6: Twists and Returns
A discussion on recent returning characters.
By David Hilder | June 21, 2012
A discussion on recent returning characters.
By David Hilder | June 21, 2012
Paul McCusker has said “the only two characters that will not be heard again on Adventures in Odyssey will be Glossman and Blackgaard.” Ever. And while I believe we shouldn’t be hearing again from Dr. Blackgaard, because he’s dead and it would be beyond cheating at this point to have him return again in some form, I can’t say the same for Phillip Glossman. He’s a bit of an interesting character who I’d like to hear from occasionally. And even though McCusker says he hates to voice Glossman, he still allowed him to be heard on Album 50. Anything is possible in Odyssey. The way AIO has been going lately, old characters seem to unexpectedly reappear, even when the fans have been assured that they will not be returning.
Album 51: Take it from the Top and Album 52: Cause and Effect were very focused on the new characters, in particular the Parker and the Jones families. As a result, the following albums have been a bit of a pushback to this short-lived trend of ignoring older characters. We’ve actually had quite a few people from the past in recent episodes. It’s almost starting to feel like the 20th anniversary B-TV Live show where old characters’ voices randomly showed up at Whit’s End just to say hi, such as George and Jimmy Barclay, Jack Davis, Lucy Cunningham-Schultz, and Robyn Jacobs. But not all homecomings are created equal.
The first album to start leaning towards this tendency was The Green Ring Conspiracy. The mention of the name Monty Whittaker at the end of Part 1 was a big and exciting cliffhanger at the time. But what with him being unconscious or missing for most of the saga, his relevance to the plot wasn’t nearly as meaningful or breathtaking as anticipated. He did have a part in solving the mystery, but his character could have easily been replaced by a new person. While the idea of having Monty return is fun and interesting, the way it was done didn’t seem to pay off. There was no real reason why it had to be Monty. His part could have easily been played by a previously unknown character. The only part with him that I really liked was when he mentioned having gone fishing with Whit. I can’t get enough of those reverences to past episodes.
Monty’s reappearance in Odyssey would have felt more significant if he hadn’t immediately left after Album 53 to fight crime somewhere else. His return felt like a quick, unnecessary and forgettable cameo. The only new thing we learned about him was his occupation. The writers should have kept him around for an episode or two in Album 54, especially for the trial of Benjamin Trask, to develop him more into something beyond an almost one dimensional character. But even a mention of him post-Green Ring Conspiracy would have at least been something. But we got nothing. No meaningful conversation between him and Whit, and no real resolution for him.
There was also the emergence of Jason, another one of the Whittakers who happens to be involved in a government spy agency. With his epic disappearance during an explosion underneath Whit’s End in Album 50, I was surprised they brought him back to Odyssey so quickly after just two albums without him. So it made sense that he was undercover. But to me the Stiletto sounded so close to Jason’ voice I recognized him instantly. This could have been because I had a suspicion the Stiletto was either Jason or Richard Maxwell. And since Jason isn’t supposed to be a talented voice actor, unlike Townsend Coleman who has a wide range of voices, it makes sense that the Stiletto would sound similar to Jason’s voice. I’m still waiting for Richard’s return. With any luck he will show up during a saga more intense than the Green Ring was.
Anyway, despite Jason’s quick return it was more justifiable than Monty’s. It acted as a precursor to his adventure in London. And by the time that ended he had shown some real character development, which is always important. His appearance in The Green Ring Conspiracy wasn’t just a split-second glimpse at his action-packed life. It was actually relevant to what happened later on. That’s what gives it meaning. The themes of the London three-parter also tied nicely back to Album 53, even down to the title, “The Labyrinth,” which references Whit’s phrase: “the labyrinth of lies.” Jason’s weariness of deception is so much more evident and powerful because of these earlier episodes.
Dale and Anne Jacobs both showed up in The Labyrinth as well. It was a nice surprise, if not a bit of a coincidence. When I first heard these shows were going to be set in London and not Hong Kong, as suggested by the end of the Green Ring Conspiracy, I was a little disappointed. But the Jacobs’ return seemed to make up for that. And the British accents didn’t hurt. AIO has changed since the days of Waylaid in the Windy City, which was supposed to be set in London but was changed to Chicago because of the lack of authentic British actors they had available to them. If they can set episodes in London now, perhaps they’ll keep progressing and be able to do Hong Kong in the future.
