Consensus: Thumbs Up (23/30 positive reviews)

The season premiere is getting a variety of reviews, but most of the reviews (positive or negative) agree on their criticism. Most did not like the Mandy/Liz storyline because it was "unrealistic" and showed both characters in a bad light. Also, no one thought that Seth should be the one Mandy and Liz liked. Many commented on their dislike for him as a character. The only praise of this storyline was that it was nice to have it continue for several episodes and not be resolved in 25 minutes.

On the positive side, almost everyone enjoyed seeing Jack and Joanne and the maturity of their relationship. Most liked the idea of Connie and Joanne going on a road trip.

Connie's part of the story got the most "uncertain" reaction. Many liked it and pointed to the Jack/Connie discussion about Mitch as an Odyssey classic. Others thought Connie was a bit whiny and annoying. A few also wondered where Whit was.

As usual on a season premiere, most are adopting a "wait and see" attitude for the rest of the season.

Review by Vicky, age 12
Rating:

I'm not sure what to give this ep, so I guess a "3" works. I didn't like how Whit wasn't there. I think he should have been there. I really like Connie's thing with Jack. It was very well written. I like how they left the doors open for more things to happen. Liz and Mandy's friendship, Connie's road trip, and Connie's "sorry" to Mitch. Very good.

The thing I didn't like (besides Whit not being there) was Connie's line about they shouldn't be even THINKING about boys. It is just happens at that age. NO ONE can stop it. They can make them not say anything out loud but they can't make them stop thinking about it. Then there was Jack's thing about not going. It really reminded me of my household. And they portrayed it much like what happens in my house. EXECPT the ending. My mom NEVER goes if my dad says no. Joanne should have not insisted on going. It was a NOT a good way to introduce the road trip. I like the forgiveness part between Joanne and Jack. When I read the little thing about the ep before it comes out I knew who it was going to forgive first. No surprise there. Over all an okay ep.

Review by David, age 17
Rating:

It's okay...it will lead us into somthing bigger. However, I don't like it when Jack apologized when he was not wrong. It bothers me when both sides admit their wrong there is only one guilty party. I knew that Joanne was going to get Connie to go with her...these things are always predictable. At the end we got an idea of what is to come in the furture. We heard them running into a heavy storm on the way to Washington. Reminds me of a similar situation I experienced last summer when we ran into a heavy storm in Ohio. Perhaps that is the same place they ran into the storm.

Review by Natalie, age 12

I love the new season! I think odyssey has improved over the years. I hope to hear more great shows like "Seeing Red."

Review by Ian Chai

I loved this episode! I wonder if most of the people who didn't like this episode were younger? As a married man who has had several romantic experiences, I actually found Connie's reaction very realistic, as well as Jack's & Joanne's tiff as a mature couple.

I once almost married a girl who was otherwise a faithful Christian but got very jealous and read all sorts of things into everything I did, just like Connie is doing to Mitch.

The woman I finally did marry is also a mature Christian, and while she's much less jealous, she does do that on occasion as well. We have a good relationship, but, like Jack & Joanne, we do have our occasional misunderstandings.

Perhaps the problem with this episode is that it's more suitable for young adults than kids? (Of course, the folks who have followed Odyssey from the beginning are all now adults. :-)

I agree that in past episodes Seth has been rather overboard with his evangelistic zeal... but on the other hand, even he seems realistic as I was a bit like that when I first got saved at 13. Zeal without wisdom, you know? But properly nurtured, a boy like Seth can grow up to be a dynamic man of God. His heart's already in the right place... just add wisdom & tact :-)

Review by JoyElectric
Rating:

A new season is highlighted by Jack and Joanne. You'd think with the sweetest woman and Odyssey and the quietest man in Odyssey, things would be perfect. Nope. Hey, "prefect" couples argue as well. There were quite a few nice pieces of dialogue between Joanne and Connie, as well as Connie's more subtle dealings with Liz.

However, one thing that is a little annoying is Connie's paranoia of Mitch. She's slowly drifting into "High Matenience" category. She's always been a little flighty, but she's a little too obsessed (give the Allens credit for listening to her over there for no apparent reason!). Also, her simply up and going with Joanne will be kind of neat, but It still gets me on how often people who work for Whit just leave with little notice.

I must be in the minority, but I actually liked the Liz/Mandy rift. The two girls are top actors, and did a great job...and for a second Seth was the rational person in the room! I also like that their friendship wasn't resolved at the end of the show, it gives it a little more credibility.

But, even with Connie getting flaky, it was a good opening to a season.

Review by Pete Fernbaugh, age 21
Rating:

After an excellent "Summer of History," Adventures in Odyssey has gotten off to a fresh and interesting start for its Fall 2003 season.

I want to preface everything by saying that it's a pleasure to finally see Jack Allen on the show again (and in a few weeks, the long-awaited return of Bart Rathbone, who has been absent far too long).

I was worried when I heard that much of the fall season would be consumed by Connie's road trip, but I shouldn't have pre-judged the concept until I heard the premise surrounding the trip. It's going to be nice having Joanne on the program more than just here and there. Janet Waldo is such a terrific voice actress and works so well with Katie Leigh that their road trip will no doubt be a delight for all fans. I'm hoping that their trip will be full of the surprises and twists that characterized Eugene and Bernard's now-classic road trip (although, I'm doubting that the conclusion of their trip will top the shocking conclusion to Eugene and Bernard's trip).

I thought that the subplot between Liz and Mandy was a necessary progression in the development of these characters. To see them fight for the affection of a boy was timely and very realistic. As he's proven time and again, Marshal Younger has an incredible finger on the pulse of the 8-12 age group. I'm looking forward to seeing this plot line develop throughout the season.

All in all, AIO has gotten off to a great start. I enjoy the more-serialized approach to storytelling, as it takes the show out of the 25-minute a week entrapment, and the upcoming episodes, as summarized at AIOHQ.com, look more than promising. They look original and clever.

May God continue to bless this wonderful program! I look forward to being on my side of the radio in the coming weeks.

Review by Nathan, age 14
Rating:

I have made a shocking discovery! The reason for Whit's disappearance during this show is obviously showing that he is taking another archaeological tour to the Middle East! This fits in too perfectly with Connie and Joanne's road trip! On a more serious note, I think that AIO is beginning to get slightly unoriginal. After seeing the synopsis for the next show, I think that it sounds suspiciously similar to our last big road trip, with Bernard and Eugene. Hmmm. Also, I miss the sound of the mid-90's kids. They sounded more realistic than Alex or Liz for example.

Review by Abigail, age 16
Rating:

I liked this one! Well... almost all of it! One thing that annoyed me was Liz and Mandy fighting over a boy—Seth at that!—and calling him "cute." Yuck! Even at my age I am not looking for a boyfriend! Connie was a little loony...but just a little. I thought she should have been smarter than to think her world was coming to an end because Mitch changed his answering machine message, and wrote about the weather! (I write about the weather...) Overall, I liked this episode, and am looking forward to the rest of the season. Keep going AIO! Oh, and about Mandy and Liz, I like those characters! Liz used to be whiny, but has gotten better. Mandy is just too cute! There, I'm done.

Review by howdypardner (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Connie's obnoxious, Mandy and Liz are boy-crazy, Seth's annoying...

This wasn't a very good start for the season...hopefully Connie will GROW UP over the course of the road trip! I have to confess, I've never really liked her character. She seems to be all emotions and no intellect. Oh well.

Jack and Joanne's "tiff" was okay...good to see that the only old(er) married couple in Odyssey aren't perfect.

Review by E87M2 (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I have mixed feelings about this first episode.

I liked the lesson in this story. Swallowing pride and being the first to apologize is something that isn't always easy to do. Especially, in Joanne's case, she had no idea that Jack was going to let her go. She was willing to give up her brilliant idea for the sake of honoring her husband. I'm glad that we could hear more of Jack and Joanne even if Whit didn't have any role in this episode. Jack and/or Joanne before seemed like side characters before, but I'm glad they are revealing themselves more. This part about Joanne going to D.C. is going to be fun.

Connie was...just Connie. Honestly, I didn't expect her to act any differently in this show. Considering how she's been in the recient past, this attitude was kinda expected. I'm not clear on exactly WHY she HAS to go to appologize to Mitch in person. She had a fight with him... okay. The phone would be a handy invention to use in that case. It almost made it sound that she was so insecure with him that she has to go check up on him and "apologize." Not that I'm against it...but it seemed like it could have been developed a little more. But that is being really nitpicky. She's on the road now...and I do want a storyline to come out of this.

The Jack and Joanne part was the best (IMO), Connie... not horribly bad, but that thing about Seth/Mandy and Liz.... Ugh. I'm not a fan of romance anyway, and that crush stuff is pointless. I really cheered for Seth when he said "Neither one of you!!... The real question is how can you be thinking about THAT? This is evangelism class! We've got a world to save! I'm going to go get another partner." That ends that. If Mandy and Liz had to fight, I wish it could be over something a little more meaningful. But sadly, that is what is on a lot of teenage minds nowadays. I think this was the way that the writers tried to make it appeal to those having that type of problems. I could have done without it, personally, but anyway... To their credit, the girls who play both Liz and Mandy are excellent actresses. The actor of Seth is rather good as well, it's just his personality character that he has to play. But all in all, I'd have an character like Seth who can be in the minority of kids who really are on fire for God.

