Family Values

Bart Rathbone bursts into Whit's End with an emergency: his son Rodney's joke essay about the Rathbones' wonderful family values has landed them in the finals for Family of the Year, and Bart has until Monday to make it look true. His crash course in togetherness is a disaster - Rodney drags the dishes off the table, a heart-to-heart with Doris becomes a shouting match, and the father-son wrestling night leaves Bart groaning on the floor. So the Rathbones try a new plan: dig up dirt on the other finalists, the impossibly nice Johnsons. But Rodney's hidden tape recorder catches the Johnson kids apologizing, Doris's shoplifting accusation boomerangs when she's the one who can't pay, and Pete's "secret" turns out to be a surprise family vacation. When the Johnsons figure out the scheme, they repay it with kindness and withdraw from the contest... only for the judges to arrive asking about Dr. Rathbone's medical practice, straight from the essay Bart never read. Exposed as frauds, the Rathbones lose everything - and just as Bart admits real families take time to build, Rodney announces the same essay has made his dad a finalist for Father of the Decade.

Found on A Time of Discovery Album 18 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0237 Deliver us from Evil When Whit's Bible research machine breaks down, Bernard and Eugene form an unlikely storytelling duo to help Marsha with her report on one of history's most fantastic rescues.

0238 For Thine is the Kingdom A young ballerina's dreams are put to the test when a moment of carelessness on her bike changes everything she thought her future would be.

0239 The Power A student's suspicion about impossibly perfect test scores uncovers a classmate's secret grip on the entire school.

0240 And the Glory When Odyssey's star pitcher is sidelined during the playoffs, he must coach a terrified nobody into a hero - while a pair of kid broadcasters learn that the spotlight can be a dangerous thing to share.

0241 Forever... Amen A boy eagerly awaiting the birth of his baby brother has his excitement poisoned by doubt just before his family's world is turned upside down.

0242 Hymn Writers A live-from-church Kids Radio broadcast sends time-traveling microphones back to meet three hymn writers whose faith, courage, and trials gave the church its songs.

0243 Family Values When his son's joke essay lands the family in the finals for Family of the Year, a scheming father tries to fake strong family values in a single weekend.

1 of 2 0244 The Mysterious Stranger A young stranger walks into Whit's End claiming it was once his childhood home - and he knows secrets about the building that no outsider possibly could.

2 of 2 0245 The Mysterious Stranger A troubled stranger's impossible claim about Whit's End leads Whit and Lucy into the ashes of a decades-old fire - and a family secret someone will do anything to keep buried.

0246 My Fair Bernard When rival Bart Rathbone starts stealing his janitorial customers with slick radio ads, Bernard Walton turns to theatrical impresario Edwin Blackgaard - who has his own hidden reasons for putting the window washer's life story on stage.

0247 Why Don't You Grow Up? Tired of waiting to grow up, a schoolgirl gets the chance to skip ahead and live a week of adult life - and discovers what it actually costs.

0248 Terror from the Skies When a live radio drama about an alien invasion airs in Odyssey, two boys who missed the disclaimer become convinced the invasion is real.

0249 The Case of the Delinquent Disciples When Connie's Bible study students start vanishing one by one, a clueless private detective takes the case - and stumbles onto a truth nobody wanted to say out loud.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 7 more roles

1 featured character

Sam Johnson Kyle Ellison

6 supporting roles

Jerry Steve Bridges Nancy Johnson Rae Ruff Pete Johnson Steve Bridges Family of the Year Judge (a) Corey Burton Family of the Year Judge (b) Janet Waldo Kelly Johnson Ashley Hutchins

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director Bob Luttrell Sound Designer Dave Arnold Producer Paul McCusker Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Bart Rathbone rushes into Whit's End with an emergency: he needs to make his family stronger by Monday. A few weeks ago his son Rodney entered an essay contest run by Family Times Magazine to pick the Family of the Year. Rodney meant the essay as a joke, filling it with sappy stories about the Rathbones' wonderful family values, but the judges took it seriously, and now the Rathbones are one of two finalist families. The other is the Johnsons - Pete, Nancy, Sam, and Kelly - some of the nicest people in Odyssey. Whit warns Bart that building a strong family takes time and effort, and he suspects Bart cares mostly about getting the winners' pictures on billboards to advertise the Electric Palace. Bart borrows a book on families anyway and hurries home.

The Rathbones' crash course in togetherness goes about as well as anyone would expect. A proper family dinner ends with Rodney tucking the tablecloth into his belt instead of his napkin and dragging the dishes off the table. Bart's attempt to communicate with Doris turns into an argument about who should talk first. Only the father-son wrestling match is a hit, mostly for Rodney, who leaves his old man groaning on the floor.

When Bart runs into the Johnsons at Whit's End and watches them head off on a picnic, he decides no family can really be that perfect. If the Rathbones cannot win on their own merits, they will win by digging up dirt on the Johnsons. Each scheme backfires. Rodney tries to tape-record Sam and Kelly fighting, but their argument ends with apologies and a trip for sodas. Doris accuses Nancy of shoplifting at the grocery store, only to learn the "stolen" goods are in Nancy's own cloth shopping bag - and Doris herself has eaten three bags of chips she cannot pay for. Bart coaxes Pete to reveal the secret he keeps in his workshop, which turns out to be a flyer for a family resort trip Pete has been saving up for.

Comparing notes, the Johnsons figure out what the Rathbones are up to. Instead of getting angry, they decide to repay evil with good and withdraw from the contest, handing the Rathbones the win. But when the judges arrive for their formality visit, they are full of questions about Dr. Rathbone's medical practice and Doris's career as a trial lawyer - details straight from Rodney's essay, which Bart never bothered to read. Exposed as frauds, the Rathbones lose everything. Bart admits to Whit that honesty and respect take time to build, and he has learned his lesson - just as Rodney arrives with news that the same essay has made Bart a finalist in Manly Man magazine's Father of the Decade contest. Bart chases him off by the ear.