674: Square One
- Peachey Keen
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674: Square One
What are your thoughts on this ep?
- TigerintheShadows
- Ignorance of the law is no excuse
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Does Ryan's voice remind anyone else of David Straussberg's, or is that just me? Because I know their voice actors are different, but still...
"Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" "So he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking..."
"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."
"It unscrews the other way."
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I really liked this one because for once I actually liked how Matthew and Emily interacted and seemed like realistic brother and sister, who don't always get along, but make up in the end. I thought the story was interesting and for once I actually liked Andre in this one. This episode was engaging and creative. 4/5
Till the end of the line.
Yay! I liked this episode decently. Matthew and Emily were both portrayed realistically, and I'm also glad that we haven't heard as nearly as much of Matthew as we have in the last few episodes. I think that what Emily did what was naturally expected of her, so it wasn't so much of a shocking twist. Matthew wouldn't have blundered and told Emily all about it, though, I think. He would have said nothing, imo. All the actors were great for the show, and this sort of reminds me of "When You're Right, You're Right", when Emily was stubborn in grasping the truth. So I'm glad that they didn't totally change her. Good moral, one that I think we should all work on. Final rating: 7/10
"I still see Marvin as a newbie that is just as cool as an oldie." --snubs
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Biggest Joker and Grammar Nazi | Best Writer
- Laura Ingalls
- Half Pint
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Ha, I got around to looking up who plays Pete, and it is the same person as Seth! I thought it sounded just like him...
This episode was fine - I enjoyed it. Not a 5 star, but not too bad either.
This episode was fine - I enjoyed it. Not a 5 star, but not too bad either.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. ♡
Yeah. I don't like that it is the same voice of Seth...I never really liked that character too much.
This episode was an okay episode. I'll listen to it every so often....but not too much. 2 1/2 stars (I'll round up)
This is probably ranked 10th of 11th out of the 12 episodes in Album 52 by me.
This episode was an okay episode. I'll listen to it every so often....but not too much. 2 1/2 stars (I'll round up)
This is probably ranked 10th of 11th out of the 12 episodes in Album 52 by me.
Well, this was a pretty good episode... sort of a strange idea (club that takes stuff apart in a junkyard to see how they work... o_0 ) but it was good.
4/5
4/5
StrongNChrist 1991-2011
Use the chatroom! It's been active for a year, and most of you are missing it.
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I am not on the up and up with new episodes..I have a lot of catching up to do!
I really enjoyed this episode, because Emily can be obnoxious with her "helping"/meddling, and as much as I was cringing and wishing she would stop doing what we all knew she would want to, I was really glad that she didn't get away with it, and actually realized that her actions weren't helping her friend out. I listened to this one a few weeks ago and should listen again so I can add more detail, but I enjoyed this episode a lot. That's what I remember the most - I did really like the episode and how it played out. I was invested in what was going on, to the point of verbally reprimanding Emily on several occasions. Yes, I was alone in my car when I listened. I really like Adam Wylie's voice, so that was nice. I find it easier to tell the voices apart in episodes like this (several male characters that we haven't heard that much from) when I recognize some of them. I first heard his voice in the Storykeepers movies (did anybody else watch those?) and then from the Last Chance Detectives audio files as Mike, so it was great to hear him again this season!
I agree with Catspaw about Adam's voice. Ryan is quickly becoming one of my new favorite kid characters.
I like Matthew. and the Emily discourses... this one made me think. actually about the end. would I have done what Matthew did.4/5 I would give it five. but the club scenes were a little boring.
you can learn a lot from job 38-42, being humble isn't the easiest but its worth it.
My Review can be found here:
http://aio-thechangingtimes.blogspot.co ... e-one.html
And to see how this episode compares with the rest, see here:
http://aio-thechangingtimes.blogspot.co ... verys.html
http://aio-thechangingtimes.blogspot.co ... e-one.html
And to see how this episode compares with the rest, see here:
http://aio-thechangingtimes.blogspot.co ... verys.html
- The Kings Daughter
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Meant to do this early before I forgot half of the episode...
