The Break In

The Break In is the pilot episode pitched to Disney to get the show onto television, and the first episode of Recess ' s first season.

Synopsis
When lunch is an inedible and volatile Tomato Surprise, TJ decides to try and get to the good food. However, he is caught and is sentenced to no recess. The rest of the gang (minus Gus who does not debut until the next episode) try and convince people throughout the school to help save him.

Their quest leads them to King Bob, who calls TJ "some dumb kid". Spinelli then gives a speech, calling everyone including King Bob "some dumb kid". King Bob then decides that "the dumb kid should be free" and the entire school works together to break in and save TJ. However, TJ already busted out by then, and just as he whoops in celebration, he finds out that the gang is in the lunchroom. Unfortunately, Recess time is up, and TJ yells in despair, though he praises the gang's efforts nonetheless.

Trivia

 * The clip with the kindergarteners using a rope to climb into the school was reused for the theme song.
 * Gus does not appear in this episode. He makes his first appearance in the next episode.
 * The "Good Food" refrigerator that TJ tries to steal out of makes another appearence in "The Girl Was Trouble" where it is successfully raided by Kurst the Worst.
 * Tomato surprise appears again in "The Terrifying Tales of Recess".
 * This was the pilot episode for the series created in 1996, but was redone with different character designs for the series proper. The pilot was not shown to the general public, however clips were put on the 1997 VHS of 101 Dalmatians (the live-action version) and were shown on certain ABC station IDs depending on the area of the station.
 * In the original recording for the episode, T.J.'s name was P.J.. Right before the pilot was animated, it was re-recorded due to his name changing.
 * This episode marks the first appearence of Miss Finster, Randall, Guru Kid, Swinger Girl, Upside-down Girl, The Diggers [Sam and Dave] King Bob, Cornchip Girl and the Kindergardeners
 * When T.J. and Spinelli first come out from under the table in the begining of the episode, Spinelli's lips briefly turn the same color of her skin.
 * When the kids are working together to break T.J. out of the cafeteria, the theme song to the series plays.
 * This episode is included as a bonus on the DVD of Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade, and as a bonus on the Finnish VHS and DVD copy of Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
 * When the Diggers appear for the first time, Dave is talking to the rest of the four main characters, however the animation shows Sam talking.
 * When this episode and "The New Kid" were shown on August 31,1997 in primetime on ABC as a sneak peek, the epsidoes were shown in the opposite order. This was the only show from One Saturday Morning to air a sneak peek during primetime, but not the first show from the block to air an episode during the time (The first was "Doug's Secret Christmas" from Disney's Doug). Not every ABC market aired the episode, as some were broadcasting news about Princess Diana's death.
 * When Gretchen first shows the aluminum foil to the kindergarters, it has a shiny, "glow" effect on it. When the kindergarteners start chasing them, the "glow" is gone.
 * This Episode along with "The New Kid" were the only episodes written by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolebehere. the show's two producers.
 * This episode was part of the debut of Disney's One Saturday Morning, along with the Pepper Ann episode "Ziterella".

Foreign Dub Titles
Note - Some dubs leave the title in English
 * French: "L'esprit de solidarité" ("The Spirit of Solidarity")
 * German: "Der Einbruch" ("The Slump")
 * Italian: "La Punizione" ("The Punishment")
 * Japanese: "Ｔ.Ｊ.救出大作戦" ("Mission Rescue T.J.")
 * Polish: "Przerwa" ("Break")
 * Portuguese: " A Invasão" ("The Invasion")
 * Spanish: "El Recreo" ("The Recess") (Spain)

Cast

 * T.J. Detweiler - Ross Malinger
 * Vince LaSalle - Ricky D`Shon Colins
 * Ashley Spinelli/Kindergartner #1/Chinese Kindergartner - Pamela Segal-Aldon
 * Mikey Blumberg - Jason Davis
 * Ms. Finster - April Winchell
 * Randall Weemes/Digger Dave/Kid #2 - Ryan O`Donahue
 * Guru Kid/Digger Sam - Klee Bragger
 * Swinger Girl/Cornchip Girl/Sixth Grader #2 - Francesca Smith
 * King Bob - Toran Caudell
 * Sixth Grader #1/Kid #1 - Jusitin Shenkarow
 * Kindergartner #2 - E.G. Daily
 * Kindergartner #3 - Kath Soucie