I'm looking forward to the continuation of this season.

Review by Marlyse
Rating:

Very nice episode! Although there was one thing that I was concerned with...Mandy and Liz have a crush on Seth, and this is represented as normal behavior, (having infatuations over the opposite sex) even to the point that they start to fight over him. No one talks to them about waiting until you are ready to get married to start pursuing possible spouses, this has never passed unoticed before.

Overall this was a very nice episode, with loving Jack and Joanne coming to the right conclusions, Connie overreacting (as usual),and the unsuspected road trip to come! What fun!

Some things that I hope to happen in the upcoming shows:
- Joanne and Connie meet Eugene and Katrina (or some people that we haven't seen in a long time)
- Mitch to quit the FBI and get married to Connie (we don't want their relationship to drag out for years on end like Eugene and Katrina's)
- Fun happenings in small towns along the way (like the ones in "Wish You Were Here!").

Review by Bob, age 12
Rating:

Pretty cool season premiere. Can't wait to see what this season has in store. The premiere set up some interesting plot ideas for the future episodes. Also I'm dying to find out what has been happening with Whit, Eugene and Katrina!

Review by Tianlet, age 17
Rating:

I guarantee that Mandy would not have acted that way to Liz in real life. Liz told her the whole story, and a real person would have been able to see that there was nothing Liz could do. Did Mandy really want Liz to tell Seth that Mandy liked him? I really don't think so.

Jack had every right to make Joanne stay home. The man is the LEADER of the home, not the pushover. Joanne also showed extremely bad taste in allowing Connie to see their argument.

Liz and Mandy's argument over Seth in public was also not believable. I am all astonishment that Marshal Younger could have written this episode. Usually his shows demand four star ratings, but this was not good.

The cell phone is interesting. I guess that just reinforced the fact that AIO is a very modern radio show.

Would Liz not have already seen the stuff she put in the box to give back to Mandy? Should she not have said, "I don't want to go through this stuff again."? One last thing: Connie mentioned that Liz and Mandy had a "life-long" friendship. We knew Mandy long before we knew Liz. (Didn't we?)

Review by Paul B
Rating:

Looks like Connie and Joanne are going on a road trip. Joanne wants to sell a compass to get money to save a church that burnt down, the one she helped start. Connie's going on the trip to see Mitch cause they're having problems. Sounds like we're in for some good shows.

Review by Aaron, age 21
Rating:

I think the 1st new season episode was done very well. I enjoyed hearing some of ther older people coming back to the show. Mainly Jack and Joanne in thie episode! It sounds like Connie and Joanne will be taking a trip somewhere!! Wow, I guess we will have to listen to the episodes in the coming weeks to see what is going to happen.

Review by Josh, age 18
Rating:

As a season premiere, "Seeing Red" was not very impressive to me at all. There was a lack of a good storyline, absolutely no depth, and the acting by most of the characters was very dense. It seems that Jack and Joanne were the only ones who really held the show together! The newest shows are starting to sound more like sitcoms instead of character building, wholesome, and well acted adventures that I've been accustomed to hearing. I'm now beginning to realize that Adventures In Odyssey will probably never be the same as it once was, but I only hope that upcoming shows are at least a little better than today's episode and do not at all reflect the quality of this dry season opener.

Review by Ming, age 13
Rating:

Seeing Red was pretty good. I really liked the part with Mitch's answering machine. :-) Please please Odyssey let Connie marry Mitch.

Review by Alyson, age 14
Rating:

A great beginning!

Review by Bradford, age 13
Rating:

This episode was okay for a season premiere. I felt a little sad when Jack told Joanne he selfishly didn't want her to go. I was almost a little afraid of a divorce. But nothing like that happened thankfully. It will be nice to hear Connie apologize to Mitch, maybe he'll propose again. I hope Connie and Joanne will be safe on their trip, and the same goes for everyone else in Odyssey. But I know what I need to do, keep listening. Good work AIO team!

Review by James M (Town Hall)

Good ep to start a road trip and stuff and tension for a few eps. We will see what happens over next few eps. I know we all knew when Joanne talked of going to Washington, it would be a road trip and Connie would go along. The Mandy-Liz storyline was probably just like girls that age and we will see if and how they can resume friendship—looks like some tension ahead and a project. I thought Jack had gotten rid of the antique already and he was trying to cover it up and that's why he was so hesitant. At least some people are swallowing pride and apologizing. (Reminds me of Fonz on Happy Days. "I was wr.. I was wrrr.. I was wrr. I am sor...I am sorr..." He had trouble saying sorry, too) Seth was still very annoying and stupid. Anyways we get set up for future eps and hopefully a great season. Bravo. Great ep!

Review by AREM (Town Hall)

Good episode, although i wonder where Whit was? Wonder what happens on the road trip...

Review by Laurie (Town Hall)

Great episode. Like Arem I was surprised that Whit was not in it. I am really wondering what will happen with Connie and Mitch. I am glad Connie has Joanne along for company. I am also curious about Mandy and Liz. It is no fun to have a quarrel with a friend. I can't wait for next week.

Review by Jared (Town Hall)

I liked this episode quite a bit more than I thought I would from the pre-airing details that emerged, but I could have entirely done without the Liz/Mandy/Seth thing. AIO has had too many "so and so has a crush on so and so" episodes and it can get annoying, especially to those who think that such things are... well, less than desirable.

I did enjoy Connie's banter, for once, and do hope that Mitch continues to save the world from meatless hamburgers (Doesn't that sound suspiciously like the War on Food?). And I always enjoy hearing Jack and Joanne. So I liked most of the episode, but would have preferred some better secondary plotline than the one provided.

In many ways, it reminded me of "Top This" or "Poor Loser," greatly enjoyable episode marred by run-of-the-mill, boring secondary plots. While listeners were wondering what precisely Brian Dern's thumb could do and how much they could shovel into their mouths with Jumbo Fork, they had to hear about two girls who were both being a little annoying in their silly rivalry. And while I imagine listeners relished the fact that Bernard's guys with the pointy heads were utterly destroying Eugene's attempts to pattern an attack off of a famous move in games of masters like Karpov but found little interest in the volleyball rivalry storyline.

This fits the pattern: a good dominant plot but a vaguely irritating secondary storyline that detracted from the best of the episode.

Review by butterflygirl (Town Hall)

It was okay, I mean not the best... Liz seemed too stuck up...

I now know who Seth is...hmmm...i don't really like him either...

Review by guppygirl (Town Hall)

I thought i was okay. Not the best episode in the world. There were some funny parts! Like when Connie was talking to Jack like he was Mitch. Now that was funny. I didn't like Seth. He was too...I'm not sure...just too something. And Liz was acting a little funny...I wish Whit would have been in it but you can't always have what you want...

Overall, I thought it was okay.

Review by Kathy M (Town Hall)

All in all i thought Seeing Red was good. The part with Mandy and Liz was okay; actually it reminded me of something similar that happened to between me and my former best friend. Well not that similar, we weren't fighting over a boy...and we never exactly had a big fight...maybe it wasn't that similar at all, but during the show that's what I kept thinking about. But anyway I hope that Mandy and Liz make-up before too much comes between them.

I can't wait to hear all about Connie and Joanne's roadtrip. I really don't think that Mitch has fallen for another girl, I think he's just gotten wrapped up in his case. Wouldn't it be awesome if his first case involved finding Eugene?

Review by Mandy Straussberg (Town Hall)

A thought the majority of the episode was good, but the part with Mandy and Liz was unrealistic and...well, just plain stupid. I mean, honestly, what idiot would give up a "life-long friendship" over a boy? An annoying, insincere boy, at that.

The Mitch/Connie and Jack/Joanna stuff was good. Joanne apologizing just showed a more...mature side of her that I don't remember seeing as much before.

Review by Fletcher (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

"Seeing Red" was a good episode, but I think, not the best episode to start the season. As with last season's preimere ("Between You and Me"), "Seeing Red" seems too normal an episode to start the season off.
On the plus side, it's very good to see Jack again, and the scene where Connie was tormenting him about Mitch was so Connie. But that's another thing--Connie. She was really whiny. I was hoping she wouldn't be, after the maturity she showed at the end of the season finale. Moving on, the subplot with Mandy and Liz was somewhat interesting, since crushes aren't something AIO does often, but the storyline also dragged, and Seth is just plain annoying! However, it was a good choice that Mandy and Liz's problem wasn't resolved at the end of the show, and I think the scene with Liz and Connie was one of the best in the episode.

Overall, a good show, though not the best. I can't wait till next week, "Black Clouds" sounds very exicting!

