45. Flashback on the Air
An analysis of AIO flashback episodes.
By David Hilder | August 31, 2022
An analysis of AIO flashback episodes.
By David Hilder | August 31, 2022
Odyssey is at a crossroads. The fate of Whit’s End hangs in the balance. The conniving Philip Glossman, ever in search of an opportunity for personal gain, employs his subtle skills in rhetoric to assert his control over the town. If he succeeds, the kids of Odyssey will grow up in a darker place, a place without the same good influences on their imagination and Christian faith. This conflict, from the episode Recollections in Album 1, foreshadows the epic struggle between good and evil in Album 25. Though not as dramatic as its sequel, Recollections stands on its own as a compelling story and showcases the power of a flashback episode.
Without flashbacks, we would never have heard from Whit’s wife Jenny. It is Jenny Whittaker’s unrelenting spirit in her fight to save the Fillmore Recreation Center which paves the way for the building’s renovation and conversion into the place we all know as Whit’s End today. Jenny stands in the gap in this episode, standing up against the schemes of Mr. Glossman, standing up for the benefit of future generations. It’s a poignant display of servitude and self-sacrifice. When Jenny speaks, you can hear her passion and the heart she has for kids. It’s a passion that inspires her husband to take up the fight after her untimely death. Even though Jenny dies years prior to Whit’s Flop, Adventures in Odyssey’s first episode, the flashback episode Recollections enables us to hear her passion from her own lips. She comes to life for us in this story, even as she’s on her deathbed. The episode gives us a window into her tender spirit and her fierce defense of children, something we would have otherwise missed.
That’s the power of a flashback, a storytelling device that has shown up in countless episodes since. It lets us all experience and appreciate the past in a way that a simple retelling cannot. And it often gives us insight into the modern world of AIO (Sometimes even the future, for example, The Present Long Ago in Album 44). Recollections brings a pre-Whit’s End Odyssey to life in a vivid way. It shows us a time when Mr. Whittaker wasn’t the kind, grandfatherly man we know him as today, but rather a gruff, cynical retiree. A flashback episode brings across that contrast and transformation more powerfully than anything else.
That’s not to say a simple retelling of the past doesn’t have its place. The storytelling device needed really depends on the story being told. While the death of Mr. Whittaker’s wife warrants its own flashback episode, the death of Jack Allen’s first wife is simply recounted to us. In A Question About Tasha (Album 27) Jack reveals how his wife wasn’t a Christian and didn’t show a real interest in having a personal faith in Jesus. She then became ill and eventually lost the ability to speak. Jack painfully recounts his final visit to her in the hospital in which he shared with her Jesus’ parable of the workers and told her that it’s never too late to come to Jesus. Unable to speak anymore, she can only stare at him with her big, blue eyes. A single tear rolls down her cheek. Jack’s description of this scene is beautifully detailed and emotionally resonant. A flashback scene would not have done it justice. In an audio drama isn’t harder to tell what’s going on visually, especially when one of the characters can’t speak. It’s only in Jack’s retelling that we’re able to properly visualize the scene and fully understand the lasting impact it has on Jack. But for other stories, there’s nothing like a flashback to help us enter the world of the past.
The past helps us see the big picture. Suddenly the hand of God becomes much easier to discern as we think about how God has shaped the events of our lives. In a drama like Adventures in Odyssey, a flashback episode can be a very effective way to give us that perspective. The show has many flashback episodes, too many in fact to discuss in a single article. From Jimmy and Donna’s misremembered flashbacks in Two Sides to Every Story (Album 9) to the flashbacks described by Mandy’s deceased fish in Sunset Bowlawater (Album 34), there are plenty of entertaining examples out there. I’m not even going to touch on historical adventures in the Imagination Station. But we can at least discuss some of the different types of flashback episodes that have appeared over the years, some prominent examples, and talk about the purpose they serve. What makes a good flashback episode?
Many AIO flashback episodes dip into the life of a familiar character. They show us another side of them that we don’t often get in the regular, modern-day shows. These episodes give us insight into the character’s past and help us better understand their life story and humanity. Recollections falls under this category. It tells us that even the great John Avery Whittaker hasn’t always been the picture-perfect Christian behind the counter at Whit’s End. He has been on a journey of transformation throughout his life, a journey with plenty of pitfalls and dark patches. The episode Clara (Album 28) tells a similar story, detailing a rift in the friendship of Whit and Jack, and actually takes place during the events of Recollections. It serves to deepen our understanding of the pain, sorrow, and searching that Whit goes through after the loss of his wife.
