Odyssey Crossing Some Lines?

[Jason]

Odyssey has always done a good job at keeping most things family oriented. However there are some moments that I wonder if they got really close to crossing some lines.


EX: The Search for Whit Part 1: Jason is attempting to fix the answering machine and has the line; "Come on operate you worthless hunk of *answering machine beeps.

Problem: While this quote is humorous, it strongly implies the use of bad language. I will note that this is the one time that this has happened, and if anything it's simply a reference to societies usage of beeping bad language. However, this line has bugged me recently in part because Jason Whittaker said it. While he's kind of a rougher type I don't imagine him to be the type that would throw bad language around at something as frivolous as an answering machine not working properly.

EX:
David Parker: And who here remembers the goldfish?
Olivia, Matthew and Camilla: Oh! Spankie and Lester!
David Parker: Dead within six weeks.
Matthew Parker: I think they had a suicide pact.

Problem: Society makes a habit of laughing at things that aren't necessarily funny. Everyone has their own story, and even mentioning suicide can step on people's toes. I realize that it was just fish. But honestly, that's not something I'd want my kids thinking is ok to joke about even pertaining to fish. Maybe the real issue is that suicide is a real problem, and I've been/know others who've been effected by those who have committed suicide. In this case the comment wasn't that bad per se, but the truth is it still bugs me to the point I don't listen to For the Birds very often.

EX:
Olivia Parker: Black pudding?!
Charlotte Maria: Oh, yes, it's a delicious blood sausage!
Matthew Parker: I didn't know English people were cannibals! No wonder George Washington threw you out of the country!

Problem: This one is closely associated with the previous issue. While I don't know of any cannibals the fact of the matter is the practice is still looked down upon. The statement in itself is ridiculous. Maybe I'm more conservative than most of society today... But that's where I stand. It feels like things are brought up and laughed at, even though they aren't really that funny. Sure it gets some laughs, but why even go that route? Cannibals was mentioned in a different episode too, A Mission for Jimmy. But the difference is, Jimmy had a misconception of the people Missionaries preach to, and he got redirected in his thinking. Matthew on the other hand did not get redirected.

What do you think about these points? Are there any other times when Odyssey has come close to crossing the line? Where would you draw the line?

[Doll]

Honestly, I never thought of the first one as a problem. I always thought Jason was going to say junk.

But no, I cringed when I listened to your last two examples. I didn't like that the writers put that in there, and honestly, they were episodes with the Parkers in them, so I don't like to listen to them anyways.

[Jason]

Honestly, I never thought of the first one as a problem. I always thought Jason was going to say junk.

But no, I cringed when I listened to your last two examples. I didn't like that the writers put that in there, and honestly, they were episodes with the Parkers in them, so I don't like to listen to them anyways.

That's a possibility. I guess that ones not as big an issue as the other two. If anything they probably just threw that in there as a comic twist, but in the context you could easily slip in a bad word in there...... I do have to be honest about that first example though. I did find it funny for the longest time, but I guess somethings I look at differently than I used to.

[Striped Leopard]

I never really thought to take it that way. I, like GG, thought he was preparing to say "junk," but then the answering machine's beep interrupted him and he just didn't finish the sentence.

I do agree with you about the other two points though.

[Liz'alike]

I'm with GG and Christian: My mind always went to junk. But obviously not everyone goes there... In that case you're right. They should be more careful!

On your other two points: I had never really thought about either of them... But since you pointed them out, I realize that neither of them have a productive point make. Could they not of thought of something else to say? Something uplifting and funny?

(I don't listen to Feed the Birds either But I don't listen because of Camilla )

[Nelson S.]

Also, what about the episode, "Grandma's Visit"?

To copy what Jason did:

EX:
Matthew: "Wait, you haven't gone to the bathroom for a week, Camilla? Then how did you--"
Camilla: "You don't want to know."

Problem: I think they went a little far on that. I mean it's funny. But it seemed a little too potty humor-ish for Odyssey.

[Jason]

Also, what about the episode, "Grandma's Visit"?

