47. With a Little Help from My Books
Why Odyssey's next character should be a bookworm.
By David Hilder | October 18, 2022
Why Odyssey's next character should be a bookworm.
By David Hilder | October 18, 2022
Change is in the air. Renee Carter is about break out of the AIO Club and enter the world of the regular albums. And not a moment too soon. With the loss of actor Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene, Adventures in Odyssey has been left without our favorite resident mathematical genius and all-around geek. Whatever decision the writing team makes about Eugene’s future, Renee’s shift to the albums will be a stabilizing force for the show. She’s already known to Club members and non-members are ready to welcome her. Need a computer whiz in a non-Club episode? No problem. Renee can be there. She’s even bringing the blundering lab assistant Horace with her. There are endless opportunities for math and science plotlines in future episodes.
But the world of Odyssey is more than just math and science. We have major characters who pursue a variety of interests and passions, from Shakespearian stagecraft to international spy craft. Granted, espionage seems to a favorite hobby among a surprisingly large number of our friends in Odyssey. But plenty of other pursuits are represented as well. Gadget-tinkering, newspaper-reporting, music-making, and mystery-solving are welcome too. Sports is a popular pastime for many of the kid characters. It all started with Davey Holcomb, the clumsy Little League player in episode 1. AIO’s sports episodes could fill a couple albums. They’ve got it all—baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and even mini-golf (See the episode Fifteen Minutes in Album 36). Recently the show has expanded into football episodes with Buck in a starring role. But there’s one particular hobby that’s missing from our characters in Odyssey: books.
Where are Odyssey’s booklovers? No, the thieves of the rare Haugaard book from Mr. Holstein’s shop in The Perfect Witness (Album 23) don’t count. And despite Tom Riley’s valiant efforts to plow through The Pilgrim’s Progress in Best Intentions (Album 16), I wouldn’t call him an avid reader either. If anything, Mr. Whittaker himself is the closest we’ve got to a booklover. As we learn in Album 1, Whit’s idea of an evening with company is a cup of hot cocoa and a Robert Louis Stevenson book. He even met his wife Jenny at a library, and they later bonded over a discussion about authors C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. But lately Whit hasn’t had anyone to talk books with, and that’s unfortunate. You’d think the Whit’s End library would attract a bookworm or two. But none of our main characters seem interested. And so Mr. Whittaker’s more scientific, technological side is what’s most often on display. But if a fellow literature fan walked through the door of Whit’s End, I’m sure Whit would be ecstatic. Booklovers, if they exist on AIO, seem to be on the margins of the show. The recurring character Mrs. Kramer the librarian isn’t exactly approachable. The only main characters on the more artsy side are Wooton and Penny. But Captain Absolutely comic books and unsettling clown paintings aren’t quite what I’m talking about.
The show does pay tribute to literature from time to time. They recreated The Pilgrim’s Progress for Kids’ Radio in Album 19, and the AIO Club seems like it’s been a good venue to replay classic fairy tales like Pinocchio and Rumpelstiltskin. But these skits and sketches are a step removed from the characters of Odyssey. Do any of these shows have an impact on our characters? Was Eugene affected on his spiritual journey by playing Mr. Worldly-Wise? Were Sam Johnson and Lucy Cunningham-Schultz affected by their roles? Not that we know of. As good as these stories are, they highlight a gap in AIO’s retelling of fictional stories. What’s missing is a recognition of the lasting power of an imagined story—how a book can change our lives.
So, what’s the solution? We don’t need to start adding on scenes to Kids’ Radio episodes where the characters reflect on their experience. Those shows are fine as they are. And I don’t think we really need another character who imagines themselves into fictional stories. We’ve seen Lawrence do that in the past and Buddy has that covered now. Even Camilla got a chance to do a similar thing when she used the Inspiration Station to enter into the story of Walter’s Flying Bus in AIO Club Season 2. Instead, we need a way to casually introduce discussion of fictional stories, such as novels, into regular slice-of-life episodes. I think the best way to do that would be to introduce a recurring character who has books as a regular part of their life. They would be someone who reads for fun and wants to think through and share with others what they’ve read.
