Returning to Oz Episode Reviews

Produced by Aaron Pacentine
Co-Produced By Aaron Schultz
With Jason Cottle, Travis Black, David Reddish, Joshua Dudley & Vince Porter
(Former Episodes Recorded With Celia Foster & Dexter Fabi)

Episode Reviews By Jared Davis

Jared Davis, of Dorothy & Ozma Productions directly from Missouri has agreed to officially write out episode reviews on our radio show, "RETURNING TO OZ". Thanks for reading and enjoy !

This is one of the best episodes, if not the best, that Aaron Pacentine has put together. Not because I'm on it, but because the many people Aaron interview in this one 64 minute episode are able to present a well-rounded scope on Oz in general. (Though not too much about the books is spoken, or Wicked.)

After regular introductions, Aaron announces that this is Travis Black's first episode. In fact, you may notice that Aaron even mentions that this is episode 18, though you believed it was 21. No, you haven't been lied to, this is the 21st episode. Aaron used the unreleased version of episode 18 to "frame" this one.

Producer Aaron Schultz takes time to talk about Emma Ridley, the actress who so beautifully played Ozma in Disney's Return to Oz. Some of this information is also on Aaron Schultz's website: WaltDisneysReturnToOz.com. I'd suggest reading it as well as listening to this part.

Then we Ease On Down The Road to Yours Truly, who pauses and says "um" a LOT near the beginning. Later on, I get over it. I should sound better in any possible future episodes that I may appear in. We'll see.

Anyhoo, Aaron and Jared Davis (me) talk about a variety of subjects, including the two most Popular Oz movies of all time, their scores, the Dorothy & Ozma Productions website, the Oz screenplays that I'm working on with Sam Antony Milazzo (though I didn't mention him, sorry, Sam!), the title Return to Oz had in Italy, the movie The Tramps & The Wizard of Oroz from Brazil, and the Russian Adventures in the Emerald City series.

Next we move on to Derrick Davis (as far as I know, no relation, though I wouldn't mind), who has many comments on Disney's Return to Oz.

Travis Black closes the show with his story of actually seeing a pair of Ruby Slippers used in MGM's The Wizard of Oz.

Enjoyable music is used to transition between the interviews.

All in all, a very solid episode, well worth the time it takes to download it... except now, you don't have to do that anymore! Episode 21 is hosted in eight parts on ZShare.net, and when you click on the link to a certain episode, it will open a page where the file will actually play, thanks to Flash technology. You can also follow links to download each part. (Note: on the final downloading page for each part, Internet Explorer 7 will block the download, but right-click on the "please click here to start it now" link and selecting "Save Target As..." will let you download it.) It has also been announced that all future episode will be released this way.

While using the new feature to listen to each part may be preferable to some, I recommend downloading them, so you can play all eight parts without having to load the next part.

So what are you waiting for? Go listen to (or download) it!

Thoughts & Opinions on the 1st Anniversary of RETURNING TO OZ Episode # 20

Episode # 20

For those of you who are unfamiliar with "Returning to Oz," it began a year ago (in fact the 20th episode was to celebrate the 1-year anniversary) with Aaron Pacentine of www.videosforfamily.com and Celia Foster, who ran an extensive website dedicated to Disney's "Return to Oz." (Sadly, the website is no longer available, but another website has appeared that has taken it's place, more on that later.) The episodes were available to download from the Videos For Family website in .mp3 files. This gave downloaders the ease to use the files to either listen to on their computers, burn them to audio or MP3 CDs, or send them to their iPods or other MP3 Player.

The first thirteen episodes focused mainly on the production of Disney's "Return to Oz," before the announcement that the series would now contain conversations about Oz in general. (Although the next two episodes did have "Return to Oz" themes.) Aaron continued the show, and presently hosts it with Aaron Schultz of www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com, the afore mentioned "Return to Oz" website.

The twentieth episode is a delight. It features music, which does not detract from the conversations at all, and skits, the best of which is a phone call to Mr. Pacentine from none other than Judy Garland, the Dorothy of 1939. ("The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated." - Mark Twain) Of course, it is a highly skilled imitator, but when you just listen, you could be easily fooled by one of the greatest bits of "humbuggery" since Forgotten Silver or a man behind the curtain...

If you haven't yet heard this, go to http://www.videosforfamily.com/returntoozshow.htm, and start "Returning to Oz."

Last night I discovered that the 19th episode of Aaron Pacentine's "Returning to Oz" has been released onto the Internet. Aaron usually sends an e-mail and posts this at the International Wizard of Oz Club's message board, but none this time.

In this episode, Aaron, Aaron Schultz, Jason Cottle and Travis Black talk about the Oz books, a few movies, a bit of how they'd like to see a new film version of Oz, the Annotated Wizard of Oz by Michael Patrick Hearn (though they couldn't remember his name), and noting that, based on the press kits, Disney's Return to Oz seems to have been more honestly advertised in the United Kingdom than in the United States. (Here in the U.S., it was advertised as a fun family fantasy film.) Also, Aaron Pacentine interviews Joshua Dudley, author of the book Lost in Oz which is now serving as the basis for a comic book series. (Maybe when I can afford to, I'll pick up a copy.) Aside from talking about the books and comics, Joshua also talks about his Oz collection, including Illusive Art's photocomic Dorothy and McDonald's Madame Alexander dolls, the first time these two topics have been mentioned on this show.

Once again, the episode can be downloded at http://www.videosforfamily.com/returntoozshow.htm.