The OAC Episodes

[Pound Foolish]

So, what's the verdict of those in OAC? You paid a heckuvalot to hear it, were you satisfied?

Speaking for myself, I haven't heard it and I'm somewhat glad. They ended the previous season with a mission story. There's no good artistic reason to have another mission story directly afterward. You always want to start with something different than the previous episode. The end of the previous season and the new one should compliment each other, not do the same thing. AIO has always followed this principle. Suppose a comedy like Do or Diet was sandwiched between The Mailman Cometh and Slumber Party, on on the same album, for example. we'd wonder what was going on. Too little humor would be left for the rest of the album, and the comedies would seem less special because they were all lumped together. Things need to be balanced.

The decision to have another mission themed show was clearly a commercialized one. It would seem AIO has some kind of deal with a charity organization, and they are likely paying AIO for the publicity. (After all, Dave Arnold and Paul McCusker in the Official Podcast forebodingly said OAC would give us the chance to be made "aware of some organizations we might otherwise not know about.") In other words, OAC is the AIO fan's worst nightmare come true.

They're making AIO shows to sell stuff! The new episodes are half hour commercials. They're using the characters to promote a company!

What's next? A deal with Disney? Send Connie and Wooton to Disney World to rescue Mickey Mouse?

[Wakko]

What's next? A deal with Disney? Send Connie and Wooton to Disney World to rescue Mickey Mouse?

This quote made my day.

[Audrey]

Hmmmm.

I obviously haven't joined, and don't plan to.

Is this thing about commercialism something you found out about, or are speculating? If it's the first, yikes. It probably wouldn't seem TOO bad in a missionary episode, but in others? O.O I wouldn't want to think about it.

And that quote about Disney made me laugh xD

[Pound Foolish]

Only speculating. We do know that OAC is commercial in some way, since Dave Arnold and Paul McCusker said on the podcast OAC would raise awareness about charities. Everything seems to point to the shows being commercialized.

EDIT: however, like I said, I don't actually know anything. Ameraca? Somebody who has an OAC subscription, could you please let us know exactly what the videos and emails such are like? Do they mention any particular organization(s)?

[Ameraka]

The first episode was tied in with Christian Veterinary Mission.

[sing]

So anyone that has OAC..... IS IT ACTUALLY WORTH 15 bucks a month? cuz say you get it for 6 years, that is $1080 going to Odyssey from just one person. I didn't check into it that much, because my family could never afford it, (why drool over something you can't have right! =] ) but what I did look at seemed sad to me. Odyssey isn't the same show it used to be.......

P.S. just because I said some negative things, I did not mean to offend anyone, or say that I don't like Odyssey. I just want to make that clear, cause it is not fun to be misunderstood, and have people mad or disappointed in you!

[brianfuller]

i did not watch that episode till now so i have don't know about that...

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[Pound Foolish]

Thank you, Ameraca.
So, that's it then. Adventures in Odyssey is now being used to endorse companies.
Granted, not just any company, a missionary organization. It's not as bad as using Whit, Connie and Eugene to sell cereal. And the shows sound like they're pretty good, as with nearly all AIO shows. Plus, I can't even hear them. So maybe I'm just the fox snarling at the grapes here.
But they made an AIO show built around promoting a company! There's just no getting around that.
Great. Words cannot express how delightful that is.

[Doll]

I have listened to The Launch, Part 1, and it was a good episode.

But I won't be paying for an OAC subscription, because it isn't worth it to me, having all 57 regular albums, plus others, mostly all in digital format. I already have them all on my ipod..add that to the fact that they have no plans for an android app at the moment, and all I have are android devices.

And, there was a discussion about all this on facebook, which gave me some food for thought about it:

I guess I don't see it as punishing those you don't get involved but rather rewarding those who do. I can't imagine the episodes exclusively for the adventure club are going to be critical episodes to the Odyssey storyline. I imagine they'll be special episodes like the truth Chronicles. Clearly Odyssey must not have the staff for the funds to make two albums a year anymore. And the only way to continue making the amount of episodes that they've been making is to prove financially, directly, that it's worth it. So I see the adventure club as attempt to continue giving us two albums when continuing in the way they've been going they wouldn't be able to. Obviously, this is just speculation as a fan. Seeing the steady decrease in staff over the past 5 years. I don't have any sort of inside knowledge about the matter.

