Episode Description:
"Ron Perkins has been stationed overseas with the Marines for a long time, and Bridget and Wyatt are missing their dad. Whit creates a special Imagination Station adventure to help them with their feelings ... but it has a surprising twist." (AIO)
Episode Review:
Despite having introduced the world to the most memorable characters, AIO hasn’t always been particularly good at giving these characters a satisfying closure. Very few characters aside from, say, the Barclays or Aubrey Shepherd, have had their own “goodbye” episodes, and it is oftentimes only once many albums have gone by without a character making an appearance, that listeners can start to assume they’ve left the show for good. That said, having characters disappear without explanation is sometimes a deliberate, even sensical choice; given the large number of characters introduced each year, it would feel narratively tedious to write each of them out of the show -- and, for that matter, to give them each original reasons for leaving. Other times, it’s logistically too difficult; sometimes the actors retire and move away without notice, and other times, as in the case of Tom Riley, the actor passes away.
What does one do in such a sad case? Do you recast the character? Perhaps -- but what if the audience doesn’t accept the change? Do you have the character “move away”? Perhaps -- but how does one write a satisfying “moving away” episode without any recorded lines from the actor? Do you have the character die on the actual show? Again, perhaps -- but might it feel too emotionally difficult for the AIO team to write -- given the loss of the actor, their friend -- or might it feel inadvertently opportunistic (i.e, is it ethical to use a real-life death as an excuse to create new/dramatic storylines on the show?) While fans, back in the day, were desperately wishing for some sort of closure for Tom Riley, none of these options, apparently, were preferable for the AIO team. They settled, then, for another solution -- the most common solution on Adventures in Odyssey. They turned the camera somewhere else. They had the character, and his farm, fade away...
Ongoing conversations must have concluded that allowing the character to “fade away” was not enough for fans. In 2017’s “Legacy”, they decided that the best way to provide his character with a semblance of closure was to say that Tom passed away -- but that it happened a long time ago. I remember finding this approach narratively unsatisfying (Legacy’s musical 2nd-half didn’t help). That said, at the time, I understood why “distancing” our main characters from the time in which Tom Riley’s death occurred might have seemed like the most logical solution; after all, having a full episode in which Andre Stojka’s relatively new Whit (who was brought on only a couple years after Edmiston’s passing) mourns over the passing of a character he had, technically, never interacted with, could have felt disingenuous, and might not have resulted in the heartwarming episode fans wanted.
The latest Adventures in Odyssey episode, “Always Home',' provides further closure for Tom Riley, and it is, in my opinion, the show’s best attempt. Amazingly, as we hear Whit saddened by the loss of his friend, it never once crossed my mind that Andre Stojka’s Whit never interacted with Tom. It’s a testament to both the writing and Andre Stojka’s performance, as those final scenes where Whit and Connie talk about Tom’s birthday made me an absolute wreck. As someone who grew up listening to Odyssey everyday, having our characters acknowledge the loss of a central character, to finally cry and mourn over them, was surprisingly therapeutic. Although these scenes amount to a much smaller tribute than I might have liked, in many ways, they were also a fitting stand-in for the Tom Riley funeral we never got to have.
Honestly, these scenes felt more reminiscent of so-called “classic Odyssey” than anything else that has transpired on the show since the 2010 reboot. One of the reasons was that it gave Whit both “flaws'' (depression/sadness) as well as mystery (why is Whit late for work?) that was more prevalent in the olden days, and which the show is only beginning to revisit with episodes like “Charlotte”. The episode also featured a conversation where Whit is expressing his frustrations/sadness to Connie -- something he did much more of in older episodes such as, say, “What Happened to the Silver Streak”. Finally, this storyline felt classic because of the musical choices made by the newest Odyssey composer, Aaron Fullan, who smartly updates and inserts one of the best AIO themes into the background of this scene (incidentally, also used in the Connie/Whit scene of “Silver Streak”). It was a truly wonderful and surprising choice, and it made me wish that Odyssey would recycle old themes more often.
Obviously, the Tom Riley storyline is the much more memorable of the two in “Always Home”, which -- questionably, for some -- focuses the majority of its running time on the Perkins’ family. Thankfully, it isn't a forgettable storyline either. I enjoyed how Wyatt and Bridgett were tricked into meeting their real father in the faux-Imagination Station, as well as the amusing fact that Wyatt tried to condense every holiday into the same week. I also liked how the episode downplays Bridgett’s ruthlessly over-the-top character from “Playing Favorites”, and turns her into a much more sympathetic character here. While I wonder if it all could’ve been streamlined a little, getting rid of the dying turtle storyline that only muddies the theme (they could have had Bridgett’s anger/sadness towards her father remain the main focus throughout, I think), it's overall pretty enjoyable, nevertheless.
“Always Home” leaves me wondering a few things. Will Wyatt’s father ever return permanently from war, or will Perkins episodes focus more on a three-member family? And what war is he fighting in? -- is he fighting in the same fictional war in Rakistan that Mark Horton was part of? And is this the last we’ll hear about the passing of Tom Riley, or should this be the chapter that his story ends on? Overall, I was more than happy with “Always Home”. It has a nice balance of humor and heart, and it uses our characters in smart and sympathetic ways, leaving us with a beautiful ending that shouldn’t leave a single eye dry.
PS: I refuse to believe Whit didn’t know what time it was because he left his phone at home. Surely John Avery Whittaker wears a watch.
