Wonderworld

Jimmy Barclay has announced he's too old for Whit's End - too old for the Imagination Station, too old for make-believe, too old for all of it. Then his sister Donna calls in a twenty-dollar debt, and suddenly Jimmy is stuck babysitting Lawrence Hodges, a little boy whose imagination never takes a day off. Before Jimmy knows it, he's dodging enemy agents, digging escape tunnels out of couch pillows, and marching through the woods with Robin Hood on the way to a tree fort called Wonderworld. He tries to stay above it all... until a mission to blow up a bridge over the creek has him barking orders like a sergeant and dreaming up Gorgonzola, a giant mutated cheese creature. By the time Mrs. Hodges comes home, Lawrence declares it one of the best babysittings ever - and the next day, Jimmy is back at Whit's End asking Whit for that ride in the Imagination Station after all. Turns out you're never too old to be a kid again.

Found on A Place of Wonder Album 15 · 13 episodes

The run See every episode

0198 Treasure Hunt A charity treasure hunt turned water-pistol war game collides with a manhunt when an escaped convict stumbles back into the one town he swore he'd never see again.

0199 The 'No' Factor When everyone in Odyssey suddenly wants Connie Kendall at once, her enthusiastic yeses pile into a schedule no one could survive.

0200 Feud for Thought When Eugene discovers he's related to Bernard Walton, his first family reunion turns sour as a fifty-year-old grudge over a pig deal puts his grandfather's honor - and his newfound family ties - on the line.

0201 Fair-Weather Fans When a heat wave hits Odyssey, Isaac partners with a smooth-talking new kid to sell miracle fans door-to-door - and learns that easy money always comes with a catch.

0202 Timmy's Cabin When the state moves to bulldoze his orchard for a new highway, a grieving farmer's last hope may rest with a mysterious wandering stranger and the old cabin his late son left behind.

0203 Double Trouble A famous actor's arrival in Odyssey sends the town into a panic when he turns out to be the spitting image of its most notorious villain.

0204 Wonderworld A reluctant Jimmy Barclay, convinced he's outgrown make-believe, gets strong-armed into babysitting Lawrence Hodges - a kid whose imagination refuses to take an afternoon off.

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.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 6 more roles

6 supporting roles

Maureen Hodges Janet Waldo TV announcer Bob Luttrell Gorgonzola Hal Smith Pizza delivery boy Corey Burton Sheriff of Nottingham Phil Lollar German soldier Hal Smith

Made by

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

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Jimmy Barclay has decided he is too old for Whit's End. He only stops by looking for his sister, and when Whit offers him the very first ride in a brand-new Imagination Station program, Jimmy turns it down flat: "I'm getting too old for all this." Whit reminds him that growing up does not mean growing out of your imagination, but Jimmy leaves anyway, and Whit is left feeling as though Christopher Robin has just walked out of Pooh Corner.

Donna, it turns out, wanted a favor. She has promised to babysit Lawrence Hodges, then been invited to a play the same afternoon, and she wants Jimmy to fill in. He refuses until she brings up the twenty dollars he borrowed for a new basketball - babysit and the debt is paid, or Mom and Dad hear about it. Jimmy caves.

Lawrence is a small boy with an enormous imagination. Jimmy first spots him up a tree, radioing headquarters as Agent NCC-1701 while enemy Destructo agents close in, and when Jimmy promises that Lawrence will be all right, Mrs. Hodges answers, "It's not Lawrence I'm worried about." She is right. The war movie on television becomes a prison camp, complete with an escape tunnel built from throw pillows, dining room chairs, and blankets, while Jimmy keeps insisting he is not into that sort of game anymore. Hoping to wear the boy out, he marches him through the woods to Wonderworld, a tree fort, and on the way Lawrence duels the Sheriff of Nottingham as Robin Hood himself.

At the creek, Lawrence decides the little footbridge is the enemy's main supply route and has to be blown up, and Jimmy - to his own surprise - starts barking orders like a sergeant. Moments later Lawrence is thrashing in a foot of water, dragged under by a sixteen-tendriled aqua monster, and Jimmy scolds him: when you start one adventure, you are not supposed to start another until the first one is completely finished. Then he hears what he has just said. They blow the bridge together, and from there Jimmy is all in, conjuring up Gorgonzola, the giant mutated cheese creature, whose defeat by a bucket of cold water lands squarely on Donna, who has come to say the Hodges will be late. She offers to take over. Jimmy stays.

Back home, agents 1701 and 1138 ambush the pizza delivery, and George Barclay plays along, insisting he is no Destructo but a sympathizer to their cause. When Mrs. Hodges collects Lawrence, the boy calls it one of the best babysittings he has ever had, and Jimmy offers to do it again sometime. The next day Jimmy is back at Whit's End, asking whether the offer to try the new Imagination Station program still stands. Whit is puzzled - was it not just yesterday that Jimmy said he was too old? "Must have been an imposter," Jimmy says. "Like you said, Mr. Whittaker, you're never too old to be a kid again."