891: Cars, Trains and Motorcycles

Archived reviews of Adventures in Odyssey episodes!
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ByeByeBrownie
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891: Cars, Trains and Motorcycles

Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Has anybody listened yet? What did you think?

I'm going to wait to share my opinion until I hear what some of you guys thought of it. 8-)

BUT, I will say I'm loving the absence of the Oxford comma in the title. #downwiththeoxfordcomma
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Monica Stone
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Post by Monica Stone »

"Cars, Trains and Automobiles"? That's not the episode title.

This episode is so much fun. We had our core four in an episode together! When was the last time that happened? I loved that. It was so fun and automatically gave the episode a "classic" feel.

High Whit was something I never knew I wanted to hear but it was absolutely hilarious. 100/10 on Whit. :lol:

I was surprised that the episode leaned really heavily on Connie and Eugene's friendship. That was unexpected but really enjoyable. I think this episode showcases the growth in their friendship. Although they argued and bickered for most of the episode, I think it was clear that they aren't quite as obstinate and unreasonable as they were when they were younger. They are both still stubborn, but they are more willing to apologize and accept their faults. I thought Eugene had very honorable intentions when he encouraged Connie and Clint to go on a blind date, but the student he chose is very questionable.

The scene and musical transitions were honestly really bad, though. Most of the scene transitions bothered me and the music did not feel natural in many spots. There were several scenes that were under thirty seconds that would really roughly and jarringly transition. Ehh.
ByeByeBrownie wrote:BUT, I will say I'm loving the absence of the Oxford comma in the title. #downwiththeoxfordcomma
:boohoo:

What did you think, ByeByeBrownie?
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Post by Parakeet »

I agree, Monica, the music was not good at all. And the title basically explains the plot of the episode... but it was better than a lot of other Club exclusives. I did like having our main characters together, and not having much Penny was okay with me. Also, Connie's back in the dating world, huh? I think I need to give it another listen to better form my opinion on the episode, but those were my overall thoughts.
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Post by Peachey Keen »

I need to listen to this episode a couple more times to form a more solid opinion. However, I will say that the music was odd. I wasn't even sure that it was even John Campbell composing until Chris said it at the end.
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ByeByeBrownie
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Monica Stone wrote:"Cars, Trains and Automobiles"? That's not the episode title.
WOOF. You are correct. ROUGH night.
Monica Stone wrote:I was surprised that the episode leaned really heavily on Connie and Eugene's friendship. That was unexpected but really enjoyable. I think this episode showcases the growth in their friendship. Although they argued and bickered for most of the episode, I think it was clear that they aren't quite as obstinate and unreasonable as they were when they were younger. They are both still stubborn, but they are more willing to apologize and accept their faults. I thought Eugene had very honorable intentions when he encouraged Connie and Clint to go on a blind date, but the student he chose is very questionable.
I totally agree with this. The Connie/Eugene dynamic was my second favorite part of this episode.

So, what was my FAVORITE part of this episode, you ask? WOOTON. For so. many. reasons. Train Wooton was FABULOUS. That White Sox fans bit was GOLDEN. I also love how Wooton just ADORES his Penny and would do literally anything for her. Just so precious.

Like many of you have noted, the music in this episode was a bit goofy. But then so was the episode. I didn't mind the short scenes/quick transitions, either, as it fit the hectic pacing of the episode itself.

Although some of the subway bit wasn't 100% accurate (it's LOYola, not LYola, plus, they wouldn't be making announcemnts about State and Lake before they even got to Garfield), but you can definitely tell they tried, and I really appreciate that.

I think my major beef with this episode is that, contrary to what seems to be popular opinion, I did NOT like loopy Whit. Some of his lines were HILARIOUS and would have been FABULOUS coming from Wooton or Eugene (or ANYONE else, for that matter), but not Whit. I particularly did not appreciate Whit's commentary on Bruce's tattoo. It seemed quite tacky and OOC (especially considering that the meds had worn off by the time the conversation took place).

So, anyway, those are my thoughts. On the whole, it's a fun episode, and I actually really like the application of the theme at the end.
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Post by Monica Stone »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:So, what was my FAVORITE part of this episode, you ask? WOOTON. For so. many. reasons. Train Wooton was FABULOUS. That White Sox fans bit was GOLDEN. I also love how Wooton just ADORES his Penny and would do literally anything for her. Just so precious.

Like many of you have noted, the music in this episode was a bit goofy. But then so was the episode. I didn't mind the short scenes/quick transitions, either, as it fit the hectic pacing of the episode itself.

I think my major beef with this episode is that, contrary to what seems to be popular opinion, I did NOT like loopy Whit. Some of his lines were HILARIOUS and would have been FABULOUS coming from Wooton or Eugene (or ANYONE else, for that matter), but not Whit. I particularly did not appreciate Whit's commentary on Bruce's tattoo. It seemed quite tacky and OOC (especially considering that the meds had worn off by the time the conversation took place).

So, anyway, those are my thoughts. On the whole, it's a fun episode, and I actually really like the application of the theme at the end.
I sometimes don't like how Wooton is written, but I loved him in this. He was so great! I agree with everything you said about him.

