Pee-wee's Playhouse

I finally caught up with this on DVD. I'd always been told how creative and popular this show was, but had never seen it. I was in my thirties when it was first run, so I wasn't exactly watching Saturday morning television at that point in my life.

The reason I love the hosts of my youth (Chuck McCann, Soupy Sales and Sandy Becker) was because they didn't dumb down to the kids. Their shows were crazy, unpredictable and just plain fun. All three of these men had their own style, and you tuned in to see just how crazy they were going to be. Herman captures that beautifully. There are so many creative things going on: great characters, running jokes (the secret word, the salesman at the door, the 'cool' musician puppets, the refrigerator) and the old Ub Iwerks cartoons (with an early WB cartoon with Foxy thrown in). Herman and crew use every conceivable animation technique available at the time, and it all fits together without calling attention to itself. It is great to see all the live actors; I hadn't realized that cult actress Shirley Stoler was a member of the cast.

But the center is Pee-Wee, a very strange child-man who reminded kids that it was okay to be who they were.

The show that revitalized the essence of Saturday Morning was a landmark show that became one of the biggest hits to ever grace children's television during the mid-1980's all the way into the early part of the 1990's was a show called "Pee Wee's Playhouse". What can you say about a Saturday Morning show that was so "hip" and "innovative" that when it came out it astutely mined another nostagic mother lode: kids' variety shows with live hosts,a genre with roots stretching all the way back to the origins of television,and it was a comeback for the variety show format which disappeared during the 1970's and early 1980's. Pee-Wee's Playhouse was an invention of such staggering originality and creative genius that it quickly drew a substantial audience of adults and kids. Paul Reubens' established comic persona was amusing enough,but the show surrounded him with a remarkable set and fantastic special and visual effects. It was so good that even its first two seasons was a ratings winner: it garnered more Peabody and Emmy awards not to mention every educational and children's programming award in the history of the show's astounding five year-run on CBS. For its astounding and critical success,Reubens was not only the star of the show,but its creator,co-producer and co-writer not to mention executive in charge of production. In other words,he had full control of his own series,which was shown on Saturday Mornings. The show was a subversive delight and helped break down entrenched network resistance to original creative kidvid:meaning it shows what could be done if creative minds with a distinctive vision were able to put that vision on the screen without the interference of network flacks or having network executives take full control.

The show itself was a thrill to watch,with Reubens' characterization of Pee-Wee taking over in which the opening of the show started each day by an assortment of toys and creatures living in the house,most of whom were puppets. Then Pee-Wee would start up his robot friend who divulged the secret word of the day,when emitted from someone's mouth,prompted the cast to scream briefly. Then there were the assortment of memorable characters ranging from Jambi The Genie(John Paragon),Miss Yvonne(Lynne Stewart),Cowboy Curtis(Laurence Fishburne), Reba,the mail lady(S. Epatha Merkerson),Captain Carl(Phil Hartman),to Tito,the lifeguard(Roland Rodriguez),Opal(Natasha Lyonne),Dixie,the lady courier(Johann Carlo)to the King Of Cartoons(played by two actors: earlier episodes by Gilbert Lewis and the later on by William Marshall of "Blacula" fame). "Pee-Wee's Playhouse was so good that it spawned an hour-long Christmas special in prime-time called what else "Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special"(airdate:12/21/1988)with the array of special guest stars including Annette Funicello,Magic Johnson,Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey to name a few. Getting back to Pee-Wee's Playhouse,the show produced over 100 episodes running from the premiere episode on September 13,1986 to the final episode on July 20,1991 on CBS-TV. The show at the end of season five came to an sudden end when it's star was caught doing something he should have not done(Paul Reubens arrested for public exposure on himself in a Florida adult theater). Because of this incident,CBS immediately pulled the plug on this show. Getting back to the cast members of this very successful children's show from the 1980's,ONLY Laurence Fishburne,Natasha Lyonne,John Paragon,Lynne Stewart and even S.Epatha Merkerson went on to bigger and better things after there success on this show. Pee-Wee's Playhouse should have stay on the air another couple of years as I am concerned since it was among one of the finest programs ever associated with Saturday Mornings and we thank Paul Reubens for that accomplishment.

As a child growing up in the 1980s (born October 1982), you could not avoid watching "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." Originally airing on CBS from 1986-1990, it was a staple in the viewing habits of youngsters of all ages (and sometimes, their parents too!)

Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Rubens) has a wacky, funny playhouse. When we come to visit his playhouse, Pee-Wee treats the visitors (viewers) to games, cartoons, friends, and the "The Secret Word of the Day" (AHHHHH!) The presentations in his playhouse are always fun and educational, and tend not to drive the parents crazy. The guests are assorted oddballs, such as Captain Carl, Miss Yvonne, and Cowboy Curtis, as well as "The Salesman" ("I'm here to make you this one-time special offer--" "AAAAHHHH!").

This was by-far one of the greatest kiddie shows on television during my early years. If you ask anyone around my age, they will proudly tell you that they watched Pee-Wee. (In fact, my brother and I used to scream when they said the Secret Word of the Day) This was one of the most fun sows on TV, and was cancelled so abruptly after Ruben's rather interesting ordeal. My mom used to watch this with my brother and I when we were in pre-school, and continued to watch it with us when we started Kindergarten in 1988. I was saddened when it was cancelled after I finished first grade in 1990, as was many kids who idolized Pee-Wee, and looked up to him as our entertainment.

This a such a great and educational show, and I am sad to not be able to see the reruns (tragically, I don't have any on tape) and that future generations will never see what a great show this was. I'm hoping a children's networ will bring back the reruns. I'm hoping I will find videos somewhere, as I would like to be able to show my own children some day who this children's programming genius was. You know how big of a fan I am??? I have Pee-Wee Herman's scream on my AOL Instant Messanger.

The secret word of the day is "fun." "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" is the most "fun" you can have in a half-hour. "Ahhhhhhh!" Brings back old memories.

The fondest memory I have of Pee-wee's Playhouse is when Pee-wee was really frustrating Cap'n Carl when they were playing restauraunt 'cause Cap'n Carl was hungry. First Pee-wee(as the waiter) took this really long order. Then he kept saying he was out of everything Cap'n Carl ordered, then charged him $2 for a peanut butter sandwich. A classic

My brother and I loved Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse. I was 10 and my brother was 8 when it came on. It made learning a lot of fun believe it or not. My grandmother couldn't stand it whenever we put Pee Wee on but far be it from a 10 year old girl and an 8 year old boy to listen to anything that their grandparents have to say. I didn't care about anything that my grandmother had to say. I still love Pee Wee Herman and there's not a single thing that he could do wrong in my eyes.