566: "A Most Extraordinary Conclusion"
**SPOILERS**
566: "A Most Extraordinary Conclusion"
What did you think of the final part of the "Something Big" series?
-
Chandler
Eugene's memory is back! 
Yes it was predictable but would you want Eugene stumbling around Odyssey trying to relearn everything?
I was pleased that Whit credited the memory recovery to prayer and not the Imagination Station even if the whole process did seem a bit quick. Go through all the hassle... then finally Tom Riley has to remind everyone to pray... Oh yeah! *light bulb turns on*
They have a little prayer 
... and then voila! Problem solved. 
Yes it works that way sometimes but it is a bit frustrating when it seems like the AIO characters always forget to pray until things are bad. ](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
That's probably not what the writers are trying to convey... but I expect more out of Whit who's supposed to be a mature Christian.
As I was guessing they did those little montages with clips from previous episodes. Since I love that kind of thing it fit right in for me. As a devoted fan I reconize all the clips and love the memories they evoke in me. I noticed some similarities between that sequence about Eugene's becoming a Christian and the one from "The Time Has Come." However the clips on this show were shorter and didn't have music driving them.
Kudos to the writers for making this sort of a bookend event or closure to the fact that Whit was away when Eugene got saved. Whit was missing then but now he gets to be alone with Eugene as he relives the experience and unlocks his memory. You notice that Whit prayed with him too... it wasn't a prayer to become saved but still the scene was touching as it wrapped up the lack of Whit then and tied up Eugene's return now.
Boy I'll have to remember if I'm ever going to pass out ot make sure that it's convenient for the others involved and that there's someone there to catch me!
Perhaps that was just a bit contrived...
Oh yeah and Eugene being unconscious without them knowing why. I'm not sure of the point since Eugene magically woke up without them really exploring that area. Some things really moved too fast for you to think much about them.
I'm going to quit talking now because I really should hear the show again. I've only heard it once so far and since I was busy posting I know there were tidbits that I missed. I'll probably have more to share later on.
Welcome home Eugene and Katrina!
Yes it was predictable but would you want Eugene stumbling around Odyssey trying to relearn everything?
I was pleased that Whit credited the memory recovery to prayer and not the Imagination Station even if the whole process did seem a bit quick. Go through all the hassle... then finally Tom Riley has to remind everyone to pray... Oh yeah! *light bulb turns on*
They have a little prayer ... and then voila! Problem solved. Yes it works that way sometimes but it is a bit frustrating when it seems like the AIO characters always forget to pray until things are bad. That's probably not what the writers are trying to convey... but I expect more out of Whit who's supposed to be a mature Christian.As I was guessing they did those little montages with clips from previous episodes. Since I love that kind of thing it fit right in for me. As a devoted fan I reconize all the clips and love the memories they evoke in me.
I noticed some similarities between that sequence about Eugene's becoming a Christian and the one from "The Time Has Come." However the clips on this show were shorter and didn't have music driving them.Kudos to the writers for making this sort of a bookend event or closure to the fact that Whit was away when Eugene got saved. Whit was missing then but now he gets to be alone with Eugene as he relives the experience and unlocks his memory. You notice that Whit prayed with him too... it wasn't a prayer to become saved but still the scene was touching as it wrapped up the lack of Whit then and tied up Eugene's return now.
Boy I'll have to remember if I'm ever going to pass out ot make sure that it's convenient for the others involved and that there's someone there to catch me!
Perhaps that was just a bit contrived...Oh yeah and Eugene being unconscious without them knowing why. I'm not sure of the point since Eugene magically woke up without them really exploring that area. Some things really moved too fast for you to think much about them.
I'm going to quit talking now because I really should hear the show again. I've only heard it once so far and since I was busy posting I know there were tidbits that I missed. I'll probably have more to share later on.
Welcome home Eugene and Katrina! -
rachelavonlea
- Hexadecimal teenager
- Posts: 20
- Joined: April 2005
Ok, this is primarily about part 2, and only a short commentary on part 3. But, since I read more than one post saying they were waiting until the last episode to post their review, please allow this to stay in the “Most Extraordinary Conclusion” thread.
---------------------------------------
Part 2 in Something Big was a surprise to me- because it was utterly not up to the writers’ sky-scraping standard, and more surprisingly to the precedent they so recently created in “A Most Interesting Question”.
I suppose that is why they called it a “surprise”.
It literally was a surprise! I cannot believe their weak writing, and all the times they wasted gem moments while drawing out nonsensical ones. The pathetic writing, and consequent lacking storyline especially floored me.
The only way this could have happened eventually came to me. The director and actors were mistakenly given the episode’s 1st draft ! Yes, instead of the brilliant (and polished) piece of writing they slaved away on for months! In a world-class mix-up, a confused AIO illiterate flunky mailed the wrong script to the voices of Eugene, et all.
When you are reading a good mystery, and the pieces are so wildly unconnected, and you have no clue what is going to happen, and yet the story is interesting, what do you do? You keep reading till it all comes together, and you shout “Ah ha!, I get it now! Wow, that was so brilliant. I never would’ve guessed that!”
As I listened to part 2 and now to part 3; the only part of that I can agree with is, I surely wouldn’t have guessed that which they delivered.
Take Dr. Foster for an extreme example. He was a 100% intriguing character, from his doctored clues on .org to the entire first episode. He snuck into Odyssey, spied on our intrepid characters, talked mysteriously with unknown persons, and befriended (or possibly even bamboozled) (!) the world’s kindest man, all the while somehow very knowing about, and interested in, the one missing Odyssey character everyone in the entire Odyssey world is also intensely interested in.
That was Dr. Foster until the absolute last second in part 1. Part 2 picks up immediately from that moment. And from it to the final scene in part 3, Dr. Foster is about as interesting as a tunafish sandwich without pickles.
Ok, my afore mentioned claims are largely unsubstantiated.