I loved the fast pace, but it was the way that the scenes transitioned from each other that was odd. I wasn't loving that, but that's my biggest problem in an otherwise really fun and comedic episode.

I think Whit was a hilarious character to be the one who is loopy. Never would Whit actually act in such a way, so seeing him loopy was so funny! Anyway, we've already seen Wooton on medication ("All by Myself") and Eugene sleep-deprived isn't quite the same, but it's fun to see him so jetlagged he acts irrational.

When Bruce and Whit first meet, it's obvious he's still high, so that would excuse his comments about Bruce's tattoo. A completely sane Whit would not have mistaken a butterfly with the name "Winnie" for a depiction of Revelation 8. The scene then cuts and we do not hear from them for several scenes. By the time we see them talking again, the drugs seem to have worn off and Whit is functioning normally again.
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Monica Stone wrote:I think Whit was a hilarious character to be the one who is loopy. Never would Whit actually act in such a way, so seeing him loopy was so funny! Anyway, we've already seen Wooton on medication ("All by Myself") and Eugene sleep-deprived isn't quite the same, but it's fun to see him so jetlagged he acts irrational.
You have valid points here about Wooton and Eugene; HOWEVER, I am still not a fan of the goofy portrayal of Whit. In older episodes ("The Golden Age of Odyssey," if you will), Whit's character possessed an almost somber quality, natural to someone of his age, wisdom and life experience. Even his more lighthearted moments held a degree of gravity. Today's Odyssey paints him in quite a different light (probably largely due inconsistencies in the writing), and I feel that much of the "Classic Whit" has been lost to time. That, I suppose, is the gist of why I don't like loopy Whit.
Monica Stone wrote:When Bruce and Whit first meet, it's obvious he's still high, so that would excuse his comments about Bruce's tattoo. A completely sane Whit would not have mistaken a butterfly with the name "Winnie" for a depiction of Revelation 8. The scene then cuts and we do not hear from them for several scenes. By the time we see them talking again, the drugs seem to have worn off and Whit is functioning normally again.
Is it, though? Before they get on the train, Connie asks Whit if he wants more pain meds, and he refuses them. This would indicate that they would be wearing off by this time. My take was just that Bruce had a really bad tattoo.
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Post by Monica Stone »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:In older episodes ("The Golden Age of Odyssey," if you will), Whit's character possessed an almost somber quality, natural to someone of his age, wisdom and life experience. Even his more lighthearted moments held a degree of gravity. Today's Odyssey paints him in quite a different light (probably largely due inconsistencies in the writing), and I feel that much of the "Classic Whit" has been lost to time. That, I suppose, is the gist of why I don't like loopy Whit.
Although he could be very somber at the appropriate moments, Whit was always joyful, even in his oldest episodes. I can just hear Hal Smith's hearty laugh and good nature in my head often. Whit can be somber, but he also can be very carefree. I think when Paul Herlinger began voicing Whit, he felt more adventurous and less of a jolly grandfather figure, but still the same character. Now, in the Andre Stojka era, I do think he generally feels the same and he has some of the same jovial nature as did Hal Smith. I think each time the actor has changed, the writing has changed slightly with the actor. I think "current day" Whit has fewer opportunities to display his more serious nature. So many episodes don't even have him in them anymore. The more serious character arcs and situations happen away from Whit, so when he does appear, it usually isn't in a serious situation. The "serious" character arcs and stories usually happen away from him (the Meltsner family episodes, Jules and Connie, etc). That is why whenever there is a serious, somber episode with Whit nowadays ("Always Home", "Charlotte"), fans always get excited and praise the episode. I don't think the problem is that Whit cannot be somber, it is that he doesn't have the opportunity to often show his somber side.
ByeByeBrownie wrote:Is it, though? Before they get on the train, Connie asks Whit if he wants more pain meds, and he refuses them. This would indicate that they would be wearing off by this time. My take was just that Bruce had a really bad tattoo.
Here's my take. Although he declined another pain pill, he still a little loopy. Declining to take more pain meds does not necessarily mean he is no longer loopy. I believe his line delivery suggests as much.

Connie: Are you okay, Whit? Do you need another pain pill?
Whit: No, I-I really don't like how goofy they make me.


And in no way would Whit ever comment on a stranger's tattoo in such a way if he were in the correct shape of mind. He is not socially unaware. The entire first conversation with Bruce and Whit was played off as a joke. The scene did not take Whit seriously. Marshal Younger put Whit at the butt of the joke because he knew this is how Whit wouldn't normally act.

Whit: Your tattoo is inaccurate.
Bruce: What?
Whit: I assume it's the scene in Revelation 8, where seven angels stood before God. That's the third angel, correct? The one who blew his trumpet and a great star fell from the sky and into the river and it made it bitter. The star was named "Wormwoood" and your tattoo says "Winwood". That's inaccurate.
Bruce: My tattoo is a butterfly and it says "Winnie", my ex-girlfriend.
Whit: Oh.
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