Buddy Guard

Rodney Rathbone has claimed the park as his own, and Grady is done being pushed around - so he hires his big friend Phil as a bodyguard, paid in chores. Meanwhile at Odyssey 105, Bryan Dern and his intern PJ discover that a threat on the radio can squeeze money out of anyone, and soon they're inventing complaints just to keep the show going. But power goes to Grady's head too... before long he's the one hunting Rodney down, and a hurt Phil quits and switches sides. When PJ threatens to sue Whit's End over a missing flavor of ice cream, Whit takes the fight all the way to court, where the judge tosses the case and exposes Dern's program as extortion. Grady faces his own reckoning, apologizing to Rodney and Phil without asking for anything back - and Phil, refusing to pound anybody ever again, walks away from Rodney too. It's a rollicking lesson in what happens when protecting yourself turns into paying somebody back.

Found on The Sky's the Limit Album 49 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 3 0617 The Other Side of the Glass A hidden cry for help etched in glass pulls Bernard, Wooton, and Whit into a late-night investigation of the powerful Seawright factory.

3 of 3 0618 The Other Side of the Glass A midnight stakeout at a secretive factory forces Wooton and his friends to decide whether trusting a mysterious boy's cry for help is worth risking the livelihoods of an entire neighborhood.

1 of 3 0619 A New Era With his long ordeal finally behind him, Eugene's father settles into a peaceful new life in Odyssey - until a hidden illness and an urgent plea from a distant village upend everything.

2 of 3 0620 A New Era As Eugene recovers from donating a kidney to his father, he and Katrina wrestle with whether a plea from Africa is God's call or a distraction from the ministry they already love.

3 of 3 0621 A New Era Long-buried family secrets come to light as Leonard finally faces the truth about his past, and an urgent crisis abroad demands a decision no one expected.

0622 B-TV: Temptation When B-TV explores why smart people fall for bad choices, the story of history's wisest king shows that wisdom alone is no shield against temptation.

0623 Buddy Guard When Grady hires a bodyguard to stop a park bully and a radio host discovers his on-air complaints can strong-arm people into paying up, both learn how quickly protection turns into power.

0624 Wooing Wooton When Wooton's estranged father suddenly invites him back into the family fold, meeting a woman who shares his quirky passions forces him to weigh what he wants most against what he believes.

0625 Something Significant When Trent balks at being assigned to set up chairs instead of acting in a church play, Whit sends him on an Imagination Station journey to discover what makes a task truly important.

1 of 2 0626 Life, in the Third Person Feeling invisible in her fractured family, Mandy tries to outrun her parents' separation on her bicycle - but some things can't be escaped.

2 of 2 0627 Life, in the Third Person While a broken leg lands Mandy in the hospital, her fractured family is forced to stop hiding from the hard conversations they've been avoiding.

1 of 2 0628 The Highest Stakes After six months away, a father returns to Odyssey believing his debts are paid and hoping to win back the family his gambling destroyed.

2 of 2 0629 The Highest Stakes When his estranged father comes back into his life, a boy who shares a treasured secret must decide whether trust and forgiveness are worth the risk of being hurt again.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 4 more roles

4 supporting roles

Judge Debbie McLeod PJ Manning Scott Menville Big Phil Ross Thomas Irate Neighbor on Dern Show Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Jymn Magon Writer Marshal Younger Writer · Director · Producer Christopher Diehl Sound Designer Bob Hoose Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Rodney Rathbone knocks Grady down in the park and takes his hat, once again enforcing his own rule that the park is off-limits to anyone he considers a dweeb. Tired of being bullied, Grady asks his large friend Phil to walk through the park with him. Rodney retreats as soon as Phil threatens him, and Grady hires Phil as a bodyguard in exchange for doing chores.

At Odyssey 105, intern PJ Manning arrives late with Bryan Dern's lunch because another driver has damaged his parked car. Dern urges PJ to threaten a lawsuit. The driver, frightened that Dern will name him on the radio, pays immediately. Delighted by his influence, Dern begins a call-in program that pressures supposedly inconsiderate people into settling petty complaints.

Grady soon enjoys power as much as protection. When he sees Rodney carrying apples, he assumes Rodney plans to throw them and orders Phil to attack first. Rodney gives up the apples, and Grady begins looking for more excuses to humiliate him. Phil becomes uneasy when Grady proposes throwing Rodney into a dumpster merely for fun.

Grady insists that Phil must obey because he is an employee. Hurt to learn that Grady has only been paying him to stay nearby, Phil quits. When they find Rodney hiding in the garbage, Rodney hires Phil for a supply of batteries. The bodyguard who once protected Grady now turns on him.

Dern and PJ also lose sight of their original complaint. To keep ratings high, they invent weaker grievances and demand larger rewards. PJ threatens to sue Whit's End for running out of Raspberry Ripple ice cream, even though Whit offers another flavor at half price. Whit's questions help PJ admit that the demand is not about stopping selfishness; it is about getting what he wants.

Whit also challenges Grady. Hiring protection was one matter, but seeking Rodney out for revenge made Grady behave like the bully he hated. Whit urges him to tell his mother what has happened and apologize to both Rodney and Phil.

In court, Whit reveals that an Odyssey 105 employee deliberately bought twelve gallons of Raspberry Ripple just before PJ arrived. The judge dismisses PJ's case and exposes Dern's radio threats as extortion that can bring penalties against the station. PJ admits that a campaign he thought was about justice has made him selfish instead.

Grady finds Rodney and Phil and apologizes without demanding anything in return. Rodney still calls for a beating, but Phil refuses and quits working for him too, partly because Rodney's batteries do not work. Rodney runs away, and Phil respects the courage Grady has shown. Both boys retire from pounding people, and Grady offers to protect Phil if he ever needs company walking through the park.