703: The Labyrinth, Part 1

[Taps]

I can't believe it! I am so glad that Blackgaard's back! He is one of my favorite characters!!

[Buzz]

SO... DALE JACOBS IS THE SURPRISE? Aaackkk....... I was expecting one of the RM's. That's okay...

blahhhh I love pie

[Jehoshaphat]

I listened to the episode but I did not pick up that Blackgaard was coming back. Can someone fill me in?

[Jimmy Barclay Fan]

I knew it was gonna be Dale Jacobs. They said a long lost character, Paul McCusker said he had lunch with Phil Lollar who was on GRC, I had a good feeling.

[BlessedCheesemaker]

I listened to the episode but I did not pick up that Blackgaard was coming back. Can someone fill me in?

On this forum what you read in a spoiler thread can never be trusted as truth (though of course I would never...)

[Shennifer]

Just listened to it; and I think I need to hear the first half again to try and catch more of the details because I'm a bit confused. But it was a very good episode, and it was nice to hear from Dale after so long. I wish Richard would come back though .....

[Jimmy Barclay Fan]

I listened to the episode but I did not pick up that Blackgaard was coming back. Can someone fill me in?

On this forum what you read in a spoiler thread can never be trusted as truth (though of course I would never...)

They did the same thing with the Green Ring Conspiracy. They acted like Blackgaard, Richard Maxwell, and others were coming back. They had fun being silly and posting all kinds of fake spoilers

[The Kings Daughter]

I listened to the episode but I did not pick up that Blackgaard was coming back. Can someone fill me in?

On this forum what you read in a spoiler thread can never be trusted as truth (though of course I would never...)

I know, imagine my surprise when I found that out. They all must have really long noses.

[The Top Crusader]

Oh man Jenny is still alive. I bet Whit is embarrassed for dating Margaret Faye.

[Buzz]

Why in the world would they make Whit die!?!? What a terrible episode.... I can't believe Whit actually wrote his whole will to a person called John Smith..... Not even to his own SON? How terrible... no wonder Jason went to England to commit suicide. I'm glad he didn't though.... Good thing Richard Maxwell was there, or else he would've died.... Poor Jason.

[Taps]

Oh man Jenny is still alive. I bet Whit is embarrassed for dating Margaret Faye.

I know. I bet Jenny is mad at Whit. That's probably why she was sharpening her knife in the middle of the episode. Man, what a twist at the end of the episode. Regis Blackgaard is really JERRY! Who would have guessed?

[Buzz]

Oh man Jenny is still alive. I bet Whit is embarrassed for dating Margaret Faye.

I know. I bet Jenny is mad at Whit. That's probably why she was sharpening her knife in the middle of the episode. Man, what a twist at the end of the episode. Regis Blackgaard is really JERRY! Who would have guessed?

Jenny WAS sharpening her knife at him. That's how Whit died.

[The Kings Daughter]

You know what? Evidently we'll be discussing the real episode when it airs.

[Knight Fisher]

See what happenings when you joke around for awhile. We missed the return of Shadowpaw. After thinking about it for a while I really liked this episode.

[Woody]

AS IF ...*listens to episode* "Wow! This stuff really did happen!"

[Buzz]

See Shakespeare!

[Dallas R.]

I thought it was pretty decent, but different than I expected. Sort of felt more like listening to Radio Theater than to Odyssey though. It was weird that Jason was the only post-hiatus character involved. The British agents really reminded me of Cars 2 also.

I'm not sure how I feel about Dale Jacobs appearance. I would have loved to hear Dale Jacobs back in his familiar, Odyssey reporter role, but to reappear after all these years overseas acting as assistant spy seemed really odd. I think it might be confusing to new listeners too, where as a simple Odyssey news reporter wouldn't have needed explanation. Richard Maxwell would certainly have fit better, and if not him, why not have a present character play Dale's role. I think with a few rewrites, Monty might have been a much better choice. Seemed too forced almost.

Anyway, I shouldn't judge so much before I hear all three parts. Good stuff, and I can't wait to hear the rest.

[Steve]

I love me my epic Blackguard returns!

[rickyderocher]

OK, I just listened to this episode and I have to say... 5 stars!!!

First off it feels great to be able to listen to a new AIO episode that doesn't stink. Ever since the re-launch album, Odyssey has pretty much been a painful experience - part of this is from a toning of the episodes down to a younger audience appeal. It seems like AIO has been aimed at 7 year old lately - with the older AIOs while still for kids - had a wider age appeal to them. And another reason is the geeky annoying kids like Emily Jones, etc. Green Ring Conspiracy was OK - though they ruined the dramatic tension at the end with the retarded attempts at humor with Wooten and the Ditz Princess. (Penny Wise or whatever her name is - with the voice from the radio underworld - arrgghh!! Her voice reminded me of Jimmy's drunk girlfriend in Living in the Gray, by the way) I mean little bits of humor in a dramatic scene are OK but come on, it was like having Harlow Doyle pop up in the Final Conflict in the climax tunnel scene and having him dance the polka in a chicken suit while on unicycle while gurgling kook-aid. It totally ruined the dramatic effect.

