A Day in the Life

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#158: “A Day in the Life”
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32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

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A Day in the Life

“A Day in the Life” is episode #158 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written by Paul McCusker, and originally aired on July 13, 1991.

Summary

A movie crew comes to Odyssey to film a movie about Whit's End! But the Odyssey gang soon learns that Hollywood isn't interested in the facts.

Plot

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Whit writes a story about the people of Odyssey called “A Day in the Life.” He sends it to his agent, and the agent gives it to a publisher. The publisher brings it to the attention of a movie producer, who wants to make it into a motion picture. And so Hollywood descends on Odyssey.

Director Marty Scoresberg and his crew arrive and turn the place upside-down. They change not only Whit’s story, but rewrite some of the characters, eliminate others, fabricate scenes, and add nonexistent structures and even a beach front to the mid-western town! Whit and the others complain loudly, but there is nothing they can do. Whit’s agent sold all the story rights to the producer.

Finally, the movie is finished, and the premiere is held at the Bijou Theater in Odyssey. Ironically, everyone likes it. The movie isn’t Odyssey, but the townspeople hope everyone will know the difference. They all go back to Whit’s End and, as Whit puts it, are “glad to be living and breathing in the real Odyssey, where the lights... burn late into the night, and we slip quietly to the end of yet another day in our lives. No movie could capture the wonder of that. Then again, who said it has to?”

This plot section is too short and should be expanded. »

Discussion Questions

  1. Why was it so hard for the people of Odyssey to see the movie script change so radically?
  2. Whit said, “Maybe the people will know the difference” between the movie Odyssey and the real Odyssey. Do you think he was right?
    • Explain.
  3. How else does the media distort reality?

Cast

Heard in episode

Mentioned in episode

Character Mentioned By
Tom Riley John Whittaker
Regis Blackgaard John Whittaker


Notes

Trivia
  • The character of "Dylan Darling" from the movie in this episode is likely an allusion to the video character Dylan Taylor.
  • This is one of the few episodes where Eugene repeatedly refers to Mr. Whittaker as "Whit."
  • Eugene remarks in this episode that the actor hired to play him looked like "a used Q-tip." This is not unlike in #696: “You're Two Kind”, when Katrina changes her haircut and Eugene later comments that it makes her look like a Q-tip.
  • The Odyssey gang would again get starstruck about a visit from Hollywood in #551: “Stars in Our Eyes”.
  • The movie referenced in this episode would later be referenced in the October 2023 Adventures in Odyssey Club episode "Extended Cut".
  • An Elsewhere in Odyssey comic depicting the events of the movie was created called EIO: A Day in the Life.
Allusions
  • Several allusions are made in this episode to real-world films and franchises, including the following:
  • The villain in the first AIO video, "The Knight Travellers", is named Faustus after the legendary Dr. Faustus who sold his soul to the devil. In Goethe's version of the story, the demon who dealt with Faustus was named Mephistopheles, thus providing the name for the villainous Dr. Mephisto referenced in this episode.
Audio
Goofs
  • Near the end of the episode, when Connie speaks with Whit in the theater lobby, she calls him by his actor's name -- Hal Smith. She says, "Hal, there you are."
    • A possible explanation would be that Connie is saying "Ah, there you are!" and the "H" sound is unintentional.

Quotes

Connie Kendall: If these kids spill one more drink, I'm going to use the bucket as a lethal weapon!


Bernard Walton: You oughta see this baby. It's so white you could turn it on its side and use it to ski on. More doors than a bus station locker room. And so long you'd have to be double jointed just to turn the corner.


Chris Anthony: A movie here? About the people of Odyssey? Oh, wow! I wonder if they need any female announcer types.


John Whittaker: You're in my story, Bernard. Don't you want to perform as yourself?
Bernard Walton: Me? Not a chance. I'd rather leave that to someone like Robert Redford, Charlton Heston, Jimmy Stewart. You know.
John Whittaker: That may be hard to do.
Bernard Walton: Anyone good then. Someone who can catch me as I truly am.
John Whittaker: That may be even harder to do!


Marty Scoresberg: My pleasure. If I remember the story correctly, you're quite the character.
Bernard Walton: Uh... character?
Marty Scoresberg: Very funny, a real curmudgeon.
Bernard Walton: Oh, no. Not me. I wash windows. Super shine. You see?


Bernard Walton: I don't exist, Whit.


Marty Scoresberg: There's one more character I wanted to talk to you about. Eugene.
Bernard Walton: What'd you do? Turn him into a calculator?


Eugene Meltsner: After I refused to let them mangle my hair, they got another actor who's- How can I say it? Um--
Connie Kendall: A geek, Eugene. The actor's a geek.
Eugene Meltsner: Yeah!
Connie Kendall: It's the only thing about this film that's accurate.
Eugene Meltsner: I beg your pardon?!