Plot: What’s it about?
As the snow starts to fall upon the ground and the holiday spirit begins to hit a fever pitch, it means that school has been released, at least for a couple of weeks. Yes, the Christmas break has arrived and for the students of Third Street Elementary, it is the best time of the year, aside from summer break, of course. But the kids aren’t alone in celebrating this two weeks off, as Principal Prickly and Miss Finster can’t wait to get away from the children, even if only for a short, too short amount of time. As these two ride with Miss Grotke, a snowball smashes into a windshield, which causes Prickly to skid and get stuck in the snow. Of course, he and Miss Finster blame the youngsters, while Miss Grotke asserts that it could have been an accident, perhaps some snow fell from a branch or what not. Soon enough, a discussion about the kids starts and as the two sides make their points, they recall all sorts of encounters with the kids. Are the kids rotten as Finster suggests, or do they have soft sides, like Grotke insists?
I was looking forward to this release, as I’ve enjoyed the Recess series and even the Recess feature film, so a Christmas special was good news to me. Although this wasn’t what I had expected, it was still cool and a lot of fun to watch. This is a sort of flashback program, where Principal Prickly, Miss Grotke, and Miss Finster discuss the various highlights of the kids, in both good and bad situations. So it doesn’t always have a holiday theme to it, but it does have some Christmas based moments and toward the close, it becomes more focused. I found the main story to be humorous, as the teachers argue over whether or not the students are to blame for the accident, while the flashbacks are just as entertaining. I love the segment where T.J. becomes Principal for a day, as well as the can drive segment, which is also hilarious. The main theme here seems to be giving and how we should give, even if it doesn’t always benefit us right off. The message is there and easy to recognize, but never stuffed down our throats, so the material can remain light, humorous, and true to the usual Recess style. This is a well made, if a little too short program and as such, this is one title no Recess fan should be without.
Video: How does it look?
Recess Christmas is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. The image here is clean, sharp, and show no real flaws, very impressive work indeed. Although the picture is quite sharp, I saw no edge enhancement or shimmering present, which is a credit to the folks who worked on this transfer. I found the colors to be vivid and without signs of errors, while black levels were well defined and well balanced, without fail. I have no real complaints to make with this presentation, as the material looks terrific and fans should be most pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
This disc houses 5.1 surround options in both Dolby Digital and DTS, but don’t expect a new reference level disc here. The audio is well presented and the material is more than handled, but I expected a little more, with the inclusion of DTS and all. Even so, the material sounds great and has the usual Recess scope, which means a basic television mix with some spark, which is when the surrounds kick in. It doesn’t happen often, but a few scenes have some decent presence and of course, the musical numbers make use of the rear channels. Not quite the dynamic experience I had hoped for, but as the material is well represented, I won’t complain. This disc also includes English subtitles, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a Holiday Tradition Report, which is a slideshow hosted by several of the main characters.
