Paul Reubens
Pee-wee's Big Return
by Gordon HurdJul 13, 2006
More than 15 years have gone by since he hopped, skipped, and screamed across our TV screens. But, thanks to the savvy programming of Cartoon Network, Pee-wee Herman is back, and things are pretty buzzy about Pee-wee's big return.
Repeats of Emmy-award-winning "Pee-wee's Playhouse" debuted in the Adult Swim lineup this week. Fans of the late '80s Saturday-morning TV show fueled "pee wee herman" (+99%) and "pee wee's playhouse" (+51%) queries, and the searches keep jumping in that hyper, overexcited, Pee-wee Herman kind of fashion.
Considering some of his off-screen mishaps over the last decade or so, this rebirth of Pee-wee mania should be cheery news for actor Paul Reubens. Cartoon Network will also air the celebrity-strewn "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special," and a DVD of the live HBO special from 1981 that started Pee-wee's rise to greatness is scheduled for release later this month.
Reubens hasn't paraded around in a wee gray suit since 1991, but the buzz running through the playhouse suggests that new Pee-wee movies may appear in the future. Let's hope we'll never have to say "goodbye" to Pee-wee again. Mekka lekka hi, mekka hiney ho!