Mr. Whittaker has plenty of flashback episodes, which could be a category all on their own. His boyhood days are featured in episodes such as Thank You, God (Album 3), Blackbeard’s Treasure (Album 22), The Journal of John Avery Whittaker (Season 3), No Friend Like an Old Friend (Album 62), and Young Whit and the Revolutionary Secret (Season 7). In these shows we not only witness some of his formative experiences, but we get to connect with Mr. Whittaker is a way we never otherwise would have. Don’t let the white hair and mustache fool you. Mr. Whittaker was once a child, just like the kids in AIO’s target audience. Whit’s war history comes to life in episodes like Rescue from Manatugo Point (Album 6) and Operation Digout (Album 6). In these shows we’re able to catch a glimpse of Whit’s bravery and self-sacrifice. His determination and quick thinking under pressure are inspiring examples, whether we find ourselves in a war or not. I for one hope that the Young Whit book series continues long enough that we get to read more about Whit’s war experiences in print. Episodes like The Triangle (Album 36) and Prequels of Love (Album 48) show us his developing relationship with Jenny, further filling out the portrait of Whit by showing us his romantic side. Later flashbacks include Charlotte (Season 5), The Boat People (Season 3), and others. Altogether, these Whit flashbacks give us a portrait of a life. A life that is far from over, I might add. We get a sense of John Avery Whittaker as a real, authentic person who, at every stage in life, is faithfully pursued and upheld by God.
Other main characters besides the venerable Mr. Whittaker have flashback episodes too. We hear from Tom Riley as a child in A Matter of Obedience (Album 4) when young Tom and his sister Becky are sent off into the woods to deliver some medicine. It’s hard to imagine modern parents, even the trusting parents of Odyssey, sending off their kids on such a journey where they are liable to be preyed upon by strangers. But here the flashback storytelling device saves the day. As an episode set in the 1930s, the story is perfectly plausible and actually works quite well. Tom’s wife Agnes gets her own unexpected flashback in The Pact (Album 39), which features Joanne Allen as well. What I love about this episode is that we get to see a whole different side to Agnes. In the previous album Agnes had been a victim of Novacom, and her deteriorating condition in one of the most heartbreaking parts of that saga. But now Agnes reminds us all that she had a life before her state of declining mental health, and in fact she still has one today. She still has desires and dreams. She still has distant memories that she clings to. Agnes’ actions in The Pact seem incomprehensible to our characters at first. They might be tempted to ask, “Is it really worth it trying to make sense of the probably indiscernible talk of someone in Agnes’ condition?” Yes, the answer is always yes. Everyone is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated as such. In the end they realize that there is in fact a reason for everything Agnes does. Her paintings and her search for books on the shelf and her cryptic references to “Jo” all point to something important she is trying to communicate: she has a meeting to get to, and this time she isn’t going to let her condition get in the way. And this is where the flashbacks come in. Agnes herself may not be able to fully articulate her past experiences. But through the use of flashbacks, we’re able to enter into and understand those experiences. As we meet the young Agnes, we’re able to understand her life story in a way we never appreciated before.
Bernard Walton gets his own flashback episodes, two of which are from his childhood. In The Conscientious Cross-Guard (Album 13) we learn how the influence of a heroic old school janitor inspired young Bernard to do the right thing (And probably inspired Bernard to go into the janitorial business himself). This episode, along with The Girl in the Sink (Album 42), helps to add complexity to Bernard’s character. He’s not your stereotypical curmudgeon. He has a softer side, as we also learn in Prequels of Love (Album 48). Bart Rathbone gets to show a softer side in that flashback episode too, even as he stays true to character.
Eugene Meltsner has three flashback episodes from his childhood, one of which he shares with Connie Kendall. The Champ of the Camp (Album 45) is a fun story about a prank war. Since Connie and Eugene’s playful conflicts do seem to have decreased in recent years as both characters have matured, it’s enjoyable to see that conflict revived in a flashback episode. Plus, we get insight into Connie’s childhood experience going through her parents’ divorce, as well as Eugene’s empathy for her. Also, it’s amazing to me how Connie only has one childhood flashback episode over the course of the show. It seems that most of Connie’s history has been told to us in little snippets so far, and there’s a lot of potential for future flashback episodes to fill in more detail. Maybe Jules could learn a thing or two from a Connie flashback.
