Life Trials of the Rich and Famous

Nathaniel is hiding something, and Liz, Sarah, and Alex won't rest until they find out what. The trail leads to a mansion in Winchester Court, where they discover their friend's family has struck it rich with a website - complete with indoor pool, atrium, and more bathrooms than anyone can count. Suddenly everything changes: Sarah dreams of giant cookie orders, Liz starts planning Nathaniel's wardrobe, and Alex demands a business meeting with his dad. Nathaniel just wants to be treated like the same kid he's always been... so, with a little coaching from his father, he cooks up a plan. When he shows up at Whit's End acting like the world's most unbearable rich snob, his friends finally see the truth - it isn't Nathaniel the money has changed, it's them. A few red faces later, the friendship is patched up, the pool is open to everyone, and Sarah's cookie sale is back on - though not for twenty-five thousand boxes.

Found on The Big Picture Album 35 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0446a A Matter of Manners When two boys banished from Whit's End for rudeness reinvent themselves as the school's manners experts, their newfound politeness becomes a weapon nobody can defend against.

0446b The Seven Deadly Dwarves A little girl's mixed-up Sunday school lesson becomes a fairy-tale dream in which Princess Snow DeWhite, misled by a talking mirror, flees her father's hardware-store kingdom and falls in with seven dwarves named for the deadly sins.

0447 Potlucks & Poetry A teenage poet's secret reading collides with a church potluck as three generations of her family scheme to avoid embarrassing - and being embarrassed by - each other.

0448 Mandy's Debut A young playwright's opening night at Whit's End puts two comedies of guilt and neglected chores on stage - with her friends cast as themselves.

1 of 2 0449 The Big Deal When her parents forbid her from taking the theater role of a lifetime, Aubrey travels through the Imagination Station to the wilderness of a fearless prophet, hoping to learn how to stand up to them.

2 of 2 0450 The Big Deal A young girl caught up in the story of an imprisoned prophet risks everything to win his freedom from a king swayed by pleasure and a queen bent on revenge.

0451 Life Trials of the Rich and Famous When Nathaniel suddenly starts avoiding his friends, their curiosity uncovers a secret that changes how everyone sees him.

0452 Missionary: Impossible Inspired by a world-traveling missionary's thrilling stories, Alex signs up for a summer mission trip and launches an increasingly outlandish fundraising campaign to get there.

1 of 2 0453 The Great Wishy Woz After a tornado sweeps her away from Aunt Bea's farm, a heartbroken girl and her dog land in a strange miniature world where the only hope of getting home lies with the mysterious Great Wishy Woz.

2 of 2 0454 The Great Wishy Woz Dotty and her friends finally reach the all-knowing Woz, only to discover that the answers they've been promised - and the way home - may not be what any of them expected.

0455 Best Laid Plans Stormy weather strands a retreat's keynote speaker at a stranger's house, leaving Connie to keep a hundred rival gang members entertained - and at peace - on her own.

0456 Worst Day Ever Mandy's excitement for a perfect evening collides with a day where absolutely everything that can go wrong, does.

0457 Opportunity Knocks When financial trouble at the Timothy Center accidentally goes public over Kids' Radio, a mysterious new company's arrival in Odyssey brings both a tempting opportunity and unsettling questions.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 3 more roles

3 supporting roles

Nathaniel Graham Blake Ewing Mr. Graham Bob Hoose New Homeowner Bob Luttrell

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Marshal Younger Writer Paul McCusker Director · Executive Producer Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Whit recruits Liz, Sarah, and Alex to help paint a porch. Nathaniel passes by, checks the newspaper for the value of his single share in FactsBuffet.com, and refuses Alex's suggestion that they visit his house later. He even walks in the wrong direction to keep them from following him. Since Nathaniel once invited them home freely, his secrecy convinces the three friends that he is hiding something.

They visit the address they remember and learn that the Graham family moved two months earlier. The new owner directs them to Winchester Court, an exclusive neighborhood filled with enormous homes. There they find Nathaniel living in a house with an indoor pool, an atrium, a gardener, and more bathrooms than he can count.

Nathaniel reluctantly explains that his father founded FactsBuffet.com and that the website's success has suddenly made the family wealthy. He never told his friends because the change feels strange, and his parents have asked him not to bring visitors while they handle private matters. Liz, Sarah, and Alex ignore his discomfort, marvel at every luxury, and press him for a tour until he finally asks them to leave.

At Whit's End, the discovery immediately changes the way the children see Nathaniel. Sarah imagines how many Sunshine Girl cookies he might buy, Liz considers his future car and offers to improve his clothes, and Alex grows jealous. He mocks the website, implies that Nathaniel now considers himself too important for ordinary friends, and continually makes jokes about servants and royalty.

The friends soon persuade Nathaniel to let them use the pool. Sarah asks for special service and hints about gifts, Liz treats herself like his future girlfriend, and Alex demands a business meeting with Mr. Graham so he can present ideas for improving the website. Nathaniel repeatedly explains that his family does not have servants and that his father is busy, but no one listens. His home has become their private club, and he feels like the least important person in it.

Nathaniel retreats to his father's room and asks whether being rich is enjoyable. Mr. Graham admits that it is not as pleasant as being normal. Distant acquaintances and relatives now seek favors, while strangers expect him to own a grand house, drive an expensive car, and act like a different class of person. He has bought things he does not need because he allowed other people's expectations to reshape him.

Mr. Graham warns that the same thing will happen to Nathaniel only if he permits it. His friends may be treating him differently because they assume money has already changed him. He suggests a practical joke he once used to show close friends who had truly changed.

Nathaniel arrives at Whit's End behaving like an exaggerated rich snob. He treats Liz as a girlfriend who must pass his mother's approval, promises to buy twenty-five thousand boxes of Sarah's cookies, and expects her troop to rename itself in his honor. He dismisses Alex's website ideas as childish and orders all three to use the servants' entrance so the neighbors will not see them.

The children finally reject him. Sarah gives up the giant cookie sale, Liz abandons her interest in his pool, and Alex declares that money has made Nathaniel unbearable. Nathaniel drops the act and reminds them that he is the same boy they have always known - the kid in garage-sale clothes who is not good at sports and happens now to have an indoor pool.

Whit applauds the performance, and the others understand the trap. Nathaniel has not become a different person; they have surrounded him with stereotypes, envy, flattery, and plans to profit from his family. Embarrassed, they admit that their own behavior changed and agree to rebuild the friendship on who Nathaniel is rather than what he owns.

Nathaniel welcomes them back to the pool and says his family will still buy some of Sarah's cookies, though not twenty-five thousand boxes. Alex continues pushing for a meeting with Mr. Graham, and Nathaniel cannot honestly call all his ideas good. Their familiar teasing returns, confirming that friendship is becoming as normal as it ever was.