To copy what Jason did:

EX:
Matthew: "Wait, you haven't gone to the bathroom for a week, Camilla? Then how did you--"
Camilla: "You don't want to know."

Problem: I think they went a little far on that. I mean it's funny. But it seemed a little too potty humor-ish for Odyssey.

I agree with you on this one. The media does that enough, and I mean it was funny like you said but at the same time why try to get humor at that angle when there's a whole world of possibilities....

[Connie_Kendall]

Yeah, I've had a couple of cringe moments, with all of the above, except Jason's first one. I always thought junk. But yes they should be awfully careful when they cut it that close to the line. This is a kid's show, after all

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Like everyone else, I also disagree with the notion that Jason was using bad language in "The Search For Whit". But unlike everyone else, I also disagree with a reference to cannibals being inappropriate. If it had been an adult saying that, yes, I would be a bit worried, but, good grief, it was Matthew Parker. I always just accepted the fact that Matthew was confused about what Maria said. I took it as a joke. I do partially agree with you on the "suicide pact" line, but even that is nothing horribly offensive. Same with the "Grandma's Visit" line. It is interesting to note that 3 out of 4 of the lines listed here are post-album 50...

Anyway, I can think of a couple lines in recent years that have surprised me a bit, but I've never cringed or been truly offended by an Odyssey episode. I guess I'm not the most conservative person on this board (though I'm probably not the least, either). Anyway, this is a great topic! Thank you for creating it, and I'll try to think of some more examples.

[Starflower1234]

I actually do kind of feel the way Jason does about the line in The Search for Whit. Of course I always knew that it wasn't bad language and he was just going to say 'junk', because I know that it's Odyssey and they would never have something like that on there.
But I never really felt that way about the suicide pact and cannibal lines. I just didn't like the cannibal line because I felt that Matthew really thought that George Washington kicked out the British, which is incorrect. I can see how it could be considered bad though.
I do know that there was one line that I cringed at in the past 6 albums or so. But I haven't heard any in the more recent albums.

[DanP740]

He was obviously calling it a milijoit.

[Pound Foolish]

Jason was clearly swearing. It was just too abrupt otherwise. The beep came right when Jason would say a swear word, and was identical to the beeping inserted in TV shows. There's no way he was saying, "junk."
So... oh gosh, Jason, in the whole time we've known him, says one single swear word? Shocking. AIO ought to be ashamed. How dare Jason be such a potty mouth.
It is true that Camilla's line bridged on potty humor. Potty humor gets tiresome, it's in almost every children's movie. But it should be said it can be funny if used tastefully.
Wait, use potty humor tastefully?
Well, Roald Dahl almost never used rude humor of any kind. But in The BFG, there's potty humor of a very unusual kind. The giant "whiz-pops" which makes a resounding boom and shoots him into the air. This is somewhat creative, and since it's the only humor of its sort in the book, indeed in any Roald Dahl book, it's funny enough and harmless. But then there's the other end of the spectrum. Panet 51 is the very incarnation of fart jokes. The premise: aliens are shocked when... an earthling invades their planet. A clever idea, yet it's absolutely mangled. There's rude humor from scene one to the curtain, witless, gross, and just plain dumb. And a continuation is coming out this year in which aliens land on earth and are taken to Area 51! That parents are actually buying into such trash is degrading. Children deserve far better. Children have a livelier sense of humor than adults, and then adults hand children dribble that strangles their comedic taste.
So, it's a balance. Potty humor isn't necessarily from hell as long it's mild and very rare. But the big question is...
Is it wrong? Well, that's a matter of conscience. In any case, let's just agree that it's not a mortal sin.
Now on to the death jokes. Death jokes appear in everything from Alice in Wonderland to Jules Verne's works. Speaking of Jules Verne, in one of his many respected classics, In Search of the Castaways, there's an entire chapter devoted to cannibalistic humor. But it also shows how grim cannibalism really is. Now, we know cannibalism is terrible... and so does Matthew. He wouldn't speak so lightly of it if he really thought his babysitter ate her pals for dinner. Matthew didn't need to be "corrected" as Jason asserts... because he was never led into incorrect assumptions. Matthew simply kidded, and it's us who need to be corrected if we think this linked to any real ideas of cannibalism.
Otherwise, Matthew would hid the silverware, disconnected the oven and headed for the hills.
So in the end, Odyssey hasn't really crossed any lines, not in any of the instances mentioned. Once again, it's a balance. Odyssey rarely comes close to the line. And the once-in-an-album it does, we owe it some slack.

