Interview - Paul McCusker

How did you end up working for "Adventures in Odyssey"?
I started working as a freelance writer for Focus on the Family back in 1986 after Chuck Bolte, who was a consultant and actor in their early radio dramas, asked me if I'd consider writing for them. At that time they were working on "Family Portraits" and hadn't started on what was then called "Odyssey USA."

How were you involved in the creation of the show, and in the creation of the original characters?
By the time I was asked to work with them on "Odyssey USA," Steve Harris and Phil Lollar had already fleshed out the two key elements of Odyssey: Whit and the purpose of Whit's End. I remember being very impressed with the detailed biography of Whit they'd written and the great potential of Whit's End as a place that could, ultimately, become anything we needed it to be. Connie was also "in the works" - in that they had some ideas about who she should be, but not the finished character. I remember conversations with Steve about her particularly, and contributed a few ideas that he seemed to like. When I joined the staff in January 1988, the ideas that came out of our regular brainstorming took on more substance: Eugene Meltsner, the development of Tom Riley's wisdom (as opposed to a country bumpkin), the creation of the Imagination Station, the Barclay Family, and many others. No one of us can take credit for a single idea on the show. Everything came out of the creativity of the team.

It's also important to mention how much the actors contributed to the development of our characters. We, as the writers, often adjusted who those characters were based on what the actors brought into the studio - their performances and quirks.

Out of all of the episodes, which one is your favorite?
I'm not inclined to answer this question because there are too many episodes for me to single out as a "favorite." I'm not trying to be mysterious about this, only that there are so many reasons for an episode to be a "favorite." I may have one favorite because of the writing, or another favorite because of the acting or sound-design, or yet another because of fond memories of the experience in the studio with the actors. For example, I have great feelings for "Mortal Coil" that has nothing to do with my part as the writer and director.

What is your current position at Focus?
I'm Vice President of the Focus Resource & Support Group, which means that, ultimately, I'm responsible for all of our audio dramas, publishing, films, magazines, in-house 'agency,' and efforts with our trade and licensing partners. Fortunately we have so many skilled and talented people in place that it makes my job pretty easy. I simply go to a lot of meetings and try to look important.

Do you still do any work for "Adventures in Odyssey"?
Unfortunately, I don't get to work on Odyssey very much these days. My time doesn't give me a chance to write and, much to my frustration, I've found it hard to keep up with reading all of the scripts that Marshal Younger and the team produce. To help out, though, Chuck Bolte (our original Executive Producer) has been consulting with us and I've asked Dave Arnold to take on the mantle of current Executive Producer.

How is the work you did as Executive Producer different from the work you did on the show before that?
I started out as a script writer which, in many ways, is the best job to have from a sheer creative perspective. I then became Producer at the end of 1991, which meant that I was responsible for the overall creation and production of each program - from selecting ideas to approving the finished episode. That job is fun, but it carries more administration with it, meaning that I was filling out more forms, doing paperwork, handling budgets, taking care of the "business" of Odyssey. An "Executive Producer" tends to be the link between the show itself and what it means to be part of a bigger ministry like Focus on the Family. Dave Arnold, who is now the Executive Producer, not only has to work closely with the creation of each program, but he also has to report to the leadership of Focus about the production and management of the show itself. In my current position, if I have any questions about the show, I ask Dave. (Does that make any sense at all?)

What was your favorite part about being on the "Adventures in Odyssey team"?
The creativity of it all as a team - discussing the characters, plot situations, the messages, the future, and knowing that we had a lot of listeners who were out there expecting the very best from us.

Could you tell us a little bit about the new "Adventures in Odyssey" video games?
To be honest, I won't try. Marshal Younger and the team were far more involved in the creation of the AIO games than I was, so you should talk to them. I'll say this: I think Digital Praise did a very good job with what I've seen. The games look great and I've heard from games-players that they're a lot of fun.

What do you think about the changes that have been made in the show since you first started writing for it, and about the overall direction the show is going?
A show like Adventures In Odyssey - when spread out over 17 years and well over 500 episodes - is like riding a roller coaster. We all hope for consistent quality in our work, inspiration with our ideas, and compelling stories and messages that'll keep listeners coming back for more. We've had periods when we weren't quite sure what the future should be, or when we felt we'd done all we could do. And then suddenly there'd be a new idea, a new approach, and we'd be back at with the same energy we had in the early days. Keeping things new and fresh can be very hard, but we try - and try again. Right now I think we've got some really exciting things coming up. More important than my opinion, though, is what the listeners think. We need to know.

Why do you think the show has continued for so many years?
Compelling characters and stories, and solid messages - meaning that our listeners are learning about and gaining new insights into their walks of faith. If we weren't providing clear Biblical messages along with the sheer entertainment of the shows, we'd have never gone this long.

What is one thing you wish you could change in the show’s history (if anything)?
The talking goldfish. But besides that, I think the dynamic of the show over the years is like life itself, ever-changing, with things we're glad we did, alongside other things that may have been difficult at the time but an important learning experience. To change anything would mean changing what the show was becoming, and has become. But, now that you mention it, I still wish I'd done a better job with the writing on some episodes ('Hide & Seek' comes immediately to mind), or had been a stronger director on others ('All The Difference In The World' also comes to mind), or been able to take more time with ideas that were still undeveloped when we rushed into the studio to do them.

How did you come up with your ideas for the Novacom saga? Did you think that it would last as long as it did when you first started it?
The core story idea came when I was returning from England in 2000 to become the Executive Producer. My feeling at the time was that I really needed to connect with the team, some I'd worked with before, others I hadn't. In the past, when we found ourselves pulling at the seams creatively, we developed a 'mini-series' to get back together. Common goals are a great unifier. So I had this 'what if?' idea about converting brainwaves to radiowaves, and vice versa. What if it could be done - and how might that impact the world, for good or bad? I scribbled out some notes about it all and took it to the team, who then brought their talents to bear to turn those into ideas into even better ideas and into what you've heard.

And, no, I didn't expect it to last 36 episodes - or whatever it turned out to be. But if that's what it takes to tell a good story, then I'm all for it (remembering that I'm the one who did our very first three-parter).