Fifteen Minutes

Alex Jefferson plays an extraordinary round of miniature golf while Nathaniel Graham announces every bit of pressure surrounding him. On the dreaded waterfall hole, Alex sinks the final putt and breaks the record for players twelve and under. The previous record has belonged to Bart Rathbone for thirty-four years, and Alex enjoys his sudden local fame.

At Whit's End, Connie is equally excited about a celebrity. Greg O'Neil, a former classmate, has returned to Odyssey to audition for a Novacom program. He once starred in a short-lived television comedy called *The Nut House*, and his character's catchphrase remains popular with local children. Connie dresses up for his visit and eagerly tells Jack about Greg's television, theater, and commercial work.

Mitch brings a Novacom recording for Whit to review and learns that Connie knows Greg. He teases her about making a special effort with her appearance, and she asks whether he is jealous. Mitch denies it and agrees to return later so the three of them can go out together.

When Greg reaches Whit's End, Alex, Nathaniel, and Connie repeatedly ask him to perform his old catchphrase. Greg obliges, using nearly the same line from his sitcom and a little-known pest-control advertisement. He signs Alex's autograph and seems impressed to learn that Alex is now a miniature-golf champion.

The golf course holds a ceremony to place Alex's name on its wall of fame. Bart arrives to pass along the golden putter, but he cannot resist explaining that the course was much harder when he set his record. Before Alex can properly receive the trophy, Mandy Straussberg begins an exceptional round of her own. She reaches the final hole with a chance to beat Alex, sinks the putt, and replaces his new record almost immediately. Alex graciously congratulates her and offers her the golden putter he never actually got to hold.

Mitch questions Greg's chances at Novacom. After watching old episodes of *The Nut House*, he considers Greg handsome but uninteresting as an actor. Connie interprets this criticism as jealousy and becomes determined to prove Mitch wrong. She insists that Greg's popularity in Odyssey should make him an obvious choice, while Mitch points out that Novacom now reaches far beyond one town.

Alex also has trouble accepting the quick end of his fame. When the newspaper devotes most of its report to Mandy, he focuses on the mistake that kept his own score from being even lower. He asks Bart to coach him, promising to have Bart's name restored to the record board if he succeeds. Tempted by renewed recognition, Bart agrees.

Bart trains Alex relentlessly. He makes him putt several balls at high speed, perform sit-ups to strengthen his shot up a hill, study imaginary bank shots among the food at lunch, and wax Bart's car to improve his wrist motion. Alex eventually sinks seven balls out of eight in rapid succession, and Bart declares him ready to challenge Mandy.

Meanwhile, Greg fails his Novacom audition. He accepts the rejection quietly, but Connie blames the producers and then suspects that Mitch's criticism influenced Arthur Dent. Mitch denies sabotaging Greg, explaining that a producer would not base a casting decision on his opinion. Connie visits Dent herself and argues that Greg's hometown popularity would guarantee viewers.

Dent reveals that Greg has not found significant acting work for nearly two years. Since his television show ended, he has mostly worked as a carnival weight guesser. His few advertisements have not restored his career, and Dent does not believe he was ever a strong actor. Connie finally realizes that the image everyone in Odyssey admires is badly out of date.

Alex's rematch goes even worse. By the last hole, both he and Mandy are far from record pace, and Alex sends a powerful putt past the clown target and into the parking lot. Bart abandons him immediately, calling him a quitter and advising him to preserve the little glory he still has. The coach who demanded total dedication proves interested only while Alex might return Bart's name to the wall.

Before leaving for Los Angeles, Greg admits to Connie that he hid his long unemployment because Odyssey is the one place where people still treat him as a hero. Losing fame was painful after he had grown accustomed to recognition, autographs, and parties. Now he has accepted that his moment in the spotlight is over. He also tells her that Mitch has used a connection in Los Angeles to find him a possible infomercial job, proving that Mitch's honest judgment did not keep him from helping.

Greg meets Alex near the miniature-golf course while looking for the bus station. Alex mourns that his name remained on the record board for only fifteen minutes. Greg suggests that such a short taste of fame may be easier than enjoying it long enough to depend on it. He has learned to place his hopes in something more lasting than strangers' attention. The lesson receives a comic ending when an elderly passerby recognizes neither former television star nor former golf champion. Instead, she mistakes them for two boys who have ridden bicycles through her garden and chases them away with her walking stick.