Dale and Anne were interesting to listen to and they do have a part to play in the plot, even if it’s not an enormous part. Anne seemed to be more of the comic relief, but I don’t feel that was overdone, especially when compared to recent AIO mysteries. Dale’s conversation with Jason at the end was unforgettable. It was quite moving. Jason couldn’t have had that conversation with Sue or anyone else he met in London. It had to be with an old character we all know and love, and Dale worked perfectly. And the announcement that Dale Jacobs will be returning again “soon” in an upcoming episode is really encouraging. His cameo was not in vain. It wouldn’t make sense for him to quickly appear and then disappear just as quickly. As you can most likely tell, I prefer more of a process than having sudden changes in the show’s focus.
In the season finale of Album 55 there was of course the arrival of Robert Mitchell, who for some reason hadn’t sold his condo before he went to train for the FBI in Budapest for four years. In the past writer Kathy Buchanan had been very adamant that Mitch was not going to be coming back. But apparently the fans were not convinced. So they had to be told again. Mitch was brought back to marry Maureen to finally force the fans to accept once and for all there was no chance of him ever marrying Connie. But the way they did it, making the audience first suspect Maureen was a villain, seemed to lessen the impact of the conclusion. It almost left the door open for Connie and Mitch’s relationship. Some people are still hoping that Mitch may break up with Maureen before the wedding. Even Connie suggests they are a mismatched couple. And if Mitch’s last engagement didn’t work out, it’s not totally unreasonable to think this one may not last either. Mitch’s return was obviously done in order to put the subject of Mitch to rest. But for some it has only raised more concerns and possibilities. It was done well, but it could have been rethought to be even more of an irrefutable ending. This episode underestimates just how desperate some are for Connie and Mitch to get married.
Another return we have recently heard about is Joanne Allen in Album 56: The Grand Design. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Adventures in Odyssey for bringing Joanne back again. The Allens are among my favorite characters. I know she and Jack were originally supposed to be in The Labyrinth, instead of Dale and Anne Jacobs, so I’m glad she’ll be in Album 56. Hopefully she will be able to play a meaningful part. And of course Jason is finally returning to the town of Odyssey in this album as well. It would be nice to have him as a regular again in the more slice-of-life type shows.
We’ve had quite a number of returns of old characters in these last few albums. Some have been impactful, and others have been uninteresting or irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. Returning characters don’t just need something to do. They need something memorable to do, something that has lasting importance and may influence future choices and situations. It should facilitate some kind of character development or at least illustrate a really important Christian message for the fans. I’m okay with people like Harlow Doyle and Phillip Glossman having “cameos.” But for the more important characters, their appearances should have a certain substance that can never be considered something as trivial as a cameo.
Album 51: Take it from the Top and Album 52: Cause and Effect were very focused on the new characters, in particular the Parker and the Jones families. As a result, the following albums have been a bit of a pushback to this short-lived trend of ignoring older characters. We’ve actually had quite a few people from the past in recent episodes. It’s almost starting to feel like the 20th anniversary B-TV Live show where old characters’ voices randomly showed up at Whit’s End just to say hi, such as George and Jimmy Barclay, Jack Davis, Lucy Cunningham-Schultz, and Robyn Jacobs. But not all homecomings are created equal.
The first album to start leaning towards this tendency was The Green Ring Conspiracy. The mention of the name Monty Whittaker at the end of Part 1 was a big and exciting cliffhanger at the time. But what with him being unconscious or missing for most of the saga, his relevance to the plot wasn’t nearly as meaningful or breathtaking as anticipated. He did have a part in solving the mystery, but his character could have easily been replaced by a new person. While the idea of having Monty return is fun and interesting, the way it was done didn’t seem to pay off. There was no real reason why it had to be Monty. His part could have easily been played by a previously unknown character. The only part with him that I really liked was when he mentioned having gone fishing with Whit. I can’t get enough of those reverences to past episodes.
Monty’s reappearance in Odyssey would have felt more significant if he hadn’t immediately left after Album 53 to fight crime somewhere else. His return felt like a quick, unnecessary and forgettable cameo. The only new thing we learned about him was his occupation. The writers should have kept him around for an episode or two in Album 54, especially for the trial of Benjamin Trask, to develop him more into something beyond an almost one dimensional character. But even a mention of him post-Green Ring Conspiracy would have at least been something. But we got nothing. No meaningful conversation between him and Whit, and no real resolution for him.
