And then there were 10 000...

If you blinked, you missed it.

Less than 15 minutes ago, we earned ourselves an Adventures in Odyssey episode. The night progressed incredibly quickly gaining a startling 150 fans within less than four hours. And so, congratulations to all 10, 000 fans on working together to get Part 1 of The Labyrinth!

Interestingly, I was one of the dozens of fans who was holding out until the end to be the 10, 000th "like". Whether I was or not, I can't be sure, as by the time the page refreshed itself we were at 10, 001 fans. And, after I refreshed the page again only a second later, we had made it to 10, 009. However, if no one will claim that title, then I most certainly will. ;)

Again, congratulations to all. You will not be hearing a review from me on "The Labyrinth" until all three episodes are out. However, you can be sure I will be listening to it quite carefully, and loving every minute of it. And keep visiting "The Changing Times" for more reviews, posts, and articles in the days ahead.

Soaplessly Undevoted

The quintessential Soap Opera image:
beautiful, rich people in love.   

Back in April 2011, the ABC network decided to pull the plug on its two longest running soap operas, "All my Children" and "One Life to Live", with "One Life to Live" airing its last episode a few days ago. And with the cancellation of the long running "As The World Turns" a year ago, it would seem like the genre is quickly coming to an end.

Do I care? No. I've never watched a daytime soap opera. That said, the news made me think of the episode "Soaplessely Devoted", where Erika Clark reveals her love for the soap opera "Medical Center of Love".

The news about Soap Operas made me realize how dated that particular episode might become in future years. "Soap whatas?", some listeners might begin to ask. One thing that makes Odyssey such a great show is how timeless it is. I'm often able to revisit those earlier shows without being distracted by the fact many of them came out of the late '80s and early '90s.

There are, of course, a few exceptions. The earlier music is probably one of the easiest way of finding out when an episode aired. Although I'm personally accustomed to those older tunes, any child approaching the show for the first time today might find them a little off-putting; in fact, some might refuse to listen to them at all because of how dated they sound. Understandable; after all, when I begin watching a television show mid-series, I'm often afraid of going back and watching the series' pilot because of how awkward it might feel compared to the period I was been introduced to.

Then I begin to think about all the episodes that may never have existed if they were written today. The characters in "Stormy Weather" and "Flash Flood" might have benefited from having a cell phone on one of them. And the military secrets in "Waylaid in the Windy" might have travelled more easily if someone had an external hardrive, or at least, email--instead of carrying a giant laptop computer around. With the advancements made in virtual reality, could both the Imagination Station and Room of Consequence themselves seem outdated in a few years? Does the Imagination Station feel a little less interesting now that we've got things such as the Wii, compared to when it was first introduced?

What has helped the show remain timeless is its decision to stay away from parodies. Parodies and pop-culture references date shows quickly. Adult comedies such as "30 Rock", "Family Guy" and "Saturday Night Live" rely on current happenings to be funny and will probably be awkward to watch 10 years from now. Yes, Odyssey has referenced Star Wars, James Bond, and Indiana Jones, but I'm pretty sure kids decades from will still understand those references; others, such as the Twilight Zone, they'll have to figure out on their own.

In fact, a lot of other popular children's shows revolve their humour around pop culture references. While "Mystery in Tin Flat" was a parody of the RealityTV craze and "Odyssey Sings" was spoofing "American Idol", those seem to be the most blatant pop-culture references made in recent years. On the other hand, episode titles such as "The Amazing Loser", and the upcoming "The Bible Network" and "Groundhog Jay" are further evidence that the show is, perhaps, dangerously moving in that direction. That's up for debate, however.

Yes, "Soaplessly Devoted" may start to feel dated in a few years, but what truly matters are the messages. Will the messages start to feel dated in a few years? I don't think so. Or at least I hope not. Once messages start feeling outdated, it means that there was a problem with the message or a problem with the current zeitgeist. Although I don't know many kids who enjoy going to the "arcade" anymore, the lessons that Jimmy Barclay learns in "The Prodigal Jimmy" still stand. And although it is considered more socially acceptable for a woman to choose to have an abortion nowadays, "Pamela's Problem" should forever remain a problem. And while the show has begun to portray more ethnically diverse, adopted, or even broken families, it should always retain the view that the family unit is important and divorce is rarely a solution.

