I want to start moving from episode reviews to other kinds of posts, but since I already had some of my Album 2 reviews written I thought I might as well post them. If you want me to continue doing episode reviews, you can let me know and I’ll take your comment into consideration.

Anyway, here’s the review:

Story – We start off with a great nostalgia intro with Whit’s invention exploding. Next Chris comes on to let us know that Jimmy is keeping a journal. Jimmy explains that Mr. Adams, his teacher, told him to write a diary. He decided to write a journal instead.

From Jimmy’s perspective Donna is being a big jerk and watching TV instead of packing. While they’re packing, Jimmy asks if he can go to Whit’s End to say goodbye. He didn’t pack any clothes, and it took three more tries (because his mother, Mary, was checking what he had packed) after the suitcase full of toys before he was allowed to go to Whit’s End. Jimmy had an ice cream sundae at Whit’s End. Whit gives Jimmy a package to open up when he’s absolutely, with no question about it as bored as he has ever been.

When he gets back home George is fixing the car and Mary doesn’t think he’s doing well. He starts the car to prove that he has fixed it. When he starts the car the radio turns on and when he turns the radio knob the horn honks. When he honks the horn the car stops.
Jimmy doesn’t like that he had to go to bed early because they’re getting up early to drive. He thinks that the summer is for staying up late and eating popcorn and drinking Coke.

“You won’t catch me trying to sneak my math books on this trip,”

Jimmy Barclay

says Jimmy when his father wants to bring some work things with.


The car takes longer than usual to start but then finally does. Jimmy says that so far they haven’t had any good times and that it feels like they’ve been in the car for months. George says that they only left twenty minutes ago. Jimmy and Donna start arguing about who has more space. Mary makes Jimmy apologize “no buts about it”.

Donna is bored and doesn’t want to go on the vacation. George says that there’s more to life than her friends and Odyssey. They start talking about whether or not to pick up a stranger when they see a man on the road, and then the car breaks down. George said that if his car broke down, he wouldn’t expect anyone to pick him up just before the car breaks down. The stranger walks up and there is an explosion sound effect. The episode ends.

Humour – I didn’t find the episode very funny, but the joke about Jimmy not bringing his math on the trip did make me smile.

Moral – Mary tells Jimmy that he must apologize to Jimmy with “no buts about it”. I don’t think it’s right to force people to apologize. That’s forcing people to lie if they aren’t really sorry. I understand that it’s good to build good manners and habits in general, but I don’t think that forced apologies are good.

Believability – It’s a fictional story and, like most fictional stories, it isn’t 100% believable. It doesn’t have any crazy stretches though.