Episode Description:
"Renee Carter has a very special computer project in the works involving the Imagination Station — a class assignment of creating a virtual world." -AIO
Episode Review:
One reason I’ve never been much of a Star Trek fan -- or much of a science fiction fan, in general -- is because their stories often feature seemingly random, sci-fi-gobbledygook endings. The ship is stuck in a gravitational pull? Wow, how are they going to get out of that one? What’s the solution, you say? Pushing the thrusters, wiggling the throttle, while simultaneously releasing the photons and recharging the deflector dishes? Wait, how does that work? You’re not going to explain that to me? I guess I’ll have to take your word for it...
“The World of Whitonia” contains one too many of these “I’ll take your word for it” moments. You’re telling me that for Renee to build Whitonia, she’ll need to keep something called the computer-link (or comp-link) under a rock within the program, and, if her creations find it, it would mean a load of trouble for them? And, later, that the only way for Renee to sneak back into the imagination Station is to use Whit’s new contraption to turn herself into a digital version of the Whitonians? And, at the end, that in order to return the Whitonians back to normal, Renee needs to “trigger [Dr. Libernis’s] biosecurity system” and “put in a feedback loop to short it”? I’m not sure if any of this makes sense, but I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.
That said, sci-fi stories will always feature techno-babble that the audience doesn’t fully understand, and, in some way, I’m sort of glad that it chose not to spend its precious 25 minute runtime overly focusing on “how” things worked. Instead, it wisely spent its time giving us an involving and immersing experience, communicating, among other things, 1) “what the space of the world the listener is inhabiting looks like (“This jungle -- It’s truly amazing. The sky is green, but the light is golden. The air is sweet. Is that vanilla and caramel..etc.” and 2) what each character’s motivations are. Because the episode doesn't get caught up trying too hard to explain the rules of this world, “The World of Whitonia” is a much more involving and easy to follow episode than the show’s other world-building episodes (I’m talking about you “Take Every Thought Captive”).
Ultimately, what makes “The World of Whitonia” so wonderful -- and quite ingenious -- is in its retelling of the Garden of Eden story from Genesis Chapter 3. This isn’t the first time that Adventures in Odyssey has drawn strong parallels to that biblical story; “A Bite of Applesauce” also featured Connie and Eugene representing Adam and Eve, with Whit’s Applesauce program the metaphorical “fruit” they were not supposed to touch. To most listeners, “The World of Whitonia” probably felt, to quote Whit, “different, yet somehow familiar”.
While similarities between both episodes are striking, a closer glance would reveal that they use the Genesis story to communicate different points. “A Bite of Applesauce” uses the story of creation to teach about a modern day lesson in rule breaking -- that Connie and Eugene shouldn’t have touched Applesauce because Whit commanded them not to. “The World of Whitonia”, in contrast, is much more concerned with using the Genesis story as a means of explaining both God’s sovereignty and Christ’s sacrificial death -- that God alone can redeem creation, and that it is only through His son’s sacrificial action on the cross that He can rescue us from our fallen state.
Once I spotted these biblical allusions, I began to appreciate the reasoning behind those aforementioned “confusing” sci-fi moments. The story needed Renee to take on the form of the Whitonians when she re-entered the Imagination Station to illustrate how Christ took on the form of man when he came to earth in order to speak with us. Likewise, Renee needed to sacrifice her own safety for her creation just as Christ died on the cross for his . From Renee’s statement, “I am Renee”, to her deep desire to give her Whitonians free-will and, later, to bring about a new earth after “Satan” enters, “The World of Whitonia” is jam-packed full of biblical allusions.
A review of “The World of Whitonia” would not be complete without addressing a few of its musical choices. Despite doing a great job every episode, John Campbell’s work rarely becomes the highlight of an episode, and he must, at last, be acknowledged here. As an episode about a newly created earth, it's interesting that the score appears more suited to a dystopian setting. In fact, I was reminded of a passage from “The Magician’s Nephew”:
“Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music. Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children's bodies, and the deepest, wildest voice they had ever heard was saying: "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.”
The music during the creation of Narnia is described as “pure, cold, difficult”. I would describe John Campbell’s score in “The World of Whitonia” the same way. It’s a score that, like that description, feels altogether paradoxical; both magical and awe-inspiring, yet eerie and uncomfortable also, mimicking, in some ways, the paradoxical realities of the creation story, itself (how could God create something “perfect” that also has the potential to sin?)
We are left with so many questions by the time the episode ends. Shall we hear from Astan Liebernis again? And is there more to him than his “I want the Imagination Station” motivation that is all-to-reminiscent of Dr. Blackgaard? Will these two sagas share further similarities, or will this particular story take on a distinct life of its own? At this point, it’s hard to predict. But, in presenting the Genesis story in such a fresh and creative way, “The World of Whitonia” solidifies its entry as yet another strong episode in a surprisingly strong year.