"Ron Perkins has been stationed overseas with the Marines for a long time, and Bridget and Wyatt are missing their dad. Whit creates a special Imagination Station adventure to help them with their feelings ... but it has a surprising twist." (AIO)
Episode Review:
Despite having introduced the world to the most memorable characters, AIO hasn’t always been particularly good at giving these characters a satisfying closure. Very few characters aside from, say, the Barclays or Aubrey Shepherd, have had their own “goodbye” episodes, and it is oftentimes only once many albums have gone by without a character making an appearance, that listeners can start to assume they’ve left the show for good. That said, having characters disappear without explanation is sometimes a deliberate, even sensical choice; given the large number of characters introduced each year, it would feel narratively tedious to write each of them out of the show -- and, for that matter, to give them each original reasons for leaving. Other times, it’s logistically too difficult; sometimes the actors retire and move away without notice, and other times, as in the case of Tom Riley, the actor passes away.
What does one do in such a sad case? Do you recast the character? Perhaps -- but what if the audience doesn’t accept the change? Do you have the character “move away”? Perhaps -- but how does one write a satisfying “moving away” episode without any recorded lines from the actor? Do you have the character die on the actual show? Again, perhaps -- but might it feel too emotionally difficult for the AIO team to write -- given the loss of the actor, their friend -- or might it feel inadvertently opportunistic (i.e, is it ethical to use a real-life death as an excuse to create new/dramatic storylines on the show?) While fans, back in the day, were desperately wishing for some sort of closure for Tom Riley, none of these options, apparently, were preferable for the AIO team. They settled, then, for another solution -- the most common solution on Adventures in Odyssey. They turned the camera somewhere else. They had the character, and his farm, fade away...
Ongoing conversations must have concluded that allowing the character to “fade away” was not enough for fans. In 2017’s “Legacy”, they decided that the best way to provide his character with a semblance of closure was to say that Tom passed away -- but that it happened a long time ago. I remember finding this approach narratively unsatisfying (Legacy’s musical 2nd-half didn’t help). That said, at the time, I understood why “distancing” our main characters from the time in which Tom Riley’s death occurred might have seemed like the most logical solution; after all, having a full episode in which Andre Stojka’s relatively new Whit (who was brought on only a couple years after Edmiston’s passing) mourns over the passing of a character he had, technically, never interacted with, could have felt disingenuous, and might not have resulted in the heartwarming episode fans wanted.
The latest Adventures in Odyssey episode, “Always Home',' provides further closure for Tom Riley, and it is, in my opinion, the show’s best attempt. Amazingly, as we hear Whit saddened by the loss of his friend, it never once crossed my mind that Andre Stojka’s Whit never interacted with Tom. It’s a testament to both the writing and Andre Stojka’s performance, as those final scenes where Whit and Connie talk about Tom’s birthday made me an absolute wreck. As someone who grew up listening to Odyssey everyday, having our characters acknowledge the loss of a central character, to finally cry and mourn over them, was surprisingly therapeutic. Although these scenes amount to a much smaller tribute than I might have liked, in many ways, they were also a fitting stand-in for the Tom Riley funeral we never got to have.
Honestly, these scenes felt more reminiscent of so-called “classic Odyssey” than anything else that has transpired on the show since the 2010 reboot. One of the reasons was that it gave Whit both “flaws'' (depression/sadness) as well as mystery (why is Whit late for work?) that was more prevalent in the olden days, and which the show is only beginning to revisit with episodes like “Charlotte”. The episode also featured a conversation where Whit is expressing his frustrations/sadness to Connie -- something he did much more of in older episodes such as, say, “What Happened to the Silver Streak”. Finally, this storyline felt classic because of the musical choices made by the newest Odyssey composer, Aaron Fullan, who smartly updates and inserts one of the best AIO themes into the background of this scene (incidentally, also used in the Connie/Whit scene of “Silver Streak”). It was a truly wonderful and surprising choice, and it made me wish that Odyssey would recycle old themes more often.
Obviously, the Tom Riley storyline is the much more memorable of the two in “Always Home”, which -- questionably, for some -- focuses the majority of its running time on the Perkins’ family. Thankfully, it isn't a forgettable storyline either. I enjoyed how Wyatt and Bridgett were tricked into meeting their real father in the faux-Imagination Station, as well as the amusing fact that Wyatt tried to condense every holiday into the same week. I also liked how the episode downplays Bridgett’s ruthlessly over-the-top character from “Playing Favorites”, and turns her into a much more sympathetic character here. While I wonder if it all could’ve been streamlined a little, getting rid of the dying turtle storyline that only muddies the theme (they could have had Bridgett’s anger/sadness towards her father remain the main focus throughout, I think), it's overall pretty enjoyable, nevertheless.
“Always Home” leaves me wondering a few things. Will Wyatt’s father ever return permanently from war, or will Perkins episodes focus more on a three-member family? And what war is he fighting in? -- is he fighting in the same fictional war in Rakistan that Mark Horton was part of? And is this the last we’ll hear about the passing of Tom Riley, or should this be the chapter that his story ends on? Overall, I was more than happy with “Always Home”. It has a nice balance of humor and heart, and it uses our characters in smart and sympathetic ways, leaving us with a beautiful ending that shouldn’t leave a single eye dry.
PS: I refuse to believe Whit didn’t know what time it was because he left his phone at home. Surely John Avery Whittaker wears a watch.
Writer: Marshal Younger
Director: Nathan Hoobler
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Post-Production: Jonathan Crowe
Music: Aaron Fullan
Theme: Dealing with Loss
Original Air-date: 04.04.20
Review Published: 04.20.20