So anyways, back to this episode... The voice acting is great. The plot line is cool - what with all the Mi5 agents, and all. Having Dale Jacobs in the episode good too. Overall, a very promising episode, hopefully they keep it up for the next two and don't disappoint me with a bad ending. (If Emily Jones and Matthew Parker show up and help solve everything I'm going to scream). As a side note - it's interesting to have an AIO episode set in London as that was the original plan for Way Laid in the Windy City - but at the time they didn't have the voice talent to pull it off.

[Christian A.]

I'm with rickyderocher--5 stars!! Here's my review:

I'm going to do things a little differently for this three-parter. I don't know if I'll do it the whole season, but I'll definitely do it for The Labyrinth. I'm going to review the episode as I listen to it, not necessarily line-by-line like I did with the GRC, just enough that all my responses come as I listen to each new part of the plot.

The first scene is very interesting. It doesn't sound much like Odyssey, apart from the music. I don't know if we've ever had a scene in Odyssey where the only speakers are British. It was a smart way to bring us up to date on the happenings with Jason--an experienced agent who's bringing a new, young agent up to date. It actually reminded me of Cars 2, with the two British agent cars in similar situations, if that makes any sense.

Next scene. I'm glad they brought the Stilletto voice back. It makes Jason sound tough and crime-lord-y, but still likeable, like he's on our side. I also really like Reggie Fingers's voice, similar to the voice of the jailer in the St. Valentine episode--very genuinely British. I was afraid that Jason would be too much like he was in the GRC, where he seemed too ignorant and Uncle Archie was suspicious. He actually did pretty well keeping his cover, but Reggie was still suspicious. I was suprised Jason didn't put up a fight when they took him away. But I guess it was better that way.

The next scene just depicts the capturing of the agents, I assume from their van. I don't think they should have been so quick to trust the guy at the door, but oh well. The music at the end of the scene was epic. Then comes a commercial about the live show in Dallas. Interestingly, it had "Twenty-two Trombones" from Stage Fright playing in the background.

Back to the show. I loved the exchange between Jason and Microft about Microft's last name. That was priceless. But I don't understand who the girl is. At first I thought she was the young agent from the first scene, but she sounds like she's way younger than that, since she called for her mom and dad. It was a nice touch that Jason lost the "Grinder" voice once he knocked out Thugg.

The next part of the scene was a downer. It stinks that they already know that Jason's an undercover agent, and the episode has barely even started. But I'm sure it'll work into the plot somehow. It surprised me that the girl was in on it too; she played the part pretty well. And...now I guess I can start calling her Sue...I mean...Sew, since it's short for Sewer Rat. Looks like Jason has a partner now.

After the squeeze through the vent, Sew goes off to find out what happened to the agents. The exchange between her and the policeman was funny. It's always great to hear British people cracking jokes. I loved that Sew had a cell phone. You sometimes forget that people in other countries have the same commodities we do in America. *gasps in surprise* He called Whit! Is Whit going to come and help him out in London? I actually hope not. I can't imagine that Andre Stojka would do very well in that role...

Okay, so now Jason's meeting the Jacobs. I already knew that they were the returning characters (that sort of thing usually gets around pretty quick), but I didn't know how Jason would come across them. I wonder why they're in London. Oh, what a coincidence. Mr. Jacobs has a symposium at the exact same time as Jason's in London for the meeting with Reggie. Go figure. And since when is Mr. Jacobs the breaking-and-entering, adventurous type? I mean, we've kind of seen that side of him before, but he seems really excited to be doing this for Jason. And Sew's take at an American accent.... If she was trying to sound like Buck Oliver, she did great!

After the next scene, I'm wondering if the younger agent with Agent Billings is working for Mr. Grote. She's so quick to condemn Jason as having gotten "lost in the labyrinth" with the bad guys. I don't think she can be trusted.

Oh man. I'm still laughing about the beginning of the next scene. Sew's accent greatly improved, and she seems to have gotten smart fast. She and Mr. Jacobs work perfectly as father and daughter. It's hard to believe she's young enough to pass as a middle-schooler. She seems to have a past in shady dealings. I hope she's worthy of trust.

Based on the next scene, it looks like Mr. Jacobs is in for some trouble. Hopefully he's smart enough to get himself out of it.

Wow, not only is Sew young, but she's small enough to fit in a suitcase without making it look bad. And yet she knows enough about "life in London" to get away from the hotel security.

No!! The episode's done already! Well, I guess it was pretty long. They fit a lot into this first one. I can see why people were so excited about it. Unlike with the GRC, I'm actually very eager to hear next week's episode, and it will be very hard to wait.