Adventures in Odyssey Home Page

Third Degree

Album: 21: Wish You Were Here

Episode: 276

Lesson/Theme: Friendship; making proper choices.

Bible Verse: Proverbs 27:17

Characters: Bernard, Eugene

Writer: Marshal Younger

Sound Designer: Dave Arnold

Original Air Date: August 6, 1994

Last Air Date: February 12, 2009

Description:
Next stop, Colorado. Bernard and Eugene are truckin' down the highway at a turtle's pace, Bernard's truck doesn't handle high altitudes well. Suddenly, they hear a siren behind them. A policeman pulls them over and tickets them for going too slowly! Bernard concludes it's a scam. He decides to fight it in the Municipal Court of Oak Park. While setting up the court date, Bernard and Eugene become acquainted with a young man named Bryant. Bryant talks a lot like Eugene. In fact, most of the people in Oak Park talk like Eugene. This is especially obvious when Bernard and Eugene attend a party that night at Bryant's house. Bernard feels out of place among all the intellectuals. But he doesn't mind using their smarts. They all help Bernard prepare his defense for traffic court. Unfortunately, when he appears in court, his mind is full of too much information. Bernard gets flustered. He ends up in contempt of court and gets thrown in jail for 72 hours! Meanwhile, Bryant likes having Eugene around town. Bryant gets his uncle, who runs a computer company, to offer Eugene a job in the programming department. Eugene is tempted to stay, especially when an inmate convinces Bernard to fight the system and remain in jail beyond his three-day sentence. But Bernard realizes that would be a big mistake, and Eugene realizes that he doesn't want to live permanently among people who are just like him. Bernard pays his fines, and the two of them continue their trip to San Diego.

Questions:
Do you think Bernard handled his court appearance in the best way? Why or why not? Why did Eugene ultimately decide not to stay in Oak Park? What are the benefits of befriending people who are different from you? What is good about having friends who are similar to you?