Episode Description:
"Station manager Sky Feldstein tells TV news anchor Ted Humpfries that he needs to be more relevant. Ted turns to Zoe Grant for youthful advice. To update his image, he reports from the local trampoline park and inside a video game." - AIO
Episode Review:
It’s clear that Adventures in Odyssey has yet to form a core-group of supporting grownups who are as memorable and iconic as Tom Riley, Bernard Walton, Jack Allen, Bart Rathbone, Edwin Blackgaard, and many other “retired” characters from the 80’s and 90’s. Will the producers ever be able to repopulate the town of Odyssey with characters as popular as they were? Honestly, probably not. They were, after all, such strong, well-written and well-acted characters -- a one-in-a-million cast! That said, contributing to their success was a palpable feeling that the writers loved writing for them. This made me wonder: who among today’s newest grownups so unanimously captures the writer’s attention and passion?
Many characters introduced in recent years (Wilhelm Holstein, Simon Jones, and Red Hollard, for instance) were created, I expect, with the hope of making far more numerous appearances. However, based on their number of credited appearances so far, it’s safe to assume they haven’t exactly sparked many writers’ imagination. The same can’t be said about Ted Humpfries, the star of today’s episode, who made his first appearance in a small role in “The Green Ring Conspiracy”, and who has only increased in visibility ever since. “Breaking News” shows us that there’s real excitement for this character - was it his scene-stealing performance in “The Shame about Fame'' that made writers give him a second look? Regardless of what ultimately inspired AIO’s head honchos to greenlight “Breaking News”, it’s clear that it was at least partially done so because they were impressed with Keith Ferguson’s performance.
But are listeners equally impressed with him? Can the character Ted Humphries actually carry an episode? Or should he continue to appear as the show’s infrequently-used small-time reporter? Personally, I thought he was really funny. While Breaking News is certainly well-written, there are countless lines of dialogue that are all the more memorable specifically because of Ferguson’s delivery:
Ted Humphries: Oh that clip is silly. It’s nonsense. It --
Sky Feldstein: ...has thirty thousand views.
Ted Humphries: Thirty thousand? I didn’t think Odyssey had that many people.
Zoe Grant: First, we should edit your show to make it fast paced -- cut out some of those long pauses in your interviews:
Ted Humpries: [Long Pause] Okay...
Zoe Grant: You’re doing the hypermax nutra-energy story?
Ted Humphries: Oh, I’ve gone through the report they wrote and there is some credible news in it. They claimed the protein bars are, quote, “edible”, end quote, and come, quote, “individually wrapped”, end quote. I have verified those facts...personally.
While the actor has certainly proven his comedic abilities, I wonder if the character will need some fine-tuning in the days ahead. While “Breaking News” depicts a newsman with integrity who strives for truth no matter how boring that truth may be, his character in “The Shame about Fame” strikes a slightly different tone, as he’s depicted there as chasing after a rather sensational news story while asking his subjects rather “gotcha” questions (remember how embarrassed Olivia felt during that interview?). While contradictory personalities are common (Dale Jacobs also uncharacteristically and momentarily abandons any sense of journalistic decorum in “The Jesus Cloth”), I prefer this more upstanding-like depiction of Humphries here.
Journalistic integrity is an important issue, and “Breaking News” tackles it surprisingly...well...extensively. In some instances, I wasn’t sure if its writer was more interested in teaching listeners about the importance of “truth” or simply vocalizing their pent-up frustrations about modern-day news organizations. Either way, “Breaking News” is indeed a not-so-subtle indictment of a generation of journalists and media groups who prefer chasing after “views” rather than “truths”. Zoe’s line about “well, as a student journalist, I subscribe to several news sources to compare different sides…” appears to subtly mock the current generation of readers/viewers who say they want truth, before then, hypocritically, settling for sensational and easy-digestible news sources. Sadly, it's an undeniable truth that, yes, even our own news-outlet of choice is just as motivated by “clicks” and “profits” as the next one. If there is a 100% fact-based news organization, I have yet to find it.
Throughout “Breaking News”, I was reminded of the tone and feel of “Pipe Dreams”, that, also quite randomly, decided to center an entire -- surprisingly-educational -- episode on a rather unfamiliar character who helps the local government with an impending water-related crisis. If it was used as an inspiration for this episode, I sorta wish they had included some sort of direct reference to it -- such as mentioning cranky, government worker Mrs. Bavaqua, or something. There are a few more overt references, however, to other previous episodes, including a mention of both Gloobers and Destructo (wait, does “Breaking News” reveal that these are part of the same universe?), as well as a nod to the previous station manager, Guy Feldstein (come back, Corey Burton!)
Due to its star-performance and small script, I have a feeling “Breaking News” will only increase in popularity as the years continue. It’s great! And as we enter the new decade, I hope Odyssey will follow some of the lessons that can be gleaned from this episode -- essentially, that it can sometimes be better for 1) characters to grow in popularity organically, and 2) for producers to seek out characters from the cast they already have, (Detective Polehaus is a good example of this) rather than immediately creating brand new characters from unproven talent. And while there are so many factors that end up contributing to the popularity of a character, knowing that the writers are also excited about them really, really helps.
