With a
fresh re-launch for Adventures in Odyssey, the
Odyssey team is keeping everyone on their toes in 2010.
Nathan
Hoobler, writer/director for Adventures in Odyssey,recently appeared on the first "Next-Generation Focus"
webcast at Boundless to discuss Radio Theatre
and Adventures in Odyssey. He talks about The
Screwtape Letters' recent nomination for the Audie
Awards and future Radio Theatre ideas. Then, go
behind the scenes as he discusses how he became involved
with Adventures in Odyssey. Plus, learn more about
the Odyssey team's approach toalbum 51, Take It from the Top,
and some of the sound
design aspects of the show.
The Odyssey Scoop
Edition #4 Meanwhile, The Odyssey ScoopCast
Edition #4 has arrived! It's the longest ScoopCast yet, and we've definitely
got some surprises up our sleeves. What are those surprises? You'll
certainly have to stay tuned to find out!
With the Spring 2010 Season at its
end, the ScoopCast talks about what's happening now and in the future. Plus,
learn how you can participate for cool Odyssey prizes, see a video of Nathan
Hoobler, and more.
And now, ScoopCast audience, once you've
heard the latest podcast, start sharing your thoughts and ideas in the
comments below. And if you aren't currently subscribed to the ScoopCast
quite yet, today is a perfect day to get started.
Never be without The Odyssey Scoop.
Several
months back, I spotlighted a new radio drama called
Lamplighter Theatre, a show that is somewhat reminiscent
of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's productions.
The show features Jess Harnell, voice of Wooton on
Adventures in Odyssey, and many familiar Radio
Theatre voices. Several of the Odyssey team members are
also involved with the drama. When you combine their talent
and insight, out pops Lamplighter Theatre. It's
certainly a high-quality drama.
The drama has made it
through its first year, with seven releases now available.
Lamplighter Theatre's most recent drama, A Peep
Behind the Scenes, will be available in June. However,
in order to introduce the show to more people,
Lamplighter is now offering this drama as a free
download to use as an outreach. Here's a quick synopsis of
the story:
You'll be transported back in time... You will meet Nora, who, enticed by the lure of fame and blinded by the
romance of the theatre, soon grasps the reality of what life is like behind
the scenes; Augustus, who thrives in the very small world of himself;
Rosalie, whose faith shines bright in a very dark world; Betsy Ann,
convinced that nobody loves her because nobody ever did, until she meets the
Good Shepherd, Who goes to extremes to seek and to find those are lost.
Masterfully written, produced, and sound engineered with original music
scores by the world's leading creatives, Lamplighter Theatre dramas
are building Christ-like character…one story at a time! Once you listen to
this seven-episode epic drama, you'll will be compelled to share this
unprecedented evangelistic and family redemptive drama with family, friends,
and neighbors.
To learn more about the
free download of the complete audio drama, click
here. Lamplighter Theatre also broadcasts on
select radio stations around the country, and the list of
stations continues to grow.
Our
season of episode reviews is winding down here at The
Odyssey Scoop. Today we present our second to last
review. This time we're talking about Finish What
You...:
Finish What You...
is a less-than-satisfactory experience and appears to be geared for younger
listeners. Old-timers like me won't appreciate the show as much as the
target age group will, but I guess that's what we all get for growing up....Read Full Review
Stay tuned in the coming
days for our review of Adventures in Odyssey's season
finale! And be checking back often because we always have
special surprises here at the Scoop.
A big thanks goes out to
everyone who submitted nominations
for the Odyssey Awards. We received around 140 entries on
our side, and the
Official Podcast collected a number close to ours as
well. Also a big thanks goes out to the many of you who
submitted your ideas for the name for the awards. It is no
longer the "Whitty Awards." Tune in to the next Official
Podcast where the official name will be announced and the
finalists will be read for the Odyssey Awards. Voting begins
soon!
