62. The Club's the Thing
I was wrong about the AIO Club.
By David Hilder | January 27, 2024
I was wrong about the AIO Club.
By David Hilder | January 27, 2024
It’s hard to believe, but the Adventures in Odyssey Club has been around for ten years now. It launched in January 2014 with its first exclusive episode, appropriately titled The Launch, and has since released ten seasons of club episodes. The club has expanded beyond that too, making the Harley episodes available once again and producing the comic spin-off Elsewhere in Odyssey. It’s also the home for Byte-Sized Adventures, where you can scroll through the full adventures with ease. The club gives easy access to all of Adventures in Odyssey in one place.
Though the club seems like a great thing now, I didn’t always think so.
It was back in 2013 when we first heard about the club. At the time I had recently completed the long and satisfying task of collecting all the Adventures in Odyssey albums on CD. I had finally done it. And I was so proud of my collection. I didn’t need a streaming service. So, when an Odyssey streaming service was announced, I was indifferent. But when the idea of exclusive club episodes came up, I was not happy.
Why? The short answer is, I didn’t want to pay more. For many people the club seemed like a great deal. The prospect of purchasing 50+ albums is a daunting task, and a monthly fee in exchange for access to every episode is quite appealing. But for me, a college student at the time, I didn’t like how the numbers added up. I was accustomed to buying two new albums a year for around $20 each. At $15 a month (what the club cost at the time), the club would add up to $180 a year. The fact that half of Odyssey’s new episodes were going to be exclusive to the club was a major sore spot with me.
And so, in my frustration, I’ll admit that I compared the club to one of Bart Rathbone’s money-making schemes. At the time that was how I felt. And I made my feelings known in an editorial on my website. I wanted to get Focus on the Family’s attention, and it worked. The editorial was quickly shared by readers on social media. And soon after, the Official Podcast released an episode defending the club, in which the Rathbone comparison was mentioned.
Looking back on it ten years later, I regret the comparison. I had even photoshopped the club logo onto Bart Rathbone’s shirt, replacing the Electric Palace logo. I’m sorry for reacting that way. And I’m glad I was wrong and that the club is still going strong, bringing more and more fans into the world of Odyssey.
The truth is, there’s a reason Focus on the Family created the Adventures in Odyssey Club. And it wasn’t a money grab. It was a way to keep Odyssey going. With rising production costs, AIO needed extra financial support. The revenue from two new album releases per year just wasn’t cutting it. Focus on the Family Radio Theatre presumably had the same financial constraints, which explains why there haven’t been new productions since 2013. With the AIO Club, Odyssey had the financial resources to remain in production. It would have been very sad if Adventures in Odyssey had come to an end in 2013.
Today I’m a member of the Adventures in Odyssey Club. (I originally joined in 2015, when it first became available in Canada). I joined to check out the exclusive club episodes, and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety. I was expecting a lot of foreign mission trips, which might get repetitive after a while. And while those kinds of episodes are there, they’ve moved into other areas as well. When I joined, I found sci-fi, fairy tales, Westerns, and slice-of-life. The three-part episode One More Name (Season 4) is especially memorable. It was a powerful human story with epic proportions, reminiscent of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. I want everyone to hear this episode. That’s why I still believe that the club episodes should eventually be released for sale. This episode deserves to be on CD one day.
Since it began, the club has only gotten better. The price has decreased from $15 to $10 per month, or less if you pay for an annual subscription. The Elsewhere in Odyssey comic strip, despite my complaints about the Acolyte series, is a great addition to the Odyssey universe. It’s been fun seeing the return of characters like Bernard, Bart Rathbone, Bill Kendall, and Harlow Doyle. And I love seeing the new art styles, giving an alternative take on the show’s characters. The club has also been the perfect place to bring back the forgotten Officer Harley episodes, as well as Family Portraits.
But all of those extras don’t matter so much to me anymore. I’m not in the club for exclusive club adventures, or even early access to new releases. I could live without both and still call myself an avid Adventures in Odyssey fan. After all, my favorite episodes are all ones that I already own on physical CDs and digitally.
So why am I still in the club? Because I want to support Odyssey. I’ve come to realize that I’m happy paying for my club subscription simply because Adventures in Odyssey is worth it. This show has meant so much to me over the years, and it continues to produce good quality stories that have a powerful impact. The Best is Yet to Come (Album 75) is the perfect example. There’s a solid team behind Odyssey and I want to be here to keep listening. Paying a small monthly fee is worth it if it keeps Odyssey going.
