590: "Three O'Clock Call"

**SPOILERS**

Archived reviews of Adventures in Odyssey episodes!

How many stars?

5 Stars
9
27%
4 Stars
14
42%
3 Stars
7
21%
2 Stars
1
3%
1 Star
2
6%
 
Total votes: 33

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590: "Three O'Clock Call"

Post by Me »

Lock until Saturday! \:D/
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Evil Chick
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Post by Evil Chick »

Locked! However, you should add a poll... Never mind, I'll add a poll. :)
May Zarkouni Live Forever! :goomba:
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AIOfan11
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Post by AIOfan11 »

Wow. That was a good episode! \:D/ I really enjoyed listening to it. When Grady would be "talking" to the phone companies glitch (supposedly his Father), I would always hope that it would really be him and he would talk to Grady. This Adventures in Odyssey really got me in, because of Grady and the closeness that he wanted with his Dad, and I really wanted him to know his Father. :mecry: I hope that they use this plot in the future. Maybe Grady's Dad really could show up! *can't wait* \:D/

Oh, and I voted 5 stars! :D
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Post by Catspaw »

I enjoyed this episode! It was interesting, though it did seem to be trying a tad too hard to pull at those heartstrings. ;) I like the way that a child helped Grady to understand, instead of it always having an adult as the source of knowledge and wisdom. It seemed a bit odd to have the orphan girl there for a week and then sent back. :( I thought it was nice the way that Whit called Jana - I like it when they refer to Whit's relationship with his daughter. :D
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Aelwyn
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Post by Aelwyn »

I voted 5 stars. :D I thought it was really good! Sad, but good! I just wish that it really had been Grady's dad and that he had come to see Grady. :(
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Post by Broadcast »

*Due to the changes at the aiosf, this review will be posted here*
Episode Review: Episode 590: Three O’clock Call
Writer: Bob Hoose
Sound Designer:

Episode 777: Grady purchases Caller-ID

It goes without saying that this show shared the same basic concept as the appropriately titled episode, “Our Father”. Basically; “Boy hears that God is like heavenly Father. Boy has bad relationship with Father. As a result, boy cannot bring himself to understand God in the same way”.

Luckily, the show brought a different and most enjoyable spin to the concept. I liked the whole mystery of the show—where every scene skillfully leads us towards the unknown result. They made good use of their time, with the first 10 minutes containing as much as a previous 25-minute show would.

It was interesting how they decided not to have Grady’s dad show up in the end. In other circumstances, I would have been disappointed. However, the show did not give us enough proof that it was actually him on the other end of the line to back up Grady’s hype over the situation. I’m not saying that Grady’s assumption that it was his dad after not speaking to one another in several years was unrealistic. I’m sure if I was a young kid who missed their father, I’d be as misguidedly hopeful as well.

Shows that feature a large cast of children have the habit to make us cringe when they speak their lines. This was no exception with today’s show. I thought Jennifer could have been better cast. I wondered for a moment if foreign people usually sound like they’re reading from a script. Luckily, a 2nd listen-through usually cures any slight discomfort regarding acting. Aside from that, there weren’t really anything really problematic about this show. My two recent pet peeves (the fast paced kid-style music and the unnecessary silliness crammed within the dialogue) were nowhere to be found on today’s show. Though, I’m a little uncertain if phone companies can actually have glitches in their system which causes nobody to call you at a certain time everyday. Perhaps we should all assume Novacom is testing new technology…

Of course, Whit was used absolutely perfectly on the show. I really enjoyed the same natural, grandfatherly, and ultimately, involved, side that he took on. . I really felt he was fleshed out more in this one compared to other more recent episodes.

Bob Hoose sure did his research. I enjoyed the references to inventions such as The Room of Consequences and The Imagination Station, and remembering that the mom worked in the same apartment building from “Back to Abnormal”, and the fact that she “always gave the perfect gifts out of little they had” from “A Christmas Conundrum” or the strange attachment Grady has to this Thrift Shop. Its little details like these make these shows stronger.
It seems like we progressively learn more and more about Grady’s circumstances in every show since he made his mysterious appearance in “A Lamb’s Tale”. I hope they manage to keep us interested with more interesting stories from his life in the future.

