Adventures in Odyssey

Adventures in Odyssey (1987-present) is an Evangelical Christian radio drama/comedy series with over 630 episodes to date that airs regularly on hundreds of radio stations worldwide. Originally pitched as a variety show, the series was created by Phil Lollar and Steve Harris for Focus on the Family to present an alternative for Christians to secular radio shows. The premise of AIO revolves around the inhabitants of the fictional town of Odyssey, - the All American town (there is a mountain range nearby, but it is also within a puddle jumper flight from Chicago - "somewhere in the midwest"[see The Official Guide to Adventures in Odyssey]). The specific focus location is an ice cream eatery and "discovery emporium" called "Whit's End" and its owner, John Avery Whittaker, known by his friends as "Whit". The genres of the episodes range wildly from being comedic sitcoms to action/adventure drama, and Judeo-Christian values and Scriptural principles are always brought to the forefront.

1987

#005: Gifts for Madge and Guy

Lisa: (Describing a perdicament in which she cannot think of a Christmas present for a friend.) You see, everything we can afford he won't like, and everything he won't like we can't afford.

Connie: That's why they invented credit cards!

Officer Harley: (Guessing at the moral to Whit's humorous adaptation of "The Gifts of the Magi".) If you want to buy a gift for your friend, you've . . . uh . . . you've gotta sell Lisa's hair!

Phil: No, it has to be something valuable.

Tom: Now, that's what I call a Christmas tree!

Officer Harley: Well, what else would you call it?

1988

#007: Promises, Promises

Tom: Say, Whit, got any special plans for tonight?

Whit: Well, as a matter of fact, I do have something planned.

Tom: Aha, got some company coming over, huh? Somebody special maybe?

Whit: (Laughs.) Well, in a way it's company. I plan to spend the evening with a cup of hot cocoa and Robert Louis Stevenson."

Tom: The writer? He's coming to your house?

Whit: No, no, no, no, Tom. He's not actually coming here. You see, he's dead.

Tom: Dead? I didn't even know he was sick.

Whit: No, no, no. He lived in the 1800s.

Tom: Oh yeah, that's about three blocks north form here, ain't it?

Whit: Oh no, I mean he's be dead a long time.

Tom: Well, he's not going to be much for conversation, is he?

Whit: Well, I'm not gonna talk to him.

Tom: Well, then whatcha havin' him over for?

Whit: Tom, listen, I was talking about a book. A Robert Louis Stevenson book.

Tom: Isn't that kinda rude?

Whit: Whaddya mean?

Tom: Well, if you're gonna spend the whole evening reading, how're ya gonna pay any attention to your guest?

Whit: Oh, Tom.

Tom: Oh I get it. You're gonna read out loud. Is that it?"

Whit: Oh, never mind, Tom.

Whit: And you know what else? I can prove to you logically that I'm not even here.

Phil: Come on! You're here! I can see you.

Whit: No, I'm not. You want me to prove it?

Phil: Yeah.

Whit: Okay. Now, I'm not it Cincinnati, am I?

Phil: No.

Whit: And I'm not in Buffalo, am I?

Phil: No.

Whit: And I'm definitely not in Detroit. You agree?

Phil: I agree.

Whit: Okay. If I'm not in Cincinnati,Buffalo , or Detroit, I must be someplace else, right?

Phil: Right.

Whit: Well, if I'm some places else, I can't be here, can I?

Kid: Awwww!

Connie: (Describing Whit to a friend in a letter.) Oh, and he's really into religion, too. Now, I know what you're thinking, but before you jump to any conclusions, he doesn't shave his head or hang around airports or anything like that.

#012: The Tangled Web

Jeremy: (Bemoaning the fact that he has to eat oatmeal for breakfast.) Why do I have to eat this stuff, anyway? I don't see you guys ever eat any!

Roger: That's because we're parents. We've already eaten our live's allotment of oatmeal.

