Monday, July 10, 2006

Pee-wee Is Back!

The delightful "Pee-wee's Playhouse" joins the Adult Swim lineup starting tonight. You can watch all 45 episodes (including the Christmas special) at 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The LA Times has a nice interview with creator Paul Reubens (which makes me jealous). Cartoon Network should replay them in the morning or smart folks will tape them for their kids -- yes, the shows have an adult edge or subtext to them, but like Looney Tunes, they can also (in fact, best) be enjoyed by kids for the sweet-natured shows they are. Cowboy Bob is black, the taxi cab driver is a woman, there's a gay aura around it. But is that really "adult" or just the way all shows should be? Anyone who wants to see it as sweetly subversive should also consider that the show is really just sweet. Reubens also says he has two movie scripts done, one that follows right in the vein of the "Playhouse" and another more adult spin. Here's hoping they do both.

4 comments:

priv8pete said...

It's a shame Pee-Wee co-creator, Phil Hartman, is not around for interviews. Man, do I miss Phil Hartman...

Michael in New York said...

Phil Hartman is certainly a key contributor to Pee-wee, having cowritten Pee-wee's Big adventure and contributed to the series and appeared in the first special. But I don't think we can call him co-creator. I think that belongs solely to Reubens, unless you know something I don't. I never thought twice about Hartman on SNL, but I really grew to love him on NewsRadio and now I too miss him.

priv8pete said...

I believe that Hartman and Reubens co-created the character while with the Groundlings.

From Wikipedia (which of course could be wrong):

In the 1970s, Reubens performed at local comedy clubs and made four guest appearances on The Gong Show. He soon joined the Los Angeles-based improvisational comedy team The Groundlings and remained a member for six years, working with Bob McClurg, John Paragon, Susan Barnes, and Phil Hartman. Hartman and Reubens became friends, often writing and working on material together. Reubens wrote sketches and developed his improvisational skills. He also forged a significant friendship and working relationship with Hartman, with whom he developed the "Pee-wee Herman" character.

Michael in New York said...

Wikipedia can be very useful. But Hartman has no credit other than acting on the first Pee-wee HBO special Pee-wee Live at the Roxy. No writing credit, no co-created credit. Clearly he became a big part, working with Reuben every step of the way after that.