Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: You can listen to these great stories over and over
again.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line:
Evil comes to town
Addicting mini-series
I could quote to you
Collecting the First Summer with Blackguard
Adventures in Odyssey is a radio drama for kids produced by
Christian ministry Focus on the Family. It's set in the small town of Odyssey somewhere in the United States of America . (It's
been strongly hinted that it's Ohio ,
but the show never states that.) It tells about the every day adventures of
various kids who frequent Whit's End, and ice cream shop with lots of extras
like a large train set, a little theater, and the Bible room, a room designed
to help bring the Bible to life. John Avery Whitaker, a grandfatherly figure,
runs the shop. His two employees are Connie Kendall, a high school student, and
Eugene Meltzer, a college brain.
Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes contains 12 episodes from the second summer the
show was on the air. This includes the original Dr. Blackguard story line. Not
all are related to that story arch, however.
It starts with the first IMAGINATION STATION adventure, in
which Digger Digger Digwillow goes back in time to experience the death and
resurrection of Christ. I've listened to these two episodes more then half my
life and they still moves me to tears. It has become an Easter tradition with
me.
Other non-Blackguard episodes include the classic Barclay family
vacation in Odyssey (OUR BEST VACATION EVER). Granted, one scene does involve
the latest happenings, but it stands on it's own pretty well regardless. The
other stand-alone AN ENCOUNTER WITH MRS. COOPER. My old tape set had a different episode,
which I miss, but this is a good one about learning to truly get to know
everyone because they all have value.
The other episodes all revolve around the initial Blackguard
arch. They include A BITE OF APPLESAUCE, EUGENE 'S
DILEMMA, CONNIE GOES TO CAMP, THE NEMESIS, and THE BATTLE. These last three are
two parters. As a whole, these make a great story, but are even more
interesting when listened to in relation to later Blackguard episodes.
I will never forget the summer in the early 90's when these
first aired. My brother and I were glued to the radio each week to see what
would happen next. This was Odyssey's first extended story arch of any kind,
and it had us hooked. They'd waited long enough so that we loved these
characters and really felt a stake in the outcome. Little did we know how these
episodes would grow to be some important in the years to come. They had a great
villain in Dr. Blackguard and really used him well.
I highly recommend Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes. It's radio drama
at its best: good story telling and great characters.
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