Get set; here I go substantiating them like crazy:
But, ugg, I feel an inner gag even thinking about listening to part 2 again.
O.K. here I go: **paraphrased phrases intentional**
Her hand is reaching for the door to get at the person inside:
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!”, she hears.
“Who is in there?”
“Please you have to go. I can’t tell you now. One day, in the far future, I will tell you”
Next scene.
“I have to see him”
“Well, you can’t. And if you’re his friend, you WON’T”
It all so completely top-secret, and urgent you fall off your chair in anticipation.
Next scene.
“Ok, they’re gone. Oh, hi. I am not surprised you are still here since I’m the one who ordered you away 60 seconds ago, using all of the fatherly authority I’ve earned for a dozen+ years. Oh, by the way I might as well tell you everything I have been keeping away from you like the bubonic plague.”
E’s brain was tampered with. As a result, he has part-time amnesia. Completely predictable, and a stale storyline, but in a funloving way, I can go along with it. But not one other symptom of brain fry?
No way is possible, man. In fact, a week earlier I predicated the part time amnesia thing, but I also predicted serious illness. In fact, that and my entire prophesizing of the three episodes had a better, and well thought out storyline. I hate it when people toot their own horns. So my point is not my brilliance, but that it was better than the professionals. Which shows the unusually poor effort they put into the last two episodes.
Connie was the best-written character. Which it the opposite of far too many episodes unfortunately; but that was the best part of the whole episode. (Yes, I love that E is back. But fellas, it’s not a good idea to automatically give 5 stars because of that. The actual story must be worth those stars!)
Bernard, my favorite old-timer, was given the poorest material to work with. He is pure wit. Well, he was.
‘It’s Maude on the phone.”
This is the worst scene. It is worthless to storyline. It is not funny. It is not serious. It makes Bernard look like a half-wit, and his wife half that. Which is pretty bad. It also makes this episode, well, half-witted.
O.K., I’m FF that scene to the next:
“This is straight out of a bad TV series”
Ok, I know the marketing technique to state the obvious imperfections of your product to gain trust, but this is too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. Mr. Writer, you knew this material sucked. Why did you write the whole script on a scrap of paper while waiting for your wife to be done shopping? Haven’t we been good fans to you?
Ok, so we move on to the Dr. Foster assertion that E’s memory is not gone, “it’s just dormant”. How did he know this? He read over E’s files, and he reviewed Whit’s week of work. That’s why.
HUH? 2+2=17?
Come on, please. We are not all elementary aged out here! “You better explain that, Dr.” Tom says. Yes, that would be nice. And then there’s Bernard “Harlow” Walton’s comment, “You’se is speaking Eugene-speak here, doc”
No, he isn’t. He’s speaking like a character whose lines were written by someone who forgot to go back and correct that weak, nonsensical “scientific talk”.
It’s so poorly done. Yuck.
Then Whit goes on to state why E & K came back to O. Which raises another illogical point. In the beginning of this episode again Whit says E wanted Whit to help him. Why would he? I can see Katrina grabbing at any hope, but why would Eugene-less-his-memory want to?
He, being a recognized genius since childhood, would want to go to a ice cream shop owner to help him crack a medical mystery? A person that he only knows academically without emotion or trust?
The Eugene of this episode wouldn’t come, or it he did, he would not be so trusting of Whit’s abilities
Plus, that raises another issue. Eugene would have to re-learn everything about Odyssey and Whit. Don’t you think the Imagination Station (even without the memory program), would cause him some intellectual excitement?
Don’t you think he’d be peppering everyone-especially Whit- about everything he is “experiencing for the first time”?
No, he’s acting like he already knows all about Whit, Whit’s End, the IS, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Not by what he’s saying but by what he’s not saying. There is so much left unexplored in this episode, it should be embarrassing. There was so much potential!
Especially, especially, this next scene:
It is the “Tom and Bernard trying to change Eugene” one. It was an unpolished gem. It had the potential to be HUGE in all time Odyssey comedic moments. Instead it was two seconds long, and ended again with no sense!
Connie bursts in right after the conversation begins, and the potential of a great moment is shattered. That’s the disappointing part. Here’s the nonsense part: We hear her come in, so ALL she hears of the conversion is the following:
“howdy in my normal speech? “ -E
“well, I’m not saying you say the word a lot” –T
That’s all she hears. There’s no way she could know what was going on from those sentences! But she demands they stop, because she knows what they were doing. “And Eugene doesn’t use big words” she says sarcastically to one of their comments. How did she know that is what they told him? What a goofy screw-up on the writer’s part. It is so milajoit! Lots of things are milajoit in this episode, and it’s so depressing.
Ok, I am going to backtrack to what should have been THE moment of the entire three episodes: when they go to the cabin and actually see and talk to Eugene.
It is plastic and unbelievable. Aside from the fact Katie tried her best, and she did clearly, the writing could make any actor’s efforts seem wrong.
Eugene was not written right. How should he have been? He should have had problems. He should have been frantic. But because he was so matter of fact, he shouldn’t have been in Odyssey at all.
Connie says the situation is depressing. Eugene says “Depressing. Yes, I suppose it should be depressing for me. But it’s not. It's all academic"“
Ok, that makes sense. But what doesn’t is: If he is not concerned about the memory loss, why would he want them back? Why would he waste his time thinking about it, why would he care if anyone knew about it, why would he go to Odyssey at all?
He would shrug it off, and go on to do things that-Eugene finds interesting. Or- at the least he would want to, even if Katrina wants him to give ole Odyssey a try.
In trying to make Eugene the Eugene of his 1st days in Odyssey, they made an error. The only reason why he was in Odyssey then was because of he attended Campbell College. Take that rational Eugene reason away, and he would be far away from Whit’s End. It was only a part time job to him back then! That was its lure. To him-now- it’s not important. Or at least, if it made sense, it wouldn’t be important.
