"The Challenge" is the first segment of the eighteenth episode of Recess.
Synopsis[]
Principal Prickly's older brother is principal of a rival elementary school. The siblings square off over a bet based on a game of kickball with the gang playing off against their doubles.
Plot[]
The kids play a wholesome game of kickball. Vince kicks the ball all the way across the playground and hits Principal Peter Prickly's window, annoying him. As he complains on the rambunctiousness of his students and how he was going to leave for the first middle school job available, suddenly Ms. Lemon calls him to inform that a Principal Prickly on the phone for him. This confuses Prickly, until he realizes it's his older brother Paul Prickly, the principal of 90rd Street School, and who always loves making him feel inferior. This Prickly announces that he would be visiting Third Street School tomorrow to see how our Prickly is doing. Prickly quickly hires a team of renovators to make sure that the school is tidied up and ready for his brother's visit, includes with a mural of himself on the ceiling of the cafeteria, new grass sod, and a high class boys restroom with a butler. The renovations are narrowly finished by the time of Paul's arrival. The Prickly brothers walk to embrace one another but Paul purposely abstains to comment on the school flagpole, while mentioning his own is much bigger. They later eat fillet mignon in the cafeteria. Paul initiate compliments their meal only to then criticize that the very flavor had been grilled out of it and boasts his own chef graduated from the Cordon Bleu; Peter orders Miss Finster to withhold the creme brulee.
As Principal Prickly takes his brother on a tour of the grounds, the Recess Gang are playing kickball and Gus is up on the last inning with their team a single run behind. Fortunately, Gretchen quickly comes up with a strategy, advising Gus to exploit the opposing player at third base, Tracy "Too Deep" Logan, by blunting left, enabling their team to win. The gang barely has time to celebrate before Peter marches up to scold them to get off the new grass he had rented. However, Paul is more impressed with the sport. Before long, the brothers start boasting which of their past students went on to achieve sports renown, before settling on a kickball match where the loser has to wash the winner's car in front of the loser's school while wearing a bathing suit during recess; Vince tells his friends that they're stuck between a rock and his older brother.
The next week, the kids express delight at a chance of missing school, and they wear purple and gold uniforms for the occasion. However, Peter Prickly orders them to win at all costs. Meanwhile, the other Prickly was fixing the school in a fashion similar to Third Street just before the gang arrives, even with a 50-foot flagpole. The Prickly brothers narrowly shake hands but Paul once again abstains.
Gus separates from the group going past the school's own, Upside-Down Girl and Guru Kid. Gus then falls into a hole dug by the school's own female diggers, much to their chagrin, and to Gus' fright. He tries to tell the gang, but he fails, and they do not find out about the school being an exact replica of their school, until Paul introduces the other team, their own doppelgangers. They play the game, and each team is evenly matched, with both sides only scoring one point each by the 5th inning. Peter Prickly warns his team to win or they'll be taking a pop quiz on the state flowers tomorrow morning; Paul similarly tells his team they'll be doing a quiz on the state birds tomorrow morning.
As the game goes on with neither side gaining the advantage, T.J and his doppelganger C.J. Rottweiler each give their team a rousing speech on how their opponents don't have the same heart in the game. On the last inning, Peter pressures Gus to win by threatening to keep him in fourth grade another year; Paul tells his doppelganger Russ Rimple that he'll suffer fourth grade for two more years. Gus then misses the ball, prompting the umpire to declare a strike, which Peter contests, so he changes the ruling to ball one. This upsets Paul, who gets into an argument with his brother. Seeing this had gotten out of hand, T.J. negotiates with C.J., and the kids call it a draw, much to the Prickly brothers' displeasure. The kids refuse to listen to their principals for how they sucked all the fun out of the game. And while the kids go play on the 98 Street's jungle gym, Old Crusty, the Prickly brothers accuse each other of cheating and start fighting until way past the end of the episode.
Cast[]
- Andrew Lawrence as T.J. Detweiler
- Rickey D'Shon Collins as Vince LaSalle
- Pamela Adlon as Ashley Spinelli
- Ashley Johnson as Gretchen Grundler
- Jason Davis as Mikey Blumberg
- Courtland Mead as Gus Griswald
- Dabney Coleman as Peter Prickly
- Martin Mull as Paul Prickly
- April Winchell as Muriel Finster
- Tress MacNeille as Miss Lemon
- Elizabeth Daily as Rigelli, Female Digger #1
- Christine Cavanaugh as Greta Grobler, Female Digger #2
- Alex McKenna as C.J. Rotweiler
- Tony Jay as Butler
- Patrick Renna as Umpire
Trivia[]
- "Mickey", "Rus", and "Vance" were also the names that Flo Spinelli called Mikey, Gus, and Vince in "Parents' Night".
- The other school's name, 98th Street School, may be a reference to the year the episode was aired.
- The landscaping truck that arrived at Third Street School at the beginning of the episode was called "Joe and Paul's Landscaping", a reference to the creators.
External links[]
- The Challenge at the Recess Wiki
