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The Odyssey

188 statements
36 feature instances
6 referencing feature instances

The Odyssey	type	TVTItem
The Odyssey	label	The Odyssey
The Odyssey	page	TheOdyssey
The Odyssey	comment	No, not the Greek epic about the Trojan War or the show with Anna Friel in.This Odyssey, originally named The Jellybean Odyssey, was a Canadian kids' TV show that ran in the early 90s. While it shared many production traits (and even occasional cast members) with such other Canadian-produced shows as Are You Afraid of the Dark?, what set this show apart was its unusually sophisticated premise.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The story follows Jay Ziegler, an 11-year-old kid who lives with his widowed mom. In the pilot episode, Jay wants to join a tree-house club run by local tough kid Keith and is prepared to do anything to get in - including snubbing his only friend, the bookish and leg-braced Donna, and showing Keith his dad's precious telescope. Keith tricks Jay and steals the telescope; while trying to get it back, Jay falls from the tree-house, hits his head, and goes into a coma.And here's where it got interesting.While comatose, Jay finds himself in a fantasy world where no one ever reaches the age 16. Without adults, the kids have formed their own society, comprising exclusive clubs that shun outsiders. Their leader is Brad, a 15-year-old who "knows everything" and is apparently the centre of a personality cult / police state enforced by the oldest kids, who live in opulent luxury in the Tower. Jay sets out on a journey to return home, accompanied by Flash and Alpha (fantasy-world parallels of Keith and Donna). In doing so he becomes a fugitive, pursued by the Tower kids who fear he is 'the Wrecker' who will bring back the adults and end their reign of power.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Meanwhile, in the real world, Jay's mother and a coma therapist try to get Jay to regain consciousness, with Keith and Donna's help.As the series progressed, it became clear that Brad is actually a memory of Jay's father at a younger age. Over seasons 1 and 2, Jay's journey evolved into a quest to find his dad and come to terms with the mysterious circumstances of the father-son fishing trip that lead to his father's death.Season 3 had Jay out of his coma and physically recovered, though still dealing with issues in the world of his subconscious; this shift in tone and content for the series met with mixed success and the show was cancelled on a cliffhanger.Essentially Life On Mars meets Lord of the Flies, the show combined the typical action and comedy of a kids' adventure serial with some thoughtful philosophy and symbolism, a big dose of meaningful drama and some surprisingly strong acting. Though never a runaway smash, the sheer originality of the series made it a favourite with its fans.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })After being off the air for more than ten years, in 2009 the show was given a limited release on DVD (albeit at a rather high price), specifically as a collectors' item for real die-hard fans.
The Odyssey	fetched	2021-11-29T15:27:16Z
The Odyssey	parsed	2021-11-29T15:27:16Z
The Odyssey	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Odyssey / int_17ce80aa	type	All There in the Manual
The Odyssey / int_17ce80aa	comment	All There in the Manual: according to promotional material for the show, Jay's fantasy world was called Downworld, whilst the real world was referred to as Upworld. Neither name was ever used in the TV show.
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The Odyssey / int_1bf3170b	type	The McCoy
The Odyssey / int_1bf3170b	comment	Flash, the bruiser who likes to follow his impulses;
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The Odyssey / int_1c3423d6	type	The Quest
The Odyssey / int_1c3423d6	comment	The Quest
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The Odyssey / int_1c4e308e	type	The Spock
The Odyssey / int_1c4e308e	comment	Alpha, the librarian who advises caution and planning;
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The Odyssey / int_1d434991	type	The Man in the Mirror Talks Back
The Odyssey / int_1d434991	comment	The Man in the Mirror Talks Back. Both Jay and Flash experience this.
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The Odyssey / int_285f34c7	type	World of Symbolism
The Odyssey / int_285f34c7	comment	World of Symbolism: all kinds of weird stuff happens in Downworld, which can be explained by the fact that it's Jay's subconscious.
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The Odyssey / int_28cd01ca	type	Disappeared Dad
The Odyssey / int_28cd01ca	comment	Disappeared Dad: Jay's father. It turns out he faked his own death.
