56. A Time for Children
Why Wooton and Penny should have twin girls.
By David Hilder | July 12, 2023
Why Wooton and Penny should have twin girls.
By David Hilder | July 12, 2023
We all know that Odyssey time is slow, yet it isn’t completely frozen. Sometimes I feel like Connie Kendall has been a teenager forever, but of course that’s not actually true. She’s slowly progressed through high school, graduated in Album 31, and finally started taking college courses in Album 53. More recently, Connie is being positioned as a mother figure to her half-sister Jules. Other characters have matured on the show as well. Jimmy and Donna Barclay were allowed to grow up, along with Lucy Cunningham-Schultz, Curt Stevens, and Jack Davis. Even Davy Holcomb, from episode one, reappears as an adult in Stars in Our Eyes (Album 43). Though it takes longer than you might expect, Adventures in Odyssey characters do change and grow.
Their relationships progress too. Jules and Buck, after nine years of our time, are officially dating as of Album 74. They’ve moved on to the next stage in their relationship. Connie and Mitch dated for just under three years our time until eventually it was time to get married, or decide not to get married in their case. Eugene and Katrina dated for 8 years our time. Then they got married. They moved on to the next stage. Because that’s what unmarried couples do, or at least they should. They either move forward together, or they split up.
When Eugene and Katrina finally got married, as fans we started looking forward to the next stage in their relationship—having children. Now, not everyone in our modern world would agree with this being the next logical stage. But for a program produced by Focus on the Family, it makes perfect sense. Family needs to be celebrated and protected. It’s a gift of God. Why wouldn’t AIO feature stories which celebrate settling down and starting a family?
Well, there’s a reason—a problem really. The problem is that actors grow up faster than characters. Matthew Parker has been voiced by four actors over ten years of our time. How many years has he aged in Odyssey time? It’s hard to tell. But probably not many. Now, imagine you had a baby grow up on Adventures in Odyssey, where time moves along at a snail’s pace. Growing up would take forever! Once you got through the baby stage, which might take ten years already, you would constantly need to replace actors to keep the kid sounding like a toddler. Plus, toddlers can’t read lines. Maybe that’s why after little baby Stewart was born, the Barclays quickly left the show.
So, Eugene and Katrina needed a solution to this problem. And the AIO team came up with one. But it isn’t the solution you’re thinking of. During the planning stages of Album 51, the writers considered jumping forward in time. They’d give children to Eugene and Katrina, a new job to Connie, and a fiancé to Mr. Whittaker. (If you don’t believe me, check out pages 515 and 516 of the 2012 Official Guide.) Now, that would have been a lot of change all at once, so you can understand why they didn’t go for it. But you can also see the appeal. It would have allowed Eugene and Katrina to skip the baby and toddler phases and jump right into having kids of an older age.
Of course, this didn’t happen in Album 51, and that simply pushed the problem farther down the road. Finally, in To Mend or Repair (Album 55), another solution was put forward. Now, Eugene and Katrina found out they were not able to have kids. It was an incredibly emotional episode, well-written and well-acted. And it set up the Meltsner’s decision to take in Buck Oliver in Album 58, and eventually adopt him in As Buck Would Have It (Album 72). Allowing Buck to enter the Meltsner family as a teenager served the same purpose that the discarded Album 51 flash-forward would have served. Eugene and Katrina got to be parents, and we didn’t have to wait for the kid to grow up.
What’s interesting to note is that the AIO team believed that Eugene and Katrina deserved a solution to this problem at all. They could have just ignored the issue, like Mr. Whittaker’s impossible age. But they didn’t. The writers recognized that there needed to be a solution. God’s design is for married couples to have children. And so, it was an issue that simply required an answer.
