Now that the Novacom saga has come to a close, the AIOHQ and The Soda Fountain sponsored the "Battle Lines 2002 Awards". We wanted to know what the fans thought of the most recent season, one of the most intense in Odyssey history. The awards ended July 27, so check out the results below.
Best Sound Design
#499: “Exit”
#500: “500”
#490: “The Black Veil, Part 1” & #491: “The Black Veil, Part 2”
#498: “Exactly as Planned”
#497: “Expect the Worst”
#496: “Exceptional Circumstances”
#495: “The Unraveling”
#494: “Box of Miracles”
#493: “Sheep's Clothing”
#492: “Twisting Pathway”
#488: “Under the Influence, Part 1” & #489: “Under the Influence, Part 2”
Once again and for the sixth time in a row, Rob Jorgensen snagged the award for "Best Sound Design" with the terrific work on "Exit", which consisted almost entirely of an action sequence and climaxed with the destruction of the Imagination Station with the Applesauce program. Runner-up was the clip and interview-intensive "500", engineered by Jonathan Crowe. Third place went to "The Black Veil," also action-intensive and engineered by both Jonathan and Rob.
Best Performance
Connie Kendall in #495: “The Unraveling”
Jason Whittaker in #499: “Exit”
Monica Stone in #496: “Exceptional Circumstances”
Tom Riley in #497: “Expect the Worst”
Walter Madison in #493: “Sheep's Clothing”
Aubrey Shepard in "Under the Influence"
Also consistent with the last set of awards, Katie Leigh won Best Performance for playing the emotionally distraught Connie Kendall in "The Unraveling". As usual, Katie Leigh showed a full range of performance in her reaction to Mitch's death, which led to an overwhelming victory. Townsend Coleman as Jason Whittaker came in second with a desperate role as he tried to figure out how to stop Novacom's Launch Date in "Exit". Interestingly enough, aside from the final scene with Monica, all of Jason's scenes had him filtered through the phone.
Best Scene
Finding out Mitch is alive in #495: “The Unraveling”
The destruction of the Imagination Station in #499: “Exit”
The tower sequence from #497: “Expect the Worst”
Jason Whittaker confronting Monica Stone in #493: “Sheep's Clothing”
Finding Arthur Dent in #498: “Exactly as Planned”
Mickey Barton going crazy in #490: “The Black Veil, Part 1”
Once again similar to the last round of awards, a big revelation about Mitch won "best scene." This time it was Rachel Mitchell telling Connie that, yes, "Mitch is alive." This shocker capped off "The Unraveling", which also featured the winning performance of Katie Leigh as Connie. The destruction of the Imagination Station in "Exit", which featured dozens of clips from past Imagination Station adventure scored a close second.
Best Novacom Arc Character
Robert Mitchell
Bennett Charles
Monica Stone
Arthur Dent
The Chairman
Walter Madison
In the biggest landslide of the awards, Robert Mitchell easily took the award for best character of the Novacom Arc. Fans loved Connie having a boyfriend, especially one who could help the FBI and rescue her from trouble. Andromeda bad guy Bennett Charles came in second, just ahead of the changed bad girl Monica Stone.
Best Episode
#499: “Exit”
#495: “The Unraveling”
#500: “500”
#497: “Expect the Worst”
#490: “The Black Veil, Part 1” & #491: “The Black Veil, Part 2”
#498: “Exactly as Planned”
#493: “Sheep's Clothing”
#494: “Box of Miracles”
#496: “Exceptional Circumstances”
#488: “Under the Influence, Part 1” & #489: “Under the Influence, Part 2”
#492: “Twisting Pathway”
It was a very different season for Adventures in Odyssey, following on the heels of the highly-popular "Plan B" series and with every story dealing in some way with the Novacom story line. In the end, "Exit," the grand finale of the Novacom saga won an easy first place, with its big action scenes and resolution to many story arc plot threads. "The Unraveling" earned second place, with many emotional Connie scenes and a shocker ending. "500," the clip/interview season finale got third.
We asked fans what should happen in the next 500 shows. Selected answers are below. (Check out comments about the Novacom saga at the Soda Fountain.)
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Mystery, suspense, drama, excitement, thrills...oh, and good old fashioned Whit at the counter serving ice cream and advice too!
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More "Past" shows, shows set in pre-Connie days of Whit's End, just Whit, Tom, some GREAT new kids, and maybe new voices for some familiar characters.
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Lots!!! Jason needs to get married, Eugene needs to come back, Connie needs to break up with Mitch and find a real nice guy, Wooton needs to be bumped off, etc. I can think of dozens of other ideas but hey, I don't have room right here. One big one would be to have the Barclays return in a sort of spin-off series or simply to come back to Odyssey and start families of their own.
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Odyssey should do some more "slice-of-life" shows. Though I do find it interesting, I don't think hearing about how to save the world from an evil organization is going to help me in everyday life. I also hope that we see some more of Monica, and that Eugene and/or Katrina returns. And if possible, add some more kid characters.
