Characters Make the Show

You've got to have lovable characters in a regular television show or radio drama. When I think of my favorite television shows I think of the characters which made those shows stand out from similar stuff on television at the same time. Murder, She Wrote was so much more fun than Matlock because I loved Jessica Fletcher's warm character and the bumbling small-town sheriff. Andy Griffith and Barney Fife (along with some of the other regular characters) were the reason why The Andy Griffith Show is so memorable. You get the idea--if you like the main characters of a show, you're more likely to become addicted to it.

Whit, Connie, and Eugene are the main characters of AIO. These three are the constant, lovable characters that we find almost every week on AIO. Or that we hope to find that often. There are times when they're not around so often or when they act oddly. But at least this season the AIO writers seem to be catching on--AIO fans cannot get enough of these classic characters. Of the first five shows this season, four of them have featured Whit, Connie, and Eugene as main characters. The decision to give these old and much-loved characters center stage and relegate new characters like Matthew and Red Hollard to the wings has been a very wise choice, and has meant that album 51 has been less painful for AIO fans so far.

In "Fast As I Can," all of the characters, except for Matthew, are ones that have been around since before the hiatus. We like hearing from Whit, Connie, Eugene, and Wooton, if only because we know them so well. And they did indeed sound like our old friends: Eugene was back to using big words, Whit was being wise and knowledgeable, and Connie was wearing that green sweater that she's had on since 1992. Even Wooton wasn't as annoying as he often can be, except for when his duck Gertrude appeared. The return of Mrs. Randolph was unnecessary, but it did prove that AIO characters don't have to be heard every album to still be around (and if someone had to tempt Wooton with delicacies, why not someone on his mail route that we've heard from before?).

There was lots of good humor in this show, particularly with Eugene's fast. The IS adventure was somewhat humorous as well, although I was left thinking, "was that it?" But the humor wasn't too silly, and thankfully didn't overshadow the messages of the show. I loved how Matthew and Wooton began to care more for people as a result of their fasts, and especially liked Wooton's idea to pray through the phone book.

In the final analysis "Fast As I Can" is kind of average. I enjoyed the episode, possibly more than any other album 52 show so far, but there were a few elements that I didn't like about it. But the premise and lesson were great, and it was a fun show to listen to. Oh, and the characters were really well-written! :-) Although I would've been happier if the show hadn't ended with them chasing a duck...

Rating: 7/10