Exit
Romans 8:28
“Exit” is episode #499 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written and directed by Kathy Buchanan and Marshal Younger, and originally aired on July 6, 2002.
Summary
Whit, Tom, and Jason race to stop Novacom's launch date, but Mr. Charles has a way to stop them.
Plot
Whit reacts to the news about Launch Day and tells Jason that he and Tom are headed to Forrest Mountain. Jason and Agent Bourland can’t get through to Mitch and try to find the codes to stop the launch.
At Forrest Mountain, after admiring his handiwork, The Chairman takes off in his helicopter. He sees Whit’s car and tells his assistant to get Mr. Charles on the phone. Whit and Tom arrive at a shed near a large tower and break into it. There, they find a huge electrical contraption with a timer counting down from 19 minutes. There’s a phone inside, but Whit is nervous about using it. Whit finds he can’t get a signal on his cell phone from inside the building and steps outside to call Jason. Jason tells him they found steps for turning it off. He tells Whit to call him back from the phone inside. Seconds later the phone inside rings! Confused, Whit picks it up. It’s Mr. Charles. He’s kidnapped Connie and demands that Whit leave the mountain immediately! Whit agrees. Thankfully, however, Mr. Charles doesn’t know Tom is there. Whit tells Tom to call Jason. Tom protests, saying he knows nothing about computers. Whit tells him it’s the only way. He takes off, urging Tom not to tell anyone about Connie.
Tom is now taking directions from Jason. He types a password in the keyboard and another room opens. And inside is the Imagination Station!
Back at Whit’s End, Mitch runs into Nick Mulligan outside and wonders why he can’t get through to Connie. After seeing a camera move, he realizes that Mr. Charles must have kidnapped Connie. He and Nick meet in Mitch’s car. Nick reluctantly tells Mitch about the secret tunnel entrance to Whit’s End. Mitch tells him that he has a plan.
At Forrest Mountain, Tom and Jason are not having any luck at turning off the Imagination Station. In his car, Whit follows Mr. Charles orders, suspecting it’s all just a plan to stall him.
In Whit’s office, Charles sees Nick mopping the floor on a surveillance screen. When Nick blocks the camera, Charles heads down to stop him. Mitch sneaks into the office from the secret computer room. He unties Connie and tells Bourland to grab Charles. Connie calls Whit to tell him she’s okay. Whit asks Mitch for the direct line to Jason.
Jason, just in the midst of desperation at trying to figure out how to stop the Imagination Station, gets the call from Whit. He patches him in with Tom. Whit tells him there’s only one way to stop it and no one knows about it. He tells him to type in "Applesauce" (#73: “A Bite of Applesauce”). Jason realizes that Whit is going to destroy the Station.
Meanwhile, the Chairman waits eagerly for the upload to begin. Back at the tower, Tom pushes the red button and runs for his life. The Imagination Station cycles through dozens of past adventures before sputtering and dying. At the monitoring site, the Chairman realizes he’s been beaten. It’s over...for now.
Whit arrives at Forrest Mountain to find a very relieved Tom. Whit tells Tom he saved the world.
Back at Whit’s End, Bourland drags off a bumbling Charles. Connie thanks Mitch for rescuing her. The two of them plan a dinner of salami sandwiches and macaroni and cheese.
Soon after, it’s a time for good-byes. Tom stops at Hillingdale Haven to see Agnes. She doesn’t seem to recognize him. Monica Stone tells Jason that she’s going to prison. Jason says he’s proud of her for doing the right thing.
Alex stops in Whit’s End to find Whit busily building a new Imagination Station. He tells Whit he’s trying out for the swim team. It seems like things really are getting back to normal.
That night, Whit finds a message on his answering machine. It’s Eugene! Eugene says he’s glad everything’s settled, but he blames himself for the huge mess. He says he can’t come back to Odyssey right now, but hopes to get some questions answered soon. It’s all been quite an adventure.
Discussion Questions
- James 2:17 says that faith without action is dead. How did Whit and Tom show they had both?
- What’s one action you’ve taken that showed you had faith in God?
- Monica eventually did the right thing, even though it meant going to jail. What’s a "price" you’ve paid for doing the right thing?
- Eugene said it seemed everything was part of a bigger plan, a greater purpose. Read Romans 8:28. How do you feel when you think about this?
- Why?