I am very please with how this one turned out. Not because I loved the storyline, although it was good. But rather because this seemed like one of those average AIO episodes that I remember listening to before all of the changes like adding characters and removing characters were made. It just seemed to me like on of the old ones. No 'big mystery', no drastic life-changing event.
Kids had a problem, kids got advice from Whit, kids worked through problem. Yay Square One!
Ahem, moving on.
I think Emily Jone's role in this episode was well played out, and she admitted she was wrong at the end. Actually I was pretty much please with everyone's performance this episode.
*Eugene moment* In closing, I found the entire episode most pleasurable to listen to, and I look forward to being able to make re-hearing it a repetitive tradition in the upcoming days ahead.
I am very please with how this one turned out. Not because I loved the storyline, although it was good. But rather because this seemed like one of those average AIO episodes that I remember listening to before all of the changes like adding characters and removing characters were made. It just seemed to me like on of the old ones. No 'big mystery', no drastic life-changing event.
Kids had a problem, kids got advice from Whit, kids worked through problem. Yay Square One!
Ahem, moving on.
I think Emily Jone's role in this episode was well played out, and she admitted she was wrong at the end. Actually I was pretty much please with everyone's performance this episode.
*Eugene moment* In closing, I found the entire episode most pleasurable to listen to, and I look forward to being able to make re-hearing it a repetitive tradition in the upcoming days ahead.
SnC Forever. Miss you still.
This was a pretty cool episode. I loved that Nelson, Pete, and Ryan were in it. Very interesting, and it had a great moral. Emily Jones was a bit annoying in the episode. It reminded me of Connie's curiosity. I'm glad that she admitted she was wrong in the end. I liked the scene where Whit tried to give Matthew and Emily advice. I will give this episode four stars out of five.
"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." ― C.S. Lewis
I won't lie; when I first tried to listen to Square One, it didn't immediately enrapture me. In fact, I got bored and turned it off, without really concentrating on it, the first few times I played it.
That said, though, last night I got around to listening to it for real, and I was mostly pleasantly surprised by it -- it develops the characters well without any contrived elements (except one thing, as I see it, and that's kind of what keeps this from being better than 4. I'll talk about this later).
The basic premise of most of the Detective Agency stories we've heard so far is that Emily Jones knows everything, and she knows she knows everything, and she uses that to solve everyone's problems. We know from earlier episodes (Barrett's Valentine card) that she's also a meddler and a manipulator. This actually hasn't caused many problems, but in this episode, these negative personality traits finally catch up with her.
Matthew, who's usually portrayed as the useless, bumbling sidekick -- like a poor man's Watson to Emily's Holmes -- is well-written in this episode. He's normally been characterized as a coward, but Emily's actions in this story are so extreme that someone has to call her out on it, which he does, like a true friend. I have my summary of the plot below; if you haven't heard it, or want to skip straight to my opinions, don't open up the Spoiler box.
The episode does have a strong message about trust; it adequately shows that it (and personal relationships in general) can't be instantly repaired. Emily's behavior hadn't caused real problems before this episode, but it was necessary that the AIO staff attend to it sooner or later...before Em was always looking for the quick way out, and almost seemed to believe that the 'ends justify the means', neither of which are desirable for a Christian protagonist.
All in all, it's much better than I thought it would be. The only thing that I'm inclined to complain about is that the club seems awfully hostile most of the time -- and come off as hypocrites because of it, since Ryan and Nelson themselves outright lied to and betrayed their friends in the Kidsboro series. You would hope that after that experience, both of them (Ryan in particular) could be more forgiving, or at least phrase things to Matthew more diplomatically than they did. They're still far more sympathetic characters than Pete, though, who comes off in an almost villainous light; as soon as the trouble starts, he immediately wants to kick Matthew out, and we don't hear him say one more positive word in the entire story thereafter. This is strange since the club members are supposed to be the good guys in this, and Em is the villain; yet she comes off as far more likable than the people we ought to agree with.