#018: A Member of the Family II

Whit: (Jana is confronting her dad for spanking his grandson Monty.) That boy needed some kind of punishment, and it's pretty clear that whatever you've been doing hasn't been working too well!

Jana: Oh, so on top of everything else, I'm an unfit mother.

Whit: That's not what I said --

Jana: Oh, no. You never actually say it.

Whit: Listen, Jana. I'm sorry. I should've chosen my words more carefully --

Jana: It's too late for that. Okay, Monty can stay with you for tonight. I'll pick him up in the morning.

Whit: Where are you gonna go?

Jana: I'll find a room in a hotel.

Whit: Hotel? Nonsense! This is your home; stay here.

Jana: No, Dad. It's your home. It's not mine; not anymore. Tell Monty I said goodnight.

Whit: I just don't understand what all this is about.

Jana: No, I'm sure you don't.

Whit: Now listen here, I've had just about enough. If you have something you want to say to me, say it. If not, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep a civil tongue in your head.

Jana: Oh, what're you gonna do, Dad? Pull out a belt and spank me, too?

Whit: Is that was this is all about? A debate over the merits of corporal punishment?

Jana: No. I've just had it with you constantly passing judgment on me. Nothing I do pleases you! You criticize my work, my friends, my hobbies, my marriage -- oh, let's not forget my marriage. You had plenty to say about that. And then you criticized me for getting a divorce. And now it's my son. Did you hear that, Dad? My son. Let's try to keep that straight, shall we?

#019: Recollections

Officer Harley: And I think that we're all in agreement that the number one cause of juvenile delinquency in this country today is young people! Now, I know that may sound like a generalization, but if you take a look at a cross-reference of all juvenile delinquents, you'd probably find that most of them, most of them are between 5 and 18 years of age! Coincidence? Maybe. But do we really want to take the chance? I, for one, don't think so!

#024: Gotcha!

Philo: (Explaining why he isn't worried about a practical joker on the loose in Odyssey pranking him.) I have a rabbit's foot.

Officer Harley: Bummer. They have surgery that can correct that, you know.

Tom: The only luck that rabbit's foot has brought anybody is bad luck for the rabbit that lost it.
Whit: You'll get more protection out of deodorant spray than you will out of that silly good luck charm.

#047: A Single Vote

Whit: Jamison Shoemaker. He was an Indiana farmer.

Tom: Was? Then I take it he's no longer with us.

Horace: Where'd he go?

Connie: He died, Horace.

Horace: Oh.

Whit: Well, it's only natural, he lived more than 150 years ago.

Horace: Wow, if he were alive today, he'd be dead!

Connie: Very good.

#052: Connie II

Connie: I've been really confused, and I thought that by going to California everything would become clearer for me. And that's exactly what happened. I've got it all figured out and I know what I want to do. I want to pray with you.

1989

#066: The Imagination Station I

Digger: (He has just been placed in a virtual simulation of biblical Jerusalem.) This looks like a scene from Ben-Hur.
Digger: (In the midst of the Triumphal Entry.) Come on, Mr. Whittaker. You've been taking lessons from Disneyland.
Digger: (Explaining his jeans to a character.) They're Levi's. Levi Strauss.

Mark: Oh, a Jewish tailor.

#067: The Imagination Station II

Digger: They killed him, Mr. Whittaker! He didn't do anything to them and they killed him!

Whit: Digger, it's all right.

Digger: No, it's not. I didn't know about Jesus before, Mr. Whittaker. He never really meant anything to me. And now, just when I get to learn about him, I have to see him die.

Whit: It's all right, Digger. The story doesn't end there.

Digger: What do you mean? He's dead. It has to end here.

Whit: No, it doesn't. The best part is yet to come.

#079: Our Best Vacation Ever!

Donna: The budget?! It's always the budget! We haven't been able to do anything since we got that stupid budget!

