Go ahead and make fun, but the fact is that Pee Wee’s Playhouse was the most imaginative, interesting, and funny program ever to appear on Saturday morning TV (with the obvious exception of Bugs Bunny, which was actually made for movie theaters and only appeared on Saturday morning years later).
Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (PWP) had a budget per episode that was typical of prime time shows of its era rather than the typical budget of some chintzy, bad-animation 30 minute infomercial for a dumb toy (I’m looking at you, He-Man). With that budget PWP was able to offer a mix of claymation, animation, puppetry, live-action, and a creative set. And it had a long list of talented actors. PWP regulars included Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, and S. Epatha Merkerson (of Law and Order fame). Special guests included Jimmy Smits and Grace Jones in this so awful it is great Christmas special singling Little Drummer Boy. You have to see it to believe it:
OK, still don’t believe me that this was the greatest Saturday morning TV show ever? It won 22 Emmys. And it had this scene where Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne) prepares for a date by practicing with Pee Wee pretending to be Miss Yvonne (I know, it’s a stretch):
And who could resist repeat-gags like the secret word, when everyone would have to “scream real loud” whenever it was said. Like this “time” when the secret word was “time”:
Don’t forget that Tim Burton also launched his directing career with the movie Pee Wee’s Great Adventure and Danny Elfman did the music for both the TV show and movie.
PWP was not bad-good, like the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon or Shazam/Isis. It was good-good.
(I should add that I had the honor of meeting the actress who played Chairry this summer. Barrymore never had Chairry on his resume.)
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
To this day, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure remains a favorite movie. The key to Pee Wee’s success was that it appealed to children and adults, especially if they could appreciate it in all its tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness – particularly towards the end of its run, when it had features like a solid 90 second shot of a dog eating dog food.
Hilarious.
Pee Wee’s Big Playhouse was a big favorite of the stoner set when I was an undergraduate. Not quite as big as Alice in Wonderland, but really really big.
Druggies have often flocked to great art. For years people who liked to drop acid would go to showings of Fantasia.
And I agree with Christian that you have to get in on the joke to enjoy it. And my kids love it too.
Fantasia and Pee Wee’s Playhouse, “great art”?
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. : )
This was an age appropriate show for me, and Matt was a stoner (so he claims)…but why were you watching it?
There was a Saturday morning ritual at Tufts where people gathered in their pajamas to watch PWP. A bunch of girls in pajamas seemed like reason enough to attend.
So that’s why you call it “great art”! I knew there had to be more to the story. Did they also watch Fantasia?
I wasn’t a stoner! I lived on the fine arts floor as a soph. I knew lots of stoners, partied with a number of stoners, but was never a stoner myself.