The world is a little less colorful without Pee-wee in it.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

LET HIM IN.

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Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

We lost Paul Reubens on Sunday. And I usually put these obituaries in the R.I.P. section at the bottom of these posts, but Reubens is too important, too influential to not be recognized here at the top today.

Paul Reubens is the actor and comedian known around the world as “Pee-wee Herman.” This is a particularly hard one for a lot of us, as we grew up with Pee-wee in one way or another. I am old enough that my first exposure to Pee-wee was through the 1981 HBO special that predated Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and his Saturday morning show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse. The special was not at all intended for children — it was a parody of a kid’s show for the generation of adults who were raised on the likes of Bozo the Clown and Captain Kangaroo — but the bright visuals, the campy 1950s feel of the production, and Pee-wee’s man-child innocence were all mesmerizing to me as a kid and I watched it countless times. Over the course of his career, his energy and that zany visual palette in his projects was broadly appealing to both kids and adults. In fact, it could be argued that Pee-wee was a pioneer of the particular genre of ostensibly kids’ comedy that manages to play on multiple levels, appealing to both children and adult’s inner children; media that includes SpongeBob SquarePants, Ren and Stimpy, The Simpsons, even the Barbie movie. And by the mid-80s, Pee-wee Herman was a national treasure.

Paul Reubens himself was by all accounts a gentle, thoughtful, and profoundly original human being who, most importantly, taught generations of kids that it was cool to be different, imaginative, and quirky. Even in death, Reubens was selfless and kind: “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

It should be noted that Reubens was, of course, more than just Pee-wee. He made countless guest appearances in film and TV long after his Pee-wee days, including his last credited work on Bob’s Burgers — another series influenced by his brand of multi-generational comedy. The first film my cousin ever worked on as a production assistant was the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Reubens was a hilarious scene-stealing vampire: (My cousin reports that he was a lovely, lovely person to work with.)

He also had an unforgettable guest appearance on 30 Rock:

But ultimately, he will be forever remembered as Pee-wee, such a game-changing legend that the Alamo remembers him:

The outpouring of grief by Hollywood demonstrates just how beloved he was as an artist and a human being.

In other TV news:

Speaking of kids’ programming, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon will team up for a kid-centric broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on Nickelodeon that will feature lots of slime.

You’ll also be able to watch the Big Brother live stream for free on Pluto, in addition to an ad-free version on Paramount+.

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the process of casting for Love is Blind.

Another day, another court loss for Former President Scam Artist. (And fingers crossed — and champagne chilled — that indictment comes down sometime today, Thursday at the very latest.)

Adam Schiff is leading an effort to give Leonard Nimoy his own postage stamp.

Get better soon, Suzanne Somers. Generation X can’t take another loss anytime soon.

And keeping Judi Dench in our thoughts. The woman is a queen.

#MeToo

Days of Our Lives is going on an unscheduled hiatus after an internal investigation revealed a toxic workplace fostered by director/co-executive producer Albert Alarr. According to the report, seven female actresses have been fired or left the show after being denigrated by Alarr who created a “frat house” environment. Additionally, there is only one female director on staff. The investigation also revealed that Alarr assaulted an actress at an event; denigrated another actress during a sex scene before writing her character off the show; bullied actors and actresses alike and was inappropriate and offensive on countless occasions.

Lisa Rinna had thoughts:

As did Days‘ Bo Brady, actor Peter Reckell:

Oh noooooo: Lizzo has been sued by three of her backup dancers, three women who were discovered on her Emmy-winning series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, for sexual harassment and other workplace violations. Many of the allegations are directed at Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, but Lizzo has been accused of some terrible behavior here, too. This is heartbreaking if true.

Samantha Morton revealed that Harvey Weinstein threatened to end her career for refusing to take a role in a film she thought was misogynistic. That checks out.

Former Home Improvement star Zachery Ty Bryan has been arrested again for felony domestic violence.

Kevin Spacey was found not guilty in his sexual assault trial in London.

STOP. THROWING. SHIT. AT. PERFORMERS. DAMN.

Cancellations

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Disenchantment will return on Netflix on September 1.
  • Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court will premiere on Netflix on September 22.
  • Choose Love will debut on Netflix on August 31.
  • Bad Things will debut on Shudder and AMC+ on August 18.
  • Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test will return on Fox on September 25.
  • Un Millon de Gracias debuts on Roku on August 11.
  • Good Night World will premiere on Netflix on October 12.

R.I.P.

Angus Cloud, Euphoria actor

Betty Ann Bruno, Wizard of Oz munchkin who became a local TV reporter

Jim Parker, BAFTA-winning composer who worked on House of Cards and Midsommer Murders among others

Adrian Street, Former professional wrestler

Remi Lucidi, Daredevil

WATCH THIS

Mixtape: The story of how mixtapes brought hip-hop music into the mainstream is told in this documentary. Premiere. Paramount+

Goodfellas: If only for the scene that was largely improvised with Scorsese’s mother. 7 p.m., Paramount Network

 

TUES. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
(repeat)		 Celebrity Jeopardy!
(repeat)		 The Chase
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CBS FBI
(repeat)		 FBI: International
(repeat)		 FBI: Most Wanted
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CW Penn & Teller: Fool Us
(repeat)		 Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(repeat)		 Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(repeat)		 Local
FOX Beat Shazam
(new)		 Don’t Forget the Lyrics
(new)		 News/Local
NBC America’s Got Talent
(new)		 Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge
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2 thoughts on “The world is a little less colorful without Pee-wee in it.”

  1. You forgot Flight of the Navigator. Paul Ruebens was the voice of the space ship. One of my favorite movies growing up.

    Reply

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