[Jason]

Jason was clearly swearing. It was just too abrupt otherwise. The beep came right when Jason would say a swear word, and was identical to the beeping inserted in TV shows. There's no way he was saying, "junk."
So... oh gosh, Jason, in the whole time we've known him, says one single swear word? Shocking. AIO ought to be ashamed. How dare Jason be such a potty mouth.

I admit that this was done in a tasteful way. There are other words that can be inserted instead of bad language. (I even pointed out that it's most likely just poking fun at the censorship of bad language.) This case is probably the least worry-some of the three I gave.

Is it wrong? Well, that's a matter of conscience. In any case, let's just agree that it's not a mortal sin.

Did anyone say that it was a mortal sin? No just not very tasteful.

Now on to the death jokes. Death jokes appear in everything from Alice in Wonderland to Jules Verne's works. Speaking of Jules Verne, in one of his many respected classics, In Search of the Castaways, there's an entire chapter devoted to cannibalistic humor. But it also shows how grim cannibalism really is. Now, we know cannibalism is terrible... and so does Matthew. He wouldn't speak so lightly of it if he really thought his babysitter ate her pals for dinner. Matthew didn't need to be "corrected" as Jason asserts... because he was never led into incorrect assumptions. Matthew simply kidded, and it's us who need to be corrected if we think this linked to any real ideas of cannibalism.

Here's the thing, it doesn't for sure sound like he's kidding about the cannibalism. It sounds like he thought George Wahington threw them out of the country for cannibalism. I knew that wasn't in my original argument, but it's still out there. I think Matthew should have been corrected simply because that's not what the nanny meant.

Just because death jokes appear everywhere else does not automatically make it ok in Odyssey. I mean maybe it cushions it a little, but Odyssey has always been a show that doesn't stress the same things that worldly shows stress. What did it really add to the show by adding those comments? Honestly the biggest one I have a problem with is the suicide pact. Jokes about suicide just undermine the value of life. And it undermines the fact that suicide is a real issue that even kids are struggling with.

So in the end, Odyssey hasn't really crossed any lines, not in any of the instances mentioned. Once again, it's a balance. Odyssey rarely comes close to the line. And the once-in-an-album it does, we owe it some slack.

I agree that it's a balance. And Odyssey does do a good job of staying on the right side of the line. However, these rare circumstances have put them tremendously close to the line. Even if it doesn't come close very often, isn't it better to voice concerns than to remain quiet and see more similar lines happen?

[Ashley]

Whenever I listen to The Search for Whit, a part of me (1%) says "Yes, Jason probably would have said a bad word." But it could have been one of those words that some say if their kids say it: "HOW DARE YOU?? GO WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP AND THEN SPEND THE REST OF THE DAY IN YOUR ROOM!!!!!" And then another Christian family says it and has no problem (example: darn, gosh, etc. I know some family who act like those are swear words) And the other 99% of me says "No, Jason would never, ever, EVER say a bad word. Like ever. So there ".

[SparkyHappyGiraffe]

I personally do not think Jason would have sweared. If it was me I would have said

[censored]

But Odyssey likes to keep their stuff a little cleaner than that, and I don't think they even tried to imply he was swearing. It was just a joke.

[Ashley]

I personally do not think Jason would have sweared. If it was me I would have said

[censored]

But Odyssey likes to keep their stuff a little cleaner than that, and I don't think they even tried to imply he was swearing. It was just a joke.

