Review
by Ruthie, age 12.7
Rating:
It was good, it
had a apparent moral. But wasn't there already a episode about telling the
truth about people and it hurt them?? Maybe.
Review
by Joy, age 17
Rating:
Great, funny and
a good lesson I need to learn as well. I tend to "let things be"
like Jack...
Review
by Paul B
Jack hires a new
enployee name PJ with stands for a whole lot of stuff acording to him. Will
PJ last at Jack's shop? Joanne thinks his bookkeeping and time card aren't
quite right. Tamika learns in Sunday School that you must always tell the
truth. And that's just what she does. For better or worse.
Review
by Bradford G, age 14
Rating:
Another ok episode.
I found PJ to be a little too excited, the kind that is bothersome. I am glad
though that Jack stopped letting PJ get away with things. Tamika's honesty
was way too honest—that girl's honesty can really hurt poeple. But we
learn how honesty can hurt ourselves and others, but it's an important thing.
Review
by Elyn, age 15
Rating:
I like the Washingtons,
but how come all the kids in Odyessey take things so literally? They don't
think at all—they're just prgrammmed by Whit. And since when is Jack
such a pushover? That was a bit annoying. On the other hand, it was good to
see a not-so-good side of Jack, since he often seems to be portrayed as perfect.
Review
by Mellow (Soda Fountain Boards)
Ah, this ep was
just like the old eps. I really liked it! It was cool to hear some drums,
too.
Review
by Bennett Charles (Soda Fountain Boards)
My mind is just
completely stumped about how they got Marvin Washington's actor to come in
for one word. How did they do that...?! This is so mindboggling...
Seriously, this was a good episode.
It was a good shade to Jack's character. Whit was good as he usually is. Tamika
was good to hear from. Mrs. Allen was completely fine as usual.
PJ...was, well... At
first, I didn't like him. I thought he was another Wooton (don't get me wrong,
I love Wooton, but to have two?!?) And I perfectly thought that Wooton could've
played the character, but PJ was had something Wooton didn't: A shady side.
Then I thought that Nick could've played the character, and just acted a bit
stupid, but that would've been missing something, too. I'm sure the writer
was a bit stumped on who he'd have play that character.
The episode wouldv'e been nearly
perfect if PJ's dishonesty was completely on purpose. I mean, seriously, he's
doing it for only a TV? What if it was all an act—his stupididy, his
choice of words—and he was really some dumb jerk acting it up with Mr.
Allen...
Overall, it was a good episode.
Review
by Omega (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
(out of five)
I liked the lesson
but I thought the whole PJ think was kind of crazy. I liked the references
to the other shows. Like the Silverwind and Littleton’s restaurants from
the shows “Terror from the Skies” and “Blind Justice.”
But why in the world would Tamika take being truthful so seriously? And can
you find me an antique toilet? So over all I thought it was pretty good show.
Review
by Bmuntz (Soda Fountain Boards)
It was horrible...maybe
they should enter in the worst ep contest and if they don't have that section
then they should make a a section for it. (Just kidding...)
I liked it that the we had a scene
with Jack and Whit just being togather not solving a mystery. That was good.
Was it just me or did PJ sound
like an older Seth?
Review
by Bearliz (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
(out of five)
I liked it, not
my favorite, but it was good. PJ reminded me of Wooton, Rodney, Lawrence and
Jimmy. Yes, really, all of them. The moral was good, some of Tamika's out-right
statements were funny, but the scene with her mom was kind of sad. You think
she would have gotten the point then. Whit was good, he's beginning to sound
like he did in the older Hal Smith days. I enjoy that. Joanne and Jack playing
off each other led to a couple funny moments, and Jack's finally telling PJ
that he was doing a bad job. I was glad that Jack got some back-bone.
Review
by Felicity Blackgaard (Soda Fountain Boards)
I thought it was
good and funny! Tamika obviously took honesty to a whole new level! It sort
of irritated me.
Yeah, the part with Tameka and
her mother was sad too. I was kinda near tears.
But when Tamika dissed Whit's ice
cream creation. And I love food, so you mock the holiness of ice cream, you
anger me! LOL.
Now I want coconut flakes over
ice cream now.
