Is Connie's Character going anywhere? I'm not sure it is, but what are your thoughts, what do you think needs to be/ should be done?
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Is Connie's Character going anywhere?
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Leonard Meltsner
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I like how many topics are redirected from how off-topic the last ended on 
Connie dosn't need to go anywhere. She is just fine as she is. I wish all of the Odyssey fans would stop crying that Connie isn't going anywhere. It just annoys me.
he/him | a little stinker.
connie cant change shes a female.. nuff said. (runs and hides)
you can learn a lot from job 38-42, being humble isn't the easiest but its worth it.
She has not and is not going anywhere. She has demonstrated that she should never date or get married, so it seems that the only thing she is capable of is working at Whit's End. She is good with the kids and is a good teacher, but as far as I can tell that's about it.
Last edited by Laurie on Tue Dec 07, 2010 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln
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Leonard Meltsner
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- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Odyssey, of course!! Isn't that implied in the name of the forum?
AHAHAHA!!!! That made my day, thank you.Cbriggs45 said:
connie cant change shes a female.. nuff said. (runs and hides
Nope. And neither is Eugene's.
They don't have too. Odyssey is supposed to be timeless. Quit crying.
he/him | a little stinker.
I don't think Connie will change, but I like her that way. They can't change Connie!!!
They don't have to change her, but if they don't, I honestly don't see what the point is in having her.
From the first time she first appeared on the show, as the 15-year-old Californian, up to the Timothy Center, it seemed like there was always some reason to care about her character. She was changing, developing, and getting better. All the stuff that people liked about her was still there, it was just that she was more mature. It proved that aging isn't necessarily a bad thing; her character was refined and improved.
Finally, one day (I'd guess around the time Mitch came around, but possibly a bit before that), all of this came to a screeching halt. Connie was obviously inexperienced at the art of love, and it made her, in addition to being overemotional, incredibly stupid. In spite of this, she still periodically had some interesting moments, but mostly she came off as being ten years younger than she really was -- even younger, actually. After all, in "First Love" she handles her relationship with Jeff Lewis in a very mature and responsible manner; why couldn't it be the same with Mitch? The best episodes with Mitch were the ones where she got over him.
Anyway, after that happened, her character has been essentially static. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except that all this character development has logically set her up so that she could basically play Whit's role...but Whit's still here, so she has no opportunity to play a responsible role. As a result, she usually ends up getting the incredibly stupid and/or immature/irresponsible roles again...the best example of this that comes to mind is in "The Triangled Web", where everyone who ever showed up on the show prior to that episode called in to Connie's talk show. Lawrence Hodges talks about how he lost his job (and his life's dream)...instead of giving a responsible, mature response, or at least "I'm sorry, that sounds terrible" like any normal person would do, Connie makes some inane joke about it and then fails to understand why what she did was completely unacceptable afterwards.
Connie still could have ended up in a worthwhile role, in spite of these lapses, but by signing up Andre Stojka, the Odyssey staff has demonstrated they have no intention of ever getting rid of Mr. Whittaker. Therefore, Connie (as a mature, responsible character) is completely superfluous, and apparently the Odyssey staff agrees, because in all the recent episodes she's been in, she hasn't been mature or responsible. In "The Thankstaking Story", we hear her show up and angrily whine about her cell phone. She keeps this miffed attitude the entire time. In "The Inspiration Station", she basically gets addicted to Whit's new invention, because it makes her think that she can be way better than she really is...but the fact is that she really was close to being that good, before she got written into playing an immature role.
The only thing I can think of that might salvage Connie's character this point is if she takes over the Timothy Center. Whit's not leaving Whit's End, after all, and Tom's not available, so it might be a good idea to see her get more involved over there, and play a valuable role in reaching out to people again -- like she used to do.
It's all well and good to say that Odyssey is timeless, and in a sense, I agree...but character development is critical to any well-written story, and it was a staple of all of the best years of AIO. Besides, timelessness shouldn't entail actively working to defy common sense, which is what the new stories about Connie have done. We expect her to be mature, but she isn't always. We expect her to have gotten better over the years, but (depending on what the plot calls for), she hasn't. In a lot of ways she's regressed since her younger years, and that just shouldn't happen.
