578: "All Star Witness"

**SPOILERS**

Archived reviews of Adventures in Odyssey episodes!

How Many Stars?

5 Stars
2
8%
4 Stars
15
58%
3 Stars
9
35%
2 Stars
0
No votes
1 Star
0
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Total votes: 26

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578: "All Star Witness"

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Go!

Lock it until Saturday, please...
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Post by J-man »

I don't know, this episode just didn't quite click with me. It was an ok show, but it seemed like the writers were trying to capture the feel of the old episodes and they didn't quite get it. Also, it seemed like nothing really happened or anything. And Eugene seemed out of character to me, but perhaps it's was just me. The only thing I really liked was having Tom in the show. It seems like Tom hasn't been used much lately, and I was nice to have him back as a main character. Overall an average episode. 3/5 stars.
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Post by Kenric »

I'm listening to it right NOW. Uggh. This Ashley girl is horrible.
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Post by Aslan »

this episode was good but the worst episode of the season
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Post by Kenric »

It was an average episode. Nothing major happened, but it taught a valid life lesson.Go figure. Anyways, I hope the season has nowhere to go but up.
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Post by Elrohir »

It was ok. Not great or anything, but I still enjoyed it.
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Post by EK »

*Awaits patiently broadcasts review*
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Post by Broadcast »

Episode Review: Episode 578: All-Star Witness
Writer: Nathan Hoobler (#30)
Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell
Average Rating from TOO Members: 3.85/5=77% (Last updated, Wednesday, November 9th, with 20 votes)

Title: A NOT All-Star Plot

Characters:
Major: (greater than 30 eps)
Whit (#383)
Eugene (#171)
Tom Riley (#121)
Minor: (less than 30 eps)
Tamika (#15)
Ashley Jenkins (#5)
Bill Jenkins (#3)

I must say that my rating for “Use of Characters” may have been a bit too generous. This review is pretty much a repetition of what I’ve said in previous episodes, and so I will not go in great length. I apologize for my laziness this Saturday Morning.

First off—I’m sure everyone was very much surprised with the appearance of formal mayor Bill Jenkins’s reappearance on the show. Throughout the writings of Nathan Hoobler, I’m sure he magically remarked that there could be a relation between Bill Jenkins and Ashley Jenkins. To top if off, it makes perfect sence; Ashley is rich, a bit snobby, and comes from parents who are great public speakers, and…well…it worked.

The reviews we’ll be reading will most probably be about the show’s classiness--which we all know that Nathan Hoobler tries with effort to achieve that feel. As fans, we appreciate it. The type of music in the background during dialogue, Whit in the library talking to the kid, Whit and Tom’s relationship, Tom and Eugene’s miscommunication, Tom’s position in the city-council with his outspoken views, Tom’s involvement with a softball team, the return of the Coyotes, Whit’s ingenious plan to save the day, Eugene’s intelligence getting out-of-hand, the Whittaker’s friendship with everyone, Whit not wanting to disagree with the parent…and perhaps there are even more points that I neglected to mention, all helped in achieving one classic episode. That's right, the feel was achieved.

The casting was good, as well. Sure, the title deceived people a little. I, too, was one of the few people who agreed with Bennett Charles that this episode would be about the salvation-game between Nick and Aubrey (Aubrey being the witness, and Nick being the All-Star). Perhaps that’s the only reason I felt a little generous with the “Use of Characters” category. The term, “All-Star” usually makes me think of teenagers, and not kids.

Secondly, after hearing the description of the show. I thought it would make much more sense if the show had taken place in court, because of an accident at the Timothy Center, with Tom being sued for an actual GOOD reason (and not some silly reason as was given), and the storyline being mainly between Eugene and Tom as they try to solve the mysterious plot, however, in the end, they learn to communicated with one another and solve the mystery. Right there is a much better plot if I do say so myself.

As I said, the fact that Ashley sued Mr. Riley for treating her differently in a softball team is awefully...well...stupid. Can you do that? Can you really sue someone for someone in a position of authority treating a child differently from another? Hmm.

I mean, as you can see, there’s a lot about this show I liked. However, time and time again, there is a show in the season which seems to do all the right things but fail in one aspect; the story. Let's take a look at today's story:

Tom said he was being sued, Ashley gave her side of the story, they decided to meet with each other, and Tom gave his side of the story, and they found out where the problem was. The End.

Sure, it’s a storyline, but there was no plot—nothing that the audience could get into. Nothing we could say, “Oh, I knew it! That’s why so-and-so did this-and-that!”

I’d like to go further, but I can’t. I mean, I overall enjoyed the episode, and it’ll be the one where I’ll never skip out while listening to an album.

