The Mortal Coil

Whit has been up all night programming a new Imagination Station adventure - one meant to show that a Christian has nothing to fear from death. But when he steps inside to test it, the door jams, and he comes out shaken, having seen his whole life... and his late wife Jenny. Tom Riley warns him that death is a locked door only God can open, but Whit won't be stopped, and that night the two friends sneak back in so he can finish the adventure. Jenny's voice calls his name, Whit stops answering the intercom, and Tom pulls him out unconscious - a coma the doctors can't explain. Tom tries the program himself and lasts only seconds before begging to be let out, then orders Eugene to erase it. At the hospital he sits by Whit's bedside and pleads with his friend, who has glimpsed something so beautiful he no longer wants to live, to come back. There is no answer.

Found on Flights of Imagination Album 16 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0205 Flash Flood Eugene's over-prepared debut on a camping trip tests the patience of his fellow campers just as a mountain storm threatens more than anyone bargained for.

0206 Pen Pal A girl's excitement about finally meeting her beloved pen pal face-to-face turns to confusion when the visit reveals a secret the letters never mentioned.

0207 The Case of the Candid Camera When a boy's camera vanishes at Whit's End, bumbling private eye Harlow Doyle takes the case - but the theft may be tangled up with the town's upcoming Bible Bowl.

0208 Pipe Dreams When a nervous kid passed over for his dream Government Day assignment gets stuck in the county's least glamorous office, a storm gives him more excitement than he bargained for.

0209 Columbus: The Grand Voyage A time-traveling boy lands in fifteenth-century Spain, where his dream of sailing with Christopher Columbus tangles him in royal intrigue on the eve of history's most famous voyage.

0210 On Solid Ground When Kids Radio's call-in show about foundations is interrupted by a "breaking news" broadcast from the 21st century B.C., OT Action News reporters cover the unfolding saga of Abram and his nephew Lot live from the ancient Middle East.

1 of 2 0211 The Mortal Coil When Whit programs an Imagination Station adventure meant to show that death holds no fear for a Christian, his creation proves far more powerful than anyone at Whit's End is prepared for.

2 of 2 0212 The Mortal Coil When a heart attack leaves Whit hanging between life and death, the people who love him must reckon with what he built, what he believed, and who else may have paid the price for it.

0213 Best Intentions When doctor-ordered rest turns into house arrest, Whit's overzealous caretakers face a determined old friend, a bumbling private eye, and a patient with escape on his mind.

0214 The Living Nativity When Odyssey's beloved Nativity scene is destroyed, Whit and the kids decide to become the Christmas story themselves - until an unexpected complaint threatens to shut them down.

0215 Caroling, Caroling On a snowy Christmas Eve in Odyssey, Whit takes Connie and the kids on an old-fashioned sleigh ride of caroling that turns each stop into a celebration of the first Christmas.

0216 Like Father, Like Son When the soccer team's fundraiser cash box vanishes, a boy whose father is in prison must fight to prove his innocence to a town - and a mother - all too ready to believe the worst.

0217 Rights, Wrongs and Reasons A blind girl's visit to Whit's End turns into a lively game of sorting right and wrong actions from the reasons behind them - until one biblical story proves harder to judge than anyone expected.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 4 more roles

4 supporting roles

Doc Morton Diane Michelle Doctor Bob Luttrell Fionna Donneral Maggie Malooly Harold Whittaker Chuck Bolte

Made by

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

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Whit has been up all night at Whit's End, programming a new adventure into the Imagination Station. When Connie asks what it is, he explains that it grew out of a conversation the two of them had about death, a subject Connie has had on her mind because of her grandmother. As Christians, Whit told her then, death is nothing to be afraid of, and he wants the Imagination Station to be the place that shows it. Connie volunteers to test the program, but the machine conks out the moment she pushes the button, so Whit climbs in to try it himself. Minutes later he cries out, the door will not open, and Eugene has to hit the emergency reset to get him free. Whit comes out shaken, orders them both to keep everyone away from the machine, and goes home to rest.

Tom Riley stops by to check on him, and Whit finally admits what he saw inside. "It was all there, Tom," he says. "My life. Scenes, people, places, things I thought I'd forgotten about." He has seen the people he lost, even his wife Jenny, and the program has left him with a longing for reunion. Tom is alarmed. Death is our doorway to God, he agrees, but "it's a locked door until God, and God alone opens it for us." Whit cannot be talked out of finishing the adventure, and that night the two men let themselves into the darkened shop.

With Tom standing watch at the intercom, Whit starts the program. Moments from his life rush past him, and then a voice calls his name. It is Jenny. When Tom checks in, Whit answers that everything is fine, wonderful even. Then he stops answering at all. Tom shuts the machine down, finds his friend unconscious, and calls an ambulance. At the hospital, Doc Morton can only say that Whit is in some sort of coma the tests cannot explain, "like he's completely withdrawn into himself."

Tom goes back to try the program himself. Eugene volunteers instead because he is younger, but Tom turns him down for that very reason - it takes a lifetime of losses to feel what Whit felt. Within seconds of pushing the button, Tom is pounding on the door and begging to be let out. He orders Eugene to erase the program, then returns to the hospital and sits alone at Whit's bedside. You did too good a job, he tells his friend: the program gives a taste of what waits for a Christian beyond death, and Whit has seen something so beautiful that he wants to give up on living. But believers must remain here as servants until the Master calls. "Please, Whit," Tom pleads. "Come back." There is no answer.