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"The Box" is the first segment of the ninth episode of Recess.

Synopsis[]

T.J. is sent to Finster's invention, the Box, and the results are unsettling.

Plot[]

After the Recess Gang's latest scheme of getting ice cream ends with T.J. getting caught after losing his shoe, he is punished by facing the wall, though this does little to deter him as he laughs it off. Miss Finster confides in Randall that none of the students take her seriously, but she has concocted a plan to change all that. The next day, Miss Finster invents the box, a small chalk square drawn into the playground's blacktop. She informs all the students that if they do anything to provoke or break the rules of the playground, they will immediately get put in the box for ten minutes. Everyone laughs at it and continues playing.

Right away, T.J. is the first to test out the box. At first he tries to pass the time with menial tasks, but soon the solitude begins to settle on him and drives him insane. Miss Finster releases him and forces him to do various school chores to stay out of trouble, which he does so willingly. The event has caused him to become frightened of anything square or box shaped, much to Miss Finster's joy. Not knowing what to do, Gretchen suggests that they need to have T.J. face his fears by putting him back in the box again, based on what she has read about Sigmund Freud. They succeed in having him sent back to the box, though Gretchen admits that it might drive him further insane.

T.J. is put back in the box and nearly loses his mind once again. Suddenly, a ball hits him in the head and a young child asks if he can have it back. When T.J. fails to respond, the aggravated boy steps into the box to get it himself. T.J. is baffled by this until he puts his foot outside and comes to the conclusion that it is nothing more than just four lines in the ground. Miss Finster and Randall delightedly go to check on T.J., but are shocked to see that he is perfectly fine and goes to rejoin his friends. He tells them that he knows better now and returns to play. Meanwhile, Miss Finster is left sobbing over her failed experiment while Randall backs away.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • Miss Finster claims that the inventor of detention was Mildred Frizbone in 1952. This is false. The modern form of detention was not implemented into schools until the late 1960's and early 1970's and was initially created by a man named Jeremy Bentham.
  • Initially T.J. was supposed to sing "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?" instead of "This Old Man".[1]
  • Gretchen states that she has started to question Sigmund Freud's knowledge. This would actually be accurate as Freud's teachings have constantly been called into question long after his death.

References[]

External links[]

v - e - d
Media
Recess (Videography) • Recess: School's Out (Soundtrack) • Recess: All Growed DownRecess: Taking the Fifth GradeRecess: Miracle on Third Street"Lax" (Lilo & Stitch: The Series crossover episode)"Codename: Electric Haircut" (Fillmore! crossover episode)
Characters
T.J. DetweilerVince LaSalleAshley SpinelliMikey BlumbergGretchen GrundlerGus GriswaldCaptain BradleyCornchip GirlThe KindergartnersThe DiggersHustler KidErwin LawsonMiss GrotkeMuriel FinsterBecky DetweilerDr. Phillium BenedictMenloBrockPeter PricklyKojakMiss SalamoneButchAshley ArmbrusterAshley BouletAshley QuinlanAshley TomassianFenwickBrandon the SingerGelmanKing BobChuckoJockoRandall WeemsKing Freddie IICheaySpencerThe MegansThe BrittanysThe TylersBob and Flo Spinelli
Episodes
Season One: "The Break In/The New Kid" • "The Experiment/The Great Jungle Gym Standoff" • "Jinxed/Officer Mikey" • "First Name Ashley/To Finster with Love" • "King Gus/Big Brother Chad" • "My Fair Gretchen/Speedy, We Hardly Knew Ye" • "I Will Kick No More Forever/The Kid Came Back" • "The Pest/The Legend of Big Kid" • "The Box/The Trial" • "Teacher's Lounge/Randall's Reform" • "Rainy Days/The Great Can Drive" • "The Voice/Kids in the Mist" • "Parents' Night/Swing on Thru to the Other Side"

Season Two: "The Break-up/The Hypnotist" • "Mama's Girl/Outcast Ashley" • "The Game/The Lost Ball" • "Gus' Last Stand/Operation Field Trip" • "The Challenge/Wild Child" • "The Substitute/Gretchen and the Secret of Yo" • "The Girl Was Trouble/Copycat Kid" • "Operation Stuart/Pharaoh Bob" • "The Story of Whomps/Weekend at Muriel's" • "Economics of Recess/Omega Kids" • "Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave" • "Bad Hair Day/Dance Lessons" • "Principal for a Day/The Beauty Contest"
Season Three: "The Big Prank/Hustler's Apprentice" • "Kindergarten Derby/A Career to Remember" • "A Genius Among Us/The Spy Who Came in from the Playground" • "Partners in Crime/The Bet" • "The First Picture Show/Gus' Fortune" • "Recess is Cancelled/Tattletale Heart" • "One Stayed Clean/Rumor Mill" • "The Madness of King Bob/Call Me Guy" • "Prickly is Leaving/Randall's Friends" • "Dodgeball City/Space Cadet" • "The Shiner/Stand Up Randall" • "The Biggest Trouble Ever/The Rules" • "Gus and Misdemeanors/A Science Fair to Remember" • "Mikey's Pants/Here Comes Mr. Perfect" • "Good Luck Charm/Diggers Split Up" • "That Stinking Feeling/Lord of the Nerds" • "Schoolworld/Bachelor Gus" • "The Dude/Bonky Fever" • "The Candidates/This Brain for Hire" • "The Barnaby Boys/Buried Treasure" • "My Funny Valentines/The Ratings Game" • "Yope from Norway/The Library Kid" • "Spinelli's Masterpiece/Nobody Doesn't Like T.J." • "A Great State Fair/The A.V. Kid" • "Don't Ask Me/The Secret Life of Grotke" • "The Fuss Over Finster/Soccer Boy"
Season Four: "Fort Tender/Germ Warfare" • "More Like Gretchen/Prince Randall" • "Me No Know/Good Ole T.J." • "Old Folks Home/Some Friend" • "Chez Vince/Tucked in Mikey" • "Beyond a Reasonable Scout/The Army/Navy Game" • "The C Note/Big Ol' Mikey" • "The Coolest Heatwave Ever/Mundy, Mundy" • "Lawson and his Crew" • "All the Principal's Men/No Strings Attached" • "The Principals of Golf/Kurst the Not So Bad" • "Lost Leader/League of Randalls" • "Terrifying Tales of Recess"

Locations
Third Street SchoolOld RustyFifth and Sixth Grader ClubAshley's ClubhouseKing's Jungle Gym
Songs
We Shall Not Be MovedBorn to Be WildGreen TambourineDancing in the Street