Pee-Wee’s Playhouse: The Complete Collection

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Having not seen this show since it aired on TV, I wasn’t sure how well it would hold up over the years (a lot of shows don’t). I decided to take a chance and pick up the box set, hoping for the best but not having the highest expectations.

Shout Factory, the company releasing this product, has had some problems over the years with their releases – even some of their bigger titles haven’t had the greatest video presentation. For them to release a full 5 seasons of a show from the 80’s, I was expecting it to be a release to get the content out and not much else.

Fortunately, I was wrong — they did a great job on this release!

The set comes in a very sturdy matte-box package (much sturdier than other releases I own which use a flimsy box). This is both nice (sturdy!) but also a bit of an issue as the cases are very hard to remove since it’s such a tight-fit. Inside the box are 2 large blu-ray cases (each holding 4 discs — seasons 1 & 2 on the first case, seasons 3, 4, 5 on the second case, a total of 8 discs)
The discs are listed as Region A only

You can get a full listing of whats on each disc by looking behind the discs inside the case (the case is a transparent blue, so you can view the disc listing). I would have liked a paper insert with this content, but this still works fine!

Content: The content holds up surprisingly well. I know a lot of kids’ shows don’t hold up over the years, but this one is still entertaining today. It definitely requires you to be able to stand the randomness, but if you do you’ll love it. Included are 45 episodes, including the Christmas Special

Video: This is where my big concern was going to be. This show started in 1986 and was a TV show. Fortunately, it was shot on film and was kept safe over the years..Shout Factory did a complete restoration, scanning and cleaning up the original film content. I believe it was mentioned that while the show was shot on film, it was finalized in Standard Definition with the completed effects. Shout Factory went in and re-created some of these (such as the word of the day) to present the entire show in High Definition. They did a very faithful job on this, and I don’t think anyone will be upset. It’s presented in 1080i (despite what the box says, its not 1080p), 4:3 ratio (meaning black bars on the left/right)
The detail is incredible — you can see strings on the puppets and the detail on pee-wee’s jacket (it’s actual a striped black/white very close together, not a solid grey). There is a noticeable grain, and it appears to be sharpened, but the detail seen is well worth it (especially when you compare it to the way it originally looked). Colors are bright and vibrant.

Audio: I’m listening on a soundbar and didn’t notice any issues. Box stated it’s in Stereo/Mono english. English subtitles are included.

Extras: The set has a nice set of extras! The Christmas Special includes an audio commentary. There are a number of (newly produced) extras, including interviews and featurettes. Very interesting to watch now, 30 years later!

– Mike R

Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Complete Series is completely remastered and presented on Blue-ray. It includes all 45 episodes, features and interviews with cast and crew. I thought the show was amazing when I was a child but now I’m presenting it to my kids and they love it. My 17 year old was as excited for it arrive as I was and my 3 year old doesn’t want to watch anything else. Its singlehandedly taken down PBS, Sprout and Nick Jr for his viewing time. Everything is perfect about this set down to the most amazing, durable and colorful disc cases that I’ve ever seen. If you’re a Pee-Wee fan, have children or are just looking for a great television cult classic that has no peers, I highly recommend this set. There is nothing else that could be improved. Great job, Pee-Wee!!-Jonathan Williams

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Paul Reubens, George McGrath, John Paragon, Lynne Marie Stewart, Phil Hartman
Directors: Paul Reubens, Bill Freiberger, Guy J. Louthan, Steven Johnson
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 11
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
DVD Release Date: October 19, 2010
Run Time: 1151 minutes