In conclusion, an episode that doesn’t bring down the show is an enjoyable one by me. There are way too many good things in today's show that camouflaged the large gap in its storyline.

Acting/dialogue: 5/5
Story/Originality: 2.5/5
Use of Characters: 4/5
Series Relevance: 3/5
Personal enjoyment/Entertainment Value: 3/5

Total: 17.5/25= 70%= SCORE:GOOD-

(Rating Grid:
0%=Poison
0-20%=Complete Failure
20-40%=Very Poor
40-60%=Poor
60-70%=Average
70-80%=Good
80-90%=Very Good
90-100%=Terrific
100%=Perfect
)

Reviews with Similar coments or views agreed by the Author, please refer to:???

Memorable Quotes:

[...]

Bill Jenkins: Not so fast! That doesn't explain the rest of the season. Why did you have to insult her? You said that she was just--like--her--dad! Now that was a pretty low blow...

Eugene: I'd like to point out for the record that Mr. Jenikins just inderectly reffered to his own qualities as an INSULT!

Bill Jenkins: That's not what I meant!
Last edited by Broadcast on Wed Nov 09, 2005 4:04 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by Jonathan »

Historically, sports shows that AIO has done have been somewhat controversial (two eps readily spring to mind), so the title alone made me kind of wary. However, it was very good.

First, I loved Eugene here; he’s talking nerdy, and that was good. As was Tom’s reactions to him. The scenes were relaxed (ie no crazy music back-dropping craziness), and I liked that (with the exception of some of Eugene‘s reactions, but that‘s in character and we could expect that. The flashbacks were tastefully done, dialogue was normal and believable, and etc. The point I’m trying to make is it had most of the elements that make a good slice of life episode.

However, this episode contained a rather big goof that has been bothering me since I listened, and is surrounds former mayor Bill Jenkins. When I first heard Ashley’s dad, I thought he sounded familiar, but that’s as far as it went. But as soon as he said “When I was mayor” my mind went reeling. That alone brought goofs to mind. First, in Tom for Mayor Part 1, when he resigned, he said he wanted to spend more time with his grandkids. And now, he has a daughter just a mere four years away from attending college? Maybe he found the fountain of youth (like Connie and Rodney). Second was the issue of the ‘road’ he and Tom debated. This part may or may not be a goof, but I always thought the road they debated was the one Glossman wanted to put through Odyssey. He failed, and maybe another road was built in the short time between that and Bill’s resignation, but if so, why would Tom fight it? Third, the lawsuit. From the beginning I thought a lawsuit over Tom’s coaching was odd, but dismissed it as AIO has a history of odd lawsuits. Very odd. But here Bill is out of character. We know from The Living Nativity that he is not only level headed, but sympathizes with Whit, Tom, and all them. And in Tom for Mayor we hear Bill go to bat for Tom, standing up to a crime lord and megolamaniac. Here, he is not levelheaded, suing Tom for a painful amount of money. Why is this?

Despite that rather large goof, I liked hearing from Bill (hopefully we’ll hear from another Bill soon) , and the episode was very enjoyable, so I’m giving it 4/5.

-Jonathan
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Post by Rachael Blackgaard »

Yes, yes, yes! Former mayor Bill Jenkins is back! Only I thought he had grandchildren and stuff...

But anyway, maybe this means some of the old characters are coming back (two, both of whose names start with 'R', come to mind).

I hope there are some interesting storylines coming up soon.
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Post by STRYPER »

I give an A++ to Nathan for trying to include that classic feel (Broadcast did a great job giving all the things in the episode that accomplished that) but I agree, it lacked storyline :(

Another thing about the highway...

Bill said that they voted to put in a highway that night!!!!!

DING DING DING!!!

Doesn't this mean a repeat of Timmy's Cabin? How can it? Tom's land is protected as an historic landmark, how could they vote to put in a highway???

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Post by Catspaw »

Maybe the highway is going to take a different route that isn't through Tom's land this time. :-k They didn't specifically say that this recently voted-for highway went through Tom's land, did they?

I liked the ep overall - it has its fun moments, and it was a shock (but a good one) to hear from Bill Jenkins again. He had some kind of connection to Blackgaard, didn't he? Based on a phone conversation around the time that he resigned? He's my new choice for the Chairman, if it isn't Tom. ;)

One thing that I did not like was Tom and Eugene's discussion at the end - it made Eugene look almost money-grubbing - it wasn't quite like their old-time arguments. Overall, however, I found the ep enjoyable both times I listened to it!

