Dodgeball City is the third episode of Recess's third season which was first broadcast on September 18, 1999.
T.J. and the gang discover something shocking from Gus's past.
Synopsis
After another game of being creamed in dodgeball, the gang meet up with Gus who is practicing his guitar. A kid walks in, and suddenly recognizes him as "El Diablo" and stumbles into a snack stand as Gus walks out. The kid then tells the gang that Gus went to his old school, Jesse James Elementary School, and terrorized it with his skills as the "Fastest Dodgeball in the West".
The gang doubts it, but the kid maintains his story. TJ and Vince find Gus showing off his guitar skills to Hector. After a breif talk, in which Gus denies his dodgeball skills, TJ throws a dodgeball at him, and he catches it without even looking at it, confirming the kid's story. They then challenge Lawson and the Fifth Grade to a dodgeball match, for all of each side's marbles. They try to convince Gus to play dodgeball, but he refuses, and Spinelli forces him to tell them why under threat of breaking his guitar. He then explains that on one game, he accidentally hit a 1st grader hard, causing him to cry for his mom and never go to the playground again, giving Gus much guilt, so much that he refused to play dodgeball from that point on.
The fifth graders refuse to call off the game, so the fourth and fifth graders play dodgeball, with the fourth graders slowly dwindling in numbers. Gus is finally convinced to play dodgeball again when Hector is hit by Lawson, on purpose. Gus shows up as El Diablo, and takes out every one of the opposing players, earning a victory for the fourth graders. He then speaks his desire to retire from dodgeball for good, then walks out into the sunset followed by a western voice implied to be an older Hector. Hector, himself then yells at Gus to come back, "school isn't over yet!", as the words 'The End' show up on the screen.
Trivia
- As El Diablo, Gus greatly resembles Clint Eastwood's man with no name, not just for the costume, but also for his mannerisms and lightning fast skill with a dodgeball (in the man with no name's case, it was his pistols).
- Gus' former school, Jesse James Elementary School refers to famed outlaw Jesse James. Who had many western movies made about him.
- Sue Bob Murphy and Greg Skeens appear on the fifth graders side, thus confirming that they are in Fifth grade.
- When Gus reappears as El Diablo, black widescreen bars appear for the rest of the episode.
- This episode makes extensive use of western style music.
- This is the only episode with a "The End" title at the end of the episode.
- This episode was paired up with "Space Cadet" outside the US.
- Clips of this episode were included in a 2001 One Saturday Morning promo for Recess.
Cast
- T.J. Detweiler - Andrew Lawrence
- Vince LaSalle - Rickey D'Shon Collins
- Ashley Spinelli - Pamela Segall-Adlon
- Gretchen Grundler - Ashley Johnson
- Mikey Blumberg - Jason Davis
- Gus Griswald - Courtland Mead
- Sam - Klee Bragger
- Randall Weems/Dave - Ryan O'Donohue
- King Bob - Toran Caudell
- Earwin Lawson - Erik von Detten
- Koreo/Kid #4 - Justin Shenkarow
- Hector/Kid #2 - E.G. Daily
- Adult Hector - Charles Napier
- Kid #1 - Sam Gifaldi
- Kid #3 - Kath Soucie