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Recess
1997 - 2001 7.7 (483 votes) 6 Seasons
Official Website
Genres
Animation Kids Comedy
Networks
ABC
UPN
Created By
Joe Ansolabehere
Paul Germain

Recess

Overview

Join a group of six fourth-grade best friends at Third Street Elementary School on their fun-filled adventures in their school playground. Through the ups-and-downs of adolescence, they must wrestle with authority, avoid the school snitch, and try their best to win at kick-ball.

Top Cast

Andrew Lawrence
Andrew Lawrence

TJ Detweiler (voice)

Rickey D'Shon Collins
Rickey D'Shon Collins

Vince LaSalle (voice)

Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon

Ashley Spinelli (voice)

Ashley Johnson
Ashley Johnson

Gretchen Grundler (voice)

Jason Davis
Jason Davis

Mikey Blumberg (voice)

Courtland Mead
Courtland Mead

Gus Griswald (voice)

Seasons

Season 1 poster
Season 1 (1997)

No overview available.

26 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The Break In
1997-09-13

The main kids try to get all the other kids to help rescue T.J. when Miss Finster punishes him by making him miss recess.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 2: The New Kid
1997-09-13

New kid Gus arrives at Third Street Elementary, but has to endure the indignities that a new kid must undergo.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 3: The Experiment
1997-09-20

The kids carry out a crucial experiment to see if it's really true that kissing each other is an inevitable part of their future.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 4: The Great Jungle Gym Stand Off
1997-09-20

The kids stage a protest when Principal Prickly plans to tear down Ol' Rusty to replace it with a new jungle gym.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 5: Jinxed
1997-09-27

The Ashleys jinx Gus according to the playground rules so that he can't talk until his friends say his name.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 6: Officer Mikey
1997-09-27

The others try to help out when Mikey wants to be a safety ranger.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 7: First Name Ashley
1997-10-04

The Ashleys try to force Spinelli to be just like them when Spinelli's first name is revealed.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 8: To Finster with Love
1997-10-04

The kids help bring Miss Finster together with Hank the janitor when they find out she has a crush on him.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 9: King Gus
1997-10-11

Bob installs Gus as a substitute king while he has a tonsilectomy, figuring Gus will be easy to control - but Gus turns into a despot instead.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 10: Big Brother Chad
1997-10-11

The kids, and Vince himself, come to the awful realization that Vince's once popular older brother Chad has grown up into a geek.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 11: My Fair Gretchen
1997-10-18

The kids come up with a plan to keep Gretchen from being transferred to Oppenheimer Elementary for the Incredibly Extremely Gifted.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 12: Speedy, We Hardly Knew Ye
1997-10-18

The kids stage an elaborate funeral for the 4th grade class's beloved hamster, wherein they learn about how many lives the hamster has touched.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 13: I Will Kick No More Forever
1997-10-25

Vince completely loses his confidence at playing kickball when Ashley Q. beats him in a game.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 14: The Kid Came Back
1997-10-25

A weird little boy keeps tagging along behind the kids, apparently causing a streak of bad luck.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 15: The Pest
1997-11-01

Jeffrey, an annoying jerk of a boy, insists that Gretchen will be his girlfriend.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 16: The Legend of Big Kid
1997-11-01

What do the kindergarteners have planned for T.J. when they capture him?

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 17: The Box
1997-11-08

Miss Finster comes up with a new punishment that reduces T.J. to a vegetable.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 18: The Trial
1997-11-08

Randall accuses Spinelli of hitting him with a rock during a dirt clod war so the kids put her on trial.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 19: Teachers Lounge
1997-11-15

The kids dream about what the teachers' lounge must be like.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 20: Randall's Reform
1997-11-15

Loneliness compels Randall to want to make friends with the other kids.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 21: Rainy Days
1997-11-22

The kids grow increasingly frustrated when rain keeps then indoors for recess days on end.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 22: The Great Can Drive
1997-11-22

At first only Mikey wants to participate in the Thanksgiving can drive competition against the unbeatable Ashleys. But then the other kids join in to beat the Ashleys.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 23: The Voice
1998-01-10

Principal Prickly needs Mikey to sing the National Anthem at the PTA Spring Fling, but Mikey only sings well in the bathroom. So he brings in a music teacher to bring the Robert Goulet out of Mikey.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 24: Kids in the Mist
1998-01-10

The kids deal with a pompous expert on child research who wants to study them as they play.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 25: Parents' Night
1998-01-17

Spinelli will do anything to keep her parents from attending parents' night and meeting the others.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 26: Swing on Thru to the Other Side
1998-01-17

Spinelli is inspired to form a cult based on the Swinger Girl when she thinks she's seen her swing over the top into another dimension.

Runtime: 11 min
Season 2 poster
Season 2 (1998)

No overview available.

