voice helps me picture the character, like most of the characters in Odyssey.
I was glad to hear another episode with Red. In a way it increased the humor factor in the beginning. I think I said this before, but I will say it again. I think Red will prove to be a promising character, with many fun quotes in the future.  This episode definitely had an awesome story to it, along with great music/songs. The music style was well done, and I really liked that it had a southern gospel feel to it.I recognized some of the songs. One of them I sang with my school choir!
My rating:
Theme: 5/5
Humor: 4.5/5
Action: 5/5
Total Rating: 5/5

This episode is by far the best in album 51. If by some chance you missed the others in this album, The Jubilee Singers is one you definitely don't want to miss hearing.

Well that ends the reviews for album 51. Album 52 doesn't start airing until October. What will we do in the mean time? Well Audry of AIO Insanity hit her 100th post and has a podcast up, and if you want to hear what Marvin of The AIO Fan's Life sounds like, you can hear him on his blog as well.  If you're curious what the upcoming summer schedule looks like, you can check it out: May, June, July

 That's all for now. This is Freddy Jay saying "School's Out for the summer!"

Grandma's Visit Review

It's still raining.................and thunder storming and my dog was going crazy earlier....and now for my review of Grandma's Visit

• What a surprise. You'd think that someone from the family that was visiting for the wedding would have called to say that they were coming wouldn't you?And then that would spoil the surprise...
• I like the Spanish incorporated into this episode. 
• Great music.
• Lot's of humorous lines, and great quotes.
• Aunt Rosalita seems like a soap opera character...(Someone on CC said this too.)
• I was glad that Eva stood up to her mother.

Conclusion: Overall this is a fantastic episode. It's really, funny. It's up there with my favorite for the album. Course I'll save that for later. Rating: 5/5

This is Freddy Jay saying "It's still raining.......?"

Target of the Week Review

I'm Listening again as I'm typing this.

Yeah, more nelson. This episode introduces Vance King. At first he sounds like a big bully. Kinda like a Rodney but with a twist, not quite as mean or tough.
A Wooton episode! Yes! Wooton as a baseball commentator? Excellant, reminds me of when Lawrence tried. He made things interesting in the game play.

Vance now sounds more of a prankster than a bully. Somewhat harmless.

I couldn't help thinking of The Winning Edge and The Defining Moment. These two are also baseball episodes.
I like baseball. A Player on the coyotes named Mcgwire? Funny.

When Vance dropped the ball that reminded me of my own experience on the field as a little league player......course then again my glove wasn't tampered with...

Matt's confession was an admirable one, and definitely a hard thing to do. Great speech by Kent.

Conclusion:
This episode was pretty good. I liked this one a lot, and not just because baseball is my favorite sport. Vance wasn't the big bad bully I thought he was going to be. I wonder how much we're gonna see Vance in future episodes? The baseball game scene with Wooton helping Whit with the announcing was a nice touch. Chris's wrap up was good too. I think the theme was a good one to remember as well. This one is one of those that keeps you interested even though it doesn't have a lot of action and spies and stuff like that. I give this one a 5/5.