Mr. Whittaker played a useful, but not overbearing, role in this episode. I think they're trying to get him more into the role of the very old-school, Hal Smith Whit...instead of being the focus of the story (like in many, many other episodes), he just periodically shows up and offers advice to the child protagonists. This is probably a good idea and I thoroughly support it.
All of the voice actors did a great job in this episode. Pete seemed a little different (and much more snarly) than in Kidsboro, but I think that was mostly because of the writing. Everyone else was easily recognizable. Andre Stojka did a good job as the voice of Whit, as usual.
I'm not sure that this episode will end up in my all-time favorites list, but it's a strong effort by the Odyssey team. The writers, for the most part, paid close attention to the characters' traits and personalities and realistically developed them. Hopefully this will lead to even more work in other characters (like Connie, who's been in an unproductive, character-deteriorating rut for the last ten years).
4/5. One of the better new episodes that I've heard.
That said, though, last night I got around to listening to it for real, and I was mostly pleasantly surprised by it -- it develops the characters well without any contrived elements (except one thing, as I see it, and that's kind of what keeps this from being better than 4. I'll talk about this later).
The basic premise of most of the Detective Agency stories we've heard so far is that Emily Jones knows everything, and she knows she knows everything, and she uses that to solve everyone's problems. We know from earlier episodes (Barrett's Valentine card) that she's also a meddler and a manipulator. This actually hasn't caused many problems, but in this episode, these negative personality traits finally catch up with her.
Matthew, who's usually portrayed as the useless, bumbling sidekick -- like a poor man's Watson to Emily's Holmes -- is well-written in this episode. He's normally been characterized as a coward, but Emily's actions in this story are so extreme that someone has to call her out on it, which he does, like a true friend. I have my summary of the plot below; if you haven't heard it, or want to skip straight to my opinions, don't open up the Spoiler box.
All in all, it's much better than I thought it would be. The only thing that I'm inclined to complain about is that the club seems awfully hostile most of the time -- and come off as hypocrites because of it, since Ryan and Nelson themselves outright lied to and betrayed their friends in the Kidsboro series. You would hope that after that experience, both of them (Ryan in particular) could be more forgiving, or at least phrase things to Matthew more diplomatically than they did. They're still far more sympathetic characters than Pete, though, who comes off in an almost villainous light; as soon as the trouble starts, he immediately wants to kick Matthew out, and we don't hear him say one more positive word in the entire story thereafter. This is strange since the club members are supposed to be the good guys in this, and Em is the villain; yet she comes off as far more likable than the people we ought to agree with.
Mr. Whittaker played a useful, but not overbearing, role in this episode. I think they're trying to get him more into the role of the very old-school, Hal Smith Whit...instead of being the focus of the story (like in many, many other episodes), he just periodically shows up and offers advice to the child protagonists. This is probably a good idea and I thoroughly support it.
All of the voice actors did a great job in this episode. Pete seemed a little different (and much more snarly) than in Kidsboro, but I think that was mostly because of the writing. Everyone else was easily recognizable. Andre Stojka did a good job as the voice of Whit, as usual.
I'm not sure that this episode will end up in my all-time favorites list, but it's a strong effort by the Odyssey team. The writers, for the most part, paid close attention to the characters' traits and personalities and realistically developed them. Hopefully this will lead to even more work in other characters (like Connie, who's been in an unproductive, character-deteriorating rut for the last ten years).
4/5. One of the better new episodes that I've heard.
- Parker Family
- Smile for the camera
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- Christian A.
- Animatronic
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Here's my review:
I actually liked this episode quite a bit. It had its problems, as others have, but for the most part it was really good.