(I’m skipping the lie scene. That was fine)
With this in mind, take a look at the next dramatic scene.
All of a sudden Eugene wants his memories back. Bad. “A desperate longing” he has developed in seconds!
What changed him? The pictures he couldn’t remember? The happiness when they believed his lie about his memory returning? Was it Whit saying they could try to input their memories into Eugene, and that it might be the answer- although it’s risky?
No, it’s just that the writers didn’t take the time to make a logical explanation . So they made logical, calculating Eugene suddenly have emotions so huge they make him shout with passion, “I’ll do it! I’ll risk my mental health to remember. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!”
OK, it’s what I wanted to hear in the first place. But they JUST hardcore established the ‘fact’ that Eugene is not disheartened in the slightest about his predicament. Then he just happens to be dramatically depressed just minutes later! Oh, yeah. And it also happens just as the episode ends. O.K. if that wasn’t a planned (and extremely milajoit) cliffhanger, I’ll jump off the train trestle at Miller’s Ravine.
So part 3 picks up at that dastardly dramatic ending. Connie, Bernard, etc. try out the new experiment courtesy of Whit.
In them we hear some rerun memories of far better episodes, when we had hoped (and expected!) to hear new and ORIGINAL good parts in THIS episode. Tom won’t join in the new experiment. “How does God fit in with all this technical mumbojumbo?” Eugene needs real relationships”
“Whit!” Connie interrupts. Eugene wants to take “ greater measures”, because he says the experiment didn’t work. “Blast me with full power” he says.
He’s told “no”, develops has a stress headache, and takes off in a huff. He sneaks back into Whit’s End at night, (no surprise there) and blasts himself.
It doesn’t work. Another non-surprise. Whit rushes over, Eugene asks him to pray with him. (While that always a good idea, it is yet another eye-roller. Because it’s ONLY something a full memoried Eugene would do! Make up your minds, writers!!)
“I was a desperate fool. Where’s Jack? “, Eugene stumbles over his words and yes, now the memories come rolling back. Ingloriously.
The “I remember! It’s all coming back!” part should have been another highlight, but its just came too late, and too oddly.
Then my eyes nerves are completely tangled up with my final eye-roll. Eugene dramatically faints and Whit shouts the normal, concerned, and far-too-commonly used, “Eugene!”.
No, here is another eye roller. He wakes up with perfect memories in the hospital after another concerned talk, and it is galling instead of miraculous.
It took a lot of work in the previous two episodes to make such a joyous and anticipated occasion to be such a bore.
“He’s back, he’s really back!” is the good ending. But it was far too short, as with every thing they did right in this three-parter.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of trust in whitend.org promotions anymore. They promised, and they didn’t deliver.
I expected a whole lot more pepperonis on a “Something Big” pizza.
---------------------------------------
Part 2 in Something Big was a surprise to me- because it was utterly not up to the writers’ sky-scraping standard, and more surprisingly to the precedent they so recently created in “A Most Interesting Question”.
I suppose that is why they called it a “surprise”.
It literally was a surprise! I cannot believe their weak writing, and all the times they wasted gem moments while drawing out nonsensical ones. The pathetic writing, and consequent lacking storyline especially floored me.
The only way this could have happened eventually came to me. The director and actors were mistakenly given the episode’s 1st draft ! Yes, instead of the brilliant (and polished) piece of writing they slaved away on for months! In a world-class mix-up, a confused AIO illiterate flunky mailed the wrong script to the voices of Eugene, et all.
When you are reading a good mystery, and the pieces are so wildly unconnected, and you have no clue what is going to happen, and yet the story is interesting, what do you do? You keep reading till it all comes together, and you shout “Ah ha!, I get it now! Wow, that was so brilliant. I never would’ve guessed that!”
As I listened to part 2 and now to part 3; the only part of that I can agree with is, I surely wouldn’t have guessed that which they delivered.
Take Dr. Foster for an extreme example. He was a 100% intriguing character, from his doctored clues on .org to the entire first episode. He snuck into Odyssey, spied on our intrepid characters, talked mysteriously with unknown persons, and befriended (or possibly even bamboozled) (!) the world’s kindest man, all the while somehow very knowing about, and interested in, the one missing Odyssey character everyone in the entire Odyssey world is also intensely interested in.
That was Dr. Foster until the absolute last second in part 1. Part 2 picks up immediately from that moment. And from it to the final scene in part 3, Dr. Foster is about as interesting as a tunafish sandwich without pickles.
Ok, my afore mentioned claims are largely unsubstantiated.
Get set; here I go substantiating them like crazy:
But, ugg, I feel an inner gag even thinking about listening to part 2 again.
O.K. here I go: **paraphrased phrases intentional**
Her hand is reaching for the door to get at the person inside:
“DON’T TOUCH THAT!”, she hears.
“Who is in there?”
“Please you have to go. I can’t tell you now. One day, in the far future, I will tell you”
Next scene.
“I have to see him”
“Well, you can’t. And if you’re his friend, you WON’T”
It all so completely top-secret, and urgent you fall off your chair in anticipation.
Next scene.
“Ok, they’re gone. Oh, hi. I am not surprised you are still here since I’m the one who ordered you away 60 seconds ago, using all of the fatherly authority I’ve earned for a dozen+ years. Oh, by the way I might as well tell you everything I have been keeping away from you like the bubonic plague.”
E’s brain was tampered with. As a result, he has part-time amnesia. Completely predictable, and a stale storyline, but in a funloving way, I can go along with it. But not one other symptom of brain fry?
No way is possible, man. In fact, a week earlier I predicated the part time amnesia thing, but I also predicted serious illness. In fact, that and my entire prophesizing of the three episodes had a better, and well thought out storyline. I hate it when people toot their own horns. So my point is not my brilliance, but that it was better than the professionals. Which shows the unusually poor effort they put into the last two episodes.