Review
by Laurie (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
(out of five)
This ep was ok,
not great. Tamika was very annoying, which is a first for me. I usually like
her. She needed to be nicer. The way she expressed her opinions sounded mean.
Whit was good, I'm glad that he is back giving advice again. It was great
to hear Joanne. PJ was good, although he had his annoying moments. I am glad
that Jack found his backbone and fired him.
Review
by Londoner (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
Nine
(out of ten)
I liked it. Maybe
cause it drove a truth home to me.
Review
by Captain Jack (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
Nine
(out of ten)
Good ep!
Review
by Me (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
(out of five)
Yeah, PJ was weird.
He was more annoying than Ricky in "Do or Diet." (And that's saying
a lot.)
The episode was good in the style
of the old ones. The last scene was great! The rest of the ep seemed to lack
excitement. Not the best ep of the season, but still 3 stars.
Review
by Jonathan (Soda Fountain Boards)
Rating:
(out of five)
I was tempted
to give this a four, but I'll leave it at three.
This isn't to say
that it wasn't a good episode, on the contrary. It just wasn't one that's
incredibly memorable (aside from some of PJ's lines).
This ep was done in
the classic form of some of the older eps; where there is two stories happening
that basically teach the same lesson. Both were well done. I especially liked
Jack's part in it. We see some character development here and his departure
from being "painfully polite" (as was said years ago).
Over all, an enjoyable ep, though not a classic.
Review
by Catspaw (Soda Fountain Boards)
I really enjoyed
this episode. I loved the drive-thru scenes. I hope the splayed urchin is
as tasty as it sounds! It was so funny when the employee said something about
how Jack must be a risk-taker, since that's something that Jack almost never
does! I appreciated Jack taking a stand finally near the end. I don't like
to confront people, so I can kind of understand how hard it was for Jack to
fire somebody, even though he was a bad worker. Jack standing up for himself
at the restaurant was good too, though he could have stuck to his order instead
of having the splayed urchin again!
As a sidenote, has AIO ever had
an intelligent fast food employee? In "For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll"
fast food workers are slammed too. Perhaps there should be a good fast food
worker in an episode just for balance and to be fair to all the good workers
out there.
Review
by James M (Soda Fountain Boards)
I enjoyed it. I
like the references to past eps. Jack was awesome, he needs a new place to
eat. TJ did remind me of Seth—his lies deserved to be fired. Whit was
classic Whit. Tamika learned her lesson. I enjoyed it.
Review
by Shadowpaw (Soda Fountain)
Rating:
(out of five)
Immediately I
was excited about this episode. Getting to hear Jack and Whit hanging out
in the car and doing nothing but talking is something we don't get to hear
very often. When there's only twenty-five minutes to cram in a storyline,
these character-driven moments are usually cut in favor of the plot-building
scenes. Which is understandable of course, but it's funny that considering
how close Jack and Whit are, we rarely hear them interact. I love well developed
plots, but Odyssey has always been about the characters...so hearing scenes
like this (despite the rather short length) are always enjoyable!
Not to mention Jack's actions reminded
me a lot of myself: If someone calls me by the wrong name, I won't correct
them. If I'm falsely accused of something, I'll take the blame. And if I don't
get exactly what I ordered, I'll keep that information to myself. Though I
like to think that, similar to how Jack responded to his new employee, I'll
assert myself when the situation calls for it. As such, it's always easier
to listen to an episode when you can relate to the events the characters find
themselves in. Jack's storyline even ended on an appropriate note. Despite
initially trying to be more forceful with the fast-food restaurant, he eventually
gives up and goes back to the way he was. I know this is how I would have
handled the situation and just made the ending feel right.
But while the bookends of the show
were nice, the whole Tamika plot was bothersome. It seemed a little unbelievable
that a girl her age could be so daft to not realize that there is a difference
between being honest and being painfully honest. If she was four or five years
old, it would be kinda of cute. But instead, it was annoying and made me feel
sorry that the Washington family has to deal with such a brat. At least she
came around in the end, but she certainly did a lot of damage along the way.