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The Odyssey / int_339e22e7	type	Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds
The Odyssey / int_339e22e7	comment	Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: Jay. In season 2 we learn why Jay is the Wrecker: every time Jay starts to wake up from his coma, Downworld starts to disintegrate and merge with our world. This seems to get disregarded in season 3. However, though Jay is awake in season 3, it's strongly implied that part of his mind (or at the very least his subconscious) is still in Downworld: When Jay experiences an event or develops a relationship in the real world, it tends to trickle down to his "other self" as well.
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The Odyssey / int_3c7d0418	type	Doom Magnet
The Odyssey / int_3c7d0418	comment	Doom Magnet: Jay. His attempts to return home cause nothing but trouble for him, Flash and Alpha.
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The Odyssey / int_3dcc914f	type	Took a Level in Kindness
The Odyssey / int_3dcc914f	comment	Took a Level in Kindness: Keith is a bit of a Jerkass and a bully at first, but becomes The Atoner when he feels responsible for Jay's accident.
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The Odyssey / int_4ef92d0b	type	The Atoner
The Odyssey / int_4ef92d0b	comment	The Atoner: of all people, Keith / Flash. He feels responsible for causing Jay's accident.
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The Odyssey / int_537dd8fe	type	Affably Evil
The Odyssey / int_537dd8fe	comment	Affably Evil: Macro, who always comes across as charming and laid-back, even though he deposed Brad and secretly took over the Tower as supreme ruler.
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The Odyssey / int_5527dc0c	type	Plot Coupon
The Odyssey / int_5527dc0c	comment	Plot Coupon: The checkpoint tokens in season 1.
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The Odyssey / int_6bda9a30	type	Meaningful Name
The Odyssey / int_6bda9a30	comment	Meaningful Name: Several. Flash, the heroic fighter. Alpha, the book-smart librarian. Medea, who dabbles in witchcraft and is manipulative. Fractal, the resident scientist. Finger, who hunts down and arrests people.
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The Odyssey / int_7c5960bf	type	Hall of Mirrors
The Odyssey / int_7c5960bf	comment	Hall of Mirrors: A highly symbolic one in one episode, which leads to: The Man in the Mirror Talks Back. Both Jay and Flash experience this.
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The Odyssey / int_830f2f0e	type	Police State
The Odyssey / int_830f2f0e	comment	Police State: No one dares disobey the Monitors, and they don't need a reason to arrest you or beat you up.
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The Odyssey / int_a3c0d670	type	Evil Chancellor
The Odyssey / int_a3c0d670	comment	Evil Chancellor: Macro. It's mentioned in passing that he used to be Brad's head Monitor, until Brad spent too long away from his throne and Macro took over. And later, Finger. He starts off as an ambitious Monitor in season 1, becomes Macro's right-hand man in season 2 and openly covets supreme power in season 3.
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The Odyssey / int_a6c69bd	type	MacGuffin
The Odyssey / int_a6c69bd	comment	MacGuffin: The telescope. A constant thread throughout season 1 is Jay's pressing objective to return the telescope to Brad. Several episodes involve him wagering it, breaking it or in some way putting it at risk. After he does return it, the telescope is never mentioned again.
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The Odyssey / int_ad4578de	type	Hollow World
The Odyssey / int_ad4578de	comment	Hollow World: Fractal proposes this theory, along with the idea that there could be worlds within worlds. Makes a neat metaphor for Jay's different levels of consciousness.
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The Odyssey / int_af3ea0e3	type	Faceâ€“Heel Turn
The Odyssey / int_af3ea0e3	comment	Face–Heel Turn: Alpha in season 2, when she fears that Jay's merging of the two worlds will result in her becoming crippled.
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The Odyssey / int_b3aa5504	type	Convenient Coma
The Odyssey / int_b3aa5504	comment	Convenient Coma: Solidly in the middle of a sliding scale if this trope had one. In the early post-awakening episodes Jay's in a wheelchair and slowly regains his physical independence, but completely escapes lasting brain damage and it seems the most durable effect of the coma is having to catch up on two years of missed school.
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The Odyssey / int_b63019a5	type	High-Heelâ€“Face Turn
The Odyssey / int_b63019a5	comment	High-Heel–Face Turn: Medea in season 2. She eventually realises that Jay honestly doesn't want to destroy her world, becomes sympathetic of his quest to find his father, and even becomes attracted to him.