Connie was the best-written character. Which it the opposite of far too many episodes unfortunately; but that was the best part of the whole episode. (Yes, I love that E is back. But fellas, it’s not a good idea to automatically give 5 stars because of that. The actual story must be worth those stars!)
Bernard, my favorite old-timer, was given the poorest material to work with. He is pure wit. Well, he was.
‘It’s Maude on the phone.”
This is the worst scene. It is worthless to storyline. It is not funny. It is not serious. It makes Bernard look like a half-wit, and his wife half that. Which is pretty bad. It also makes this episode, well, half-witted.
O.K., I’m FF that scene to the next:
“This is straight out of a bad TV series”
Ok, I know the marketing technique to state the obvious imperfections of your product to gain trust, but this is too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. Mr. Writer, you knew this material sucked. Why did you write the whole script on a scrap of paper while waiting for your wife to be done shopping? Haven’t we been good fans to you?
Ok, so we move on to the Dr. Foster assertion that E’s memory is not gone, “it’s just dormant”. How did he know this? He read over E’s files, and he reviewed Whit’s week of work. That’s why.
HUH? 2+2=17?
Come on, please. We are not all elementary aged out here! “You better explain that, Dr.” Tom says. Yes, that would be nice. And then there’s Bernard “Harlow” Walton’s comment, “You’se is speaking Eugene-speak here, doc”
No, he isn’t. He’s speaking like a character whose lines were written by someone who forgot to go back and correct that weak, nonsensical “scientific talk”.
It’s so poorly done. Yuck.
Then Whit goes on to state why E & K came back to O. Which raises another illogical point. In the beginning of this episode again Whit says E wanted Whit to help him. Why would he? I can see Katrina grabbing at any hope, but why would Eugene-less-his-memory want to?
He, being a recognized genius since childhood, would want to go to a ice cream shop owner to help him crack a medical mystery? A person that he only knows academically without emotion or trust?
The Eugene of this episode wouldn’t come, or it he did, he would not be so trusting of Whit’s abilities
Plus, that raises another issue. Eugene would have to re-learn everything about Odyssey and Whit. Don’t you think the Imagination Station (even without the memory program), would cause him some intellectual excitement?
Don’t you think he’d be peppering everyone-especially Whit- about everything he is “experiencing for the first time”?
No, he’s acting like he already knows all about Whit, Whit’s End, the IS, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Not by what he’s saying but by what he’s not saying. There is so much left unexplored in this episode, it should be embarrassing. There was so much potential!
Especially, especially, this next scene:
It is the “Tom and Bernard trying to change Eugene” one. It was an unpolished gem. It had the potential to be HUGE in all time Odyssey comedic moments. Instead it was two seconds long, and ended again with no sense!
Connie bursts in right after the conversation begins, and the potential of a great moment is shattered. That’s the disappointing part. Here’s the nonsense part: We hear her come in, so ALL she hears of the conversion is the following:
“howdy in my normal speech? “ -E
“well, I’m not saying you say the word a lot” –T
That’s all she hears. There’s no way she could know what was going on from those sentences! But she demands they stop, because she knows what they were doing. “And Eugene doesn’t use big words” she says sarcastically to one of their comments. How did she know that is what they told him? What a goofy screw-up on the writer’s part. It is so milajoit! Lots of things are milajoit in this episode, and it’s so depressing.
Ok, I am going to backtrack to what should have been THE moment of the entire three episodes: when they go to the cabin and actually see and talk to Eugene.
It is plastic and unbelievable. Aside from the fact Katie tried her best, and she did clearly, the writing could make any actor’s efforts seem wrong.
Eugene was not written right. How should he have been? He should have had problems. He should have been frantic. But because he was so matter of fact, he shouldn’t have been in Odyssey at all.
Connie says the situation is depressing. Eugene says “Depressing. Yes, I suppose it should be depressing for me. But it’s not. It's all academic"“
Ok, that makes sense. But what doesn’t is: If he is not concerned about the memory loss, why would he want them back? Why would he waste his time thinking about it, why would he care if anyone knew about it, why would he go to Odyssey at all?
He would shrug it off, and go on to do things that-Eugene finds interesting. Or- at the least he would want to, even if Katrina wants him to give ole Odyssey a try.
In trying to make Eugene the Eugene of his 1st days in Odyssey, they made an error. The only reason why he was in Odyssey then was because of he attended Campbell College. Take that rational Eugene reason away, and he would be far away from Whit’s End. It was only a part time job to him back then! That was its lure. To him-now- it’s not important. Or at least, if it made sense, it wouldn’t be important.
(I’m skipping the lie scene. That was fine)
With this in mind, take a look at the next dramatic scene.
All of a sudden Eugene wants his memories back. Bad. “A desperate longing” he has developed in seconds!
What changed him? The pictures he couldn’t remember? The happiness when they believed his lie about his memory returning? Was it Whit saying they could try to input their memories into Eugene, and that it might be the answer- although it’s risky?
No, it’s just that the writers didn’t take the time to make a logical explanation . So they made logical, calculating Eugene suddenly have emotions so huge they make him shout with passion, “I’ll do it! I’ll risk my mental health to remember. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!”
OK, it’s what I wanted to hear in the first place. But they JUST hardcore established the ‘fact’ that Eugene is not disheartened in the slightest about his predicament. Then he just happens to be dramatically depressed just minutes later! Oh, yeah. And it also happens just as the episode ends. O.K. if that wasn’t a planned (and extremely milajoit) cliffhanger, I’ll jump off the train trestle at Miller’s Ravine.
So part 3 picks up at that dastardly dramatic ending. Connie, Bernard, etc. try out the new experiment courtesy of Whit.
