"Beyond a Reasonable Scout" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Recess, which was first broadcast on September 16th, 2000.
Plot[]
Summary[]
Mikey and Gus want to join the Woodchuck Scouts; however, Phil's not so keen on initiating members to his troop, but he shows them the ropes, nonetheless.
Main Story[]
Mikey and Gus are playing on the teeter-totter only to find that Mikey is weighing his end down. Mikey offers to get off but Gus fears to be slammed down from three feet into the sand. Fortunately, Phil comes to their rescue by using his Woodchuck Scout training to tie a rope to stabilize their teeter totter. Mikey and Gus are impressed by Phil's tales of adventure with the scouts and decide to go to his house to request to join the Woodchuck Scouts. Phil is surprised by their request and tries making up excuses to discourage them, but they notice he's in his pajamas and assume he's having a scout party. Realizing the two weren't going to give up, Phil instructs them to meet him tomorrow behind the playground to put their skills to the test.
The next day at recess, they tell their friends about their upcoming meetup with Phil, though Gretchen finds his behavior from last night most unkind. T.J. relates that he and Vince were once Woodchuck Scouts, only to be kicked out for scaring elderly birdwatchers. Nevertheless, their friends support their dreams. Phil then appears to show everyone a proving ground he set up before school. However, while Mikey and Gus are allowed to follow him, he refuses to allow the others to observe, even refusing to be intimidated by Spinelli. He says that if she injures him, he could easily treat himself with first aid. Gus assures their friends they'll be fine as he quotes from the Woodchuck handbook from the organization founder Edmond P. Edmonton that a scout is brave and fearless. Phil quickly loses his patience and uses the bush to obscure the others from view.
Phil starts by going on about how tough a scout's life is but since the two boys are still determined, he resorts to putting pails on their heads, spins them around and puts compasses in their hands, telling them to imagine being lost in the forest and to come find him. After bumping into a couple of trees and each other, they end up colliding into Phil. Next, he has them perform a flag raising, which ends with Gus pulling Mikey up to the pole's height by the seat of his pants while he was holding the flag. Phil then shows them a chopping axe but decides to skip it in favor of a hike. He purposely gives them the slip, but they catch up to him by taking the canoe across the lake. Frustrated by their persistence, Phil orders Gus to take three steps forward only to suddenly trip him, claiming it was a first aid test, much to the boys' shock. When they call him out on his actions, he takes their refusal to act as a means to disqualify them for his troop.
When they return to the others to tell what happened, they are outraged. However, Gus reminds that so long as Phil is the leader of the local troop, he decides who gets to join. However, Gretchen decides to go over Phil's head and has Galileo send a complaint to the Woodchuck Scouts headquarters in Washington, who telephone an outpost of theirs in the wilderness to drum a message to Edmond P. Edmonton himself, pulling him off his hunt for the Sasquatch.
Goofs[]
- Coloring/continuity error: While Phil is talking for the first time in the episode, the golden stripe on his shirt, which is placed above the pocket, flashes blue for a frame.
- Animation/consistency error: In the beginning of the episode, there is a tree that is completely behind the wire fences, including its branches. When Phil appears to help Mikey and Gus, he passes his rope over the branch of the tree, which then appears to be over the fence.
- Animation/consistency error: While Mikey and Gus are being sworn in as Woodchuck Scouts, Phil's shirt has a flag only on his left sleeve. After the scene is focused on him, there are flags on both sleeves.
Trivia[]
Allusions[]
- The episode's title is a pretty clear allusion to "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt", a judicial term, common figure of speech, and movie.
- The Woodchuck Scouts were also referenced in an earlier Disney TV series, "DuckTales".
Broadcast History[]
- This episode was paired with "The Army / Navy Game" for Disney syndication (from 2004-onwards); Disney+ and international broadcasts (outside of North America) retain this pairing.
- Said pairing is not known to have aired on ABC Kids.
- This episode was paired with "The C Note" for its ABC premiere; UPN and early Disney syndication (prior to 2004) retained this pairing.
- This episode was also paired with "No Strings Attached" for its first ABC repeat; all future repeats on ABC retain its premiere pairing.
Cast[]
- T.J. Detweiler - Andrew Lawrence
- Vince LaSalle - Rickey D'Shon Collins
- Ashley Spinelli - Pamela Segall-Adlon
- Gretchen Grundler - Ashley Johnson
- Mikey Blumberg - Jason Davis
- Gus Griswold - Courtland Mead
- Phil - Klee Bragger
- Galileo - Jeff Bennett
- Edmund P. Edmunton - Richard Karn
- Computer - Kath Soucie
Transcript[]
Beyond a Reasonable Scout/Transcript
Gallery[]
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