Time, in its usual way,
has gotten away from us with the spring season of
Adventures in Odyssey at its end. With new inventions,
characters, and situations, the AIO audio drama series
continues with its solid entertainment, stellar quality, and
timeless approach. But what's in store for the show's
listeners in the months to come?
I'm glad you asked.
Today I'd like to share with you the lineup of weekend
shows. A summer of summer-themed re-airs is in store for
Odyssey listeners. Take a look at what's coming up:
It's the Coyotes vs. the Stingrays
for the Odyssey Softball League Championship -- only some of the
players may be taking the game a bit too seriously.
An old prospector, a torn map, and a legendary
gold-mine interrupt Eugene and Bernard's journey West and
infects them with Gold-Fever. It's a tragic story of deception
and betrayal...or is it?
When Dwayne and Julie find a set of old bones in
a cave, it piques the interest of Bart Rathbone, who launches an
outrageous scheme to capitalize on what he believes are the
bones of Bigfoot!
Of course, if you're on
pins and needles waiting for Album 52, Cause and Effect,
you're going to have to wait a little longer for the album's
October release. We'll keep you posted on the latest Odyssey
news as it develops, which tends to happen faster than all
of us can keep up with. You can also stay up-to-date with
the day-to-day airing schedule here.
So check back often for the "Scoop"!
We've
made it to the conclusion of the Spring Season of
Adventures in Odyssey. Today, the final episode of
The Jubilee
Singers
airs on radio stations, and
online:
Olivia hears the conclusion
of the story of the Jubilee Singers from a talking portrait
of Frederick Douglass. Things aren't looking good for the
Singers. With each performance, their tour seems closer to
despair. Will a church in Oberlin, Ohio, spell the end of
their tour and their school...or is it the miracle they've
been praying for?
As a special end-of-season
surprise, we've released a special new audio treat... but
what makes this audio clip so special? During the 1990's,
Adventures in Odyssey creator Phil Lollar was also
involved with another children's radio drama, Jungle Jam
and Friends: The Radio Show--a humorous audio drama
following the lives of a pack of jungle animals. Though the
show only last a couple years (excluding their recent
episodes), listeners became acquainted with Gruffy Bear,
Nozzles the Elephant, the Cheetah Sisters, Millard J.
Monkey, Sully the Aardvark, the RazzleFlabbenz, and many
others. It was during a specific episode, The Great
Rubber Band War, in which listeners got to hear a
surprise AIO crossover featuring Whit, Connie, and Eugene.
I've been wanting to post the clip for some time so that
many of you can enjoy it as I did growing up. So go have a listenand tell
us what you think! To learn more about Jungle Jam,
visit Fancy
Monkey's website.
The episode is set in a
very humorous context, which entertains younger listeners and appeals to
older listeners as well, who appreciate the small details that would pass by
younger listeners....Read Full Review
Be watching in the days ahead
as we reach the conclusion of our reviews for the Spring
Season of Adventures in Odyssey shows. In the
meantime, the "Whitty Awards" nominations
are well underway and you have a chance to nominate for Best
Actor, Best Actress, Best Episode, and even the name of the
Odyssey Awards. Voting officially begins on June 2, 2010,
with an awards ceremony to follow at a later date. And since
we're looking back at the past season of shows, it might
interest some of you to know you can look back at the series
of 50 albums with The Official
Guide. For a limited time, you can purchase this
must-have book from Focus at the low price of $5.99. With
400+ pages of behind-the-scenes information, it's certainly
worth the price.
As Adventures in Odyssey's
spring season winds down, nominations for the Spring 2010
Awards has begun! What does this all mean? Well, the latest
Official Podcast announced the "Whitty Awards," in
which you have a chance to submit your nominations for Best
Episode, Best Actor, Best Actress, and more. The Odyssey
Scoop has teamed up with the Official Site and AIO Wiki
to collect your nominations. To submit your nominations for
AIO's Take It from the Top season, click here. Your
responses will be collected and shared with the Odyssey
team. In the future, an official vote will be held to
determine the winners. And we've entered a name game as
well. You have an opportunity to submit your ideas for the
name of the Odyssey Awards, so get going
on your nominations! The best idea will be used as the name
for the Odyssey Awards.
