Recess (TV series)

Recess

The main characters of the series. From left to right: Vince, Spinelli, Mikey, TJ, Gretchen, and Gus.
Created by Paul Germain
Joe Ansolabehere
Starring Ross Malinger
(season 1)
Andrew Lawrence
(seasons 2–6)
Rickey D'Shon Collins
Ashley Johnson
Pamela Adlon
Jason Davis
Courtland Mead
April Winchell
Dabney Coleman
Allyce Beasley
Ryan O'Donohue
Toran Caudell
Erik von Detten
Blake McIver Ewing
Anndi McAfee
Composer(s) Denis M. Hannigan
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 65 (127 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Walt Disney Television Animation[1]
Paul & Joe Productions (seasons 5–6)
Distributor Buena Vista Television
Broadcast
Original channel ABC (One Saturday Morning / ABC Kids)
UPN (Disney's One Too)
Original run August 31, 1997 – November 5, 2001
External links
Official website

Recess is an American animated television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere (credited as "Paul and Joe"). The series focuses on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers. The title refers to the period of time during the school day in which children are not in lessons and are outside in the schoolyard, in North American society. During recess, the children form their own society, complete with government and a class structure, set against the backdrop of a regular school.

In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures released a theatrical film based on the series, Recess: School's Out. It was followed by a direct-to-video second film entitled Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street that same year. In 2003, two more direct-to-video films were released: Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade and Recess: All Growed Down. The characters also made an appearance in a 2005 episode of Disney's Lilo & Stitch: The Series.

Recess premiered on ABC on August 31, 1997, as part of the One Saturday Morning block (later known as ABC Kids). Beginning on September 6, 1999, it also began airing on UPN as part of its block, Disney's One Too. The series ended on November 15, 2001, with 65 episodes and six seasons in total. The success and lasting appeal of the series saw it being syndicated to numerous channels, notably Toon Disney, Disney Channel, and Disney XD.

Overview

Recess portrays the lives of six fourth graders—mischievous prankster and leader of the little "gang" T.J. Detweiler (Ross Malinger in season 1; Andrew Lawrence in seasons 2–6), hot-headed tomboy Ashley Spinelli (|Pamela Segall Adlon), popular jock Vince LaSalle (Rickey D'Shon Collins), awkward genius Gretchen Grundler (Ashley Johnson), gentle giant Mikey Blumberg (Jason Davis), and upbeat yet unlucky military brat Gus Griswald (Courtland Mead)—as they go about their daily lives in a highly clichéd school environment at Third Street Elementary School, where students have set up a microcosm of traditional human society complete with its own government, class system, and set of unwritten laws. They are ruled by a monarch, a sixth grader named King Bob, who has various enforcers to make sure his decrees are carried out. The society has a long list of rigid values and social norms that imposes a high expectation of conformity upon all the students.

Recess is illustrated to be a symbol of freedom—a time when children can express themselves and develop meaningful relationships. Most episodes involve one or more of the main six characters seeking a rational balance between individuality and social order. They are often defending their freedom against perceived threats by adults and school administration or social norms. The group's leader, T.J. Detweiler, tends to have the most complete vision of this struggle, though even he has times when he inadvertently leads the group too far toward an extreme of conformity or non-conformity, and needs to be drawn back to even ground by his loyal friends.

The show's introductory music, art design and style often evoked the feel of prison escape movies such as The Great Escape, and the playground hierarchy and school administration were often depicted in ways that paid homage to common themes in such films. Additionally, many episodes parody classic films such as Good Will Hunting, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Few Good Men.

Production

Recess first premiered on ABC on August 31, 1997, as a "sneak preview", and later transmissioned to ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning programming block on September 13, 1997. The series' success spawned two direct-to-video titles and one theatrical film, Recess: School's Out, which was released on February 16, 2001.[2] The series ended on November 5, 2001; reruns continued to air on ABC and UPN until September 2, 2003.

