I was looking forward to hearing this episode. It sounded like it would be pretty interesting. But when I heard it, I was disappointed.
The whole Parker family was pretty obnoxious, with maybe the exception of Matthew. Camilla didn’t seem to know a thing, Olivia was her usual annoying self, Matthew didn’t want to work and came up with a ridiculous way to clean the dishes, David was portrayed to look like a dummy, and Eva was…well Eva. I don’t have much to say about her, actually.
I’m not sure why all the kids in Odyssey feel the need to disclose all their personal life to Mr. Whittaker. I would be pretty embarrassed, if I walked up to a man I knew and said, “Yeah the other night we got grounded because we watched a bad movie, and disobeyed our parents, and lied to our babysitter, and let this huge dog into the house and let him trash the place.” You shouldn‘t tell people things like that. It just makes them think that you’re bad kids and that you need a spanking.
The kids were very…bad. I mean come on, a banana fight! I am so sure. Letting the dog lick out the pots and pans! That is so exaggerated. Think about it, do you know any kids who would waste perfectly good bananas…in a food fight…in the kitchen…with the baby-sitter right upstairs? The writer was trying to hard to come up with a way to make the kids be irresponsible. Now I might see a kid watching a bad movie, like Camilla did, but all the other things were sooo unrealistic.
I would like to point out something about the movies while we’re on the subject. Have you ever noticed that in Odyssey, the “bad” movies are always about something slimy, or maybe they’re about aliens. (For example in “All the Difference in the World” Danny watched “Slime Creatures from Sludge City.”) I just think those are lame titles. I think they should come up with better names. For example in the comic books Calvin and Hobbes, when Calvin wants to watch a bad movie, or when he reads a scary book, the titles are something like “Cuisinart Murderer of Central High,” or “The Monster That Waits In Your Backyard to Dismember You.” (Some other books that Calvin reads are named “Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie” and “Commander Coriander Salamander and’er Underhander Bellylander.” (I thought that was humorous.) I’ll get back on subject now, though. That was just a thought.
Here’s a few other things I noticed: For one, when the dog got into the house, it got very loud. I noticed this in A Christmas Carol, too, when there was a thunderclap. It scared me half to death. Focus really needs to level their sound some way. Also this episode reminded me of “Grandma’s Visit” in that all the Parker kids told Whit the story after it happened. The last thing I’ll point out is that the end was kind of weird when we found out that the nanny wasn’t really English, but was actually an actor.
There was one, maybe two scenes, that made me laugh. This was one of the worst episodes in #52 (along with “Opposite Day,” “Wooton’s Broken Pencil Show,” and probably “A Thankstaking Story.” I haven’t listened to all of this story yet.) My rating would have to be one out of five stars.
I would like to point out something about the movies while we’re on the subject. Have you ever noticed that in Odyssey, the “bad” movies are always about something slimy, or maybe they’re about aliens. (For example in “All the Difference in the World” Danny watched “Slime Creatures from Sludge City.”) I just think those are lame titles. I think they should come up with better names. For example in the comic books Calvin and Hobbes, when Calvin wants to watch a bad movie, or when he reads a scary book, the titles are something like “Cuisinart Murderer of Central High,” or “The Monster That Waits In Your Backyard to Dismember You.” (Some other books that Calvin reads are named “Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie” and “Commander Coriander Salamander and’er Underhander Bellylander.” (I thought that was humorous.) I’ll get back on subject now, though. That was just a thought.
It's kind of cool looking, but the blue and green colors don't really match. What would be cool is if they would draw a new picture to put on the front.
There was a new Official Podcast released yesterday interviewing Hope Levy. (Voice of Olivia Parker) And speaking of podcasts, the Ceiling Fan Podcast released a new one continuing the road trip to find Odyssey. 
Well it looks like we have a new mayor in Odyssey! Good riddance to Margaret Faye. (In my opinion, she was a politically correct, obnoxious, feminist. But she did add to the show, so I have mixed feelings about her leaving) The new mayor is a man named Spencer Hicks. He will be voiced by Dave Fennoy who acted in Passages: Darien's Rise, and Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince. You can see his picture to the right.
1. Look at the distorted pictures of the AIO albums.
Nathan Hoobler, writer/director for Adventures in Odyssey, recently appeared on the first "Next-Generation Focus" webcast at Boundless to discuss Radio Theatre and Adventures in Odyssey. He talks about The Screwtape Letters' recent nomination for the Audie Awards and future Radio Theatre ideas. Then, go behind the scenes as he discusses how he became involved with Adventures in Odyssey. Plus, learn more about the Odyssey team's approach to album 51, Take It from the Top, and some of the sound design aspects of the show.
In other news Jacob Isom has his 4th scoopcast out. You can listen to that here after you subscribe.