"Station manager Sky Feldstein tells TV news anchor Ted Humpfries that he needs to be more relevant. Ted turns to Zoe Grant for youthful advice. To update his image, he reports from the local trampoline park and inside a video game." - AIO
Episode Review:
It’s clear that Adventures in Odyssey has yet to form a core-group of supporting grownups who are as memorable and iconic as Tom Riley, Bernard Walton, Jack Allen, Bart Rathbone, Edwin Blackgaard, and many other “retired” characters from the 80’s and 90’s. Will the producers ever be able to repopulate the town of Odyssey with characters as popular as they were? Honestly, probably not. They were, after all, such strong, well-written and well-acted characters -- a one-in-a-million cast! That said, contributing to their success was a palpable feeling that the writers loved writing for them. This made me wonder: who among today’s newest grownups so unanimously captures the writer’s attention and passion?
Many characters introduced in recent years (Wilhelm Holstein, Simon Jones, and Red Hollard, for instance) were created, I expect, with the hope of making far more numerous appearances. However, based on their number of credited appearances so far, it’s safe to assume they haven’t exactly sparked many writers’ imagination. The same can’t be said about Ted Humpfries, the star of today’s episode, who made his first appearance in a small role in “The Green Ring Conspiracy”, and who has only increased in visibility ever since. “Breaking News” shows us that there’s real excitement for this character - was it his scene-stealing performance in “The Shame about Fame'' that made writers give him a second look? Regardless of what ultimately inspired AIO’s head honchos to greenlight “Breaking News”, it’s clear that it was at least partially done so because they were impressed with Keith Ferguson’s performance.
But are listeners equally impressed with him? Can the character Ted Humphries actually carry an episode? Or should he continue to appear as the show’s infrequently-used small-time reporter? Personally, I thought he was really funny. While Breaking News is certainly well-written, there are countless lines of dialogue that are all the more memorable specifically because of Ferguson’s delivery:
Ted Humphries: Oh that clip is silly. It’s nonsense. It --
Sky Feldstein: ...has thirty thousand views.
Ted Humphries: Thirty thousand? I didn’t think Odyssey had that many people.
Zoe Grant: First, we should edit your show to make it fast paced -- cut out some of those long pauses in your interviews:
Ted Humpries: [Long Pause] Okay...
Zoe Grant: You’re doing the hypermax nutra-energy story?
Ted Humphries: Oh, I’ve gone through the report they wrote and there is some credible news in it. They claimed the protein bars are, quote, “edible”, end quote, and come, quote, “individually wrapped”, end quote. I have verified those facts...personally.
While the actor has certainly proven his comedic abilities, I wonder if the character will need some fine-tuning in the days ahead. While “Breaking News” depicts a newsman with integrity who strives for truth no matter how boring that truth may be, his character in “The Shame about Fame” strikes a slightly different tone, as he’s depicted there as chasing after a rather sensational news story while asking his subjects rather “gotcha” questions (remember how embarrassed Olivia felt during that interview?). While contradictory personalities are common (Dale Jacobs also uncharacteristically and momentarily abandons any sense of journalistic decorum in “The Jesus Cloth”), I prefer this more upstanding-like depiction of Humphries here.
Journalistic integrity is an important issue, and “Breaking News” tackles it surprisingly...well...extensively. In some instances, I wasn’t sure if its writer was more interested in teaching listeners about the importance of “truth” or simply vocalizing their pent-up frustrations about modern-day news organizations. Either way, “Breaking News” is indeed a not-so-subtle indictment of a generation of journalists and media groups who prefer chasing after “views” rather than “truths”. Zoe’s line about “well, as a student journalist, I subscribe to several news sources to compare different sides…” appears to subtly mock the current generation of readers/viewers who say they want truth, before then, hypocritically, settling for sensational and easy-digestible news sources. Sadly, it's an undeniable truth that, yes, even our own news-outlet of choice is just as motivated by “clicks” and “profits” as the next one. If there is a 100% fact-based news organization, I have yet to find it.
Throughout “Breaking News”, I was reminded of the tone and feel of “Pipe Dreams”, that, also quite randomly, decided to center an entire -- surprisingly-educational -- episode on a rather unfamiliar character who helps the local government with an impending water-related crisis. If it was used as an inspiration for this episode, I sorta wish they had included some sort of direct reference to it -- such as mentioning cranky, government worker Mrs. Bavaqua, or something. There are a few more overt references, however, to other previous episodes, including a mention of both Gloobers and Destructo (wait, does “Breaking News” reveal that these are part of the same universe?), as well as a nod to the previous station manager, Guy Feldstein (come back, Corey Burton!)
Due to its star-performance and small script, I have a feeling “Breaking News” will only increase in popularity as the years continue. It’s great! And as we enter the new decade, I hope Odyssey will follow some of the lessons that can be gleaned from this episode -- essentially, that it can sometimes be better for 1) characters to grow in popularity organically, and 2) for producers to seek out characters from the cast they already have, (Detective Polehaus is a good example of this) rather than immediately creating brand new characters from unproven talent. And while there are so many factors that end up contributing to the popularity of a character, knowing that the writers are also excited about them really, really helps.
Writer: Sam Suksiri
Director: Phil Lollar
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Post-Production: Nathan Jones
Music: John Campbell
Theme: Integrity
Original Air-date: 03/28/2020
Episode Reviewed: 04/07/2010