In the 51st album, Take it from the Top, the Adventures in Odyssey writers chose not to include Katrina Meltsner (Eugene's wife) in any of the episodes, nor did they make any mention of the fact that she existed. They almost certainly did not see a need to bring Katrina back to the show. From what I can see, she was created to balance Eugene's personality—first as his love interest, later as his companion and soul mate during his quest for his father. Since both of those storylines were over, the writers seemed to be hesitant to bring her back in album 51 simply as Eugene's wife.
Rumor has it that Katrina will make an appearance in album 53. To me, the motive for the Odyssey team's change of mind appears to be that they saw many fans complaining and wondering about her absence and, as a result, decided to put Katrina back in the show to satisfy the fans. But there is a larger and more significant reason to restore her presence on the radio waves of Odyssey.
Katrina Meltsner is in danger of becoming the new "Maude" of the show, so to speak. Maude, the wife of local window washer Bernard Walton, was scarcely ever seen or talked about on the show—except when Bernard was complaining about her meatloaf. The fact that Maude was never around (and that Bernard never seemed to like her too much) gave me the message that they did not have the greatest of marriages. Not that theirs was particularly bad in any certain way; I simply got the feeling that they were not, in actuality, the greatest of friends.
That, I am afraid, is the state of things with Eugene and Katrina.
Never having Katrina around Eugene—plus Eugene never even mentioning her on the show—gives the message that their relationship is not all that it ought to be. When you add to that message the fact that Eugene appeared to be (in the words of one fan) "flirting with Connie", their relationship sounds even worse than Bernard and Maude's was. This is obviously not a good thing.
To be fair, I did not think that Connie and Eugene were flirting in album 51. I merely saw their interaction as mild bickering between two good friends. Perhaps the reason for the bickering was that, after the hiatus and re-launch of Odyssey, the AIO team intended to try to return to the older days of the show and bring back some of what people loved about the program—some of that classic Eugene/Connie banter.
But,
this
is a
problem
in
and
of
itself,
because
Connie
and
Eugene
had
reportedly
stopped
bickering
and
fighting
23
albums
ago
in
Album
28:
Welcome
Home;
it
is
also
a
problem
because
Connie
and
Eugene
are
adults
and
should
be
doing
something
with
their
lives
other
than
flipping
burgers
and
filling
ice
cream
cones
at
Whit's
End.
Odyssey
is
stuck
in
the
past.
It
rarely
allows
its
characters
to
grow
up
and
move
on
with
their
lives.
Think
about
the
many
things
the
Odyssey
team
has
tried
to
do
to
develop
the
characters
of
Connie
and
Eugene
over
the
past
ten
years:
Connie
being
a
major
part
of
the
Timothy
Center
and
endeavoring
to
carry
out
her
life
plans;
Eugene
no
longer
being
needed
at
Whit's
End
and
choosing
to
start
Hand
Up.
But
like
Connie
said
in
A
Capsule
Comes
to
Town:
"All
roads
lead
to
Whit's
End."
The
Odyssey
team
now
seems
to
be
backtracking
again
by
taking
Connie
and
Eugene
back
to
where
they
started:
working
at
Whit's
End,
as
though
the
last
twenty
years
never
even
happened.
What message are the writers sending to both their current and future teenage listeners by having two very influential people on the program—Eugene and Connie—remain as teenagers for the rest of their lives? Is retaining teenage behavior in life a good thing? On the contrary, remaining in adolescence and the teenage years is not healthy. The AIO team is unwittingly encouraging their listeners to do this by failing to move forward with the show and to make its characters act like adults.
Yet,
they
frequently
turn
down
opportunities
to
bring
about
long-term
character
development
and
advance
certain
storylines
because
they
believe
that
it
would
change
the
show
too
drastically.
Therefore
they
sit,
dwelling
in
the
past,
refusing
to
move
on
with
the
show.
One
example
of
this
is
their
aversion
to
giving
Eugene
and
Katrina
a
family.
