Episode
Reviewed: The
Amazing Loser
(693)
Writers: Dave Arnold,
Kirby Atkins
Director: Dave Arnold
Sound Designer:
Christopher Diehl
Theme: Love is not self-seeking
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:5
Original
Airdate: 10/15/11
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
When Whit's End
sponsors a band camp, Matthew, Jay, and Barrett
compete in a musical scavenger hunt.
The Review
As I was listening to
The Amazing Loser,
I realized this certainly wasn't a lazy episode. I doubt
Dave Arnold
and Kirby Atkins rushed to finish it, quickly handed it in to the team, and
then went to watch the football game. There was care involved. I bet history
books were opened and several hours were spent brainstorming ideas for the
scavenger hunt. Looking at
Dave Arnold's past works especially, it's
clear the man likes to go the extra mile (The
Jubilee Singers,
A Thankstaking Story).
And while both Atkins and
Arnold' have contributed to less than
perfect shows, it usually isn't because of a lack of effort.
The Amazing Loser
is a praiseworthy episode because it is completely invested in the topic of
music. I am not a musical connoisseur, but years from now children will have
listened to this episode countless times (because that is the very best
thing to do!) and will be able to repeat its random musical trivia.
Adventures in Odyssey should always be educational. By listening to this
show, I got to know the names of Francis Scott Key (By
Dawn's Early Light), Horatio Spafford (It
Is Well,
The Other Woman),
Paul Revere (The
Midnight Ride), and countless others. Whether it
is teaching about the Bible or simply teaching how to spot of a fake dollar
bill, Adventures in Odyssey should always be teaching, and children,
in turn, will always be quoting. If they aren't, chances are the writer
isn't writing anything interesting.
And while
The Amazing Loser
is interesting, there is certain difficulty writing about children
running around in a scavenger hunt on an radio show. The characters must
summarize quickly where they are in relation to the other team while also
sounding completely natural. This is much easier to accomplish on-screen
where you can visually see how close one team is to another, who is winning,
or whether they are neck in neck.
The Amazing Loser
works hard to make up for the audience's inability to see. We always had a
clear sense who was where and what was happening; we'd hear one team think
aloud in the background while the another team gives their lines in the
foreground. Along with John Campbell's
music which gave each environment their own signature tune/melody, and a
quick musical montage to quicken the pace of the show, I thought the show
pulled off the scavenger hunt portion impressively.
This episode will be compared to
Treasure Hunt,
another episode about a scavenger hunt. That's fair. Oddly, I'm reminded of
The
Malted Milkball Falcon. These kids sure do have
fun together. With every kid-centric episode that passes, there is
noticeably greater chemistry between these new actors, as well as a greater
sense of camaraderie. Although great kids have come and gone on
Adventures in Odyssey, there has rarely been such a consistent group of
them participating in activities together.
Think about it. The show has had many famous pair of friends (Jimmy and
Lawrence, Alex and Cal, Liz and Mandy), but it wasn't uncommon for some kids
to never run into each other. For instance, despite being on the same show
for years, Jimmy didn't often share episodes with Lucy. Kids, on this show,
have always appeared inconsistently, showing up in episodes randomly, and
rarely giving us a clear idea of who was friends with who, and which kids
were still around. Due to the show's recent emphasis on large child
"ensembles" (Stage Fright,
When You're Right, You're
Right,
The Malted
Milkball Falcon), I believe Adventures in
Odyssey is fixing this problem by presenting the same consistent group
kids in nearly every episode that passes. In other words, they simply feel
like a tighter group of friends..
While Jay and Matthew were the more entertaining pair, Priscilla and Barrett
had some decent moments as well. This leads me discussing the elephant in
the room. Yes, Priscilla has a crush on Barrett. I say, so what? Fans
grumbled back in
When You're Right, You're
Right and are still grumbling about it
here. Having Priscilla say "Did you know that your nose crinkles up when you
get excited?" is not nauseating, nor is it encouraging child
relationships...it's funny. How boring would it be if this chemistry between
Barrett and Priscilla wasn't there? Kids have crushes. That's life. If
Priscilla and Barrett were going on dates, writing their wedding vows, or
planning their retirement, it'd be a different story...
Something else that makes
The Amazing Loser
different is how we aren't given an obvious hint of its theme/moral until
later on. Halfway through the episode, you might even wonder "what's going
to be the theme of this show?" My initial guess was "competition". Close,
but no cigar. Some may say that its third act involving the girl and the
shoes feels too randomly tacked on. I argue that the show, as it is, is
constructed pretty effectively; we are so involved in the competition that
we are struck by a sudden distraction right when Barrett is. A random event
occurs: a child needs shoes. Barrett then forgets the competition and
chooses to provide. Then and there, we learn as Barrett learns: competition
means nothing if we forget how to be decent human beings. Yes, this "random
event" seems to be disconnected from the earlier half of the story
but its late timing in the episode is appropriate and quite effective in
delivering the show's theme.
Let's sum things up. While
The Amazing Loser
is fun and energetic because of the good performances, it is
Dave Arnold and Kirby Atkins who
ultimately make this episode stand-out. The story is told at a nice, brisk
pace, and there's plenty of cool facts to enjoy and new Odyssey locations to
visit. You may be surprised that I'm giving it four stars, but somehow I
think both kids and their parents will enjoy this one together. That's
always worth an extra star.
Rating
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