Reading through all the comments on this post... I'm not quite sure I understand how an OAC is alienating to hardcore fans? Shouldn't hardcore fans be the first in line to support a platform they believe to be trustworthy? If what Kevin's speculation is correct, and I believe it is, that the Odyssey team is trying to find creative ways to justify the amount of content that longtime fans expect... then what's the big deal? Especially considering just how expensive a show like Odyssey is to produce. Maybe there is something about this that I don't know or understand.

To me, Odyssey has been such a blessing for pretty much my whole life. I don't mind at all throwing some money their way every month. I want the show to continue on for years to come. I want my future kids to have new episodes to listen to, the way I have for as long as I've been alive.

Also, I haven't seen it discussed on this thread, but the actually SHOW is getting better and better by the album, since everything kind of reset with "Take It from the Top"... and the last album began a lot of story lines that are going to have longterm ramifications. So, maybe we don't get albums as often or whatever... who cares? Quality is better than quantity, and I trust the Odyssey team to do what is best to ensure the show remains fantastic.

I think the appeal is for everyone who doesn't want to have 26 years of episode stored on their phone or mobile device. I think having an app where you can access any episode at any time from the cloud, while still being aloud to store up to 5 episode within the app, is pretty awesome, innovative and exciting. Everything else is just extra to me. I think this is perfect for old and new fans alike.

Maybe I'm different when it comes to the money aspect because I have a little taste of how expensive and time consuming a show that isn't even close to the quality of AIO is to make. I can't possibly look at this adventure club as something that is keeping anything from fans, because I would venture to assume that without the adventure club, the adventure club episodes wouldn't even exist. It IS money that keeps a show going. This has always been the case. But I'm not going to argue basic economics here in a Facebook post. I would just say, a show like Odyssey stays on the air because somebody somewhere thought it was worth the financial investment. AIO IS the mission, and it impacts lives. People like you who give to Focus, whether it's buying the albums or donating directly. People who work on the show, actors, producers, writers, sound designers, they aren't volunteering. This is their JOB!

In the same way, if you don't think it's worth the investment, then don't sign up. If those extra shows aren't worth your money or time, then don't do it. That's the awesome thing about free market. But don't expect to keep getting free entertainment, if you're not willing to support it monetarily.

I guess I just wanted to clear that up, because it seems there are some major misconceptions about how media works and Focus isn't going to come out and say something like this. But I can. Because I'm not them.

-Kevin

You make some valid point, Kevin but the presentation and the intent of the OAC has not moved me toward signing up for it. When us fans have pointed out several flaws and gave some possible alternatives to making half of a years episodes exclusive only to those financially able to hear them, many of the Focus employees respond by saying that we're being stingy, not caring about missions, and not wanting AIO to continue. They haven't said that outright, but it's implied. As a very loyal fan, I am dedicated to Odyssey's future and ministry. I buy each new album, buy other albums I don't have when I can, encourage others to do so, and heavily promote the show on my fansite and podcast. A good amount of AIO's fans are passive listeners. They listen to the show on the radio or online, but not buy albums or obtain episodes illegally. But the OAC is still making us feel like even though we have supported Focus so much in the past, we're not entitled to be able to add new episodes to our collection and keep up with all the storylines. I have a job now and make minimum wage. I usually make a little over $200 a week. But after taxes, car payments, cell phone bills, tithe, soon college, there's not very much left. If I do have enough funds, sometimes I buy another album or two. I certainly cannot pay $180 a year or even half a year. I've heard from other families and I know a lot of them wouldn't be able to afford it. Basically, you're paying roughly the amount to buy an AIO album to hear one new episode a month. Sure, you can wait till December and pay for one month and hear all 12 shows, but then you'll be out of the loop and you still can't own the episodes. I have nothing against Focus or the OAC. I think the OAC is a great idea. Being able to have access to all of Odyssey's episodes, videos, Clubhouse magazine, and more for $15 is really cool! But for the many people who have most or all the albums or can't afford paying for all that in this economy, not being able to listen to all 2 seasons a year is a big deal breaker. I know Odyssey costs a lot to make. Personally, I'd rather them stop making CDs and just do MP3 albums, raise the prices of the albums a bit, and do one season a year then having those episodes only available to about 30% of their audience.