Which brings me to PJ, who was
too over the top, but thankfully had a great voice. I actually recognized
the actor who played him right away. Scott Menville voiced Lloyd, the main
character in a video game I recently finished called Tales of Symphonia: a
fantastic game. So I was thrilled he recorded an episode for Adventures in
Odyssey and wouldn't mind hearing from PJ in the future, provided he wasn't
as annoying with his acronym creations. He's got an interesting personality
and could have an interesting arc if grouped with Connie, Nick, or even Xavier.
Unfortunately I doubt there's room in Odyssey for a guy like him, but I'm
all in favor of finding out.
In the end, Tamika's plot was what
brought the episode down to just an average level. A/B shows are tough because
there's almost always one plot that isn't as interesting or entertaining as
the other. In this case, the B plot was substantially of less interest. Fortunately
there was still lots of good things to be found in the show and that's what
matters.
Excerpted
Review by Frank (Frank's Breakfast Inn)
I'll let you know
right off the bat: I thought that this show was just so-so. It's great that
AIO brings new characters into play, but we never really heard much of PJ's
life or personality. (I wonder if AIO likes Emerald Nuts.) Don't get me wrong,
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it yesterday, but in the rankings of AIO it was
somewhere in the low middle.
Enough negativity, let's talk about the show! ...
Jack Allen is unable
to tell this person that they aren't doing a good job. Hmmm. Tamika doesn't
have the sense to be honest, yet courteous? I thought she was at least eleven
or twelve. You'd think that with all the God-filled upbringing that Ed and
Elaine has done over the years at least she could put some of the pieces together
herself. Maybe she's just really bold with people. ...
I did enjoy the humorous PJ in this show and if he does come back, I hope
that his voice settles down a bit. ...
Review
by EugeneFan (Eugene Forever)
Rating:
(out of five)
"And That's
the Truth" was a good slice-of-life, 'average' episode. I liked hearing
it, and I thought the lesson of the episode was good.
In this story, Tamika learns in
Whit's Sunday School class that it is always best to be honest. Tamika decides
never to be dishonest again. She tells everyone what is on her mind, no matter
how rude it is. Tamika ends up hurting the feelings of her friends and family,
so Whit tells her that she should speak the truth lovingly.
While all of this is going on,
Jack and Joanne have hired a new employee at the J & J Antique Gallery.
The employee's name is PJ, and he is a teenager who acts a bit silly. PJ turns
out to be dishonest, because he lies on his time card. Because of the dishonesty
and the fact that PJ wasn't doing his job correctly, Jack has to fire PJ.
As I said, I thought this was a
good slice-of-life show. It was good to hear Whit giving advice, once again.
This season has re-introduced Whit as a kind, grandfatherly person who takes
time out of his day to talk to kids and give them advice about their problems.
His advice about honesty was good advice, and it was biblical. Also, Whit's
ice cream illustration in his Sunday School class was a clever way to get
his point across.
In the past, fans have said that
Paul Herlinger didn't sound as warm as Hal Smith, and that his acting style
wasn't the same. I think that was once true, but it seems that Paul Herlinger
is getting better and better at playing Whit. Alan Young also played Jack
well, and all of the other actors and actresses were good in this show.
The point of this episode was about
telling the truth, obviously. But that wasn't the whole lesson. It wasn't
just about telling the truth; it was about speaking the truth lovingly. This
episode was a good illustration of that point, and it was nice to hear Whit
give verses from the Bible, dealing with that lesson.
I also liked the story in this
episode. We hadn't heard a whole lot from the antique gallery lately, and
it was nice to hear from the Allens, and to learn that the antique gallery
is still running. It was interesting to hear Jack, who is usually a pushover,
having to fire his employee. However, it was nice to hear P.J. being fired,
because he was taking advantage of the Allens (and he was annoying).
I give "And That's the Truth"
a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was a well-written "average" episode, with
a biblical lesson, as well as an interesting story.
Consensus:
Thumbs Up (17/18 positive reviews)
Some of the most
positive reviews of the season are reserved for "A Lamb's Tale,"
the season finale. Many reviewers call the episode great and are showering
it with praise. Most liked the various stories and the many heart-felt
conclusions to each. Particularly noted are the scene between Mike and
Nick Mulligan and the scene between Mark and Mr. Cruz.
Strong performances
are also noted throughout, from Nick to Mark to the new actor who played
Grady.
