The Town of Odyssey

http://www.paulmccusker.com/mccusker%20blue%201_046.htm

I hope this is some sort of april fools joke that he just forgot to take down.

Also are they going to change the date of the new regular episode back to this fall? If so they won't be able to air very many - assuming they do one new episode per week Dariens Rise will end on Nov. 14 which only leaves 2 weeks before the Christmas airings will start, and they were going to re-air album 50 before the new shows.

Does anybody know what's going on anymore?

EDIT: The page has been updated and now no longer mentions the new writers or the the new whit.

Why get rid of Paul Herlinger? It took them two years to find him. Whit is supposed to sound grandfatherly so I hope they don't get a younger actor. I hope they would make up their minds as to the start date for the new season soon. Haven't we waited long enough?

Uh oh. I don't think I'm going to be too happy...

The blurb makes it sound like they've rebuilt him. "We've done it! He's older! Fatter! Wiser."

Maybe he means his character is taking a turn for the better. People have been saying that his character is less relevant than before (which I think is a good thing, in the event anything happens to Paul Herlinger), so maybe they want to get Whit back in the spotlight? Maybe it's just a silly tagline that doesn't mean anything.

To everybody who's jumping to conclusions, I have a wonderful little episode for you to listen to called, "Naturally, I Assumed."

That doesn't seem normal. If the writing team chose to have a new voice of Mr. Whitaker, would they have such a small blurb about it?

http://www.paulmccusker.com/mccusker%20blue%201_046.htm wrote:Odyssey Re-Launch
Next month, Paul and the Odyssey team will head out to Burbank to record some new episodes for Album 51. New writers! A new Whit! Enjoy listening to these new shows later in the year.

Perhaps this is referring to Passages anyway because the AIO canon will start next March, not later this year. Either that or this is old information.

Let's just get one thing straight - the writers have already told us (both on the Official Podcast on the Official Website) that Album 51 will air in March 2010. That we know for sure.

It's not unusual for recording to take place 6+ months in advance of the release date - this way the post-production team has enough time to edit the episodes. Plus you have to consider the fact that they'll need extra time to prepare the cover art, and get the album ready for release around the same time that it airs.

Regarding the "new" Whit - all we can do is speculate. But that's the best part.

KODY 105 wrote:That doesn't seem normal. If the writing team chose to have a new voice of Mr. Whitaker, would they have such a small blurb about it?

http://www.paulmccusker.com/mccusker%20blue%201_046.htm wrote:Odyssey Re-Launch
Next month, Paul and the Odyssey team will head out to Burbank to record some new episodes for Album 51. New writers! A new Whit! Enjoy listening to these new shows later in the year.

Perhaps this is referring to Passages anyway because the AIO canon will start next March, not later this year. Either that or this is old information.

that's fairly new info, it wasn't there a few weeks ago, also I believe that recording for passages was done back in Feb and March. Also it says right on the page that it will be for album 51.

Laurie wrote:Why get rid of Paul Herlinger? It took them two years to find him. Whit is supposed to sound grandfatherly so I hope they don't get a younger actor. I hope they would make up their minds as to the start date for the new season soon. Haven't we waited long enough?

Well, Paul Herlinger is quite old and may not be in very good health. Perhaps they didn't have a choice?

Sometimes these things - both actor's and recording/release dates are out of their control, and have to be dealt with accordingly. Maybe we should try being a little more flexible too as all we are doing is enjoying it - they have to do all the work.

Let's give the AIO team and the possible new Whit a chance before judging and destroying what these people have been working hard at doing for US, the listener, for a long time.

JesusFreak777 wrote:

Laurie wrote:Why get rid of Paul Herlinger? It took them two years to find him. Whit is supposed to sound grandfatherly so I hope they don't get a younger actor. I hope they would make up their minds as to the start date for the new season soon. Haven't we waited long enough?

Well, Paul Herlinger is quite old and may not be in very good health. Perhaps they didn't have a choice?

Let's give the AIO team and the possible new Whit a chance before judging and destroying what these people have been working hard at doing for US, the listener, for a long time.

I'm not going to speculate on how old Paul Herlinger is. I think it is very rude to speak unknowingly of someone's age. I'm not judging or destroying anything, I'm raising a couple of valid points where Whit is concerned.