Now we come to Wooton and Penny. They also need an answer. They got married in Album 61, or 2016 in our time. The next stage in their relationship needs to be dealt with in some way. Maybe not this year or the next, but eventually yes. And it can’t be the same answer that the team used for Eugene and Katrina. That would seem like lazy writing if Wooton and Penny suddenly also found out they couldn’t have children and decided to adopt a troubled youth, let's say, Joseph Corelli from The Other Side of the Glass (Album 48). And it would add onto the already growing list of similar family structures, ie. Eugene, Katrina, and Buck; Connie and Jules; and Whit, Morrie, and Suzu. No, for Wooton and Penny we need something fresh.
Adventures in Odyssey has bent over backwards to avoid the baby problem, and as a result has neglected to show the creation of a traditional family. But after 1000 episodes, maybe it’s time to try something new. Perhaps the best solution is for AIO to do what it’s never done before—have a baby grow up.
I know, it sounds crazy. Wooton and Penny having a baby would be an adventure like no other. But it might be the perfect thing for Wooton and Penny as characters.
Wooton would be a great father. Yes, there would be plenty of opportunity for drama and comedy, probably involving Wooton desperately trying to calm his baby by singing his Ode to Macaroni as a lullaby. But Wooton has shown himself to be great with kids. Maybe it’s his goofy personality or his love for comics books. Or maybe Wooton relates to kids so well because he just enjoys being a kid himself. Wooton just has a silly, down-to-earth way of interacting with kids that not even Mr. Whittaker can rival.
His friendship with Grady McKay is a perfect example. Wooton patiently and persistently shows kindness to Grady, even in the midst of misunderstandings and conflict. In the absence of Grady’s father, Wooton becomes the primary father figure in Grady’s life. In the episode Like Father, Like Wooton (Album 47), Wooton joins Grady in a father-son laser tag tournament and Grady starts telling people that Wooton is his father. When Grady confesses his deception to Max, Wooton comforts Grady by saying that if he ever had a son, he’d want him to be just like Grady, “or at least very Grady-ish. I don’t think you could ask for a better kid . . . I’m honored that Grady would think of me as his father, even if he is just pretending. ‘Cause to me he is like a son—well, he’s very son-ish. And if I were his father I would tell him that I’m proud of him for coming clean and telling you the truth.” Wooton and Grady have one of the sweetest friendships in Odyssey. It would be totally natural for Wooton to become a father.
But what about Penny? She hasn’t really had the chance to be a mother-figure to the kids of Odyssey. And I think that has more to do with her maturity and her anxiety with going outside of her comfort zone. Do we ever see Penny interacting with kids? Not usually. Her art class at the juvenile detention center in the episode In For a Penny (Season 9) was a welcome change. Having a child of her own could be a great opportunity for Penny to grow as a character.
The truth is, Penny’s storylines have felt a little dull lately. It feels like we keep rehashing the same ideas. Penny is trying to find herself, her place in Odyssey, her purpose in life, as usual. She’s trying to find happiness in Happy Hunting (Album 56), trying to be more spiritual in All By Myself (Season 1), trying think through and overthink and think some more about Wooton’s marriage proposal, which involves a trip to Pittsburg to get her parents’ blessing in Words from the Wise (Album 60). The writers take Penny’s penchant for trying to find herself to the next level in Find a Penny (Album 63), in which Penny goes missing. Penny’s questioning just keeps coming, whether she’s dwelling on her past or her future. Is she really cut out to be an artist? Listen to Penny question her career path in episodes such as A Penny Earned (Album 54), Childish Things (Album 54), Happy Hunting (Album 56), Words from the Wise (Album 60), Your Honest Opinion, Please (Album 64), and Search for a Sunflower (Season 8). It’s hard to find another adult AIO character with more self-doubt. It’s also hard to find someone else who thinks about themselves so often.
That’s not to say Penny is selfish or self-centered. That would be harsh and untrue. But so many of her storylines involve Penny worrying about whether she’s doing what’s right for her. Her friendship with Connie and her marriage to Wooton has helped. Now that she’s been connected with more people, Penny has more people to consider than just herself. But there’s still progress to be made. Could having a baby be the next stage in Penny and Wooton’s development? I think it would be very positive news.
