December 26, 1998 – The Christmas Episode of Recess Titled “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” Airs
“It’s the Tooth Fairy incident all over again.”
On December 26, 1998, the Christmas episode of the animated series Recess titled “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” aired on ABC’s One Saturday Morning. The episode was directed by Susie Dietter, and written by Mark Drop, Holly Huckins, and Phil Walsh.
The episode begins on December 11th, where the kids are sweating in an above-average heat wave that has hit the area. The janitor Hank believes that there will be a blizzard approaching causing a white Christmas, but the gang doesn’t believe him. The kids then reminisce about Christmas when they were little, but realize that Mikey is the only kid in the gang that still believes in Santa Claus. Mikey then runs off to the Christmas Pageant tryouts, where he wants to just soak up the Christmas atmosphere. The auditions are interrupted by Principal Prickly, who is accompanied by a man from Hollywood looking to find the perfect school auditorium for a “global satellite non-denominational extravaganza.” Prickly almost loses the man, when he decides to use Mikey to sing, as he has a great voice. Mikey is then picked to play Santa, and decides to invite Santa to the show. Randall overhears the discussion, and announces quite cruelly to Mikey that Santa doesn’t exist. Mikey is furious, especially when he finds that his own friends don’t believe in Santa, and sets out to prove that Santa is real.
Later, Mikey rejoins his friends with a large stack of books as evidence that Santa exists. It gets worse when Mikey believes that there’s a global conspiracy to say that Santa isn’t real. Mikey then heads to the mall to meet Santa, but the “Santa” loses his temper and yells at the kids. They then head to the Christmas parade, and Mikey runs into the middle of the road, stopping the parade to ask Santa for proof. Unfortunately, the hat and beard fall off, revealing the mayor in disguise. Mikey then heads to the radio station after hearing Santa on the radio, only to find an actor pretending to be Santa. Heartbroken, Mikey heads home, realizing there’s no Santa, and decides not to be in the pageant. Late that night, Mikey wanders around town, dejected, when a man greets him from a porch of a nearby nursing home. The man convinces him that Santa exists, as long as he has faith. Back at the school, the pageant begins, and Randall is standing in for Mikey, although Randall passes out from stage fright. Just in the nick of time, Mikey appears to sing, and it starts to snow outside. The kids all rush outside afterwards to play in the snow, and Mikey sees the old man again, who congratulates him for a job well done. When Mikey asks how the old man knew about the show, the man says that Mikey had invited him, and hands him Mikey’s letter to Santa, which is now whole after being ripped up earlier. The kids are shocked when they realize that they really did just meet Santa, who flies away into the night.
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