25 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The Break-Up
1998-09-12

The gang breaks up when they are forced to choose a best friend to write about.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 2: The Hypnotist
1998-09-12

A hypnotist performing for the kids inadvertantly hypnotizes Principal Prickly into thinking he's six years old.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 3: Mama's Girl
1998-09-19

Spinelli gets labelled a mama's girl when she inadvertantly calls Ms. Grotke ""Mama.""

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 4: Outcast Ashley
1998-09-19

Ashley A. hooks up with Gretchen when she sins against the clique so gravely as to get thrown out.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 5: The Game
1998-09-26

Gus finds a tile from the game Ajimbo and soon the entire student body gets caught in its evil grasp.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 6: The Lost Ball
1998-09-26

Gus has to go to the Yard of No Return when he kicks a good kickball over the fence.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 7: Gus' Last Stand
1998-10-03

Gus winds up the new target of the school bully's wrath.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 8: Operation Field Trip
1998-10-03

All the kids go on a big field trip to MISOOE (The Museum of Industry, Science, Oceanography, Oddities and Energy). But Ol' Smokey, the beloved school bus, breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 9: The Challenge
1998-10-10

A visit from Principal Prickly's brother Paul leads to a challenge between 3rd Street and 98th Street kickball teams.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 10: Wild Child
1998-10-10

In the "Pee Wee Pals" program, the main kids each have to take care of a kindergartner during recess.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 11: The Substitute
1998-10-31

Substitute teacher Mr. E. captivates all the kids with his command of authority, except T.J.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 12: Gretchen and the Secret of Yo
1998-10-31

Gretchen turns to former yo-yo champ Tommy Tate to learn how to master the yo-yo.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 13: The Girl Was Trouble
1998-11-07

Gretchen's search for her stolen laptop leads her on a journey among the school's delinquents that ultimately brings about her downfall.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 14: Copycat Kid
1998-11-07

Mikey wants to be exactly like Vince when Vince saves his life.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 15: Operation Stuart
1998-11-14

The kids take in a really ratty stray cat that they find near the dumpster, naming it Stuart.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 16: Pharaoh Bob
1998-11-14

King Bob orders the kids to build him a pyramid so that all future classes will remember him.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 17: The Story of Whomps
1999-01-09

Principal Prickly and Miss Finster deem T.J.'s word "whomps" as a cuss and punish him for it, starting a scandal that leads all the way to the board of education.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 18: Weekend at Muriel's
1999-01-09

Miss Finster agrees to babysit Spinelli for the weekend while her parents are away.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 19: Economics of Recess
1998-12-12

When the playground goes on the monsticker standard T.J. goes down the path from poverty to wealth.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 20: Omega Kids
1998-12-12

The main kids wish they could have the overcrowded school to themselves, then surprisingly get their wish.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 21: Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave
1998-12-26

Mikey is the only fourth grader who still believes in Santa Claus. He tries to convince the others Santa exists.

Runtime: 22 min
Episode 22: Bad Hair Day
1999-01-16

T.J. and Vince manage to convince everyone that the bad haircut they gave Mikey is actually cool.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 23: Dance Lessons
1999-01-16

Spinelli's parents put her in Mlle. Povlova's dance school, where she teams up with Mikey.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 24: Principal for a Day
1999-02-27

Principal Prickly and Miss Finster plot to turn T.J. over to their own side by making him principal for a day.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 25: The Beauty Contest
1999-02-27

The Ashleys get back at Spinelli by entering her into the Kiddie Cosmetics Little Miss Blush Beauty Pageant. But her friends talk Spinelli into trying to beat the Ashleys in the pageant.

Runtime: 11 min
Season 3 poster
Season 3 (1999)

No overview available.

16 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: One Stayed Clean
1999-09-11

On class picture day, the kids vow to keep Gus clean as he's never had a class picture of him taken.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 2: A Genius Among Us
1999-09-11

Someone else besides Gretchen is a math genius, and through math, Gretchen starts a close relationship with this person.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 3: Dodgeball City
1999-09-18

The main kids discover that Gus was once a notorious dodgeball player who went by the name of El Diablo.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 4: A Career to Remember
1999-09-18

A career day assembly gets all the kids to decide their future careers. That is all except Spinelli.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 5: Kindergarten Derby
1999-09-25

Every year the older kids pick kindergarteners to race in the Kindergarten Derby. This year an eager Tubby gets an unwilling Mikey to sponsor him in the race.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 6: The Bet
1999-09-25

Fed up with Vince's ego, the kids bet Vince that he can't go one whole day without beating someone in a sport.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 7: Space Cadet
1999-10-02

T.J. takes charge when Gretchen seems to achieve a dream that T.J.'s always had, to be an astronaut on the space shuttle.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 8: Stand Up Randall
1999-10-02

