662: Grandma's Visit

[Amethystic]

I loved this last episode. There's just something about it that I really liked.

[jennifertwt]

BTW jennifertwt, where are you in Sweden? I'm currently living in Amiens, France. It's cool to see other Euro-Dwelling AIO lovers!

Stockholm. I'm an America married to a Swede. 45 years old, so way older than your average listener. I started listening on and off in the 1990's and then got hooked on the CD albums when I worked in a building where I spent alot of time by myself. I liked hearing the voices. It made me feel like there were people around. The rest is history.........

[Joanne]

My thoughts on this episode:

Characters. I really like the Parker family and there grandma was great! Whit is still a bit uncomfortable for me but it isn't bad. I also liked the relatives.

Story. This story was great! I loved the whole plot, it was very entertaining and I wasn't bored with it like I was with other episodes. I really like the part with all the Parkers having a meeting in the bathroom.

Over all I really liked this episode, and I gave it a 4/5!

[Smaug the Dragon]

David Parker has the most legend lines. "I eat all I can stomach"

[Irwin]

Unfortunately this was the first one I didn't totally like in the season. It just seemed unrealistic and it didn't provide much of a point in my opinion.

Although I was reminded of The Meaning of Sacrifice when the kids where at Whit's End.

[Gandalf]

BTW jennifertwt, where are you in Sweden? I'm currently living in Amiens, France. It's cool to see other Euro-Dwelling AIO lovers!

Stockholm. I'm an America married to a Swede. 45 years old, so way older than your average listener. I started listening on and off in the 1990's and then got hooked on the CD albums when I worked in a building where I spent alot of time by myself. I liked hearing the voices. It made me feel like there were people around. The rest is history.........

Cool! We should do a European AIO convention... I think there's a couple of Brits on here and it seems like a few people have mentioned being in Eastern Europe as well.

[KODY 105]

I fell asleep listening to this one.

But then it was 11:45 or something like that... and I was lying down in bed... with the lights off... under the blankets. Actually falling asleep during episodes happens approximately 50% of the time I try to listen to AIO at bedtime. Hm...

So I missed apparently some good (or boring/not-so-great) stuff. I will have to listen to this again... tonight!

But of what I heard, I think the little grandmother overdoes the Spanish accent. I interact with people who speak Spanish natively and English fluently, and their accents don't sound that... fake?

[JesusFreak777]

Uhm that kinda depends on where she is from. From the sounds of it she flew in from whatever Latino country she was from. If thats true, then her accent will still be very thick. Also, people who are older when they move to the USA tend to not lose their accents. (My grandparents are a good example. They came from Hungary and Germany over 55 years ago and still have accents so think it is hard to understand them) Some people do lose accents over time - that is true, but you can't make it a blanket statement that everyone does. I don't think her accent was fake at all, but from what I have heard in my travels, it seems quite legit for a grandmother who has English as a second language.

[Trixie Belden]

I just listened to this, and I thought it was....interesting.

I enjoyed all of the Mexican culture. It was nice how authentic everything was.
The kids acted pretty natural in this one. They "squabbled" like anyone else.
I could totally sympathize with this episode. My extended family is not in the least bit Christian, and acts like. I still shudder at thoughts of out family reunion 3 years ago.
I didn't like Camilla saying that she hadn't used the bathroom in a week. That was not really appropriate at all, and constitutes potty humor.
Way to go Chris! She actually pronounced the last little Spanish phrase correctly! Given the trouble they had getting her to say "vehement" and "rashonmyfeet", how many takes do you think they had to do for that?

All in all, I really enjoyed this episode. It was fun, not too corny, and a great family story. 4/5 stars!

[Mrs Jason Whittaker]

I loved this episode!

I have a brother-in-law that is hispanic and I've often had opportunities to be with his family. They are just like this.

I agree with everyone who said this sounded like Maya and Miguel: the English-Spanish hybrid, the wacky plot, the silly humor, the crazy action. My sister (the one who married the hispanic man) and I used to watch Maya and Miguel together to brush up on our Spanish. Good memories.

As a side note, I don't think Adventures in Odyssey or Focus on the Family is trying to push immigration or any political message. It is common to find hispanic families in any city in the United States. It's about time they found one in Odyssey.