Final nominations will be
announced on June 2, 2010 and voting will begin!
Mandisa
talks about her experience in the Jubilee Singers at Fisk
University and how they influenced her life and career.
Mandisa was a contestant on American Idol in 2006 and has
since released several albums including "Freedom" and "True
Beauty." She continues to support the Jubilee Singers.
Listen:
Be sure to listen to their
fascinating new
podcast with Christian song artist Mandisa. Also,
it's that time again where fans can submit questions to the
Adventures in Odyssey producers. Do you have a question
about the past season of shows? Ask away... then listen to
future podcasts to see if your question gets answered on the
air. Visit
Ask the Producers for more information. For now
How would you like to win a pile of cool Adventures in
Odyssey prizes, including apparel, AIO albums, and
autographs from the Odyssey team?
The Ceiling Fan Podcast has released its 25th
edition, with details on how you can get involved:
Local business owner John Whittaker
finds himself in the heat of a lawsuit
over Whit's End's new... dog? And Ethan
and Phil announce the second annual
Ceiling Fan Fan Hijack Contest.
Be sure to listen to their
newest podcast installment, and get going on this
one-of-a-kind contest! Visit
The Ceiling Fan for more info, or visit their
contest page for details.
Today we've got some exciting
news regarding a recent history-making moment for Focus on
the Family and Adventures in Odyssey:
Col.
Terry Virts: Mission to Outer Space
Focus on the Family's Adventures in
Odyssey team produced this art piece to welcome Col.
Terry Virts and the entire Endeavour crew home. A huge
Odyssey fan, Col. Virts took with him into space a copy of
the Odyssey episode "For God and Country."
Yes, Adventures in Odyssey officially
made its way out of Earth's atmosphere, and Col. Terry Virts'
full story has been featured in Focus on the Family's daily
broadcast. We've made it easier for you and posted an
excerpt regarding his involvement in bringing Odyssey out of
this world:
Featured in May 14, 2010 broadcast:
Astronaut Col. Terry Virts discusses his fascinating
experiences on a recent mission to the International Space
Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavor.
You can learn more, see a
photo gallery, and listen to Terry Virts' full broadcast
here. Click on the artwork above to see artist Gary
Locke's addition of Terry Virts into the piece.
In other news, we're quickly
catching up on our reviews here at the Scoop. Today my review of
When You're
Right, You're Right is available. Go have a read and
see what I have to say about this episode.
I think that due to the
fact that the plot structure is weak, listeners get a little lost when
trying to figure out the point of the episode. On the other hand, the
slice-of-life feel of the show gives the show a lot of meaning and keeps you
listening regardless of the weaknesses in the script....Read Full Review
As
always, stay tuned for more reviews.
We're getting so close to the end of the season!
This just in! Birds are
attacking red-headed resident geniuses all over Odyssey!
Today my
review of For the Birds
has landed at The Odyssey Scoop, which you won't want to
miss.
For the Birds
is a nice addition to the series, with some unexpected twists along the way.
At first listen, people may question whether birds would attack
repetitively, but doing research is key to enjoying the show. And young kids
will enjoy the episode without the cynical glasses that we older fans tend
to approach episodes with....Read Full Review
Be watching in the days
ahead as we work our way through the Spring 2010 season of
Odyssey shows.
The team
at Focus on the Family is always thinking up ways to improve
the Adventures in Odyssey experience.