Cast
Heard in episode
Mentioned in episode
| Character | Mentioned By |
|---|---|
| AREM | Connie Kendall |
Notes
- Trivia
- This episode starts a stream of four milestones, including the conclusion of the Novacom Saga, the 500th episode of Adventures in Odyssey, the 15th anniversary, and the 25th anniversary of Focus on the Family
- Episodes with Flashbacks: When the Imagination Station melts down, scenes from these episodes can be heard:
- #66: “The Imagination Station, Part 1”
- #88: “Elijah, Part 2”
- #105: “Lincoln, Part 2”
- #137: “Back to Bethlehem, Part 3”
- #177: “The Star, Part 2”
- #184: “Isaac the Chivalrous”
- #190: “Moses: The Passover, Part 1”
- #211: “The Mortal Coil, Part 1”
- #259: “The Potential in Elliot”
- #304: “St. Paul: The Man from Tarsus”
- #318: “A Touch of Healing, Part 1”
- #330: “The Time Has Come”
- #416: “The Tower”
- #425: “Blackgaard's Revenge, Part 2”
- #449: “The Big Deal, Part 1”
- #491: “The Black Veil, Part 2”
- This episode features 26 named characters. This could be said to be tied with the record for the highest number of named characters in a non-retrospective, non-B-TV, or non-Kids' Radio episode (#498: “Exactly as Planned” also has 26 characters); however, several of the characters are heard in flashback only as the Imagination Station destroys itself.
- In this episode, we finally hear from The Chairman.
- The last minute of the countdown is presented in real time. From when the timer starts beeping, signaling one minute to go, to when Tom pushes the button, 59.5 seconds pass. That means Tom pushed the button with a half a second to spare.
- When 3 minutes pass in the episode, Whit says that they have only 19 minutes. If you add 19 minutes to 3 minutes, you get 22 minutes - the length of an Odyssey episode.
- For the voice mail, the AIO Crew stitched together some lines of Will Ryan, who plays Eugene, from past shows because he wasn't available. At one point he says "deep down I have questions that only time will answer. And I expect to ask a lot more questions on this trip..." then it fades to static for a few seconds. Although "on this trip" part may not have been intended to be put in the episode, it may refer to Eugene and Katrina's trip to Africa as would be recounted later in #574: “Prisoners of Fear”.
- When Eugene is signing of at the end of his voice mail, he calls John Whittaker "Whit" for one of the first times ever.
- During Chris's wrap-up, we hear a score of music only heard in three other parts of the series: The wrap-ups on #595: “A Time for Action, Part 2”, #613: “The Top Floor, Part 3” and #701: “Unbecoming Jay”.
- This episode marks one of two instances where Whit has demonstrated that he's willing to destroy one of his creations for the greater good when he orders Tom to self-destruct the imagination station, the first being at the end of #84: “The Battle, Part 2” when he erases Applesauce.
- Goofs
- Mr. Charles laments about Connie during this episode: "How can you make all that noise with a gag on?" However, minutes later when Mitch rescues her, the "gag" makes a ripping sound like duct tape.
- Barry Muntz returns for this episode, even though he is supposed to be is South America. (#473: “Breaking Point”) Charles said "don't come back before we tell you." It's possible that by now Barry actually had been called on by Andromeda to return and help complete the mission, but this is unclear.
Reviews
Quotes
Tom Riley: 19 minutes?! It takes me longer than 19 minutes to figure out my alarm clock, Whit!
Jason Whittaker: Dad! Well, it's about time! Look, I'm on the line with Tom. Let me patch you through.
John Whittaker: Tom, type in "Applesauce!"
Jason Whittaker: Dad! That'll destroy the machine!
John Whittaker: I know, son!
Tom Riley: Exactly what did I just do?
John Whittaker: Hmm. You... saved the world.
Tom Riley: Oh. I can't wait for our long talk, Whit.
Bennett Charles: Oh, it looks like your friend is back.
Connie Kendall: <muffled> Mitch?
Bennett Charles: No, the other one... Nick.
Connie Kendall: Hey, did you get your hair cut?
Mitch: No, just styled it differently.
Connie Kendall: It looks awesome!
Mitch: Thanks. You look great, too.
Tom Riley: Part of the wall is sliding back! It's another room!
Jason Whittaker: What's in it?
Tom Riley: It's the Imagination Station!
Bennett Charles: Ugh. How can you possibly make so much noise with a gag on?!
Resources
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