Wooton and Penny having a baby would indeed be a big change. It would mean that the Bassetts couldn’t just run off on all their old adventures anymore, throwing caution to the wind, unless of course Frank and Eleanor Wise dropped by to babysit. It would mean episodes featuring pregnancy, changing diapers, nap time, figuring out that licorice does not count as baby food, and bedtime stories. But would that be such a bad thing? It would expand the world of Adventures in Odyssey into areas never dealt with, while still remaining relevant to the experience of every family listening.
If the writers were to go down this route, they would have some choices to make. Should the baby be a boy or a girl? As nice as it would be to create a parallel with Grady, and finally make Wooton the father of a son, the easier route would probably be for the Bassetts to have a girl. As you’re probably aware by now, the voice of a male actor changes in puberty. That’s why we’ve had so many Matthew Parkers. A boy would significantly increase the need for a new actor every couple of years. When the Bassett’s child starts speaking, it will be much easier to maintain continuity if the child is a girl.
Now, why did I mention in the subheading of this editorial that I think Wooton and Penny should have twins? Firstly, because it would twice as fun. Secondly, it would give the Bassett daughter someone her age to interact with as she grows. A twin sister would be perfect for that. Thirdly, it means we don’t have to go through the baby stage twice. Normally in order to have two kids, you have to go through the baby stage two separate times. But with the way Odyssey time works, that could mean the Bassett family may never get out of that stage. They would forever be the family with the baby. With twins, the Bassetts become a family of four in half the time you’d expect.
And did I mention, fourthly, that twins run in Wooton’s family? Wooton himself is a twin after all. It’s just too perfect of an opportunity. Wooton and Penny having twins just makes sense.
Now, how feasible is all of this from a production standpoint? From a storytelling standpoint? AIO has never done this before, so it would definitely be a learning experience. Maybe allow the twins to grow up slightly faster than Odyssey time usually allows, maybe record lines and whole scenes years in advance to maintain voice actor consistency, or maybe let the kids grow up quickly in their own Odyssey universe. I don’t know the best way to do it. Whatever strategy they choose, the storyline would be another way for Focus on the Family to honor and celebrate family. It will be tricky to figure out. But I think it can be done. And in Wooton and Penny’s case, it should be done. When? Since kids tend to grow up so slowly on the show, the sooner the better.
Their relationships progress too. Jules and Buck, after nine years of our time, are officially dating as of Album 74. They’ve moved on to the next stage in their relationship. Connie and Mitch dated for just under three years our time until eventually it was time to get married, or decide not to get married in their case. Eugene and Katrina dated for 8 years our time. Then they got married. They moved on to the next stage. Because that’s what unmarried couples do, or at least they should. They either move forward together, or they split up.
When Eugene and Katrina finally got married, as fans we started looking forward to the next stage in their relationship—having children. Now, not everyone in our modern world would agree with this being the next logical stage. But for a program produced by Focus on the Family, it makes perfect sense. Family needs to be celebrated and protected. It’s a gift of God. Why wouldn’t AIO feature stories which celebrate settling down and starting a family?
Well, there’s a reason—a problem really. The problem is that actors grow up faster than characters. Matthew Parker has been voiced by four actors over ten years of our time. How many years has he aged in Odyssey time? It’s hard to tell. But probably not many. Now, imagine you had a baby grow up on Adventures in Odyssey, where time moves along at a snail’s pace. Growing up would take forever! Once you got through the baby stage, which might take ten years already, you would constantly need to replace actors to keep the kid sounding like a toddler. Plus, toddlers can’t read lines. Maybe that’s why after little baby Stewart was born, the Barclays quickly left the show.
