Truth and Consequences

“Truth and Consequences”

Cody Shawn camera

Season 3, Episode 7

Air date November 10, 2009 Written by Donna Trujillo Directed by Jeff McCracken

Plot
Cody and Shawn's latest project for media arts, a biography of a lunchroom lady, stinks and they know it. Mr. Williams encourages them to find some news that they can air on an upcoming public access TV show. After Mr. Turner bans them from reporting on an eccentric female neighbor who dances in a towel, they then decide to follow Joey when he tries to sell them stolen tires and tube socks.

They find out that Janitor Bud leaves school everyday at 2:55PM to bet on racehorses, paying Joey to punch him out at 5:00PM. They manage to catch this on film, but don't get it to Williams in time for him to review it before it's put on the air. Despite Mr. Feeny's warning, Williams airs it, and Feeny is forced to fire Bud.

Now everyone hates Cody and Shawn for getting Bud fired. They are alienated from the school, forced to eat off-campus, and Cody finds a large fish hanging in his locker. All the while Cory remains convinced he was right, but although Alan agrees with him, Amy strongly disagrees. He finally goes to Williams to get a straight answer, and is told that moral dilemmas seldom do. The teacher explains that actual reporters make the decision to tell the truth even though people get hurt, but that Cody is different.

With Williams to help him, he storms into Feeny's office to demand he rehire Bud until he could retire in a few months. Feeny says there's nothing he can do, that it went out of his hands once the school board found out. Cody starts to heavily criticize his mentor, but stops when Feeny's secretary, Bud, comes in with a cup of coffee. It becomes apparent that Feeny is willing to keep Bud working there despite his annoying nature. "Blast my heart of gold," he comments.

Meanwhile, a neuroscientist is preforming a sleep experiment at John Adams High. Eric, lured by her advertisement, "Earn Cash While You Sleep", eagerly signs up. However, she finds that while he sleeps, Eric exhibits absolutely zero brain activity. She ends up calling scientists from all over the world to study him.

Continuity Errors

 * Eric says he does not dream. However, this is contradicted in many episodes.
 * Even though Joey is punching the time card at 5:00, Janitor Bud's time card reads: "In" at 7:00, "Lunch" at 1:00, "In" at 2:00, and "Out" at 2:55.