There were some
negative comments for the show as well. Some felt that there may have
been too many stories going along, while almost everyone noted that the
show wasn't especially "Christmasy" despite having a holiday
theme.
Review
by King Shasta, age 21
Rating:
Wow! This season
really DOES have a highlight other than "Sounds Like A Mystery!"
Opening theme: Was that taken
from the video "Electric Christmas?" My money's on that.
Grady: What a perfect character,
this young kid with an attitude about him. We'd better hear a lot more.
Intercutting stories: We've had
other good *ideas* like this, this season. But this one—four different
stories, four takes on sacrifice—was realized PITCH PERFECT.
Mark/war story: I thought at
first that father was Middle Eastern, which would've been cool to play against
stereotypes. Hispanic was cool, too.
Rodney: Why does everyone make
such a big deal out of him? OK, so he's been the same for 15 years -- the
character works. Play with that and you could mess up a lot of the AIO dynamics
we know and love.
Great mix of characters, and
it's good to hear Bill Myers as Mr. Mulligan again.
Review
by Joe North, age 12
Rating:
Ehhh... I didn't
really LOVE it, but I thought it was okay. Liz is like 15 years old, that
was really weird. And the boy they got to play the kid who wanted the lamb
sounded like a girl. That's it though.
Review
by Sarah J Mitchell, age 14
Rating:
It was very
touching. I almost cried. That really changes my thinking.
Review
by Ming, age 14
Rating:
I loved it :D
Review
by Nanci, age 18
Rating:
Maybe one of
the best in this season so far...
Review
by Ruthie, age 12.7
Rating:
Oh, the things
you can do when your 10!! But it's hard to give up something that you're
attached to.
Liz is back. Wow,
there was a lot of interest in that little lamb. It was very strange when
I first heard it! Mark seemed very secretive. After Nick said "it all
makes sense now," I was racking me brains trying to figure out what
he meant!
Rodney sounds allot
like the boy in "Toy Story," the one that blows the things up!
Also, when Rodney narrates the kid climbing the tree, you can REALLY hear
the Mitch in him! I think it was good that Mark went to his friend's father.
Part of this story sounds like it was based off of a recent story about
a soldier who threw his body on a grenade and saved his fellow comrades.
It also was good that Tamika let Samantha keep the Lamb. All in all it was
a good episode!
Review
by Nathan Ehnis, age 16
Rating:
Great. The best
show this season.
Review
by Lindsey, age 11
Rating:
It was awsome,
but only a few things were weird.
Review
by Paul B
Rating:
The new Christmas
show was great. Rodney making up video shows blowing up a stuff lamb. Some
kind trying to save the lamb from up the tree. Liz's brother comes home from
the war. Lots going on in this episode. Highly recommended.
Review
by Bradford G, age 14
Rating:
A wonderful episode
for the holidays, giving us that Christmas Odyssey feeling. This episode tells
us how giving is the most important thing during the holidays. Merry Christmas!!!
Review
by Bennett Charles (Town Hall)
"It's time
for another heartwarming adventure..."
And Whit was completely right...This
episode was a very Christmasy adventure. And I loved it.
The episode began with a very magical
sprinkly theme; and I thought, "Well, if this episode stinks, then at
least people will love the theme..."
Fortunatly, the episode grew from
there. It dealt with characters not normally expected to be in an episode
together: Liz, Nick, Mike, Mark, Rodney, Whit, Tamika...whoa, what a gang.
First of all, let's start at the
beginning: Tamika. She's ten; that's mighty hard to believe, since she sounded
ten when she first started off, and her voice has changed quite a bit.
Secondly; Nick Mulligan and Mike
Mulligan, two characters that I've always loved—Nick, for his humor,
and Mike for his fatherly voice. They were great in the episode; I could just
feel the great connection between them. It was priceless. Nick was a jerk
when he started off; and Mike sacrificed a proposal for him. It really added
to Nick's character, and it was wonderful. A great scene. Even though many
fans didn't like the Mulligans, those two were the deffinate exception.
A second good scene was between
Mark and Ron's father. The father's speech was really good and touching, and
it outdid the previous scene between Nick and Mike, escalating into a touching
ending.