In them we hear some rerun memories of far better episodes, when we had hoped (and expected!) to hear new and ORIGINAL good parts in THIS episode. Tom won’t join in the new experiment. “How does God fit in with all this technical mumbojumbo?” Eugene needs real relationships”
“Whit!” Connie interrupts. Eugene wants to take “ greater measures”, because he says the experiment didn’t work. “Blast me with full power” he says.
He’s told “no”, develops has a stress headache, and takes off in a huff. He sneaks back into Whit’s End at night, (no surprise there) and blasts himself.
It doesn’t work. Another non-surprise. Whit rushes over, Eugene asks him to pray with him. (While that always a good idea, it is yet another eye-roller. Because it’s ONLY something a full memoried Eugene would do! Make up your minds, writers!!)
“I was a desperate fool. Where’s Jack? “, Eugene stumbles over his words and yes, now the memories come rolling back. Ingloriously.
The “I remember! It’s all coming back!” part should have been another highlight, but its just came too late, and too oddly.
Then my eyes nerves are completely tangled up with my final eye-roll. Eugene dramatically faints and Whit shouts the normal, concerned, and far-too-commonly used, “Eugene!”.
No, here is another eye roller. He wakes up with perfect memories in the hospital after another concerned talk, and it is galling instead of miraculous.
It took a lot of work in the previous two episodes to make such a joyous and anticipated occasion to be such a bore.
“He’s back, he’s really back!” is the good ending. But it was far too short, as with every thing they did right in this three-parter.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of trust in whitend.org promotions anymore. They promised, and they didn’t deliver.
I expected a whole lot more pepperonis on a “Something Big” pizza.
-Rachel
"The victory is mine when the battle is the Lord's!"
"The victory is mine when the battle is the Lord's!"
i agree with everything rachelavonlea said. the episode (actually all three) was inconsistent and disappointing. There was so much potential to make a classic episode with the return of eugene, but it was really a big letdown, and it seemed like the writers didn't take their job seriously. I am glad Eugene is back, but i don't like the way the writers brought him back.
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The Top Crusader
- Hammer Bro
- Posts: 22635
- Joined: April 2005
- Location: A drawbridge over a lava pit with an axe conveniently off to the side
For some reason, they played "The Time Has Come", instead... 
I mean, that's one of my favorites, but I was really hoping... oh, wait... that was the new episode?!
Honestly I can't decide if I liked it being so much like "The Time Has Come" or not... like I said it's one of my favorites, so its cool to have all the nods to it, but I haven't decided if it had enough identity of its own. Maybe I'll give it another listen when I'm paying more attention to it.
Regardless, it was still good, and its great to have Eugene back... so, yay.
I mean, that's one of my favorites, but I was really hoping... oh, wait... that was the new episode?!
Honestly I can't decide if I liked it being so much like "The Time Has Come" or not... like I said it's one of my favorites, so its cool to have all the nods to it, but I haven't decided if it had enough identity of its own. Maybe I'll give it another listen when I'm paying more attention to it.
Regardless, it was still good, and its great to have Eugene back... so, yay.
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Trent DeWhite
- Former Mayor
- Posts: 11659
- Joined: April 2005
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Interesting thoughts, Rachel, you do make some pointed complaints. However, in my opinion, I think you've overanalyzed a bit too much. With regards to your comment about
"An Extraordinary Conclusion" Review
I was pleasantly surprised with the events that took place in the final chapter of this three-episode saga. I must admit, however, that the preview clips from the previous episode took away a significant portion of the mystery factor from this episode. From what we heard last week, it was pretty evident what Eugene was going to do. In retrospect, I don't think they should've divulged the clip when Katrina said something regarding Eugene's absence. It made it rather clear that Eugene would return to the Imagination Station after a previously failed attempt . . . and that his memory would ultimately return to him. By making the third episode rather predictable, the only thing the listener didn't know for sure was HOW Eugene would regain his memory. Yet, in the end, I'm not going to complain. The AIO writers did a fantastic job overall, and I quite enjoyed all aspects of the episode.
First, I absolutely loved the flashbacks we heard in the Imagination. There's just something about hearing those clips from past episode that gives an AIO fanatic chills. Can you say nostalgia? Interesting how there was virtually no gap between hearing the memories of Connie, Bernard, and Katrina (though I wished they had used more clips of Katrina). We were fortunate to hear more IS flashbacks when Eugene went into the Imagination Station for the second time. Glad they remembered the 'rollercoaster' aspect of the IS, and I'm glad Eugene exhibited that fact ("Woahh...")
Second, I really appreciated the Christian perspective they infused into the episode, especially the whole part about how God uses our bad experiences to help shape us into the people He calls us to be. Admittedly, we do not necessarily have to undergo bad experiences for God to develop us, but I'm glad Tom was there (once again) to remind Whit of the value and importance of prayer. "But I think Eugene needs real relationships with God, with us. And a lot of time, patience, and prayer." I appreciated Tom's word regarding relationships, and how they're more important than what any machine can do. Amen, Tom.
Once again, the whole experimentation showed the human side of Whit: he isn't always perfect. I'm glad, though, that Whit, in the end, turned to God for the ultimate healing--albeit, it was Eugene who asked Whit to pray with him. Thumbs up to AIO for keeping the whole prayer and not cutting the scene off mid-prayer, which they have done in past episodes. While doing so was effective in past episodes, I appreciated the fact the writers didn't cut off Whit's prayer in this episode. If I remember correctly, we haven't heard a full prayer in quite a while. I was really wondering how Eugene would eventually be healed, and kudos to AIO for focusing more on the prayer as opposed to what the machine did.
Dr. Foster: "If it really restored Eugene's memory, then we need to use the technology elsewhere."
Whit: "Ah, but I don't think it worked, Dr. Foster. You said yourself it was very dangerous."
Dr. Foster: "Not if his memory has come back . . . if we go into that room and Eugene remembers, well that's a huge scientific breakthrough!"
