The Virtual Kid

Whit and Eugene are stunned when a new Whit's End website reports that the Imagination Station is full of graphic violence - and young webmaster Alex Jefferson wrote the story. After a lesson in honest reporting, Alex pours himself into the site instead: news updates, message boards, a chat room, all of it. His friend David begs him to come play outside, but Alex is too busy typing to listen... and by the time Channel 10 comes calling for a TV interview, he's forgotten the circus and lost his free ticket. On camera, reporter Norm Sardoni gets Alex to admit the awful truth: he's never ridden the Imagination Station, never tried the Room of Consequence, never even tasted the ice cream he raves about online. The reporter dubs him "the virtual kid," and Whit has to step in to end the humiliation. But when Alex meets Jamie, a boy glued to the website just like he was, he invites him to explore the real Whit's End - starting with real ice cream, face-to-face.

Found on Virtual Realities Album 33 · 15 episodes

The run See every episode

0427 Something Cliqued Between Us When an anonymous advice columnist starts stirring the pot at school, a group of girls nursing grudges over cliques and lost friendships may discover the real problem is closer than they think.

0428a The Eternal Birthday When her birthday turns out perfectly, Liz Horton wishes every day could be just like it - and gets far more than she bargained for.

0428b Bethany's Imaginary Friend When her little sister's invisible new friend starts turning up everywhere, a girl seeking a quiet afternoon with her book discovers her whole family is playing along.

0429 The YAK Problem When a strict former principal is scheduled to speak at a mysterious school assembly, Nathaniel's wild speculation about a program called YAK sends the kids of Odyssey into a fun-hoarding frenzy.

0430 Blind Girl's Bluff A lonely new girl in town teams up with a quick-witted blind friend on a "mind-reading" act that becomes more popular - and more complicated - than either of them expected.

0431a Where There's Smoke A boy's new hero at Whit's End discovers that being admired means every habit - good or bad - gets copied.

0431b The Virtual Kid A boy becomes so obsessed with running the website he built for Whit's End that he risks missing out on the real place - and the real life - right in front of him.

0432 You Win Some, You Lose Some A discouraged camp counselor spends a week trying to reach three difficult middle-school girls, convinced that nothing she does is making a difference.

0433a The Treasure Room When rumors spread that Whit is hiding a fortune behind a closed door at Whit's End, a girl weary of hand-me-downs decides she has to see the treasure for herself.

0433b Chain Reaction A boy's decision to cut corners on a simple lawn-mowing job quietly sets off a string of mishaps that ripples through the entire town of Odyssey.

0434 B-TV: Redeeming the Season A live holiday broadcast from the Odyssey Mall asks whether Christmas customs with tangled pagan and commercial roots can be given back to Christ - weaving in the imaginative tale of a young man named Nicholas who tries to run from wealth and position to find a humble life of faith.

1 of 2 0435 A Look Back As the millennium draws to a close, a nostalgic tour of Whit's End revisits the beloved characters and moments that made Odyssey feel like home.

2 of 2 0436 A Look Back Phil Lollar's retrospective tour of Odyssey revisits its funniest names, the Imagination Station's greatest journeys, and the quiet moments that changed lives forever.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

David Straussberg Jeff Ellison Jamie Katie Leigh Davey Will Ryan Parent Stan Pracht Norm Sardoni Phil Lollar

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer Phil Lollar Director · Producer Rob Jorgensen Sound Designer · Producer Al Janssen Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Whit and Eugene are startled by alarming claims on a new Whit’s End website. Alex Jefferson has turned Eugene’s comments about realistic flood graphics in a Noah’s Ark program into a report that the Imagination Station contains graphic violence. Whit teaches Alex that he must tell people when he is interviewing them and verify information before publishing it. He allows the website to continue, provided Alex shows him new material first.

Alex throws all his energy into expanding the site. He adds news, answers messages, fixes technical problems, and opens a chat room. His friend David repeatedly asks him to leave the computer and play outside, but Alex barely listens. When David invites him to join several friends at a circus, Alex says he will come later and then forgets the conversation entirely.

The website attracts the attention of Channel 10, and Alex eagerly agrees to a television interview at Whit’s End. Only afterward does he learn that the interview is scheduled at the same time as the circus. Because he ignored David on the day the free tickets were available, he has no ticket and cannot afford to buy one.

During the interview, reporter Norm Sardoni asks Alex to describe the wonders featured on his site. Alex praises the Imagination Station, the Room of Consequence, the Transmuter, and even the ice cream, but he must admit that he has experienced none of them. Maintaining the virtual Whit’s End has consumed so much time that he has barely enjoyed the real place. Sardoni labels him a virtual kid and presses the embarrassment until Whit ends the interview.

Whit tells Alex that passion is valuable only when it remains under control. Anything allowed to master him can take the place that belongs to Jesus and cause him to miss the life happening around him. Alex soon meets Jamie, an enthusiastic visitor who spends nearly all his time on the website. Instead of drawing Jamie deeper into the computer world, Alex invites him to explore the real Whit’s End and begins with real ice cream shared face-to-face.