Meanwhile, a minor character like Connie’s Uncle Joe gets a total of two flashbacks. And that brings us to our next category: flashback episodes that explore the life of a new or minor character. Rather than giving us fresh insights into a character we think we know, these episodes serve instead to expand the AIO universe into new directions, often allowing the writers to tell more tragic or bittersweet stories which would not be an appropriate fit for many of the major characters. Think of Buried Sin (Album 32), which features Thomas Newcastle recalling his accidental shooting of a pedestrian, or A Daughter’s Love (Season 2), in which a troubled father abandons his daughter. The AIO Club has made this type of flashback more prominent in recent years, but it’s been around since the early days of the show. Uncle Joe’s first flashback East Winds, Raining (Album 12) tells of his and his friend Sam’s futile attempts to warn Pearl Harbor of the Japanese attack. It teaches an important history lesson even as it ends in a national tragedy, as well as a deeply personal one. It surprised me to learn that The War Hero (Album 20), another Uncle Joe flashback, was originally intended to be a Whit war story, but the death of actor Hal Smith made that impossible. So Whit was replaced with Uncle Joe, who is ashamed of his actions in the war in this episode and views himself as a coward. It obviously would have changed Whit’s character quite a bit to have him desert his military post like Uncle Joe does in the episode, and would have cast his whole service in the war in a new light. Looking back on it now, it seems like Uncle Joe was the right fit for this flashback.
Never for Nothing (Album 54) is another flashback episode featuring a minor character, and again it takes on a somber tone. Grandma Lucia tells a story in which her childhood friend Esperanza dies while trying to show kindness to a bully. Young Juan Reyes does not deserve her kindness, but it inspires him to turn to faith and eventually become one of AIO’s resident pastors. Greater Love (Album 18) tells a similarly tragic story about the death of Timmy Riley, who dies saving a friend named P. D. Barnes from drowning. Both episodes give us a powerful example of the power of love and sacrifice. We learn more about Timmy in Malachi’s Message (Album 32) and Fletcher’s Rebellion (Album 34), two shows which are more out-there and speculative. Angels in suits and mysterious other worlds are not typically part of our everyday experience. Interestingly, Malachi’s Message is not a flashback episode. The story is focused on Tom Riley in the present and how he is impacted by the past. Tom gets so much joy out of finding and reading Timmy’s diary, a reaction that would have been partially lost if we transitioned from Tom reading the diary out loud to a full-fledged flashback. Similarly to Jack Allen’s retelling of his wife’s death, there is more emotional resonance in Tom’s personal reflection on the diary. Fletcher’s Rebellion, on the other hand, would sound a little unbelievable as a simple retelling. It’s only when we experience it as a flashback that the possibility of kids entering the world of Marus begins to sound less unthinkable.
Flashbacks are all about bringing distant times and places to life. And when we look back at a character’s past, it often makes that character’s actions in the present more understandable. That’s most clearly at work in the next category of flashbacks: episodes which pull together disparate scenes from various times and piece them together into a cohesive narrative. They don’t always give us new flashback material, but rather shape scenes and conversations we’ve already heard. They can be very rewarding when they’re done well. The quintessential example is The Time Has Come (Album 25) in which Eugene Meltsner uses the Imagination Station to look back on his life. We get to hear him be confronted with the truths of the Christian faith, with his own mortality, with the departure of his mentor and father figure Mr. Whittaker, and with the breakdown in his relationship with Katrina. He’s brought to his knees in a profound and powerful moment of realization. At last Eugene accepts Jesus, putting his full faith and trust in him. This series of flashbacks has to be one of the best sequences in all of Adventures in Odyssey. It’s enough to move you to tears. It’s big and dramatic, but it’s also touchingly personal.
Eugene’s dramatic conversion sequence probably draws inspiration from Connie Kendall’s own conversion in the episodes Connie, Parts 1-2 (Album 3). Though the Imagination Station hadn’t been invented yet to help with her flashbacks, Connie spends her bus ride back to California recalling how she learned about the fallen state of humanity in Promises, Promises (Album 1), how Whit calmed himself under pressure by quoting the Bible in Stormy Weather (Album 2), and about the hope Christians have in life after death in Karen (Album 3). Connie realizes her deep love for her father figure Whit, and recognizes the influence his Christian faith has had on her thinking, always pointing her towards God. These flashbacks are all well-chosen and remind us of God’s hand on Connie’s life, directing her path towards a relationship with him.