Randall becomes popular when he uses a joke book to make himself a standup comedian.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 9: The Shiner
1999-11-06

T.J. shows up in school with a black eye. Everyone makes up wild stories about the heroic acts T.J. must have done to get the shiner.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 10: Lord of the Nerds
1999-11-06

T.J. breaks his clavicle and now has to spend recess with the ""pale kids"" in Room 51.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 11: That Stinking Feeling
1999-11-13

Spinelli gets a crush on a fifth grader and has to get over it to save her reputation.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 12: My Funny Valentines
1999-11-13

In his hatred of Valentine's Day, T.J. sends a ""funny"" valentine to every single girl on the playground to show them how stupid Valentine's Day is, but his plan soon backfires when the girls mistake them for ""real"" valentine cards.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 13: The Barnaby Boys
2000-01-15

T.J. and Vince are so into the "Barnaby Boys" books that they dress up like the Barnaby Boys and try to solve the mystery of the suspicious substitute janitor, Earl Raymond.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 14: Buried Treasure
2000-01-15

TJ receives an old history textbook with a treasure map that leads the gang, Randall, and the Ashleys out to get the treasure. But as they get closer, greed arises and the 4th graders fight for the treasure.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 15: The Library Kid
2000-01-22

When the gang catches the mysterious ""Libray Kid"", they take her out to recess where she becomes obssessed with the playground.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 16: The Ratings Game
2000-01-22

Everyone is segregrated once the Ashley's start giving ratings to everyone on the playground.

Runtime: 11 min
Season 4 poster
Season 4 (1999)

No overview available.

44 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The First Picture Show
1999-09-12

Señor Fusion: the Movie finally opens and T.J. vows to be there at its first screening.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 2: The Big Prank
1999-09-12

The kids rope T.J. into a challenge to play a prank on King Bob before the end of the school day.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 3: Hustler's Apprentice
1999-09-13

Gus winds up working for the Hustler Kid to pay off a debt, and soon he himself becomes the biggest hustler in the playground.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 4: The Spy Who Came In from the Playground
1999-09-13

The main kids make a friend of new kid James Stone and show him all their little schemes, but soon regret that.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 5: Gus' Fortune
1999-09-19

The kids find a paper fortune teller on the ground that predicts doom for Gus.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 6: Rumor Mill
1999-09-19

The kids want to find out who started a rumor that a boy knocked over Mikey's popcorn at the movies and Mikey then threw the boy into the girl's bathroom.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 7: Recess is Cancelled
1999-09-22

Secretary of Schools Garrison chooses 3rd Street School as the place to test his program to bring test scores up by cancelling recess.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 8: Tattletale Heart
1999-09-22

The kids warn Gus not to break the code by telling Miss Finster who started a food fight.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 9: The Madness of King Bob
1999-09-26

King Bob abandons his throne in his obsessive pursuit of pulling a prank on T.J. in this sequel to The Big Prank

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 10: Call Me Guy
1999-09-26

Gus takes a new identity when he discovers that people think he's a different cool kid when he doesn't wear them. Too bad "Guy" can't see a thing.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 11: Prickly is Leaving
1999-10-03

Prickly finally gets his appointment to Spiro T. Agnew Middle School. But the kids try to make him stay after they meet the new Principal Slicer.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 12: Randall's Friends
1999-10-03

Randall gets the main kids to pretend that they're his friends when his father, Leonard, visits the school on Randall's birthday.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 13: The Biggest Trouble Ever
1999-11-07

The gang gets busted when they accidentally break a statue of a famous hero.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 14: The Rules
1999-11-07

The original 1935 edition of The Rules of the Playground is discovered in the library.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 15: Gus and Misdemeanors
1999-11-08

The bad kids from The Girl was Trouble trick Gus into shoplifting candy from Kelso's.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 16: A Science Fair to Remember
1999-11-08

Second grade prodigy Becky Benson befriends Gretchen to get help for her science fair project. But she has an ulterior motive.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 17: Mikey's Pants
1999-11-14

The gang tries to cover up Mikey's ripped pants so Finster won't catch him.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 18: Here Comes Mr. Perfect
1999-11-14

Jared, the new student, appears to be perfect, making the rest of the school very jealous.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 19: Good Luck Charm
1999-11-19

Spinelli gets too attached to the lucky marble that Vince loans her.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 20: Diggers Split Up
1999-11-19

Digger Dave quits digging and then bosses everyone around.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 21: Schoolworld
1999-11-21

The school gets a new technology system installed called the SAL 3000 which controls everything.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 22: Bachelor Gus
1999-11-21

Thinking his family is moving away again, Gus moves under the jungle gym to avoid leaving his friends and school

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 23: The Dude
1999-11-28

T.J. and the gang meet Mr. Dudicoff, a student teacher who was a legend at 3rd Street School back in the day.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 24: Partners in Crime
1999-11-28