Whit: "I'm sorry, Dr. Foster, but I can't give you the technology."
Dr. Foster: "Can't or won't?"
Whit: "Won't. If his memory is back, it won't be because of the Imagination Station, though, it may have played a small part."
Dr. Foster: "Well, then what did it?"
Whit: "Prayer."
With regards to how AIO portrayed the power of prayer, I mostly agreed with how it was used. One must remember that God won't always give us what we want or heal the people we want him to heal. At the same time, giving our infirmities to Him is much more important than any feeble attempts we can do to fix our or anyone else's problems.
Third, I was glad that AIO wisely provided the listener with dispersed moments of comic relief, primarily through Bernard's character. This particular episode certainly did not demand much comedy, as some of the episode's focus would've been taken away had it included more humor. Yet, you had to give the listener at least a few moments where they could simply laugh. Eugene: "Forgive me, but I'm afraid I'm going to pass into unconsciousness." I think we all knew Eugene would be fine, but I thought it was rather humorous the way Eugene casually stated it.
Bernard: "This is the best fight I've seen since my Aunt Bertha threw away my Uncle Ted's golfing pants."
In conclusion to my review of the conclusion, I have nothing left to say except end with the words of one Connie Kendall.
"Eugene is back! He's really back!"
Last I checked it milajoit isn't a word. I believe you mean maladroit.Rachel wrote:Lots of things are milajoit in this episode, and it’s so depressing.
I, too, wished Eugene hadn't regained his memory back so quickly. However, I was only slightly disappointed with the seemingly abrupt healing. One must realize you can only fit so much in a 25-minute program. In actuality, the episode barely squeaked 20 minutes.Rachel wrote:No, here is another eye roller. He wakes up with perfect memories in the hospital after another concerned talk, and it is galling instead of miraculous.
It took a lot of work in the previous two episodes to make such a joyous and anticipated occasion to be such a bore.
“He’s back, he’s really back!” is the good ending. But it was far too short, as with every thing they did right in this three-parter.
"An Extraordinary Conclusion" Review
I was pleasantly surprised with the events that took place in the final chapter of this three-episode saga. I must admit, however, that the preview clips from the previous episode took away a significant portion of the mystery factor from this episode. From what we heard last week, it was pretty evident what Eugene was going to do. In retrospect, I don't think they should've divulged the clip when Katrina said something regarding Eugene's absence. It made it rather clear that Eugene would return to the Imagination Station after a previously failed attempt . . . and that his memory would ultimately return to him. By making the third episode rather predictable, the only thing the listener didn't know for sure was HOW Eugene would regain his memory. Yet, in the end, I'm not going to complain. The AIO writers did a fantastic job overall, and I quite enjoyed all aspects of the episode.
First, I absolutely loved the flashbacks we heard in the Imagination. There's just something about hearing those clips from past episode that gives an AIO fanatic chills. Can you say nostalgia? Interesting how there was virtually no gap between hearing the memories of Connie, Bernard, and Katrina (though I wished they had used more clips of Katrina). We were fortunate to hear more IS flashbacks when Eugene went into the Imagination Station for the second time. Glad they remembered the 'rollercoaster' aspect of the IS, and I'm glad Eugene exhibited that fact ("Woahh...")
Second, I really appreciated the Christian perspective they infused into the episode, especially the whole part about how God uses our bad experiences to help shape us into the people He calls us to be. Admittedly, we do not necessarily have to undergo bad experiences for God to develop us, but I'm glad Tom was there (once again) to remind Whit of the value and importance of prayer. "But I think Eugene needs real relationships with God, with us. And a lot of time, patience, and prayer." I appreciated Tom's word regarding relationships, and how they're more important than what any machine can do. Amen, Tom.
Once again, the whole experimentation showed the human side of Whit: he isn't always perfect. I'm glad, though, that Whit, in the end, turned to God for the ultimate healing--albeit, it was Eugene who asked Whit to pray with him. Thumbs up to AIO for keeping the whole prayer and not cutting the scene off mid-prayer, which they have done in past episodes. While doing so was effective in past episodes, I appreciated the fact the writers didn't cut off Whit's prayer in this episode. If I remember correctly, we haven't heard a full prayer in quite a while.
I was really wondering how Eugene would eventually be healed, and kudos to AIO for focusing more on the prayer as opposed to what the machine did. Dr. Foster: "If it really restored Eugene's memory, then we need to use the technology elsewhere."
Whit: "Ah, but I don't think it worked, Dr. Foster. You said yourself it was very dangerous."
Dr. Foster: "Not if his memory has come back . . . if we go into that room and Eugene remembers, well that's a huge scientific breakthrough!"
Whit: "I'm sorry, Dr. Foster, but I can't give you the technology."
Dr. Foster: "Can't or won't?"
Whit: "Won't. If his memory is back, it won't be because of the Imagination Station, though, it may have played a small part."
Dr. Foster: "Well, then what did it?"
Whit: "Prayer."
With regards to how AIO portrayed the power of prayer, I mostly agreed with how it was used. One must remember that God won't always give us what we want or heal the people we want him to heal. At the same time, giving our infirmities to Him is much more important than any feeble attempts we can do to fix our or anyone else's problems.
Third, I was glad that AIO wisely provided the listener with dispersed moments of comic relief, primarily through Bernard's character. This particular episode certainly did not demand much comedy, as some of the episode's focus would've been taken away had it included more humor. Yet, you had to give the listener at least a few moments where they could simply laugh. Eugene: "Forgive me, but I'm afraid I'm going to pass into unconsciousness." I think we all knew Eugene would be fine, but I thought it was rather humorous the way Eugene casually stated it.
Bernard: "This is the best fight I've seen since my Aunt Bertha threw away my Uncle Ted's golfing pants."
In conclusion to my review of the conclusion, I have nothing left to say except end with the words of one Connie Kendall.
"Eugene is back! He's really back!"