Connie and Eugene’s flashback episodes in which they accept Jesus are expertly crafted. Putting together scenes from different times and places is not the easiest thing to do. My guess is that it’s probably the hardest type of flashback episode to create. Silent Night (Album 45) is in this same category of drawing together different pieces from the past, though these Christmas flashbacks are new material rather than recaps. But somehow this episode doesn’t have the same resonance as your typical flashback episode should. It doesn’t use its scenes to form a single, cohesive plot. Whit feels sorry for himself for spending Christmas alone and the episode follows his wandering mind, rather than having any real goal in mind. Then he simply snaps out of it and moves on. In short, it doesn’t have the elements of a story with a clear goal, conflict, climax, and resolution. Great Expectations (Album 56) makes a better attempt at bringing together various parts of Whit’s life, but again it seems to fall short. It feels incomplete. Like George Bailey of It’s a Wonderful Life, in this episode Whit has lots of plans for his future, but somehow life keeps getting in the way. But whereas George’s story has a dramatic turning point and resolution where he learns the value of his simple, small-town life, Whit’s story in this episode just sort of peters out. He gives Emily some wisdom about how it’s important to have dreams but that our dreams don’t always work out because God has other plans. The ending is more didactic than dramatic. Though it’s a good lesson to learn, from a narrative angle it doesn’t land as a full story.
In contrast, The Triangle (Album 36) is a Whit flashback episode which is clearly a full story with all the elements in place. Whit falls in love with Jenny and must overcome her initial dislike of him and his friend Jack’s love for her before he can have her. Both conflicts are resolved in a satisfying way. But of course, this is a straightforward flashback sequence rather than a compilation of disparate parts, which is easier to make cohere. In addition to giving us insight into the life of a familiar character, I think the Triangle stands out for another reason. It could be placed in another category of flashback episode: the flashback that fills in a gap. If you remember, a number of albums earlier in For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll (Album 29) Jack makes a comment that Whit used to steal away his girlfriends, which is what happened in the case of Jenny. The Triangle takes that line and fills in all the details, turning it into a much-loved episode. As fans, we notice gaps. And so flashback episodes which fill in gaps are the most likely to be anticipated by the fans, and therefore are greatly appreciated by the fans when the episodes finally do get made. When Eugene returns to Odyssey after his escape-from-Novacom world tour, the episode Prisoners of Fear (Album 45) fills in the gap to explain more about what he was up to. Maybe Eugene’s other overseas adventures could be included in a book series one day.
You might have a few ideas about gaps you’d like to be filled in future flashback episodes. Whether it’s Jason Whittaker’s spy adventures in Hong Kong, the story behind Wooton once scaring away a moose with bottle rockets, Olivia Parker’s secret Room of Consequences trip in Album 58, or more episodes from Connie’s childhood, there’s a lot of potential for future flashback stories. But one gap in particular stands out to me and it has ever since Legacy (Album 62) aired in 2017. In this episode we find out that Tom Riley passed away some years back. When did it happen? How did it happen? We don’t know. I wasn’t a fan of how this was handled because it deprives listeners of the chance to properly grieve a beloved character. It makes it seem like Tom’s death isn’t an important enough event to warrant an episode. But we all know that isn’t true. From a writer’s standpoint, Tom didn’t have to die. He could have just faded away as a character. For all we know, faded characters like Bernard, Edwin, and Bart are still alive and well in another part of Odyssey. But because the decision was made to have Tom die, it makes sense that we will one day get a more detailed explanation. With a flashback episode, there’s a chance to give Tom the send-off he deserves. Whit could take us back to the circumstances of Tom’s death and show our characters reacting and paying tribute to Tom’s life. It could explain what happened to his wife Agnes too. I think we can all imagine Whit visiting her now in Hillingdale Haven on a regular basis. Maybe P. D. Barnes could reappear once more and pay respects to the man whose son saved his life all those years ago. A flashback episode about Tom’s passing could be very touching.
Flashbacks give the characters of Adventures in Odyssey a depth they wouldn’t otherwise have. They help us understand them as realistic, complicated people with a past that both shapes and stands in contrast to their present. They tell stories of pain, suffering, and heartbreak through a big picture lens, helping us to understand that, in the grand scheme of things, God works all things together for good. To warrant a flashback, the flashback has to give us something that we wouldn’t otherwise get from a simple retelling. Like the Imagination Station, a flashback lets us experience and live through events alongside our characters. They bring these moments from the past to life—not for the old time’s sake, but with a particular dramatic purpose in mind. What do all these flashback episodes have in common? They come in all shapes and sizes. Some last only for a scene and some an entire episode. Some feature well-known characters, others one-time characters. But ultimately, we can evaluate a flashback episode on the same basis that we would evaluate any other episode. It always comes down to this: is it a good story? Is it worth telling and is it well-told?
