The Barnaby Boys

"The Barnaby Boys" is the first segment of the thirty-third episode of Recess.
==Synopsis==
T.J. and Vince try to uncover the mystery of the temporary janitor.
==Plot==
The Gang is surprised to see that T.J. and Vince are obsessed with a book series called The Barnaby Boys. Gretchen reminds that the Barnabys are fictional characters and that their so-called methods solving cases on a weekly basis are impractical to real crime solving techniques. Spinelli backs up that despite the best efforts of the authorities, they have yet to figure out the theft of the head of the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in the town square thirty years ago. She then insists they stop wasting their recess only for the school bell to ring for them to return inside.
The next day, the two dress as the characters and pick up on the mannerisms associated with those characters. On a whim, they become interested in a suspiciously new janitor and wonder why he instead of Hank is cleaning. They decide to investigate by asking Randall what he knows and by simply glaring at him, he reveals that the janitor is named Earl Raymond, that he worked at Third Street a long time ago, and that Hank won a two-week trip to Bermuda.
They go to Menlo to request a look in the school files but are denied access. As T.J. and Vince discuss what Barnaby Boys tactics to use on him, Spinelli resorts to threatening Menlo to get their way. The Gang soon finds Raymond's file and discover that he worked at Third Street thirty years prior, only to disappear after a year on the job and recently reappear to reapply for his old job even though he works at another school closer to his home. Also in the file, they find a wrapper with numbers, 19, 16, and 25, on them, but do not know what they mean. Gretchen suggests the numbers refer to the letters on the alphabet, spelling "SPY". They then resort to following Raymond all around the school and the only suspicious actions they've noticed is Raymond tapping a wall in the hall. Suspecting that he's looking for something that used be there, the Gang head to the library to look through year books to find that lockers used to be there and that there is an old storage room hidden away. They conclude that the numbers are in fact a locker combination and that Raymond must have stored something in them. Spinelli, who was continuously complaining about the whole mystery, leaves out of frustration.
The rest of the Gang find the storage room and discover the lockers that were hidden away. Upon using the numbers to open the lock, they discover the bronze head of Thomas Jefferson. Raymond reveals himself and ties the kids up, explaining that he stole the head as ransom for $10 and a head start and was waiting to come back and retrieve it as the statute of limitations on his crimes runs out at midnight; Gretchen explains to a confused Gus that by midnight, it'd be impossible to prosecute Raymond for his crime. Now Raymond intends to ransom the head for thirty times more his original price. T.J. insists that Raymond let his friends go, but the villain says he can't risk it and intends to leave them where they are. Mikey calls him a bad man and Vince adds that he's a terrible janitor. Before an angry Raymond could lay a hand on him, Spinelli arrives with the school police; they also tell Raymond to save his excuses for the judge, who happens to be a descendant of Jefferson.
As Spinelli unties them, T.J. asks why she would help them when she just called them stupid. She replies that they were foolish to continue their investigation without involving the authorities, something The Barnaby Boys would never do, admitting that she read all 64 volumes of the series. The episode then ends with the Gang featured in the newspaper for saving Jefferson's head.
==Cast==
* Andrew Lawrence as T.J. Detweiler
* Rickey D'Shon Collins as Vince LaSalle
* Pamela Adlon as Ashley Spinelli
* Ashley Johnson as Gretchen Grundler
* Jason Davis as Mikey Blumberg
* Courtland Mead as Gus Griswald
* Ryan O'Donohue as Randall Weems
* Blake Ewing as Menlo
* Brad Garrett as Earl Raymond
* Gregg Berger as Officer
==Trivia==
*The Barnaby Boys are clearly a parody of the Hardy Boys.
*When Earl is being hauled away by the police, he references the Scooby-Doo series with the line of "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
==External links==
*The Barnaby Boys at the Recess Wiki
Category:Recess episodes