17. Take It From the Flop
A comparison of Album 1 and Album 51.
By David Hilder | April 26, 2014
A comparison of Album 1 and Album 51.
By David Hilder | April 26, 2014
Over the years Adventures in Odyssey has taken time off, called hiatuses, to regroup and plan the future of the show. One of the most significant hiatuses was the gap between Album 50: The Best Small Town and Album 51: Take It from the Top. After two years off, Album 51 was described as a reboot or a fresh start. The AIO team asked themselves, “What would we do with Adventures in Odyssey if we were starting it now?” Based on all their experience in audio drama gained from the past 20 years, they were going to craft the perfect starting point to the series. Album 51 was released in 2010 as a new beginning, so naturally there are comparisons to be made with the show’s very first beginning, Album 1: The Adventure Begins. These two albums have similarities but also noticeable and probably intentional differences. Which one is better at introducing the world of Odyssey to new listeners? Album 1 or Album 51? That’s what this editorial will explore.
In AIO’s opening episode, Whit’s Flop, we meet a boy named Davey Holcomb who has a reputation for messing things up. This is particularly visible in his clumsy mistakes during baseball games. But that doesn’t stop Whit from trying to encourage him. At Whit’s End, Davey has the freedom to be creative and work on inventions. But he isn’t successful the first time. When he turns on his invention it smolders and blows a fuse. He runs away from his problems a couple times but Whit chases after him. Whit tells him about Thomas Edison who also struggled with multiple failures but used them to build his success. Similarly, a boy named Matthew Parker has to learn from failure in the first episode of Album 51, The Inspiration Station.
Matthew’s enthusiasm for inventing causes a system malfunction at Whit’s End. During this technological crisis, everything in the shop goes crazy. The emergency backup alarm sound effect which blasts from the computer sounds like it belongs on Star Trek. It’s quite dramatic compared to Davey Holcomb’s disaster in Whit’s End, which resulted because Tom Riley was using the garbage disposal at the same time. Interestingly, in this episode Matthew admits to have taken apart Whit’s End’s garbage disposal to see how it works. Matthew seems to be the high tech 21st century upgrade to Davey Holcomb. Besides the malfunction at Whit’s End, Matthew also causes problems for every member of his family. When he is confronted with his mistakes, he runs away from them, just like Davey. Thankfully, Whit shows him the Inspiration Station where he learns even people like the inventor Thomas Edison made mistakes before they became successes.
It’s interesting to note that Whit’s Flop is a single episode but its modern equivalent, The Inspiration Station, is a two-parter. The reason it takes longer is because, like many recent shows, it has two different plots. One involves Matthew; the other is all about Connie. This was probably the right decision to make in this case because, while kid characters are fundamental to the show, so are adults, and giving Connie Kendall enough airtime for the audience to get to know her is really important. The constant switching between the two plots makes the episodes seem faster-paced. Overall, The Inspiration Station is a bold and more cinematic introduction to the show than Whit’s Flop.
But an album is more than its first episode. When you compare Album 1 with Album 51, there are very clear differences. Album 1 seems to have multiple pilot episodes which, besides Whit’s Flop, could include The Life of the Party, Connie Comes to Town, The Day After Christmas, Nothing to Fear, A Member of the Family, and A Change of Hart. Every single one of those episodes introduces a brand-new kid character to the show and they don’t require you to have heard the previous episodes. The album uses a lot of one-off characters which only appear in one episode. As a result, there is very little crossover between episodes. Album 51, in contrast, has a lot of character overlap from show to show. When you compare the numbers, Album 1 has more unique characters than Album 51. But according to my rough estimates, Album 1 only has on average 6.6 characters per episode, compared to Album 51 which has about 8.9 characters in each episode. It’s not a good idea dramatically to stuff too many characters into one episode, and unfortunately Album 51 tries to include a lot of characters in each episode, especially members of the Parker family. This data means that, despite having more characters in total, episodes in Album 1 are less crowded by returning characters. Davey Holcomb, for example, only appears in Whit’s Flop. Matthew Parker appears in 8 out of the 12 episodes on Album 51.
Album 51 focuses heavily on allowing the audience to get to know the Parkers and the Jones. At least one member of the Parker family appears in every single episode. When the Parkers first appear in The Inspiration Station, all five of them are introduced in the same episode and we see them interacting together as a family. Similarly, the Jones family all appear together in Game for a Mystery. It has a more narrow focus than Album 1 and deals mostly with family life. Meanwhile, Album 1’s flaw is that it relies so heavily on one-off kid characters who have no future on the show. But it still works because it deals with actual slice of life situations. Album 1 has a maturity and a realism to it that lets it resonate with people.