If any writers are reading this, I encourage y'all: Please do something with Connie. Right now all she does is take up a space on the character list. I don't like her how she is now, and it's hard to imagine that she does either.
From the first time she first appeared on the show, as the 15-year-old Californian, up to the Timothy Center, it seemed like there was always some reason to care about her character. She was changing, developing, and getting better. All the stuff that people liked about her was still there, it was just that she was more mature. It proved that aging isn't necessarily a bad thing; her character was refined and improved.
Finally, one day (I'd guess around the time Mitch came around, but possibly a bit before that), all of this came to a screeching halt. Connie was obviously inexperienced at the art of love, and it made her, in addition to being overemotional, incredibly stupid. In spite of this, she still periodically had some interesting moments, but mostly she came off as being ten years younger than she really was -- even younger, actually. After all, in "First Love" she handles her relationship with Jeff Lewis in a very mature and responsible manner; why couldn't it be the same with Mitch? The best episodes with Mitch were the ones where she got over him.
Anyway, after that happened, her character has been essentially static. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except that all this character development has logically set her up so that she could basically play Whit's role...but Whit's still here, so she has no opportunity to play a responsible role. As a result, she usually ends up getting the incredibly stupid and/or immature/irresponsible roles again...the best example of this that comes to mind is in "The Triangled Web", where everyone who ever showed up on the show prior to that episode called in to Connie's talk show. Lawrence Hodges talks about how he lost his job (and his life's dream)...instead of giving a responsible, mature response, or at least "I'm sorry, that sounds terrible" like any normal person would do, Connie makes some inane joke about it and then fails to understand why what she did was completely unacceptable afterwards.
Connie still could have ended up in a worthwhile role, in spite of these lapses, but by signing up Andre Stojka, the Odyssey staff has demonstrated they have no intention of ever getting rid of Mr. Whittaker. Therefore, Connie (as a mature, responsible character) is completely superfluous, and apparently the Odyssey staff agrees, because in all the recent episodes she's been in, she hasn't been mature or responsible. In "The Thankstaking Story", we hear her show up and angrily whine about her cell phone. She keeps this miffed attitude the entire time. In "The Inspiration Station", she basically gets addicted to Whit's new invention, because it makes her think that she can be way better than she really is...but the fact is that she really was close to being that good, before she got written into playing an immature role.
The only thing I can think of that might salvage Connie's character this point is if she takes over the Timothy Center. Whit's not leaving Whit's End, after all, and Tom's not available, so it might be a good idea to see her get more involved over there, and play a valuable role in reaching out to people again -- like she used to do.
It's all well and good to say that Odyssey is timeless, and in a sense, I agree...but character development is critical to any well-written story, and it was a staple of all of the best years of AIO. Besides, timelessness shouldn't entail actively working to defy common sense, which is what the new stories about Connie have done. We expect her to be mature, but she isn't always. We expect her to have gotten better over the years, but (depending on what the plot calls for), she hasn't. In a lot of ways she's regressed since her younger years, and that just shouldn't happen.
If any writers are reading this, I encourage y'all: Please do something with Connie. Right now all she does is take up a space on the character list. I don't like her how she is now, and it's hard to imagine that she does either.
Last edited by Bob on Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ok so I just an extremely radical Idea....Just a thought..
Here's a possibility... There hasn't been much excitement in odyssey since Eugene returned and I have a crazy idea...
Connie is going to be kidnapped by some radical Budapest Terrorist...They're going to have to open an FBI field office in Odyssey and Mitch is going to take over it...Connie and Mitch are going to get married. Connie should take over the Timothy center and in all honesty I think that Connie and Mitch should have a kid as apposed to Eugene and Katrina...
Here's a possibility... There hasn't been much excitement in odyssey since Eugene returned and I have a crazy idea...
Connie is going to be kidnapped by some radical Budapest Terrorist...They're going to have to open an FBI field office in Odyssey and Mitch is going to take over it...Connie and Mitch are going to get married. Connie should take over the Timothy center and in all honesty I think that Connie and Mitch should have a kid as apposed to Eugene and Katrina...
SNC you were, are, and forever will be Strong in Christ...Save me a seat up there when I get there
I got the impression that the romance with Mitch is over, for good.