So, Eugene and Katrina needed a solution to this problem. And the AIO team came up with one. But it isn’t the solution you’re thinking of. During the planning stages of Album 51, the writers considered jumping forward in time. They’d give children to Eugene and Katrina, a new job to Connie, and a fiancé to Mr. Whittaker. (If you don’t believe me, check out pages 515 and 516 of the 2012 Official Guide.) Now, that would have been a lot of change all at once, so you can understand why they didn’t go for it. But you can also see the appeal. It would have allowed Eugene and Katrina to skip the baby and toddler phases and jump right into having kids of an older age.
Of course, this didn’t happen in Album 51, and that simply pushed the problem farther down the road. Finally, in To Mend or Repair (Album 55), another solution was put forward. Now, Eugene and Katrina found out they were not able to have kids. It was an incredibly emotional episode, well-written and well-acted. And it set up the Meltsner’s decision to take in Buck Oliver in Album 58, and eventually adopt him in As Buck Would Have It (Album 72). Allowing Buck to enter the Meltsner family as a teenager served the same purpose that the discarded Album 51 flash-forward would have served. Eugene and Katrina got to be parents, and we didn’t have to wait for the kid to grow up.
What’s interesting to note is that the AIO team believed that Eugene and Katrina deserved a solution to this problem at all. They could have just ignored the issue, like Mr. Whittaker’s impossible age. But they didn’t. The writers recognized that there needed to be a solution. God’s design is for married couples to have children. And so, it was an issue that simply required an answer.
Now we come to Wooton and Penny. They also need an answer. They got married in Album 61, or 2016 in our time. The next stage in their relationship needs to be dealt with in some way. Maybe not this year or the next, but eventually yes. And it can’t be the same answer that the team used for Eugene and Katrina. That would seem like lazy writing if Wooton and Penny suddenly also found out they couldn’t have children and decided to adopt a troubled youth, let's say, Joseph Corelli from The Other Side of the Glass (Album 48). And it would add onto the already growing list of similar family structures, ie. Eugene, Katrina, and Buck; Connie and Jules; and Whit, Morrie, and Suzu. No, for Wooton and Penny we need something fresh.
Adventures in Odyssey has bent over backwards to avoid the baby problem, and as a result has neglected to show the creation of a traditional family. But after 1000 episodes, maybe it’s time to try something new. Perhaps the best solution is for AIO to do what it’s never done before—have a baby grow up.
I know, it sounds crazy. Wooton and Penny having a baby would be an adventure like no other. But it might be the perfect thing for Wooton and Penny as characters.
Wooton would be a great father. Yes, there would be plenty of opportunity for drama and comedy, probably involving Wooton desperately trying to calm his baby by singing his Ode to Macaroni as a lullaby. But Wooton has shown himself to be great with kids. Maybe it’s his goofy personality or his love for comics books. Or maybe Wooton relates to kids so well because he just enjoys being a kid himself. Wooton just has a silly, down-to-earth way of interacting with kids that not even Mr. Whittaker can rival.
His friendship with Grady McKay is a perfect example. Wooton patiently and persistently shows kindness to Grady, even in the midst of misunderstandings and conflict. In the absence of Grady’s father, Wooton becomes the primary father figure in Grady’s life. In the episode Like Father, Like Wooton (Album 47), Wooton joins Grady in a father-son laser tag tournament and Grady starts telling people that Wooton is his father. When Grady confesses his deception to Max, Wooton comforts Grady by saying that if he ever had a son, he’d want him to be just like Grady, “or at least very Grady-ish. I don’t think you could ask for a better kid . . . I’m honored that Grady would think of me as his father, even if he is just pretending. ‘Cause to me he is like a son—well, he’s very son-ish. And if I were his father I would tell him that I’m proud of him for coming clean and telling you the truth.” Wooton and Grady have one of the sweetest friendships in Odyssey. It would be totally natural for Wooton to become a father.
But what about Penny? She hasn’t really had the chance to be a mother-figure to the kids of Odyssey. And I think that has more to do with her maturity and her anxiety with going outside of her comfort zone. Do we ever see Penny interacting with kids? Not usually. Her art class at the juvenile detention center in the episode In For a Penny (Season 9) was a welcome change. Having a child of her own could be a great opportunity for Penny to grow as a character.
The truth is, Penny’s storylines have felt a little dull lately. It feels like we keep rehashing the same ideas. Penny is trying to find herself, her place in Odyssey, her purpose in life, as usual. She’s trying to find happiness in Happy Hunting (Album 56), trying to be more spiritual in All By Myself (Season 1), trying think through and overthink and think some more about Wooton’s marriage proposal, which involves a trip to Pittsburg to get her parents’ blessing in Words from the Wise (Album 60). The writers take Penny’s penchant for trying to find herself to the next level in Find a Penny (Album 63), in which Penny goes missing. Penny’s questioning just keeps coming, whether she’s dwelling on her past or her future. Is she really cut out to be an artist? Listen to Penny question her career path in episodes such as A Penny Earned (Album 54), Childish Things (Album 54), Happy Hunting (Album 56), Words from the Wise (Album 60), Your Honest Opinion, Please (Album 64), and Search for a Sunflower (Season 8). It’s hard to find another adult AIO character with more self-doubt. It’s also hard to find someone else who thinks about themselves so often.
That’s not to say Penny is selfish or self-centered. That would be harsh and untrue. But so many of her storylines involve Penny worrying about whether she’s doing what’s right for her. Her friendship with Connie and her marriage to Wooton has helped. Now that she’s been connected with more people, Penny has more people to consider than just herself. But there’s still progress to be made. Could having a baby be the next stage in Penny and Wooton’s development? I think it would be very positive news.
Wooton and Penny having a baby would indeed be a big change. It would mean that the Bassetts couldn’t just run off on all their old adventures anymore, throwing caution to the wind, unless of course Frank and Eleanor Wise dropped by to babysit. It would mean episodes featuring pregnancy, changing diapers, nap time, figuring out that licorice does not count as baby food, and bedtime stories. But would that be such a bad thing? It would expand the world of Adventures in Odyssey into areas never dealt with, while still remaining relevant to the experience of every family listening.
If the writers were to go down this route, they would have some choices to make. Should the baby be a boy or a girl? As nice as it would be to create a parallel with Grady, and finally make Wooton the father of a son, the easier route would probably be for the Bassetts to have a girl. As you’re probably aware by now, the voice of a male actor changes in puberty. That’s why we’ve had so many Matthew Parkers. A boy would significantly increase the need for a new actor every couple of years. When the Bassett’s child starts speaking, it will be much easier to maintain continuity if the child is a girl.
Now, why did I mention in the subheading of this editorial that I think Wooton and Penny should have twins? Firstly, because it would twice as fun. Secondly, it would give the Bassett daughter someone her age to interact with as she grows. A twin sister would be perfect for that. Thirdly, it means we don’t have to go through the baby stage twice. Normally in order to have two kids, you have to go through the baby stage two separate times. But with the way Odyssey time works, that could mean the Bassett family may never get out of that stage. They would forever be the family with the baby. With twins, the Bassetts become a family of four in half the time you’d expect.
And did I mention, fourthly, that twins run in Wooton’s family? Wooton himself is a twin after all. It’s just too perfect of an opportunity. Wooton and Penny having twins just makes sense.
Now, how feasible is all of this from a production standpoint? From a storytelling standpoint? AIO has never done this before, so it would definitely be a learning experience. Maybe allow the twins to grow up slightly faster than Odyssey time usually allows, maybe record lines and whole scenes years in advance to maintain voice actor consistency, or maybe let the kids grow up quickly in their own Odyssey universe. I don’t know the best way to do it. Whatever strategy they choose, the storyline would be another way for Focus on the Family to honor and celebrate family. It will be tricky to figure out. But I think it can be done. And in Wooton and Penny’s case, it should be done. When? Since kids tend to grow up so slowly on the show, the sooner the better.
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