Adventures in Odyssey video series
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| Genre | Radio drama/comedy |
|---|---|
| Running time | 17-30 minutes per episode |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | Focus on the Family |
| Starring |
Hal Smith (1987–1994) Katie Leigh Paul Herlinger (1996–2008) Andre Stojka (2009–present) Will Ryan Walker Edmiston (1987–2007) Dave Madden (1990–2008) Alan Young (1994–2016) Earl Boen Townsend Coleman Chris Anthony Corey Burton Jess Harnell Pamela Hayden (1992–2002) Audrey Wasilewski |
| Announcer | Chris Anthony |
| Created by | Phil Lollar and Steve Harris |
| Written by |
Paul McCusker Phil Lollar Marshal Younger Kathy Buchanan Nathan Hoobler & many others |
| Directed by |
Phil Lollar Paul McCusker Marshal Younger Bob Hoose Nathan Hoobler |
| Produced by | Bob Luttrell Bob Hoose |
| Executive producer(s) |
Dave Arnold (Current) Chuck Bolte Paul McCusker Kurt Bruner Al Janssen |
| Recording studio |
Salami Studios and other locations |
| Original release | November 21, 1987 – present |
| No. of episodes | Radio: 818 (including specials) Video: 17 Books:78 Full list |
| Website | WhitsEnd.org |
Adventures in Odyssey (AIO), or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family for kids ages six to ten. The series first aired in 1987 under the title Family Portraits and has over 800 episodes to date. As of 2005, the show's daily audience averaged around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey radio series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video series, several computer games, and books. The series centers on the fictional town of Odyssey, and in particular, an ice-cream emporium named Whit's End, and its owner, John Avery Whittaker, who was originally voiced by Hal Smith.
In 1983, Focus on the Family began creating several short dramas for inclusion in the ministry's daily half-hour radio show; these radio dramas were commissioned by Focus on the Family founder and then-president Dr. James Dobson as an alternative to Saturday-morning cartoons. This effort culminated with a 13-week test series titled Family Portraits which aired in early 1987. It was created by Steve Harris and Phil Lollar, who set it in a small Midwest town they called Odyssey. The test episodes engendered a favorable audience response, and led to a continuing radio program in November 1987, called Odyssey USA. The title was later changed to Adventures in Odyssey to "increase international appeal".
The goal of the Odyssey staff was to create a "values-based" radio show with production values comparable with or surpassing those of most mainstream audio dramas. While the show aimed to promote Christian values, according to Odyssey's co-creator Phil Lollar, the goal was not to be "a preaching program", but to be an "entertaining program". Large amounts of work were put into each individual story; for the first few years, each thirty-minute episode typically took over one hundred hours to produce.
Several well-known voice actors were brought in to provide the lead roles. Hal Smith voiced the lead character John Avery Whittaker in one of his favorite roles. The rest of the original "key" characters were voiced by Katie Leigh, Will Ryan, and Walker Edmiston, who, along with Hal Smith, had all previously worked together extensively at Disney. When Hal Smith died in 1994, Adventures in Odyssey was left without its main character and Focus on the Family considered canceling the radio show. After a search that lasted over two years, a replacement voice was finally found in Paul Herlinger, who sounded very similar to Hal Smith; Paul Herlinger voiced the main character from 1996 through 2008. Because of health issues, a mutual decision was made by Herlinger and the crew to replace Herlinger with another voice actor.
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