Review by DrBlackgaard (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I guess I have to honestly say that I didn't enjoy this episode at all. It reminded me far too much of the split episodes. Connie was extremely annoying...I'm glad I don't have her for a girlfriend. She was acting extremely over-emotional and immature. Frankly, I think her character is going downhill due to bad writing. The ordeal of Liz and Mandy (two EXTREMELY annoying characters that Odyssey would do better without) fighting over Seth was extremely stupid and unrealistic. Where are all the Christian kids in Odyssey!? Whatever happened to Christian morals? The subject of adolecent crushes was handled far more wisly in episodes like "Coming of Age" and "The Trouble with Girls."

But in this epiosde we have quotes like Liz saying (in her annoying, whiny, sarcastic voice) "Oh, look, Mandy has her first crush. How cute!" Dumb and pointless.

The only redeeming quality about the episode was Joanne's appology... But even it was a bit lame. Whatever happened to the verses in the Bible about wives keeping under their husband's authority? It's pretty clear who is suposed to be the head in the marriage. I don't think this episode did a very good job of explaining all that.

To be honest, I'm having a hard time looking forward to Connie and Joanne's road trip. The idea has been used before. And why on earth is Connie going? To apologize to Mitch? That could have been done just as easy over the phone. It sounds like a lame attempt to create another story line.

I don't mean to be so down on the epiosde, but I had a very hard time finding good qualities in it. A very lame season kick-off.

The only thing I can do is pack my radio away, and pull out my old cassettes, and hope that the old Odyssey will eventually return. But I see little hope of it.

Review by Thorin Oakenshield (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I give Seeing Red 3 1/2 stars out of five. The main plot was very good, but I hated the Mandy/Liz/Seth subplot. It wasn't the idea of Mandy and Liz falling for the same guy (even though I've never liked those soap opera things), but who the guy was. I hate Seth!

Seth is the worst AIO character since Danny Schmidt. He annoys me so much! He's a hypocritical, self-righteous annoying jerk! The best part about the ep was Connie's rambling and the "meatless hamburger" part. It would've been much, much better if Seth hadn't been in it.

Review by Ferder (Town Hall)

I agree about Connie being over-emtional lately. She was quite funny in the episode (with Jack), but overall she seems quite selfish and self-centered. Mitch said that Connie was the best thing to happen to him, but I think that Mitch is the worst thing to happen to Connie. I think he should either die (he's already died onces so they probably wouldn't do it again) or he should just marry Connie (which is very likely to happen at the end of the season).

Consensus: Thumbs Up (19/29 positive reviews)

Reaction to "Black Clouds" is leaning more negative than most recent Odyssey episodes, but it has a large portion of admirers as well. Many are talking about annoying characters and poorly used "Imaginary Station" scenes, while others are pointing to those same scenes as part of an excellent episode.

Fans are completely divided over the President-quoting Ethel. Many were charmed by her, but others disliked her intensely. The same is true for Lindy. Little praise is reserved for the foster mom.

The strong praise for the show is of Connie's maturity. Reviewers liked how Connie didn't act "ditsy" or make obvious mistakes like she did in some previous episodes. Most also liked how Connie proved to be a good role model in the show.

Excerpted Review by Jacob Isom (OdysseyScoop.com)
Rating: (out of five)

Click here to read Jacob's full review.

...Why do I get the overriding impression that we're all in a competitive battle to see who can degrade a show the best when it comes out? Why does it seem as if the only reason we've been tuning in recently is for the sole desire of winning with the war of the words? ... Why are we doing this?

...In my opinion, this episode had a very good plot and was beneficial to the series. ... True, this episode was one of the more slow-going episodes in recent days, but isn't that kind of what everyone was wanting? ... This episode pulled me back to the earlier days of Odyssey in which Whit could get away with five minute moral "lectures" and 30 second deals were unheard of. Only this time it was Connie doing the dishing of morals. ...

When I first heard Ethel's voice, I laughed. In my head at least. She has such a diner-sounding voice, so it was no surprise to hear a diner-sounding voice. Her repetitious references to former presidents added a witty comedy while remaining serious to get the message across. ...

A lot of people complained about the use of the story of Noah in the episode. Unlike them, I found the approach Connie took to be very satisfactory. Even though I've heard the story of Noah over and over, I don't have to get sick of it because it never gets old. I was pleased with the "Imagination Station" scenes in each of our characters' heads. That type of thing has never been attempted before on AIO... with the Imagination Station at least. ...

The only thing that nags me in this episode is the acting right before the first commercial break (Yes, I too have a complaint, though not as harsh as some of the complaints I've seen). When Ethel goes back to check on her box full of quarters to see if Lindy has a stealing streak in her, she shouts "The girl is gone!" That entire scene was a bit predictable, not to mention that the acting could have been better. ...

Overall, the acting was very well done, especially on the part of Connie. The sound effects done for the storm were wonderful and I got a surge of "Wow, a storm episode!" in my head. ...

So let's stop storming our brains to strike the biggest lightning. Just let the raindrops fall one at a time, otherwise we'll be in for a flood.

Review by Peter Fernbaugh, age 21
Rating:

The second part of Connie and Joanne's road trip was a bit of a letdown.

It's almost as if the Odyssey creative team is trying to rehash Bernard and Eugene's trip. As many longtime fans will recall, the second part of Eugene and Bernard's road trip was titled "Second Thoughts" and featured a similar plot setup (albeit, a completely different lesson) as "Black Clouds." I hope that future installments of Connie and Joanne's trip strive to distinguish it from Bernard and Eugene's.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the episode. Ethel was amusing most of the time. Admittedly, she did feel a little "thrown in," and by the episode's end, she had worn out her welcome. No wonder her late husband built a diner in the middle of nowhere!

It was nice to see Connie using your unique teaching abilities again, even if it did take a bizarre twist with the imaginative Imagination Station (for me, the jury's still out on that aspect of the episode). As this episode showed and as some of last season's episodes showed, Connie has taken great strides of maturity since her early days on the program.

Maybe this is one of the positives of Eugene's departure from Odyssey. Sometimes, the writers became so focused on developing his wonderful character that I felt Connie's development was sometimes ignored.

All in all, I liked this episode, but it could have been better and more creative. Hopefully, the creative aspects of this road trip will improve in the weeks to come.

Review by Carolita (Town Hall)

I kinda liked this episode. At least better than the last one. Ethel was quite interesting. I like her thing she had with Presidents. Lindy was okay. There are probably a lot of children out there that feel like she did...that they're not worth anything, they're an "accident," they are bad luck...etc. I'm glad Connie and Joanne made her realize the opposite. I didn't really like the voice of her foster mom, but not everyone has wonderful voices, you know. I thought it was kinda neat how Connie and Joanne and Ethel did "the Imagination Station" with chairs and stuff.
All in all Black Clouds was a good episode (despite what everyone says). I really like the point of the story. Who cares if the acting, etc. wasn't perfect? So long as the point was good.

Review by DrBlackgaard (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Ethel was an interesting character, and something of a lifesaver for the episode...It would have been quite dead and boring without her rather amusing remarks and president names.

Lindy's acting was just plain bad, and her lines were prety pathetic. Fortunately, it looks like we might not have to hear from her again.

Joanne was a little annoying, but then again she always is... Fortunately, her part was small.

Connie has gone from an annoying, overemotional, immature teenager (who acts about 10 years younger than her age) to a super Christian—over night. Now I wonder how that happened...

On the one hand, it was nice to see her acting like a mature Christian...And if I hadn't heard her last week throwing a fit over an unconfermed suspition, I would say her part was ok...But with last week's episode thrown in there...It makes me think somewhat differently.

It almost gives me the impression that she acts like an idiot when she's around friends and puts on a great front when in public.

The imaginary Imagination Station back to Noah's flood was not really in my tastes. First of all, the Imagination Station was okay when it was first made, and some of the adventures in it are amoung my favorites. However, the idea is getting old. And using it in this context, I think it was rather absurd. It would have been better if Connie simply sat down at a table, and told it to her. Or better yet, if she told a better story that is not so well known. We've had the story of noah on Odyssey three times, and each time they've been comical...almost too funny.

Anyway, not a very enjoyable episode..But there was a few funny lines, and IMO it beat last week's.

Review by Michelle, age 13
Rating:

It's pretty good. I think it needs more action though.

Review by JoyElectric
Rating:

For all of those going on about wanting Odyssey to sound like Odyssey again, they should go back and listen to a few seasons before Whit left. With minor cast changes, this is it: Connie comforting a young, confused child with Bible stories and ice cream. I don't think you get anymore "Classic Odyssey" than that.

While it's true that the episode was somewhat formulatic (we all knew Lindy would be fine by the end), the real story was about Connie showing herself to be more mature than some may have expected. She has learned well.

Ethel was rather odd, but in a good way. Lindy sounds a little like Aubrey when she first showed up in Odyssey, and it's somewhat too bad she probably won't be back. I liked her (and she's named after a dance!).

So, for those wishing for early Odyssey: this is it...except with a little better acting and a better story.