Yeah I would have said that too! lol Yeah, I think they were jost having a bit of fun. I have decided with 100% of myself that Jason would never EVER say a bad word, so don't be angry with me for thinking I would ever betray Jason

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Ah... PF has given me much to think about. Where do you draw the line between tasteful potty humor and potty humor? I would say that in this case, quantity is just important as quality. The potty humor happened, what... twice? In a show with over 700 episodes, I wouldn't say that's much to get excited about. But again, it has to do with your sensitivity to things like this. Some parents hate crude humor. Some parents are fine with it. Does this mean the parents who allow it are wrong? Of course not. God never dictated anything like this as a sin (though "holding your tongue" is a common phrase throughout the Bible) so we can safely say that it's in general okay to make a mild joke with people our own age about the bathroom, at least occasionally. This doesn't mean I would be fine with Camilla spewing out crude potty jokes to everyone in Odyssey, but with one mild occurrence, I see nothing to get upset about.

The suicide joke is certainly a bit more serious, and something that even I was surprised at. Of course, it was a just a fish, but I see your point.

As for Jason, even if he was going to swear, I'm not sure it matters. This is not because I believe that swearing is right, but, since they bleeped it out, there's no effect. And swearing is all about the kind of effect it has on your mind. When you hear a swear word, it plays over and over in your mind, though you want to forget about it. And it dominates your thoughts for a few minutes, so you can't think of anything holy. But if you can't hear the swear word, that won't happen.

[Jason]

As for Jason, even if he was going to swear, I'm not sure it matters. This is not because I believe that swearing is right, but, since they bleeped it out, there's no effect. And swearing is all about the kind of effect it has on your mind. When you hear a swear word, it plays over and over in your mind, though you want to forget about it. And it dominates your thoughts for a few minutes, so you can't think of anything holy. But if you can't hear the swear word, that won't happen.

I'm not sure I agree with you. Maybe, I'm thinking too much into it. The main thing that saves that quote is that it takes place in a wholesome Christian family show. Anyone who listens to it in this manner will think of it as "replacement words". But let's say I share this episode with a friend that isn't a Christian. Having not known much about the show, would he think "junk" verses other words? Probably not. Yes it's easy to justify the line and throw in arguments that make it ok. However, I don't agree with the "Plays over and over in your mind". Subconsciously I think swear words connect to impure thoughts, therefore you can't really swear with good intentions. I spose it's air to say that swear words can cloud your mind for a few minutes, but I think that's a weird way to put it.
Just because a word is bleeped out doesn't make it any better than if it hadn't been bleeped out. In certain contexts words that are bleeped out are obviously bleeped for a reason and it usually can be inferred as to what the word was. In this case it comes close to the line, but in the context of the show the use of the bleep made it funny. I do argue that the implication o a swear word is just as strong as the swear word itself because you're still thinking about the swear word....

[Aaron Wiley]

EX: The Search for Whit Part 1: Jason is attempting to fix the answering machine and has the line; "Come on operate you worthless hunk of *answering machine beeps.

The first time I realized this little nod, I laughed louder than just about anything else I've ever laughed at Odyssey for. Totally unexpected, and sort of inappropriate. I don't think it's really a big deal though, but then again, I don't find actual uses of what most people consider to be "bad language" all that offensive in the first place.

[Ben Warren]

Out of the four mentioned (answering machine, suicide pact, George Washington, and Camilla) I would find the one about the "suicide pact" the most problematic.

The one I probably have the least problem with is the answering machine one. I don't really know what the problem is. I don't think it really matters what he was going to say, and it isn't really worth anyone's time to try and figure out what he said. Why? Well, he didn't say anything. It would've been one thing if he said a word that encouraged listeners to imitate it or use the bad language, but it just didn't. Would it really have been worse than Connie saying she would "wring [Kelly's] neck"? That, in my opinion, is a far worse thing to say..

We're missing the joke - people get bleeped out on TV on the time, but this time he was bleeped by the very thing that was irritating him. Don't like that our hero has the potential to use bad language? Well, he showed pride in "A Touch of Healing", he dated an unbeliever in "A Question about Tasha", he loses sight of God in "Shining Armour" and "The Labyrinth". He's a sinner, and as long as they don't glorify, or cause the listener to imitate, bad language (which can easily happen by presenting), I'm not at offended by the fact that the character just might have, in his moment of weakness, been tempted to use a bad word. But he didn't. And, let's remember, temptation isn't a sin.