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Hearing new episodes (or maybe ones you've never heard before) is usually a blast. This thread is dedicated to discussing the best experiences you've had hearing an episode for the first time! I have a couple of experiences listening to episodes for the first time that immediately pop into my head.

Firstly, "The Top Floor, Parts 1-3." I used to listen to the show via borrowing CDs from two libraries I went to and/or buying CDs with my own savings. I wasn't aware of the Leonard Meltsner Saga's existence until I borrowed album 45 from my local library. After hearing it, I got album 46 from the library. A month or so after that, I got album 47 from the other library I went to. And then, to my utter dismay, neither of the libraries had album 48. My birthday was coming up in a few months and I told my mom that all I wanted was album 48 (younger me was a cheapskate who didn't want to spend $25). It was the only gift I received that year and I was so grateful. And finally, after what felt like so long a wait, got to hear the main conclusion to the Leonard Meltsner Saga arc (plus all the other arcs from album 45-49). It was absolutely enthralling. I was so hooked & emotionally invested. When I was younger, I rarely was "touched" by any media I consumed, but for some reason, the scene where Leonard read his letter to Everrett really struck a chord. TL;DR: It was an amazing experience.

The second one that sticks out is "A Sacrificial Escape." I remember the day it was released vividly only because of this episode. The parental warning was so surprising and the stakes were so unexpectedly high. The pacing is terrific which made the experience all the better. It amounted to 25 minutes of me losing my mind in the best way possible. It was the summer and I had nothing on the agenda, so I think I heard that episode 6+ times that day, either soley focusing on the episode or multitasking.

What are some of the best experiences you have had hearing episodes for the first time?

Monica Stone wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:38 pm

The second one that sticks out is "A Sacrificial Escape." I remember the day it was released vividly only because of this episode. The parental warning was so surprising and the stakes were so unexpectedly high. The pacing is terrific which made the experience all the better. It amounted to 25 minutes of me losing my mind in the best way possible. It was the summer and I had nothing on the agenda, so I think I heard that episode 6+ times that day, either soley focusing on the episode or multitasking.

I remember listening to this episode for the first time. Yes! The parental warning was a (surprisingly) welcome surprise. It made me think, "This is going to be good!" And it was.

Monica Stone wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:38 pm

What are some of the best experiences you have had hearing episodes for the first time?

For some reason, when I think of 'experiences', I think of all the times new Odyssey episodes have surprised me. Here are the instances I thought of:

The Good In People: When Morrie approaches and says "Ready, sis?", Olivia and Suzu scream. Their scream scared me and made me scream!
Similarly, when I heard This Is Chad Pearson for the first time, I skipped the preview and thus jumped when Kim and Erica started screaming. That seriously did scare me, probably because I wasn't really paying attention.

The Long End, Part 1: The scene with Two-Bits wrecking Haggler's Junkyard completely caught me off guard. I was like, "Whoa, what?!" (which is why I voted for it as Best Scene in that year's Averys)

The Rydell Revelations, Part 2: I have never been so surprised in my time of listening to Odyssey. "Tasha..." Wait. "Tasha Forbes." WHAT?! REALLY?! Seriously, that was a good surprise. It sort of redeemed the episode for me.

Besides surprises, here are a few random memories I have:

This is unrelated to the episode itself, but when Divided We Fall aired on the radio, my brother and I were both trying to listen to it. Unfortunately, we kept getting interrupted by one thing after another. From my dog to exterminators to guests, it must've taken us over an hour to hear the entire thing!

We were given random Odyssey albums by our cousins when we first started listening. The first one of those we heard was Album 54...and unintentionally spoiled Album 53 because of A Penny Saved!

Another time, we were listening to Out of the Woods for the first time and mistook Polehaus at the duck pond for Mr. Skint. "No wait, that's Detective Polehaus!" "Awww."

Monica Stone wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:38 pm

What are some of the best experiences you have had hearing episodes for the first time?

Great question! I have a few episodes, but two that really stand out for me as my "Favorite Frist Listen" are:

There are so many but the two I'll go with are the first audio episode I ever heard: Flash Flood from a place of wonder, which was lent to me by a friend. I loved the character dynamics between Whit/Tom/Eugene/Bernard/Connie which is what made me 'fall in love' with AIO, and nearly made me cry went they killed off Tom (the lack of explaining how/when he died made it worse).

Several stick out to me, but most of all A Name, Not a Number Part 2. I remember driving in my car hearing that for the first time, and at the line "make it look like an accident, Abdul" a strong shiver flew up my spine. It's a sinister line, and Earl Boen delivered it so casually and maliciously at the same time as to make it chilling.

I think Flash Flood is one of the best episodes. I'm in the process of re-listening or listening to every single episode, and rating them. Flash Flood so far is one of the best. It is dramatic, very funny, and very good ending. Not to mention, you get to know 4 of the main characters really well, and even get to know Connie a little bit.