Review by Lindsay, age 15

This ep was...well "okay," I guess, but it seemed to drag on and on and then come to a very abrupt ending. The foster mom is not a very good actress, and she had a very strange voice. Over all it was okay and "yawn" I hope AIO does a little better next time though. :-)

Review by Dave
Rating:

A definite not-so-good episode. Some girl comes into somewhere saying she's unlucky! Wow! What a lot of exciting drama! But here come's the surprise—a Bible story! Wow! One that we've heard before on AIO, in a not-so-good format. The very best thing about this episode is the restaurant owner, which made me laugh plenty of times. It seems like Bob Hoose misses his mark again...Though some good sound/ music and acting by Katie...Connie sounds far more mature, with not even a mention of Mitch!

Review by EugeneFan
Rating:

I enjoyed listening to this episode. One of the reasons was that is was like some of the older classic episodes. Connie is maturing a lot. This is the first time she has told a kid a Bible story in a long time. I can't wait to hear the rest of the road trip!

Review by Bradford G, age 13
Rating:

Excellent! Connie gets two thumbs up for using her imagination to create the Imagination Station, to tell the story of Noah. When I heard of what happened to Lindy and her sad life, I really felt sad, but know I have a smile on my face, for know she is beginning a new with a new foster mom. Also when Joanne told Connie how that day it felt like they were back at Whit's End. Plus Connie really has learned alot from Whit. And that is what made this episode great. Great Work AIO team! :-)

Review by Jane, age 11
Rating:

I really liked the diner owner. She made me laugh quite a bit. Though Lindy reminded me a bit to much of Wendy from "You Win Some, You Lose Some" with the whole "bad luck/awful life/doesn't want to open up to anyone" attitude. Joanne was portrayed well and Connie was pretty good, too. I like the fact that she got to be the "heroine." I think it's important that kids are turning to people beside Whit. I can tell from this episode that this season is going to be great!

Review by Paul B
Rating:

First adventure of Connie and Joanne's road trip takes them into a small town in a rain storm. Where they seek shelter in a diner. Where they meet the owner and a runaway. Joanne and Connie tell the young girl Lindy the store of Noah. They must use their own imagination becase there is no Imagination Station to be found in this diner. Lindy's foster mom finds her in the diner to tell her she has a new home for good.

Review by AREM
Rating:

It would've been better if Lindy didn't know the story of Noah's arc, instead of hearing it again than realising that God loves her.

Review by Andrea, age 11
Rating:

This ep was okay. Connie and Joanne get stranded at a little roadside diner in the middle of the storm, and then meet Lindy, who is trying to get away from her sixth foster parent. She is convinced that she is bad luck. But Connie and Joanne tell her how God loves her by telling her the story of Noah. A little boring at times, but it was fine.

Review by Abagail, age 16
Rating:

Really Great! It was neat to see Connie being so mature—she is growing up! I love the fact that Connie is going on the trip with Joanne; it seems like Connie will mature even more with her (Joanne's) good example.

This one was HILARIOUS because of Ethel. I love her! Her laugh is so contagious! ("Well Rutherford B. Hayes!") :-) This is soon to become one of my favorites...Calvin Coolidge! What fun. Thanks Odyssey.

Review by Simon Yardley, age 13
Rating:

Connie is really a witness to other people—she is amazing! She's becoming a regular Whit! Awesome episode, I LOVED Ethel. And the re-telling of the story brought to light a different side of Noah. Overall, spectacular episode!

Review by James M, age 26
Rating:

Good ep. I enjoyed the lady and president expressions. Connie did good job teaching lesson. She and Joanne did good together. I enjoyed it.

Review by dforry (Town Hall)

Very good episode, Connie was teaching a lesson instead of learning one.

(By the way, is this the first episode with all women actors?)

Review by Laurie (Town Hall)

Very good episode. I am so glad that Connie has done a 180 from last week. This episode demonstrated that Connie is an excellent teacher and that she has learned a lot from Whit. It is a shame that Connie seems to forget the things she has learned when she is having a crisis in her life.

Review by Arwen (Town Hall)

It was good.

Review by The Top Crusader (Town Hall)

I thought it was just kind of average-ish... not horrible, but not really great. Ethel was kind of annoying, but her use of President's... and a Vice President... names was pretty amusing.

The girl's foster mom had a weird voice.

Review by Mellow Boy (Town Hall)

After agreeing about the foster mom...
It was a pretty good episode. Glad Connie seemed more mature, and stopped thinking about Mitch.

Review by Mandy Straussberg (Town Hall)

After agreeing about the foster mom...
I thought the plot was extremely weak. I pretty much predicted everything that happened. And the resolution was really abrupt. All in all, I was really disappointed. IMO, it wasn't that great.

Review by Jared (Town Hall)

I liked parts of it. Those parts were mainly Ethel, actually, who added some life to the episode. Her listing of presidents was superb, except for the fact that she named President Coolidge twice. Perhaps she especially likes him, though... But in that list of president's names that made good exclamations, where was "William Henry Harrison"?

Ethel's comment about the French was rather funny as well. But overall, not that great of an episode. The "in-her-imagination" Imagination Station sounds were out of place, in my opinion, and when Connie described Whit's End, it sounded like she was reading a poorly written blurb about the place and its idiosyncrasies. Besides, do you think Lindy cared about an ice cream shop a good ways away?

Nice to know that kids in the Odyssey world don't have any surprised reaction to a "time machine" anymore, though. A polite "uhuh" or a bored yawn is all its mention elicits nowadays.

And the fact that Lindy so quickly and fully responded to a very basic retelling of a Bible story she was of course already familiar with seemed highly contrived.

This episode had its high points, but more than its share of low points. I guess I just can't share the belief held by many here that this is a better episode than we heard last week. Despite the weak secondary plot-line of "Seeing Red," I preferred it over this week's episode.

Review by Ferder (Town Hall)

It was a mediocre ep, but I thought it was pretty good. I am guessing that Connie's character may mature quite a bit on this road trip. The acting in the episode was pretty good and with all those storm sound effects, I really felt like I was in the middle of one. Perhaps that was just because it was really cloudy outside when I heard the ep and I was kinda cold.

Review by Fletcher (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

"Black Clouds" was an interesting episode, but that's not the thing I liked most about it. This is what I did like:

-- Connie: Connie has had the strangest growth process. As you can see in Jacob Isom's newest Extra!Extra! article, Connie came to Odyssey, matured a great deal, and now she seems to be immature again. I partly agree with the last part. Connie has been immature in some recent episodes, for example "Between You and Me," "Secrets," and most recently "Seeing Red." But in other recent episodes Connie has been very mature. The best example of this is the end of "Here Today, Gone Tommorow?" where she insists that Mitch do what's best for him, not her. "Under the Influence" also showed Connie at her best, being mature enough to help Aubrey during her toughest times. In today's episode, Connie takes on that role again while helping Lindy. This is how I like Connie. Acting her age.

--Lindy: Lindy was an interesting character, not unlike Wendy in "You Win Some, You Lose Some." In fact, when I first heard the teaser for this show I thought Lindy was Wendy. They both beleive that everything they do goes wrong. It was more severe in Lindy's case, however, and this is what I found interesting about her character. Her insistence that she's plaqued by bad luck was certainly out of the ordinary, and it was nice to hear Connie set her straight.

--Joanne: Though she didn't do much, she was a refreshing character, and offered some good advice to Lindy.

Alright, now on to what I didn't like:

--Ethel: Ethel existed for comic relief in this show, and that seemed to be the only reason she existed. These kinds of characters bug me (for example, Harlow Doyle). I thought I was going to have the same problem with Wooton too, but he was fleshed out in "Basset Hounds."

--The Imagination Station in the mind: This part was just too corny. It seemed like a crossover between "Return to the Bible Room" and "By Faith, Noah," but not nearly as funny. Plus, I didn't like Connie's description of the Imagination Station. It has been said in many episodes (and was made clear during the Novacom Saga) that the Imagination Station is not a time machine. Also, Lindy's response to Connie's description seemed too bland. Maybe if Connie had explained what the machine really did, it would have made sense for Lindy to have a bland reaction, but Connie's description certainly would have made any outsider interested. I certainly would have been.

This episode had it's very good parts, it's not so good parts, and no completely bad parts. It was definitely better then "Seeing Red." I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Review by Thorin Oakenshield (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

"Seeing Red" was one of those eps that was solid but not amazing, mainly because it had to set the plot up for the rest of season and it had a barely worth mentioning subplot featuring a childish "You like the same guy I like? We're not friends anymore!" storyline that included the abominable character of Seth. Though not perfect it really made you want to know what was going to happen next.

A few words come to mind when reviewing "Black Clouds", namely unremarkable, cliched, sluggish, obnoxious, run-of-the-mill, and the old standby: just plain bad. The "We can't go anywhere, so lets just stay here" part of the plot was vaguely reminesent of other episodes such as "Family Vacation," "Second Thoughts," and Jason's part in "Best Laid Plans" only without everything that made those so good.

What makes episodes that are good so good anyway, you ask? The most important thing is the plot. As others pointed out, the plot was extremely thin. It really, IMO, didn't even have a plot at all! It just sort of moseyed along at its own pace, at some points lightning quick...at other points about as slow as humanly possible. The message, which seems to be "God made you special and he loves you," would better fit a VeggieTales movie than an Odyssey ep. Just replace Connie with Bob the Tomato, Lindy with Junior Asparagus , add a few catchy songs and you have it.