"Renee Carter has a very special computer project in the works involving the Imagination Station — a class assignment of creating a virtual world." -AIO
Episode Review:
One reason I’ve never been much of a Star Trek fan -- or much of a science fiction fan, in general -- is because their stories often feature seemingly random, sci-fi-gobbledygook endings. The ship is stuck in a gravitational pull? Wow, how are they going to get out of that one? What’s the solution, you say? Pushing the thrusters, wiggling the throttle, while simultaneously releasing the photons and recharging the deflector dishes? Wait, how does that work? You’re not going to explain that to me? I guess I’ll have to take your word for it...
“The World of Whitonia” contains one too many of these “I’ll take your word for it” moments. You’re telling me that for Renee to build Whitonia, she’ll need to keep something called the computer-link (or comp-link) under a rock within the program, and, if her creations find it, it would mean a load of trouble for them? And, later, that the only way for Renee to sneak back into the imagination Station is to use Whit’s new contraption to turn herself into a digital version of the Whitonians? And, at the end, that in order to return the Whitonians back to normal, Renee needs to “trigger [Dr. Libernis’s] biosecurity system” and “put in a feedback loop to short it”? I’m not sure if any of this makes sense, but I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.
That said, sci-fi stories will always feature techno-babble that the audience doesn’t fully understand, and, in some way, I’m sort of glad that it chose not to spend its precious 25 minute runtime overly focusing on “how” things worked. Instead, it wisely spent its time giving us an involving and immersing experience, communicating, among other things, 1) “what the space of the world the listener is inhabiting looks like (“This jungle -- It’s truly amazing. The sky is green, but the light is golden. The air is sweet. Is that vanilla and caramel..etc.” and 2) what each character’s motivations are. Because the episode doesn't get caught up trying too hard to explain the rules of this world, “The World of Whitonia” is a much more involving and easy to follow episode than the show’s other world-building episodes (I’m talking about you “Take Every Thought Captive”).
Ultimately, what makes “The World of Whitonia” so wonderful -- and quite ingenious -- is in its retelling of the Garden of Eden story from Genesis Chapter 3. This isn’t the first time that Adventures in Odyssey has drawn strong parallels to that biblical story; “A Bite of Applesauce” also featured Connie and Eugene representing Adam and Eve, with Whit’s Applesauce program the metaphorical “fruit” they were not supposed to touch. To most listeners, “The World of Whitonia” probably felt, to quote Whit, “different, yet somehow familiar”.
While similarities between both episodes are striking, a closer glance would reveal that they use the Genesis story to communicate different points. “A Bite of Applesauce” uses the story of creation to teach about a modern day lesson in rule breaking -- that Connie and Eugene shouldn’t have touched Applesauce because Whit commanded them not to. “The World of Whitonia”, in contrast, is much more concerned with using the Genesis story as a means of explaining both God’s sovereignty and Christ’s sacrificial death -- that God alone can redeem creation, and that it is only through His son’s sacrificial action on the cross that He can rescue us from our fallen state.
Once I spotted these biblical allusions, I began to appreciate the reasoning behind those aforementioned “confusing” sci-fi moments. The story needed Renee to take on the form of the Whitonians when she re-entered the Imagination Station to illustrate how Christ took on the form of man when he came to earth in order to speak with us. Likewise, Renee needed to sacrifice her own safety for her creation just as Christ died on the cross for his . From Renee’s statement, “I am Renee”, to her deep desire to give her Whitonians free-will and, later, to bring about a new earth after “Satan” enters, “The World of Whitonia” is jam-packed full of biblical allusions.
A review of “The World of Whitonia” would not be complete without addressing a few of its musical choices. Despite doing a great job every episode, John Campbell’s work rarely becomes the highlight of an episode, and he must, at last, be acknowledged here. As an episode about a newly created earth, it's interesting that the score appears more suited to a dystopian setting. In fact, I was reminded of a passage from “The Magician’s Nephew”:
“Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music. Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children's bodies, and the deepest, wildest voice they had ever heard was saying: "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.”
The music during the creation of Narnia is described as “pure, cold, difficult”. I would describe John Campbell’s score in “The World of Whitonia” the same way. It’s a score that, like that description, feels altogether paradoxical; both magical and awe-inspiring, yet eerie and uncomfortable also, mimicking, in some ways, the paradoxical realities of the creation story, itself (how could God create something “perfect” that also has the potential to sin?)
We are left with so many questions by the time the episode ends. Shall we hear from Astan Liebernis again? And is there more to him than his “I want the Imagination Station” motivation that is all-to-reminiscent of Dr. Blackgaard? Will these two sagas share further similarities, or will this particular story take on a distinct life of its own? At this point, it’s hard to predict. But, in presenting the Genesis story in such a fresh and creative way, “The World of Whitonia” solidifies its entry as yet another strong episode in a surprisingly strong year.
Writer: Phil Lollar
Director: Phil Lollar
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Music: John Campbell
Scripture: Genesis 1-3
Original Airdate: 09.01.19
Review Published: 09.11.19
Director: Phil Lollar
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Music: John Campbell
Scripture: Genesis 1-3
Original Airdate: 09.01.19
Review Published: 09.11.19