Does Whit overstep boundaries?

[Crazy 4 Pugs]

I just re-listened to the Novacom saga, and I noticed that Whit makes a lot of assumptions about his right to know things or his importance. For example, the FBI tells him that there is certain information they can't reveal, but Whit is apparently important enough that he pressures an FBI agent to share with him top secret information? Or in Chains, he's pretty gutsy in the way he talks to those gang members. Doesn't it occur to him that at least one of those kids is probably packing heat? (and side note, I'm pretty sure an actual gang member would have harsher words for him then "Hey! Stop, old man!"

I'm not trying to criticize; just curious if you guys think Whit sometimes oversteps his boundaries?

[KODY 105]

Do you mean Whit as a character in the show, or as a citizen who has the intention of living for beyond the next three minutes? I always did wonder about that gang member. If he wasn't packing heat, he would have something dangerous (a knife, bat, brass knuckles, etc.) he would have brandished. Maybe they weren't a real gang.

[Shennifer]

you know, Kody, when I first read 'bat' as a list of possible weapons the gang member could've had, I immediately thought of the flying kind of bat! I'm laughing so hard right now! just picture it!!!!!!!!!

[DanP740]

"Hey, stop, old man! I've got a pet bat! Kids, if you ever see a bat, don't touch it, because it might have rabies."

[Shennifer]

again

[Trent DeWhite]

As a former NSA agent, Whit probably knew what information he could get out of the FBI agent.

And gang members? Pfh. They don't really compare to the Japanese soldiers he encountered during his time as a member of the U.S. Navy.

[Josef1004]

Overstepping boundaries is kind of like Whit's speciality. It's part of what makes the show go on and be interesting. Just imagine how boring it would be if no one ever thought outside the bounds.

[KODY 105]

But when Whit was facing Japanese soldiers, he was under 25 years old and much more nimble and agile than when he was 70+ talking to a gang member.

[Angel]

I've seen gang members before, and yes they do say way harsher things than "Hey! Stop, old man!", but consider the fact that we're hearing this on a kids' show. While it does take away some of the realistic aspects of the story, it is more safe for a family with children to hear.

As far as Whit going outside the boundaries, I do agree with Josef, that it makes the show more interesting. Plus, Whit needs to be a character that can protect others and lead the kids, so if he's not willing to stand up against people, what kind of a hero would he look like?

[Trent DeWhite]

Plus, Whit needs to be a character that can protect others and lead the kids, so if he's not willing to stand up against people, what kind of a hero would he look like?

Precisely. Whit cares more about the interests of others than his own. A prime example is in The Top Floor, when Whit goes to Dalton's apartment instead of Leonard. Whit explains to Eugene, "If something were to happen to me, I know where I'm going. Now the same isn't the true for your father."

[TigerintheShadows]

I don't think Whit oversteps his boundaries at all. By trying to get information out of Agent Bourland, his motivation was protection of the people of Odyssey. You might think that what the FBI was doing to stop Novacom wasn't Whit's business, but considering that both himself and his shop were being used by Novacom for their schemes--and he was well aware of it--one could argue that what the FBI was doing to stop them was his business.

[Peachey Keen]

Aw, Whit can defend himself. He karate-chopped some demons in "Here Am I".lol

[Shennifer]

haha EXACTLY!

[Chandler]

I think the show's made it pretty clear that Whit has some status in government intelligence circles. I don't think various agencies normally cooperate that closely, i.e., being CIA doesn't immediately make you privy to FBI information, but I don't really know much about NSA or how realistic AIO is being.
As far as gangs go, what Whit did wasn't the safest thing to do but gangs don't always beat up or kill old men looking to help out one of their members.

[Shennifer]

true. And they (the gang members) seemed more suspicious than particularly murderous; remember, they were just protecting Tony and Brianna (and their territory too I guess.) And I think it was fine for Whit to needle information from the FBI and make them tell him what was going on because, for one thing, the audience needed to know, and who better to find out for them. Plus, the story needed someone to make the authorities tell it to them straight and not pussyfoot around anymore.

[The Top Crusader]

I miss the days when Whit just walked around his neighborhood talking to himself like he was hosting a radio show and then running into random people and striking up conversations.

Obviously 80+ (closer to 90...) Whit it seems dumb for him to do... a lot of stuff that he does. And Paul Herlinger really sounded the age that Whit technically should be. I am kind of hoping that with a younger actor they will sort of magically have Whit lose 20 or 30 years of age... Obviously it ignores his WW2 service but you can realistically see a fit 60 year old doing things that a 90 year old wouldn't be doing.

[Chandler]

Even an unfit 60-year-old.

[The Top Crusader]

Indeed.

But for a long running radio series like this (especially if they are going to replace actors and not kill off characters ), you kind of have to take the comic book approach and just sort of ignore the fact that people should have aged a ton. For instance, technically every Marvel comic about Spider-man is supposed to have happened to the character, but obvious events of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90's have transpired and he has only aged like 5 years. And Nick Fury was created in the 1960's as a WW2 vet... now he basically is the same age as he was then and they just don't mention his WW2 service as often as they used to. BUT THEY SHOULD!

[Leonard Meltsner]

As for the gang, after his experience in WW2, I think we all know that deep down inside, Whit has training as a ninja assassin, and he could've taken them out if he really wanted to. He could've also used his Jedi mind tricks on Bourland. And of course, on the subject of aging, Connie has a 6:1 aging ratio as opposed to the rest of Odyssey. Eugene has said enough about college and his age that we can calculate he was about 14 when he came onto the show; that's 3 years younger than Connie, who had arrived one year before at 16. I don't think that Eugene is that much younger than Connie anymore, otherwise Connie really does need to get a life, or at least go to Cambell College.

[EMBEE]

"This is not the Whit's End you're looking for." lol