While having a lot of overlapping characters from episode to episode could have been a strength, the limited perspective it gives of Adventures in Odyssey is Album 51’s downfall. Album 1 gives you a more accurate picture of the show because of its sheer variety. It has comedy, tragedy, and drama as well as peaceful times. Whit’s flaws are exposed, we learn how his wife died, we see the poverty of Foster Creek, and the topic of divorce is touched on in at least four episodes. At the same time, we hear the hilarious and touching story of Madge and Guy, the wonderful friendship between Whit and Tom, the entertaining tension between Connie and Whit, and Freddy Hart’s conversion to Christianity. Album 1 presents a wide range of genres, situations and themes which together form a great introduction to AIO and appeal to the whole family. In contrast, Album 51 has a much more limited scope in terms of content and it seems to be targeting a smaller, younger audience. Album 51’s best episode, The Jubilee Singers, gives new listeners a glimpse at what AIO can be, but still isn’t enough to bring Album 51 to the level of Album 1.
Album 51 has a good pilot and it does a good job at introducing the show’s new characters to the audience. But to be honest, if you’re looking for a good introduction to the Parkers and the Jones, Album 57: A Call to Something More is a better place to start. The reason is that Album 57 has the variety and the maturity that Album 51 is lacking. It has the story of Hannah and Samuel, Connie’s experience at college and Camilla’s struggle as a new Christian. We take a closer look at Eugene and Katrina’s marriage, have a real Jones and Parker mystery, and hear Connie go through the tragedy of losing her mother. Plus there’s the exciting trip to South America with Jeff Lewis. The album even has two new kids in town, one named Jules, who is only visiting, and one named Riley, who befriends Jay. What does Album 51 have to show for itself? A garage sale, a lost video game, a family pet curse, Mr. Jones’ chili recipe and a haircut for Eugene. It’s mostly shallow content compared to what both Album 1 and Album 57 accomplish.
In conclusion, I think The Inspiration Station is better than Whit’s Flop, but overall Album 1 does a better job exploring the town of Odyssey from different angles and introducing different ways of telling stories. Nevertheless, Adventures in Odyssey has changed over time and Album 1 has aged. Album 57 is a better representation of the best the show has to offer in current times. Obviously, once you get into the show you should definitely listen to the previous albums. But I would not recommend starting with Album 51 because it may give you the wrong impression of the show. Instead, first try Album 57: A Call to Something More if you want to know if you’ll like the show, and then head back all the way to Album 1: The Adventure Begins to start listening to it properly—from the beginning. If you become a die-hard fan, you might also want to check out Family Portraits at some point.
In AIO’s opening episode, Whit’s Flop, we meet a boy named Davey Holcomb who has a reputation for messing things up. This is particularly visible in his clumsy mistakes during baseball games. But that doesn’t stop Whit from trying to encourage him. At Whit’s End, Davey has the freedom to be creative and work on inventions. But he isn’t successful the first time. When he turns on his invention it smolders and blows a fuse. He runs away from his problems a couple times but Whit chases after him. Whit tells him about Thomas Edison who also struggled with multiple failures but used them to build his success. Similarly, a boy named Matthew Parker has to learn from failure in the first episode of Album 51, The Inspiration Station.
Matthew’s enthusiasm for inventing causes a system malfunction at Whit’s End. During this technological crisis, everything in the shop goes crazy. The emergency backup alarm sound effect which blasts from the computer sounds like it belongs on Star Trek. It’s quite dramatic compared to Davey Holcomb’s disaster in Whit’s End, which resulted because Tom Riley was using the garbage disposal at the same time. Interestingly, in this episode Matthew admits to have taken apart Whit’s End’s garbage disposal to see how it works. Matthew seems to be the high tech 21st century upgrade to Davey Holcomb. Besides the malfunction at Whit’s End, Matthew also causes problems for every member of his family. When he is confronted with his mistakes, he runs away from them, just like Davey. Thankfully, Whit shows him the Inspiration Station where he learns even people like the inventor Thomas Edison made mistakes before they became successes.
It’s interesting to note that Whit’s Flop is a single episode but its modern equivalent, The Inspiration Station, is a two-parter. The reason it takes longer is because, like many recent shows, it has two different plots. One involves Matthew; the other is all about Connie. This was probably the right decision to make in this case because, while kid characters are fundamental to the show, so are adults, and giving Connie Kendall enough airtime for the audience to get to know her is really important. The constant switching between the two plots makes the episodes seem faster-paced. Overall, The Inspiration Station is a bold and more cinematic introduction to the show than Whit’s Flop.
