Odyssey Assessment

The Front Counter is the main place for general Adventures in Odyssey discussions. Grab a Loc-Kno-Stra-Mal, and talk it up!
Post Reply
User avatar
Bren
Cookie Dough
Cookie Dough
Posts: 587
Joined: May 2012
Contact:

Odyssey Assessment

Post

As we get closer to 2017, we inch our way closer to 30 years of Advenures in Odyssey. A lot has happened in that last 30 years. The show has been shaped by many events. Writing staff changes and the passing of legends in the acting business have affected the landscape of the show. I'm kind of curious how everyone feels about the show now.

I think Kathy is starting to struggle with writing for the show. I used to be really interested in the Wooton and Penny angle. However, when the mantle of that storyline was removed from Paul McCusker, I think it lost a little magic. I hate to say it, but if you compare the writing for Penny and Wooton with Connie and Mitch, I don't think it measures up. Maybe it's just the type of characters that they are but it just doesn't add up.

Wooton himself seems to have a rollercoaster of a life. I think compared to his introduction in Novacom and his stint with Grady, he seems to have changed a lot. He has a sweet side with Penny, but he needs to stay at his roots of caring for people and not be too over the top wacky. When you put him and Penny together, the wackiness could be overkill.

Connie and Eugene are kind of in a similar situation in that they are both dealing with teenagers that are handfuls. On the surface the storylines could appear identical. But, if the writers try, they can use Jules and Buck to make Connie and Eugene interesting again. Jules seems like a young Connie. As for Buck, he can bring out a different side of Eugene.

Then there's Whit, our central character. Where does Whit fit into Odyssey these days? It's not like he's been a major focus point lately. With Phil on the team again,I hope his knowledge of Whit and Odyssey changes things.

What do you think?
Image
User avatar
TigerShadow
Mocha Jamocha
Posts: 2654
Joined: June 2014

Post

Bren wrote:I hate to say it, but if you compare the writing for Penny and Wooton with Connie and Mitch, I don't think it measures up.
Good.

Wooton and Penny have actual, interesting chemistry and character development. Their stories are actually a part of one another's lives. I haven't been following them too closely because I'm just not as interested in this era of the show as I was in the immediate pre-relaunch era, but that's just a personal preference. As far as the less personal concerns about writing go, I would hope that Kathy's writing for Wooton and Penny is far and away an improvement upon her work for the captain and co-captain of the U.S.S. Sickeningly Sweethearts (which I question whether we'd really find that story to be very memorable if a. the character in question wasn't Connie; b. they weren't subplots in the Novacom saga, an event on a scale even more grandiose than Blackgaard; and c. they weren't so ridiculously polarizing almost every step of the way, especially the way it ended).
Bren wrote:he needs to stay at his roots of caring for people and not be too over the top wacky. When you put him and Penny together, the wackiness could be overkill.
I agree with this, and I think this is just a problem with his post-relaunch character as a whole. Fans have been making that observation since...probably around the time Album 51 came out, maybe waiting until 52. The Wooton/Grady storyline in particular was so valuable to his character, because it showed his sincerity and his good heart while not abandoning his sense of fun. I wouldn't complain if they just went the whole way and brought the McKays back—the contrast between biological father and father figure with Carson and Wooton was a beautiful story, and I'd like to see it continued. (Also, they missed a huge opportunity by not having Grady show up at Wooton's wedding. I'm just saying, that would have been great.)
Bren wrote:Connie and Eugene are kind of in a similar situation in that they are both dealing with teenagers that are handfuls. On the surface the storylines could appear identical. But, if the writers try, they can use Jules and Buck to make Connie and Eugene interesting again. Jules seems like a young Connie. As for Buck, he can bring out a different side of Eugene.
I mean...that's kind of what they've been doing. That's what episodes like "Old Tricks" and "Connie the Counselor" have been about—developing these paralleling storylines.
Bren wrote:Then there's Whit, our central character. Where does Whit fit into Odyssey these days? It's not like he's been a major focus point lately. With Phil on the team again,I hope his knowledge of Whit and Odyssey changes things.
Well, they did just end a storyline directly tying to his character—his health issue and where it fit into the town's spiritual growth. He's also been all over the OAC, and if you count Albums 61 and 62 as a single season, he's been in 6 out of 12 episodes—maybe not as much as in previous years, but not a bad showing, either. I can't say I find it a bad thing to branch out a little.
it's not about 'deserve'. it's about what you believe. and i believe in love
Pound Foolish
Coffee Biscotti
Posts: 3347
Joined: June 2012
Location: Kidsboro
Contact:

