Return to the Bible Room

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041: Return to the Bible Room
Season	1988
Album	02: Stormy Weather
Aired	August 27, 1988
Written by	Paul McCusker
Directed by	Phil Lollar
Produced by	Unknown
Sound Design by	Bob Luttrell
Music by	Unknown
Prev: The Case of the Secret Room, Part 2 Next: The Last Great Adventure of the Summer

[edit] General information

Theme: Obedience, Biblical history

[edit] Summary

Jack and Lucy use their imaginations to their fullest, when Whit tells them the story of Jonah and his encounter with a "big fish".

[edit] Plot

Jack is upstairs in the Bible Room when Lucy approaches him. She's upset with Jack. He isn't following through on a promise they made to their parents. Jack and Lucy have committed to help with the church cleanup day, but Jack would rather stay at Whit's End and look at all the Bible displays.

Whit walks up and demonstrates the attractions in the room: the Talking Mirror, the "Full Armor of God," the Walls of Jericho, and so on. Finally, they come to a big fish, which represents the story of Jonah. Lucy says they should leave, but Jack asks Whit to tell them the story. Whit does, and he insists that Jack and Lucy help by using their imaginations. They do-and end up inside the action!

They're sailing on a stormy sea. Jonah is trying to run away from God. When the sailors learn this, Jonah tells them the only way to save themselves is to throw him overboard. The crew tosses Jonah over, and a wave sweeps Jack and Lucy overboard as well! All three are swallowed by a whale. Later, in the belly of the whale, Jonah does some serious soul searching-and in the process he manages to convict Jack of not obeying his parents.

Finally, having escaped from the whale's belly, they all arrive in Nineveh, where Jonah delivers a message from God. He says that the Lord will destroy the city's inhabitants. But the city repents, and God spares it-much to Jonah's displeasure. God reproves Jonah, and his tale ends.

At the story's conclusion, Jack asks Whit if Jonah learned a lesson. Whit asks the same thing of Jack. Jack realizes he's disobeyed his parents, but now that the church cleanup day is over, it's too late to make things right. Fortunately, Whit says the cleanup day was postponed until the following Saturday, so Jack and Lucy can keep their promise after all. In the meantime, Whit has a suggestion: Anyone for a little fishing?

[edit] Discussion Questions

1. What does it mean to "cast lots" for something?
   1. What other story in the Bible uses this phrase?
2. Jonah asked Jack if he always listened to his parents. Do you always listen to your parents?
   1. To God?
      1. Why or why not?
3. Why is it foolish to try to run from God?

[edit] Cast

[edit] Notes

• VERSION DIFFERENCE: In the original, Chris is at Odyssey's art museum, which claims to be home to the works of the great artists. The curator gives Chris a personal tour. The first "masterpiece" he shows her is called Fantasy on a Theme for Adventures in Odyssey. Chris describes it as "interesting," but the man interjects that she should hear how it sounds. The Odyssey theme starts playing. When it's over, the man shows Chris a painting that she says looks like graffiti. Denying that, the man says it's called Phone Number on Canvas also known as 1-800-A-FAMILY. Chris comments that the number sounds familiar (it's the number for Focus on the Family) and the man excitedly exclaims that Chris knows more about art than he thought. Chris attributes it to frequently radio listening. As he walks away around the corner, the man tells Chris that she'll really like an "original drawing by Rembrandt. He owns the deli at the end of Main Street."

• If one doesn't know the timeline of the early shows, the introduction to the show is confusing. Chris says that a lot people wonder how Jack and Lucy can remain friends since Jack's always getting Lucy into some kind of trouble. If you listen to the tapes by album order, this is the first show in which you hear Jack and Lucy, thus making Chris' statement subjective. However, "Rumor Has It" was actually released before this episode, validating the statement.

• The crowd of sailors was performed by only three actors: Hal Smith, Walker Edmonston, and Will Ryan.

• This episode was written in story form, with characters becoming part of the story. This format wasn't incredibly strong though, and not long after we got the Environment Enhancer to make it realistic to put a character in a story. That format didn't prove quite right either, and shortly after we got the Imagination Station.

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