Adventures in Odyssey gets it right more often than not, in fact far more often than not. We can be thankful for all the amazing flashback episodes we’ve gotten over these many years. These episodes communicate to us that God can use our past for his glory in ways we could never imagine. Rather than bulldozing the past like Mr. Glossman, we need to keep it in our minds. In License to Deprive (Album 50), historian Abraham Darrow reminds us to respect American history. There’s a lot we can learn from the people of the past. And we need to respect our own personal history too, remembering the lessons of the past that we’ve lived through ourselves. As Jason says in Memories of Jerry (Album 27), “Never forget, Plato was wrong. I won't forget, Jerry. I won't forget.” And neither should we.
Without flashbacks, we would never have heard from Whit’s wife Jenny. It is Jenny Whittaker’s unrelenting spirit in her fight to save the Fillmore Recreation Center which paves the way for the building’s renovation and conversion into the place we all know as Whit’s End today. Jenny stands in the gap in this episode, standing up against the schemes of Mr. Glossman, standing up for the benefit of future generations. It’s a poignant display of servitude and self-sacrifice. When Jenny speaks, you can hear her passion and the heart she has for kids. It’s a passion that inspires her husband to take up the fight after her untimely death. Even though Jenny dies years prior to Whit’s Flop, Adventures in Odyssey’s first episode, the flashback episode Recollections enables us to hear her passion from her own lips. She comes to life for us in this story, even as she’s on her deathbed. The episode gives us a window into her tender spirit and her fierce defense of children, something we would have otherwise missed.
That’s the power of a flashback, a storytelling device that has shown up in countless episodes since. It lets us all experience and appreciate the past in a way that a simple retelling cannot. And it often gives us insight into the modern world of AIO (Sometimes even the future, for example, The Present Long Ago in Album 44). Recollections brings a pre-Whit’s End Odyssey to life in a vivid way. It shows us a time when Mr. Whittaker wasn’t the kind, grandfatherly man we know him as today, but rather a gruff, cynical retiree. A flashback episode brings across that contrast and transformation more powerfully than anything else.
That’s not to say a simple retelling of the past doesn’t have its place. The storytelling device needed really depends on the story being told. While the death of Mr. Whittaker’s wife warrants its own flashback episode, the death of Jack Allen’s first wife is simply recounted to us. In A Question About Tasha (Album 27) Jack reveals how his wife wasn’t a Christian and didn’t show a real interest in having a personal faith in Jesus. She then became ill and eventually lost the ability to speak. Jack painfully recounts his final visit to her in the hospital in which he shared with her Jesus’ parable of the workers and told her that it’s never too late to come to Jesus. Unable to speak anymore, she can only stare at him with her big, blue eyes. A single tear rolls down her cheek. Jack’s description of this scene is beautifully detailed and emotionally resonant. A flashback scene would not have done it justice. In an audio drama isn’t harder to tell what’s going on visually, especially when one of the characters can’t speak. It’s only in Jack’s retelling that we’re able to properly visualize the scene and fully understand the lasting impact it has on Jack. But for other stories, there’s nothing like a flashback to help us enter the world of the past.
The past helps us see the big picture. Suddenly the hand of God becomes much easier to discern as we think about how God has shaped the events of our lives. In a drama like Adventures in Odyssey, a flashback episode can be a very effective way to give us that perspective. The show has many flashback episodes, too many in fact to discuss in a single article. From Jimmy and Donna’s misremembered flashbacks in Two Sides to Every Story (Album 9) to the flashbacks described by Mandy’s deceased fish in Sunset Bowlawater (Album 34), there are plenty of entertaining examples out there. I’m not even going to touch on historical adventures in the Imagination Station. But we can at least discuss some of the different types of flashback episodes that have appeared over the years, some prominent examples, and talk about the purpose they serve. What makes a good flashback episode?
Many AIO flashback episodes dip into the life of a familiar character. They show us another side of them that we don’t often get in the regular, modern-day shows. These episodes give us insight into the character’s past and help us better understand their life story and humanity. Recollections falls under this category. It tells us that even the great John Avery Whittaker hasn’t always been the picture-perfect Christian behind the counter at Whit’s End. He has been on a journey of transformation throughout his life, a journey with plenty of pitfalls and dark patches. The episode Clara (Album 28) tells a similar story, detailing a rift in the friendship of Whit and Jack, and actually takes place during the events of Recollections. It serves to deepen our understanding of the pain, sorrow, and searching that Whit goes through after the loss of his wife.
