Wednesday, April 22, 2009

AIO Live! Preview

Almost eight months to this day, I sat in the Focus auditorium with over a thousand Odyssey fans, cheering, laughing, and watching in sheer amazement as the actors performed BTV: Live! It truly was a once in a lifetime experience like never before. While I knew they were recording the episode, I didn't know that they would be producing a DVD product - and am I ever glad they chose to do so. Not only will it give me and the five thousand other fans who attended a chance to relive the moment, but it'll give the rest of you the opportunity to check out what you missed!

I recently received a preview copy of the DVD from Focus - here's a quick preview of what you should expect:



1. B-TV: Live! Motion Slideshow

This 45-minute presentation features numerous video clips and hundreds of photos from all three shows. What I particularly enojoyed about the slideshow were all the close-ups of the actors. You don't truly get an appreciation for what the actors do until you actually see them perform. I was somewhat disappointed the video quality wasn't consistent throughout the entire slideshow, but most of it is pretty good. The seventeen minutes of footage accounts for over one-third of the presentation and it's absolutely hilarious to watch. Check out a short clip from the show by clicking the play button below.



At the end of the show, there's also a 3-minute blooper segment with Chris Anthony desperately trying to pronounce, Rashonmyfeet, one of the characters in the show. Hilarious.

2. Event Slideshow

This 5-minute presentation features 43 photos recapping the everything from the live shows, podcast recordings, autograph session... and lots of cast and crew photos. Great stuff!



3. Fan on the Street Interviews

They aired this same 5-minute clip on the Official Podcast, but it's nice to have a high resolution version of the interviews. I'm definitely liking the new question menus!





4. Special Call-In Broadcast

Back in 2007, during Odyssey's official 20th anniversary, they had a special two-part tribute to the show on Focus' daily broadcast with John Fuller and Dr. James Dobson. Hearing from fans across the country (and even one caller from Australia!) express their appreciation for Odyssey is a huge treat and something you won't want to miss. I found it interesting that they included this segment on the DVD rather than the CD, especially considering this is something you might want to listen in your car rather than watch on your TV.



Overall, I was extremely impressed with the DVD. I'm glad it was edited and produced at 16:9 widescreen format rather than the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. It looks great on the HD television, that's for sure! Adventures in Odyssey: Live! will be available on May 1st. If you haven't already pre-ordered your copy, I highly recommend doing it now - the links are in the sidebar.