Review by Craig Byrne
I’m probably the last person to seek out a book about Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
Why?
Believe it or not, despite my age (33), I have never seen a full episode of the series. Never saw a Pee-Wee movie, either. Why? My parents thought Pee-Wee was “weird.” I don’t know if anyone else my age got that response from their parents. When Paul Reubens was arrested in the early 90’s, their insistence seemed confirmed, which was probably a bit unfair to the actor, whose career suffered a setback for a while afterward, even though (as this book points out) Pee-Wee had already wrapped production by that point, and was planning on being over anyway.
Last week, I was sent a copy of Inside Pee-Wee’s Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon by Caseen Gaines. And strangely enough, my lack of experience with the character and the associated franchise made the book an even more interesting one, though I know longtime fans of Pee-Wee are also sure to love it, too.
I love books about TV, and learning about the histories behind their production, and Inside Pee-Wee’s Playhouse starts with that…. actually, no. The book starts with telling more about Paul Reubens and his career pre-Pee-Wee. I loved the story of how he got signed by an agent, and learned things that I never knew before about the early development of the character. Did you know Pee-Wee was developed as part of a comedy act? I didn’t. In a world where “celebrities” are often created by committee, Pee-Wee sounds to be very much the product of actor Reubens.
There are incredibly detailed stories about the TV show’s production and the Pee-Wee movies – successful and not so successful – throughout the book, and then we cut to present day for what “Pee-Wee” is up to in recent times. You can tell when an author is doing something for the paycheck, and when it’s out of love, and here, it’s definitely out of love. There’s an episode guide covering every installment of the series, and there are interviews with many people who were involved with Pee-Wee over the years. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that Reubens did any interviews, but that’s fine. It’s still a great examination. The book also takes a look at the show’s huge fandom, which again, I was unaware of. Another bonus? All of the imagery within (and there’s a lot of it!) is in full color.
If you loved Pee-Wee, this is definitely a book to check out. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s still a great read. I really enjoyed it.
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