Thirdly (or is it fourthly?); Rodney.
I think the writers told Steve Burns to tone it down a bit. He sounded very
simmilar to how he first began in the show, and his voice was much less annoyingly
squeeky. Even though he's still in the same bad-guy position, it at least
was a definite improvement over his "Sounds like a Mystery" boring
character. He had a new hobby this time, and I chuckled at his "America's
Most Famous Injuries (or something like that)" routine.
Grady had spunk, and it wasn't
annoying as it could've been with a different actor. I mean, I don't want
him as a new character (they have enough!!), but he was a good one-timer.
I enjoy episodes where it's the
complete opposite of what you imagined it to be. I mean, how many people really
expected this story to be about a kid looking for his lost lamb and then ending
up at Whit'sEnd where Whit tells him a story? But instead, it surprises me
by including characters I wasn't expecting.
In Summary, this episode was a
nice strong episode which succesfully cleared up certain loose ends and got
me into the Christmas spirit. Perfect score episode. Good job AIO team!
Review
by Jonathan S (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of four)
Whoa! The first
thing I thought was something Dr. Blackgaard said a long time ago; "This
is turning out to be oldhome week." Rodney, Nick, Mike Mulligun, and
Mark Horton...
This wasn't a a/b story. It was
an a/b/c story: Mike's job, Grady's lamb, Mark's issues with the war he fought
in. I'll review all of them:
Mike's Job:
Mike's back, and as much as the Mulligans seemed unnessecary to AIO, it's
always nice to hear from an old character, and that Nick has a place to live.
I was beginning to wonder. Anyway, Nick (who's also fun to hear from) finds
out that Mike passed up a big $ job with Whit's company. Through some investigating,
we find
out why, and get a heart-warming ending.
Grady's Lamb:
A boy named Grady chases all over town to retrieve a lamb that belonged to
Tamika. We find out why he did it, got some comic relief with Rodney (who
didn't annoy me this time), and get yet again a heart-warming ending.
Mark's issues:
Mark's was wounded in war and is acting odd. We find out why: a soldier gave
his life for Mark's. He talks to the soilder's Dad, about man who gave his
life for Mark and his faith. And another heart-warming ending.
There are two things that seemed
out of place. First, three stories is a lot to handle in twenty five minutes,
and everything seemed rushed.
Second, at the end it seemed like
Mark and Nick were ready to accept Jesus (or at least extremely close). This
ending seems to leave us hanging, it seems unresolved. Will these be dealt
with in the winter season? I hope so.
Another was that at the beginning
Whit says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, but this is just a personal
grip because it's politcally incorrect to use Merry Christams as a greeting
nowadays. So I guess this doesn't count.
It's also nice to laugh out loud
at lines in the ep, but I can't remember which ones of the top of my head.
Last thing worth mentioning is
the lesson. I'm kinda confused, but think it is that people are more important
than objects.
I liked all three stories, but
can't give it 4/4 b/c of what I listed above.
Review
by Jonathan S (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
*sigh*
So far, I have not heard anything but average AIO episodes. This ep was no
exception. Nothing outstanding, except for the Mulligans (whom I love), Liz's
brother Mark, and the music. I wish Rodney could be portrayed differently
for once, and that AIO's Christmas episodes wouldn't be so...typical.
Review
by Bmuntz (Town Hall)
I
liked the story a lot, but it wasn't very much like a Christmas ep. The only
things in the that made it Christmas was the theme and that they were getting
stuff for charity. It wasn't a classic Christmas ep. But I did really like
the stories. Mike and Nick's scene was really good. The solider's though must
be really bad. In the one ep the unit got ambushed now they let the ememy
put bombs at the base of buliding there in. You have guns; use them! It should
of been a rocket launcher insted. And I can don't wait to see America's Funnist
Home Injuries.
Review
by Arwen (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
I
liked the episode. It wasn't a particularly exciting or memorable one, but
it was still good.
Review
by Catspaw (Town Hall)
I enjoyed this
episode. The variety of characters was nice, and I love hearing from Nick!
It was good to hear a more thoughtful side to him. I enjoyed Rodney too, with
his new career as a really bad film maker. The scene where he was about to
blow up the lamb reminded me of the evil kid in "Toy Story" who
liked to blow stuff up.
