Recess

**Recess** is an American television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere. It focuses on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers.

The series aired on ABC, UPN and Toon Disney from August 31, 1997 to November 5, 2001.

## Plot

The show portrays the life of six elementary school students: popular and confident T.J. Detweiler, athletic Vince LaSalle, tough girl Ashley Spinelli, gentle giant Mikey Blumberg, smart Gretchen Grundler, and shy new kid Gus Griswald. The students of Third Street School set up a microcosm of traditional human society complete with its own government, class system, and a 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 that impose a high expectation of conformity among the students.

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.

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Ross Malinger / Andrew Lawrence as Theodore "T.J." Jasper Detweiler
* Rickey D'Shon Collins as Vincent "Vince" Pierre LaSalle
* Pamela Adlon as Ashley Funicello Spinelli
* Ashley Johnson as Gretchen Priscilla Grundler
* Jason Davis as Michael "Mikey" Blumberg
* Courtland Mead as Gustav "Gus" Patton Griswald
* April Winchell as Miss Muriel P. Finster
* Dabney Coleman as Principal Peter Prickly
* Ryan O'Donohue as Randall C. Weems
* Allyce Beasley as Miss Alordayne Grotke
* Erik von Detten as Erwin Lawson

## Films

### Recess: School's Out

The film was released on February 16, 2001 and was written by Jonathan Greenberg. It shows the characters where they must intercept a gang of anti-recess terrorists plotting to bring about a new ice age to eliminate the institution of summer vacation.

### Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street

The film was released on November 6, 2001. It is a compilation of four unrelated episodes and the series' Christmas special, told as flashbacks by the school faculty members while stuck in a snowstorm.

### Recess: All Growed Down

The film was released on December 9, 2003. After being kidnapped by kindergarteners, the main characters recall stories about how they used to get along with each other.

### Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade

The film was released on December 9, 2003. It is a compilation of three episodes which involve the main characters in fifth grade.

## Production

Recess first premiered on ABC on August 31, 1997, as a "sneak preview", and later transitioned to ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning programming block on September 13, 1997. The series' success spawned three direct-to-video titles Recess Trilogy: Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street in 2001, Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade and Recess: All Growed Down in 2003; and one theatrical film, Recess: School's Out, which was released on February 16, 2001. The series ended on November 5, 2001; reruns continued to air on UPN until 2003 and ABC until 2004.

Disney Channel added Recess to their line-up on September 3, 2003. Fillmore!, The Legend of Tarzan, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command were all pre-empted in favour of a 90-minute showing of the series. It temporarily ceased airing on September 2, 2005, but resumed on August 26, 2008 replacing The Buzz on Maggie, and continued until June 30, 2010.

Toon Disney aired the show from September 3, 2003 to February 12, 2009. When Toon Disney was converted to Disney XD, the series was carried over and aired from April 14, 2009 to October 27, 2011. The show is also available as part of Disney+.

## Reception

### Critical Response

TV critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz wrote favourably about Recess in their 2016 book TV (The Book), stating that the series is "Easily one of the smartest, most prankishly playful adult cartoons ever passed off as children's entertainment.... Recess is a highly ritualised bit of entertainment that strikes the same notes over and over again, but always in infinite variation and with a surprising eye for psychological grace notes, especially when characters you thought of as brusque and one-dimensional reveal their fears and dreams to one another."

## Home Media

Many episodes of Recess are available on the DisneyLife service in the UK, along with the direct-to-video films. It is also available on Disney+ in several countries, including the U.S. and UK.