Menlo and Randall team up to manipulate the entire playground.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 25: The Candidates
1999-11-29

Gretchen and Vince both run for president.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 26: This Brain for Hire
1999-11-29

People start paying Gretchen for doing their homework so she can buy herself a new bike

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 27: Spinelli's Masterpiece
2000-02-06

Spinelli channels her anger into a playground chalk drawing.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 28: Nobody Doesn't Like T.J.
2000-02-06

T.J. can't figure out why Gordy doesn't like him.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 29: Yope from Norway
2000-02-20

When a new kid from Norway comes to 3rd Street School, Gus befriends the kid by making him think that Gus is the hottest kid in the school.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 30: Bonky Fever
2000-02-20

Scared of turning 10 on his soon-to-be bithday, Mikey develops an obssession of becoming a little kid again so he won't have to grow up.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 31: Don't Ask Me
2000-02-21

Spinelli becomes popular as an advice giver when she sits in for Guru Kid.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 32: The Secret Life of Grotke
2000-02-21

Ms. Grotke's strange behavior makes the kids think that she's a spy.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 33: The Fuss Over Finster
2000-02-27

Miss Finster hurts her leg and can't keep up with the kids during recess.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 34: Soccer Boy
2000-02-27

Mikey makes the other kids regret not letting them play on their team for the playground's soccer tourney.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 35: Fort Tender
2000-02-29

The bored main kids build their own fort. But then Lawson takes it over.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 36: Germ Warfare
2000-02-29

Gus starts an obsessive crusade to kill all the germs in the world, while Mikey will do anything to save them.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 37: More Like Gretchen
2000-03-01

Spinelli gets peeved with her parents heap so much praise for Gretchen at her expense.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 38: Prince Randall
2000-03-01

Randall uses an embarrassing photo to blackmail King Bob into making him Playground Prince.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 39: Me No Know
2000-04-30

Vince feels like an outsider after he misses the must-see movie of the weekend.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 40: Good Ole T.J.
2000-04-30

Gretchen is worried when she's partnered with T.J. on a class project.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 41: Chez Vince
2000-05-07

Disgusted by the horrible cafeteria food, Vince becomes the new school cook when the other kids try his cooking.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 42: Tucked In Mikey
2000-05-07

Needing to prepare himself for a poet laureate ceremony, Mikey decides to listen to Menlo to learn how to organize himself.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 43: Old Folks Home
2000-07-17

Mikey badgers the gang into a trip to senior citizens home.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 44: Some Friend
2000-07-17

T.J. has a mysterious new friend.

Runtime: 11 min
Season 5 poster
Season 5 (2000)

No overview available.

11 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The Coolest Heatwave Ever
2000-09-09

During a burning hot day, the gang attempts to make it across the playground to the otherside where there is a water pump.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 2: No Strings Attached
2000-09-09

The gang is suspicious when the Ashleys give Spinelli six wrestling tickets.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 3: Beyond a Reasonable Scout
2000-09-16

Mikey and Gus want to join the Woodchuck Scouts.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 4: The C Note
2000-09-16

T.J. finds a $100 bill and along with the gang try to find out who lost it.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 5: The Army Navy Game
2000-09-23

Gus and Theresa (Cornchip Girl) have a hard time becoming friends due to their rivaling fathers.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 6: Big Ol' Mikey
2000-09-23

After Mikey helps Cornchip Girl off the climbing frame after she gets stuck, the gang wonder how big he will be. Gretchen and Galileo conduct a test to find out how big everyone will be when they are older, and Mikey's test says he will be 50 feet tall! The others find this cool and wonder what 50 foot Mikey could do, but Mikey isn't so sure that being 50 feet tall will be that great.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 7: A Great State Fair
2000-10-14

Gus must stay behind from the fair because he forgot his permission slip, while the rest of the gang try to figure out a way to get Gus to the fair.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 8: The A.V. Kid
2000-10-14

Vince and T.J. compete for the job as A.V. Kid, but their competition leads to a broken-up friendship between them.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 9: The Principals of Golf
2000-11-04

The kids think Vince is getting special treatment when he becomes Prickly's golf partner.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 10: All the Principal's Men
2000-11-04

The gang tries to find out who removed all the balls from the playground.

Runtime: 11 min
Episode 11: Lawson and His Crew
2001-01-06

Tired of TJ and his friends getting all the glory from King Bob, Lawson decides to get a gang of his own together. He recruits Randall, Menlow, Swinger Girl, Skeenes and Kurst the Worst and together the six start solving the playground's problems and getting the glory. Of course TJ and his friends now have nothing to do, so they are left just talking and eventually realise that just being friends is much better than getting all the glory they used to have. Friends being something that Lawson and his crew are definitely not ...

Runtime: 22 min

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