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I'd like Eugene and Katrina should to come back, that there should be more of Connie and Mitch...and I want to hear more about The Chairman...and more about Whit, not just him in the story, but we need episodes about him. ;) More Jack, Joanne, Bernard...
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For the first 12 shows, I think Odyssey should relax for a while and stay away from any storyline. After that, they should put a better history on some of the newer characters. Ex: Wooton.
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Connie should get married to Mitch. And Eugene and Katrina come back to Odyssey.
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Another show with the Barclays, a return of Eugene and Katrina, more slice of Life shows, mysteries, and after a while another saga.
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Eugene and Katrina should definitely return. Another story arc would be awesome! Maybe bring back Arthur Dent and Jared DeWhite. I don't know, but I can't wait for what's to come!
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More slice of life, explain about Jared DeWhite, and maybe in a few years, another dramatic saga!
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Odyssey seemed to change a lot from album #28 to album #29, and I believe it needs to be developed a little more before jumping into another saga. To this issue, I think the new Whit's End is a good idea because it stresses the need to witness to others about Christ beyond the town of Odyssey - it has a missionary flavor and should be used in future episodes. Also, can we have more Bible episodes?
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Awesome 500 episodes Odyssey and I'm looking forward to another 500. Thanks to all who dedicate their time to making Odyssey the success it is. Well done! (Awesome 500th episode too!)
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Eugene and Katrina should come back. The Chairman should come back like Regis Blackgaard did. Connie and Mitch should get married.
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More thrilling, exiting episodes like the ones in Battle Lines. Also the Battle Lines story line should continue with new characters and story-lines.
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Connie and Mitch should keep dating...maybe get married...Eugene and Katrina should come back, and we'll learn who in the world The Chairman was...maybe his next appearance will be the start of another saga.
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I definitely think that Dr. Blackgaard should be brought back in the future for another long storyline. I am still no convinced that he died because the finding of his body was never told. Also, hopefully Eugene will come back soon. I would like to see Connie and Mitch get married and you could possibly explore the aspects of early marriage and it's difficulties, (I know that your target audience is 8 and up, but you have to admit, a lot of older people listen too...) Anyway, some stories and flashbacks of Whit's early days would be nice and a story of how various character's in Odyssey came to know Christ. (Individual stories that is) More history stories would be good too and mysteries.
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I don't want Eugene and Katrina to settle down. If it wasn't for the absence of Eugene, I would think that this "trip" he's on is a good thing and that he shouldn't return. Likewise, I think Mitch should eventually go back to wherever he came from.
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I would like to see more "kid-action" in the next episodes! I hope Agnes doesn't play too big a role in upcoming episodes. I'm not sure I like her influence over Tom. He does strange things when she's around.
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I don't want Jason to get too interested in Monica. He will have to get married sometime, but not to her. Also, I hope that Arthur Dent will eventually recover. I think that story line could pan out into something big!
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Keep doing episodes like the first 500 shows.
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I think we should see more exciting episodes like those in the Novacom saga. Odyssey should start appealing to older audiences now that they have such a larger age group. For instance, have more adult characters. It makes the shows a lot more interesting!
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Eugene should come back and we need more Bernard shows.
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I would like to see old characters come back for visits. I definitely think Eugene & Katrina should come back. I think Connie should decide to go to college, and she should date Mitch. The listeners should also get to know Wooton.
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More of the great stuff they have been doing for the past 500!
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I think in the next 500 episodes that Eugene and Katrina will come back to Odyssey and find out why they still couldn't come back after Novacom was stopped. I also think that Connie and Mitch should see each other more and get married. It is the first time that someone has actually liked Connie and it would be a shame after all of this to take away this privilege from her. Like she always says, "Nothing ever happens to me around here." I think it's time for a change. I think that Monica and Jason should start going out. I think that Jared should come back again. I also think that we should hear some new episodes concerning what happens to Tom's wife. I also think that we should hear from the Barclays. I really love Adventures in Odyssey and can't wait to hear more broadcasts!
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The Chairman should come back.
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Try to bring back at least a few of the old faithful characters that have such fond memories for us old-timers. That would be wonderful! And of course we REALLY miss Eugene. :-)
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I would like Mitch and Connie to start dating...but nothing special!
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Have a few more episodes about Aubrey now that she's saved, and have some episodes about Mitch's past.
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Have Mitch and Connie get married.
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Bring a large family into Odyssey with 6-7 kids that homeschools. Have some episodes about Mitch and Rachel's past. And have more of Aubrey.
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It would be nice to hear more about Jack & Joanne's pasts. Also please continue the Connie/Mitch storyline. There are still some unanswered questions from the Novacom saga that I hope will be answered in future episodes. It would be neat if Monica got saved while in prison. Also it would be really great if there could be a larger family in Odyssey that would homeschool.
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There should be more spiritual meaning to the episodes...but at the same time more action :). I am hard to please.
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I think we can expect more and more exciting things to happen. Not sure how much longer AIO will go, but as long as they have great episodes like these, I say, Keep Going!!!
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