"The Great Jungle Gym Standoff" is the second segment of the second episode of Recess.
Synopsis
Principal Prickly wants to replace the school jungle gym, 'Ol Rusty, but not if T.J. and the whole school can stop him.
To do so, T.J. leads the kids into climbing on 'Ol Rusty, and refuse to come down, no matter what Prickly and Miss Finster do to try and convince them to let 'Ol Rusty be demolished for the new jungle gym. In a last resort, Prickly pulls out his secret weapon: calling the parents. However, this effort backfires as the parents, upon seeing 'Ol Rusty and remembering all the good times they spent on it, take the side of their children and join them on 'Ol Rusty. Defeated, Prickly and Finster stomp off and agree to let 'Ol Rusty stay, but ironically, it is the kids and their parents that do 'Ol Rusty in as their combined weight is too much for the worn-down, aged structure to endure, and just as the last of them get off and get clear, 'Ol Rusty collapses into a pile of scrap metal. T.J. is heartbroken at how all their effort to save 'Ol Rusty was for nothing, until the workmen realize they can use the parts from the new jungle gym to rebuild 'Ol Rusty, whom T.J. dubs "New Rusty" upon it's completion as the kids immediately enjoy playing on it again as their parents look on with pride.
Trivia
- Gus is only in this episode for a few seconds and doesn't speak; he can be seen on 'Ol Rusty when all the kids climb on and refuse to get down.