It introduced two characters that would never survive being in a lot of episodes but are suitable for one-time. The female version of Bernard, Ethel, and Lindy, the girl with no self esteem. Ethel's character made for good comic relief and provided the ep with its most memorable moments, her quoting of the presidents and her Bernardism-esque "That makes as much sense as shag lenolium!" line. I think the writers tried to hard to give Lindy an emotional backstory, and she comes off a bit contrived.

Connie's 180 from "Seeing Red" was rather refreshing and Joanne was a welcome addition, though she had only a minor role.The thing that completely ruined this ep for me was the *shudder* imaginary Imagination Station. Don't get me wrong, the REAL Imagination Station is one of the coolest things in AIO history, but what they did here was absolutely horrid. When Connie said "We don't have the Imagination Station here, but we do have your imagination," I just cringed. The imagination is a great tool, but the entire "close your eyes and imagine" thing was annoying, cliched and totally silly.

The entire show could have been summed up in seven lines:
Connie:"It's raining! Lets stop here!"
Ethel: "Herbert Hoover! Come in!"
Connie: "Look! There's a girl!"
Lindy: "I've had bad luck all my life. My dad left, my mom's dead. God must hate me."
Connie: "God doesn't hate you. Imagine you're Noah, he went through a lot of troubles."
Foster Mom: "Lindy! I love you!!!"
Lindy:" Really! God must not hate me after all!"
THE END

This was not the SINGLE worst ep in AIO history by far, but it's much closer to that end of the scale then say, "The Time Has Come".

Review by Flutem (Town Hall)

I kind of liked the episode. When I listened to it the first time, I reached the end and felt like "That's it!" Nothing really happened, but I liked how Connie seemed more mature in this episode (with no Mitch). Ethel was pretty funny, although a tad bit annoying. The plot was pretty shallow. Lindy's foster mom was pathetic. Somehow, she reminded me of Dotty's Aunt Bea in The Great Wishy Woz. The thing I really noticed about this episode is that it wasn't this soap opera type of ep, but, instead, returned to the Bible more. It was kind of like the old episodes.

Review by The Sandman (Town Hall)

I thought the scene with the "imaginary" Imagination Station may just be the worst scene in AIO history.

Let's hope things pick up the rest of the "Road Trip." Have some supporting characters with a little depth. With the exception of Ethel, the supporting characters in this show (Lindy and the Foster Mom) were no better than cardboard cutouts.

Consensus: Thumbs Up (23/26 positive reviews)

Reviews for the first "non-Connie" episode of the season are leaning heavily toward the postive, with a few "uncertain" reviews thrown in. Most reviewers liked the show and are pointing to different aspects as the strong points.

Probably the most mentioned "good" aspect is the presence of Bart and Edwin as a comedic duo. Many mentioned the positive similarity to such Bart/Edwin shows as "The Merchant of Odyssey." While some wished the Edwin's faithful assistant Shakespeare appeared in the show, they also enjoyed the new character of Malcolm Lear.

The Nick/Xavier subplot got mixed reviews, though more positive than negative. Also mixed is which of the two characters and actors the reviews think is stronger. Some prefer Nick, others Xavier.

Also getting kudos are the music and several humorous lines and exchanges. Also getting, um...anti-kudos are the quick pace of the show and some of the acting.

Review by Kristine, age 16
Rating:

I thought that this episode was really funny, but also taught areally important lesson at the same time (never mind teaching kids about Shakespeare). Edwin's line about Shakespeare hitchhiking was too funny. His selfishness nevers ceases to amaze me.

Excerpted Review by Jacob Isom (OdysseyScoop.com)
Rating: (out of five)

Click here to read Jacob's full review.

As the third episode of the new season, The Taming of the Two took a new twist. There was a bit of fun-to-listen-to arguing, a little humor, and a more rounded side of Nick Mulligan. I found this episode to be quite entertaining...

...When I heard Malcolm Lear talk for the first time as he entered the Electric Palace, I reacted negatively. I thought something like, "Oh no... two Edwin Blackgaard's in Odyssey," but as the episode built up, Malcolm was quite an astonishing character. He has a bit of an arguing streak, but that makes the episode all the more exciting. His never-ending arguments with Edwin Blackgaard were a real hoot, and it was fun to get to know Edwin's more selfish side.

Seeing a more human side of Bart Rathbone was a different approach as well. Bart isn't portrayed as the bad guy in this show and it's good to see that Bart can be normal at times. I mentioned earlier that we got to see a more rounded side of Nick Mulligan. He and Xavier made for a nice pairing as friends in this episode because I was getting the impression that Xavier would be one of the outcasts of Odyssey; in other words, the one who is just there, no friends to hang out with. Their renditions of Shakespeare's work and Whit's guidance made for a nice combination. At the end when he is at a last resort as he chooses Nick and Xavier to be his commercial voices, I chuckled at the thought of it. After all, they are sophisticated-like, aren't they?

The moral of this episode was rather basic, though an important one. I like the "Edwin-ized" music that John Campbell tends to use whenever Edwin shows up in an episode. It gives me the feeling that something humorous will happen and it's perfect for Harlequin Theatre listening.

I've been experiencing a decline in thoughts of negativity this season, and the episode I just heard invites me to recline and listen again. All in all, a very good episode.

Review by Bradford G, age 13
Rating:

Fantastic! Edwin and Malcom are great together. Same goes for Nick and Xavier. Great acting and great music. Good work, AIO team. :-)

Review by JoyElectric
Rating:

Any episode with Edwin is going to be good. Two hammy actors (not the voice actors!) in a show is twice as good. While I must admit the stories seemed to resolve rather simply, it was still really fun. Hearing Malcom and Edwin hurl Shakepearean insults at each other was a highlight, as was hearing why Shakespeare wasn't there. The Xavier/Nick plot was good as well, and it nice to see the Washingtons have a little bit of an anchor in town (Xavier having friends we know).

Review by James M (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I really enjoyed it. It was another great episode. Edwin/Malcomn and Nick/Xavier were acting immature which made it even better. Whit did good job helping. The whole ep was funny and cool. Great job!

Review by Respectahobbit (Town Hall)

Oh, man! I loved that episode!

Review by Chris, age 15
Rating:

Definitely an improvement from last week's disappointment. Great to hear Bart and Blackgaard back in an episode. Anything that includes Edwin usually means that some humor will be involved. Good job, AIO!

Review by Josh, age 18
Rating:

I must say, this episode was totally AWESOME! This has COMPLETELY changed my outlook on AIO's future. Before this episode, I was so disappointed on how the season was progressing, and AIO in general. But not after hearing what I heard today! Today's episode reminded me of the way AIO used to be. It was well-written, had excellent music, and contained the kind of acting that I haven't heard in a long time. AIO can still produce high-quality episodes that it was known for in the past. A job well done AIO, please give us more episodes like this one!

Review by EugeneFan
Rating:

In my opinion, this episode was one of the best since the Novacom saga. I enjoyed the way Xavier and Nick acted out different versions to the play. I also enjoyed Edwin and Malcom's arguments. Bart wasn't the bad guy for once either. One of the best things about this episode is that some things that have happened or have been mentioned in the past were used in this episode.

Review by Paul B
Rating:

Bart Rathbone holds auditions for Shakespeare-type acts. The winner gets one free item from the Electric Palace. Edwin competes with an old rivel; Xavier and Nick compete and win the contest. This episode was very funny. Xavier and Nick do Shakespeare as a Star Wars play. They were trying to win a video game pack as their one free item.

Review by OdysseyFan, age 26
Rating:

I think this episode is one of this season's finest. While you don't actually HEAR Bart's brother Lanny, he's not been mentioned since "Family Values," and that's points in my book. Whit's End seems to promote "Romeo and Juliet" a lot, and it seems to work. The rivalry between Edwin and Malcom was well-written and well-directed. Nick and Xavier's interaction was also well-written and was pulled of quite well. Bart and Whit being trapped in the middle of Edwin and Malcolm reminded me of the "Merchant of Odyssey," but I think it's a fine Shakespearian-type episode. The music was great as usual also.

Review by butterflygirl (Town Hall)

I didn't like this ep. Sorry for you who did. I just don't seem to enjoy eps like this...the kind with Edwin and Rathbone... just not my type of ep... so it was just a blah ep for me... excited for NEXT week...

Review by Gandalf (Town Hall)

This episode was a good, but not great episode. However, in comparison with the rest of the season so far, it was by far a VERY excellent show! The characters were acting themselves, there weren't any forced storylines or contrived morals. It was a "classic" show in the genre of "My Fair Bernard," "A Class Act," and most recently "Break a Leg." Very nice job.

One gripe, Xavier is a TERRIBLE actor. Other than that, all the other actors were very nice. BTW, does anyone know who played Malcolm?

It was absolutly wonderful to be away from the Connie/Mitch storyline for one, entire episode! We didn't even have to think about it in the back of our heads.

Oh, and did anyone else catch the "switching to metric... in honor of .... the British"?!? Cracks me up SOO bad. But then I get cracked up over weird things like that.

