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"The New Kid" (YouTube link) is the second episode of the first season of Recess, which was broadcast on September 13th, 1997.

Plot[]



Summary[]

Gus Griswald first appears, and he is introduced to the gang. However, King Bob makes him become ostracized from the rest of the students, and he then goes to get his name back.

Main Story[]

T.J. and the gang scheme to have recess come early. They succeed, but then they are greeted by a soldier who drops off his son, Gustav Patton "Gus" Griswald, a new student telling the other's his name and that he's been to 12 schools in the past 6 years. Meanwhile T.J. and the others show him around, but then King Bob shows up and finds out he's the new kid, as per the code of the playground the last kid to transfer in becomes 'The New Kid' and shall forever be known only as the new kid and nothing else. The Last New Kid was Morris P. Hingle.

Gus is then ostracized in his status, even by Miss Grotke and his own parents. T.J. and the gang then take pity on him, and help him get his name back, until King Bob shows up again. Gus has had enough, stands up to King Bob and demands his name back, to which Bob does so. Gus, now a part of The Recess Gang, celebrates, while Morris, the former new kid, complains that he had to go through the new kid status for three years before Gus transferred in. To which King Bob responds, indifferently, "Hey, you should've said something."

Timeline[]

Quotes[]

  • Mikey: "There are lots of people without names."
  • Gus: "Like who?"
  • Mikey: "Like the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, the Unknown Soldier, and the other four guys in the Jackson Five."

Goofs[]

  • Animation/continuity error: In the beginning of the episode, when Gretchen calls Miss Grotke, there is no TV visible. After Grotke arrives, there is a TV set behind Gretchen.
  • Animation/continuity error: When Miss Grotke calls on Willy during attendance, his hat is missing.
  • Grammar error: Gus' last name is spelled "Griswold" in this episode instead of "Griswald".
  • Coloring/consistency error: During the attendance scene, the back of Ashley Q. can be seen, but she has dark brown hair and wears white. This could have been a prototype of her before she was finalized.
  • Animation/continuity error: When Vince told T.J. that any guy named Gustav is "found to be trouble", T.J.'s highlights are missing.
  • Continuity error: In this episode, Lieutenant Griswald was shown to be in the U.S. Marine Corps. However, in later episodes, he was shown to be in the military.
  • Animation/continuity error: In one of the scenes where the kids rush to recess, they are not seen behind Gus after the dust is gone.

Trivia[]

Regular[]

  • This episode was adapted for the Disney Chapters book collection in 1998.
  • This episode was included as a bonus on the Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade DVD and the VHS and DVD of the Finnish copy of Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
  • On ABC's official Recess website on the One Saturday Morning site, video clips of when Gus was crying tears of joy about finally having friends and later when the student body does everything, they can to make Gus feel welcome at his new school were put on Gus' character page. The clips would later be put on the Toon Disney website.

Production Information[]

  • When this episode was originally recorded, Ryan O'Donohue was the voice of Gus. After Courtland Mead was cast as Gus, the episode was re-recorded.
  • When this episode aired as a sneak peek on August 31st, 1997, this episode was shown before "The Break In".

Allusions[]

  • The musician Prince used an unpronounceable symbol as his name between 1993 and 2000, causing many people to refer to him as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince".
  • The members of pop group Jackson 5 all had names, but Michael Jackson was always far more famous than his brothers.
  • The Kansas song "Dust in the Wind" and the Paul Simon song "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" are also alluded to.
  • When the group communicates over walkie-talkies, Mikey says "Fat Man to Little Boy"; these code names reference the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, respectively, during World War II.

Continuity[]

  • Ashley T. and Hustler Kid make their first appearances in this episode. However, Ashley T. does not talk until "Jinxed", while Hustler Kid does not talk until "First Name Ashley".
  • Gus, Megan, and Miss Grotke make their first appearances in this episode.
  • Gordy makes his first appearance in the series, albeit he is unnamed.

Foreign Dub Titles[]

Note - Some dubs keep the episode title in English.

  • Dutch: "De nieuweling" ("The New One")
  • French: "Le Nouveau" ("The New One")
  • German: "Der Neue" ("The New One")
  • Italian: "Il novellino" ("The New One")
  • Japanese: "新入りはつらいよ" ("Tough Being the Newcomer")
  • Polish: "Nowy" ("New One")
  • Spanish: "El Niño Nuevo" ("The New Boy") (Spain)
  • Latin Spanish: "El Chico Nuevo" ("The New Kid) (Latin America)

Cast[]

Gallery[]

Photos The Recess Wiki has a collection of images about The New Kid
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