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There are ways to tell a good story and make it interesting and there are ways to tell a story and make it really interesting and memorable. For the most part, the episodes of this album fall into the former category. All but Pipe Dreams are good, solid, interesting episodes, but only The Case of the Candid Camera and A Class Act go over the edge of really grabbing you.
The episodes mainly about Odyssey kids are solid and develop their characters well. Fair Weather Fans shows Isaac Morton as his usual, trusting self. All the characters are played well, but I think it would have been a stronger ending without the final confrontation with Derek or the information Whit finds out at the end. The 'No' Factor presents an important statement about being too busy, but does it really give us useful information about how to manage our schedule. Is there any other way to tell the story than to have a character get too busy and then realize they are too busy? That's so, well, predictable. Rights, Wrongs, and Reasons is another useful, but not entirely interesting episode. I personally would have rathered that they look at a few more "tough" situations from the Bible, but it is geared for younger children than I.
Edwin Blackgaard has two of the best episodes of the album, Double Trouble and A Class Act. His persona, his hilarious lines, and his sidekick Shakespeare added and continue to add to every scene of which he is a part. Double Trouble introduces his zaniness, but in A Class Act, he runs free. He is constantly hilarious, as are the scenes around him. A Class Act is the better episode, mainly due to Edwin's lines like "Eugene, you want to play a particular type of turnip?"
The Case of the Candid Camera is simply the best Harlow episode ever. One of the most important things that makes it good is the fact that Harlow actually does something. Just like in his first episode, he really helps solves the case. This is not the case in 249: The Case of the Delinquent Disciples. Additionally, he has funny lines and a good episode around him. Again, not the case with 249: The Case of the Delinquent Disciples. Why couldn't we have more Harlow episodes like this? I might like him more if he were always like this.
Wonderworld, Pen Pal, and Real Time are all interesting concept episodes, exploring ideas rather new to AIO. Real Time is probably the best for its concept, but suffers some in its surrounding story. Wonderworld has another great point: don't try to age too quickly, but much of the episode ends up being a platform for set-piece after set-piece of make-believe games. On Solid Ground fulfills the Bible story episode in the album, managing to act like a news story and a drama at the same time.
Flash Flood and Pipe Dreams both have major problems. Pipe Dreams is rather boring except for a contrived dilemma at the end and features poor dialog missing the usual AIO "snap". There is a very long sequence in the middle where we learn all about how a sewer works. Oh, joy. Flash Flood is a better episode with especially notable sound design (I was convinced there was a bear outside the camp), but I was disturbed by the meanness of Bernard and even Tom Riley. Tom isn't like this. Throughout the episode, they do not show their good Christian witnesses to Eugene and on the whole are downright nasty. Even at the end, Bernard is still saying things like "Galling, isn't it?" when Tom is thanking Eugene for saving his life. I wonder if these problems stem from the fact that these episodes were not by AIO authors. They were by, well, outsiders--people who don't know AIO and its characters as well as Phil, Paul, and Marshall. Those three writers show much more expertise in dealing with their characters.
Favorite Episode: A Class Act
Rating: 3 stars
The first of the the three "whimsical" collection names (15, 16, 18) that really could be applied to any collection.