Post

Bren wrote:I think Kathy is starting to struggle with writing for the show.
Yeah, Kathy's always liked comedy and drama, that's what she's good at. But it's gotten so when characters are so dramatic they're borderline out of character, I immediately guess it's Kathy. There was an OAC episode where we're introduced to this likable enough character Zoe who is besters with Olivia. And then things start happening fast, we were just told they're best friends and then guess what, now they're mad at each other and now whoops, now they're broken up and it just felt like Kathy was harvesting the drama without ever planting it. Olivia had reason to be mad but I don't think she even considers maybe Zoe isn't lying. Yet they're supposed to be besties, and yet Olivia yells at her and breaks up permanently with her and then by the time everyone embarrasses themselves on Candid Conversations of course they're back to being besties and gosh we've seen this a million times you'd think a formula this old could be done more convincingly. And I'm not saying Kathy is a bad writer, she's excellent. Her episodes do what she wants them to. I am entertained by the drama, I do laugh at the jokes. Still, if you have to pick one writer who needs to work on their act, yeah, she's a good choice.

We could also mention Bob Hoose. He's a good writer but he writes aio more like a kiddy show rather than a smart-kid show with smart characters. He's often willing to sacrifice character traits and story to get a laugh.
As for the decaying skeleton of the beaten horse that is Wooton's goofiness:

People tend to go back to Grady when talking about how deep and wise Wooton used to be. And frankly, that tends to be the main time that story arc comes up at all. I hardly ever hear anyone remember any specific episode from that arc. They were all good episodes, it was a good arc, but if Wooton was at his absolute best then, it's odd no one really talks about any one episode. What people do talk about is Do or Diet, where nearly every line Wooton says is a joke. He acts far goofier than the vast majority of his appearances nowadays. For instance, "Hoot holler, hoot, holler! Some not too tragic tragedy has happened." Funny line, we all love it ,but no human would say that, nobody would misconstrue what Bernard said so completely. Wooton is a cartoon there, he acts far stupider and wackier than he does today.

AIO is in a good place, an interesting place. It's adult, but not so adult as albums 40-50 where it barely felt like a kid show anymore. It's a good mix. We have comedies, slice of life, story arcs, and individual stories. And I can't say lately there's been any episodes I point to and decry, there's been pretty consistent quality.
Last edited by Pound Foolish on Thu Dec 22, 2016 5:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.
“I absolutely demand of you and everyone I know that they be widely read in every [censored] field there is: in every religion and every art form and don’t tell me you haven’t got time! There’s plenty of time.”~ Ray Bradbury
User avatar
Connie G.
Peach Cobbler
Posts: 1491
Joined: August 2014
Location: odyssey.chat

Post

Pound Foolish wrote:For instance, "Hoot holler, hoot, holler! Some not too tragic tragedy has happened." Funny line, we all love it, but not human would say that,
I've said that before



but yeah I know what you're talking abt
Image
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.

"Why does Connie shower all of the time?" ~CGM_Games
User avatar
Miss Friendship
Chocolate Bacon Drizzle
Posts: 4824
Joined: February 2015
Location: Somewhere beyond you
Contact:

Post

Connie G. wrote:
Pound Foolish wrote:For instance, "Hoot holler, hoot, holler! Some not too tragic tragedy has happened." Funny line, we all love it, but not human would say that,
I've said that before



but yeah I know what you're talking abt
I'm wondering why this has to be small print..
~Lady Friendship Knight of the Order of Chrysostom in the Court of the Debate Vampires~
AKA Countess Concordia of the Chat, Regalia, and the Queen of Sarcasm

I am a personal quirk. --Adrian Dreamwalker
Post Reply