Pee Wee's Playhouse

lester1/2jr · March 14, 2011, 10:36:05 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jl3cKWuJVc

I hadn't seen this since it's original run and was excited to see if I could get my niece and nephew into it. It took some selling on my part but we ended up watching 4 episodes (23 minutes each) and had a good time.

It's such a cliche to say about anything old but Pee Wee's Playhouse really is drastically different from anything out there right now. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly elaborate it was. It must have cost a fortune to put each episode together. There is just an endless amount of puppets, claymation things, and 6-12 different actors for each episode. for a kid's show!

Though it had been 20 years or more since I'd seen them I remembered alot of the dialogue. I had forgotten one thing and that is what an amazing rack Miss Yvonne has. There are lots of subversive pg rather than g elements ot the show but the kids didn't mind, it's all in good fun. disk had 7 episodes.

5/5 definitely worth a revisit if you were a fan.

Flick James · March 14, 2011, 11:40:07 AM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on March 14, 2011, 10:36:05 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jl3cKWuJVc

I hadn't seen this since it's original run and was excited to see if I could get my niece and nephew into it. It took some selling on my part but we ended up watching 4 episodes (23 minutes each) and had a good time.

It's such a cliche to say about anything old but Pee Wee's Playhouse really is drastically different from anything out there right now. The first thing I noticed was how incredibly elaborate it was. It must have cost a fortune to put each episode together. There is just an endless amount of puppets, claymation things, and 6-12 different actors for each episode. for a kid's show!

Though it had been 20 years or more since I'd seen them I remembered alot of the dialogue. I had forgotten one thing and that is what an amazing rack Miss Yvonne has. There are lots of subversive pg rather than g elements ot the show but the kids didn't mind, it's all in good fun. disk had 7 episodes.

5/5 definitely worth a revisit if you were a fan.

I've never seen any of it, but I heard that they would tape "bluer" versions of scenes that's weren't for airing, just for their own enjoyment, akin to watching an outtake reel. I would love to see that.

I was about 20 when that show ran, but I still watched it. Regardless of what your opinions about Pee Wee as a person are, I think he's incredibly talented and funny as hell.

Umaril The Unfeathered · March 14, 2011, 01:41:45 PM

With regard to a certain incident that got him canned and put into the spotlight, we always joke about it around our house..we call it' "Wee Wee's Playhouse" or "Pee Wee's Play-With-Yourself House."

But yeah, I'm in agreeance with Lester 1\2 Jr-Miss Yvonne had a great rack! I can't blame Captain Carl for always trying to take her for a ride on his dinghy...

JayJayM12 · March 14, 2011, 04:27:18 PM

Definitely a great show! We've got the dvd's and I've watched the show for the first time in years, not too long ago. Still holds up as well as it did back then (maybe even more, since I definitely 'get' a lot more of it). My son is too young right now (only a year old, so doesn't really watch tv), but I'll definitely be sharing it with him in a few years.

On a related note, the brand new 'adult' version of Pee Wee's Playhouse that recently ran on Broadway (it was originally a stage show) is going to be airing on HBO this coming Saturday night (March 19th). I can't wait to check it out...

lester1/2jr · March 14, 2011, 05:31:32 PM

I had forgotten about that Broadway show. I'm not into that whole scene but I bet it was good.

It's crazy how much they packed into just 23 minutes without it feeling rushed.

AndyC · March 14, 2011, 06:43:37 PM

I watched some episodes a few years ago, when the series was released on DVD. Put me in a time warp.

The funny thing is, even though that was the only time I've watched the show since the 80s, I do reference it once in a while. There's a local hotel where we sometimes have lunch. When their debit machine wasn't working in the restaurant, they'd get customers to go to a little pass-through from the bar - a small pair of doors at about eye level. I referred to it as the "Jambi cupboard," which naturally got no response other than a puzzled look or two. I also sometimes greet Laurence Fishburne's first appearance in episodes of CSI with "Well, howdy Pee Wee!" And I've had a lot of fun since CSI set up the whole subplot with Cowboy Curtis vs. his nemesis, Mr. Noodle from Elmo's World.

venomx · March 14, 2011, 07:12:14 PM

I watched Pee Wee's Playhouse every Saturday morning... you know... when TV was good.

Umaril The Unfeathered · March 14, 2011, 07:56:21 PM

Quote from: Venomx on March 14, 2011, 07:12:14 PM
I watched Pee Wee's Playhouse every Saturday morning... you know... when TV was good.

Yeah, I'm havin' a hardtime dealing with the fact that the 80's are over too....

venomx · March 14, 2011, 09:27:20 PM

Quote from: Umaril The Unfeathered on March 14, 2011, 07:56:21 PM
Quote from: Venomx on March 14, 2011, 07:12:14 PM
I watched Pee Wee's Playhouse every Saturday morning... you know... when TV was good.

Yeah, I'm havin' a hardtime dealing with the fact that the 80's are over too....

TV will never be the same...

All we have today are remakes, lame toons (mostly), politics (in the news) and reality shows.

RCMerchant · March 15, 2011, 12:05:28 AM

I enjoyed Pee Wee's Playhouse...and I was an adult with no children at the time! Subversive,surreal,and funny!

TRIVA TIME!

William Marshall played the King of Cartoons.....

and the King of the Black Vampires-Blacula!

...he was also the exorcist in ABBY (1975).

lester1/2jr · March 15, 2011, 09:09:16 AM

what a resume

Flick James · March 15, 2011, 09:40:27 AM

William Marshall is actually a very overlooked b-actor of impressive talent, just never made the big time.

HappyGilmore · March 15, 2011, 10:38:33 AM

I was a big big fan of the show as a child. Still am, and love watching the re-runs. Even remember a pullstring doll they had where you pull the string and a voicebox in the doll would sprout several phrases from the show.

On a side note, I loved seeing Pee Wee on a recent episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. Ha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRsjNTAu0Kg

AndyC · March 15, 2011, 10:45:13 AM

I actually wasn't a huge fan of the show at first, mainly because I had a friend who was too enthusiastic about it. I got so annoyed at his going on and on and on about Pee Wee's Playhouse (keep in mind we were about 15 or 16 years old), it took me a while to give the show a chance.

Mr. DS · March 15, 2011, 11:20:01 AM

Wasn't Rob Zombie the set designer?

I liked this show a lot, Pee Wee was always a lot of fun. Paul Reubens himself was always a good actor and I enjoyed him in his few roles outside of Pee Wee. (Blow, Mystery Men, etc) However, he always seemed to have a bit of a "perv" side to him if you will. It seemed as if as soon as his career was restarted, something would come out scandal wise and ruin it. I hope he keeps on the straight and narrow.

Pee Wee's Playhouse

venomx

venomx