Episode Description:
"It's all hands on deck when a series of clues appears to connect Whit's End with a survivor of the Titanic." - AIO
Episode Review:
I find it somewhat appropriate that the 2020 season of Adventures in Odyssey begins with an episode that centers on the theme of class struggle. Look around and you’ll see that it’s a topic that’s on many people’s minds these days; from the majority of this past year’s Best Picture nominees (Ford V. Ferrari, Joker, etc) which depicted characters struggling against powerful systems, to a democratic frontrunner whose been gaining significant popularity by promising to draw the lines between rich and poor a little bit -- if not a lot -- closer.
While it’s important to make sure that all people in society are treated equally, it’s perhaps equally important to be reminded that, no matter what situation we find ourselves in (including the class we’re born into) we should all strive to be content. Understandably, “contentment” may seem to be an odd thematic choice for an episode about the Titanic -- whose victims experienced a horrific tragedy, and, whose survivors -- more than anyone --shouldn’t have been expected to “just be content”.
But by using “contentment” as one of this story’s major themes, the episode actually made me view this familiar story in a whole new light. You see, as the character of Nina toured the ship, marveling at the swimming pools, the first class dining rooms, and fancy dresses, I couldn’t help but think that in their final moments, ones class didn’t really matter; those at the top of the ship and the bottom (including those in 1st class rooms or 3rd class rooms) all met equal fates. In that sense, listening to this story reminded me how our wealth is very much temporary.
But, what about those in today’s society who face difficulty and suffering? Should we just tell them to keep quiet and be content -- that we’re all just going to end up dead anyway so none of it matters? Of course not! Even though we Christians know to store our treasures in heaven, the episode tells us that this truth does not absolve our responsibility in helping people escape their own difficult circumstances. As we saw in the episode, Nina made the right choice by serving others in her act of founding the Fillmore Recreation Center.
I don’t think I would have been able to draw any of these conclusions if I wasn’t so immersed in the episode. One of the reasons I found “Unsinkable” more captivating than other episodes of its kind is due to how the writer chose to frame the story. This isn’t your typical historical episode which devotes the full running time to the telling of the historical story. By delaying the flashback until ten-or-so minutes into the first episode, the episode was able to properly build our curiosity about what was to come. And by tying the story of the Titanic to the formation of Whit’s End, I became all the more invested in hearing about the actual historical events.
It helped that the sound design and music, here, are top-notch -- with layers and details that evokes the grandeur of the ship that, in its own way, matched the impressiveness of James Cameron’s special effects in the widely-known blockbuster. The scene of the women and children on the lifeboats, watching the ship sink, is certainly a highlight -- this moment is rightfully eerie and terrible and brought tears to my eyes both times I’ve listened to it. You can tell that the AIO team put in great effort in making sure everything sounded both immersive and authentic.
There were other nice touches, too. I liked the fact that Hal Smith’s voice can be briefly heard in the old video interview with Ted Humphries. I also liked that there were several nods made to “The Treasure of LeMonde”; for instance, just as Robin once found a secret note in the pipe organ during cleaning out of another room; Emily Jones found a clue in a piano during the cleaning out of an old room at Whit’s End. The episode also features characters repeating lots of history that was established from that episode, including the fact that the Fillmore Recreation was a church that once burned down leaving only its church tower. And extremely observant fans might notice that Whit, here, uses a common exclamation that was also used by Hal Smith’s Whit in “Treasure of LeMonde”: “Well, I’ll be!”.
Of course, I must admit, despite those nice touches, the episode included a few moments I didn’t totally buy. For one thing, I found it a little unbelievable that Whit didn’t really recognize or remember Nina Hankins/Lee’s name -- the person whose building he had taken over to build Whit’s End. And I’m not really quite sure, looking back, why Nina was ever so cryptic in her video interview with young Ted Humphries, especially since her life story didn’t seem like it necessarily needed to be one that should have been discovered by clues and riddles. And I didn’t totally buy how a girl with Emily Jones’s intellect wouldn’t know what a cassette tape player looks like. (Sheesh -- no wonder she wasn’t invited to be part of the square one club in “Square One”)
At the end of the day, there’s so much great detail, here, found in both its writing, sound design, and music, that puts this episode head and shoulders above many other recent historical-based episodes of its kind. Odyssey proves once again that it can make well-known stories feel alive and new when putting its own unique spin on them. And as we encounter struggles each day, may we not forget “Unsinkable”’s important lessons.