Last edited by Trent DeWhite on Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Check out our interview with Paul McCusker, author and director of Darien's Rise!
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Shad Lexer
- Ignorance of the law is no excuse
- Posts: 4032
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- Location: Right where I'm supposed to be.
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Laura Ingalls
- Half Pint
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I liked it - of course, it was all a little far-fetched, but I still enjoyed it.
I liked that prayer and God was pointed out to be the real cause of Eugene's returned memory. I also enjoyed the humorous scene where he remembers about how everybody was - Connie's "I do not!" was funny!
I give it 4 stars.
We never listen to the preview clips for that very reason!I must admit, however, that the preview clips from the previous episode took away a significant portion of the mystery factor from this episode.
I liked that prayer and God was pointed out to be the real cause of Eugene's returned memory. I also enjoyed the humorous scene where he remembers about how everybody was - Connie's "I do not!" was funny!
I give it 4 stars.
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Trent DeWhite
- Former Mayor
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- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Very smart, Laura.Laura Ingalls wrote:We never listen to the preview clips for that very reason!
Gotta love the brief comedy scenes.
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Eugene: "Whatever you were doing . . . it wasn't enough! Connie, Katrina, Bernard--all three experienced full and vivid memories of my life. While I had only a vague sense of deja vu!"
Bernard: "You thought you were a car?"
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Bernard: "This is the best fight I've seen since my Aunt Birtha threw away my Uncle Ted's golfing pants."
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Eugene: "And you, Miss Kendall, are predisposed to disagree with me about everything."
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Connie: "I do not!"
Eugene: "Q.E.D." Quod erat demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated)
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Dr. Foster: "We still don't know why he's unconscious."
Tom: "Well you must have an educated guess, doc."
Dr. Foster: "It's possible, having somehow unlocked the door, that all of the memories came rushing back and it was just too much for him--like the blow to the head."
Bernard: "Yeah, you see, I told you! A blow to head, that's how it always happens on TV."
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Check out our interview with Paul McCusker, author and director of Darien's Rise!
'My Whole Raview on the "3-Part Eugene Returns Saga"
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I Decided not to post my review until I heard all three episodes
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A Most Interesting Question
Plot
It was interesting to say the least.I love the fact that it has anything to do with whit and the government. But it was sort of weird and to cutesy with the whole "Its mad scientist time again" thing and ive never known the to go to such extreme measures to spy on whit and having "club" meetings like some boys spying on the girls to throw water baloons on them (calvin and hobbes style).It left many loose ends at the end of the episode which by the end of "A most interesting question" you suppose it will start a new saga....but it dosent which is dissapointing and kinda rushed.And its strange how everything starts once the BTC team
more on the review to come...(im lazy)
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I Decided not to post my review until I heard all three episodes
---------------------------------
A Most Interesting Question
Plot
It was interesting to say the least.I love the fact that it has anything to do with whit and the government. But it was sort of weird and to cutesy with the whole "Its mad scientist time again" thing and ive never known the to go to such extreme measures to spy on whit and having "club" meetings like some boys spying on the girls to throw water baloons on them (calvin and hobbes style).It left many loose ends at the end of the episode which by the end of "A most interesting question" you suppose it will start a new saga....but it dosent which is dissapointing and kinda rushed.And its strange how everything starts once the BTC team
more on the review to come...(im lazy)
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Thursday Next
- Catspaw Rocks!
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- Contact:
Now that I can finally say what I've been wanting to say for a week. I liked how Tom acted as the voice of reason. It's funny how soon Whit forgot his reservations about using radiowaves to heal people. Then I guess when people when people we care about are hurting we will go to any lengths to see them cured. However the one things that has baffled me was only someone as brilliant as Eugene could be so foolish.
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JesusFreak777
- Expecting a battle
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- Location: In the arms of my Father
I enjoyed it. It moved a little fast, but it brought bac kscenes from the golden days of Odyssey which, for me, covers all errors.
I have a question I have been wanting to ask. At the very end of Exit, the last time we actually hear Eugene-although I'm sure it's pieced together like Whit's was in ...But not Fogotten-is on an answering machine,it seems that Eugene knows who Whit is and what happened. He also mentions returning to Odyssey, having many questions, and ends by calling Mr. Whittaker "Whit." so my question is, did all this happen before Eugene lost his memory, or wasthere a major goof?
I have a question I have been wanting to ask. At the very end of Exit, the last time we actually hear Eugene-although I'm sure it's pieced together like Whit's was in ...But not Fogotten-is on an answering machine,it seems that Eugene knows who Whit is and what happened. He also mentions returning to Odyssey, having many questions, and ends by calling Mr. Whittaker "Whit." so my question is, did all this happen before Eugene lost his memory, or wasthere a major goof?
I'll be honest, after hearing this episode, I have mixed feelings. I'll mention what disappointing first.
It seemed rushed. Very. We jumped from one flashback sequence to the next in a matter of seconds. The scenes where Whit hears Eugene is gone and finds him and all that, it was again rushed. Sure, having a four-parter would've been a tad too drawn out, but it seemed rushed to me. Then Eugene passes out, we don't know why, he wakes up. Again, rushed.
And speaking of the flashbacks (there is stuff I like and didn't, and I'll talk about the stuff I did like later on) I almost felt like they were trying to make it like The Time Has Come. If Eugene had stepped out of the IS after the final sequence and his memory was back b/c of that, the episode would've been ruined for me.
Katrina's voice, but since I can't do anything about that, I won't complain about it here. Except that hearing her voice in the flashbacks, and how short that sequence was (rushed again?) reinforced my disappointment. The thing I fear most is that the chemistry Pam Hayden and the other actors (particularly Will Ryan) formed with their characters will be drastically different.