So, tell me, readers: what do you think will begin feeling dated soon? And, aside from my few examples, what feels dated already?

On a further note, there seems to be a lot of debate on TheToo about Adventures in Odyssey needing to start dealing with more "current" issues, such as this one, in order to remain relevant in today's society. Although I won't throw my input into that particular discussion, I believe that, as Adventures in Odyssey once decided to mention DVDs, MP3s and Social Networks in the show, they will also have to decide which topics at the height of discussion in our society are worth ignoring, which are worth waiting on, and which are worth enlightening children about right now. 

The Avery Awards 2012: Who Should Win, Who Will Win



Can an episode from the Penny Trilogy
sweep the Awards?

The Avery Awards are back!

During the last Avery Awards Season I covered, I called Album 52  awfully "polarizing" for having episodes like "A Thankstaking Story" and "Wooton's Broken Show" dividing listeners; you either hated them or loved them, and that made guessing the Avery Awards all the more difficult.

But I thought that season was tough! I've never quite seen an album like "Clanging Cymbals". Although it isn't nearly as polarizing, it isn't any easier to predict the winners. I'll admit, fans seem to share roughly the same opinion about each episode, but the problem is that very few stand out from the rest. That makes guessing the outcome a whole lot tougher.

So join me as I explain my reasoning for who should win the Avery Awards and who I think actually will. Although, I expect to be wrong.

1. Who is the best actress in this album?

Who is the best actress in this album?  Shelby Bruce (Young Lucia) in “Never for Nothing” Cristina Pucellia (Emily Jones) in “Emily the Genius” Kimmy Robertson (Penny Wise) in “A Penny Saved” Kelly Stables (Olivia Parker) in “Wooton Knows Best” Audrey Wasilewski in “How to Sink A Sub

Who Should Win: This is a toss up between Audrey Wasilewski in "How to Sink a Sub" and Cristina Pucellia in "Emily the Genius". I didn't quite think Shelby Bruce and Kimmy Robertson stood out in their respective episodes (Kimmy Robertson should have been nominated for "A Penny Earned" and "Childish things" rather than A Penny Saved). I quite liked Kelly Stables in "Wooton Knows Best"; it was her first time as Olivia Parker and fans liked her immediately; however, I'd call her performance merely likeable, rather than one that stands out for any particular reason. In the end, I think I'll settle on Audrey Wasilewski simply because I like her character the best of all.
Who will Win: Fans may decide to go with the character rather than the performance. That character will either be Penny Wise or Katrina. However, I wonder whether the fact that they forgot to attach "Katrina" next to Audrey Wasilewski will prevent the younger, less knowledgeable listeners from voting for her. If it's any indiction, Kimmy Robertson beat out Audrey Wasilewski in last year's awards, and she'll probably do so again for her entire body of work.

2. Who is the best actor in this album?

Who is the best actor in this album?  Marc Evan Jackson (David Parker) in “Wooton Knows Best” Adam Wylie (Ryan Cummings) in “You’re Two Kind” Jess Harnell (Wooton Bassett) in “Childish Things” Whit Hertford (Jay Smouse) in “Unbecoming Jay” Will Ryan (Eugene Meltsner) in “You’re Two Kind”

Who Should Win: I'll remove Adam Wylie and Will Ryan who are typically very good actors but didn't shine in their episodes this year. That leaves Whit Hertford, Marc Evan Jackson, and Jess Harnell. I personally thought Marc Evan Jackson stood out for the first time in "Wooton Knows Best". It was such a short and subtle performance, but I thought he played it perfectly. If I could vote twice, I'd vote for Jess Harnell in "Childish Things". In this case, Marc Evan Jackson is the underdog, so I'll go for him

Who Will Win: It'll be interesting to see who will win between Whit Hertford and Jess Harnell. Jess Harnell, who was snubbed the past two seasons finally gets to go head to head against Whit Hertford. Both are fan favourites. Will Ryan typically does very well in this category, too; however, I just don't see him being talked about much for "You're Too Kind" at all. My money is on Jay this time around. There's just been too much hype surrounding his character this year.