What kind of literature could they talk about? The books don’t have to be real, especially if they’re criticizing a bad book. The show has mentioned plenty of made-up movies, TV shows, and video games in the past. But it would be wonderful if Adventures in Odyssey also directed listeners to good books that can actually enrich our lives. Classic stories by C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and Lucy Maude Montgomery would be a place to start. It would also be fun to mention Homer’s Odyssey at some point, describing how it’s about a journey, or an adventure you might say. A bookworm would be the perfect avenue to do that.
And a more bookish character wouldn’t be out of place in Odyssey. In fact, they could make a valuable contribution to the show by helping to bring out the bookish side of some of our other major characters. Mr. Whittaker is the obvious candidate here. We know he’s a writer and a reader. But so much of his knowledge and literary wisdom has remained untapped so far. The introduction of a new character could shake things up and bring out another side of Whit. And Whit isn’t the only one who could be positively influenced. I may be wrong, but I have a theory that Katrina Meltsner is secretly an avid reader of fiction. She certainly is very knowledgeable about books and seems passionate about teaching literature in How to Sink a Sub (Album 54), despite resistance from her students. Writers Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Robert Frost, and William Shakespeare all get mentioned in this episode. In a previous editorial I spoke about how the character of Katrina is too often underutilized on the show. This could be a great opportunity to bring out another side of her character and get her starring in more episodes, both inside and outside the classroom. And then of course there’s Mrs. Kramer, our favorite cantankerous librarian. What better way to get her out of her shell than to introduce a kid who shares her taste in books? That is an episode that I would love to hear.
Adventures in Odyssey fans are readers, after all. You have to be if you’re interested in learning the backstory of John Avery Whittaker in the Young Whit book series, or in looking behind-the-scenes at what was really going in during Dr. Regis Blackgaard’s reign of terror in the Blackgaard Chronicles books. A novelization of the Novacom Saga is probably on the distant horizon. Other AIO book series include The Imagination Station, Passages, Kidsboro, The Last Chance Detectives, and more. The original novels, featuring the world of Odyssey before Whit’s Flop, first appeared way back in 1992. (Read that series if you want to learn more about the origins of the Israelites gang). Books have been a part of the AIO universe since nearly the beginning. Introducing a bookworm character could open up the world of books to the audio drama listeners.
Math and science and inventing have their place too, of course. Besides Renee and Horace, the new kid characters Morrie and Suzu Rydell will allow listeners to continue to revisit this side of Odyssey in future episodes. But there’s another side that could be brought to the forefront. A new character who loves books just makes sense. Books are already a big part of Odyssey, and the audio drama should reflect that. After all, Adventures in Odyssey is all about bringing spiritual truths to light through stories and the imagination. A new character who happens to be a reader could help us do just that.
But the world of Odyssey is more than just math and science. We have major characters who pursue a variety of interests and passions, from Shakespearian stagecraft to international spy craft. Granted, espionage seems to a favorite hobby among a surprisingly large number of our friends in Odyssey. But plenty of other pursuits are represented as well. Gadget-tinkering, newspaper-reporting, music-making, and mystery-solving are welcome too. Sports is a popular pastime for many of the kid characters. It all started with Davey Holcomb, the clumsy Little League player in episode 1. AIO’s sports episodes could fill a couple albums. They’ve got it all—baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and even mini-golf (See the episode Fifteen Minutes in Album 36). Recently the show has expanded into football episodes with Buck in a starring role. But there’s one particular hobby that’s missing from our characters in Odyssey: books.
Where are Odyssey’s booklovers? No, the thieves of the rare Haugaard book from Mr. Holstein’s shop in The Perfect Witness (Album 23) don’t count. And despite Tom Riley’s valiant efforts to plow through The Pilgrim’s Progress in Best Intentions (Album 16), I wouldn’t call him an avid reader either. If anything, Mr. Whittaker himself is the closest we’ve got to a booklover. As we learn in Album 1, Whit’s idea of an evening with company is a cup of hot cocoa and a Robert Louis Stevenson book. He even met his wife Jenny at a library, and they later bonded over a discussion about authors C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. But lately Whit hasn’t had anyone to talk books with, and that’s unfortunate. You’d think the Whit’s End library would attract a bookworm or two. But none of our main characters seem interested. And so Mr. Whittaker’s more scientific, technological side is what’s most often on display. But if a fellow literature fan walked through the door of Whit’s End, I’m sure Whit would be ecstatic. Booklovers, if they exist on AIO, seem to be on the margins of the show. The recurring character Mrs. Kramer the librarian isn’t exactly approachable. The only main characters on the more artsy side are Wooton and Penny. But Captain Absolutely comic books and unsettling clown paintings aren’t quite what I’m talking about.