There were more quotes than that, so this obviously isn't the whole conversation, but this is what I found interesting.

[Audrey]

Interesting.

Doll, how did you listen to the Launch Part 1 if you didn't have an OAC subscription?

[Doll]

Interesting.

Doll, how did you listen to the Launch Part 1 if you didn't have an OAC subscription?

Let's just say I have connections.

[Nelson S.]

Let's just say I have connections.

AWWW, NOT FAIR.

Though I don't really care. XD

Also I read those posts on Facebook. There were quite a few comments on that post.

I agree with Garrett's post

It's stupid and dumb.

[SirWhit]

I second Garrett's post.

[Pound Foolish]

Good old Aaron/ Garrett. He was great at letting things have it. Course, now we have Audrey.

I will admit, "stupid and dumb" sums things up quite well.

Still, I see a lot in your quotes, Blondie. It's nice to see what some big AIO fan names have to say. But I'm still somewhat puzzled what all this about AIO being in financial trouble is about. I remember OJ saying something about that as well. Where does the idea come from? It's a possibility, but why does it seem to be somewhat generally accepted?

[Audrey]

Well, the first time I ever heard about FOTF/AIO being in trouble was when I went to the Live Show. They had an entire presentation talking about how it takes more to make the show than the money they are bringing in. And now, with the OAC, I think other people are just assuming that they're in financial trouble as well.

[The Old Judge]

And also, FOTF probably felt some major financial cranps after Dobson left. For many people, he was Focus. It's pretty safe to say that Dobson fans either cut their giving to Focus a lot or stopped giving altogether.

[Pound Foolish]

Strange, that's a pity, Audrey. I guess all businesses fluctuate. Still, with all the major undertakings they've done recently (the live shows, GITS, and that contest to do good works whatever it was called) you'd certainly think they're making money. People flocked to those things.

OJ, one highly doubts most Odyssians would give a phooey Dobson left. I've never even once seen him mentioned in an Odyssey forum anywhere. The only major influence I can think of that he had on AIO, outside of giving it the go ahead, is getting rid of Harley. Which really wasn't an especially good thing. Harley was a good character. Only loyal Odyssians would know trivia facts like Dobson's past affiliation with it, and why would a loyal Odyssian stop listening just because he left?
If you're suggesting there are people who listen to the show because they are Dobson fans and so now have no interest, frankly, it seems like there might be just possibly ONE person like that, but even saying that is a stretch.

[Wakko]

Strange, that's a pity, Audrey. I guess all businesses fluctuate. Still, with all the major undertakings they've done recently (the live shows, GITS, and that contest to do good works whatever it was called) you'd certainly think they're making money. People flocked to those things.

OJ, one highly doubts most Odyssians would give a phooey Dobson left. I've never even once seen him mentioned in an Odyssey forum anywhere. The only major influence I can think of that he had on AIO, outside of giving it the go ahead, is getting rid of Harley. Which really wasn't an especially good thing. Harley was a good character. Only loyal Odyssians would know trivia facts like Dobson's past affiliation with it, and why would a loyal Odyssian stop listening just because he left?
If you're suggesting there are people who listen to the show because they are Dobson fans and so now have no interest, frankly, it seems like there might be just possibly ONE person like that.

I don't think he meant people left AIO because of Dobson, he probably meant some people left Focus because of him. So people might of just listened to Dr. Dobson's daily broadcast, and supported that. Since AIO is one of Focus's main projects they probably thought that was the best source of income.

[The Old Judge]

Clearly, you misunderstand me, Mister Foolish. A ministry like that would have money coming in constantly. If one area was faltering financially, they would be anle to apply a certain amount (with permission) from the general fund to the ailing ministry. All the years Dr. Dobson ran Focus, his broadcast was the flagship program. I know at least one person close to me that listened to the daily broadcast faithfully, that has moved on now. Focus as a whole lost a lot of financial help, which in turn hurts Adventures in Odyssey.

[Bren]

I've heard rumors that Bob was let go due to lack of funds.