I think Laurie is justified in her concerns over the possibility of a new Whit. Change isn't always an easy thing to accept.

That said - I think you have to realize that they may not have a choice over whether or not they retain Paul Herlinger. Laurie, you asked why they are geting of Paul. I could just as easily ask why they "got rid" of Pamela Hayden. As Sarah mentioned, sometimes there are simply circumstances (scheduling conflicts, availability, etc.) that are out of their control. It may not be a decision that they necessarily want to make. For me, it's really difficult to evaluate how this would affect the show since we don't know what Whit's role will be in future shows - regardless of whether or not Paul Herlinger returns.

Trent DeWhite wrote:I think Laurie is justified in her concerns over the possibility of a new Whit. Change isn't always an easy thing to accept.

That said - I think you have to realize that they may not have a choice over whether or not they retain Paul Herlinger. Laurie, you asked why they are geting of Paul. I could just as easily ask why they "got rid" of Pamela Hayden. As Sarah mentioned, sometimes there are simply circumstances (scheduling conflicts, availability, etc.) that are out of their control. It may not be a decision that they necessarily want to make. For me, it's really difficult to evaluate how this would affect the show since we don't know what Whit's role will be in future shows - regardless of whether or not Paul Herlinger returns.

I don't know why Pamela Hayden left. I never heard anything about it. Just one episode Katrina had a new voice. I found out the reason behind Paul Herlinger's appearance on AIO after I started listening. If they don't have a choice, fine I can live with that. If they are letting him go because they want a younger Whit, I am definitely going to have a problem with that one.

Maybe by Whit they mean Whitaker. So maybe Monty matured and is taking Jason's Spot (I am going to get killed by Jason fans.)

31899

Laurie wrote:If they are letting him go because they want a younger Whit, I am definitely going to have a problem with that one.

As would many listeners. I have a very hard time believing that would be the reason.

Humor warning: *kills 31899*

I don't like Jason, so you don't have to worry about that.

I was thinking that "Whit" could mean another Whitaker, but I didn't bring it up because only John Avery is ever called Whit.

Trent DeWhite wrote:

Laurie wrote:If they are letting him go because they want a younger Whit, I am definitely going to have a problem with that one.

As would many listeners. I have a very hard time believing that would be the reason.

If they keep changing him: voice, habits etc, he will stop being a believable character. At least with me. I guess we will have to wait and see.

But do we want a consistent Whit? Personally, I'd like to see more of the rapping, sky-diving Whit.

Whit could teach the kids how to sky dive.

Lol @ panic over Paul Herlinger leaving after all the flak he took for not sounding enough like Hal Smith.

Laurie wrote: If they keep changing him: voice, habits etc, he will stop being a believable character. At least with me. I guess we will have to wait and see.

How many times have they changed Whit? Once. After the original Whit died.

Hal Smith: 1987-1994
Paul Herlinger: 1996-2008 (at least)

Two Whit's in 21 years. It's not unreasonable to assume with someone that age that they aren't going to be available as a voice actor for 20 years and that occasional changes will be necessary. And since Whit is the glue of the show, doing away with him isn't an option.

Shawndlay wrote:Lol @ panic over Paul Herlinger leaving after all the flak he took for not sounding enough like Hal Smith.

Laurie wrote: If they keep changing him: voice, habits etc, he will stop being a believable character. At least with me. I guess we will have to wait and see.

How many times have they changed Whit? Once. After the original Whit died.

Hal Smith: 1987-1994
Paul Herlinger: 1996-2008 (at least)

Two Whit's in 21 years. It's not unreasonable to assume with someone that age that they aren't going to be available as a voice actor for 20 years and that occasional changes will be necessary. And since Whit is the glue of the show, doing away with him isn't an option.

I know all about Hal and Paul. I'm not a new listener. Changes are fine as long as Whit is still believable as a character. Who is going to believe Whit if he suddenly drops 10 or 20 years?

I think the point Shawndlay was trying to make is that Whit hasn't changed as much as you suggested. And when Paul took over for Hal, people eventually got used to the new Whit. You're making it sound like no one is going to be able to accept the change when and if it happens.