Room Mates

Fumigation shuts down the dorms at Campbell County Community College, and Eugene Meltsner has nowhere to go - until his distant cousin Bernard Walton reluctantly takes him in for the week. Eugene tries to earn his keep, but every good deed backfires: blown fuses, a ladder through a window, endless arguments over the right way to squeegee. Then Bernard accidentally wipes out the computer program Eugene built for him, and the feud boils over. Fed up, Bernard ditches Eugene at Whit's End and tackles the big Chatwick mansion job alone... where his carelessly built scaffolding comes crashing down on top of him. Eugene arrives just in time to pull him out, then finishes the windows himself - Bernard's way. From a hospital bedside, the two stubborn know-it-alls finally trade apologies and agree to try getting along, with a whole week of Eugene playing nursemaid ahead to test it.

Found on At Home and Abroad Album 12 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 2 0172 The Cross of Cortes A hunt for a legendary golden cross deep in a cave-riddled Mexican mountain turns treacherous when Whit, Eugene, and Dan discover they can't be sure who's really on their side.

0173 A Thanksgiving Carol When Eugene claims God has nothing to do with modern Thanksgiving, Whit and the gang set out to prove what the "thanks" is really about - by staging their own classic holiday tale on Kids Radio.

0174 Where's Your Daddy? A struggling mother and her two children, new to Odyssey and hiding a painful secret, find unexpected kindness at Whit's End as Christmas approaches.

0175 East, Winds Raining On Pearl Harbor Day, old Joe Finneman finally tells his great-niece what he saw in Honolulu on December 7, 1941 - and why his best friend, a Japanese American codebreaker, is the reason he can't hate anyone for that day.

1 of 2 0176 The Star A trip through the Imagination Station's new Christmas adventure separates Connie and Eugene in the ancient world, where each finds an unexpected guide on the road to the Christ child - and to King Herod's Jerusalem.

2 of 2 0177 The Star While Connie helps care for a very special newborn in Bethlehem, Eugene arrives in Jerusalem with three star-following magi - and their search for a newborn king draws the dangerous attention of King Herod.

0178 Room Mates When a college fumigation leaves Eugene homeless for a week, his distant cousin Bernard takes him in - and two stubborn know-it-alls discover just how hard sharing a house and a window-washing job can be.

0179 You Gotta Be Wise When a shock-rock cassette by local bad boy Rodney Rathbone sweeps through Odyssey, newspaper editor Dale Jacobs finds the battle over its lyrics landing squarely in his own daughter's bedroom.

0180 Isaac the Pure After a round of after-school jokes leaves him feeling dirty inside, a boy sets out to make himself completely pure - no matter what it costs him.

0181 It Takes Integrity When a cynical schemer runs unopposed for student body president, an idealistic school reporter enters the race to prove that integrity still matters in politics.

0182 The Scales of Justice When two thousand dollars in found cash sparks a courtroom showdown at Whit's End, Isaac must prove the money is rightfully his against the scheming Rathbones.

0183 Tales of Moderation When Connie asks why a wealthy man like Whit lives so simply, he hands her a book of three tales that make the case for moderation better than he ever could.

0184 Isaac the Chivalrous When a legendary knight steps out of the Imagination Station and into modern-day Odyssey, young Isaac gets a firsthand - and unexpectedly challenging - lesson in what chivalry really means.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Mr. Wilcox Phil Lollar

Made by

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

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

After finishing the windows at Whit's End, Bernard Walton heads to a job at Campbell County Community College, where he finds Eugene Meltsner standing on a street corner with all his luggage. The college is fumigating the dormitories, and every student has to find somewhere else to live for a week. Eugene has nowhere to go, and he pointedly laments how different things would be if he had family to take him in. Since the two of them are distant cousins, Bernard gives in and offers his spare room - his wife Maude is visiting her relatives, so he has the space, if not quite the patience.

Eugene insists on earning his keep, and that is where the trouble starts. He plugs his mountain of computer equipment into the old house's wiring and blows a fuse, leaving Bernard to get shocked at the fuse box. On the job the next day, he knocks a ladder through a window, then argues with Bernard about the proper way to squeegee until a customer, Mr. Wilcox, has to hurry them along. At lunch, Eugene proudly finishes a computer program listing all of Bernard's customers and accounts - and Bernard, deciding the screen and keys need cleaning, wipes the keyboard and erases the whole thing.

Fed up, Bernard drops Eugene at Whit's End on a made-up errand and sneaks off to do his biggest job, the old Chatwick mansion, alone. Whit tells Eugene he is amazed that two grown men can't talk out their differences like grown men. Meanwhile Bernard, still grumbling to himself, assembles his scaffolding carelessly, and it collapses on top of him. Eugene arrives just in time to rescue him.

At the hospital, where Bernard is kept overnight with a sprained ankle, Eugene reports that he has finished the Chatwick windows - using Bernard's method, which he admits is better. He takes his share of the blame for the accident and offers an apology all his own: he is sorry for being so much like Bernard, a stubborn know-it-all. Bernard manages an apology too, and the cousins agree to try harder to get along. They will have plenty of chances, because Whit has given Eugene the rest of the week off to take care of Bernard until Maude comes home.