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The Odyssey / int_b66a24a7	type	Trauma-Induced Amnesia
The Odyssey / int_b66a24a7	comment	Trauma-Induced Amnesia: When Jay first arrives in Downworld after his injury, he can't remember how he got there; nor can he remember much about home, except that he has to get there. Also a possible case of Laser-Guided Amnesia: he remembers his mother, but doesn't recognise Flash (Keith) or Alpha (Donna). As his journey progresses, he finds items that help him reclaim his memories.
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The Odyssey / int_b72ae7	type	Omnidisciplinary Scientist
The Odyssey / int_b72ae7	comment	Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Fractal, the Tower's go-to guy for anything scientific.
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The Odyssey / int_bcba27a1	type	Putting on the Reich
The Odyssey / int_bcba27a1	comment	Putting on the Reich: Brad's outfit.
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The Odyssey / int_bef696dd	type	Mind Screw
The Odyssey / int_bef696dd	comment	Mind Screw: As the series wears on, the line between 'Jay's subconscious' and 'parallel dimension' starts to blur, particularly as Jay is evidently not the only real world kid to experience Downworld. Some of the symbolism starts to get quite weird, too - such as the circus trick in which Jay has to shoot his father who is dressed in Brad's uniform ...
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The Odyssey / int_c36cba70	type	Mooks
The Odyssey / int_c36cba70	comment	Mooks: The Monitors, the Tower's police force.
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The Odyssey / int_c67e470	type	But You Were There, and You, and You
The Odyssey / int_c67e470	comment	But You Were There, and You, and You: to begin with, Flash (Keith) and Alpha (Donna); as the series wears on, characters who originally appeared in Downworld are also revealed to have doubles in the real world (most notably Medea / Sierra Jones). It's ambiguous as to what extent they are just figments of Jay's imagination. There seems to be some overlap between the worlds: Sierra Jones first appears as a fellow coma patient moments after Medea obtains the Vest of Power (supposedly an artifact that lets you move between worlds). In the third season, Jay meets Nikki in the real world at almost the exact time Baz reappears as an assassin in Downworld.
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The Odyssey / int_d5e4c678	type	Adventures in Comaland
The Odyssey / int_d5e4c678	comment	Adventures In Coma Land: the central premise of the series.
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The Odyssey / int_de9c7ad5	type	Vision Quest
The Odyssey / int_de9c7ad5	comment	Vision Quest: Jay's journey in Downworld is very much this.
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The Odyssey / int_e602a3	type	The Kirk
The Odyssey / int_e602a3	comment	Jay, who is guided by both.
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The Odyssey / int_e7b0229a	type	Laser-Guided Amnesia
The Odyssey / int_e7b0229a	comment	Also a possible case of Laser-Guided Amnesia: he remembers his mother, but doesn't recognise Flash (Keith) or Alpha (Donna). As his journey progresses, he finds items that help him reclaim his memories.
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The Odyssey / int_e8cae797	type	Freudian Trio
The Odyssey / int_e8cae797	comment	Freudian Trio: Flash, the bruiser who likes to follow his impulses; Alpha, the librarian who advises caution and planning; Jay, who is guided by both.
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The Odyssey / int_eedee4d	type	The Starscream
The Odyssey / int_eedee4d	comment	The Starscream: Finger never openly deposes Macro, but by the third season he has so thoroughly eroded Macro's authority that the latter pretty much disappears. A rather fitting fate, given that Macro usurped the child version of Brad, who originally ruled Downworld.
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The Odyssey / int_fceae121	type	Alternate Self
The Odyssey / int_fceae121	comment	Alternate Self: see But You Were There, and You, and You below.
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Odyssey	hasFeature	Adventures in Comaland / int_125eb10e
The Odyssey	hasFeature	Convenient Coma / int_125eb10e
The Odyssey	hasFeature	Dead to Begin With / int_125eb10e
The Odyssey	hasFeature	The Tower / int_125eb10e
The Odyssey	hasFeature	There Are No Adults / int_125eb10e
The Odyssey	hasFeature	Too Good to Last / int_125eb10e

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