"It's all hands on deck when a series of clues appears to connect Whit's End with a survivor of the Titanic." - AIO
Episode Review:
I find it somewhat appropriate that the 2020 season of Adventures in Odyssey begins with an episode that centers on the theme of class struggle. Look around and you’ll see that it’s a topic that’s on many people’s minds these days; from the majority of this past year’s Best Picture nominees (Ford V. Ferrari, Joker, etc) which depicted characters struggling against powerful systems, to a democratic frontrunner whose been gaining significant popularity by promising to draw the lines between rich and poor a little bit -- if not a lot -- closer.
While it’s important to make sure that all people in society are treated equally, it’s perhaps equally important to be reminded that, no matter what situation we find ourselves in (including the class we’re born into) we should all strive to be content. Understandably, “contentment” may seem to be an odd thematic choice for an episode about the Titanic -- whose victims experienced a horrific tragedy, and, whose survivors -- more than anyone --shouldn’t have been expected to “just be content”.
But by using “contentment” as one of this story’s major themes, the episode actually made me view this familiar story in a whole new light. You see, as the character of Nina toured the ship, marveling at the swimming pools, the first class dining rooms, and fancy dresses, I couldn’t help but think that in their final moments, ones class didn’t really matter; those at the top of the ship and the bottom (including those in 1st class rooms or 3rd class rooms) all met equal fates. In that sense, listening to this story reminded me how our wealth is very much temporary.
But, what about those in today’s society who face difficulty and suffering? Should we just tell them to keep quiet and be content -- that we’re all just going to end up dead anyway so none of it matters? Of course not! Even though we Christians know to store our treasures in heaven, the episode tells us that this truth does not absolve our responsibility in helping people escape their own difficult circumstances. As we saw in the episode, Nina made the right choice by serving others in her act of founding the Fillmore Recreation Center.
I don’t think I would have been able to draw any of these conclusions if I wasn’t so immersed in the episode. One of the reasons I found “Unsinkable” more captivating than other episodes of its kind is due to how the writer chose to frame the story. This isn’t your typical historical episode which devotes the full running time to the telling of the historical story. By delaying the flashback until ten-or-so minutes into the first episode, the episode was able to properly build our curiosity about what was to come. And by tying the story of the Titanic to the formation of Whit’s End, I became all the more invested in hearing about the actual historical events.
It helped that the sound design and music, here, are top-notch -- with layers and details that evokes the grandeur of the ship that, in its own way, matched the impressiveness of James Cameron’s special effects in the widely-known blockbuster. The scene of the women and children on the lifeboats, watching the ship sink, is certainly a highlight -- this moment is rightfully eerie and terrible and brought tears to my eyes both times I’ve listened to it. You can tell that the AIO team put in great effort in making sure everything sounded both immersive and authentic.
There were other nice touches, too. I liked the fact that Hal Smith’s voice can be briefly heard in the old video interview with Ted Humphries. I also liked that there were several nods made to “The Treasure of LeMonde”; for instance, just as Robin once found a secret note in the pipe organ during cleaning out of another room; Emily Jones found a clue in a piano during the cleaning out of an old room at Whit’s End. The episode also features characters repeating lots of history that was established from that episode, including the fact that the Fillmore Recreation was a church that once burned down leaving only its church tower. And extremely observant fans might notice that Whit, here, uses a common exclamation that was also used by Hal Smith’s Whit in “Treasure of LeMonde”: “Well, I’ll be!”.
Of course, I must admit, despite those nice touches, the episode included a few moments I didn’t totally buy. For one thing, I found it a little unbelievable that Whit didn’t really recognize or remember Nina Hankins/Lee’s name -- the person whose building he had taken over to build Whit’s End. And I’m not really quite sure, looking back, why Nina was ever so cryptic in her video interview with young Ted Humphries, especially since her life story didn’t seem like it necessarily needed to be one that should have been discovered by clues and riddles. And I didn’t totally buy how a girl with Emily Jones’s intellect wouldn’t know what a cassette tape player looks like. (Sheesh -- no wonder she wasn’t invited to be part of the square one club in “Square One”)
At the end of the day, there’s so much great detail, here, found in both its writing, sound design, and music, that puts this episode head and shoulders above many other recent historical-based episodes of its kind. Odyssey proves once again that it can make well-known stories feel alive and new when putting its own unique spin on them. And as we encounter struggles each day, may we not forget “Unsinkable”’s important lessons.
Writer: Kathy Buchanan
Director: Kathy Buchanan
Sound Design: Nathan Jones
Music: Jared DePasquale
Theme: Contentment
Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6/1 Thessalonian 1:8
Original Airdate: 01/01/20 - 01/02/20
Episode Reviewed: 09/03/20