[jennifertwt]

I think also it is to counteract the criticism that Odyssey has not had enough 'diversity'. I think that's why the Washington family was brought in as well as the 'mixed up' Mulligans (meant in fun).

[ric]

This is probably one of my favorite episodes in 51. It is funny and the plot is pretty good.

[LizzieG]

Definitely the most entertaining and the most relistenable of the season, and a strong contender (so far) for this season's best episode too (tied with "Target of the Week"). The Rosalita bit was a teeny-tiny soap-opera-ish, but I loved it all the same. I loved the characters, the humor and the Spanish emphasis -- the Parkers are just becoming more and more likeable all the time! I've thought the Parkers had good chemistry ever since "Clutter," and this episode just reinforced that. I also really liked that the kids were telling Whit the story -- a well-used device that hearkens back to Odyssey past. Definitely a lot of fun to listen to, and a lot of great moments.

[Over the Rainbow]

As someone who is Hispanic, I was very happy we finally have a solid character who is Latino.

[TigerintheShadows]

I think this was a very solid episode. Appreciating families--seems like you can't do that enough, huh? Family--ya gotta love it!

The whole Rosalita bit was, indeed, much like a soap opera--sounded like the stuff we hear at school all the time (and now that you know I hate school, you also know why). But it makes me laugh because I can totally imagine a similar situation with people at school, so that adds awesomeness. Five stars, because I'm feeling generous.

[Christian A.]

Here's my review:

Hoy, voy a revisar el episodio de esta semana: "Visita de la abuela! Me gustó mucho este episodio y es que yo escuchaba una y otra vez.

My guess is that most of you reading cannot understand much of what I just said. Is that how you felt when you listened to this week's episode? If I weren't taking Spanish this year, that's probably how I would have felt, and this episode wouldn't have been as fun for me as it was.

Here is a translation of what I said:
Today, I am going to review this week's episode: "Grandma's Visit"! I really liked this episode and it is one that I would listen to again and again.

I don't know if it's just because I listened to such a bad episode yesterday morning, or because the episode was that good, but I would definitely label this episode my second favorite of the season.

Positives:

All of the acting was amazing! There was not one actor who did a bad job in this episode. The casting was excellent and everyone sounded great. Even Whit, whom I was not expecting a good performance from did a terrific job. Since he was behind the counter as the advice-giving, listening Whit, I expected him to sound fake again. But he nearly nailed the performance this time. I also thought that Amanda Troop did exceptionally well as Eva. I'm liking her character more and more every time I hear from her.

I liked the family relationships in this episode. The Parkers came together to make room for their large family and I can relate to that. I loved the playful banters between David and Eva. They are a great example of what a mom and dad should be for each other and for their children. I appreciated how Eva stood up to her mother after trying to go along with her with the wedding plans. It reminded me of "For Better or For Worse" when Eugene and Katrina get married, and Katrina's mother wants things to go along with tradition.

I liked that the kids were the narrators and Whit was the one hearing the story. It gave the episode a unique twist and I was sort of reminded of "I Slap Floor" where Bernard tells a crazy story to David and Mandy Straussberg.

The episode had good messages about forgiveness, respect, and family.

We finally know why the Parkers had to meet in the bathroom! I had forgotten about it until I heard this episode.

Negatives:

I agree with those who said that this episode at some points felt like a soap opera. Sometimes it got a little too mature for the target audience. Most of the members of my family hadn't yet learned what eloping was. I found it interesting that Rosalita's love for Rodrigo was so weak that she would elope with her ex-fiancee and leave him in the dust. This aspect of the story sounded like nothing we've ever heard before in Odyssey except maybe in "The Question About Tasha".

There was no mention of anything spiritual in the episode, and while the episode had a good lesson and good values, I would have appreciated hearing Whit talk about what God intended marriage to be or something along those lines.

Overall this was, again, a great episode and one that I could listen to many times and keep laughing. I give it a 9/10, just below "Target of the Week".

[Leonard Meltsner]

I never thought about that before; that Whit never mentioned how marriage is supposed to be instituted of God! Just a little oversight...