691: Wooton Knows Best

[Moontide]

And how do you know that unless Mathew said so?
(He may have I just didn't here it.)

[manfrednissley]

I don't know if you know this but I know of several technological advancements that AIO predicted!

[The Top Crusader]

Haven't listened yet, but I heard the first half or whatever that they put on the Podcast a while ago. Seems weird they are having a CCM artist on the show... not that that is a bad thing, just seems... un-AIO or something.

[odysseyfan1]

I'll do a review eventually on my blog. Anyway, it was pretty good. Getting the singer girl to come was wierd. Wooton was REALLY funny with trying to tell his story un -scary.

[Steve]

I don't know if you know this but I know of several technological advancements that AIO predicted!

Applesauce.

[Catspaw]

Question: In the album version, does Melissa Seifert sing a song at the end?

No, she doesn't. I listened only to the album version (today on my way home from work - yay!) and I was really starting to wonder if there was going to be a song, but there wasn't. I was almost expecting some kind of G.T and the Halo Express-style song with a Bible verse set to music after all the build-up to introducing Olivia's favourite singer.

I listened today for the first time and I was a little stressed this afternoon at work, so I was especially happy to have a new AIO episode to listen to on my way home, and then the theme just really hit home. I really enjoyed the story and the way that it was told overall. I found Olivia's focus to be believable because we all have blind spots, and she was focused on knowing, not doing. I know that I've been guilty of that in the past myself. I agree with those who prefer Olivia's new voice. It isn't a big change, but it's enough to make me like the character more. Good episode, good theme, good start to the season.

[Josiah]

I kinda liked this episode. I didn't notice at all that Olivia's Voice actress changed. But now that I think of it, her voice does sound better. Anywho, I give this episode 4 stars out of 5.

[Knight Fisher]

And then the part that sealed the episode for me. WiFi keyboard. [Edited out of this post is a two page rant on the ridiculousness of the idea of a WiFi keyboard. The whole Matthew technology thing I find very insulting.]

Google disagrees, Computer keyboards that are wireless are common.

Yes wireless Keyboards are common. But Wifi is wireless internet. So on either the keyboard I'm typing on or a musical one it is ridiculous.

[Moontide]

Yes wireless Keyboards are common. But Wifi is wireless internet. So on either the keyboard I'm typing on or a musical one it is ridiculous.

No, it would be one that one types into and it sends the text though the internet to the computer. It is possible.

[Steve]

Yes wireless Keyboards are common. But Wifi is wireless internet. So on either the keyboard I'm typing on or a musical one it is ridiculous.

No, it would be one that one types into and it sends the text though the internet to the computer. It is possible.

But the guy who "invented" it was a music producer. Why in the world would he need a Wi-Fi keyboard? Plus, Matthew mentions something about poly-phase. Both of those are synthesizer knobs. (Download a bunch of VST programs if you don't believe me.) So really, Odyssey has botched the technology card. Again.

[Marvin D.]

Copied from my blog:

Okay, so I'll just try to sum up Wooton Knows Best really fast, since it's late over here. I listened to it on Tuesday, methinks, and I was rather surprised. I didn't like the opening theme that was used, but then we get off to the start with Whit and the kids. . .and Wooton. I was kind of wondering why we'd use such a boring plot to kick off a season, and with Wooton, I wasn't sure I was going to like it (anybody remember me and Wooton during GRC?).

Wooton still is. . .weird, but he's definitely better than before. His scary story, however, was boring, and I wanted to skip it. Anyways, the idea for getting one assistant was a pretty cool idea, but did anyone think about gender problems? I mean, if the cabin was all boys, and a girl won the last bed (say, Olivia), she couldn't stay in there with all the boys. . .so that really didn't make sense.

The new Olivia sounds a ton better than the old one by far! She's much less whiny and sounds a little more her age, but at the same time sounds decently enough like the old Olivia, so that made me happy. Her interaction with Matthew and how they fought was so much more realistic than earlier scenes (like she and Matthew in The Inspiration Station). Not that I endorse fighting (I do it all the time), but hey, if you're going to do it, do it right! Moving on!

So basically she and Matthew get into this little rivalry to see who can go, and she wants to see Melissa Syphers, and Matthew wants to meet Joel. Olivia sounded really evil when she decided to go and memorize 1 Corinthians, like Valerie Swanson. Did anybody else get that? Though the fact that she never even thought to hang out with the kids, and that it took her all that time to memorize one chapter. . .wow. She might have talked with the kids a bit.

So the quiz comes and Olivia fails, and she does some serious yelling at Matthew. Oops. The next scene is the best one! Mr. Parker has a good talk with Olivia and asks her to recite 1 Corinithains 13, which makes her realize the truth. Oh, this is something we've been needing in AIO for goodness knows how long! *dances happily* Enough of lame plots! Bring it on! And so Olivia realizes the truth of true love, and makes up with Matthew in a roundabout way. (Did anyone think for a bit that Mr. Parker was Joshua Meanie, or am I just weird? xD)

So when it's time to go to camp, Wooton has a surprise for Olivia. But is it really a surprise? It was a little predictable, though I highly doubt that a whole live band could hide behind one bus. But yes, it's Melissa Syphers! *crowd cheers* And boy, can Olivia sound like a star-struck fan girl! Although I wished that we'd really get to hear the song (not in the album version either), it still was much better than I expected it to be (yes, even Wooton).

Final rating? 8/10 stars.

[LizzieG]

The music in this episode is really nice -- especially the intro. It sounds more orchestral than usual.

Who would've thought that an episode with Wooton as one of the main characters would be one of the best post-hiatus episodes so far? I've always liked the Parker family, but I think this episode made them even stronger (and more real) via Olivia's blow-up and a strong father-daughter scene (though I think David's story would've been a little stronger if he had been describing himself).

As soon as Olivia talked about memorizing I Corinthians 13 and disparaged Matthew for "just playing with kids," I knew he would win. Actually, it was kind of clear even earlier when he was helping one of the kids with something.

I also noticed that it apparently didn't matter if Wooton's camp assistant was a guy or a girl. My first thought was that it was either a goof, or the assistant wouldn't be staying in Wooton's cabin with his campers, but would be helping out with Wooton and all the first-graders during the day. But if that was the case, it definitely wasn't clear.

There's one final thing to comment on in this episode: The replacement of Hope Levy with Kelly Stables. Hope Levy's voice had long since ceased to annoy me, and, when I first heard of it, this replacement seemed like an unnecessary change. But it was actually a very smooth transition. I noticed the difference right away, of course, but because Olivia had the same mannerisms and said things the same way as Hope's Olivia, I got used to her rather quickly.

Anyway, this episode felt very fresh, and real, and different than I expected. A great season opener.

4/5 stars.

Some favorite lines:

Olivia: "Oh, brother." Matthew: "Oh, sister."
Olivia: "I didn't say anything that wasn't true." (a very familiar line)
Wooton: "You want crazy? I'll show you crazy! … but nothing scary or inappropriate for first-grade sensibilities or practices."

[Knight Fisher]

Yes wireless Keyboards are common. But Wifi is wireless internet. So on either the keyboard I'm typing on or a musical one it is ridiculous.

No, it would be one that one types into and it sends the text though the internet to the computer. It is possible.

Possible but pointless.

[Dave]

I review this episode here.

[Taq]

It was decent. I liked the meat of the story, but could have done without the bookends (Wooton's stories and Olivia's screaming).

[Jason Whits Son]

My review is Here