There was also the emergence of Jason, another one of the Whittakers who happens to be involved in a government spy agency. With his epic disappearance during an explosion underneath Whit’s End in Album 50, I was surprised they brought him back to Odyssey so quickly after just two albums without him. So it made sense that he was undercover. But to me the Stiletto sounded so close to Jason’ voice I recognized him instantly. This could have been because I had a suspicion the Stiletto was either Jason or Richard Maxwell. And since Jason isn’t supposed to be a talented voice actor, unlike Townsend Coleman who has a wide range of voices, it makes sense that the Stiletto would sound similar to Jason’s voice. I’m still waiting for Richard’s return. With any luck he will show up during a saga more intense than the Green Ring was.
Anyway, despite Jason’s quick return it was more justifiable than Monty’s. It acted as a precursor to his adventure in London. And by the time that ended he had shown some real character development, which is always important. His appearance in The Green Ring Conspiracy wasn’t just a split-second glimpse at his action-packed life. It was actually relevant to what happened later on. That’s what gives it meaning. The themes of the London three-parter also tied nicely back to Album 53, even down to the title, “The Labyrinth,” which references Whit’s phrase: “the labyrinth of lies.” Jason’s weariness of deception is so much more evident and powerful because of these earlier episodes.
Dale and Anne Jacobs both showed up in The Labyrinth as well. It was a nice surprise, if not a bit of a coincidence. When I first heard these shows were going to be set in London and not Hong Kong, as suggested by the end of the Green Ring Conspiracy, I was a little disappointed. But the Jacobs’ return seemed to make up for that. And the British accents didn’t hurt. AIO has changed since the days of Waylaid in the Windy City, which was supposed to be set in London but was changed to Chicago because of the lack of authentic British actors they had available to them. If they can set episodes in London now, perhaps they’ll keep progressing and be able to do Hong Kong in the future.
Dale and Anne were interesting to listen to and they do have a part to play in the plot, even if it’s not an enormous part. Anne seemed to be more of the comic relief, but I don’t feel that was overdone, especially when compared to recent AIO mysteries. Dale’s conversation with Jason at the end was unforgettable. It was quite moving. Jason couldn’t have had that conversation with Sue or anyone else he met in London. It had to be with an old character we all know and love, and Dale worked perfectly. And the announcement that Dale Jacobs will be returning again “soon” in an upcoming episode is really encouraging. His cameo was not in vain. It wouldn’t make sense for him to quickly appear and then disappear just as quickly. As you can most likely tell, I prefer more of a process than having sudden changes in the show’s focus.
In the season finale of Album 55 there was of course the arrival of Robert Mitchell, who for some reason hadn’t sold his condo before he went to train for the FBI in Budapest for four years. In the past writer Kathy Buchanan had been very adamant that Mitch was not going to be coming back. But apparently the fans were not convinced. So they had to be told again. Mitch was brought back to marry Maureen to finally force the fans to accept once and for all there was no chance of him ever marrying Connie. But the way they did it, making the audience first suspect Maureen was a villain, seemed to lessen the impact of the conclusion. It almost left the door open for Connie and Mitch’s relationship. Some people are still hoping that Mitch may break up with Maureen before the wedding. Even Connie suggests they are a mismatched couple. And if Mitch’s last engagement didn’t work out, it’s not totally unreasonable to think this one may not last either. Mitch’s return was obviously done in order to put the subject of Mitch to rest. But for some it has only raised more concerns and possibilities. It was done well, but it could have been rethought to be even more of an irrefutable ending. This episode underestimates just how desperate some are for Connie and Mitch to get married.
Another return we have recently heard about is Joanne Allen in Album 56: The Grand Design. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Adventures in Odyssey for bringing Joanne back again. The Allens are among my favorite characters. I know she and Jack were originally supposed to be in The Labyrinth, instead of Dale and Anne Jacobs, so I’m glad she’ll be in Album 56. Hopefully she will be able to play a meaningful part. And of course Jason is finally returning to the town of Odyssey in this album as well. It would be nice to have him as a regular again in the more slice-of-life type shows.
We’ve had quite a number of returns of old characters in these last few albums. Some have been impactful, and others have been uninteresting or irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. Returning characters don’t just need something to do. They need something memorable to do, something that has lasting importance and may influence future choices and situations. It should facilitate some kind of character development or at least illustrate a really important Christian message for the fans. I’m okay with people like Harlow Doyle and Phillip Glossman having “cameos.” But for the more important characters, their appearances should have a certain substance that can never be considered something as trivial as a cameo.
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