Kelly summed up the situation as "he loved Budapest more than he loved me", and Connie has no problem with this statement. You don't usually hear people speak about their relationships with such candor if there's a chance it might ever start up again. Besides, even if he was to come back, all the things that worked to keep them apart would still be true; he's still always going to be on the move, and he's still likely going to be obsessed with his job. I don't see that Mitch would do Connie any good at this time.
Kelly summed up the situation as "he loved Budapest more than he loved me", and Connie has no problem with this statement. You don't usually hear people speak about their relationships with such candor if there's a chance it might ever start up again. Besides, even if he was to come back, all the things that worked to keep them apart would still be true; he's still always going to be on the move, and he's still likely going to be obsessed with his job. I don't see that Mitch would do Connie any good at this time.
^good points...
I still think something radical needs to happen to Connie though...Her Character is growing very well um boring!!!
I still think something radical needs to happen to Connie though...Her Character is growing very well um boring!!!
Last edited by AOWarrior on Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
SNC you were, are, and forever will be Strong in Christ...Save me a seat up there when I get there
Nice thoughts, Bob. I was going to write a long entry about Connie, but you beat me to it...and summarized my own thoughts nicely.Bob wrote:I got the impression that the romance with Mitch is over, for good.
Kelly summed up the situation as "he loved Budapest more than he loved me", and Connie has no problem with this statement. You don't usually hear people speak about their relationships with such candor if there's a chance it might ever start up again. Besides, even if he was to come back, all the things that worked to keep them apart would still be true; he's still always going to be on the move, and he's still likely going to be obsessed with his job. I don't see that Mitch would do Connie any good at this time.
Bob wrote:I got the impression that the romance with Mitch is over, for good.
Please, please, please let the romance with Mitch be over.
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln
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AIO Psyche
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If only they would give her a purpose on the show.........
During the 90s, when she was trying to decide on a vocation, was some of the best character development in the shows history. Her story really hit it's apex with 'What Are You Gonna Do With Your Life'?
During the 90s, when she was trying to decide on a vocation, was some of the best character development in the shows history. Her story really hit it's apex with 'What Are You Gonna Do With Your Life'?
Well Connie IS going to college so Are they going anywhere with the charactor? yes.
Episode where she's at college doing college-y things or it didn't happen.
Seriously, though, (I'm assuming she is at college since I haven't heard all the episodes she could have been referenced in) unless we actually do hear some episode where she deals with a situation or a problem at college, it's not really character development, it's just lip service to the idea of character development.
Here's a practical example of the difference between the two: An episode where we, say, find out that she's been going to some college that's had a negative impact on her spiritual life, which is why she's been so snippy lately, or an episode where she has to confront some atheist professor, or something, would be a real character development episode.
An episode that has just Whit, Wooton, and Eugene, where Whit says, "Well, Wooton, I'm sure glad you're here to fill in, since Connie's been too busy with college to be here at the shop", is lip service.
Seriously, though, (I'm assuming she is at college since I haven't heard all the episodes she could have been referenced in) unless we actually do hear some episode where she deals with a situation or a problem at college, it's not really character development, it's just lip service to the idea of character development.
Here's a practical example of the difference between the two: An episode where we, say, find out that she's been going to some college that's had a negative impact on her spiritual life, which is why she's been so snippy lately, or an episode where she has to confront some atheist professor, or something, would be a real character development episode.
An episode that has just Whit, Wooton, and Eugene, where Whit says, "Well, Wooton, I'm sure glad you're here to fill in, since Connie's been too busy with college to be here at the shop", is lip service.
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AIO Psyche
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Simply perfectly said.Bob wrote:Episode where she's at college doing college-y things or it didn't happen.
Seriously, though, (I'm assuming she is at college since I haven't heard all the episodes she could have been referenced in) unless we actually do hear some episode where she deals with a situation or a problem at college, it's not really character development, it's just lip service to the idea of character development.
Here's a practical example of the difference between the two: An episode where we, say, find out that she's been going to some college that's had a negative impact on her spiritual life, which is why she's been so snippy lately, or an episode where she has to confront some atheist professor, or something, would be a real character development episode.
An episode that has just Whit, Wooton, and Eugene, where Whit says, "Well, Wooton, I'm sure glad you're here to fill in, since Connie's been too busy with college to be here at the shop", is lip service.
