Review of Recess

Pictured if you will a group of elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers where most of the time planning and scheming others in the format of the 1960's television series "Hogan's Heroes"....The Disney animated series "Recess" was one of the best animated shows ever invested by Disney that ran for six seasons from August 31,1997 until November 5, 2001. A total of 65 episodes were produced(most of which in 128 segments). Created by the brainchild team of Paul Germain, Joesph Ansolabehere, and Mike Berenstain,"Recess" was basically a good premise of a series...a group of elementary school kids become close friends battling to overcome problems and not only enemies(but to plot and scheme against the upper authorities of the school including the principal of the school and certainly not least the the evil Miss Finster!)within the confines of the school,the playground(where the gang hatches up most of their plans),the odd field trip not to mention the daily doses of anything and everything that goes on within the confines of the school....really it's like Hogan's Heroes but in a school setting with kids! The kids themselves...you have T.J.(the undisputed leader of the group)in the Bob Crane role; Gretchen(the smart one)in the Larry Hovis role; Vince(the school jock)in the Ivan Dixon role,Spinnelli(the tough girl)would be a cross between Richard Dawson;Gus(was the mousey kid)in the Robert Clary role,and Mikey(the big kid with the soul of a poet). Then their ate the grown-ups that would be named Principal Prickly(in the Werner Klemperer Col. Klink role),and last but certainly not least the evil Miss Finster(in the John Banner Sgt. Schultz role). "Recess" was more wittier and more characters added than any other standard Disney fare,but it still packed a lot of Disney morals and lessons into each of the episodes. The series first aired as part of the ABC Kids Saturday Morning schedule from 1997 to 2001,and from there repeats aired on both the Disney Channel. The success of the series spawned the first of two features. In 2001,Disney released,"Recess:Schools Out" that became a runaway hit in theatrical release. It was followed by a direct-to-video second film titled "Recess:Miracle on Third Street" that same year. In 2003,a third entitled "Recess: Taking The Fifth Grade" were also direct-to-video. Repeats of the series continued after 2001 when UPN pick it up until September of 2004. The Disney Channel recycled all 65 episodes in repeats from 2006 until 2011.