Restaurant (Pee-wee's Playhouse)

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“Restaurant”
Pee-wee's Playhouse episode

Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 7
Written by	Michael Varhol John Paragon George McGrath Paul Reubens Max Robert
Directed by	Stephen R. Johnson
Production no.	107
Original airdate	October 25, 1986
Episode chronology
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"Beauty Makeover"	"Ants In Your Pants"

Pee-wee is the maitre d', waiter and cashier while playing restaurant. Customer Captain Carl orders everything on the menu, only to learn that all they have are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

1 Plot
2 Trivia

[edit] Plot

[edit] The Toys Are Playing

Pee-wee decides to look at his toy shelf. He watches as a train of cars with assorted heads on them watch a puppet show, courtest of the octopus-headed dog. Pee-wee says, "They're already playing!" He then unplugs Conky from the wall and flips the switch on him, bringing him to life. "Ready to assist you, Pee-wee," the robot says. Pee-wee asks what the secret word is. A strip of paper pops out of Conky's midsection and Pee-wee rips it off and reads the secret word on it. It reads: DAY. Pee-wee reminds the audience of what to do whenever anyone says the secret word for the rest of the show.

Pee-wee then tries the word out on Mr. Kite, by asking what the weather will be like up there today. "I've got good visibility up here," Mr. Kite replies. "I can see for miles and miles. The surf is up, the winds are down. The temperature is 75°. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day." Everyone screams. Pee-wee tells Mr. Kite that he just said the secret word. "It's 'day'!" Pee-wee says. Everyone screams again. The flowers then tell him that he just said the secret word. Pee-wee tries to deny this, but the flowers say, "Yes, you did. You said, 'Day'!" Everyone screams once again. "Ha-ha, flowers!" Pee-wee laughs. "I made you say, 'day'!" Everyone screams once more.

[edit] Dixie's Bad Day

The sound of Dixie's taxicab driving up is heard, but not the usual honking. Mr. Window announces for Dixie's arrival. Dixie comes in, her shirt, arms, and hands absolutely covered in motor oil and with an angry/annoyed look on her face. Pee-wee points out that he didn't hear the carhorn honk. Dixie, in an exasperated tone, says, "If it'll make you happy, honk honk." Pee-wee says she must be uptight. Dixie realizes her mistake at yelling at her good friend and says she's sorry, wanting to give him a hug, but the sight of the motor oil on her hand makes him cringe. "Eww!" he says. She then explains that her tires broke down and she had to tire herself by walking all the way up the hill. She then says "Man, it's been a very bad day!" Everyone screams, except Dixie. Dixie glares at the Playhouse group (her exasperated attitude restored, unfortunately) causing everyone (but not the audience) to freeze and go silent. "So, where's the King of Cartoons?" Pee-wee asks. