57. A Little Guidance, Please
Ten secrets from the Official Guide that make us love Odyssey even more.
By David Hilder | August 23, 2023
Ten secrets from the Official Guide that make us love Odyssey even more.
By David Hilder | August 23, 2023
It’s been over ten years since the latest edition of the Official Guide came out. For die-hard fans, owning the Official Guide is a must. The book is a 649-page treasure trove of behind-the-scenes information. The guide shows us all the hard work the team puts in to make Adventures in Odyssey what it is. The writers are constantly changing and improving upon their ideas with multiple episode drafts, the sound designers are always coming up with amazingly creative solutions to find unique sounds, and the actors are putting their heart and soul into their performances. Plus, the guide is very funny. There are so many hilarious behind-the-scenes stories that are written about in detail there.
While we wait for a new Official Guide, whenever that will be, I wanted to revisit some great details that are included in the current guide. I’ve only included ten facts from the guide, but there are hundreds I could have chosen. If you like reading about these, maybe consider getting a copy for yourself! For me, reading the Official Guide makes me love and appreciate the work that goes into Adventures in Odyssey even more.
1. Writer Marshal Younger played pregnant Mary Barclay going into labor
We never got to hear this version of the episode of course, but it happened. You may recall that Mary Barclay goes into labor with baby Stewart Reed during a live Christmas broadcast in the episode Unto Us a Child Is Born (Album 22). Well the voice of Mary Barclay, Carol Bilger, wasn’t available the day the episode was recorded. Someone had to step in. According to page 266 of the 2012 Official Guide, writer and director Marshal Younger read Mary’s part. As you can imagine, that studio session was full of more than your average amount of laughter, especially during the birthing scene. It was only later that Mary’s lines were re-recorded with the actual Mary Barclay and put into the final show. It turns out Marshal Younger’s acting range goes beyond just young Jack Allen and Officer Burke.
2. Whit and Tom’s friendship was real
The relationships of the actors behind the scenes can be very important for creating chemistry once they step up to the microphone. One of the most famous friendships on AIO is the friendship between Whit and Tom. And it turns out the actors were great friends in real life too. Actors Hal Smith and Walker Edmiston would meet in the mornings an hour before Odyssey recording sessions to have breakfast together at McDonald’s. As it says on page 25 of the Official Guide, Hal and Walker would reminisce about having worked together for decades on shows prior to AIO’s creation. You can really hear their friendship translate to the airwaves in episodes like Peace on Earth (Album 3), The Homecoming (Album 10) and The Mortal Coil (Album 16).
3. Paul McCusker’s middle name is Eugene
It’s true. Check out page 101 of the Official Guide. Writer and director Paul McCusker’s middle name is Eugene. Did this fact inspire the name of a particular Adventures in Odyssey character? I don’t know. Though Paul wasn’t around for the creation of AIO, he was around for the creation of Eugene in Album 3. So, it’s definitely possible. If there’s no connection, let’s just say it’s a remarkable coincidence. And you know what Mr. Whittaker says about coincidences. I guess we’ll never really know for sure. But we can’t deny this simple fact: Eugene Meltsner first appeared in an episode written by none other than Paul Eugene McCusker.
4. Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell play the Goat-Man
The myth, the legend, the Goat-Man from Connie Goes to Camp (Album 5), has been unmasked. No, it’s not nature expert Mrs. Wilma Neidlebark, voiced by John Eldredge, author of the famous book Wild at Heart. Nor was it voiced by Lucy and Jill. The monstrous, braying Goat-Man was voiced by sound designers Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell. And what a creation it was. The attack of the Goat-Man features as the cliffhanger at the end of Connie Goes to Camp, Part 1, and must have had listeners desperately trying to find out what happened next when it first aired. Odyssey sound designers really go the extra mile. Dave and Bob teamed up again to voice the snorting bull in The Cross of Cortes (Album 12). See pages 125 and 177, respectively, for these fun facts.
5. The recording of Malachi’s Message was almost lost
Malachi’s Message (Album 32) is one of AIO’s most popular three-part episodes. It’s also one of the show’s most unusual stories, featuring an appearance from the angel Malachi. But we almost didn’t get to hear the recording. Pages 345 and 346 of the guide tell a lengthy story of sound designer Jonathan Crowe’s harrowing experience placing the only copies of the master tapes in the wrong rental car, as well as losing his luggage and his plane ticket. A search was made, but to no avail. He eventually returned from Burbank to Colorado Springs—without the episode recording. Focus representatives made calls to all the rental companies in the area, and eventually the master tapes were found! And that’s how we got the Malachi episodes we have today. Sure, the team could have gone back to California, got the actors together again, and re-recorded it. But the original recording does have a certain magic to it, especially the performance of English actor and playwright Philip Glassborow, who voiced Malachi. He made a special exception to appear for his first and only time in an AIO episode. I’m so glad the recording was found.
6. A fan named Album 7
These days Odyssey albums are named far in advance of their episodes being released to the public. So, naturally only the team members, those who’ve heard the episodes already, are qualified to come up with album titles. But there was a brief time, around 15 years ago, when the Gold Audio Series came out. That was a time of re-naming albums with simpler titles. For example, Album 3 went from “Secrets, Surprises and Sensational Stories” to “Heroes”. Album 2 was renamed twice, from “Grins, Grabbers and Great Getaways” to “Stormy Weather” and then to “The Wildest Summer Ever”. Personally, I think Album 3: Heroes could still use a better title. Anyway, when it came time to re-name Album 7, the AIO team asked the fans for help. They had already created the artwork with Tom and Whit ice fishing, but they still needed a title to match. They received more than 1,300 ideas. Page 137 of the guide reveals that the finalists included “There’s Always a Catch”, “Winter Wonderland”, and of course the winner, “On Thin Ice”. It’s always great to see the team getting the fans involved in the making of the show. Another awesome example is when fan voicemails were included in The Inspiration Station (Album 51).
7. The punchline to Officer O’Ryan’s joke
If you’re an Odyssey fan, sooner or later you’ll come across Officer O’Ryan’s unfinished joke in Pranks for the Memories (Album 8). Well, the Official Guide has the punchline. If you remember, in the joke a hunter shoots down a duck, it falls into a lake, and the dog retrieves it. But the dog does so by walking across the water. The hunter turns to his friend and says, “Notice anything special about my dog?” The joke is interrupted because Whit turns on one of his machines, and the noise drowns everything out. Here's the punchline. On page 150 of the guide it’s revealed that the friend says, “Yeah! Your dog can’t swim!” Get it? It’s a subversion of expectations, because you’d expect the friend to be amazed at a dog that walks on water, but the friend focuses on the one thing it seems the dog can’t do: swim. Anyway, I didn’t say it was a hilarious joke.
8. Jim Custer and Bob Hoose were a Christian comedy duo
We all know Bob Hoose as the writer of episodes like Called On in Class (Album 42) and Sir Buddy’s Snowy Day (Album 64). But before Bob Hoose ever wrote an episode for Adventures in Odyssey, he was pals with Jim Custer, the voice of young adult John Avery Whittaker in episodes like Rescue from Manatugo Point and Operation Digout (Album 6) and many others. On page 157 of the guide, we learn that Jim Custer and Bob Hoose were performing comedy sketches together in a Christian comedy duo called Custer and Hoose. I almost didn’t believe this, but then I found it on YouTube. If you’re ever bored, you should know that there are over two hours of Custer and Hoose comedy content online, which includes some original musical numbers.
9. Writer Nathan Hoobler went swimming in a suit of armor
All right, maybe it wasn’t swimming. He was in a hot tub though. The Great Wishy Woz (Album 35) required a lot of interesting sound effects. One of those was the sound of Metal Guy getting into a hot tub. So sound designer Rob Jorgensen enlisted Nathan Hoobler for some help. According to page 369 of the guide, Nathan put on a suit made out of pieces of sheet metal and thick, aluminum dryer hoses. Are there any photos of this? Because I need to see them. Maybe that’s something the next Official Guide should include. Nathan spent the afternoon getting in and out of the hot tub in his strange suit of armor. Now that’s dedication. It really is a team effort at Adventures in Odyssey.
10. A Lesson from Mike inspired a fan to form a lasting friendship
In addition to the cast and crew, the fans of AIO play a role in making the show what it is. The heartbreaking episode A Lesson from Mike (Album 31) had an impact on many of us fans. One listener wrote in a fan letter to explain how she was impacted. After listening to the episode, she was inspired to approach a friendless girl and introduce herself. They got to know each other and eventually formed a lasting friendship. What an amazing example of how God is working through Adventures in Odyssey to bring about his plans. The AIO team was so touched by the fan letter that they preserved it in a quilt of fan letters which is on display in the Focus on the Family Welcome Center in Colorado Springs. You can see a photo of the quilt on page 338 of the Official Guide. But I bet it looks 100 times better in person. If you're ever in Colorado Springs, make sure you check it out.
The 2012 Official Guide has just one problem. It only goes up until 2012. Over ten years have passed since then, and a lot has happened on the show. That’s why I’m looking forward to the next edition of the guide. When will it come out? The way I see it, there are two options: either for the 40th anniversary in 2027, or the 1000th episode in 2024/2025. Personally, I think the earlier option is more likely. It’s more "equidistant in time" (as Eugene might say) between the 2012 guide and a potential 2037 guide for the 50th anniversary.
It’s true that these days we get a lot of behind-the-scenes information from the Official Podcast with Bob and Jesse. But I think there are probably a number of stories that haven’t been told. For example, how did the episode Life Expectancy (Album 57) come about? What conversations among the team members went on behind the scenes? How did previous drafts differ from the final version? What was the reaction of the cast and crew in the studio to the death of Connie’s mother? The session was also the first to feature Get in the Show winner Shona, the voice of Jules. What was her first experience in the studio like?
And there’s so much more. What inspired the writers to bring back Jules as a major character? What about the return of Buck Oliver and his subsequent adoption? My guess is that Buck being such a popular character after Album 53 had something to do with it. What about the transition to 6-episode albums? What about the creation of the AIO Club? That was a big change for Odyssey. What was going on behind-the-scenes with getting the club going? It must have been a lot of work to put together.
The next Official Guide could also talk about the creation of new characters like Jillian Marshall, Wilson Knox, Renee Carter, the Perkins family, and more. It could discuss the impact of COVID and the hoops the team had to go through to put together remote recording sessions. But what I’m most interested in learning more about is the creation of Album 75 and the handling of Will Ryan’s death. This was a very tough time for the AIO team, and it would be great to learn more about their decision-making process, the various drafts, and all the behind-the-scenes work that went into creating The Best Is Yet to Come.
We might be seeing a new Official Guide in the next couple of years. What behind-the-scenes details would you want to see in the next guide?
While we wait for a new Official Guide, whenever that will be, I wanted to revisit some great details that are included in the current guide. I’ve only included ten facts from the guide, but there are hundreds I could have chosen. If you like reading about these, maybe consider getting a copy for yourself! For me, reading the Official Guide makes me love and appreciate the work that goes into Adventures in Odyssey even more.
1. Writer Marshal Younger played pregnant Mary Barclay going into labor
We never got to hear this version of the episode of course, but it happened. You may recall that Mary Barclay goes into labor with baby Stewart Reed during a live Christmas broadcast in the episode Unto Us a Child Is Born (Album 22). Well the voice of Mary Barclay, Carol Bilger, wasn’t available the day the episode was recorded. Someone had to step in. According to page 266 of the 2012 Official Guide, writer and director Marshal Younger read Mary’s part. As you can imagine, that studio session was full of more than your average amount of laughter, especially during the birthing scene. It was only later that Mary’s lines were re-recorded with the actual Mary Barclay and put into the final show. It turns out Marshal Younger’s acting range goes beyond just young Jack Allen and Officer Burke.
2. Whit and Tom’s friendship was real
The relationships of the actors behind the scenes can be very important for creating chemistry once they step up to the microphone. One of the most famous friendships on AIO is the friendship between Whit and Tom. And it turns out the actors were great friends in real life too. Actors Hal Smith and Walker Edmiston would meet in the mornings an hour before Odyssey recording sessions to have breakfast together at McDonald’s. As it says on page 25 of the Official Guide, Hal and Walker would reminisce about having worked together for decades on shows prior to AIO’s creation. You can really hear their friendship translate to the airwaves in episodes like Peace on Earth (Album 3), The Homecoming (Album 10) and The Mortal Coil (Album 16).
3. Paul McCusker’s middle name is Eugene
It’s true. Check out page 101 of the Official Guide. Writer and director Paul McCusker’s middle name is Eugene. Did this fact inspire the name of a particular Adventures in Odyssey character? I don’t know. Though Paul wasn’t around for the creation of AIO, he was around for the creation of Eugene in Album 3. So, it’s definitely possible. If there’s no connection, let’s just say it’s a remarkable coincidence. And you know what Mr. Whittaker says about coincidences. I guess we’ll never really know for sure. But we can’t deny this simple fact: Eugene Meltsner first appeared in an episode written by none other than Paul Eugene McCusker.
4. Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell play the Goat-Man
The myth, the legend, the Goat-Man from Connie Goes to Camp (Album 5), has been unmasked. No, it’s not nature expert Mrs. Wilma Neidlebark, voiced by John Eldredge, author of the famous book Wild at Heart. Nor was it voiced by Lucy and Jill. The monstrous, braying Goat-Man was voiced by sound designers Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell. And what a creation it was. The attack of the Goat-Man features as the cliffhanger at the end of Connie Goes to Camp, Part 1, and must have had listeners desperately trying to find out what happened next when it first aired. Odyssey sound designers really go the extra mile. Dave and Bob teamed up again to voice the snorting bull in The Cross of Cortes (Album 12). See pages 125 and 177, respectively, for these fun facts.
5. The recording of Malachi’s Message was almost lost
Malachi’s Message (Album 32) is one of AIO’s most popular three-part episodes. It’s also one of the show’s most unusual stories, featuring an appearance from the angel Malachi. But we almost didn’t get to hear the recording. Pages 345 and 346 of the guide tell a lengthy story of sound designer Jonathan Crowe’s harrowing experience placing the only copies of the master tapes in the wrong rental car, as well as losing his luggage and his plane ticket. A search was made, but to no avail. He eventually returned from Burbank to Colorado Springs—without the episode recording. Focus representatives made calls to all the rental companies in the area, and eventually the master tapes were found! And that’s how we got the Malachi episodes we have today. Sure, the team could have gone back to California, got the actors together again, and re-recorded it. But the original recording does have a certain magic to it, especially the performance of English actor and playwright Philip Glassborow, who voiced Malachi. He made a special exception to appear for his first and only time in an AIO episode. I’m so glad the recording was found.
6. A fan named Album 7
These days Odyssey albums are named far in advance of their episodes being released to the public. So, naturally only the team members, those who’ve heard the episodes already, are qualified to come up with album titles. But there was a brief time, around 15 years ago, when the Gold Audio Series came out. That was a time of re-naming albums with simpler titles. For example, Album 3 went from “Secrets, Surprises and Sensational Stories” to “Heroes”. Album 2 was renamed twice, from “Grins, Grabbers and Great Getaways” to “Stormy Weather” and then to “The Wildest Summer Ever”. Personally, I think Album 3: Heroes could still use a better title. Anyway, when it came time to re-name Album 7, the AIO team asked the fans for help. They had already created the artwork with Tom and Whit ice fishing, but they still needed a title to match. They received more than 1,300 ideas. Page 137 of the guide reveals that the finalists included “There’s Always a Catch”, “Winter Wonderland”, and of course the winner, “On Thin Ice”. It’s always great to see the team getting the fans involved in the making of the show. Another awesome example is when fan voicemails were included in The Inspiration Station (Album 51).
7. The punchline to Officer O’Ryan’s joke
If you’re an Odyssey fan, sooner or later you’ll come across Officer O’Ryan’s unfinished joke in Pranks for the Memories (Album 8). Well, the Official Guide has the punchline. If you remember, in the joke a hunter shoots down a duck, it falls into a lake, and the dog retrieves it. But the dog does so by walking across the water. The hunter turns to his friend and says, “Notice anything special about my dog?” The joke is interrupted because Whit turns on one of his machines, and the noise drowns everything out. Here's the punchline. On page 150 of the guide it’s revealed that the friend says, “Yeah! Your dog can’t swim!” Get it? It’s a subversion of expectations, because you’d expect the friend to be amazed at a dog that walks on water, but the friend focuses on the one thing it seems the dog can’t do: swim. Anyway, I didn’t say it was a hilarious joke.
8. Jim Custer and Bob Hoose were a Christian comedy duo
We all know Bob Hoose as the writer of episodes like Called On in Class (Album 42) and Sir Buddy’s Snowy Day (Album 64). But before Bob Hoose ever wrote an episode for Adventures in Odyssey, he was pals with Jim Custer, the voice of young adult John Avery Whittaker in episodes like Rescue from Manatugo Point and Operation Digout (Album 6) and many others. On page 157 of the guide, we learn that Jim Custer and Bob Hoose were performing comedy sketches together in a Christian comedy duo called Custer and Hoose. I almost didn’t believe this, but then I found it on YouTube. If you’re ever bored, you should know that there are over two hours of Custer and Hoose comedy content online, which includes some original musical numbers.
9. Writer Nathan Hoobler went swimming in a suit of armor
All right, maybe it wasn’t swimming. He was in a hot tub though. The Great Wishy Woz (Album 35) required a lot of interesting sound effects. One of those was the sound of Metal Guy getting into a hot tub. So sound designer Rob Jorgensen enlisted Nathan Hoobler for some help. According to page 369 of the guide, Nathan put on a suit made out of pieces of sheet metal and thick, aluminum dryer hoses. Are there any photos of this? Because I need to see them. Maybe that’s something the next Official Guide should include. Nathan spent the afternoon getting in and out of the hot tub in his strange suit of armor. Now that’s dedication. It really is a team effort at Adventures in Odyssey.
10. A Lesson from Mike inspired a fan to form a lasting friendship
In addition to the cast and crew, the fans of AIO play a role in making the show what it is. The heartbreaking episode A Lesson from Mike (Album 31) had an impact on many of us fans. One listener wrote in a fan letter to explain how she was impacted. After listening to the episode, she was inspired to approach a friendless girl and introduce herself. They got to know each other and eventually formed a lasting friendship. What an amazing example of how God is working through Adventures in Odyssey to bring about his plans. The AIO team was so touched by the fan letter that they preserved it in a quilt of fan letters which is on display in the Focus on the Family Welcome Center in Colorado Springs. You can see a photo of the quilt on page 338 of the Official Guide. But I bet it looks 100 times better in person. If you're ever in Colorado Springs, make sure you check it out.
The 2012 Official Guide has just one problem. It only goes up until 2012. Over ten years have passed since then, and a lot has happened on the show. That’s why I’m looking forward to the next edition of the guide. When will it come out? The way I see it, there are two options: either for the 40th anniversary in 2027, or the 1000th episode in 2024/2025. Personally, I think the earlier option is more likely. It’s more "equidistant in time" (as Eugene might say) between the 2012 guide and a potential 2037 guide for the 50th anniversary.
It’s true that these days we get a lot of behind-the-scenes information from the Official Podcast with Bob and Jesse. But I think there are probably a number of stories that haven’t been told. For example, how did the episode Life Expectancy (Album 57) come about? What conversations among the team members went on behind the scenes? How did previous drafts differ from the final version? What was the reaction of the cast and crew in the studio to the death of Connie’s mother? The session was also the first to feature Get in the Show winner Shona, the voice of Jules. What was her first experience in the studio like?
And there’s so much more. What inspired the writers to bring back Jules as a major character? What about the return of Buck Oliver and his subsequent adoption? My guess is that Buck being such a popular character after Album 53 had something to do with it. What about the transition to 6-episode albums? What about the creation of the AIO Club? That was a big change for Odyssey. What was going on behind-the-scenes with getting the club going? It must have been a lot of work to put together.
The next Official Guide could also talk about the creation of new characters like Jillian Marshall, Wilson Knox, Renee Carter, the Perkins family, and more. It could discuss the impact of COVID and the hoops the team had to go through to put together remote recording sessions. But what I’m most interested in learning more about is the creation of Album 75 and the handling of Will Ryan’s death. This was a very tough time for the AIO team, and it would be great to learn more about their decision-making process, the various drafts, and all the behind-the-scenes work that went into creating The Best Is Yet to Come.
We might be seeing a new Official Guide in the next couple of years. What behind-the-scenes details would you want to see in the next guide?
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