One of the things I like about Odyssey is how it promotes strong relationships between parents and there children. We can still be mad at our parents while still being respectful. Hearing Mr. Whittaker calling his daughter to tell her he loves her, or having Samantha saying a simply, “You look pretty, mom”, is what makes Odyssey all the more different from other shows out there. It’s a good time for me to say that I’m glad after 17 years, Dr. Dobson’s plan to create an uplifting alternative show for kids to listen to has remained true.

For a slice-of-life that was interesting, thought provoking, kept my interest, and was well constructed, I’m giving it one of higher scores of the season. Let’s hope future episodes follow its lead as the season drops into its final shows.


Acting/dialogue: 3.5/5
Story/Originality: 4/5
Use of Characters: 4/5
Personal enjoyment/Entertainment Value: 4.5/5

Total: 16/20= 80%=SCORE:VERY 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
)
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Post by Rachael Blackgaard »

I was a little disappointed with this episode. (Good review, though, Broadcast!) Bitterness and resentment for a parent who's not there is all well and good, but after a certain point it gets annoying. I feel like I've been listening to Grady and his grudges/resentments for a really long time. :-(

Samantha struck me as a really cute, believable kid in this episode-- something she hasn't done since A Lamb's Tale.

The whole episode left me feeling kind of unsettled... I liked Broken-Armed and Dangerous and Champ of the Camp better, because of how the twists worked out so well. The ending just seemed wrong to me somehow. But I did like how Mr. Whittaker showed up and brought Grady home. :-) So I'd give this one a 3.
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Post by Evil Chick »

I give this episode 4.5 stars. I thought it was really great! When Grady was first introduced to the show, he kinda annoyed me. However, I find that I'm beginning to like him and his family now. I thought that the story had a great plot, and it was fun to hear from a new kid. The lesson was very good, as well.
May Zarkouni Live Forever! :goomba:
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Post by AIOfan11 »

Catspaw wrote:I thought it was nice the way that Whit called Jana - I like it when they refer to Whit's relationship with his daughter. :D
You know, when I read this I remembered that Nathan Hoobler said we were going to hear from Jana again, this season. \:D/ *hopes she comes soon*
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Post by Bennett »

AIOFan11 wrote:
Catspaw wrote:I thought it was nice the way that Whit called Jana - I like it when they refer to Whit's relationship with his daughter. :D
You know, when I read this I remembered that Nathan Hoobler said we were going to hear from Jana again, this season. \:D/ *hopes she comes soon*
Wasn't he reffering to "Silent Night", though...?

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Post by Jeremy »

I thought this was a very dangerous episode. I was shocked all the way through that they were portraying something so dangerous as Grady telling an unknown person to meet him at a certain location at a certain time, especially when no one in the episode told him how dangerous that was! I kept waiting to hear some sort of negative reaction in the episode to what Grady was doing, but there was none. I thought for sure that, as they have done in previous eps, Chris would come on at the end and give a warning about doing such things. But I just could not believe it when there was no warning about it even at the end!

Folks, this is a children's show. And not once did they hint that it was dangerous to tell an unknown person to meet you in a park!

In my opinion, this was very irresponsible of the AIO staff.

Was no one else expecting some evil person to show up in the park to meet Grady? ;-) I thought it was a pretty scary episode, especially having read the description at whitsend.org beforehand. ;-)

Jeremy
Last edited by Jeremy on Sat Apr 15, 2006 3:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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AIOfan11
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Post by AIOfan11 »

The BC wrote:
AIOFan11 wrote:
Catspaw wrote:I thought it was nice the way that Whit called Jana - I like it when they refer to Whit's relationship with his daughter. :D
You know, when I read this I remembered that Nathan Hoobler said we were going to hear from Jana again, this season. \:D/ *hopes she comes soon*
Wasn't he reffering to "Silent Night", though...?

