New Odyssey Scoops

March 27—Check out the recent Odyssey Scoops, appearing in Clubhouse magazine.  (Also note that they are now finally putting the original illustrations with these, which are very nice.)

New Odyssey Times

March 27—A new Odyssey Times has been up for awhile at the Official site.  Check it out to get an update on some of the recent (and upcoming) happenings in Odyssey.

The Hitbox Disappears

March 26—Notice anything different about the look of AIOHQ?  Is there something missing from the bottom of the pages?  That's right...the Hitbox has disappeared.  The company started displaying ads that I didn't think were really appropriate for the AIO audience at this site, so the box has been taken away.  (If you see any remaining boxes on any pages, please alert me so I can get rid of them.)  Thank you!

Children's Bible Hour closes it's doors, starts new half-hour drama

March 5—If one weekly radio drama set in a small town isn't enough for you, try two!  Starting this week, a brand-new radio show called Down Gilead Lane begins airing in the Children's Bible Hour time slot.  The long-running Children's Bible Hour has stopped producing their usual variety show in favor of this new drama.

Down Gilead Lane is a series about the Morrison family who lives in the Coleraine (though we don't know the state).  As the first episode begins, the family is undergoing some serious changes.  The father has become a judge and each of the five children is experiencing changes at school while the mom is spending her first days at home alone because the last child has finally started first grade.

The first episode, titled "Meet the Morrisons," aired March 3, 2001 and new episodes are scheduled each week thereafter.  The first two-part episode begins next weekend.  The show (and teasers for upcoming shows) are available in the RealAudio format at the Official site for the program.

Down Gilead Lane is produced by CBH Ministries.  CBH Ministries is undoubtedly most famous for producing the Children's Bible Hour.  The program, which was only a half-hour in recent years, aired for more than 58 years and was the longest running radio show on the air.  It began on a small station in Grand Rapids, Michigan in November of 1942.  Over the years, thousands upon thousands of shows were produced, each with a variety of songs, drama, and other segments like interviews, jokes, or Bible verses.  In recent years, CBH was the most popular radio drama in the country, aside from Adventures in Odyssey.  The program aired it's last original program on February 24, 2001.

Children's Bible Hour and Adventures in Odyssey were often aired back-to-back on many Christian radio stations.  In the ears of this reviewer, the program was decidedly inferior in general quality and appeal to older listeners when compared with AIO.  However, this new program is vastly superior and, to AIO fans, far more familiar.  Instead of a variety show format, the program is a full half-hour of drama.  The scripts and acting, while not up to the AIO standard, are still at a reasonable level.  Even the music, instead of being the "canned" variety usually used with CBH, sounds professional and well-done.  If you're a rabid Odyssey fan and are looking for another program to start listening to, I think you could well find an interest in Down Gilead Lane.

Marshal Younger Interview

March 5—Marshal Younger answers Switchflood's questions about split episodes, the spring season, and the story arc shows.

Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family.  All characters and episodes are copyrighted by FOTF.  This site is not in any way affiliated with Focus on the Family.