The Town of Odyssey

Does anyone miss the Wooton we had back in the Grady era? He has had so much change in the way he's written these days. He does have a soft side that's not so silly with Penny, but I find it almost sickening sweet at times.

I used to love Wooton, so that was definitely the Grady-era character. I do think he's overused now, because he's so silly. Because he's so silly, he shouldn't really get that much attention; He's unfortunately not a great role model for kids.

I've always thought of "Tuesdays with Wooton" as the definitive Wooton episode. It's true that many of his recent episodes haven't met quite that standard. I don't think the character has necessarily changed, though, or even that he's being written that much differently; I think that he's being given fluffier roles. Listeners tend to think bad things about characters' development when they mostly end up in comedies. But whenever he gets a serious role in a show, the traits people liked in those 'landmark' episodes still come to the surface.

As far as the specific details about these roles: Wooton's best episodes and moments tend to be the ones where he is giving out, ministering to someone. However, Penny hasn't been written into many opportunities to do that (I can't think of any, although there may be some), and similarly, I can't think of any time when she does it in a partnership with Wooton in an episode. Instead, they often like to write her as a 'big girl', a naive twenty-something having a learning experience. Since Wooton is married to Penny and we would expect him to often be with her, and since it's unlikely that he's going to have that kind of major role in an episode with Penny if she's not somehow involved with it, we would expect the rate of serious Wooton roles to be diminished from what it once was (except perhaps for any episodes where he gives Penny guidance).

I'm not against the Wooton/Penny genre or episodes where 'Penny learns about life', but if they more often showed them being involved in some kind of work or ministry together, that'd be conducive to a greater rate of good episodes. There's at least one Clubhouse magazine story that depicted them leading/chaperoning a youth event; that kind of thing seems to be a good fit.

Bob wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:58 pm As far as the specific details about these roles: Wooton's best episodes and moments tend to be the ones where he is giving out, ministering to someone.

This.

It's easy to blame Penny(not saying you were doing that), but I'd think it comes down to what type of plot a Wooton episode ought to have. When Wooton is a main character in an episode, I think the plot should reflect his skill at showing kindness to people. As much fun as the Basset Wedding 2-parter was(and it's his wedding episode so I should cut the guy some slack, but I needed a ready example), the most compassion he really had opportunity to show was trying to help an old lady by trying to convince his brother that she wasn't a thief. If they want to display Wooton's silliness and humor in a longer episode, I think they should do so with a one off type episode in the vein of Wooton's Broken Pencil Show. The Odyssey team I think should make it so Wooton helping someone(with Penny's help of course) is the main focus of episode where he's prominent, give him a silly spin off episode once in a while, and relegate him to a pretty minor character when the episode focus is not his strength. If I had to pick a Wooton episode as the best, I'd pick The Other Side of the Glass because it does a good job making Wooton silly, yet compassionate, with an exciting plot to boot.

Patterson wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:43 pm

Bob wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:58 pm As far as the specific details about these roles: Wooton's best episodes and moments tend to be the ones where he is giving out, ministering to someone.

If I had to pick a Wooton episode as the best, I'd pick The Other Side of the Glass because it does a good job making Wooton silly, yet compassionate, with an exciting plot to boot.

That is a wonderful example of an episode where Wooton is prominently featured and really shines. Great example, Patterson.

Catspaw wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:43 pm

Patterson wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:43 pm

Bob wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:58 pm As far as the specific details about these roles: Wooton's best episodes and moments tend to be the ones where he is giving out, ministering to someone.

If I had to pick a Wooton episode as the best, I'd pick The Other Side of the Glass because it does a good job making Wooton silly, yet compassionate, with an exciting plot to boot.

That is a wonderful example of an episode where Wooton is prominently featured and really shines. Great example, Patterson.

And there was also the fact that he made an excellent foil for Bernard.

Jonathan wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:45 pm

Catspaw wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:43 pm

Patterson wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:43 pm

Bob wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:58 pm As far as the specific details about these roles: Wooton's best episodes and moments tend to be the ones where he is giving out, ministering to someone.

If I had to pick a Wooton episode as the best, I'd pick The Other Side of the Glass because it does a good job making Wooton silly, yet compassionate, with an exciting plot to boot.

That is a wonderful example of an episode where Wooton is prominently featured and really shines. Great example, Patterson.

And there was also the face that he made an excellent foil for Bernard.

Great point, Jonathan. The surrounding characters make a big difference. I think Penny and Wooton together are a fun couple, but it's too much randomness to have both of them interacting for a significant period of time. Bernard and Wooton made for a great team in that episode.