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Watching it now feels like, as Fox puts it, being in on a remarkable prank.
Comedy clubs were a pretty new invention at the time, but they were ripe for satire.
Pee-wee Herman was the character that Paul invented because Paul couldnt remember jokes and wasnt good at telling them.
It was a freaking sensation, right away.
This 1988 special came out right at the peak of how popular Pee-wee Herman was.
Kathryn VanArendonk:And Pee-wee wasnt always a kids character.
JDF:The movie was for adults, and he had an HBO special.
But then in 1986 he created a kids show.
1988 is also whenHairspraycomes out, when the John Waters camp aesthetic goes mainstream.
KVA:Ever in my life.
JDF:And it should be noted, Reubens has never come out as gay.
But, this special embodies a lot of those things that became identified with gay culture.
It is undeniably queer, and it has all these gay touchstones in it.
There was something about this special where he decided to go for every single possible reference he could.
Because obviously it was a joke that they could have that many celebrities.
But it was not a bit!
JDF:In my notes about this special, I wrote hahaha, how was this on TV.
This was a big opportunity, hes getting connection notes.
But somehow, they were like, Of course!
Just the idea that people were watching this on CBS in the 80s.
It plays as camp to our modern view of over-the-top earnestness.
Why are we going to make this joke about fruitcake over and over again?
KVA:There was more direct address in childrens television at the time, especially live-action direct address.
When my 4-year-old watched this with me, she was really trying to process it.
She said, He was looking at us.
We can see him?
There are googly eyes on every surface of this house.
JDF:Pee-wees Playhouse, the Saturday morning show, is more of a play on kids shows.
And its a Christmas special!
Its almost more fun watching it now that all these guest stars like k.d.
lang, Grace Jones, Joan Rivers have such a different meaning in culture.
Its like a prank that were in on.
But so much of it is also enabled by being a Christmas special.
Christmas is the place where youre allowed to do big, sentimental things.
Youre allowed to wear glitter, which is straight at Christmas time.
Its the time of year when we want things.
We think about commercialism but also about emotions.
Youre allowed to love people in soft, tender ways.
JDF:It opens with a military chorus singing a Christmas song.
And then they start dancing!
You get away with it.
You watchDrag Racenow and the idea of a comedy queen is a person who looks like that.
Why is thatstillthe aesthetic of a pop in of drag queen?
Because in the 1980s that art form is also codifying its language around this imagery.
As a result, theres this gap in how we think about the Pee-wee characters role in this history.
Its a childrens show, and he plays himself as a young innocent.
So its so lovely to watch how absolutely non-dangerous this is, how gentle and silly and playful.
But its also that much more surprising that it aired on TV.
JM:I dont think about it as gay!
It was just,This is bizarre.
JDF:And were watching it now, where queerness as an aesthetic is more mainstream.
you’re able to seeDrag Racein it, but it doesnt feel likeDrag Race.
it’s possible for you to see John Waters in it, but hes his own thing.
This character, this annoying thing.
A lot of comedians come up with an annoying boy character.
I dont know why its such a common trope, but this character was a sensation.
Hes such a weird mix of knowing and not-knowing.
Is it a boy or is it a man?
Then when he opens his safe, its full of toys!
At the end, Santa comes and shames Pee-wee about how much he asked for.
you’re free to almost feel some CBS executive watching it and thinking,This is okay!
And Paul Reubens was Jewish!
So there is an undercurrent of the tradition of Jewish people making fun of Christian traditional values.
This is the silly pageantry you guys do, and we as outsiders have gotten to witness it.
This is what you guys look like!
KVA:Its so confident.
There is no moment in this special where anyone flinches.
lang performance here its not meant to undermine country music as a genre.
Shes reclaiming it, and shes shifting the framing of it.
The Americana is so intense that its hard to imagine making it if you didnt also love it.
JDF:Its a true camp aesthetic.
Its loving the bad things as much as the good things.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Listen to more ofThe Specialshere.
