AIO Thought of the Week:
What color eyes does Connie have in your head?
In the episode where Penny is making a dating profile for Connie she says Connie has blue-green eyes.
And if her eyes are skewed a little more green than blue, then was the box carrying scene from Mitch’s perspective like:
Connie: Green eyes…
Mitch(in head): Yeah… you do have those.
Episode referenced: #463 Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips, #839 Met His Match
It’s that time again, Odyssey fans! We here on our side of the internet are hoping you’ve had a lovely past two weeks, whether that be celebrating Valentine’s Day or Singles’ Awareness Day. Let’s get into the bit of news and content that has been buzzing our fan community over the past couple days.
Content of the Week:
Adventures in Odyssey Made the Switch from Moral-Based Episodes to Story-Based Ones. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing. (In Defense of AIO)
We’re finally able to put this article up as an official post, and it seems to have come out right on time as well. Our second-longest piece ever lays down both a criticism and defense for the modern direction of Adventures in Odyssey. This article is certainly a must-read, especially for older fans and those who have had a grievance against Odyssey over the past decade.
From Elsewhere on the Block
What’s New In Odyssey?
Getting to the Message
In continuation from the last section, I announced in that dissertative article that our moral section would be replaced by a new message section. This will allow us to go beyond the basic “what did we learn” segment and decoding what every episode is truly delivering to fans. What to read more? The link is right above.
AIO Writer’s Block is Hosting-ing
Back during our anniversary, this site declared it would begin a transition to Wix or a more element-based web platform. We’re working on that now, and I’m proud to say that our next newsletter will be posted from a fully functional aiowritersblock.com. Using WordPress.org will also allow for easy construction of a “website aggregator”, something that’s been on our to-do list for years now. We’ll also be able to engage in proper newsletter distribution. In transition though, this website will only be accessible through aiowritersblock.wordpress.com. Our domain name aiowritersblock.com will be functional on the new website soon. Exciting stuff!
“Your Stats Are Booming!”
In the spirit of updates, it seems we really struck a nerve with the article of the week. The post may end up being one of our most popular ever by hundreds. February 2025 received the most views ever three hours after the defense post came out. It’s currently approaching 2,000. Another plus, today will be our highest-grossing day ever by views and visitors. Thank you all so much for this, it’s really amazing. And if any Odyssey staff is reading, take notes!
Shots Fired
And now for the news you’ve probably come here to read, Adventures in Odyssey announced via Instagram and its podcast on Wednesday that it would do away with CD albums. It’s important to note this means the dissolution of “mainstream albums” as we currently know them. I’ve made a point not to listen to the podcast yet so as to not to write off any suggestions that I have instinctively. First of all, it is absolutely ridiculous not to think AIO wasn’t going to kill CDs eventually. As much as you think you use them all the time, they are very much a dying medium. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if AIO was still selling cassette tapes in 2025, even as a novelty. In the economics of media production, when a certain medium dies out, it’s actually far more expensive to produce just a few for the people who want to buy them. No, that is completely out of the question. The real deal is what Adventures in Odyssey does after this change. From what I’ve heard in rumors, AIO plans to drop single-sale .mp3 episodes and albums. If this is true, it’s a huge mistake. An audio drama’s only alternative to physical media that one can own is…this. Even with the popularity of streaming services, every movie is always available for sale on Apple TV or an App Store. That’s what’s replaced DVDs in 2025 for those who want to buy and own their media. Studios recognize that it’s not that hard to do this either. If one has already formatted the content, there is absolutely no reason not to just distribute your final edit. I’m also hearing that AIO may plan on canceling its radio broadcast. This would be the worst decision of all. Above all, this program is a children’s outreach tool, not just a business. That’s the entire reason why we care if the show is moral or not! Dropping both .mp3 and radio limits this show’s future audience to existing fans and maybe one or two of that existing fan’s friends. Someone may hear about AIO one day and look into it, only to be turned off by a 9.99 a month price tag. Riding off word of mouth from now on is a risky move to make. Even me, who watched the video series once or twice as a kid, was only hooked when I heard the show on the radio. It took me forever before I ventured into thinking about buying a Club membership. Now of course, I only listen on the Club exclusively, and am a huge Club advocate. You can also find anecdotes like this from people all over the place mad about this decision. Some are a little out there, but many are reasonable, every day examples. I believe removing the line between Club and “mainstream” episodes might accomplish something good: part of the resolution that I outlined in that last post. Releasing two or three twelve-episode albums is a big solution to a lot of problems I believe. Making them Club-exclusive, I repeat, is a great error. The AIO team will, guaranteed, make a sufficient amount of money selling a digital twelve-episode album at 8.99 USD, and that’s without doing the math. One last thing to consider, whatever happens is only as a result of enough people using the Club for AIO to think it viable. If the Club wasn’t at that point, doing this would be simply devious. But just about anyone who’s still listening at this point uses or has heard of the Club. Whatever happens, my most solid prediction is that AIO is going on a hiatus soon that will finally usher in definitive sixth era.
Conclusion
What a week! So much news to close out a pretty slow month. The last section of this newsletter, formally entitled “What a Shift from CDs Means for Odyssey” will be posted as a separate post immediately after this newsletter comes out. AIO Writer’s Block will be back in two weeks with the news you need to know as an Odyssey fan. Keep up the fandom!
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