TV Show Info
TV Show Name: Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special
Studio: Binder Entertainment
Genre(s): Comedy/Seasonal
Release Date(s): December 21, 1988
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Dang, Magic…your cousin’s crazy
It is Christmas time at Pee-wee’s Playhouse and all of Pee-wee’s friends are celebrating. As Pee-wee’s wishlist for Santa grows longer and longer, the only thing Pee-wee (Paul Reubens) seems to be getting is fruitcakes. More and more guests stop by, and Pee-wee is just hoping for all the gifts he can get.
Directed by Wayne Orr and Paul Reubens, Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special aired in primetime on December 21, 1988. It is also known as Christmas at Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and Pee-wee Herman’s Christmas Special. It was well received and has become a bit of a cult classic due to its strange “Pee-Wee” style. It was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in in Graphic Design and Title Sequence, Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program, and Outstanding Costume Design for a Variety or Music Program.
Grace…you frighten me and intrigue me…
I loved watching Pee-wee’s Playhouse, but Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special kicks it up a notch. It feels more adult than the standard playhouse but not quite up to the Pee-wee stage show (which is pretty crude at points). The show is fun, odd, and a product of its time…which makes it near perfect.
This is just another prime example of why Pee-wee’s Playhouse was not for kids. This special is amusing in its quirkiness and campy-ness and full of bizarre guests that look like they should be (and were on) The Love Boat rather than a kids’ show. The show also has some weird content with some really strange sexual undertones (the like the actual Pee-wee’s Playhouse stage show). In this show, I particularly like when Pee-wee says he added a room built of fruitcakes and opens the door to a bunch of buff shirtless construction men…bizarre, yet hilarious.
When anyone says the Secret Word, scream real loud!!!
The guests really make this show. There are the Pee-Wee Herman regulars like Cowboy Curtis (Lawrence “Larry” Fishburn), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Marie Stewart), Reba the Mail-Woman (S. Epatha Merkerson), the King of Cartoons (William Marshall), Ricardo (Vic Trevino), Jambi (John Paragon), and Mrs. Rene (Suzanne Kent)…who brings the “Hanukkah portion of the special”…which made fun of the PC before political correctness was really a thing. In addition to them, a ton of guest stars stop by like Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, k.d. lang, Cher, Grace Jones, Dinah Shore, Little Richard, the Del Rubio Triplettes, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Joan Rivers, and Magic Johnson (whose cousin is Magic Screen).
Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special is a great campy edition to the Christmas viewing list. A sheer oddity, watch the show and question why people thought this was for kids at all…Christmas is Pee-Wee’s favorite time so have a merry one with this special and a Happy New Year!!! (AAAAHHHH!!!! You just said the Secret Word!!!)
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