Something that I noticed is that Whit is very much like Nancy Drew. ;) By that I mean that no matter what the circumstance, he know the person to fix it. While Jason said years ago that Whittakers know everybody, ;) lately it's seemed a bit more blatant. Whit knew the scout - how handy! Kind of like how he had the connections to allow Tamika to talk to her favourite actress last season - how convenient! While I don't have anything against Whit having connections, I think they need to be careful not to overuse it.
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Post by Jonathan »

Personally, I don't think they've been using it enough in the last few years...
Catspaw wrote:Maybe the highway is going to take a different route that isn't through Tom's land this time. :-k They didn't specifically say that this recently voted-for highway went through Tom's land, did they?
I believe they said it was in between Odyssey and Connellsville, shortly before his retirement. And that whole idea has some loose ends, which I talked about in my review.
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Post by Kenric »

Catspaw wrote:Maybe the highway is going to take a different route that isn't through Tom's land this time. :-k They didn't specifically say that this recently voted-for highway went through Tom's land, did they?

I liked the ep overall - it has its fun moments, and it was a shock (but a good one) to hear from Bill Jenkins again. He had some kind of connection to Blackgaard, didn't he? Based on a phone conversation around the time that he resigned? He's my new choice for the Chairman, if it isn't Tom. ;)

One thing that I did not like was Tom and Eugene's discussion at the end - it made Eugene look almost money-grubbing - it wasn't quite like their old-time arguments. Overall, however, I found the ep enjoyable both times I listened to it!

Something that I noticed is that Whit is very much like Nancy Drew. ;) By that I mean that no matter what the circumstance, he know the person to fix it. While Jason said years ago that Whittakers know everybody, ;) lately it's seemed a bit more blatant. Whit knew the scout - how handy! Kind of like how he had the connections to allow Tamika to talk to her favourite actress last season - how convenient! While I don't have anything against Whit having connections, I think they need to be careful not to overuse it.
I agree with your last paragraph! Whit is always doing that. Quote: "...and he just so happens to be a friend of mine." But, wait, what is this? A coincidence? But, there are no coincidences :O.
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Post by Jonathan »

Witness4Jesus wrote:But, wait, what is this? A coincidence? But, there are no coincidences :O.
No it's not. We are well aware (and I'll spare you the examples that come to mind) that Whit is well-connected. It's not hard to believe.
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Post by map »

I liked this episode too. Granted, it wasn't one of the strongest this season, but a good life lesson.

Eugene: he was pretty funny in this episode, but really, I thought he was just background noise so to speak.

Tom: I was really glad to have him back in an episode. I thought he did really well in this episode.

I think this story is true to life. I've read too many stories in the papers where parents go overboard with their kids and sports. Too many parents have got in fights over how little their kids play, or fight over which kid is better.

Sports are big business these days and I'm sure it is common for parents to sue for taking away money from their kids. Parents need to step back and just let the kids play. This episode did a great job of showing that.

Also, it was a good episode on what happens when people don't communicate!
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Post by Evil Chick »

I give it 4 stars. It's funny, and has a good lesson. I liked the fact that they made a connection between Mayor Jenkins and Ashley's dad. That was pretty funny. However, as Jonathan already pointed out, that does provide us with the grandkids goof. Unless, of course, Ashley is one of those kids who was born a lot later than her siblings, which does happen sometimes. Also, as STRYPER pointed out, we now have the whole "Timmy's Cabin" problem all over again now. And, as Catspaw already mentioned, Whit's "knowing everyone" is getting a little annoying....

But, I still give the ep 4 stars. :D
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Post by AIOfan11 »

Jonathan wrote: However, this episode contained a rather big goof that has been bothering me since I listened, and is surrounds former mayor Bill Jenkins. When I first heard Ashley’s dad, I thought he sounded familiar, but that’s as far as it went. But as soon as he said “When I was mayor” my mind went reeling. That alone brought goofs to mind. First, in Tom for Mayor Part 1, when he resigned, he said he wanted to spend more time with his grandkids. And now, he has a daughter just a mere four years away from attending college? Maybe he found the fountain of youth (like Connie and Rodney).
Lol! I noticed too! (Which is pretty good for me. :D) Your right, it was large. Oh well!
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Post by Kenric »

Jonathan wrote:
Witness4Jesus wrote:But, wait, what is this? A coincidence? But, there are no coincidences :O.
No it's not. We are well aware (and I'll spare you the examples that come to mind) that Whit is well-connected. It's not hard to believe.
I know THAT much, but isn't it a coincidence that some of his "connections" just HAPPEN to be in town during the problem that concerns them? I'd like to see one of his connections just stop by without being related to any problem or to the main conflict in an episode's plot..
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Post by STRYPER »

The point that there are no coincidences is that God orchestrates all things through his sovereignty.

Yes it seems a little weird that Whit's friends always happen to be in town or whatnot but that is simply God's sovereignty at work.
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