A couple of minutes into the show I was sure that this was the long-awaited fourth Kidsboro episode because of the presence of Ryan, Pete, and Nelson. Since the three of them said that they were thinking about letting Matthew into their secret club, I thought for sure that it would turn out to be Kidsboro. But then I turned out to be wrong. And I just looked over the episode summaries for the rest of the season and saw that there isn't another episode that might be a Kidsboro one. I must have missed something over the summer because I thought that we'd been told that a new Kidsboro episode was coming.
One thing that I thought was weird about the secret club was that Ryan and Pete never seemed to be as geeky as Nelson in regards to wanting to know how things work. It was weird that the three of them started this other club seperate from Kidsboro.
I think Emily Jones is growing on me. I'm getting a little more used to her voice, and I guess I look forward to the upcoming episode featuring the Jones and Parker Detective Agency. However, I am glad that she wasn't the narrator this time. ; )
Oh, and to all you fans who speculated in Album 51 about a relationship between Matthew and Emily beyond being mystery-solving partners, your theories were thwarted when we heard that Matthew had told Emily about his secret crush, thus disproving the conjecture that he has a crush on her. Though she may actually still have a crush on him as shown by her exhaustive attempts to make sure that he wasn't getting into trouble.
The episode had a great moral that we haven't heard from in Odyssey since Sounds Like a Mystery or The One About Trust, whichever came last. I was glad when Matthew didn't let Emily get away with blackmailing Ryan, Nelson, and Pete, and it was also nice that the boys were finally able to trust Matthew again when he proved himself.
One thing I thought was hilarious about the show was that probably a large fraction of the episode was spent with the characters saying the full name of the pinball machine. : D
Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the episode was that there wasn't really good writing for Mr. Whittaker. The actor probably did the best he could with what he had, but the writer didn't give him good lines.
Other than that, it was an enjoyable episode, but not as good as last week's.
I give it a 7/10.
I actually liked this episode quite a bit. It had its problems, as others have, but for the most part it was really good.
A couple of minutes into the show I was sure that this was the long-awaited fourth Kidsboro episode because of the presence of Ryan, Pete, and Nelson. Since the three of them said that they were thinking about letting Matthew into their secret club, I thought for sure that it would turn out to be Kidsboro. But then I turned out to be wrong. And I just looked over the episode summaries for the rest of the season and saw that there isn't another episode that might be a Kidsboro one. I must have missed something over the summer because I thought that we'd been told that a new Kidsboro episode was coming.
One thing that I thought was weird about the secret club was that Ryan and Pete never seemed to be as geeky as Nelson in regards to wanting to know how things work. It was weird that the three of them started this other club seperate from Kidsboro.
I think Emily Jones is growing on me. I'm getting a little more used to her voice, and I guess I look forward to the upcoming episode featuring the Jones and Parker Detective Agency. However, I am glad that she wasn't the narrator this time. ; )
Oh, and to all you fans who speculated in Album 51 about a relationship between Matthew and Emily beyond being mystery-solving partners, your theories were thwarted when we heard that Matthew had told Emily about his secret crush, thus disproving the conjecture that he has a crush on her. Though she may actually still have a crush on him as shown by her exhaustive attempts to make sure that he wasn't getting into trouble.
The episode had a great moral that we haven't heard from in Odyssey since Sounds Like a Mystery or The One About Trust, whichever came last. I was glad when Matthew didn't let Emily get away with blackmailing Ryan, Nelson, and Pete, and it was also nice that the boys were finally able to trust Matthew again when he proved himself.
One thing I thought was hilarious about the show was that probably a large fraction of the episode was spent with the characters saying the full name of the pinball machine. : D
Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the episode was that there wasn't really good writing for Mr. Whittaker. The actor probably did the best he could with what he had, but the writer didn't give him good lines.
Other than that, it was an enjoyable episode, but not as good as last week's.
I give it a 7/10.
- The Mysterious
- I've been here a bit
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Some people in the SS hate this episode.