A Change of Hart

027: A Change of Hart

Preview:

Airdate

May 21, 1988

Last Aired

Date Recorded

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Recorded at

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Album

01: The Adventure Begins

Cassette No.

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Length

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Theme

Salvation

Genre

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 3:18
2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Written By

Paul McCusker

Directed By

Phil Lollar
Steve Harris

Produced By

Bob Luttrell
Steve Harris

Executive Producer

Chuck Bolte

Post-Production

Bob Luttrell

Engineer

Bob Luttrell

Music By

John Campbell

Songs By

Unknown

Inventions Used

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Rating

Current user rating: 84% (41 votes)

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Family Store

Harley Takes the Case, Part 2

A Change of Hart

The Price of Freedom

Summary

Freddie Hart learns that it takes more than different surroundings to make him a different person.

Plot

Freddie Hart would love to be someone else - anybody except himself. He's so unpopular, he's the poster child for Geek World. All the kids love to make fun of him and pick on him. Freddie is so miserable, he asks his dad if the family could move to a new city. Dad doesn't think that's practical, so Freddie suggests that he move instead to a different school - Odyssey Academy. No one knows him there, so he could be a different person. Dad doesn't think running away from problems is a good answer for Freddie, though, so Dad tells Freddie to stick it out. But the next day, Freddie gets beat up. Mr. Hart tries talking to the school principal, but he's not at all helpful.

So Freddie gets his wish - a transfer to Odyssey Academy. He's elated. At last, it's a chance to start fresh! Only, almost immediately, the familiar pattern starts: the teasing, the cruel jokes, the snickering. Freddie thinks he's found a friend in Gordie, but after Gordie offers some blunt advice to Freddie about changing his clothes, his hair, and his hobbies, Gordie avoids him like the plague. Soon Freddie is right back where he started.

That night, Freddie tearfully (again) asks his dad if he wouldn't mind moving the family to another city. Dad comforts him, and Freddie says he's tried everything he knows to make friends. He's changed his appearance, his manners, and even his school just to be liked, but nothing works. Dad says that the only way Freddie can really change is on the inside, in his heart. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted, but the important question is, To whom do we want to be acceptable? The answer, of course, is God. Dad tells Freddy that, fortunately, we don't have to change for God - we just have to let God work His changes in and through us. The way we do that is by asking Jesus Christ to come into our hearts. Dad asks if Freddie wants to do that. Freddie says he does. The two of them kneel, and Freddie finally gets his wish-he becomes a new creation.

Discussion Questions

1. Why did Freddie try to change himself?
2. Have you ever changed something about yourself just to please someone else?
3. What was it?
4. When is it good to change something about yourself?

Cast

Characters	Actors
Freddie Hart	Donald Long
Gordie	Bryan Williams
Miss Kirston	Unknown
Mr. Hart	Chuck Bolte
Mrs. Hart	Robyn Sanders
Principal Seabury	Paul McCusker
Julius Scnitlzerbonker	Chuck Bolte

Notes

Trivia

• This episode first appeared in an album 15 years after its original airing.
• This is the first AIO episode that didn't have any appearances from "regular" characters.
• The title is a modification of the phrase "a change of heart."
• Freddie's conversion in this episode was the first of many that has happened in Adventures in Odyssey over the years. For a complete list of everyone who has been saved on the show, see this List of Conversions.
• This is the first episode that Dr. Julius Scnitlzerbonker appears in. His name came from a German restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland, that Paul McCusker's family went to.
• This is the first episode to feature the private school Odyssey Academy.
• In the early days of Adventures in Odyssey, the regular cast (aside from Whit, Tom Riley, Connie Kendall, June Kendall and the ill-fated David Harley) was constantly shifting. As a result, it wasn't uncommon for characters to appear in only a couple of episodes and actors usually found themselves playing a different character every episode. For example Donald Long(who would later play Jack Davis) played Freddie Hart, Chuck Bolte(who would later play George Barclay) plays Mr. Hart and Julius Scnitlzerbonker, and Paul McCusker(who plays Philip Glossman) plays Principal Seabury.

Reviews

• At Whit's End: Read
• Adventures in Odyssey Headquarters: Read

Quotes

Miss Kirston: Go ahead, Freddie, tell us your hobbies.
Freddie Hart: Well, I don't know. I like to hang around the house with my mom and dad. I was thinking about starting a butterfly collection.
Miss Kirston: Is there anything else you like to do? I saw on your report that you like music. Do you play an instrument?
Freddie Hart: Not yet, but I'd like to learn how to play the harp.

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