Go Behind the Scenes

September 22, 2003. Burbank, California. We were about to launch a brand new radio series in a brand new studio, with a brand new cast, and a brand new producer. In so many ways, things could have gone very bad very quickly.

In just six weeks, Bob Vernon, Marshal Younger and I had outlined, written and re-written 12 LCD shows. (To give you some perspective, it normally takes about four to six weeks to write one Adventures in Odyssey show!)

And now, in Burbank, something amazing was happening. It was all coming together. The cast was clicking. The equipment was working. Nobody’s hair caught on fire. Over seven days, we recorded some outstanding performances and some very fun shows.

The kids enjoyed working with each other (they still talk about the great time they had). Adam Wylie (Mike) was the heartbeat of enthusiasm for the show, and a great encourager to the others (he kept them all entertained with his amazing card tricks). Daryl Sabara (Ben) was a blast to work with (especially his hilarious “pop rocks” scene in “Last Flight of the Dragon Lady”) — he kept us laughing. AJ Noel (Spence) amazed us with his ability to pop out those big words without breaking a sweat (“Based on the laws of quantum mechanics, scientists believe it’s theoretically possible for a black hole to produce gravitation waves, or immediate spatial displacement.”). And Mae Whitman (Winnie) brought tremendous depth to key scenes, such as her one-sided conversation with her grandmother in "The Day Ambrosia Stood Still"

We had a great team of actors, engineers and directors. But the real credit goes to the true behind-the-scenes Director: God. Every day, we asked for His blessing and asked Him to bind the enemy. And God came through for us — big time.

Working on the Last Chance Detectives was a lot like the series itself: exciting action (12 shows in six weeks), faith-building lessons (We prayed a lot) with a twist of mystery (We often asked ourselves, “Will it all come together?”).

Exactly six months later, March 22, 2004, a group of us gathered in Jonathan Crowe’s Studio G to listen to "The Day Ambrosia Stood Still" — the premiere episode of the Last Chance Detectives radio series. The sound, music and performances all worked. As I listened, I could “feel” the rain coming down as Jason Whittaker sat there in his car after his weird accident. I could “see” the inside of the beloved B-17 as Mike took Jason on a tour and introduced us to the Last Chance Detectives. And when the mysterious earthquake struck the Last Chance Diner, it felt like I was actually there.

During the playback, I was surrounded by award-winning producers, sound designers and engineers — the same talented team who bring you Adventures in Odyssey and Radio Theatre. After the show, I heard comments like, “Good show.” “Good story!” “I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.” And, “I think our fans will really enjoy this!”

And we hope you do! It’s been a fun adventure putting this series together for you. Now, let us know what you think!

Robert Vernon first created the Last Chance Detectives as a live-action film series (available this summer on DVD). Although Robert has directed many films (including the Adventures in Odyssey animated series), this was his first plunge into directing radio. He wrote and directed the third installment of LCD: “Last Flight of the Dragon Lady.”

“In live action [film], it’s start, stop, start, stop, but with radio, it was cool to see an entire scene played out right before your eyes. In three to four hours we had a show done.”

He also enjoyed the actors. “We had a fun cast to work with. It was just a kick.” It was interesting to compare the cast of the LCD film series to the cast of the LCD radio series. “Ben was still Ben, but it was definitely Daryl’s interpretation.”

Robert says it was a fun recording session. He attributes this to another factor behind the scenes. “We prayed and prayed and prayed over this. We saw the power of prayer.”