Using technology to heal mental problems. And I'm not talking about modern medicinal technology, I mean using a machine to 'stimulate' memories from one person and having the second person view those memories. I might be off my focker, but that's toying with something we should leave to God, I believe that's going too far. In fact, I was greatly surprised Whit went along with it. And along those lines, aren't we toying with God's timing to do stuff like this? Where was the stuff saying God works on his own time (that we often can't see) and to trust him? That he was working through it for the ultimate good of Eugene and the gang (Romans 8:28, a verse often used in Odyssey)? Yes, we heard it eventually, but too late in my opinion.
And that brings me to Whit. The Whit of old would not have gone along with this. Sure, he acted rash in The Mortal Coil, but he wasn't toying with people's minds. He went a whole three episodes (and over a week in Odyssey) before he dropped to his knees. Yes, I know he said he was praying, but he still, for over a week in Odyssey time, relied on man too much.
Now for the things I liked.
Tom. I applaud his insistence that Whit was 'going about it the wrong way'. He refused to 'stimulate' his memory in the maching, and I was glad to see someone showing some sense.
The flashbacks. The memories they bring (no pun intended) and the clips we heard were well done. The music was excellent. Of course it can't begin to compare to perfect music-driven sequence in The Time Has Come, but it was good nonetheless and I enjoyed them.
The prayer scene. It's been a long time since we've heard fervently and passionately pray like that, and I loved it. It was heart-warming, a relief after several episodes with virtually no mention of God in the midst of a crisis. When they came to the end of themselves, they fell to their knees.
It was also well done after they prayed (the only part that wasn't rushed) where Eugene asked where Jack was. Another good scene.
And of course, I'm glad Eugene has finally returned. Odyssey hasn't been the same without him.
In conclusion, this episode was a mixed bag. There were plenty of good and bad, and since they pretty much balance each other out, and Eugene is back, I'll give it 3/5 stars.
Maybe I expected more. Maybe being this big of a fan, which leads to overanalyzing new episodes isn't a good thing.
I can only hope things improve from here.
-Jonathan
It seemed rushed. Very. We jumped from one flashback sequence to the next in a matter of seconds. The scenes where Whit hears Eugene is gone and finds him and all that, it was again rushed. Sure, having a four-parter would've been a tad too drawn out, but it seemed rushed to me. Then Eugene passes out, we don't know why, he wakes up. Again, rushed.
And speaking of the flashbacks (there is stuff I like and didn't, and I'll talk about the stuff I did like later on) I almost felt like they were trying to make it like The Time Has Come. If Eugene had stepped out of the IS after the final sequence and his memory was back b/c of that, the episode would've been ruined for me.
Katrina's voice, but since I can't do anything about that, I won't complain about it here. Except that hearing her voice in the flashbacks, and how short that sequence was (rushed again?) reinforced my disappointment. The thing I fear most is that the chemistry Pam Hayden and the other actors (particularly Will Ryan) formed with their characters will be drastically different.
Using technology to heal mental problems. And I'm not talking about modern medicinal technology, I mean using a machine to 'stimulate' memories from one person and having the second person view those memories. I might be off my focker, but that's toying with something we should leave to God, I believe that's going too far. In fact, I was greatly surprised Whit went along with it. And along those lines, aren't we toying with God's timing to do stuff like this? Where was the stuff saying God works on his own time (that we often can't see) and to trust him? That he was working through it for the ultimate good of Eugene and the gang (Romans 8:28, a verse often used in Odyssey)? Yes, we heard it eventually, but too late in my opinion.
And that brings me to Whit. The Whit of old would not have gone along with this. Sure, he acted rash in The Mortal Coil, but he wasn't toying with people's minds. He went a whole three episodes (and over a week in Odyssey) before he dropped to his knees. Yes, I know he said he was praying, but he still, for over a week in Odyssey time, relied on man too much.
Now for the things I liked.
Tom. I applaud his insistence that Whit was 'going about it the wrong way'. He refused to 'stimulate' his memory in the maching, and I was glad to see someone showing some sense.
The flashbacks. The memories they bring (no pun intended) and the clips we heard were well done. The music was excellent. Of course it can't begin to compare to perfect music-driven sequence in The Time Has Come, but it was good nonetheless and I enjoyed them.
The prayer scene. It's been a long time since we've heard fervently and passionately pray like that, and I loved it. It was heart-warming, a relief after several episodes with virtually no mention of God in the midst of a crisis. When they came to the end of themselves, they fell to their knees.
It was also well done after they prayed (the only part that wasn't rushed) where Eugene asked where Jack was. Another good scene.
And of course, I'm glad Eugene has finally returned. Odyssey hasn't been the same without him.
In conclusion, this episode was a mixed bag. There were plenty of good and bad, and since they pretty much balance each other out, and Eugene is back, I'll give it 3/5 stars.
Maybe I expected more. Maybe being this big of a fan, which leads to overanalyzing new episodes isn't a good thing.
I can only hope things improve from here.
-Jonathan
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Evil Chick
- Miss Whit's End
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- Location: I'm sitting on top of the world.
Well, I loved this episode. Although it was very predictable that Eugene's memory would, indeed return in the episode, I still enjoyed it very much. I really liked the way they worked all of the flash-back memories into the Imagination Station scenes. They were some of the all-time-favorite classic Eugene moments, and it was nice to hear them all together, esp. concidering the fact that Eugene is finally back. I was also happy that Tom wouldn't go in to the IS, and instead said that they should pray. The fact that Whit and Eugene prayed together was also very nice, although they could have prayed before they experimented. Both the scene where Eugene first remembers, and the hopsital scene made me cry. I loved Eugene's little speech about how much he loved everyone. It was awesome.
So, in conclusion, this 3-parter is now on my list of favorite episodes. I loved all three of them, and can't wait till they come out on CD. 5/5 stars.
So, in conclusion, this 3-parter is now on my list of favorite episodes. I loved all three of them, and can't wait till they come out on CD. 5/5 stars.