Recess (TV series)

Recess
The main characters of the series. From left to right, Vince, Spinelli, Mikey, TJ, Gretchen and Gus.
Format	Animated series, Comedy-Drama
Created by	Paul Germain Joe Ansolabehere
Starring	Ross Malinger (1997-1998) Andrew Lawrence (1998-2001) 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 Helen Slayton-Hughes (1999-2001)
Composer(s)	Andy Sturmer
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	65 (128 segments) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC UPN (Disney's One Too) (1999-2001)
Original run	September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – November 5, 2001 (2001-11-05)
External links
Official Website

Recess is an American animated television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. 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 can spend time outside with friends, known as recess in the United States. One of the main features of the series is how the children form their own society, complete with government and a class structure, set against the backdrop of a regular school.

Recess first aired on ABC from 1997 through to 2001, and reruns aired on Disney Channel in the United States. The success of the series saw it being distributed to numerous countries around the world, notably the United Kingdom, where it aired on multiple channels including Toon Disney and Disney Channel UK. In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures released the first of two films based on the series, Recess: School's Out, which was distributed in cinemas. A second film, Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade was released direct-to-video in 2003. The characters also made an appearance in an episode of the Disney series Lilo and Stitch.

Premise

Recess portrays the lives of six fourth graders as they go about their daily lives in a highly clichéd school environment. The students of Third Street School 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, King Bob, who has various enforcers to make sure his decrees are carried out. The little 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 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 nonconformity.

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 played homage to common themes in such films.

Production

Recess premiered on ABC's One Saturday Morning programming block on September 13, 1997. Recess's success spawned two direct-to video-titles and one theatrical film, Recess: School's Out, which was released on February 16, 2001.

The series was cancelled in 2001, and Disney stopped airing new episodes after November 5, 2001, but still continued to show episodes on ABC's One Saturday Morning until 2002 and UPN's Disney's One Too programming blocks until 2003 when both blocks were phased out. Re-runs also aired on ABC Kids until September 2005 (when the block turned into an all Disney Channel line-up), as well as Disney Channel from 2003 to 2006, and then 2009 to 2010, Toon Disney from 2001 to 2009 (when the channel ceased operations), and Disney XD from 2009 to early 2010. This show is one of the few Disney television shows to be aired on all three major Disney networks. They are still shown sometimes on the Disney Cinemagic channel. On October 26, 2011, Recess reruns ran again on Disney XD.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Recess (TV series)

Voice cast

Major cast

Actor(s)	Role
Ross Malinger Andrew Lawrence Myles Jeffrey	T.J. Detweiler
Pamela Segall Adlon	Ashley Spinelli
Ricky D'Shon Collins	Vince LaSalle
Courtland Mead	Gus Griswald
Ashley Johnson	Gretchen Grundler
Jason Davis	Mikey Blumberg
April Winchell	Miss Muriel Finster
Ryan O'Donohue	Randall Weems,Digger Dave
Dabney Coleman	Peter Prickly
Erik von Detten	Erwin Lawson
Allyce Beasley	Miss Grotke
Blake Ewing	Menlo, Douglas
Toran Caudell	King Bob
Anndi McAfee	Ashley Armbruster
Francesca Smith	Ashley Beaulet,Swinger Girl,Upsidown Girl
Rachel Crane	Ashley Quinland Ashley Tomasian #1
Ashley Johnson	Ashley Tomasian #2
Klee Bragger	Digger Sam

Minor cast

• Michael Shulman - Hustler Kid
• Aria Curzon - Cornchip Girl
• Ross Malinger - Sam and Dave (The Diggers)
• Francesca Smith - Upside-Down Girl
• Ross Malinger - Guru Kid
• Elizabeth Daily - Tubby,Sticky and Hector
• Dabney Coleman - Hank and Mr. Kelso
• Francesca Smith - Swinger Girl
• Eddie Deezen - Knarf
• Pamela Hayden - Evets
• Sam McMurray - General Griswald
• Kath Soucie - Butch
• Jason Davis - Phil (Woodchuck Scout)
• April Winchell - Miss Lemon
• Tress MacNeille - Lunchlady
• John Astin - Superintendent Skinner
• Erik Von Detten - Jerome
• Wallace Shawn - Mayor Philip Fitzhugh
• Erik Von Detten - Jordan
• Tress MacNeille - Bus Driver
• Katey Sagal - Flo Spinelli
• Gregg Berger - Bob Spinelli
• Mayim Bialik - Kurst the Worst
• Andrea Martin - Lunchlady Harriet
• Ed Asner - Thadeus T. Third V
• Dabney Coleman - Coach
• Jeremy Kissner - Skeens, Jocko, and Mundy
• Martin Mull - Principal (Petey) Prickly
• Eric Idle - Galileo
• Benjamin Diskin - Various
• Allyce Beasley - Bonky
• Christine Cavanaugh - Library Kid, Sue Bob Murphy, Female Digger
• Frank Welker - Various animals
• Kath Soucie - Various characters
• Tara Strong- Various characters
• Kevin Michael Richardson - Vince's Dad (Episode: Me No Know)
• J.K. Simmons- Various People
• Ian Somerhalder - Cooley

Episodes

Main article: List of Recess (TV series) episodes

Season	Ep #	First Airdate	Last Airdate
Season 1	13	September 13, 1997	January 17, 1998
Season 2	13	September 12, 1998	February 27, 1999
Season 3	8	September 11, 1999	January 22, 2000
Season 4	23	September 12, 1999	July 17, 2000
Season 5	5	September 9, 2000	January 6, 2001
Season 6	3	October 31, 2001	November 5, 2001

Movies

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 on wiping the entire school off the map . 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

Main article: Lilo & Stitch: The Series

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 a giant alien called Dr.Hamstervil tries to use another alien 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)^[1]

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)^[2]

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".

• Episodes
  • Principal For a Day
  • The Great Can Drive
  • Weekend At Muriel's'
  • Yes Mikey, Santa Does Shave

Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

(Released December 9, 2003)^[3]

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

Recess: All Growed Down

(Released December 9, 2003)^[4]

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

• Episodes
  • The Legend of Big Kid
  • Wild Child
  • The Kindergarten Derby
  • All Growed Down (un-aired episode)

• Bonus DVD Episodes titled as "Fans' 3 Favorite Episodes"
  • The Challenge
  • The Story of Whomps
  • One Stayed Clean

Worldwide media release

United States

• American Broadcasting Company (1997-2001) (re-runs, 2001-2005)
• UPN (1999-2001) (re-runs, 2001-2003)
• Disney Channel (re-runs, 2003-2010)
• Toon Disney (re-runs, 1998-2009)
• Disney XD (re-runs, 2009-2010, October 27, 2011-October 28, 2011)

Canada

• Family Channel (1997-2011)

United Kingdom

• Disney Channel (1997-2011)
• ITV (1999-2005)
• Toon Disney (2000-2006)
• Disney Cinemagic (2007-present)

Ireland

• RTE 2 (2000-present)

References

1. ^ 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...
2. ^ 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...
3. ^ Amazon.com: Recess - Taking The Fifth Grade: Ross Malinger, Andrew Lawrence, Justin Shenkarow, Elizabeth Daily, Andrea Martin, Tress MacNeille, Katey Sagal, Kath Soucie, Joel ...
4. ^ 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

• Official website
• Recess at the Internet Movie Database
• Recess at TV.com
• Recess at epguides.com

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