The club is the best way to make sure that Adventures in Odyssey is still here for future generations of fans. I joined for the exclusive episodes, but I stayed to support Odyssey. Because at the end of the day, I love Odyssey, and I’m grateful for all the stories and characters I’ve gotten to hear and fall in love with. There is no other show like it.
Though the club seems like a great thing now, I didn’t always think so.
It was back in 2013 when we first heard about the club. At the time I had recently completed the long and satisfying task of collecting all the Adventures in Odyssey albums on CD. I had finally done it. And I was so proud of my collection. I didn’t need a streaming service. So, when an Odyssey streaming service was announced, I was indifferent. But when the idea of exclusive club episodes came up, I was not happy.
Why? The short answer is, I didn’t want to pay more. For many people the club seemed like a great deal. The prospect of purchasing 50+ albums is a daunting task, and a monthly fee in exchange for access to every episode is quite appealing. But for me, a college student at the time, I didn’t like how the numbers added up. I was accustomed to buying two new albums a year for around $20 each. At $15 a month (what the club cost at the time), the club would add up to $180 a year. The fact that half of Odyssey’s new episodes were going to be exclusive to the club was a major sore spot with me.
And so, in my frustration, I’ll admit that I compared the club to one of Bart Rathbone’s money-making schemes. At the time that was how I felt. And I made my feelings known in an editorial on my website. I wanted to get Focus on the Family’s attention, and it worked. The editorial was quickly shared by readers on social media. And soon after, the Official Podcast released an episode defending the club, in which the Rathbone comparison was mentioned.
Looking back on it ten years later, I regret the comparison. I had even photoshopped the club logo onto Bart Rathbone’s shirt, replacing the Electric Palace logo. I’m sorry for reacting that way. And I’m glad I was wrong and that the club is still going strong, bringing more and more fans into the world of Odyssey.
The truth is, there’s a reason Focus on the Family created the Adventures in Odyssey Club. And it wasn’t a money grab. It was a way to keep Odyssey going. With rising production costs, AIO needed extra financial support. The revenue from two new album releases per year just wasn’t cutting it. Focus on the Family Radio Theatre presumably had the same financial constraints, which explains why there haven’t been new productions since 2013. With the AIO Club, Odyssey had the financial resources to remain in production. It would have been very sad if Adventures in Odyssey had come to an end in 2013.
Today I’m a member of the Adventures in Odyssey Club. (I originally joined in 2015, when it first became available in Canada). I joined to check out the exclusive club episodes, and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety. I was expecting a lot of foreign mission trips, which might get repetitive after a while. And while those kinds of episodes are there, they’ve moved into other areas as well. When I joined, I found sci-fi, fairy tales, Westerns, and slice-of-life. The three-part episode One More Name (Season 4) is especially memorable. It was a powerful human story with epic proportions, reminiscent of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. I want everyone to hear this episode. That’s why I still believe that the club episodes should eventually be released for sale. This episode deserves to be on CD one day.
Since it began, the club has only gotten better. The price has decreased from $15 to $10 per month, or less if you pay for an annual subscription. The Elsewhere in Odyssey comic strip, despite my complaints about the Acolyte series, is a great addition to the Odyssey universe. It’s been fun seeing the return of characters like Bernard, Bart Rathbone, Bill Kendall, and Harlow Doyle. And I love seeing the new art styles, giving an alternative take on the show’s characters. The club has also been the perfect place to bring back the forgotten Officer Harley episodes, as well as Family Portraits.
But all of those extras don’t matter so much to me anymore. I’m not in the club for exclusive club adventures, or even early access to new releases. I could live without both and still call myself an avid Adventures in Odyssey fan. After all, my favorite episodes are all ones that I already own on physical CDs and digitally.
So why am I still in the club? Because I want to support Odyssey. I’ve come to realize that I’m happy paying for my club subscription simply because Adventures in Odyssey is worth it. This show has meant so much to me over the years, and it continues to produce good quality stories that have a powerful impact. The Best is Yet to Come (Album 75) is the perfect example. There’s a solid team behind Odyssey and I want to be here to keep listening. Paying a small monthly fee is worth it if it keeps Odyssey going.
The club is the best way to make sure that Adventures in Odyssey is still here for future generations of fans. I joined for the exclusive episodes, but I stayed to support Odyssey. Because at the end of the day, I love Odyssey, and I’m grateful for all the stories and characters I’ve gotten to hear and fall in love with. There is no other show like it.
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