I had a really hard time finding an image to include with this article. I went through every newspaper article that had "The Jay Leno Show" in the body of its text. I did searches on Google Images until Google got sick of me clogging their bandwidth. Even my editor Jane Boursaw couldn't use her super press connection powers to find one stinking shot of Jay blowing his nose in between sets from Friday's show.
Perhaps that's because Friday's late night appetizer on NBC wasn't really all that eventful. Don't take that to mean that it was totally dull, drab or boring, just a typical show for Jay and company.
And given some of the past episodes that sucked out loud, there's nothing wrong with being typical. Compared to the Pee Wee Herman debacle, it's a Devil's Tower sized step up.
Ever hear a joke that you're not sure you heard a punchline to yet? I'm not even sure tonight's Jay Leno Show had a setup.
Pee Wee Herman's triumphant return to Jay's show was an insufferable bore, beyond an opening joke about mistaking a wedding ring for an abstinence ring. It ended, and I literally said the words, "Why the hell did I just watch that?" Then I realized I'm being paid to watch TV for a living, and I quit bitching.
The comic character was there to promote his revival of The Pee Wee Herman Show stage play, but the whole interview had very few laughs and felt more like an introspective look at the man's childhood and aspirations to go into show business. The only problem is he's a fictional character and the stories didn't have much of a punchline, so it's hard to know if they were about Pee Wee Herman or the man playing Pee Wee Herman. Should I be laughing? Should I be interested? Should I care?
Okay, just for a moment let's set aside the fact that Pee Wee Herman doing a serious commercial about using crack is really, really (unintentionally) funny, and focus on just how logical it was to use that character in the first place.
One assumes this commercial was made when Pee Wee's Playhouse was on the air, which means his main audience was grade school children and not so much the older hipsters who knew the more "adult" Pee Wee character Paul Reubens created while with the Groundlings.
It's live-action, which might upset some of the cartoon purists out there, but heck, at least it isn't Saved by the Bell. Starting on July 10, Adult Swim will be airing episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse, the hysterical multi-Emmy award-winning children's series featuring Paul Reuben as everyone's favorite idiot manchild. We've known for awhile now that Adult Swim was making plans to incorporate more live-action into its programming block, and while I would love to see more of an effort made to showcase original animated work, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think this was pretty damn cool. Then again, yet another part of me worries that once the thrill of nostalgia wears off I'll be pining once again for something new and original. My brain might have to shut down if it continues to argue with itself in this manner.
Paul Reubens created the popular character in 1978, and the show debuted in 1986. Adult Swim's airing of the series will coincide with its 20th anniversary. The series will air Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. EST, and all forty-five original episodes will be shown, including the rare Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special.
Okay, just for a moment let's set aside the fact that Pee Wee Herman doing a serious commercial about using crack is really, really (unintentionally) funny, and focus on just how logical it was to use that character in the first place.
It's live-action, which might upset some of the cartoon purists out there, but heck, at least it isn't 
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