And the Small Bell Jingled
By Jacob Isom
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October 4, 2003
The start of a new
season of Adventures in Odyssey is usually a long-awaited event.
AIO fans from all around the world, especially in the online community,
wait impatiently for new episodes to air, dicing out questions
about what is going to happen in the future days of Odyssey or what
should happen according to their wild imaginings. The unexpected would
happen if everything were in the hands of the fans. Marriages that would
have never resulted would be otherwise framed into the show, and
characters of the present would be scratched off the surface. Old nemeses
would reunite with the main characters, and Eugene would come back to
Odyssey. However, even though a small elite group of writers have
permission to continue the world of Odyssey to the best of their ability, they
still risk the disastrous result of failing to broaden a character’s
profile, forgetting or neglecting to expand on a certain aspect of a
character’s life, resulting in a character with lacking characteristics,
as well as fan outrage.
I plan on expounding on
the character of Connie, what she used to be, where she is currently
heading, and what lies ahead in the future. I plan on sorting through the
facts and using my perception to conclude whether or not Connie is the
same girl we once knew. Is Connie Kendall a personable, well-known
character, or is she just there to keep the series going?
 My journey of writing
this article was a tough one. First I thought about how I would pursue
such an interrogative piece. I knew from which angle I planned on tackling
the subject, but I didn’t know exactly how I should do it. Then I
realized something very important: I didn’t need worry about angles.
Connie has enough of her own. Over the years we’ve seen Connie become a
Christian, begin growing in her faith, meet friends, and even fall in
love. We’ve seen her argue with Eugene at Whit’s End, dish out an ice
cream sundae, and plan weddings for friends. Now this is where there are so many angles to
such a broad character. We’ve seen Connie in her tender moments, in the moments that keep the series going, the moments that we share with her
over and over. We’ve also seen her in her moments of anger, ignorance,
and humbleness.
Let’s take a short
look back at the life of Connie Kendall.
The small bell above
the door jingled sweetly as she walked into Whit’s End, taking in the
scenery around her. She was stepping onto a stage that she’d be standing
on for the next few years of her life. Whit stood behind the counter,
attempting to keep the kids of the shop happy and trying to talk to Tom
Riley at the same time. A line of kids shuffled from one foot to another,
dreaming of vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge sundaes, and pleasant
conversations with Whit. But then she walked in.
Connie almost lived at
Whit’s End from that point forward. As an unsaved, liberal teenager,
Whit was the moral guide in the next few months of her life. Whit molded
the way Connie eventually turned out to be. Finally, near Christmas and
with her good eccentric friend, Connie accepted the Lord as her Savior.
Connie’s growth rapidly leapt forward after that. She experienced large
leaps and bounds, and even some discouragements along the way.
Connie was a
well-developed character.
The way in which she
composed herself around the public at-large almost was Adventures in
Odyssey. The Odyssey writers knew exactly how to portray this typical
teenager. They knew what they were doing. They knew how to make Connie cry
in such a way that the audience cried along with her. They had the secret
weapon of good drama. They knew their character. They knew Connie Kendall.
Not only did the
Odyssey team know their character, but the audience did as well. Many fans
grew up with Connie as they turned their radio dial to a local station
airing the program.
Any time Connie (and many other Odyssey characters) was talking, the fans
had the ability to connect with fiction. Any time she lost her temper with
Eugene, the fans were there to laugh in the midst of the crisis. And any
time Connie didn’t know what to do, the audience wanted to help her.
Connie was a soft,
tender character. Connie of the past is one to look back to, one to
remember, one to smile about when thinking of the many times she’s made
us laugh.
But Connie of today
isn’t the same.
The small bell above
the door jingled sweetly as Nick Mulligan walked into Whit’s End, taking
in the scenery around him. He was stepping onto a stage that he’d be
standing on only when Odyssey needed a good laugh and a macho character.
Whit stood behind the counter, attempting to keep the kids of the shop
happy and trying to talk to Tom Riley at the same time. But Connie
wasn’t there.
Connie doesn’t
practically live at Whit’s End anymore. She is never there to greet a
young child or a concerned parent. She is never there to provide a warm
smile and a friendly conversation. She has been replaced. Replaced by
Nick.
Replaced.
Stop and say it to
yourself. Let it soak into your brain. Listen for it to tell you
everything is going to be okay. Connie Kendall has been replaced at
Whit’s End. In the past, she had been there for nearly every significant
event. However, now that the AIO team has thrown her into the Timothy
Center, she is no longer needed quite as often, she doesn’t have to
clean up the kids’ ice cream messes, and she doesn’t have to exchange
a quick “Hello” and a “How are you doing?” anymore.
Now that we see less of
Connie around the shop, as well as the town of Odyssey, she has turned
into a different person. Every time we get to enjoy her presence, she
isn’t enjoying the company of Whit and Eugene. Instead she is smothered
in her obsessive crush on Robert Mitchell. In the past we’ve seen Connie
have crushes, but not so much as now. Connie has become obnoxiously ditsy,
and she just doesn’t act like her good old self anymore. And any time
Connie doesn’t know what to do, the audience doesn’t want to help her.
Let it seep in. The
audience doesn’t want to help her. The audience almost doesn’t care
for poor Connie Kendall.
Connie Kendall is
turning into a poorly-developed character.
Connie Kendall is
entertainment, rather than a Christian role model for audiences. Connie is
a joking clown on Adventures in Odyssey, a contrast to her more
serious nature in the past. Are the writers of AIO trying to bring back
Connie’s old nature onto the plate, or are they letting it slide through
their fingers into the steamy dishwater below?
We briefly talked about
Connie of the past and Connie of the present, but what does the future
hold?
The small bell above
the door jingled sweetly as she walked into Whit’s End, taking in the
scenery around her. She was stepping onto a stage in the Connellsville
area. An unfamiliar face stood behind the counter, attempting to keep the
kids of the shop happy and trying to talk to someone on a cell phone at the
same time. A line of kids shuffled from one foot to another, dreaming of
vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge sundaes. But no dreams of pleasant conversations.
You take away Connie,
you take away any reason for Adventures in Odyssey to continue. You
take away the role model-like person that all the kids of Odyssey (and the
audience as well) can relate to, you take away Whit’s End itself. You
take away Connie Kendall, you take away the audience as well.
From personal
experience, I must admit that Connie has certainly changed. I’m still
waiting for Connie to say “Hello” or “How are you doing?” to the
excited kid who walks into Whit’s End. I’m still waiting for Connie to
stop staring into Mitch’s eyes and realize where she is. She’s at
Whit’s End. She doesn’t have to act like a ditz. I still want to
relate to her. I want to cry when she cries. I want to laugh when she
laughs. I want to be able to restore that connection that has been broken
in the past few seasons of Adventures in Odyssey.
The audience
doesn't want to help her.
Let it seep in again.
The audience doesn’t want to help her. The audience almost doesn’t
care for poor Connie Kendall anymore. What will Connie of the future look
like? I’ve given my two cents worth on what has happened to her
personality. Now it’s your turn to start thinking about it too. Again I
must question: Is Connie Kendall a personable, well-known character, or is
she just there to keep the series going?
Let
it seep in. Smear it onto your brain. Next time someone walks into Whit's
End, stop to listen for that soft bell above the door. Listen for the
quiet jingle. Does it ring the same as in the past? Listen for the distant
chuckles of children and tinkling of ice cream bowls. Then look ahead for
a warm, smiling face. Are you being welcomed by Connie, or is she too busy
looking into Mitch's eyes?
Connie
can change.
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