1990

#109: Two Sides to Every Story

Jimmy: (Recounting a fight with his sister.) I'd tell you the rest, Dad, but this is a family show.

love you ...

#113: Suspicious Minds

Eugene: (Describing a device that will shock anyone attempting to open the cash register sans permission.) I used to do this to my parents when they were dieting. It kept them away from the refridgerator.

Bernard: You must've been a joy to have around as a child.

Whit: This contraption of yours, Eugene . . . I expected better behavior.

Eugene: Well, it worked on my parents! They lost 20 pounds! Each!

#115: An Act of Mercy

Chris: Hi, this is Chris, and on today's Adventure in Odyssey, we're going to---

Dave Arnold (engineer): Sorry to interrupt, Chris.

Chris: Uh, what's wrong, Dave?

Dave: I was just wondering if you were still driving that blue, formerly-in-mint-condition Datsun?

Chris: Formerly in mint condition??

Dave: Well, uh, you know, I think once the taillight's broken, it couldn't really be called "mint" anymore. Maybe "off-mint."

Chris: What?! My taillight is broken?

Dave: Yep. I think it broke when the rear right fender bent left.

Chris: You're kidding me! What could have made my rear right fender bend left?

Dave: Uh, probably the telephone pole you parked next to. See, when your car hit the telephone pole, the telephone pole bent your rear right fender to the left and broke your taillight, and...

Chris: Dave... why did my car hit a telephone pole?!!

Dave: Ahem... do you remember that red formerly-in-mint-condition Dodge I was driving?...

Chris: Dave... you should be thankful for today's Adventure in Odyssey.

Dave: Really? How come?

Chris: It's about MERCY.

#137: Back to Bethlehem III

Eugene: (In the Imagination Station, experiencing the birth of Jesus.) But how could you believe for so long without proof? Without evidence to support your theory?

Hezekiah: Theory? You are still speaking with your mind, Eugenius. What I believe is found in the place where the mind and the heart unite.

Eugene: Oh . . . and where is that?

Hezekiah: Faith.

1991

#156: Waylaid in the Windy City II

Whit: (As Richard brandishes a gun at Dr. Blackgaard, the man who set him up to go to prison two years ago.) Don't you understand that when you go out for revenge you have to dig two graves? One for the person you're after and one for yourself! Richard, there's no such thing as revenge, not really. It never replaces what you lost. It never restores. It doesn't even satisfy. You're out of the detention center now. You've got you're whole life ahead of you! Now please, give me the gun!

1993

#240: And the Glory

Jimmy Barclay: The crowd is going wild!

Lawrence Hodges: That's right, Jimmy. Not only is the crowd going wild because Odyssey is one out from winning, but because hot dogs just went on sale for half price!

1998

#400: The Spy Who Bugged Me

Jared DeWhite: Dwayne, I've got a feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach, called a gut instinct!

Dwayne Oswald: Could have been those tacos we had for lunch.

2000

#443: Changing Rodney

Rodney Rathbone: If you're gonna be somewhere where you're gonna get hit, you better not be carrying nothin'!

Cast

Hal Smith as John Avery Whitaker
Katie Leigh as Connie Kendall
Will Ryan as Eugene Meltsner and Officer David Harley
Walker Edmiston as Tom Riley
Dave Madden as Bernard Walton
David Griffin as Jeremy Forsithe and Jimmy Barclay
Phil Lollar as Roger Forsithe
Azure Janosky as Donna Barclay
Chad Reisser as Digger Digwillow and Horace Higgenbotham
Doug Davis as Phil
Tiffany Song as Lisa
D.J. Harner as Jana Whitaker-Dowd
Nathan Fisk as Philo Sanderson
Parley Baer as Hezekiah
Gabriel Encarncacion as Lawrence Hodges
Brandon Gilberstadt as Jared DeWhite
Kris Kachurak as Dwayne Oswald
Steve Burns as Rodney Rathbone