Review by MellowBoy (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

It was a very good ep! Well done.

Review by Ferder (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I thought it was quite good, considering it was another twist on the Edwin Blackgaard plot. It was a great idea for the twist to be TWO EDWINS! Their Shakespearian banter was great. I think Edwin should learn some time that Shakespeare wrote a few more lines in his life then "To be or not to be."

The subplot was okay. The boys seemed to be acting more like some of the little Odyssey girls though when they fought. But it was still a pretty idea for them to do a skit.

An interesting and enjoyable ep.

Review by Fletcher (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

"The Taming of the Two" is the best episode of the season so far, as I expected it to be. This episode incorporates bits of AIO's past, with it's mentions of King's Appliance Cave and Edwin owning the Electric Palace.

Edwin, is, as always, hilarious, and he's even better when Bart is at his side. (Another great example of this is in "The Merchant of Odyssey.") The one character I missed from this show was Shakespere. It would have been very funny to hear him arguing with Bart over trivial matters. Malcom is a brilliant character, the same kind of pompous fool Edwin is, but in a not-so-nice way. The one thing I wish he would of said to Edwin is remind him that he had a criminal for a brother. After all, Dr. Blackgaard was a big-time terrorist, you think that would get around.

I enjoyed the Nick and Xavier subplot. Xavier's a good actor, although Nick isn't the best. Maybe I just don't like his character. The argument they had seemed somewhat too young for them—aren't they both in high school? The only thing I would change about this subplot is to replace Xavier with Tony, since he and Nick would be a better match and they're brothers of a sort.

All in all, another winner!

Review by Mandy Straussberg (Town Hall)

It wasn't a bad episode... but, to me, there wasn't anything to make it memorable. It's not one of the eps I would pull out of the case to listen to. It's one of the eps I may listen to when going through the whole case.

I wasn't that impressed, but it was sure better than last week.

Review by King Shasta (Town Hall)

"The Taming of the Two" was good. I like how Whit seemed a bit mischievous, or at least less serious, in encouraging the guys to "adapt" Shakespeare. Malcolm Lear was a great character idea.

Review by Bennett Charles (Town Hall)

I loved this episode! It was ingenious! On my top 15 best AIO eps! Seriously. It was really sweet. It developed all sorts of great characters!! Whit, Nick, Xavier, Edwin, and ESPECIALLY Bart was perfect! For once, we were on Bart's side. We actually felt that Bart was the victim. And it was really cool. I liked how Bart wasn't annoying and was trying to keep control only for his own sake. He was perfect.

Edwin and Malcom were good together. They performed wonderfully. I had trouble keeping up, that they were throwing so many comments down each other's throats.

Whit was brought back to his character as the, "Advising kids to do things a way to make things funner." or in other words, "Use your imagination." Now, I hadn't exactly thought of Nick and Xavier as the first two I'd think that he'd be telling them to do the thing that they did. (I'm re-reading that sentence and I have no clue how to change it so it could make anymore sence then it could. You try.) I liked how Whit handled things. Good job.

Now, on to my favorite part of the entire ep: Nick and Xavier. ... They were good friends in this episode. That pleased me a lot. Even down to Nick calling Xavier, "Xav" as a nickname.

Nick's character was a bit different. I actually thought that Xavier was a bit better actor then Nick. I guess it's just because Nick didn't have that same "sarcasm" that he had in other episodes. I still liked it. But another thing that bugged me was the fact that they actually tried to be funny. It wasn't natural. Nick's comedy was always funny before because he wasn't trying to do it on deliberate. In this case, it was something he was actually trying to make people laugh. Sure, it's just a small detail. But these types of details can ruin a character completely. I LOVE NICK. (sounds like I'm praising a Backstreet Boy.) He's a great addition to the Odyssey cast. But please don't mess up his character or make him too silly. Just have him throw random funny lines into his sentences. I was actually surprised that he featured in today's episode. He rarely shows up, and needs to be in more often as an "official/always there behind the counter" type of guy. Careful writers.

The music was very good. It was cool that it was all Shakespeare style.

The Edwin Blackgaard saga has really had some twists and turns. And it's funny how most of his episodes always end up with a guy making a fool of himself on the stage. Today, four people made a fool of themselves on the stage (well, I'm counting Bart, but that's just cause he looks funny).

The story itself seemed a bit too fast. Maybe it's because the sub-plot was added into it. (Don't get me wrong, I loved the sup-plot.) But maybe the sub-plot could've also been turned to an episode itself. But, oh well, I guess we'll never know.

Two more details before I finish off this review:

One: I didn't like the fact that Nick and Xaiver were into computer games. A small reason I liked Nick was that he wasn't into computers like the rest of the town. Have you noticed Odyssey lately? Every single kid has his head stuck inside a computer. Keep Nick to sports.

Two: I was wondering at the beginning where Shakespeare was, until I DIED LAUGHING when I heard that he was left to hitchhike the way home. It was good, I don't think he would've done well in this episode. Hilarious!

Best ep so far of the season.

Review by Flutem (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Overall this was a pretty good episode. There was something I didn't really like about it though. When I got to the end of the ep, I didn't feel like I had listened to the all time best episode. I guess it was because I felt like it went too fast. Still, it was funny, although Nick and Xavier were just ok. I was glad to see more of Nick.

Review by Jessicado (Town Hall)

I liked the episode mainly because of the fact that it did not involve Connie/Mitch drama or Liz/Seth/Mandy. It was good to just get back to a comical episode involving Bart and Edwin Blackgaard. It would have been cool to have Bernard involved doing an act just to promote his business (or other old characters involved), but I'll take what I can get.

When Edwin stated that there was only enough money for "one first class ticket" so Shakespeare had to hitchhike I was cracking up. I also loved the banter between Edwin and Malcom. Great episode!

Also—on a sidenote—I know a lot of people don't like Nick, and, although he wasn't my favorite when he was introduced, I have really liked his character since he started at Whit's End. So anyways I was glad to see him in an episode and I liked him and Xavier together. I agree with Charles though...keep them away from computers!

Review by Arwen (Town Hall)

It was okay. It's hard to say how I feel about the new eps. I think it was funny that they decided to create a rival for Edwin. It's kinda surprising that they didn't think of something like this sooner.

Review by Thorin Oakenshield (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

YES! Finally a good ep this season! After the last two I was kind of worried about it but I had nothing to worry about! This was a great ep. I really can't think of anything in it I didn't like! Kudos on an soon-to-be classic ep.

The most truly refreshing thing about this one is the reintroduction of Bart and the Electric Palace and Edwin. After listening to it I realized what made me like this ep so much, aside from the fact that there was no mention of Connie, Mitch or Seth, was those two characters. I had never really thought about it, but just about any comedic ep either of them is in is always really good. Another main reason I liked this ep was that it could have been from basically anytime in AIO history (except for the inclusion of Xavier and Nick). There was a subplot that actually made the the show BETTER instead of bringing it down like so many lately have.

Bringing in Malcolm as Edwin's Shakespearean rival was a great idea that worked perfectly, as was the Nick/Xavier subplot.

This was a great episode and, like every great episode, it had some great scenes! The turning Romeo and Juliet into a western/sci-fi/mystery was very funny, though the most memorable scene IMO was when Edwin and Malcolm argued in Shakesperean English. That was hilarious! The music was a nice touch, too. The "Metric in honor of the British" and "one first class ticket" were great lines as were many others.

All in all this was by far the best ep of the season and one of the funniest I've heard in a while.

Review by Carolita (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I like this episode. A nice break from some of the Connie/Mitch stuff. Xavier was actually not that bad. Nick was um....Nick. Whit seemed kind of out of it or something. But, I thought it was really funny when Malcolm and Blackgaard were trying to get Whit to see who was the best. That scene was very well done.

Review by Me (Town Hall)

A wonderful episode. With just a few tweaks to the story line, it would have ben on par with one of the episodes of old. It was good to finally hear from Edwin (and Bart) again. The scene wich involved insulting in Shakesperean language was great. The worst part was the thought of Wooton in a tutu.

Review by The Top Crusader (Town Hall)

By far the best of the season (which I guess doesn't mean much at this point). But really good, none the less.

Consensus: Thumbs Up (18/21 positive reviews)

"The Mailman Cometh" is generating light, but positive reviews so far. Fans enjoyed hearing a slice of life show and especially liked the characters of Elaine and Xavier. (Marvin and Tamika got mixed reviews, with some thinking they sounded too much alike.)

Wooton is getting the most of all, however, even from people who didn't care for the episode. His humor and the scene where he appeared as a weight-guesser are mentioned as highlights.

Some fans wondered why Ed Washington didn't appear in the episode.

Review by DrWhit73, age 30
Rating:

This was probably the best Washington family episode to date. I really enjoyed it! Wooton was at his best here as well.

Review by Sheri, age 13
Rating:

Wooton added a lot of fun to it. He made it more exciting. There were not very many people in it. It could of been better had it had more action. Besides that I really enjoyed it.

