On January 28, 1994, Hal Smith - the beloved voice behind the most beloved Odyssey character ever: John Avery Whittaker – died. At the time, the staff at AIO had no idea what to do with this sudden death of their main character. Several of the next episodes involved Whit and they had no immediate plan for his absence. They had originally recorded A Mortal Coil to be the episode where Whit dies if Hal died, but they had already used it and didn’t feel right about simply killing him off anyway. They decided to send Whit away to the Middle East on an archeological expedition for a time (an undisclosed amount) under the pretense that this was God’s will in this season of his life.
Meanwhile the writers replaced the character traits that Whit brought to AIO with two characters, Jack Allen and Jason Whittaker. As the two settled into their new home in Odyssey, the producers of the show looked for a new Whit. It was hard. How do you replace a man who has been called “One of the most prolific voicepersons in entertainment history”? If they could find someone to replace him, they would, but the situation allowed for Whit to possibly never come back.
Some time later, Chuck Bolte – the Executive Producer of AIO – found the name of a documentary narrator named Paul Herlinger. Chuck was shocked to discover how similar his voice sounded to his old friend Hal. He invited Paul to come out and try a test episode, playing the voice of Whit. The episode was not intended to bring Whit back to Odyssey after long last, but only to provide the audience and production team a body of work they could judge Paul’s fit for the role. He agreed. On May 18, 1996, John Avery Whittaker crackled over the radio waves once again in A Search For Whit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TIDBITS
-Eugene’s line “I can’t believe we missed him again” was in reference to the two times Whit left messages on the machine in The Time Has Come (once at the beginning, once at the end). The difference here, of course, is that those were “cut and paste Whit” of Hal Smith dialogue, where as this episode contains only Paul.
-Apparently Mr. Sikes was the mailman after Randall and before Wooton.
-For those always wondering what a Microcassette Recorder was (they aren’t used much anymore) here’s a picture
- The Dead Sea Scrolls were a bunch of manuscripts from the 1st Century AD found near the Dead Sea right after WWII. The documents helped prove the authenticity of the Bible by providing copies of hundreds of sections of scripture: most notably, Psalms and Deuteronomy.
- Just in case you were wondering, that really is “How I do is nothing great” backwards. I tested it myself.
-Eugene says that the Q document would be the find of the century. But Whit himself said it would be only the greatest find since the Dead Sea scrolls (1940’s-50’s).
-Jason’s referring to the “someone bigger than my dad” as the U.S. Government still shows he’s learned little from his experience in the Blackaard fiasco. He still leans on his contacts and suave rather than to go to God first with everything. It’s part of what makes Jason’s character so deep. This theme comes up again in Shining Armor where, hopefully that time, he learned his lesson.
-Alfred Brownlee was the friend of Whit’s that sent him the Jesus Cloth. According to Whit, he never found anything really good.
-This is a mere two episodes after Jason and Tasha almost eloped and decided to put off the wedding. We can assume there was more in Jason’s hesitancy in calling her than merely “not wanting to bother her.”
-Making a phrase play backwards is simple for a computer and pretty easy for sound equipment before computers, but for small hardware like a microcassette? One simple way for Whit to make only that part of the tape backwards is to take the tape apart and flip the filament as it gets to that phrase. If Eugene wanted to change it back, he would only have to take the tape apart, re-flip the filament and play it. However, on the plane he merely pushes a button to play it forward then backwards. It is possible for a microcassette player to have a reverse switch but not very likely.
-Alfred Brownlee is played by Rob Daniels who also played Reverend Andrew in Underground Railroad and The Time Has Come.
-As Alfred explains the two organizations after the Q document, keep in mind that he is explaining himself and Professor Charles. Note how he says, “at the heart of both organizations is not a love of scripture but a desire for power.” In other words, he is explaining his own sinful intentions. As he explains how both organizations are hoping Whit will turn up now that Jason and Eugene are here, note that he is really hoping that Jason and Eugene will help him find Whit.
-Eugene’s reference to Connie’s putting up acronyms all over Whit’s End sounds a lot like something she would have done back in Thy Kingdom Come.
-How the writing team introduced us to Paul’s voice was very interesting. They first played it over a tape so you’re not quite sure what he sounds like. Then you next hear Paul’s voice using a middle eastern accent. Once he drops the accent and speaks in his normal voice, we aren’t as shocked to find out that this isn’t Hal but someone else.
-Professor Charles is voiced by Tom Williams who also played Barry Lionel, Ralph Reems, and Alex’s Grandfather.
