In this episode, Butch tells us three terrifying tales of Recess.
Synopsis
Principal Prickly is standing just near the front steps. He gives us a lecture when suddenly, he chokes. He reveals himself to be Butch who was teasing us. Butch then tells us to be careful, strange stuff can happen to people who are not careful. He then starts his first story.
Children of the Cornchip
Kelso calls the company of an untested chip, which Cornchip Girl promptly tests. She says that it is tasty...VERY TASTY! That last quote is puntuated by a scary close-up and a disturbing scene where Kelso screams in terror as a shadow looms over him. Thankfully, he is only petrified with fear and he is alive and well. Gus then remembers that the untested chip supply was from an European town that he once lived at, and a bunch of incidents like the one at Kelso's was abound. Meanwhile, Cornchip Girl manages to smuggle the chips into the lunch menu (though some scary methods, no doubt), but the chips and Cornchip Girl were revealed just in time, and Cornchip Girl, now a werewolf, runs afoul of Gus, now dressed as Sherlock Holmes. He eventually confronts her on the roof and returns her back to normal though some theatrical events. The chips then end up in the kindergarten pen, and one of them eats one...
Butch ends his story there, and after the commercial break, he says that his next story is about respect and what happens when there just aint enough of it...
When Bikes Attack!
The story begins peaceful enough, Mikey grooms his bike, Pegasus, and shows discomfort at leaving his bike outdoors on a beautiful day. Just then, a thunderstorm roars in and Mikey, showing even more discomfort, is forced to leave Pegasus behind in the rain. Pegasus is suddenly struck by lightning, and it knocks down Principal Prickly while Mikey is citing poetry about it. Soon they find out that Pegasus is alive, to which Mikey shows delight at at first. But then, Pegasus attacks the gang, even Mikey. They manage to trap the bike inside the school eventually, but then, they are confronted by the other bikes, which are also alive. Just as they attack them, led by Pegasus, the students and faculty are rescued by a school bus. Unfortunately, the bus has no driver...
Butch then gives us a lesson, Always treat your bikes and buses with respect, and never leave them out in the rain. Then we cut to the playground, where Butch then begins his last story.
Night of the Living Finsters
Gus plays with a tank borrowed from Milton. Unfortunately, it is confiscated by Finster before he could return it. Suddenly, the diggers run out of their hole, and Lawson dares Vince to spend the night in said hole. Vince accepts, but during the night, he discovers, to his surprise, that his friends joined in, and that a legendary graveyard for Finsters past is real. Suddenly, Finsters past in various outfits emerge from the dead and converge upon the gang. Eventually, the Finster zombies chase the gang out of a convieniently located cave. The gang ends up in the lunchroom, where Gretchen connects Tomato Surprise to the sprinkler system, which promptly melts down the zombies. The kids then find the diggers filling in their hole. The diggers explain that they ran out because Dave busted his dad's best shovel. The gang then concludes that they imagined the whole thing, but we are shown that it wasn't, as one of the zombie Finsters' glasses were knocked off during the gang's escape and avoided the tomato surprise, thus giving the audience proof that the gang was attacked by zombies.
Or were they?
Butch's dialogue at the end gives them the revelation that he or some other person just made up the stories to scare them, and then he takes off his face to reveal a Finster mask (still with his trademark toothpick). Then he gives them the warning he gave them at the beginning and wishes them a happy halloween, and the episode ends with Butch walking away still wearing the Finster mask.
Trivia
- This is Butch's last major appearence in the series. For the rest of the series, he remains a background character with no lines.
- Tomato Surprise from the first episode is seen in this one.
- The stories that Butch tell in this episode are non-canon.
- This episode is a homage to the Treehouse of Horror series in The Simpsons. Ironically many of the staff members of Recess formerly worked on The Simpsons.
- Timmy is refered to as Milton. It could be possible that Milton is his last name.
- This episode marks the final appearances of Principal Prickly and Miss Grotke until Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade was released two years later.
- While this is the first episode of the sixth season, most foreign markets air it as the last episode of the season, thus making it the last episode of the series.
- This was the first episode to be aired on UPN and in syndication on Disney's One Too since "Some Friend ".
- Gretchen's bike, Red Rocket, is seen again in this episode after the gang bought it for her in "This Brain for Hire".
- The SAL 3000 from "Schoolworld" has recieved an upgrade in this episode, SAL 4000.
- This is the first Halloween special of the series, the next one, "A Recess Halloween" would be included as part of Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade.
- This episode was cut from the Italian dub.
- Galileo is slightly redesigned in this episode.
- While the viewers don't see what the Recess Gang were being for Halloween, King Bob is shown dressed as a mummy, the diggers as mimes, Menlo as a cowboy (From "Some Friend") and Ashley A. as a character from Nitwitz 3 (From "Me No Know"). The gang's costumes are revealed in a flashback in Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade.
- This was the first episode to premiere after Recess: School's Out was released in theaters, and premiered a few months after the film was released on video and DVD.
Cast
- T.J. Detweiler - Andrew Lawrence
- Vince LaSalle - Rickey D'Shon Colins
- Ashley Spinelli - Pamela Segall-Adlon
- Gretchen Grundler - Ashley Johnson
- Mikey Blumberg - Jason Davis
- Gus Griswald - Courtland Mead
- Miss Finster - April Winchell
- Miss Grotke - Allyce Beasley
- Principal Prickly - Dabney Coleman
- Randall Weems/Dave - Ryan O'Donohue
- Sam - Klee Bragger
- Captain Sticky/Cockney Kid/Kid #1 - E.G. Daily
- Cornchip Girl - Aria Noelle Curzon
- Butch - Kath Soucie
- Menlo/Milton - Blake Ewing
- Galileo - Jeff Bennett
- Earwin Lawson - Erik von Detton
- Mr. Kelso - Sam McMurray
- Lunchlady Irma - Tress MacNeille
- Lunchlady #1 - Andrea Martin
- Werewolf Cornchip Girl (Vocal effects) - Frank Welker