Game For a Mystery

[Pound Foolish]

People keep complaining about the episode, Game For a Mystery. The reasons: Emily is "annoying", no one cares if Barrett gets his game back, and the mystery is confusing and random.
This is ridiculous. Emily is a perfectly enjoyable character, and as we've seen, plenty of people like her. (Up with ERK! Long may we reign!)
As for Barrett's game, that is missing the point by a mile. Barrett (scrawny as a carrot, mangy like a ferret) may not be especially sympathetic. Yes, any gamer can understand his desperate desire to play, it's really not very exaggerated. Many kids are like that. But yes, it's silly how much he wants it... that's why the main character isn't him. It's Emily. And don't you forget it.
As for the mystery, those who make the accusation it's without logic is paying about as much attention as Rodney in math class. The clues lead smoothly to one another, and Emily's clever deduction makes everything tick.
All in all, this is a fine intro for the Green Avenger.
And speaking for myself, it goes beyond that. I've come to adore the episode. It's special to me.
However, we all know plenty of Emily-haters don't... quite agree. So, the only answer is...
Let's talk it up! (Aren't catch-phrases cool?)

[Aftershocker]

I enjoyed this episode very much! =] Emily was great and not annoying in the least bit. Barrett, however, seemed less mature than Emily, which is funny because he is older than her. Over all, Game for a Mystery is one of my favorite episodes. =]

[sing]

well, it was OK, but I do think I would like the Emily stories more, if the mysteries were not so easy to figure out.... :-/

[Pound Foolish]

Seriously? You figured out a bird took the game before Emily did!? From some ants!?

[Rosy]

Game for a Mystery:
Not really a favorite of mine, probably because it's one of the few episodes we have on CD, so I've listened to it over and over and over and over while my iPod was out of commission. Anyways, Barret, in this episode is completely immature. Now compared to other Barret episodes, he got a lot better. But still, I'm not a huge fan of it all...even though Emily rules.

[Joy]

Despite Emily, in all of her rulingness, it was her debut, and the writers didn't do the best job in terms of living up to the character. It's less than mediocre, I like the later episodes of her, especially Great Expectations.
So, overall, not the best job, honestly.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

I think it's safe to say there are few in the Odyssey fan community who agree with you here, PF. The episode idea itself wasn't horrible, it's just that I found myself turning it off halfway through it. Seriously, I've never even finished this thing. It was boring, and I didn't care about Barret or the mystery. I was also about 9, so I had less of an attention span, and I think I just wasn't used to the obnoxiousness of Emily yet, and I couldn't handle it. So maybe I'll give it another try and listen to the whole thing, but I highly doubt I'll be impressed. The parts I heard showed a completely mediocre episode. That's just my opinion, but I think many agree with me.

[Nelson S.]

I like this episode because Nelson is in it.

But I think this episode is alright. I mostly like it for the audio production. That's about it.

I especially like it for the setting the characters are located. I get a wonderful mental visual for this episode. A nice neighborhood, warm sunny day, people mowing their lawns, just chilling outside (as Nelson demonstrates). As for me, I like just sitting down and drinking a tea while listening. It's a very relaxing experience. (In spite of Emily's voice).

And if I were Barrett, I would do the exact thing that Barrett does when his Verminoids game is dropped onto the road, except it would be with my iPod. I would sit in the middle of the road and cry... and cry some more. I'm very attached to my iPod. Which could be considered a bad thing...

[Pound Foolish]

Thank you so much, Ben. I appreciate that. That's the word I use for it too, "relaxing." It's just warm, gentle, calming... well, etc. And let's see... What would make me act like Barrett? A new fantasy book, I guess. (Seriously, I'll wish my favorite series good morning and say goodbye it to it when we go on a long trip. I'm not kidding.)

I think I just wasn't used to the obnoxiousness of Emily yet, and I couldn't handle it. So maybe I'll give it another try and listen to the whole thing, but I highly doubt I'll be impressed. The parts I heard showed a completely mediocre episode. That's just my opinion, but I think many agree with me.

Yes, a lot of people condone that horrid opinion. That's why I started this... but no one's given an actual concrete reason not to like the episode, except you dear Seasie. And even Game for a Mystery isn't marvelous enough to withstand overusage. CDs should come with warnings for things like that: Do not get even one little scratch on this or it will never play again, give it a thorough bath (wiping with a shirt won't do) once a week, and do not listen to contents too often or you will go from loving this product to leaving it in a car on a hot day in Texas.)
But anyways, I already mentioned people don't care about Barrett and explained that's because he's just comedy relief while Emily's the star. (Although, if you didn't get interested in the mystery, that is a little odd.)
I already mentioned some consider Emily obnoxious, and generally don't like episode. But again, no one's pointed out an actual flaw in the show yet.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

There wasn't an actual flaw in the show. It's not that I think it's a terrible episode, or one that has numerous problems, it just didn't have anything that stood out to me. It didn't have a lot of bad things, it just had an absence of good things. That's what makes it an average and dull episode. It has little to nothing going for it, nothing to make it a highlight. It's mostly personal taste, I suppose. But I will also note that so far, no one's given me a concrete reason why it's a great episode either.

[Bethany Shepard]

I like that episode. I listened to it to many time... but I still like it.

I don't think I'm that attached to anything electronic. Not enough to cry in the middle of the road!

[Novatom]

It is weird that Barret's so obsessed with his game and practically cries at the end when it breaks (how old is he again?).

[Bethany Shepard]

... ... I think he's at least 11 in that episode. But when his voice changed... I think he sounds about... mmmmm.... 15 or 16. (My opinion... not a actual fact)

[Pound Foolish]

Mr. Thinker, it's a pity you don't see anything special about the show. But there are many special things, even in they don't entertain you personally. It has a charming mood, it's funny, it introduces Emily and let's us see Matthew in a new way, as a friend, which we hadn't seen till then. (Only as a sibling or with Eugene and Whit and Connie.) And itt has an intriguing little puzzle neatly put together. Now that is something Odyssey rarely has. It often has had some kind of mystery which the characters want to solve, whether Jared is trying to discover what Sarah and her club is up to or Jack thinks a man is hiding bodies. But such mysteries are very different from logically following subtle clues to figure out a complex problem, and the show did that cleverly and smoothly
All this adds up to a truly special episode.
And.... if you don't enjoy it, know what? TOO BAD. You tasteless oaf.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

I still disagree with you. The mood of the episode that you call "charming" reminds me of rotten, rat-infested bird poo. The humor did not impress me. Just because an episode introduces a new character does not make it instantly appealing. I did not find this puzzle you speak of intriguing. Sorry.