Mr. Whittaker has plenty of flashback episodes, which could be a category all on their own. His boyhood days are featured in episodes such as Thank You, God (Album 3), Blackbeard’s Treasure (Album 22), The Journal of John Avery Whittaker (Season 3), No Friend Like an Old Friend (Album 62), and Young Whit and the Revolutionary Secret (Season 7). In these shows we not only witness some of his formative experiences, but we get to connect with Mr. Whittaker is a way we never otherwise would have. Don’t let the white hair and mustache fool you. Mr. Whittaker was once a child, just like the kids in AIO’s target audience. Whit’s war history comes to life in episodes like Rescue from Manatugo Point (Album 6) and Operation Digout (Album 6). In these shows we’re able to catch a glimpse of Whit’s bravery and self-sacrifice. His determination and quick thinking under pressure are inspiring examples, whether we find ourselves in a war or not. I for one hope that the Young Whit book series continues long enough that we get to read more about Whit’s war experiences in print. Episodes like The Triangle (Album 36) and Prequels of Love (Album 48) show us his developing relationship with Jenny, further filling out the portrait of Whit by showing us his romantic side. Later flashbacks include Charlotte (Season 5), The Boat People (Season 3), and others. Altogether, these Whit flashbacks give us a portrait of a life. A life that is far from over, I might add. We get a sense of John Avery Whittaker as a real, authentic person who, at every stage in life, is faithfully pursued and upheld by God.
Other main characters besides the venerable Mr. Whittaker have flashback episodes too. We hear from Tom Riley as a child in A Matter of Obedience (Album 4) when young Tom and his sister Becky are sent off into the woods to deliver some medicine. It’s hard to imagine modern parents, even the trusting parents of Odyssey, sending off their kids on such a journey where they are liable to be preyed upon by strangers. But here the flashback storytelling device saves the day. As an episode set in the 1930s, the story is perfectly plausible and actually works quite well. Tom’s wife Agnes gets her own unexpected flashback in The Pact (Album 39), which features Joanne Allen as well. What I love about this episode is that we get to see a whole different side to Agnes. In the previous album Agnes had been a victim of Novacom, and her deteriorating condition in one of the most heartbreaking parts of that saga. But now Agnes reminds us all that she had a life before her state of declining mental health, and in fact she still has one today. She still has desires and dreams. She still has distant memories that she clings to. Agnes’ actions in The Pact seem incomprehensible to our characters at first. They might be tempted to ask, “Is it really worth it trying to make sense of the probably indiscernible talk of someone in Agnes’ condition?” Yes, the answer is always yes. Everyone is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated as such. In the end they realize that there is in fact a reason for everything Agnes does. Her paintings and her search for books on the shelf and her cryptic references to “Jo” all point to something important she is trying to communicate: she has a meeting to get to, and this time she isn’t going to let her condition get in the way. And this is where the flashbacks come in. Agnes herself may not be able to fully articulate her past experiences. But through the use of flashbacks, we’re able to enter into and understand those experiences. As we meet the young Agnes, we’re able to understand her life story in a way we never appreciated before.
Bernard Walton gets his own flashback episodes, two of which are from his childhood. In The Conscientious Cross-Guard (Album 13) we learn how the influence of a heroic old school janitor inspired young Bernard to do the right thing (And probably inspired Bernard to go into the janitorial business himself). This episode, along with The Girl in the Sink (Album 42), helps to add complexity to Bernard’s character. He’s not your stereotypical curmudgeon. He has a softer side, as we also learn in Prequels of Love (Album 48). Bart Rathbone gets to show a softer side in that flashback episode too, even as he stays true to character.
Eugene Meltsner has three flashback episodes from his childhood, one of which he shares with Connie Kendall. The Champ of the Camp (Album 45) is a fun story about a prank war. Since Connie and Eugene’s playful conflicts do seem to have decreased in recent years as both characters have matured, it’s enjoyable to see that conflict revived in a flashback episode. Plus, we get insight into Connie’s childhood experience going through her parents’ divorce, as well as Eugene’s empathy for her. Also, it’s amazing to me how Connie only has one childhood flashback episode over the course of the show. It seems that most of Connie’s history has been told to us in little snippets so far, and there’s a lot of potential for future flashback episodes to fill in more detail. Maybe Jules could learn a thing or two from a Connie flashback.
Meanwhile, a minor character like Connie’s Uncle Joe gets a total of two flashbacks. And that brings us to our next category: flashback episodes that explore the life of a new or minor character. Rather than giving us fresh insights into a character we think we know, these episodes serve instead to expand the AIO universe into new directions, often allowing the writers to tell more tragic or bittersweet stories which would not be an appropriate fit for many of the major characters. Think of Buried Sin (Album 32), which features Thomas Newcastle recalling his accidental shooting of a pedestrian, or A Daughter’s Love (Season 2), in which a troubled father abandons his daughter. The AIO Club has made this type of flashback more prominent in recent years, but it’s been around since the early days of the show. Uncle Joe’s first flashback East Winds, Raining (Album 12) tells of his and his friend Sam’s futile attempts to warn Pearl Harbor of the Japanese attack. It teaches an important history lesson even as it ends in a national tragedy, as well as a deeply personal one. It surprised me to learn that The War Hero (Album 20), another Uncle Joe flashback, was originally intended to be a Whit war story, but the death of actor Hal Smith made that impossible. So Whit was replaced with Uncle Joe, who is ashamed of his actions in the war in this episode and views himself as a coward. It obviously would have changed Whit’s character quite a bit to have him desert his military post like Uncle Joe does in the episode, and would have cast his whole service in the war in a new light. Looking back on it now, it seems like Uncle Joe was the right fit for this flashback.