Do
they
really
want
Eugene
to
remain
the
"last
in a
long
line
of a
unique
breed
of
Meltsners"?
The
Meltsner
family
name
must
live
on!
That
would
be a
great
way
to
bring
Katrina
back
to
the
show
and
to
fit
her
into
a
storyline—to
"take
it
from
the
top"
with
the
life
of a
newborn
Meltsner.
According
to
Paul
McCusker,
the
AIO
team
is
hesitant
to
introduce
a
baby
to
the
Melstner
family:
|
|
I don't think people realize how much that will change [Eugene's] character. It will have to change his character. And I don't know that we're prepared for him to change that much—because suddenly he won't be the character that everybody knows and loves because he'll be a father. Eugene can't be Eugene as we've known him and loved him for twenty years and be the father that he ought to be. (stated in the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast, December 22, 2009) |
Twenty years? Yet they are still hesitant to let him grow up and be a man, and ideally what every man should become—a father. This is Focus on the Family, is it not? Why then is the Odyssey team so reluctant to bring about the final part of Eugene and Katrina's family by giving them children?
Yes, the entrance of a baby into Eugene and Katrina's life would change Eugene's character. But in a way, he has already been changing. He has not been the same person for twenty years. He has gotten saved, matured, and become less computerized as the show has gone on.
Besides,
it
would
not
change
him
as
much
as
they
think
it
would.
Marshal
Younger,
in
an
interview
with
Christian
Book
Distributors
in
2001,
said
this:
|
|
We [the AIO team] fought long and hard over whether or not we should get [Eugene and Katrina] married. We didn't know if our core audience (8-12 year-olds) would stop relating to Eugene if he got married. |
Mr. Younger is almost saying kids would no longer identify with Eugene because marriage would change him too much. But in the end, did marriage change Eugene? Not really. In fact, Eugene hardly changed at all. A person is who he is, no matter what happens to him. Eugene would still be Eugene if he had a child. He would just have to start behaving like an adult and a father, and for that matter, a husband.
By
"taking
it
from
the
top"
(starting
over
at
square
one)
to
give
new
listeners
the
ability
to
understand
the
show
and
subsequently
never
even
mentioning
that
Eugene
is
married,
new
listeners
will
think
that
Eugene
is
not
married
or,
at
the
very
least,
will
never
know
whether
he
is
or
not.
Since
they
do
not
know,
it
would
be
very
easy
for
them
to
get
the
idea
that
Connie
and
Eugene
are
"sweet
on
each
other"
(based
on
the
fact
of
their
bantering)
and
thereby
think
that
they
are
sometimes
"flirting".
This
may
not
be
an
uncommon
misconception:
many
fans
back
in
the
day
who
loved
Connie
and
Eugene's
bickering
thought
that
they
were
perfect
for
each
other
and
were
very
upset
when
Katrina
showed
up
on
the
scene.
That
is
all
that
needs
to
happen
this
time,
as
well.
Katrina
needs
to
be
heard
of
and
heard
from
to
make
sure
that
fans
do
not
get
the
wrong
idea
about
Connie
and
Eugene.
And
she
will—in
album
53.
But
will
she
simply
disappear
after
she
serves
her
purpose
uncovering
clues
in
The
Green
Ring
Conspiracy?
If
she
does,
what
does
her
absence
communicate
to
all
the
kids
who
are
listening
to
the
show?
Is
it a
good
example
of
how
the
listeners
should
live
their
marriages
when
they
are
older?
No,
it
is
not.
The
messages
that
Eugene
and
Connie
are
"flirting"
and
that
Eugene
and
Katrina
might
not
have
the
best
of
marriages
were
most
likely
not
intentional
messages
on
the
writers'
part.
But
both
of
those
messages
could
end
up
coming
across.
To
ensure
that
they
do
not,
Katrina
needs
to
be
around;
Eugene
also
needs
to
talk
about
Katrina—in
a
positive
light
this
time.
Marvin
Grant
is
an
Adventures
in
Odyssey
fan
and
frequents
The
Odyssey
Scoop.
