Recess

Recess is a 1997 animated comedy-drama created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It aired on ABC's One Saturday Morning block from 1997 to 2001, with reruns lasting on the network until 2004 and also aired on Disney Channel from 2003 to 2005, and from 2008 to 2010, and on Toon Disney from 2003 to 2009.

Plot
Six brave fourth-graders at Third Street School make it their mission to protect the other kids on the playground. Despite the rule of King Bob and his minions, who enforce his unwritten laws, T.J, Ashley, Vince, Gus, Gretchen and Mikey seek a rational balance between conformity and individuality.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Memorable characters like the main six: T.J. Detweiler, Ashley Spinelli, Gus Griswald, Vince LaSalle, Gretchen Grundler and Mikey Blumberg.
 * 2) *On top of that, the main six have distinct personality traits and characteristics: T.J. is the natural leader, Spinelli is the hot headed tomboy, Vince is the athletic kid, Gretchen is the brains of the group, Mikey is the kind hearted kid who loves poetry, and Gus is the unlucky one of the group who is sympathetic because he lives in a military family and has to move a lot.
 * 3) Great voice acting.
 * 4) The idea for Recess was good.
 * 5) It spawned a theatrical film called mh:greatestmovies:Recess: School's Out, three direct-to-video films, and a crossover with Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
 * 6) Well-done music, especially the opening theme.
 * 7) Smooth animation.
 * 8) Endless amounts of creativity.
 * 9) Memorable episodes such as "Economics Of Recess", "The Story Of Whomps", and many more.
 * 10) The show also teaches the lesson that "sometimes, people won't like you, and there's nothing you can do about it", which is a very important lesson for children to be taught, and something you don't see much in kid shows.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some unlikable characters such as The Ashleys or Randall Weems.
 * 2) Some bad episodes like "Nobody Doesn't Like TJ", "Jinxed", "The Biggest Trouble Ever", "King Gus" (depending on your view) and "No Strings Attached".
 * 3) It can get a little mean spirited at times.
 * 4) Season 6 was rather weak as it mostly consisted of unaired season 5 episodes.

Trivia

 * Paul Germain based Gretchen on childhood pictures of his wife.
 * Jason Davis (the actor who played Mikey) died from effects of Fentanyl at age 35 on February 16, 2020.