Never for Nothing (Album 54) is another flashback episode featuring a minor character, and again it takes on a somber tone. Grandma Lucia tells a story in which her childhood friend Esperanza dies while trying to show kindness to a bully. Young Juan Reyes does not deserve her kindness, but it inspires him to turn to faith and eventually become one of AIO’s resident pastors. Greater Love (Album 18) tells a similarly tragic story about the death of Timmy Riley, who dies saving a friend named P. D. Barnes from drowning. Both episodes give us a powerful example of the power of love and sacrifice. We learn more about Timmy in Malachi’s Message (Album 32) and Fletcher’s Rebellion (Album 34), two shows which are more out-there and speculative. Angels in suits and mysterious other worlds are not typically part of our everyday experience. Interestingly, Malachi’s Message is not a flashback episode. The story is focused on Tom Riley in the present and how he is impacted by the past. Tom gets so much joy out of finding and reading Timmy’s diary, a reaction that would have been partially lost if we transitioned from Tom reading the diary out loud to a full-fledged flashback. Similarly to Jack Allen’s retelling of his wife’s death, there is more emotional resonance in Tom’s personal reflection on the diary. Fletcher’s Rebellion, on the other hand, would sound a little unbelievable as a simple retelling. It’s only when we experience it as a flashback that the possibility of kids entering the world of Marus begins to sound less unthinkable.
Flashbacks are all about bringing distant times and places to life. And when we look back at a character’s past, it often makes that character’s actions in the present more understandable. That’s most clearly at work in the next category of flashbacks: episodes which pull together disparate scenes from various times and piece them together into a cohesive narrative. They don’t always give us new flashback material, but rather shape scenes and conversations we’ve already heard. They can be very rewarding when they’re done well. The quintessential example is The Time Has Come (Album 25) in which Eugene Meltsner uses the Imagination Station to look back on his life. We get to hear him be confronted with the truths of the Christian faith, with his own mortality, with the departure of his mentor and father figure Mr. Whittaker, and with the breakdown in his relationship with Katrina. He’s brought to his knees in a profound and powerful moment of realization. At last Eugene accepts Jesus, putting his full faith and trust in him. This series of flashbacks has to be one of the best sequences in all of Adventures in Odyssey. It’s enough to move you to tears. It’s big and dramatic, but it’s also touchingly personal.
Eugene’s dramatic conversion sequence probably draws inspiration from Connie Kendall’s own conversion in the episodes Connie, Parts 1-2 (Album 3). Though the Imagination Station hadn’t been invented yet to help with her flashbacks, Connie spends her bus ride back to California recalling how she learned about the fallen state of humanity in Promises, Promises (Album 1), how Whit calmed himself under pressure by quoting the Bible in Stormy Weather (Album 2), and about the hope Christians have in life after death in Karen (Album 3). Connie realizes her deep love for her father figure Whit, and recognizes the influence his Christian faith has had on her thinking, always pointing her towards God. These flashbacks are all well-chosen and remind us of God’s hand on Connie’s life, directing her path towards a relationship with him.
Connie and Eugene’s flashback episodes in which they accept Jesus are expertly crafted. Putting together scenes from different times and places is not the easiest thing to do. My guess is that it’s probably the hardest type of flashback episode to create. Silent Night (Album 45) is in this same category of drawing together different pieces from the past, though these Christmas flashbacks are new material rather than recaps. But somehow this episode doesn’t have the same resonance as your typical flashback episode should. It doesn’t use its scenes to form a single, cohesive plot. Whit feels sorry for himself for spending Christmas alone and the episode follows his wandering mind, rather than having any real goal in mind. Then he simply snaps out of it and moves on. In short, it doesn’t have the elements of a story with a clear goal, conflict, climax, and resolution. Great Expectations (Album 56) makes a better attempt at bringing together various parts of Whit’s life, but again it seems to fall short. It feels incomplete. Like George Bailey of It’s a Wonderful Life, in this episode Whit has lots of plans for his future, but somehow life keeps getting in the way. But whereas George’s story has a dramatic turning point and resolution where he learns the value of his simple, small-town life, Whit’s story in this episode just sort of peters out. He gives Emily some wisdom about how it’s important to have dreams but that our dreams don’t always work out because God has other plans. The ending is more didactic than dramatic. Though it’s a good lesson to learn, from a narrative angle it doesn’t land as a full story.