The show does pay tribute to literature from time to time. They recreated The Pilgrim’s Progress for Kids’ Radio in Album 19, and the AIO Club seems like it’s been a good venue to replay classic fairy tales like Pinocchio and Rumpelstiltskin. But these skits and sketches are a step removed from the characters of Odyssey. Do any of these shows have an impact on our characters? Was Eugene affected on his spiritual journey by playing Mr. Worldly-Wise? Were Sam Johnson and Lucy Cunningham-Schultz affected by their roles? Not that we know of. As good as these stories are, they highlight a gap in AIO’s retelling of fictional stories. What’s missing is a recognition of the lasting power of an imagined story—how a book can change our lives.
So, what’s the solution? We don’t need to start adding on scenes to Kids’ Radio episodes where the characters reflect on their experience. Those shows are fine as they are. And I don’t think we really need another character who imagines themselves into fictional stories. We’ve seen Lawrence do that in the past and Buddy has that covered now. Even Camilla got a chance to do a similar thing when she used the Inspiration Station to enter into the story of Walter’s Flying Bus in AIO Club Season 2. Instead, we need a way to casually introduce discussion of fictional stories, such as novels, into regular slice-of-life episodes. I think the best way to do that would be to introduce a recurring character who has books as a regular part of their life. They would be someone who reads for fun and wants to think through and share with others what they’ve read.
What kind of literature could they talk about? The books don’t have to be real, especially if they’re criticizing a bad book. The show has mentioned plenty of made-up movies, TV shows, and video games in the past. But it would be wonderful if Adventures in Odyssey also directed listeners to good books that can actually enrich our lives. Classic stories by C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and Lucy Maude Montgomery would be a place to start. It would also be fun to mention Homer’s Odyssey at some point, describing how it’s about a journey, or an adventure you might say. A bookworm would be the perfect avenue to do that.
And a more bookish character wouldn’t be out of place in Odyssey. In fact, they could make a valuable contribution to the show by helping to bring out the bookish side of some of our other major characters. Mr. Whittaker is the obvious candidate here. We know he’s a writer and a reader. But so much of his knowledge and literary wisdom has remained untapped so far. The introduction of a new character could shake things up and bring out another side of Whit. And Whit isn’t the only one who could be positively influenced. I may be wrong, but I have a theory that Katrina Meltsner is secretly an avid reader of fiction. She certainly is very knowledgeable about books and seems passionate about teaching literature in How to Sink a Sub (Album 54), despite resistance from her students. Writers Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Robert Frost, and William Shakespeare all get mentioned in this episode. In a previous editorial I spoke about how the character of Katrina is too often underutilized on the show. This could be a great opportunity to bring out another side of her character and get her starring in more episodes, both inside and outside the classroom. And then of course there’s Mrs. Kramer, our favorite cantankerous librarian. What better way to get her out of her shell than to introduce a kid who shares her taste in books? That is an episode that I would love to hear.
Adventures in Odyssey fans are readers, after all. You have to be if you’re interested in learning the backstory of John Avery Whittaker in the Young Whit book series, or in looking behind-the-scenes at what was really going in during Dr. Regis Blackgaard’s reign of terror in the Blackgaard Chronicles books. A novelization of the Novacom Saga is probably on the distant horizon. Other AIO book series include The Imagination Station, Passages, Kidsboro, The Last Chance Detectives, and more. The original novels, featuring the world of Odyssey before Whit’s Flop, first appeared way back in 1992. (Read that series if you want to learn more about the origins of the Israelites gang). Books have been a part of the AIO universe since nearly the beginning. Introducing a bookworm character could open up the world of books to the audio drama listeners.
Math and science and inventing have their place too, of course. Besides Renee and Horace, the new kid characters Morrie and Suzu Rydell will allow listeners to continue to revisit this side of Odyssey in future episodes. But there’s another side that could be brought to the forefront. A new character who loves books just makes sense. Books are already a big part of Odyssey, and the audio drama should reflect that. After all, Adventures in Odyssey is all about bringing spiritual truths to light through stories and the imagination. A new character who happens to be a reader could help us do just that.
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