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B-TV: Trinity

3/7/2019

3 Comments

 
Picture"B-TV Trinity" (#858) is an episode in album 66: Trial By Fire
Episode Description: 
"The Trinity. What is it? How does it work? And why is it important? In the latest edition of B-TV, Connie, Harlow Doyle, Captain Quidd, and Jacqueline Cusco dive (quite literally) into this important topic."

Episode Review: 
When listening to "B-TV Trinity", the first thing listeners will be surprised by is the appearance of Captain Quidd, a character featured in "Aloha Oy 1-3" and the recent "Out to Sea", who has, in my opinion, no business being in this episode. In my review of "Out to Sea", I was confused how this character made his way into the Imagination Station, when neither Whit or Eugene had ever met him, and now I wonder how this character managed to make it from Hawaii all the way to the small town of Odyssey to record a bit part in a local television show. 

After all, the writers wouldn't have, say, Philip Glossman or Dr. Regis Blackgaard star in a B-TV episode, would they? Of course not. There's an expectation -- as implied in "I want My B-TV" and "B-TV: Behind the Scenes" -- that these BTV shows are produced and performed by the everyday citizens of Odyssey. B-TV episodes are not an excuse for the writers to inject any character they want for entertainment's sake. So, until they somehow explain why Captain Quidd is suddenly hanging around town, this character must go!

But if you can get past this confusing aspect, you may still find some enjoyment here.  One of the best skits is "The Doyle Report." In it, Harlow Doyle plays a role reminiscent of his introductory episode "Harlow Doyle, Private Eye", where he attempts to track down Jesse's faith.  The skit is a cute way of presenting the different verses of the Bible that reveal the different "characters" of God. The best line of the episode is found here: "Your name is 2nd Corinthians?" This skit, along with the shorter "Explicit Verses" and "Did you Know?", successfully explains the Trinity in creative ways. 

The skit "Things that are definitely not what the trinity is like" clears up misconceptions listeners have regarding the Trinity. It is also, unfortunately, the most problematic skit out of the entire episode. Lines such as, "This is my Jesus mask!" while another character says, "Yes, Jesus?" in a "comical manner" bothered me.  While some only consider a particular three-word exclamation as using the Lord's name in vain, many don't realize that "in vain" can also mean any other occasion the Lord's name is uttered with irreverence. The entire premise of the skit felt disrespectful -- to me, it felt slightly blasphemous to even depict hypothetical versions of the Trinity in this way. But that's just me. 

Interestingly, the rest of the episode stops trying to explain what the Trinity is, but, instead, explains the importance of trying to figure out what it is. The episode concludes with "The Letter Skit", which explains how we should continuously strive to learn more about God. It's a cute way of showing how important it is to read the Bible in order to learn about God's character. The moment when the protagonist mistakenly hugs a garbage can is certainly a highlight of the episode... 


The episode is tied together with scenes featuring the character of Madame Blueberry, euh,  Jacqueline Cusco trying to find the nerve to go deep underwater. It's a rather forced metaphor for explaining that we need to go deeper in our understand of God. By the end, I wasn't overly thrilled with the 13th episode in the B-TV series. It has only a couple of laughs, a rather irreverent skit, an irritating character, and the inclusion of the confounding Captain Quidd. 
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​Writer: Sam Suksiri
Director: Phil Lollar
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Sound Design: Nathan Jones
Music: John Campbell
Airdate: 01/13/19
Review Published: 03/23/19

3 Comments
Lee Acim link
8/5/2019 07:19:12 pm

I'm really glad I found your review site! It's interesting reading reviews like this one. Personally, I thought this might have been the best B-TV episode... until I read your thoughts. Let me see if we can find common ground here.
With Captain Quid: B-TV's format is drastically different after its reboot. With Sam Suksiri writing it, the wraparound characters are no longer regular Odyssians (except for Connie), but fictional characters. Granted, it doesn't make complete sense why Quid is here (like he was in the fictional "Out to Sea"), but it's more of a question, not a plothole. I can imagine George telling Whit about the crazy boat ride he had in Hawaii, and the inspiration for a ROC character Whit got from that story could have made its way into B-TV. He's not "hanging around town"; he's Dale Jacobs doing a "salty sailor" accent.
With the "slightly blasphemous" skit: Referring back to "Not What I Expected," the episode portrayed Jillian as the protagonist, showing her actions as ones to be admired, in a way; even though her actions were not very appropriate ones. That is NOT what this episode does. It tells the stories about "What the Trinity Is Not" and instantly condemns them as wrong. Thinking this way makes it seem like evildoers cannot be portrayed, lest their portrayal be considered blasphemous.
With the misusing of God's Name in the skit: That is a strong case you make, but it seems only to apply to the second "story" in that skit. With the first and third, god is not capitalized ("god #1," "god #2," etc.). By your own reasoning, the Name of God or Jesus would have to be used with irreverence, and I don't think It specifically is in story two. None of the times "God" or "Jesus" is used is a laugh line to laugh at the Name or use the Name improperly. The "god" in the skit seems to revere the True God, making references to Him in a way to emulate Him. "This is my Jesus mask! Nice beard, eh?" is a line we're supposed to laugh at because it's stupid to think Jesus would be changing masks. The Jesus being referenced is not the target of the joke.
With the irrelevant skit: I'll give you that one. It tied in a little, but I thought the same thing when I heard the episode.
And with the explanation of the Trinity: We do actually get an explanation of the Trinity at the end of the episode. Connie mentions John 3:16 and uses it to show how the three persons of the Trinity have different roles. If you were expecting a deeper definition of the Trinity, it's not available. Harlow summed it up pretty well when he said, "...The Trinity is three distinct persons!"
Hope I haven't been too wordy! :)

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Obed
6/12/2020 11:43:45 am

I agree with Lee, and I do think this episode was great, your review was honest and did bring up some very valid points but at the same time it's not always best to think so critically of a show made for 8-12 year olds especially because it's hard to make a perfect story without offending someone. Great review and comments though, it truly is a good site!

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Isabella
12/8/2020 02:22:15 pm

I homestly think that this isn’t the best Adventures in Odyssey episode but ok for btv. I am not a big fan of btv but I don’t dislike it because I thought it brought out each point of the Trinity in an interesting, thought provoking way. That is important to me. A agree with you about the capt quidd thing. I disagree abt the blasphemy thing. I believe it is blasphemous if someone claims to be God. Also in my opinion it is taking his name in vain if we use it as a swear word.

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