But an album is more than its first episode. When you compare Album 1 with Album 51, there are very clear differences. Album 1 seems to have multiple pilot episodes which, besides Whit’s Flop, could include The Life of the Party, Connie Comes to Town, The Day After Christmas, Nothing to Fear, A Member of the Family, and A Change of Hart. Every single one of those episodes introduces a brand-new kid character to the show and they don’t require you to have heard the previous episodes. The album uses a lot of one-off characters which only appear in one episode. As a result, there is very little crossover between episodes. Album 51, in contrast, has a lot of character overlap from show to show. When you compare the numbers, Album 1 has more unique characters than Album 51. But according to my rough estimates, Album 1 only has on average 6.6 characters per episode, compared to Album 51 which has about 8.9 characters in each episode. It’s not a good idea dramatically to stuff too many characters into one episode, and unfortunately Album 51 tries to include a lot of characters in each episode, especially members of the Parker family. This data means that, despite having more characters in total, episodes in Album 1 are less crowded by returning characters. Davey Holcomb, for example, only appears in Whit’s Flop. Matthew Parker appears in 8 out of the 12 episodes on Album 51.
Album 51 focuses heavily on allowing the audience to get to know the Parkers and the Jones. At least one member of the Parker family appears in every single episode. When the Parkers first appear in The Inspiration Station, all five of them are introduced in the same episode and we see them interacting together as a family. Similarly, the Jones family all appear together in Game for a Mystery. It has a more narrow focus than Album 1 and deals mostly with family life. Meanwhile, Album 1’s flaw is that it relies so heavily on one-off kid characters who have no future on the show. But it still works because it deals with actual slice of life situations. Album 1 has a maturity and a realism to it that lets it resonate with people.
While having a lot of overlapping characters from episode to episode could have been a strength, the limited perspective it gives of Adventures in Odyssey is Album 51’s downfall. Album 1 gives you a more accurate picture of the show because of its sheer variety. It has comedy, tragedy, and drama as well as peaceful times. Whit’s flaws are exposed, we learn how his wife died, we see the poverty of Foster Creek, and the topic of divorce is touched on in at least four episodes. At the same time, we hear the hilarious and touching story of Madge and Guy, the wonderful friendship between Whit and Tom, the entertaining tension between Connie and Whit, and Freddy Hart’s conversion to Christianity. Album 1 presents a wide range of genres, situations and themes which together form a great introduction to AIO and appeal to the whole family. In contrast, Album 51 has a much more limited scope in terms of content and it seems to be targeting a smaller, younger audience. Album 51’s best episode, The Jubilee Singers, gives new listeners a glimpse at what AIO can be, but still isn’t enough to bring Album 51 to the level of Album 1.
Album 51 has a good pilot and it does a good job at introducing the show’s new characters to the audience. But to be honest, if you’re looking for a good introduction to the Parkers and the Jones, Album 57: A Call to Something More is a better place to start. The reason is that Album 57 has the variety and the maturity that Album 51 is lacking. It has the story of Hannah and Samuel, Connie’s experience at college and Camilla’s struggle as a new Christian. We take a closer look at Eugene and Katrina’s marriage, have a real Jones and Parker mystery, and hear Connie go through the tragedy of losing her mother. Plus there’s the exciting trip to South America with Jeff Lewis. The album even has two new kids in town, one named Jules, who is only visiting, and one named Riley, who befriends Jay. What does Album 51 have to show for itself? A garage sale, a lost video game, a family pet curse, Mr. Jones’ chili recipe and a haircut for Eugene. It’s mostly shallow content compared to what both Album 1 and Album 57 accomplish.
In conclusion, I think The Inspiration Station is better than Whit’s Flop, but overall Album 1 does a better job exploring the town of Odyssey from different angles and introducing different ways of telling stories. Nevertheless, Adventures in Odyssey has changed over time and Album 1 has aged. Album 57 is a better representation of the best the show has to offer in current times. Obviously, once you get into the show you should definitely listen to the previous albums. But I would not recommend starting with Album 51 because it may give you the wrong impression of the show. Instead, first try Album 57: A Call to Something More if you want to know if you’ll like the show, and then head back all the way to Album 1: The Adventure Begins to start listening to it properly—from the beginning. If you become a die-hard fan, you might also want to check out Family Portraits at some point.
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