We briefly mentioned in a previous update that a new "Family
Fun Panel" would be making its way into AIO albums. We said:
All future Odyssey releases
and re-releases (including album 52) will feature a
brand-new "Family Fun Panel." Each of these bonus extras
will contain a video of Brock Eastman and Diane Ingolia
trying to complete tasks with various families. Listeners
are encouraged to buy future releases and repacks to obtain
instructions for each album's activity. For example, the
upcoming repack of Heroes
features a challenge based off the episode Karen and
involves writing a letter or a card to someone who is
hospitalized or in a nursing home. Those who complete the
challenge and let Focus on the Family know will receive a
button that contains the album number and a picture of what
the challenge was. This new challenge for album owners only
allows listeners to get involved and have fun in the
process.
For those of you who already
purchased your copy of album 51, Take It from the Top,
you'll recall that there's a feature in the bonus insert
containing a recipe for the Wod-Fam-Choc-Sod (Whit's "World
Famous Chocolate Soda"). This, in fact, ties in with the
first
Family Fun Panel video released on the Official
Site. Join Brock Eastman (product marketing) and Diane
Ingolia as they help a family make one of these delicious
sodas. Do you remember Diane Ingolia from several
Adventures in Odyssey episodes? Yes, she has appeared in
a number of shows. Can you find her?
As you enjoy the new
video, you may want to keep in mind that the repack
of album 3, Heroes,
is now available. It is one of the first albums to introduce
the "Family Fun Panel" to Odyssey collections. You never
know what you're going to get with Adventures in Odyssey!
Click
here to see the first Family Fun Panel video.
Today we
continue our podcasting journey with the third edition of
our new ScoopCast. We've made
it easier for Odyssey fans out there who just "don't have
time to read."
Many
of you have commented and like the format of the podcast
with its fast-paced approach.
The ScoopCast is
still in its early stages and was originally going to be
released every other Monday. Fortunately, you can listen
every Monday as we keep the podcasts coming. Clearly the
podcast is more popular than we expected it to be! Do you
have an idea or concept you'd like to run by us? How about a
new segment idea? Feel free to share
your thoughts. For now, if you haven't heard The Odyssey
ScoopCast yet, today's a perfect day to subscribe and catch up. Never be
without The Odyssey Scoop.
It's
definitely one of the long-awaited episodes of the Spring
2010 season of Adventures in Odyssey. Fans usually
anticipate to the three-part episodes more than others
because they know they're going to get something good.
Today,
The Jubilee
Singers
(Part
1) makes its debut on radio stations, and
online:
A talking portrait of
Frederick Douglass tells Olivia Parker the story of the
famous Jubilee Singers of Fisk University. In the story,
school treasurer Mr. White tries to assemble a group of
talented singers who can save the school from a financial
crisis.
Of course, if you can't wait to hear parts 2
and 3 after listening to today's show, then you may want to
pick up your copy of Take It from the Top, the 51st collection of, well, you
know. It's, by far, the best set of episodes from album 51,
but I don't want to get ahead of myself. Be watching in the
days ahead for my detailed review!
It's
been a couple months since the
Official Podcast interviewed anyone about their
experiences with Adventures in Odyssey. In the
latest podcast, you'll get to hear just that:
Bob and Jesse interview Zach Callison on
his role as Matthew Parker and hear about his work on "Are
You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" Plus: hear the title of
album 52!
Listen:
In other news, we've got some new details
about the future of Odyssey, including some of the plotlines
taking place in album 52, Cause and Effect:
The Parker family gets a new babysitter.
Emily Jones solves another case.
Matthew Parker invents a new Imagination
Station program.
Album 52 includes an episode titled "Fast
As I Can."
In addition to this, The Blackgaard
Saga episodes will be released sometime in 2011 in
their its own special collection, much like Novacom. The
episode listing is not out quite yet, but we will keep you
posted when that information is made available in the days
ahead. We can probably expect some special behind-the-scenes
goodies along with a fresh package design for every Odyssey
collector. After all, the fans have waited years for a
special collection of Blackgaard episodes. In the meantime,
be watching during 2010 for some more exciting AIO releases.