3. Which episode has the Best Script?

Which episode has the Best Script?  Wooton Knows Best A Penny Saved The Amazing Loser Anger Mismanagement Forgiving More...or Less You're Two Kind A Penny Earned Never for Nothing Emily the Genius How to Sink a Sub Unbecoming Jay Childish Things

Who should win: Process of elimination. I've previously criticized the scripts of "Emily the Genius", "Never For Nothing", "Anger Mismanagement", and "Forgiving More or Less" for one reason or another...So I'll scratch those out. "You're Too Kind", "A Penny Saved", "A Penny Earned", "Unbecoming Jay", and "Never For Nothing" are good but certainly not great.

That leaves "Childish Things" for some of its humorous dialogue, "How to Sink a Sub" for its overall perfectly constructed story, and "The Amazing Loser" for the way it revolved its entire script entirely around the subject of music. I'm not sure where to put in "Wooton Knows Best". It definitely did the best job with its theme this season, but I'm too miffed about Olivia getting to meet the pop-star at the end of the episode. This is extremely tough. I'll say that "The Amazing Loser" has the best script. The fact that he had to come up with all of those music-related clues is impressive.

Who will win? Not a clue. In this case it really depends on what episode is the best episode, since the two typically coincide. The four main episodes fans seem to like are "Never For Nothing", "Wooton Knows Best", "Unbecoming Jay", and "How to Sink a Sub". The response to the Penny episodes have been lukewarm at best. However, in the end I'll expect "Never For Nothing" to win this award.

4. Which episode has the Best Sound?

Which episode has the Best Sound?  Wooton Knows Best A Penny Saved The Amazing Loser Anger Mismanagement Forgiving More...or Less You're Two Kind A Penny Earned Never for Nothing Emily the Genius How to Sink a Sub Unbecoming Jay Childish Things

Who Should Win: I'm afraid this is a category that I don't pay enough attention to. Some say that it is usually the episodes that you don't notice the sound effects that actually have the best sound effects. However, looking back, the time where I actually stopped to think about the sound design was while listening to "The Amazing Loser". There was a lot of running around and, therefore, constant sound editing to match the change in venue.

Who Will Win: I can only assume that fans with think the same. "The Amazing Loser" it is.

5. What is the Best Scene in this album?

What is the Best Scene in this album?  Katrina’s class screaming and changing seats in “How to Sink A Sub” Young Lucia forgiving Juan at Esperanza’s funeral in “Never for Nothing” David and Olivia Parker’s discussion about clanging cymbals in “Wooton Knows Best” Penny analyzing Wooton’s body language in “Childish Things” Barrett giving money so that a little girl can buy shoes in “The Amazing Loser”

Who Should Win: There's that wonderful scene between David and Olivia Parker. I've enjoyed a few other scenes more this season but they're not listed. Penny and Wooton's body language scene in "Childish Things" comes in a close 2nd.


Who Will Win: Another tough moment. I think fans also enjoyed the moment between David and Olivia, but they also enjoyed the scene between Katrina and the classroom and they always seem to enjoy Penny and Katrina scenes. Anything can happen here. I'm going to take a big risk and say that they too enjoyed the David and Olivia scene.

6. What is the Best Overall Episode?

What is the Best Overall Episode?  Wooton Knows Best A Penny Saved The Amazing Loser Anger Mismanagement Forgiving More...or Less You're Two Kind A Penny Earned Never for Nothing Emily the Genius How to Sink a Sub Unbecoming Jay Childish Things

Who Should Win: Although I voted for "The Amazing Loser" having the best script, I'll break form and vote for "How To Sink a Sub" as the best episode of the season. It really is a great example of how such a simple premise can't be executed well. It's a shame I can't vote for "Childish Things", since I enjoyed that one quite a bit too.

Who Will Win: As I mentioned earlier, I'm guessing that fan's most favourite episodes are "Never For Nothing", "Wooton Knows Best", "Unbecoming Jay", and "How to Sink a Sub". I've also seen some love of "The Amazing Loser". In the end, however, I just think I'm going to go with the same choice I picked for "Best Script" option and pick "Never For Nothing". Fans seemed to like that whole sentimental side of that episode.

There you have it! My choices and predictions for the 2012 Fall Avery Awards. Who do you think should win in each category? Who do you think will win?  Do you think my predictions are terribly wrong? Tell me in the comments below.