Review by Carissa Scroggins, age 12
Rating:

I think that "The Mailman Cometh" was a very funny show. It was probably the most interesting show of this season. I really like Marvin and Tamika.

Review by James M, age 26
Rating:

It was okay, pretty good...not the best. The bouncing off walls was funny. I also enjoyed the Betsy the Bumblebee reference. Wooton was a big tattletale without meaning, too. I am sure people at theater were annoyed at him. I did think it was stupid that the kids got punished for drinking cofee. Xavier was cool and nice. The lesson was like Spiderman.

Review by Michelle (Town Hall)

I thought it was a really good episode! Probably the best this season!

Review by David O (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

It was worth 3 stars. Not my favorite...not one I'd like to listen to again really, but worth one listen as I'm falling asleep.

Wooton got smacked, and called a woman fat... funny. Not that I dislike Wooton, mind you, I just thought the situations was funny.

Review by Me (Town Hall)

Wow. Initially, I thought it would be terrible. However, it was nicely done and turned out well. The biggest problem is that I have never seen coffee affect anyone that way.

Review by guppiegirl (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I thought it was ok. At first I was a little confused as to how the name " The Mailman Cometh" related to Odyssey. But I figured it out. I have never liked Wooton that much but he was pretty funny. I liked the "Hey ma'am, would you like me to guess you original hair color?"

Review by Dave
Rating:

WOW! Amazing episode! I love this episode! A real surprise from Torry Martin! His writing has improved! Marshal Younger did a good job too. Nice music, great comedy! It is the best episode this season. The only minor quibble I had was that it was too short. Some of my favorite bits were the movie theatre scene and how Wooton came to the door a lot! The Washington family finally seems to be fitting in. The lawn mower scene was confusing with bad sound quality on the Internet, but it sounded funny. The lesson was good; it's never been quite presented in that way! Good job, Torry and Marshal! Good job, John! I hope we hear more intresting and funny episodes from the Washingtons! (Where was Ed? Couldn't they get the actor or something?)

Review by Bradford G, age 13
Rating:

This episode sure had a mysterious title. I had wondered what the title had to do with the Washington kids, even though I had a feeling Wooton was nearby, which after hearing this episode, my theory was correct. I loved the part where Marvin and Tamika get hyper after having and coffee, and where they take their wild ride on the tractor. Nice one, A.I.O. team! :)

Review by JoyElectric (Town Hall)

This season seems to be certainly a bit "lighter" than the last few. Not bad, mind you, just lighter. This episode follows around Marvin and Tamika, who are jealous of Xavier's freedoms. Truth be told, it is a bit of an odd show: Wooton shows up at critical moments in typical Wooton fashion (helping Mrs. Randolph next door, filling in at the movie theather, delivering the mail) to foil the kids escapades or simply say "hi."

While somewhat uneven, there are some good moments. Wooton as a weight guesser at the fair is a big highlight, as is the "horror" movie Marvin and Tamika are watching, which is inspired from a classic SNL sketch. Plus, the kids decide they are old enough to make their own coffee. Oops. The adult actors are great as usual, but we need to see a little more separation between the younger kids.

So, those who don't like the Washingtons or Wooton (which seems to be the same crowd, oddly) won't be happy. But, this is still a fun, somewhat silly episode that I liked listening to...and had enough laugh out loud moments in it to want to hear it again.

Review by butterflygirl (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I guess it was fine. But they all seem not to be the GREATEST this season... oh well, maybe they're just warming up. So yeah. I didn't have high expectations so I was fine anyways.

Review by DrBlackgaard (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

This epiosde had a few high points, but for the most part it was fairly low quality. After hearing the title, and Wooton in the introduction I had pretty low expectations for this episode, but actualy it turned out a little better than I expected it to be. While the Washington family can't even be compaired to the Barclays...or even the Jacobs (whom I never really liked), they're still a fairly good family, and I think they're growing on me somewhat. I wish the new Whit's End had been mentioned...We seem to have been left in the dark about it for a long time. What's going on there? Anyway, at least Wooton wasn't the center of attention...and although he was pretty annoying through most of the episode, I must confess that the scene with him as a weight guesser at the fair made me smile a little. I kind of like Xavier—at least he beats most of the kids in Odyssey, and it's nice to have someone on the show who at least approaches my age. This was probably the best episode so far this season.

Review by MellowBoy (Town Hall)

I loved this ep! it was just AIO fun.

Review by Anna K (Town Hall)

I thought it was pretty good too!

Review by Ferder (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

It had a pretty good story, and lots of amusing parts. I also like the movie reference from "Have you no Selpurcs?" The coffee part was funny, too. The ep also had good sound design. It really sounded like there was a lawn mower driving over a tomato patch.

Review by Arwen (Town Hall)

I noticed [the movie reference] too. My whole family laughed when we heard it. I liked how Wooton came at the end and the kids started spouting out confessions. My mom said at the end, "Man, we oughta get someone to show up on our doorstep like Wooton."

Review by E87M2 (Town Hall)

I liked it, too. For one, I enjoyed hearing about the Washington family some more. The part about Wooton was very enjoyable. It is another of those "slice of life" episodes which characterize much of the golden age of Odyssey. Like Dr. Blackgaard, I wish Whits End (or even Whit!) would have been mentioned in this episode. Before when the kids had a problem, they would go to Whit. Now it is just cause/effect on their own.
Tamika and Martin sound like they could be twins. Xavier is a neat character—probably the one I like the best out of the whole Washington family. I hope that someday they will give more about his past.

Review by Mandy Straussberg (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Well, again, it wasn't one of the episodes that's going to make it on my top ten... probably not even my top fifty... but it wasn't bad. Wooton was funny, and this episode caused me to start liking Xavier... at least I like him more than I did before. But Marvin and Tamika are still a nuisance to me...

As for plot... like I said before, we've been over this topic on AIO several times before. And, even though I am the oldest, it was interesting the first... two times. But it's getting old.

The coffee part... I thought it was really stupid. Maybe it's just because my family was unique, but I've been allowed to drink coffee ever since I started liking it (I think I was about ten). I thought the "kids bouncing off the walls because of coffee" scene was extremely far-fetched. It just... wasn't too realistic.

Review by AREM (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Wooton was the only one that kept the episode alive.

Review by Paul B (Town Hall)

This was a great episode. How many Wooton shows are coming out? His shows are getting better.

Consensus: Thumbs Up (28/31 positive reviews)

"Silver Lining" is getting the best reviews of the season, with fans complementing it's high action storyline. Many liked the twists and turns (though some said they were predictable). High praise was awarded to the acting, especially Katie Leigh and newcomer Gary Klemmer, who played Vic. The sound design was often noted as "incredible," especially the scene where Connie nearly drowned.

Many fans wished the show was two parts instead of one so it could have fleshed out its story and characters more. Others thought the ending was too short, too corny, or not "Christian" enough. A few noted that Connie seems to get kidnapped/put in danger an awful lot.

Review by David O (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

...I liked the ep a lot, definitely. I also agree [about the lack of Christian content].

Good ep, but not one that has a super high replay-abliity on me.

Review by Me (Town Hall)

Very good ep. Glad Connie was finally a main character without acting stupid about Mitch.

Review by Arthur Dent (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

The lack of anything directly Biblical was quite glaring. However, it didn't ruin it. It was very much like—maybe in some parts too much like—"Waylaid in the Windy City." However, it is better to emulate the best episode ever—I'm sorry, Waylaid was definitely the best—than a lesser one. Overall, it was excellent, and the best so far this season.

Review by Lauren, age 12
Rating:

I think that is one of the coolest show that has come on in past few days. Keep up the good work AIO.

Review by Lindsay, age 15
Rating:

This ep was okay, but personally, I think we have seen enough of this kind of drama...let's have something a little different next time. That's not to say that it wasn't acted out and written excellently...it's just that this scenario has taken place quite frequently. Connie and the villains don't mix; I think this is like the fourth time she's been used as a getaway or has been kidnapped by the "bad guy."

I really liked, though, that you did not know every one of the character's voices as soon as they opened their mouths. That made it believable that they were definitely not still in Odyssey, that part of this ep was really neat. Can't wait for connie to talk to Mitch! Oh, and please please don't make this another Eugene and Katrina romance ! I'd b grateful! Keep up the good work.

Review by Sarah, age 16
Rating:

This episode was all right...but way too much like "Waylaid in the Windy City" for me. And why did Connie get in the car with Victor anyway? He didn't have a weapon, right? And how could Joanne be so wrapped up in shopping that she didn't notice Connie leave? I did think the singing fish was a little funny...but the main story line needed to be more original.

Review by Robin, age 14
Rating:

Definitely the best episode thus far this season! They haven't had such a well-paced episode since "The Mysterious Stranger" and this one was done in one part!

Review by Bennett Charles
Rating:

Wow. I was really surprised. Not at the story, but I thought it would be another comedy/non-serious episode like the previous ones.

The actors were different from others in Odyssey, which made it believable that they were someplace else.
I especially loved the part where Connie was drowning (well, I dont mean I loved the fact that she was drowning...but, yah). The sound effects were good. But I wish there was more action at some places, like the boat scene wouldve been a good part to have a bigger fight of somekind.