This wasn't a stereotypical Christmas
episode, but I still think that it was appropriate to this season (as well
as all others). While some of the storylines, like Mark's, aren't directly
related to a Christmasy topic, the basic idea behind them show the meaning
behind Christmas. For example, Mark's "salvation" during the war
was the result of the sacrifice of another, one who was better than him, according
to Mark. The true Christmas story is about Jesus' sacrifice of coming to earth
as a baby, preparing the way for the Easter story, where the ultimate sacrifice
occurs. While Mark's story may not seem like a Christmas one, there are connections
to Christmas, and I think that it's good to have reminders that Christmas
is not an isolated incident. The reason that Christmas is a time for celebration,
in the Christian sense, is not because Jesus came, but that he stayed and
died on the cross for our sins. His coming would be meaningless otherwise.
I appreciated the different elements
in this episode. They made it fuller and richer. The music was great too!
I will very much enjoy listening to this episode inthe future!
Review
by Mandy (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
I really enjoyed
the episode. The Nick/Mike scene almost made me cry, it was so beautiful.
The whole Tamika lamb thing bugged me until the very end. I kept thinking,
"Who cares; it's just a lamb?" (Funny, as I type that I remembered
that my parents gave me a lamb puppet when my sister was born, my dad took
it to teach a Sunday School lesson, and it got lost, and my grandfather went
on a wild search to find one. 10 years later, the Sunday School director had
it sitting on her desk, and we took it back home. But anyway...) Liz's character
bugged me a lot. She should've just left Mark alone. He's an adult, he can
do what he wants with his clothes and shoes and stuff. So, due to Liz, I only
give it 4 stars.
Review
by Bearliz (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
Well, I had mixed
feelings about this ep. Liz was, well, Liz...annoying and persistent to the
extreme. Mark was good, his feeling about everything certainly ring a bell.
Nick trying to get Mike a job was
both kind-hearted and selfish...a big-screen TV hung in the balance, but when
he found out why Mike gave it up...that scene was great!
Grady and the lamb—it was
really sweet, everything he went to for his sister. Rondey was a little too...
Rodneyish in this ep. Funniest injuries? Just a little too much. Tamika was
good, too; I felt for her when she couldn't get her lamb back. And something
else...she's TEN? She's always sounded older than that to me.
Whit...well...he was Whit, nothing
exceptional in this episode. I gie it 4/5 stars
Review
by happysmiler (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
I thought this
was a great episode. I loved hearing from Mark Horton again! It was also nice
to hear from Nick. Not to mention that Rodney Rathbone is always fun. It was
also good that the lesson was for younger kids (Tamika's story) and also teens
(Mark's story).
Review
by Me (Town Hall)
Rating:
(out of five)
Wow, it was quite
good. The worst part was the bad acting on the part of Mark. His script wasn't
that great either. Other than that, 4 stars.
Review
by Shadowpaw (Soda Fountain)
Rating:
(out of five)
What I imagine
everyone noticed first about the episode was the wonderful Christmas treatment
given to the opening theme song. Nothing says Christmas like jingle bells
and tambourines... they make the notes in the music sound like they are falling
snow flakes! I've always been a sucker for episodes featuring my favorite
holiday and it immediately warms my heart to think about the season. The sound
of snow crunching under a character's boots, the cold and silent winter air,
and the tear-jerking selfless acts that define the spirit of the season. Unfortunately,
"A Lamb's Tale" is a wolf in sheep's clothing... despite the musical
interludes and mention of Whit's "Christmas Closet," there's nothing
in this episode that indicates to me that it should actually be a Christmas
tale. However, it's still a good show that just so happens to be pretending
to be something it's not.
I mean if we were to replace the
"Christmas Closet" with some other charity organization, the episode
would still play out in the same way. Grady would once again chase after his
sister's doll, Nick would continue to investigate the Universal Press offer
to his uncle, and Mark would still want to speak to the father of the man
who saved his life. A "Christmas Episode" shouldn't be called that
because it takes place at that time of year, it should be considered a Christmas
episode because everything about it is filled with the joy and spirit of the
season. I noticed the heavy influence Christ's death had on all three
of the different stories: Grady risking his life for his sister, Mike giving
up his job for his nephew, and Ron giving his own life for a fellow soldier.
