Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special came out in 1988 featuring Paul Ruebens as Pee Wee Herman. While there is a minor plot about Mr. Herman learning that Christmas is about giving instead of getting, for the most part this is an extravaganza of celebrity guests. The lists of guests is a dozen or so long, with some appearing only for a minute, and others having entire musical numbers.
I never really watched Pee Wee Herman as a child, and this is the only thing related to Pee Wee Herman that I remember seeing. Though I enjoy this special quite a bit, I honestly can’t see what the appeal of Pee Wee was. This show is pretty ridiculous, and I don’t think that the regular episodes had the celebrities that this one had. Like I said though, this TV special is enjoyable. One of the guest stars is Charo, and I didn’t know who Charo was when I saw it, I just remember thinking she was the worst singer I ever heard. Ironically, her musical number is my favorite part of the whole show.
I’ve mentioned in some previous posts in this series that over the years I’ve dropped certain shows. This one was actually out of the gamut of Christmas shows for several years. Not because I didn’t like it. But because the tape my mom had recorded it on was lost. I always remembered it, though, and I remembered liking it. Once Amazon.com became big I found it on VHS, and it has been part of the tradition ever since, of course I have the DVD now. I can’t really recommend this one for children though. I wouldn’t recommend Pee Wee Herman for children period, but those that grew up in the 80s might like the novelty of it. Though this show is entertaining, it really isn’t as humorous or comical as it was intended.