The Box

Ms. Finster comes up with a new punishment that reduces T.J. to a vegetable.

Theodore J. Detweiller, Vince LaSalle, Ashley Spinelli, Mikey Blumberg, Gretchen P. Grundler, Gustav P. Griswold, Muriel P. Finster, Principal Peter Prickly, Ms. Grotke, Randall J. Weems, King Bob, Ashley Armbruster, Ashley Beaule, Ashley Quinlan, Ashley Tomasian, Digger Sam, Digger Dave, Francis, Menlo, Butch, Ms. Lemmon, Hank, Coach Kluge, Bertha, Superintendent Fred Skinner, Mayor Phillip Fitzhue, Lieutennant Griswold, Flo Spinelli, Bob Spinelli, Leonard Weems, Guru Kid

From the co-creators of Rugrats came this look at the most dangerous battleground of preadolescence... Recess. In this One Saturday Morning series, six fourth graders banded together against all potential enemies?teachers, tough kids, and sixth graders.

T.J. was the group's unofficial leader, an outgoing kid with his hat on backwards. Tall kid Vince was the athlete, Gretchen was the gangly genius, Mikey was the soft-hearted big fella, Gus was the picked-on pessimist, and Spinelli (DON'T call her "Ashley") was the scrappy tomboy. They were a motley crew, but they were always loyal to each other in a pinch.

The other playground residents (combatants?) included Upside-Down Girl (always on the monkey bars), Swing Girl (you guessed it), playground idol King Bob, popularity queens The Ashleys, and The Diggers, twins who had an entire system of tunnels beneath the playground. From her supervisor's post, Miss Finster kept a disapproving eye on the kids' shenanigans.

Along with Pepper Ann and Brand Spanking New Doug, Recess was one of One Saturday Morning's founding members. The show has remained in the lineup ever since, even spawning a 2001 feature film, Recess: School's Out.