Story — Chris is in the laboratory of Julius Schnitzelbonker. He is trying to use molecular reconstruction to change eggs to solid gold bars. Chris pushes a button that starts the “Adventure in Odyssey”. Chris says that we’ll find out what happens when Freddy decides to change schools — and himself.
Chris narrates and tells the audience that Freddy is about to go through a change — but not the kind that he’s expecting. Freddy is talking to his dad and asking him questions about if he likes his job. Freddy wants to move. His dad asks if he likes his school. Freddy says he doesn’t have any friends at school. He has to take a long way back home that takes an hour every day after school to avoid bullies.
“Moving isn’t the answer, Freddy.”
Mr. Hart
He then asks if he can change schools. His father says that running away from a problem isn’t the answer. He tells Freddy that if he just stays out of their way they’ll forget about him. The next day Freddy tells his mom that he fell down when she asks why he’s dirty and scratched up. Freddy’s father goes in to the principal’s office and the principle is Mr. Seeberry, who’s acted by Paul McCusker. He discusses it with the principal, but Mr. Seeberry says that there’s not much he can do. The bullies denied everything.
He goes back home and tells his wife that if they move him to the Odyssey Academy she’ll have to drive him there and back. They say they have the weekend to decide. In school at the Odyssey Academy Freddy offers to help another kid with math. The kids ask why he combs his hair so funny when he stands up to introduce himself. They all laugh at him.
Gordy remembers Freddy’s name later, and Freddy is glad. Gordy is reluctant to let Freddy eat with him. He doesn’t want Freddy to help him with math because he has girlish hobbies and bad clothes and a bad hairstyle. Gordy warns him to tell his mom to drop him off around the corner so no one sees her.
The next day he is doing a new hairstyle and wearing different clothes. His mom tells Freddy that he doesn’t have to change himself. When his mom picks him up, Freddy is crying. At home Freddy asks Mr. Hart if it’s time for a move and if he likes his boss. He complains about his experiences at his new school even though he’s only been there a week.
“I want to change so the kids at school like me.”
Freddy Hart
They figure out that there is a limit to how much Freddy would be willing to change to be accepted by the kids at school. He wouldn’t ask his mom to stay away if the kids didn’t like how she looked. His father asks who he wants to be acceptable to. Freddy guesses his boss and his wife. He says that those are right, but even more he wants to be acceptable to God. Freddy asks how he can be acceptable to God. His dad helps him and explains how to become accept Jesus. The next morning Freddy talks to his mother and asks if he can start taking harp lessons.
Humour — This episode didn’t make me laugh at any point. But then again, it wasn’t really trying to so I wasn’t very harsh on it.
Moral — The moral for this episode was to be yourself and not to change for anybody. That’s a decent message and all, but it is quite frequent and AIO has shown that it can examine some themes that are less frequently touched upon.
Acting — Maybe it’s just me coming off of Atticus Shaffer in The Rydell Revelations, Part 2 but I think that the anxiety didn’t come through in Freddie (I just looked and that’s how his name is actually spelled — whoops!) as much as it could of. This is in the pre-professional kid actors days where they would just pull in kids to play the characters. These actors didn’t usually have much experience, but somehow I kind of like it. It seems more genuine to sometimes have “real” kids act the characters. Nothing against Steve Burns, Cristina Pucelli, Atticus Shaffer and the countless other older actors who have played kids on Odyssey.
Continuity — This ties in a little bit with the acting. Having Chuck Bolte do Freddie’s father and then give him a major character as a different father later could confuse listeners. This also applies to Paul McCusker being the principal of Freddie’s old school in the episode right after (in the album order) Recollections, where he played Philip Glossman.
Characters — I can’t think of anything that was wrong with the characters, they all seemed to have good motivations.
Believability — As far as I know a situation like this could easily happen, and probably has happened countless times.
Sound design — I didn’t notice anything lacking, but nothing really popped out to me. Except for the class scene, I hardly noticed the sound design. But I guess that could be looked at as a good sign — it was so good that you don’t notice it’s there, it just feels natural.
Music — Sure, it’s fine.
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I’m thinking about doing weekly reviews now that I’ve finished Album 1. Let me know if you would like that!
Adventures in Opinions 