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Adventures in Odyssey (AIO), or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 drama
Radio drama

File:Opname van een hoorspel Recording a radio play.jpgRadio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio broadcasting. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagination the story....
/comedy
Radio comedy

Radio comedy, or comedy radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketch comedy, and many other forms of comedy found on other media....
 series created by Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family is an United States Evangelicalism group. The non-profit organization was founded in 1977 by James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado....
 in 1987. In 2008, it celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The series centers on the fictional town of Odyssey, and in particular, an ice cream emporium named 'Whit's End', and its proprietor, John Avery Whittaker, an inventor
Invention

An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas....
 who offers his customers the use of his many fantastical
Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
 inventions allowing them to experience possible futures, the past and events from other people's point of view.






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Encyclopedia


Adventures in Odyssey (AIO), or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 drama
Radio drama

File:Opname van een hoorspel Recording a radio play.jpgRadio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio broadcasting. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagination the story....
/comedy
Radio comedy

Radio comedy, or comedy radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketch comedy, and many other forms of comedy found on other media....
 series created by Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family is an United States Evangelicalism group. The non-profit organization was founded in 1977 by James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado....
 in 1987. In 2008, it celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The series centers on the fictional town of Odyssey, and in particular, an ice cream emporium named 'Whit's End', and its proprietor, John Avery Whittaker, an inventor
Invention

An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas....
 who offers his customers the use of his many fantastical
Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
 inventions allowing them to experience possible futures, the past and events from other people's point of view. Episodes range from comedic
Comedy

Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
 to melodrama
Melodrama

The theatrical genre of Melodrama utilizes theme-music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types. The term combines "melody" and "drama"....
tic and usually feature thematic
Theme (literature)

A theme is a simile used to relate to idioms and or literary work a message or lesson conveyed by a written text. This message is usually about life, society or human nature....
 and Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 references.

History

The show was commissioned by Dobson as an alternative to Saturday morning cartoons, and created by Steve Harris and Phil Lollar, who decided to set it in a small Midwest town, which they called Odyssey. A 13-week test series was aired in 1987, under the title Family Portraits. It engendered a favorable audience response, and led to a radio program, Adventures in Odyssey. In November 1987, the first Odyssey episode aired, originally titled Odyssey USA.

Characters

  • John Avery Whittaker, voiced by Hal Smith
    Hal Smith (actor)

    Harold John "Hal" Smith was an United States character actor and voice acting....
     (1987 - 1994) and Paul Herlinger
    Paul Herlinger

    Paul Herlinger is an United States Voice acting, best known for his role as John Avery Whittaker on the radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey ....
     (1996 - present)
  • Connie Kendall, voiced by Katie Leigh
    Katie Leigh

    Katie Leigh is an United States voice actress. She has voice acted in both television and film roles....
  • Eugene Meltsner, voiced by Will Ryan
    Will Ryan

    Will Ryan is a voice actor and producer/writer/composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio, a role Will Ryan occasionally revives....
     (1988-2000, 2005-present)
  • Katrina Shanks-Meltsner, voiced by Pamela Hayden
    Pamela Hayden

    Pamela Hayden is an United States actress, best known for providing various voices for the animated television show The Simpsons. She is also a stand up comedian....
     and Audrey Wasilewski
  • Bernard Walton, voiced by Dave Madden
    Dave Madden

    Dave Madden is a Canada actor. He was born in Sarnia, Ontario, but was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana....
  • Tom Riley, voiced by Walker Edmiston
    Walker Edmiston

    Walker Edmiston was an United States actor and voice-over artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston appeared on various television programs in character roles during the 1950s – 1970s, such as Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, all on Columbia Broadcasting System....
     (1987 - 2007)
  • Jack Allen, voiced by Alan Young
    Alan Young

    Alan Young is an Emmy Award-winning English-born character actor, best known for his television role opposite a talking horse, Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck....
  • Jason Whittaker, voiced by Townsend Coleman
    Townsend Coleman

    Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who performed in many animated series and TV advertising beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Wayne Gretzky on ProStars, the Where's Wally? of Where's Waldo? , and the Tick of The Tick ....
  • Principal Skinner, voiced by J.P. Sloane (1993)
  • Bart Rathbone, voiced by Walker Edmiston
    Walker Edmiston

    Walker Edmiston was an United States actor and voice-over artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston appeared on various television programs in character roles during the 1950s – 1970s, such as Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, all on Columbia Broadcasting System....
     (1987-2007)
  • Wooton Bassett, voiced by Jess Harnell
    Jess Harnell

    Jess Q. Harnell , is an United States voice actor, best known for voicing Yakko, Wakko, and Dot on Animaniacs and Hunter on Road Rovers....
  • Rodney Rathbone, voiced by Steve Burns
  • Dr. Regis Blackgaard, Edwin's twin brother, voiced by Earl Boen
    Earl Boen