Anyways, all in all, best in the season.

Review by Dave
Rating:

This season started out pretty bad, but has really improved, escipally with this episode. Great writing (I think revenge as in murder was cool for a kids' show) and the lesson was one we need to hear a lot. But the plotline was very predictable, but who I am to judge? The sound effects were good—the underwater mic added more tension to the moment, though it sounded bad on the Internet. A wonderful writer, director and sound effect guys in the crew and some great acting by Katie and Vic. Great job Odyssey, this is classic Odyssey!

Review by Bradford G, age 13
Rating:

If you haven't heard this story yet, then you'd better "dive" into it now. When I first heard Vic coming to save Connie, I thought at first that he sounded a lot like Mitch. Then when Connie and Joanne tried to solve this new mystery, I had hoped Connie would call Mitch for information or maybe Joanne would call him when Connie became Vic's getaway. This episode and "Black Clouds" and others, show us no matter how far you are from Odyssey there is always a small part of it with you. But what is even more greater is that God always has his hands and angels taking care of us in good, sad, fun, hard, and even dangerous times. Good Work A.I.O. team.

Review by Paul B
Rating:

Connie falls in the water and almost drowns. A mysterious person saves Connie. Connie later finds out that he robbed a bank. Later he kidnaps Connie from a local store. Then she hears his story and wants to return the favor of him saving her life by clearing his name. Great episode!

Review by Aaron, age 21
Rating:

I think this episode was really cool! It had a lot of action and that is always neat to hear on an AIO episode. This episode really reminded me of again of some of the older episodes kind of what happended durning the saga of Dr. Blackgaard and all of that stuff.

Review by Josh, age 18
Rating:

I thought this episode was very well done, and I'm really glad that Connie is finally acting a lot more mature than in previous episodes that I've heard this season! While I thought that the music could've been done a little better (like the quality of "The Mailman Cometh"), the story plot was very good AND was well-acted. Great Job AIO!

Review by Andrea, age 11
Rating:

I thought that this was really good. I thought that there was a lot of adventure, and enough "keeping you on your toes" mood. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I think it should have been a two-part show. I want to know what happens to Vic.

Review by Marlyse
Rating:

Very nice episode, I'm glad that the Joanne/Connie roadtrip is being continued. It was very interesting that Connie was "investigating" the case, very FBI-ish! Does this mean that when she meets Mitch in Virgina (or wherever he is), she will join the FBI, too? Fastinating plot twists! I also noticed that they haven't put little previews of the next episode at the end much anymore. Wah. I'll be held in suspense until then.

Review by Kitn, age 22
Rating:

Silver Lining was good, but far from great. AIO's history proves that mysteries are incredibly difficult to pull off in a one-parter and this show compounded that difficulty with a new setting and new (one-time) characters. The end result is a show that's better than one would expect, given the constraints, but still far from noteworthy. With so much happening in the episode it was difficult to work on character development so just about everyone besides the gift store clerk was flat. With flat characters it gets hard to care about what they do so the action becomes flat. And so it turns into an overall flat episode. Now had Eugene and Bernard come across a similar situation in their road trip, it might have been a deeper episode simply because of their chemistry. Connie and Joanne don't have that. They get along too well with none of the underlying tension and one-liners that made the Bernard/Eugene combination work so well.

I don't want to gloss over the good parts of the episode. The writing shone through. Even with everything going on it was easy to track where they were, how much time had past, and what they were doing. Also the sound effects, especially the underwater scene, were incredible. The music made the episode as well. Unfortunately the time constraints made it all too easy to guess what would happen next. So much of the fun of a mystery derives from the unexpected twists, of which this episode had a grand total of zero. Plus the ending was corny and cheesy. Good concept, excellent execution on the technical side, but just too much for 25.5 minutes!

Review by JoyElectric
Rating:

Good show, and probably the best so far this season! Ignoring the fact that Connie gets rescued/kidnapped so often that she should have a built-in handle to pick her up, the "underwater" scene at the beginning was exceptionally produced. I listened to it a few times and was amazed. The story didn't exactly have a happy ending, but I think that was appropraite. Again, Connie shows her maturity, which is very nice to see. Overall, a great bit of Odyssey, er...not Odyssey...I mean...oh, never mind.

Review by DrWhit73 (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Wow, this was a very well done episode. Connie seems as if she has really matured quite a bit. Nice episode with some nice suspense thrown in. I almost half expected Mitch to show up to rescue Connie or something.

Review by Laurie (Town Hall)

I thought that this was an excellent episode. I was glad to hear that Connie's behavior has stayed the same. She was very mature and handled everything beautifully. Like Dr. Whit, I almost expected Mitch to come to her rescue. I think this road trip has been good for Connie. I hope she continues to mature.

Review by Mandy Straussberg (Town Hall)

I thought this was an awesome episode. Definitely the best of the season so far. As a couple people have already said, I, too, expected it to be Mitch that came to her rescue.

At first, I thought it was going to be another weak-ploted, predictable episode because I knew right away that Vic was "wanted" for something. But I was pleasantly surprised.

Review by Mellow Boy (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Great job!

Review by Jared (Town Hall)

As soon as I heard that this episode was going to take place in West Virginia, and knowing that Connie would be in it, I knew there'd be a river mishap. Connie. Raging water. How can the two not collide?

I half expected her to lose her balance while standing on the New River Gorge Bridge, only to be rescued by Mitch, who was at the time bungee-jumping off the structure (bridge diving is legal one day of the year there). Well, okay, I didn't actually think that would happen. But there's no way that this episode could have proceeded without a water-related incident.

Only... "Gentle River"? I have to wonder why a real river and/or real park couldn't have been picked. Of course, with what happened, maybe it was better that everything stayed unlocalized.

Overall, a rather good episode. Slightly too predictable and with a not-so-brilliant police officer, etc., but still a fun show.

And I need one of those Mon key chains!

Review by Ferder (Town Hall)

I really liked the episode! It had nice suspence/mystery plot. The sound effects were quite good (especially in the river). The acting was good, too.

One of the bonuses of these road trip eps is that it seems that they feature new actors and you aren't saying "hey that charactor's played by the actor who plays Bryan Dern" all the time.

Review by Carolita (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

I really like this episode! It was great having an adventure/police/fugitive...etc. story again. I definately give this story 5 stars. Great job!

Review by butterflygirl (Town Hall)

Yeah, I think it was the best ep so far in the season. I liked it! heehee... can't wait to see when and if and who they meet along the way...

Review by Tasha (Town Hall)

This is awesome!

Review by AREM (Town Hall)

Good episode...was this the first episode without a kid in it? Well done episode, by far the best this season. So far my favorite eps of this fall season have been "The Taming of the Two" and "Silver Lining." GREAT JOB!

Review by James M (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Brilliant. I loved it. Sure, I knew Vic was wanted for something and I just wondered why and stuff. I enjoyed Connie persuading Vic. We see how bad choices affect us. I liked how the bird lady loved all birds and said see that and Connie and Joanne could care less. What interests one person doesn't interest others but oh well. Its sad how it takes sad things to open your eyes, but that car wreck/death did a lot for Vic. I like the little mystery about it. It was a brilliant ep. Great job!

Review by Amadeo (Town Hall)

Silver Lining is the best episode I have heard so far this season.

Review by Gandalf (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

To be bluntly honest, I was extremely disappointed. Don't get me wrong...the story, acting, dialogue, etc. were all wonderful. Connie acted very mature, the mystery was real (though somewhat predictable at times), and the suspense great. While I don't think it measures up to other great AIO mysteries (even "The Pact"), it was still really nicely done. However it only got three stars from me because of the closing scene. Connie and Joanne's dialogue with Vic was very interesting and well written, for a non-Christian sitcom. I was very disappointed with the lack of moral point to this episode. It would have been so much better if Connie and Joanne had actually shared the Gospel with Vic, in fact, that's what I was convinced they were going to do, up to the music bridge to Chris. Instead of telling him how Christ could help him be a better person, they told him he was a better person just because he tried hard. The implication to me was that he didn't really need God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit because he could somehow make himself better.

I don't know all the logistics of everything, but I seriously wish production of album 41 should be paused till the last scene can be re-recorded with a Christian slant to it. Anyway, sorry I was so hard on it. Other than that, the episode was very well, and if that scene were to be redone, the episode would definitely be in the best of the season category.

Review by solidchristian_88 (Town Hall)
Rating: (out of five)

Let me say that I haven't heard an eposode this awsome since...since...honestly, I'm not sure when I last heard an eposode this awsome!

Don't know why so many people are calling it a "mystery" eposode...you know what really happened pretty early on...it was just a matter of it being proven...and that's what I loved about it. I kinda wish it had been a two-parter because the situation could've been played out way better. A longer invistagation, more interaction with Vic...the kidnapping thing could've been streached out more thus making it way more interesting...of course, it being condensed into one eposode was perfect because we didn't have to worry about a cliffhanger.

The acting was brilliant and the chacters were awsome...I absolutely totally loved this eposode!

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