-I have to admit that I sympathize with Eugene about being hesitant to find the bones of Jesus. Whit’s question “In what have you put your faith?” is a deep one getting at the core of basic unbelief. Do we place our faith proof from the world that we see with our own eyes, or in something out of this world. Apparently, Whit and Jason have their hearts in the right place for it doesn’t seem to bother them at all.
-Doesn’t Alfred watch movies? Charles’ “yeah right” following Alfred’s “you mean we” should have clued him in that something was a little off.
- It is discouraging that Jason and Tasha “break up” over the fact that Tasha simply loves the agency and wouldn’t sacrifice it for him (an issue brought up in Love is in the Air). I’ve always thought that it should have ended with Tasha realizing how much Jason loves God and how he couldn’t sacrifice that for her. Regardless, this is the last we ever see of Tasha Forbes.
-Eugene quotes Isaiah 40:8
--------------------------------------------
REVIEW
At the end of the episode, Whit responds with the line “You’ll never know when I’ll turn up.” This gives little satisfaction to the fan enamored with Paul’s performance but it was necessary to not thrust Paul into the faces of Odyssey fans expecting him to fill huge shoes. This episode was meant as a trial, and afterwards the AIO crew went on a few months hiatus. They wanted to see how people reacted to the new Whit and if they should invite Paul to be a regular on the show.
As letters poured in, the response from fans was extremely positive. Everyone loved Paul and many couldn’t tell the difference between him and Hal. The producers had struck gold. Immediately they set out to write several episodes that would slowly bring Whit back to Odyssey and where he belonged.
In my opinion, Paul is no substitution for Hal. He is a very talented and capable actor and does a fine rendition of John Avery Whittaker, but it is not the same. I see Hal’s Whit and Paul’s Whit as two completely different (though slightly similar) characters: almost like Whit’s long lost brother. Whit is not the same and never will be.
As far as the episode itself goes, the quality of the writing and production is one of the best in AIO history. Paul McCusker wrote and directed all three parts and out did himself. Eugene’s dialogue was some of the best we’ve ever had of him outside of his interactions with Bernard. I constantly compared the writing of Eugene in Search for Whit to how Phil Lollar wrote his character in The Cross of Cortez. There is no comparison. Paul does an outstanding job of bringing Eugene to the smart yet comic character we all love. I haven’t seen much of this Eugene since Will Ryan returned, and I can only fault the writers for this. Paul’s best writing in the entire show was perhaps the scene with Jason, Eugene and Gary Burkhead. Why can’t we see more of this nowadays? After three episodes of setting Eugene and Jason’s moods, Paul climaxes his writing in the tunnel scene when they both provide excellent comic relief for the seriousness of the showdown scene.
As far as production goes I have nothing but praise as Mark Drury did parts I and III while Dave Arnold did part II. Mark did a great job of making Paul Herlinger sound slightly off on the tape and I really loved the touch of detail when the volume was muffed down when Jason put on headphones on the plane. One thing I also noticed was the difference between Mark’s shower sound effect and Dave’s. I’m not sure how either of them got their material, but if you listen to Dave’s you’ll notice that there is the initial sound of water pouring and then a second later, the sound of it going down the drain is clearly heard. Mark’s sound effect only has the water pouring.
All in all, the team did a great job on giving the Odyssey fans a well crafted episode around Paul Herlinger’s test. Can you imagine if Paul’s introduction to Odyssey was in a poorly written episode? Whit still might be in the Middle East. They put a lot of work in to making this episode a special one and, as I said, Paul out did himself with the writing.
-----------------------------------------------
Q’s
1. Do you think everyone’s initial reaction to Paul was that they really liked his voice or that they really wanted Whit back and he sounded like he might work? What was your initial reaction?
2. Would you feel the same as Eugene if you were in his situation? Do you think you would have been frightened or hesitant to want to find Jesus’s Bones? What does that say about your faith?
3. If a fifth gospel was found somehow, would we be forced to put it on equal par with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? What makes those four so special?
4. Do you think Jason did a good job of witnessing to Tasha (not only in this episode but in others as well)?
except you're going to make my review look bad 
) I'm sure if I was older when they did the Whit "switch" I would have a different opinion, but for me, they sound a lot alike. I can tell the difference sometimes if I'm actually thinking about it (especially the laughing...I think Hal laughed more than Paul does)
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
He's making mine going to look really bad. 
(link) 