Information
regarding album 52, Cause
and Effect, is beginning to hit the web! In a recent
Adventures in Odyssey News Update video at the Official Podcast blog, Brock Eastman (product
marketing) delivers news about another video contest fans
can get involved with. The video also reveals some new clues
about what's coming up in album 52. What are those clues?
You'll just have to watch the video to find out.
On this side of the dial, we have been
tinkering around with our Links Outward
page. You will notice that we've improved the links with a
new star ratings system in which you can help other visitors
decide--at a quick glance--which AIO links are the most
liked among the fans. Head on over and help us bring up our
numbers! We also added some other sites, blogs, and podcasts
to the listing, including Adventures in Odyssey's new
Facebook fan page.
For
those of you who aren't yet aware, The Odyssey Scoop
recently released its brand-new podcast, The Odyssey ScoopCast. As of this
week, we've got two podcasts available and a whole host of
subscribers already. We've made it subscribers-only so you
get the inside scoop on Adventures in Odyssey and
Odyssey site news. The podcast features a fast-paced, quick
format to deliver you the news when you need it.
To learn more about the ScoopCast and how you
can subscribe, click here. And
don't forget to share the ScoopCast with all your friends on
your favorite social networking sites! Never be without
The Odyssey Scoop.
Today
I'm pleased to announce that the second installment of the
popular Adventures in Odyssey Passages book series is
now available.
One minute, Wade Mullins is in Odyssey,
attempting to burn his friend's top-secret drawings for the
atomic bomb. The next, he is staring at a strange prophet
from an alternate world who says Wade is the final sign—an
end-times omen of a culture on the verge of annihilation.
Can Wade stop the production of a bomb and a madman's reign
of terror?
Yes, Arin's Judgment
has been given a fresh new design and illustration. The book
also contains imaginative interior color pages with more
illustrations, endorsements from the readers, of course, the
novel itself. And with
myself as one of the readers, this book was always my
favorite of the six books. Now, in its third edition of the
book, Arin's Judgment
is more pristine than ever.
Click here to learn more about this book release. The
Focus on the Family Resource Center is now shipping, so
order your copy today! Also, the first book, Darien's Rise,
is also available.
Time is beginning to run short for the Spring
Season of Adventures in Odyssey, but we're getting
closer to a special three-parter you won't want to miss,
starting next weekend.
But today,
Finish What You...debuts on radio stations, and
online:
Doors are opening up for
Olivia Parker—too many doors, actually! After signing up for
guitar lessons with Eugene, she also agrees to star in
Connie's play. How can she possibly juggle her
schedule...and play a special birthday song for her grandma?
And on this side of the
country, I've got a busy day ahead of me as my brother is
getting married today
and there are lots of things to do and get through. Speaking
of which, I think I'll get to that right now!
Several
months back, I spotlighted a new radio drama called
Lamplighter Theatre, a show that is somewhat reminiscent
of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's productions.
The show features Jess Harnell, voice of Wooton on
Adventures in Odyssey, and many familiar Radio
Theatre voices. Several of the Odyssey team members are
also involved with the drama. When you combine their talent
and insight, out pops Lamplighter Theatre. It's
certainly a high-quality drama.
We've
made it to the conclusion of the Spring Season of
Adventures in Odyssey. Today, the final episode of
Mandisa
talks about her experience in the Jubilee Singers at Fisk
University and how they influenced her life and career.
Mandisa was a contestant on American Idol in 2006 and has
since released several albums including "Freedom" and "True
Beauty." She continues to support the Jubilee Singers.
It's
definitely one of the long-awaited episodes of the Spring
2010 season of Adventures in Odyssey. Fans usually
anticipate to the three-part episodes more than others
because they know they're going to get something good.
Today,
Information
regarding album 52,
Today
I'm pleased to announce that the second installment of the
popular Adventures in Odyssey Passages book series is
now available.