User:Scientific Guy/Reviews/Rightly Dividing

What did you think of #874: “Rightly Dividing”? Click the "Add topic" heading above to write your review. Place your user name in the Subject line. Optionally, you can use {{Star rating}} for your rating of the episode.

Scientific Guy

This is an example review. I don't have time to write the full one now. The episode was pretty good!

aiofan4110

I have been a fan of AIO for over ten years, and I feel that Odyssey is growing stale. The current writers, with the exception of Sam Suksiri, have been working on Odyssey since Novacom, and some even before that. The current writers are written some of Odyssey's most beloved shows and story arcs and it is beginning to feel like they are running short of ideas.

Rightly Dividing points out three ways Odyssey has changed. First is Camilla Parker. Lily Mae Stewart is the third actress to take on the character of Camilla. Characters in audio drama are defined by their voice. There is no way around that. Characters can be defined or recognized by catchphrases, dialects, interested, those around them, but in the end, the voice itself is what resonates and stays with a fan. Previously in Odyssey, the unwritten rule was that when an actor's voice changed, was unable to play the part any more, or died, the character was cut. The only substantial exceptions being Whit, Katrina & Jimmy Barclay. Characters like Jack Davis, Jessie Morales, Oscar Peterson, Robyn Jacobs, Tom Riley, Bernard Walton, Eugene Meltsner (who later returned after a multi-year hiatus), Jack Allen, Richard Maxwell, Zachary Sellers, Curt Stevens, and many others all abruptly were cut despite their popularity due to the actor not being available. Now the policy seems to be "find someone else," especially with the Parker family. At this point the new voices aren't even very close, they give it a "close enough, but it's just off" feel. The new actors change the character give it a different feel. If time and money is spent hiring a new actor, that actor could be put to use creating a new vibrant character, then trying to imitate and live up to a previous actor on the show.

Second, too much of a good thing is, um, not a good thing. Odyssey has worked to create several new characters in the past year or to. Morrie has become a fan favorite and Buck & Jules are quite popular as well. But now, with these characters doing quite well they have been for the most part pushed to few shows while the team crams in as many new characters as 24 shows a year can hold. This episode alone saw the debut of Micky, Declan, Sarah (A one-time character most likely), and a second appearance for Lou, a troubled girl who is still a little unknown to fans. And the line for the new album shows even more new characters for Buck's sports episode and possibly some new faces in "Nightmares by Constance." My head is spinning from all the characters and it is frankly hard to keep track of. The richest periods of history were when Odyssey focused on a group of six to seven characters. for example:

Novacom era: Rodney, Connie, Mitch, Alex, Cal, Whit, Tom Post Novacom era: Liz, Mandy, Jared, Trent, Marvin, Eugene, Bernard Albums 27-34: Whit, Eugene, Katrina, Aubrey, Jack, Joanne, Margaret

Finally, I very much miss the days of radio premieres. It used to be a big deal for fans to listen to the radio on Saturday to catch the never before heard episodes. Now, the radio is the last place they go. Bombshells like Mitch's death and Eugene's return lit up the fan sites and discussion, but now everything's spoiled from club members or conversations with fans because it's all leaked out. It takes the excitement and anticipation away.

However, despite all of this negativity, I did very much appreciate the telling or Sarah Kemig's story. As a listener to the unofficial podcast, I very much appreciate this and commend Phil Lollar for doing an excellent job with the story. I look forward to the rest of the album and thank the one person who actually read this entire review.

BTW. Any thoughts on the "bombshell" alluded to in the album 68 description. It implies it's about the Bassetts. Is Penny pregnant? Thoughts?

aioduck29

Like has been said this episode was awful, and I feel like lately the club episodes have been vastly superior to the album episodes ;ate;u. Compare the enjoyability of Rightly Dividing to the latest club episode All for the Guest, it's not even comparable. Now this being a week later I'm glad to say I enjoyed Man of the House a lot better and was easier to follow than Rightly Dividing. I very much disliked the new characters. Moral of the story is if you want new characters then don't cram them in like they did.

Jason13579

I liked the episode, but I wish they had used another character instead of Lou, as she debuted in a club dxclusive episode. I have a membership, but it would be confusing to those who don’t.

Green Mamba

I agree that Adventures in Odyssey videos are getting more stale. I myself have been an AIO fan for years, and, while I enjoy many standalone episodes, my preference is sagas. I love how the Rydell Saga is progressing. However, I don't like that throughout every Rydell Saga episode the same information is released every time: Morrie is behind the problems and is up to something. His agenda is never revealed. In relation to this episode, I feel that like many of the recent standalone episodes it is just trying to teach a lesson to listeners. I also feel that Camilla and the other boy's situations were unrelatable. Sure at some point, some may do something like they did. But seriously, let's be realistic; how often will someone blatantly misunderstand what someone says without realizing their error in the way this episode's characters did. I wish for more sagas and multi-parters as well as more development on the Rydell Saga. For this episode, I really wish it was more relatable.

OdysseyFan72

Adventures in Odyssey is still good, but it's not what it used to be. They seem to be adding new characters each episode, and it get's confusing after a while. I still prefer the old episodes with Alex Jefferson, Sarah Pratchett, Mandy Strausburg, Trent & Jared DeWhite, and others. Now, it feels like there are so many characters, I can't relate to any one of them anymore. E.G, Lou and Declan. In Album 68, we see a new family appear for the first time, the Calhouns. Frankly, I just wish that they would work with the characters they have instead of constantly making new ones. Produce more episodes with Whit, Connie, Eugene, Katrina, Buck, Jules, Morrie, Suzu, Emily, Matthew, etc. instead of these new characters that no one has ever heard of before. That's my view on Odyssey nowadays.

puzzlemaster

This episode was really good! While it wasn't the strongest on the amazing Album 67, it was still very enjoyable. I enjoyed the slice-of-life story about Camilla. As someone who has listened to the Unofficial Podcast, I really appreciated the inclusion of Sarah Kemig's story. I love what it added to the story.

Luella - Lou - was back in this episode. I love how AIO now has a developmentally disabled child on the show. She is always really sweet. Her subplot with Declan was simple but fun. It reminded me of the early days of AIO where there were many simple, straightforward episodes about the kids dealing with school or friend problems.

I don't understand why everyone is complaining about the new characters. These characters are likely one-shots who served small purposes in a good episode. Some of the characters are beginning to feel stale (e.g. the Parker family), so now the show is wisely adding new characters and families on which to focus.

The episode is about the golden rule. It's a good moral and something kids need to think about. If I were in the target age-range of the audience, this episode would have hit me harder than it does now, and that's okay! I realize not all episodes will appeal to me the same way they would if I were younger.

All and all, this was a good episode with fun characters, a good moral, and a simple plot.