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The Odyssey (TV series): Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"We're all Wreckers. We dream, we wreck what's real; we wake, and we wreck our dreams. It's very complex."''|'''Brad Ziegler''' to his son, '''Jay'''}}
No, not [[
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.
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.
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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 [[Cult of Personality|personality cult
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.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Adventures in Coma Land]]: the central premise of the series.
* [[Affably Evil]]: Macro, who always comes across as charming and laid-back, even though he {{spoiler|deposed Brad and secretly took over the Tower as supreme ruler.}}
* [[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.▼
* [[Alternate Self]]: see [[But You Were There]] below.
▲* [[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.
* [[The Atoner]]: of all people, Keith / Flash. He feels responsible for causing Jay's accident.
* [[But You Were There and You
** 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.
* [[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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** 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.
* [[Face Heel Turn]]: {{spoiler|Alpha}} in season 2, when {{spoiler|she fears that Jay's merging of the two worlds will result in her becoming crippled}}.
* [[Freudian Trio]]: Jay, Flash and Alpha.
** Specifically, they are a [[Freudian Trio]]:▼
*** [[The McCoy|Flash]], the [[The Big Guy|bruiser]] who likes to follow his impulses;▼
*** [[The Spock|Alpha]], the [[The Smart Girl|librarian]] who advises caution and planning;▼
*** [[The Kirk|Jay]], who is guided by both.▼
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Finger. When he appears at Jay's trial in episode 2, it seems like he was given that name purely so he could be introduced:
{{quote|
* [[Hall of Mirrors]]: a highly symbolic one in one episode, which leads to:
** [[The Man in
* [[High Heel Face Turn]]: {{spoiler|Medea}} in season 2. {{spoiler|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.}}
* [[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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* [[Plot Coupon]]: The checkpoint tokens in season 1.
* [[Police State]]: No one dares disobey the Monitors, and they don't need a reason to arrest you or beat you up.
* [[
▲** Specifically, they are a [[Freudian Trio]]:
▲*** [[The McCoy|Flash]], the [[The Big Guy|bruiser]] who likes to follow his impulses;
▲*** [[The Spock|Alpha]], the [[The Smart Girl|librarian]] who advises caution and planning;
▲*** [[The Kirk|Jay]], who is guided by both.
* [[The Quest]]
* [[The Starscream]]: Finger never openly deposes Macro, but by the third season he has so thoroughly eroded Macro's authority that the latter [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|pretty much disappears]]. A rather fitting fate, given that Macro usurped the child version of Brad, who originally ruled Downworld.
* [[Trauma
** 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.
* [[Vision Quest]]: Jay's journey in Downworld is very much this.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Canadian Series]]
[[Category:The Odyssey (TV series)]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odyssey (TV series), The}}
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