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SO DA FOUNTAIN Odyssey archive · est. 2026
Episodes 0499Exit 0501Inside the Studio
0500 13 Jul 2002 29 min

500

Odyssey marks its five hundredth episode with a look behind the microphones at the people, voices, and happy accidents that built the town.
Five hundred visits to Odyssey call for a celebration, and this one throws open the doors on how the whole town came to be. Composer John Campbell hunts for a theme song until seven familiar notes finally click, and the creators comb a telephone book before landing on the name John Avery Whittaker - Whit, for short. From there the town fills up fast: Tom Riley brings country warmth, Connie Kendall asks the hard questions a skeptical teenager should, and a listener's letter about her brilliant, absentminded father sparks Eugene Meltsner, ukulele and all. The actors show off how one voice becomes gentle Tom or blustery Bart Rathbone, and a pile of bloopers proves that even familiar voices flub their lines... then laugh about it. A whirlwind five hundred seconds races through the Imagination Station, Blackgaard's threats, Kids' Radio, and the cheerful chaos of the Barclays and Rathbones. Looking back on it all, Whit and Eugene agree the best is still ahead - because in Odyssey, anything can happen.
Found on The Lost Episodes Album LE · 17 episodes

The run

See every episode
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.
0495 The Unraveling While grieving Connie travels to Maine seeking answers about Mitch's past, the kids in Odyssey investigate why their neighbors are suddenly buying things nobody wants.
0496 Exceptional Circumstances With Mitch's fate finally revealed, Connie must guard a dangerous secret while Jason's search for the truth behind Eugene's research uncovers what the NovaBox really costs its users.
0497 Expect the Worst As Novacom's true agenda comes into focus, a desperate act at the broadcast tower puts lives - and one man's freedom - on the line.
0498 Exactly as Planned As Tom Riley's trial exposes the staggering depths of Novacom's conspiracy, Whit follows a hunch that the real bomber may still be out there.
0499 Exit With a mysterious satellite launch just minutes away and a hostage's life on the line, Whit must choose between saving his greatest invention and stopping a plan that threatens everyone.
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.
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.
0502 Live at the 25! Connie's live anniversary broadcast at Whit's End doesn't go quite as planned - but a Western-style parable and a glimpse of the future reveal what really makes the shop worth celebrating.
0503 Between You and Me Reunited after a long crisis, Connie and Mitch dive headfirst into inseparable togetherness - until unexpected news forces Connie to face what their romance has been crowding out.
0504 Aubrey's Bathrobe When a confident new friend arrives in Odyssey with a grand plan for serving God, Aubrey begins to wonder if her own ordinary life is a waste of the gifts she's been given.
0505 The Toy Man When a toy-company executive's push for family-friendly toys puts him at odds with his corporate colleagues, an unlikely job offer from Whit forces him to weigh security and status against a calling he thought he'd left behind.
0506 For Trying Out Loud When repeated tryouts leave Liz Horton convinced she has no talent, an eccentric mailman's disastrous stage debut helps them both discover that real gifts aren't always found where you're looking.

Featured characters

The story 3 min read

Five hundred visits to Odyssey inspire a celebration of the people, ideas, voices, and music that have brought the town to life. Composer John Campbell recalls being asked to write a theme for a new radio program. His first effort did not quite fit, but when he found the familiar opening seven notes, he immediately knew he had discovered the right sound.

The program’s beginnings reach back to 1986, when James Dobson and Bruce Wilkinson discussed the powerful influence of media and the need to create something positive. Producer Steve Harris first developed a short test series called Family Portraits. Its strong reception led to the continuing adventures in Odyssey. From the beginning, the creators decide never to talk down to children and to include enough depth and humor for whole families to enjoy together.

The celebration revisits the search for Odyssey’s central characters. The creators imagine an older man whom children can trust but who also has an adventurous and mysterious side. After searching through much of a telephone book for a name, they settle on John Avery Whittaker - mercifully shortened to Whit. His enormous ice-cream shop becomes a place where an unexplored room, hidden door, or remarkable invention may wait around any corner.

Tom Riley is created as Whit’s longtime friend, someone who can help him think through problems. Tom combines warmth and insight into other people with a practical, country manner that sometimes turns simple conversations into comic confusion. Connie Kendall supplies a different kind of friendship. As a skeptical teenager, she challenges Whit instead of automatically agreeing with him, and her questions allow her faith to grow naturally. Her decision to invite Jesus into her life becomes especially meaningful to the people creating and performing her character.

Some characters arise from unexpected suggestions. A listener’s description of her brilliant but absentminded father helps inspire Eugene Meltsner, whose precise vocabulary, missing keys, scientific genius, and ukulele make him unmistakable. The excerpts trace his friendship with Whit and Connie, his love for Katrina, and the many occasions when his intelligence is matched by social confusion.

The performers explain how their voices shape Odyssey’s residents. Walker Edmiston demonstrates the difference between Tom Riley’s gentle warmth and Bart Rathbone’s sharp, metallic bluster. Rodney Rathbone’s voice tends to slip into other tough characters, while the actor behind Regis and Edwin Blackgaard separates the sinister doctor’s deep tones from his theatrical brother’s higher voice. Corey Burton describes the oversized personality of Cryin’ Bryan Dern, and the program’s host remembers the reading mistake she made during her very first recording session.

Unplanned moments have also influenced the finished adventures. Actors improvise voices between recordings, sing after mistakes, stumble over words, and struggle through lines that refuse to come out correctly. A collection of bloopers shows that even familiar voices need repeated attempts, while the laughter behind the microphones reveals the teamwork beneath the polished performances.

A rapid journey through five hundred seconds revisits decades of familiar people and places. Whit introduces the Imagination Station; Connie protests being the last to know; Eugene wrestles with ordinary conversation; Blackgaard threatens; Kids’ Radio, B-TV, Cryin’ Bryan, and Harlow Doyle take the air; and the Barclays and Rathbones turn family life into cheerful chaos. The many fragments move too quickly to form one plot, but together they recall friendships, mysteries, Bible adventures, inventions, villains, jokes, mistakes, and lessons that have shaped Odyssey.

Through all the changes, the heart of the town remains recognizable. Whit and Eugene look back on a long adventure while believing that the best is still ahead. No one can predict what an ordinary day in Odyssey will bring, because, as Whit explains, “Anything can happen.”