Disney Channel added Recess to their lineup on September 3, 2003. Fillmore!, The Legend of Tarzan, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command were all pre-empted in favor of a 90-minute showing of the series.[3] It temporarily ceased airing on September 2, 2005, but resumed on August 14, 2008 and continued until June 30, 2010.

Toon Disney aired the show from September 3, 2003[4] to February 12, 2009. When Toon Disney was converted to Disney XD, the series was carried over and aired from April 14, 2009 to 2012.

Episodes

SeasonEp #First AirdateLast Airdate
Season 1 26 September 13, 1997 January 17, 1998
Season 2 25 September 12, 1998 February 27, 1999
Season 3 16 September 11, 1999 January 22, 2000
Season 4 46 September 12, 1999 July 17, 2000
Season 5 9 September 9, 2000 January 6, 2001
Season 6 5 October 31, 2001 June 30, 2002

Reception

The show was generally well received critically and is widely regarded as a cult classic. The show also did well commercially and was one of the longest running shows on the Saturday morning lineup for Disney programming.

Movies

Recess: School's Out

Main article: Recess: School's Out

Recess: School's Out is an animated film directed by Chuck Sheetz and is based on the television series where the characters must intercept a gang of anti-recess terrorists plotting to bring about a new ice age to eliminate the institution of recess. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released theatrically nationwide on February 16, 2001.

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade is a Disney direct-to-video animated film released on December 9, 2003.

Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch featured an episode titled Lax, which included the TV series Recess, when T.J. and the gang go on a school vacation to Hawaii.

Disaster strikes when an imprisoned alien called Dr. Hamstervil and his henchman, a giant alien named Gantu try to use an escaped alien experiment to make everyone relaxed while he takes over the world. Luckily, Gretchen (from Recess) saves the day, since she believes work is relaxing.

DVD releases

Recess: School's Out

(Released August 7, 2001)[5]

It is an animated film based on the television series. This film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and released to movie theatres in 2001.

Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street

(Released November 6, 2001)[6]

It is a Disney direct-to-video animated film. It compiles four unrelated episodes, including the program's Christmas special "Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave."

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

(Released December 9, 2003)[7]

It is a Disney direct-to-video animated film.

Recess: All Growed Down

(Released December 9, 2003)[8]

It is a Disney direct-to-video animated film. It compiles four unrelated episodes.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mifflin, Lawrie (August 11, 1997). "Cable Chief Tries to Bring Cool Into Disney Children's TV". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Mitchell, Elvis (February 16, 2001). "As Seen on TV: Making the World Safe for Vacations". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.toonzone.net/forums/disney-pixar-forum/85070-disney-channel-september-info-now-up.html#.VJI18Yd-9E5
  4. ↑ "Toon Disney - Schedule - This Week's Schedule". Toon Disney. Archived from the original on 2003-08-01. Retrieved 2003-08-01.
    "Toon Disney - Schedule - This Week's Schedule". Toon Disney. Archived from the original on 2003-12-06. Retrieved 2003-12-06.
  5. ↑ Amazon.com: Recess - School's Out: Rickey D'Shon Collins, Jason Davis, Ashley Johnson, Andrew Lawrence, Courtland Mead, Pamela Adlon, Dabney Coleman, Robert Goulet, Melissa Jo...
  6. ↑ Amazon.com: Recess Christmas - Miracle on Third Street: Andrew Lawrence, Rickey D'Shon Collins, Jason Davis, Ashley Johnson, Courtland Mead, Pamela Adlon, Allyce Beasley, Apri...
  7. ↑ Amazon.com: Recess - Taking The Fifth Grade: Ross Malinger, Andrew Lawrence, Justin Shenkarow, Elizabeth Daily, Andrea Martin, Tress MacNeille, Katey Sagal, Kath Soucie, Joel ...
  8. ↑ Amazon.com: Recess - All Growed Down: Ross Malinger, Andrew Lawrence, Justin Shenkarow, Elizabeth Daily, Andrea Martin, Tress MacNeille, Katey Sagal, Kath Soucie, Joel Morgan,...

External links

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