Adventures in Odyssey "Bossmen"

[The Old Judge]

Behind every operation there is "The Big Guy." He runs everything in the organization, and for the most part his name becomes synonymous with the institution which he runs. Where would Apple be without Steve Jobs? Standard Oil without John D. Rockefeller? McDonald's without Ray Kroc?

It's the same way with Odyssey. With its long and storied career, (and its sustained growth and popularity), there has to be a very capable head at the helm. "But of course," you say, "I'm not an idiot, dumb OJ. You're talking about Dave Arnold!" Yes, in a sense this topic will be about him, but only a fraction of it. He is the Executive Producer of Adventures in Odyssey and Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, holding that position since 2005. He has executive produced 192 episodes (counting Album 57), and held the position for eight years. That is an impressive run, and I hope he continues. He does a superb job. But what about before '05? Who sat at the helm then? Let's go back and watch the mystery unravel.

1987: We all know Odyssey's beginnings. What kind of fans would we be if we didn't? Steve Harris and Phil Lollar co-created and produced the first year of the show. Steve then left in 1988, and Chuck Bolte was brought on to replace him. Chuck later became the show's first Executive Producer. Is that the truth? According to the AIOWiki, Chuck Bolte was the Executive Producer since Day 1, his first episode in charge being Whit's Visitor.

Mister Bolte would run the show for nine years, from 1987 to 1996, endearing himself to fans in the meantime for his outstanding performance as George Barclay. Chuck holds the title for most episodes executive produced, holding the unbelievable number of 370
episodes, over half of the show. What fans refer to as the "classics" were all under Chuck Bolte. The introduction of Connie, Eugene, and Katrina, as well as all three of their conversions, had his hand in it. He saw the epic Blackgaard saga unfold before his eyes. He worked with his team to keep the show going after the tragic death of Hal Smith, bringing in an equally talented actor named Alan Young. He was there when a man that traditionally was a narrator stepped up to audition for the part of Whit, and imagine his joy when that same man, Paul Herlinger, came in the studio to bring back Mister Whittaker. His last episode was The Search for Whit, leaving the remaining crew to once again search, this time for a new chief executive.

1996: With hardly a beat skipped, the AIO team brought in a new head: Kurt Bruner. When I saw this name, I did what most of you are probably doing, going, "WHAT?" Yes, this man seems to have been totally erased from the minds of the fans. He executive produced 51 episodes, and although that is not a big number, they were very eventful. Does anybody remember the name "Clara"? That was Kurt Bruner. Or when Jack and Joanne got married? Kurt Bruner. Connie graduated under him. Also, the Mulligan family and their short, but turbulent, tenure made their premiere. And the town of Odyssey was graced with a heavenly presence during his term. He served from 1996 to 1998, and very shortly was forgotten about.

1998: Next, the mantle was assumed by Al Janssen, who would executive produce 49 episodes, 18 of which are the infamous split episodes. This era has once been called the "Janssen Dark Ages", but even it had some bright spots, such as Gloobers, Passages: Fletcher's Rebellion, Blackgaard's Revenge, and the invention of the Transmuter.

2000: After the troubled career of Janssen, and rightly so, a new producer was brought on. However, this new member of the crew was not new at all. He was an old team member, writing freelance since 1985, producing episodes at various times, and voicing the notorious Philip Glossman. Yes, Paul McCusker became the new Executive Producer. A change immediately began to occur in the show. Shortly after Paul took over the job, Connie met her supposed soul-mate, Robert Mitchell. This situation quickly whirled us into the Novacom saga, most likely the pinnacle of Odyssian drama. Whit opened his second shop, remodeled the Imagination Station, and we were introduced to the Washingtons. And Lester. (Who can't love him?) 111 episodes were executive produced by Paul McCusker, but more importantly the show had a firm foundation to build on for the future.

2005: The present bossman, Dave Arnold, took over. Working his way up from a sound designer in 1988, he was now on the top of the heap. Mister Arnold has had to deal with some of the most complex and intense changes in the history of the show, and he's handled them all with amazing capability. A new voice for Whit, the change into "Odyssey 2.0", Eugene's search for his father, and the Green Ring Conspiracy are all hallmarks of this current phase of Odyssey.

So, what do you all think? Who do you think was the best "bossman"?

[Skylerbuck]

In order:

5: Al Jansen - He brought great episodes like you said, also some of the weakest episodes.

4: Paul McCusker - At this time he was not writing much, which he does best, Odyssey had to develop newer writers and changes, although he did produce great shows, I still like to see him writing though.

3: Kurt Bruner - Based on the episodes he delivered, I believe he could still be a great executive producer today, too bad he left after 51 episodes.

2: Dave Arnold - I give this man credit for changing Odyssey into a new "era" which is hard to be done well, Albums 51-52 were somewhat weaker although he has developed great albums like 53,54,55,56 (all amazing).

1: Chuck Bolte - This man helped developed AIO, so hands down number one bossman.

[Jonathan]

(Whether or not Blackgaard's Revenge is a bright spot is up for debate )

Job well done putting together that history. I'd never heard of Kurt Bruner.

I agree with Skylerbuck's rankings, with special mention given to Dave. Like Skyler said, album 51 and 52 weren't quite up to the current par (still quite good albums), but since then we've gotten very, very solid stuff. In addition to the credit given him, I should also point out Passages came about during his tenure too.

[Monty]

Is Passages part of Odyssey "canon"?

[Woody]

5. Al Jansen. Honestly, I really hated the split episodes >_> They had no real plot to them.

4. Kurt Brunner. Wow. this is hard. I loved all of the episodes under these other 4. But his are the least memorable.

3. Dave Arnold. Is amazing. But Emily came to be under his reign.

2. Chuck Bolte. Oh man. It's hard to choose between him and Paul. But I have to, simply because of the Novacom Saga.

1. Paul McCusker. The Novacom Saga. Was crazy super mega awesome. Like, almost as awesome as Sam(Sam, you are NOT allowed to say "Thanks, but not really"). And Mitch. Yes, I am a Connie-Mitch fan, it's true. Mitch is just plain awesome.

[Jonathan]

Is Passages part of Odyssey "canon"?

Whether it is or not it's one of the best albums they've ever produced, imo. And for the sake of this discussion I don't think it matters, it happened under Dave's watch so to Dave goes the credit.

[Leonard Meltsner]

I agree with Skylerbuck, except for the swapping of 3 and 4. I had also never heard of Kurt Bruner before! What the heck?! How have never even heard the name? I've held names in my head of actors who have only appeared in a single episode!

[The Old Judge]

Maybe somebody just knows more about Odyssey than you now.

5. Al Janssen
4. Paul McCusker
3. Kurt Bruner
2. Dave Arnold
1. Chuck Bolte

Yes, I will admit, though not all of his episodes are my favorite, Chuck Bolte deserves the #1 slot until Dave Arnold does something epic and overthrows him. With my 3rd and 4th place decisions, it's not that I don't like Paul. He's great. But, when you think about it, the hallmark of his tenure was Novacom/Connie & Mitch. So, fans get mad everytime "Mitch" is said, because, "How dare he leave Connie?!" And when it comes to the epic sagas, Blackgaard was better than Novacom. I gave Mr. Bruner third because of his episodes. Granted, they were mostly slice-of-lifers, but think about them. Clara, Three Funerals and A Wedding, which I just listened to and found epic, Malachi's Message, and The Other Woman. I love Tom, and especially Agnes, so that episode is a special treat for me. So, Kurt gets third.

[Skylerbuck]

I had heard of Al Janssen, and Kurt Bruner last year after countless hours on the aiowiki.