In contrast, The Triangle (Album 36) is a Whit flashback episode which is clearly a full story with all the elements in place. Whit falls in love with Jenny and must overcome her initial dislike of him and his friend Jack’s love for her before he can have her. Both conflicts are resolved in a satisfying way. But of course, this is a straightforward flashback sequence rather than a compilation of disparate parts, which is easier to make cohere. In addition to giving us insight into the life of a familiar character, I think the Triangle stands out for another reason. It could be placed in another category of flashback episode: the flashback that fills in a gap. If you remember, a number of albums earlier in For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll (Album 29) Jack makes a comment that Whit used to steal away his girlfriends, which is what happened in the case of Jenny. The Triangle takes that line and fills in all the details, turning it into a much-loved episode. As fans, we notice gaps. And so flashback episodes which fill in gaps are the most likely to be anticipated by the fans, and therefore are greatly appreciated by the fans when the episodes finally do get made. When Eugene returns to Odyssey after his escape-from-Novacom world tour, the episode Prisoners of Fear (Album 45) fills in the gap to explain more about what he was up to. Maybe Eugene’s other overseas adventures could be included in a book series one day.
You might have a few ideas about gaps you’d like to be filled in future flashback episodes. Whether it’s Jason Whittaker’s spy adventures in Hong Kong, the story behind Wooton once scaring away a moose with bottle rockets, Olivia Parker’s secret Room of Consequences trip in Album 58, or more episodes from Connie’s childhood, there’s a lot of potential for future flashback stories. But one gap in particular stands out to me and it has ever since Legacy (Album 62) aired in 2017. In this episode we find out that Tom Riley passed away some years back. When did it happen? How did it happen? We don’t know. I wasn’t a fan of how this was handled because it deprives listeners of the chance to properly grieve a beloved character. It makes it seem like Tom’s death isn’t an important enough event to warrant an episode. But we all know that isn’t true. From a writer’s standpoint, Tom didn’t have to die. He could have just faded away as a character. For all we know, faded characters like Bernard, Edwin, and Bart are still alive and well in another part of Odyssey. But because the decision was made to have Tom die, it makes sense that we will one day get a more detailed explanation. With a flashback episode, there’s a chance to give Tom the send-off he deserves. Whit could take us back to the circumstances of Tom’s death and show our characters reacting and paying tribute to Tom’s life. It could explain what happened to his wife Agnes too. I think we can all imagine Whit visiting her now in Hillingdale Haven on a regular basis. Maybe P. D. Barnes could reappear once more and pay respects to the man whose son saved his life all those years ago. A flashback episode about Tom’s passing could be very touching.
Flashbacks give the characters of Adventures in Odyssey a depth they wouldn’t otherwise have. They help us understand them as realistic, complicated people with a past that both shapes and stands in contrast to their present. They tell stories of pain, suffering, and heartbreak through a big picture lens, helping us to understand that, in the grand scheme of things, God works all things together for good. To warrant a flashback, the flashback has to give us something that we wouldn’t otherwise get from a simple retelling. Like the Imagination Station, a flashback lets us experience and live through events alongside our characters. They bring these moments from the past to life—not for the old time’s sake, but with a particular dramatic purpose in mind. What do all these flashback episodes have in common? They come in all shapes and sizes. Some last only for a scene and some an entire episode. Some feature well-known characters, others one-time characters. But ultimately, we can evaluate a flashback episode on the same basis that we would evaluate any other episode. It always comes down to this: is it a good story? Is it worth telling and is it well-told?
Adventures in Odyssey gets it right more often than not, in fact far more often than not. We can be thankful for all the amazing flashback episodes we’ve gotten over these many years. These episodes communicate to us that God can use our past for his glory in ways we could never imagine. Rather than bulldozing the past like Mr. Glossman, we need to keep it in our minds. In License to Deprive (Album 50), historian Abraham Darrow reminds us to respect American history. There’s a lot we can learn from the people of the past. And we need to respect our own personal history too, remembering the lessons of the past that we’ve lived through ourselves. As Jason says in Memories of Jerry (Album 27), “Never forget, Plato was wrong. I won't forget, Jerry. I won't forget.” And neither should we.
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