If you’re like me, you visit Odyssey websites more than any other sites. The Odyssey online community is a place I enjoy hanging out, whether it be lurking or interacting. One of the things I like doing in my free time is browsing through various Odyssey fan websites. Whether they are active or inactive, all Odyssey websites interest me. I enjoy hearing the opinions of other fans, from the past or present. Odyssey websites are places on the internet that all AIO fans will frequent and even run.

In this post, I’ll be going through a few of my favorite Odyssey fansites that I enjoy visiting. I won’t be going through active sites, but the sites that are no longer updated. Why would I want to hang around defunct websites? Well, partially because I enjoy studying history and knowing what the people of the past were like and hearing first-hand from them what they thought of things that were new at the time. Reading through old Odyssey websites is like that. When we read Odyssey blogs that are currently active, I notice that most (not all, but a good amount) of the time, the content that is covered is current events (Rydell Saga, Buck Oliver, the relaunch, etc.). Every fan from a different era of Odyssey has a different opinion, and I think it’s pretty cool to see what they were thinking of new episodes of their time that we may not give much thought to today due to it being “old news”.

You might expect me to link to the classic old websites such as AIO Headquarters or The Voice of Odyssey, but not really. Let me tell you, some of the websites I am about to bring up are never even talked about. Or if at all mentioned, it is very seldomly. Probably because many don’t know they once existed. These sites are not even listed on AIOWiki’s List of Websites page. Most of these old websites can only be viewed on Archive.org because the domains have expired. That’s right; in this post I will be talking about the forgotten Odyssey websites! (Insert scary music here)

I discovered them by looking through old posts on The Town of Odyssey Message Boards back in 2020 and seeing some of them referenced. My curiosity was piqued. After finding that the domains no longer exist, I did some research and tried Archive.org which actually provided images of the websites and allowed me to browse them! So, in this post I will be talking about a few I enjoy visiting. I’ll be including the links in the logos so those interested can also browse the sites.

Switchflood

The Logo

The website, which was started in the year 2000 by Dan Shane, has a title that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with AIO. But the site was very AIO-focused. It included interviews with Odyssey fans and team members. It also had a bunch of episode reviews from reviews of some of the old episodes to reviews of the newest ones (at the time the online AIO Fans were in the middle of Novacom Sage with Album 36: Danger Signals just releasing, so you get to read first-hand accounts of those who were going through the saga for the first time, which is pretty cool). It also had fan fiction; I haven’t had time to read all of it, but it is well-written and has an interesting plot. My favorite part of the site is the articles. Some are about the current episodes of the time, the split episodes, which were releasing. There are others about the Imagination Station and wish lists of things to see in the future. There are opinions of all sorts on various topics of the time which I enjoy reading. Be sure to browse around.

Eugene Forever

The logo for the site run by EugeneFan

This site was once an extremely popular site. It started in 2004, around the time when Eugene was absent from the show because of Will Ryan’s hiatus. There was a page called ‘Where’s Eugene?’, where the fans wrote about where Eugene was. After his return, the feature was changed to a what-should-Eugene-do-now-that-he’s-back page, where the fans wrote their ideas. The owner of the site, EugeneFan, was very active on The Town of Odyssey Messages Boards in 2005 when this site was up and running. The official site, Whitsend.org even once mentioned EugeneFan by name on its blog! This site gave the latest Odyssey news and reviewed the newest episodes. It also did interviews with members of the Odyssey team, including Odyssey co-creator Steve Harris, who talked about his experiences, and what he was currently working on at the time. One of the coolest features on this site is an article written by EugeneFan, about how he went to the Eugene Sings live concert in 2005. This concert was mentioned in Official Podcast 59, but not much else is known about it. Here he gives many details about the concert. There are several pictures, too. I have no idea when this site ended. I’m guessing sometime around 2007, when album 47 was releasing. Be sure to check it out.

AIO Info

The Logo

I’m unsure of when this site first started, but I’m guessing sometime in 2003. AIO Info included a section of all the AIO albums, episodes that were currently airing on the radio, and episode information, I think; somewhat similar elements to what AIOWiki is today. It also had episode reviews and a regularly updated section with a question for fans to state their opinions on. Sadly, not very much of it is archived, but it is still fun to read what is there.

AIO Radio

The logo

AIO Radio, run by Stephanie Curtis, was started in 2004 I believe. It contained very unique features: An academic paper about Eugene Meltsner’s performative aptitude, a section on William Shakespeare in regard to AIO, and SWOT analysis on different characters in Odyssey. It also has reviews of various Odyssey albums. It also reported the latest Odyssey news, revealing the titles of upcoming episodes and giving thoughts on them. I am unsure when the site ended, but I assume sometime shortly after 2005. With so many unique features, I can’t choose a favorite. I enjoyed reading through the various unique features, so be sure to check it out.

Frank’s Breakfast Inn

Unfortunately, whatever logo this site used to have was not saved anywhere. But seriously, this site is pretty cool. The webmaster (who was also active on The Town of Odyssey Message Boards) had Frank write about his experience running the breakfast inn and chronicling stories about some of the guests who came by. It also had a cool trivia page where Odyssey questions were listed, along with answers, perfect for quizzing fellow fans. In addition to episode reviews, there is an excellent section of opinion articles all about fascinating topics. The site ran for about two years and ended at the end of 2005 with a farewell message from Frank. My favorite parts of the site are the opinion articles and the stories about the guests who visit (the story about the Rathbones visiting is hilarious!). Feel free to browse around.

Well, although there are a TON of others, these are just a few of the many Odyssey websites from the past that I enjoy visiting. Reading through them all, I’ve learned quite a bit. One thing I’ve learned is that although the genral design and organization of Odyssey fansites of the past years have changed, the Odyssey fans themselves of the different eras haven’t changed very much. In each site, I noticed that to some extent they were the same as what goes on in the Odyssey online community today. Episode reviews, the latest Odyssey news, and fan fiction; these are all features found on fansites today. Each fan has a different opinion about episodes and shares them, they report the latest Odyssey news, and they visit other sites to read the opinions of others. Like I said, not very much has changed, and that is something I like about the AIO online community. Every fan is brought together by their enjoyment of AIO.

The Adventures in Odyssey fans reflect their love for the show through their talents. Whether it be through poetry, writing, drawing, or website hosting, they use their talents to create AIO-related things. It is something that I find to be very inspiring as I browse through the fan websites of the past and present.

-Signed, Polehaus53
Advertisement