The BC
:sad: Oh, man, I think he was! :mecry: That wasn't much Jana, though. Just a phone call and memories. ](*,)
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Post by Rachael Blackgaard »

Jeremy wrote:I thought this was a very dangerous episode. I was shocked all the way through that they were portraying something so dangerous as Grady telling an unknown person to meet him at a certain location at a certain time, especially when no one in the episode told him how dangerous that was! I kept waiting to hear some sort of negative reaction in the episode to what Grady was doing, but there was none. I thought for sure that, as they have done in previous eps, Chris would come on at the end and give a warning about doing such things. But I just could not believe it when there was no warning about it even at the end!

Folks, this is a children's show. And not once did they hint that it was dangerous to tell an unknown person to meet you in a park!

In my opinion, this was very irresponsible of the AIO staff.

Jeremy
You're right... I had forgotten, but that was another thing that bothered me.
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Post by AIOfan11 »

Rachael wrote:
Jeremy wrote:I thought this was a very dangerous episode. I was shocked all the way through that they were portraying something so dangerous as Grady telling an unknown person to meet him at a certain location at a certain time, especially when no one in the episode told him how dangerous that was! I kept waiting to hear some sort of negative reaction in the episode to what Grady was doing, but there was none. I thought for sure that, as they have done in previous eps, Chris would come on at the end and give a warning about doing such things. But I just could not believe it when there was no warning about it even at the end!

Folks, this is a children's show. And not once did they hint that it was dangerous to tell an unknown person to meet you in a park!

In my opinion, this was very irresponsible of the AIO staff.

Jeremy
You're right... I had forgotten, but that was another thing that bothered me.
I agree, partly. It was a good episode, but for the younger listeners they might should have said something. :anxious:
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Post by Bennett »

Jeremy wrote:I thought this was a very dangerous episode. I was shocked all the way through that they were portraying something so dangerous as Grady telling an unknown person to meet him at a certain location at a certain time, especially when no one in the episode told him how dangerous that was!
But, it wasn't an unknown person. It was his dad--and on top of that it wasn't even anyone at all.

Phones aren't like the internet. There aren't people waiting around calling people and tricking them with there silence to make them believe they're long lost relatives. If Grady was using a Chat room--I'd agree. But unless the person on the other line is a stranger who'se asking you to meet them, or asking if you're home alone, it's not a dangerous tool at all.

The only dangerous thing that he did was to sleep in the park...and that WAS mentioned to be a dangerous thing by Mr. Whittaker.

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Post by Mandy Straussberg »

I give it 4.5 (I voted 5). It didn't quite hit me as an amazing episode, but it was very good. I loved the moral, I loved the scene with Whit and Grady in the park. I didn't so much love Jennifer's voice. It bothered me a lot, but not enough to completely ruin the show for me.

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Post by NatetheGreat »

My mom got a tad emottional during this ep. lol :anxious:

I thought that it was pretty good. The basic plot could have been worked on, and I thought the orphan girl thing got a tad confuzing. :-s
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Post by AIOaddict1988 »

I didn't really think it was that great. I gave it two stars.However, it was nice that it wasn't yet another episode with the Washingtons, because those are getting old. On the other hand, I'm not really a big fan of Grady, either. What I really want is the Mandy episode, and some good Jared, Mandy and Liz episodes, because I'm really tired of the Washingtons, Wooton, and Eugene searching for his long lost dad. But, I can't get everything I want, so I guess I'll just twidle my thumbs until I get that perfect Novacom tie-in that also explains why Mandy is wierd...

I guess I'll keep waiting on that one
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Post by NatetheGreat »

*doesn't like the Novacom saga* :anxious:

Oh, BTW, I gave it 3 stars. :)
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Post by AIOaddict1988 »

NatetheGreat wrote:*doesn't like the Novacom saga* :anxious:
What!? How can you not like the Novacom saga?
- Sean
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