But where are the parallels to Christ's birth? No, I don't think every Christmas
episode needs to feature the birth of a new baby or an Imagination Station
episode in Bethlehem, but it should be about the holiday itself... and not
just use the holiday as a gimmick.
But again, as mentioned in my introduction,
I do think this was a good show on it's own merit. We learn more about the
Mulligan family, find out how Mark Horton is doing, and get introduced to
some cute kids named Grady and Sam. Not to mention that Rodney gets into some
mischief and Tamika somewhat redeems herself from "And That's the Truth".
It's also interesting that there are three main stories being told during
the course of the show, which perhaps is what caused the episode to be so
strong. So much happened in such a short period of time that I never felt
like any of the plots wore out their welcome. In my last review for "And
That's the Truth," I noted how much I disliked Tamika's plot. Here, I
wasn't a big fan of the Mark plot, but because there was plenty of other stuff
going on and not a lot of attention devoted to it, I accepted it. I'm also
looking forward to hearing more from Grady and his sister Sam. Their voices
were both distinctive and young enough that they could be on the series for
the next several years and I thought the young actor playing Grady was just
terrific. And kudos to the writers for not over exposing us to them. This
way I'm left wanting more!
So was the show a Christmas classic?
No. But it was a pretty nice episode regardless. However, this year was a
free pass. Next year I'm demanding that the characters drink hot chocolate,
sing Christmas carols, decorate a Christmas tree, and give gifts to one another!
The last great Christmas show aired seven years ago... considering this is
a Christian series, you'd think that this time of year would be celebrated
with a little more effort!
Review
by EugeneFan (Eugene Forever)
Rating:
(out of five)
"A Lamb's
Tale," the first Christmas episode aired since "The Popsicle Kid,"
was an enjoyable show to hear. This episode was well-written, and it included
scenes with characters we hadn't heard from in a while. However, this episode
didn't have much to do with Christmas.
This show is about a program Whit
is doing, in which people donate clothes, toys, and other items, to be given
to people less fortunate. Tamika donates her toy lamb, because she says she
is too big for it. A little boy wants to get the lamb for his sister, but
Rodney Rathbone takes the lamb to blow it up. The boy chases Rodney to his
house, takes the lamb, and gives it to his little sister. Then, Tamika decides
she wants the lamb back. But when she sees how much the little girl likes
the lamb, Tamika decides not to take the lamb back.
We also get to hear from Mike Mulligan
and Mark Horton in this episode. We get to learn more about Mike than we had
ever known before; we learn that Mike was once a businessman, but he had rejected
a high-paying business job in Chicago in order to adopt Nick (who wasn't supposed
to be in the city). About Mark Horton, we learn that he was hurt in the war,
so he was sent home for a while. Someone had saved Mark's life during the
war in order for Mark to live. Mark felt as if he needed to repay the debt,
but he learned that it was not something that could be repayed, and he needed
to accept it.
I enjoyed hearing from Mike Mulligan
and Mark Horton, because we hadn't heard much from either of them for several
seasons. I also was happy to learn more about Mike's past, because we had
never been given much information about his life. I think one of the purposes
of this story was to get us reacquainted with these characters.
The storyline about the lamb was
good, but not quite as good as the return of previous characters. I think
it was a sign of maturity that Tamika gave up her lamb for someone else. And
I would think that Rodney would grow up someday, as well; his role as a bully
is getting a little stale.
From what I gathered, this theme
of this episode was giving. That theme is very appropriate for Christmastime,
because this is a season when people give the most.
The acting in this show was good,
for the most part. The only acting problem I noticed was in one of the scenes
with Rodney, he didn't quite sound like his usual self, and he sounded more
like Mitch.
I think the music was exceptionally
well-done in this episode. I was glad to hear the Christmas version of the
AIO theme, which we hadn't heard in a few years. The other Christmas musical
scores were good, and they were fitting for this episode.
My rating for "A Lamb's Tale"
is 3.5 out of 5. It was a good episode, and I was glad that AIO produced another
Christmas show (even if it wasn't all about Christmas). It was a well-done
AIO season finale.
