Throwback Thursday: Recess: Season One Episode One

The Recess Gang

If you are of a certain age, you probably remember recess, that golden half hour or so where kids in school were allowed to go nuts and forget all their classroom woes. Heck, the teachers expected us to go nuts, in the hopes that we could finish the last half of the school-day just a little less wiggly and antsy. Sadly, kids these days don't have recess anymore (that's a topic for another blog!) However, for those of us waxing nostalgic, or just looking for a good laugh, nothing captures the essence of this magical time of school better than the aptly-named 1990s Recess cartoon.

Recess revolves around fourth grade friends TJ, Spinelli, Gretchen, Mikey, Vince, and Gus (who joins the gang in episode 2) and what they do at recess. In the first episode, gang-leader TJ gets caught trying to steal food from the cafeteria (from a refrigerator marked, "Good Food"-- LOL!) as a protest against the Tomato Surprise, a highly-acidic soup they are serving in the cafeteria. When the horrid Ms. Finster punishes TJ by taking away recess, the poet of the group, Mikey, shouts, "Why doesn't she just tear out his soul?!?!" The gang spend the rest of the episode trying to bail TJ out of the classroom, with hilarious results. TJ didn't get to have recess, but his friends ended up uniting various factions of the playground, until the next episode of course.

I used to watch this cartoon when it aired Saturday mornings on ABC, back in the Stone Age. As a kid, the thing I loved most about this show (and still love) is that it never failed to crack me up. Now that I'm older, I love that the characters are so likeable, and yet so different from one another--just like real kids! I talk about diversity a lot on this blog, and race or ethnicity-wise, you couldn't call the cast of Recess diverse. But there's a believable diversity of interests and personalities that make the show fun to watch, without the characters becoming caricatures. One of my faves is Gretchen the Nerd. She explains what's in Tomato Surprise:

Spinelli (after putting the Tomato Surprise on her tray): It's like acid!

Gretchen: Citric acid, actually. And a carbon base electromagnetically heated to create a synthetic compound which has some admirable qualities.

TJ: You mean it's ok to eat?

Gretchen: No, if you let it age it'll burn a hole in a concrete floor.

LOL!

Go ahead and check out Recess. Then grab a friend and go play outside! What's your favorite recess memory?

Photo Credits

The image of the Recess gang was taken from here. Thanks heaps!

Throwback Thursday: X-Men: The Animated Series Episodes One and Two

Before Hugh Jackman was Wolverine, there was X-Men: The Animated Series!!! I remember watching this as a kid and thinking it was the most amazing show ever, and 20 years later I still feel the same way. Here's why X-Men: The Animated Series (still) rocks the house:

1.) The ladies kick butt.

Oh my Jeebus. Within the first five minutes of episode one, Storm and Rogue are fighting a robot the size of a building while saving Jubilee's life. No Prince Charming needed here, the ladies have it covered. Throughout the two episodes (and the series), the women continue kicking major bootay. In the first two episodes, although teenaged Jubilee is still getting used to her powers, she uses them whenever necessary. The ladies of the X-Men (X-women?) do not take things lying down! And, they are gosh-darned pretty to boot! Extra bonus: in the X-Men universe, a woman is president!

2.) A diverse cast.

Only Marvel could put together a group of folks from all over the world and still somehow make the X-Men story feel natural and believeable. There's wealthy Charles Xavier, eternal drifter from everywhere-and-nowhere Wolverine, the fairly vanilla Cyclops, the African Queen Storm, the Southern Belle Rogue, Gambit the Cajun, intellectual-turned-blue-monster Beast, and Chinese-American foster child Jubilee. Despite their different backgrounds, the characters feel authentic, not forced or "written in" for diversity's sake.

3.) The action!

I don't normally like watching violent television shows, but I get excited when the X-Men beat up the bad guys!!!! You're going down, gigantic, evil robot!

4.) The smart, fast-paced writing.

