Cryin' Bryan Dern · The Soda Fountain

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Characters / Cryin' Bryan Dern

Cryin' Bryan Dern is a shock jock at radio station Odyssey 105. He has no qualms about offending anyone within reach of his microphone. His comedy leans on cruelty - he secretly records people, then splices the tape to make them say whatever gets a laugh. He chases ratings with stunts, from locking himself in the studio rather than play polka to inventing on-air complaints with his intern PJ. Local figures are frequent targets, among them Bart Rathbone and Mayor Tom Riley, whose recall he demands over the airwaves. A professed atheist, he spars publicly with John Whittaker, who treats him as a walking lesson in who not to become. Young broadcasters like Jimmy Barclay learn plenty from Dern - mostly by doing the opposite of what he teaches.

Appearances

25 episodes Art Text No.

0637 The Forgotten Deed With Whit's End on the verge of reopening, a dispute over a time capsule uncovers a question about who really owns the land beneath it - and whether the shop can keep its faith at its heart.

0636 A Class Reenactment A pompous theater impresario is hired to dramatize Odyssey's founding for radio, but his flair for spectacle keeps colliding with the town's true story.

1 of 2 0634 Accidental Dilemma When a blog post blows Jason Whittaker's cover as a government agent, an old enemy with a score to settle sets a trap in Odyssey.

0631 A Capsule Comes to Town When a national radio program asks whether Odyssey is stuck in the past, the search for a century-old time capsule puts the town's memory - and its heart - to the test.

0623 Buddy Guard When Grady hires a bodyguard to stop a park bully and a radio host discovers his on-air complaints can strong-arm people into paying up, both learn how quickly protection turns into power.

0622 B-TV: Temptation When B-TV explores why smart people fall for bad choices, the story of history's wisest king shows that wisdom alone is no shield against temptation.

0586 A Cheater Cheated When a scandal-hungry radio host targets the Electric Palace's shady sales tactics, Bart Rathbone must scramble to learn honest customer service before his reputation - and his job - go up in smoke.

0572 Odyssey Sings! When a cynical TV talent show comes to Odyssey hunting for stars and spectacle, Connie and Tamika learn that the judges' verdicts aren't the ones that matter.

0501 Inside the Studio On the fifteenth anniversary of the adventures in Odyssey, the cast and crew step out from behind the microphones to reveal the friendships, discoveries, and happy accidents that bring the town's beloved voices to life.

0500 500 Odyssey marks its five hundredth episode with a look behind the microphones at the people, voices, and happy accidents that built the town.

0494 Box of Miracles When a revolutionary new device arrives in Odyssey promising miracles, Whit must decide how far he'll go to warn a town that doesn't want to listen.

0470 Break a Leg When an accident sidelines the quiet assistant who keeps the Harlequin Theatre running, the pompous Edwin Blackgaard must pull off a children's bicycle race on his own.

1 of 2 0435 A Look Back As the millennium draws to a close, a nostalgic tour of Whit's End revisits the beloved characters and moments that made Odyssey feel like home.

0397 Tornado! As a devastating tornado bears down on Odyssey, a price-gouging shopkeeper and a little girl deemed too small to help face very different tests of character.

0329 The Return As a recall election shakes Odyssey and strangers insist they've seen Edwin Blackgaard in places he's never been, the town faces the unsettling possibility that its darkest chapter isn't as closed as everyone believed.

0328 Hard Losses With the election looming, an anonymous tip ignites a scandal that threatens to drive Odyssey's mayor from office - and an unwelcome face from the past returns claiming to know who's really behind it.

0324 Small Fires, Little Pools When a wave of vandalism sweeps through Odyssey, a troubling dream convinces Jack Allen that something bigger is at work - and that the answer may lie in a lot of little pools of water.

2 of 2 0319 A Touch of Healing A boy in a wheelchair experiences walking inside the Imagination Station, and the fallout forces everyone at Whit's End to confront what healing really means.

0313 Top This! When her lifelong-rival cousin moves to Odyssey, Courtney turns a simple youth group fundraiser into an escalating contest to outdo her - while the local radio station stages its own outrageous bid for attention.

2 of 2 0287 Tom for Mayor With his farm shut down and his mayoral campaign on the line, Tom Riley sets out to prove the environmental report against him isn't what it seems.

1 of 2 0286 Tom for Mayor When a suspicious government inspection threatens Tom Riley's farm and Odyssey's mayor suddenly resigns, Tom's friends push the reluctant farmer into a hard-fought campaign against forces working behind the scenes.

0263 When Bad Isn't So Good When a well-behaved kid decides the only way to get noticed is to be bad, his scheme collides with a bitter theater owner whose insult-fueled radio fame is setting the whole town on edge.

0223 Real Time Trapped in a stalled elevator with a ticking clock, Whit and shock jock Bryan Dern must confront a bomber's revenge - and each other's beliefs - live on the air.

0198 Treasure Hunt A charity treasure hunt turned water-pistol war game collides with a manhunt when an escaped convict stumbles back into the one town he swore he'd never see again.