    Earl Boen is an American actor. He is perhaps best known as psychiatrist Dr. Silberman in the Terminator series. Boen reprised the role in both Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in which Silberman works at a mental institute where Sarah Connor is held, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, where he appears in a single scene as he tries...
    .
  • Edwin Blackgaard, Regis's twin brother, also voiced by Earl Boen.
  • Chris, the show's announcer, voiced by Chris Anthony
    Chris Anthony (voice actor)

    Chris Anthony is an United States voice actress best known as host of Focus on the Family's radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey . Aside for her work in Adventures in Odyssey, she has been a voice actor for several Barbie Barbie film series, including Barbie Digital Makeover, Barbie Riding Club, and Barbie Sticker Designer...


Translations

It is being adapted into Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
 audio and Hindi
Hindi

Standard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a Standard language register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and is used, along with English language, for administration of the central government....
 video, with plans to create Mandarin Chinese audio as well.

Spinoff products

AIO has spanned 645 half-hour radio episodes
List of Adventures in Odyssey episodes

The following is a list of Adventures in Odyssey radio episodes, albums, videos, books, and merchandise, including initial radio episodes from the series Family Portraits....
 collected into 51 albums, an Official Odyssey Podcast, 17 animated videos, many books
List of Adventures in Odyssey episodes

The following is a list of Adventures in Odyssey radio episodes, albums, videos, books, and merchandise, including initial radio episodes from the series Family Portraits....
, Eugene Sings! and Eugene Sings! Christmas, and two edutainment
Edutainment

Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to Education as well as to amuse. Edutainment typically seeks to instruct or Socialization its audience by embedding lessons in some familiar form of entertainment: television programs, Video game, films, music, websites, multimedia software, etc....
 computer games
Computer software

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, Algorithm and Software documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system....
, in addition to the two book series created as spin-offs to Adventures in Odyssey, Passages
List of Adventures in Odyssey episodes

The following is a list of Adventures in Odyssey radio episodes, albums, videos, books, and merchandise, including initial radio episodes from the series Family Portraits....
 and Kidsboro
List of Adventures in Odyssey episodes

The following is a list of Adventures in Odyssey radio episodes, albums, videos, books, and merchandise, including initial radio episodes from the series Family Portraits....
.

Computer games

To date, Adventures in Odyssey has released three Christian video games
Christian video games

Christian video games were first marketed successfully in the late 1980s for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Wisdom Tree and now are made by many different developers....
, which were created by Digital Praise
Digital Praise

Digital Praise is Christianity-themed video game and computer game developer. It won the Addy Awards for "Mixed Media Campaign" in 2008. It has produced Dance Praise, Guitar Praise, Adventures in Odyssey#Computer games, VeggieTales' Dance, Dance, Dance, and other video games....
. The games were titled Adventures in Odyssey: The Treasure of the Incas, Adventures in Odyssey: The Sword of the Spirit, and Adventures in Odyssey: The Great Escape. Will Ryan
Will Ryan

Will Ryan is a voice actor and producer/writer/composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio, a role Will Ryan occasionally revives....
, Katie Leigh
Katie Leigh

Katie Leigh is an United States voice actress. She has voice acted in both television and film roles....
 and Paul Herlinger
Paul Herlinger

Paul Herlinger is an United States Voice acting, best known for his role as John Avery Whittaker on the radio drama, Adventures in Odyssey ....
 voiced the main characters of the games.

Music

John Campbell
John Campbell (musician)

John Campbell is a musical composer. He wrote the music for most of the Adventures in Odyssey radio drama series, as well as Paws & Tales, Down Gilead Lane and the Father Gilbert Mysteries....
 composed music for over 500 episodes of Adventures in Odyssey. Eugene Sings! and Eugene Sings! Christmas are Adventures in Odyssey musical album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
s from Tyndale House
Tyndale House

Tyndale House is a publisher founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Chicago....
 and Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family is an United States Evangelicalism group. The non-profit organization was founded in 1977 by James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado....
. Both feature songs written and sung by Will Ryan
Will Ryan

Will Ryan is a voice actor and producer/writer/composer, well-known for singing about the American West. In the late seventies he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio, a role Will Ryan occasionally revives....
, voicing Eugene Meltsner from the series.

See also

  • The Last Chance Detectives
    The Last Chance Detectives

    The Last Chance Detectives was a series of Christian television movies, and later a radio drama series produced by Focus on the Family in the late 1990s and early 2000s....


Further reading

  • Adventures in Odyssey: The Official Guide : ISBN 1589974751
  • The Complete Guide to Adventures in Odyssey : ISBN 156179466X


External links

  • at the Internet Movie Database
    Internet Movie Database

    The Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to film, actors, Television program, production crew personnel, video games, and most recently, fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media....