In the first three minutes of episode one, there's so much going on. First there's Jubilee's foster parents' anxiety over her being a mutant, Jubilee's hurt and sadness over being given up to the Mutant Control Agency, and then, in the third minute, a touch of snark:

Jubilee is playing video games in an effort to forget her sorrow. She inevitably ends up breaking the arcade game with her firecracker power. The owner is upset, naturally. He approaches Jubilee.

Arcade Guy: Do you know how much this thing costs???

Jubilee: (nonchalantly drinking her soda and putting her sunglasses back on) Yeah. A quarter.

And later in the Danger Room, when Wolverine and Gambit are training:

Wolverine: Had enough, Cajun? Just say, "oncle."

LOLOLOLOL!

I'd forgotten just how much fun cartoons could be. As a mom, I try to pick wholesome cartoons that have a moral. I'm not certain X-Men would be considered wholesome, but there are certainly lessons to be learned from watching X-Men as well. Tolerance, not being greedy, and learning to control your temper are just a few (yeah, I'm looking at you, Wolverine!). But morals aren't the reason I want to watch X-Men. I like watching X-Men because it's just plain FUN!

X-Men: The Animated Series, recommended for ages 9+ for cartoon violence and scary situations. (My rating, not an official one ;-) )

Photo Credits

The photo of the clashing mutants above was taken from here.

Throwback Thursday: Gargoyles: Season One, Episode One

In the last post, I talked about Lego Ninjago, and how it's very heavily marketed toward boys. So I thought it would be nice to kick off the first "Throwback Thursday" post with a classic cartoon that crosses gender lines--the 1990s cartoon, Gargoyles.

I'll admit Gargoyles wasn't at the top of my list of throwbacks to review. But one day, when I was feeling nostalgic, I posted a Gargoyles video on Facebook (Yes, I'm outing myself--I'm a child of the 1990s!) All the people who commented on the video were female. Hmmmm, I thought. That's interesting. Using today's standards of what would make a good show "for girls" the show doesn't seem to have much girl appeal. Lots of fighting. No (cutesy) princesses. No pink. So what is it about Gargoyles that fans, both male and female, love?

The opening sequence of the first episode is action-packed, chock full of falling boulders, fire, and screaming people. It makes the viewer ask, "What the heck is going on?" Five seconds later, a beautiful but obviously strong woman detective comes on the scene, only identifying herself as "Maza." (I liked that they used a less-common Latin last name like Maza. The name firmly establishes her Latin identity without making her the token minority, which would have happened if they used a more common name like Lopez or Gomez). Maza's strong, yet attractive and not too overly-primped character makes the viewers want to know more about her and also gives the female viewers someone to identify with.

Edit I just checked the Wikipedia entry for Elisa Maza. It turns out that she is not Latina, but half-Nigerian, and half-Native American. Of course, this wasn't revealed in the first episode, which was the only episode I watched. According to the creators of the show, Maza's parents' relationship is supposed to parallel her later relationship with Goliath. Whoa! Inter-species love!

Flash backward to Scotland, A.D. 994. The origin of the Gargoyles is revealed. There's betrayal, murder, friendship, and true Gargoyle love all rolled into one. There's also tension between the Gargoyle and Human races. In spite of their service to the humans, the gargoyles are under constant threat of violence and vitriol. At one point, Goliath, the head honcho, wisely says, "It is human nature to fear what they don't understand."

So what's so great about Gargoyles? Everything! Both male and female fans can enjoy the great story, wise lessons, deep characterization, interesting relationships, and of course, action. It's a cartoon worth watching. No pink or token characters required.

To purchase Gargoyles, visit Amazon.

Please be advised that due to violent content, Gargoyles may not be a cartoon for very young children. I would personally rate this a cartoon for kids 11 and up, but the best thing would be to watch it first before showing it to your child.

Photo Credits

The picture of Demona kicking butt was taken from here.