Family Portraits is an album that contains all 13 episodes of Family Portraits, the pilot series that led to the creation of Adventures in Odyssey. It was originally released in 1987 on four cassettes. It was re-released in 2012 as a digital download.
In 1987, Family Portraits, a radio drama series, aired on the Focus on the Family broadcast to see if the Christian community would respond to a new form of entertainment as an alternative to Saturday morning cartoons. Thirteen episodes were written and produced and are contained within the album, complete with the wrap-around commentary by Dr. James Dobson and co-host Mike Trout.
The show captured the hearts and imaginations of listeners - young and old and continued on to gain full production status at Focus on the Family after a largely positive reaction by the listening audience.
The Album
All 13 episodes of the Family Portraits series were released in a four-cassette album in 1987. As Adventures in Odyssey became more popular, the album quickly became a collector's item. Although some episodes of Family Portraits were released as a part of the Gold Audio Series, the full series did not become available again until December 2012, when Focus on the Family made all 13 episodes available for digital download. In 2014, Family Portraits was also released as part of the Adventures in Odyssey Club.
Description
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This heart-warming collection of 13 family-oriented stories follows the continuing adventures of John Avery Whittaker (Whit) and his friends and the residents of the town of Odyssey. Through their everyday foibles and frustrations, these characters illuminate the daily struggles we all face: sibling rivalry, the consequences of lying, the effects of divorce on kids, peer pressure, teen rebellion and the relationship between children and their parents among other themes.
Whit finds a young boy named Davey Morrison hiding in his garage. The boy's parents are getting separated, and Whit realizes Davey needs some help coping with the pain.
Emily Forbes loves the dentist. But when her older brother frightens her with lies about her teeth, she fears Dr. Graves is going to pull all of them out!
Budgie likes to exaggerate and his cousin Jamie Wentworth feels he just can't trust him anymore. After an incredibly over-the-top tale, Whit helps both Jamie and Budgie deal with their differences and accept each other for who they are.
Phillip Callas gets angry during baseball practice and tells his younger brother Dean Callas to go home. When Dean doesn't return home, the police get involved and try to track down the boy.
After her father embarrasses her in front of a friend, Stacey refuses to speak to him. Her mother intervenes and tries to prove to her how much her father actually loves her.
The Hudson family is having trouble with peer pressure. The daughter, Blair Hudson, decides not be friends with a guy who is not considered 'in' and her father, Richard Hudson, puts down a co-worker to fit in.
Amanda and Vic Hardwick are a married couple who disagree about Christianity. Amanda is convinced that she must persuade Vic to accept the gospel so he won't go to hell.
Whit's grandson Monty comes to visit him but starts causing problems for Whit and the rest of the town when Monty starts acting strangely, feeling his grandfather has been treating him unfairly.
Whit's grandson Monty comes to visit him but starts causing problems for Whit and the rest of the town when Monty starts acting strangely, feeling his grandfather has been treating him unfairly.
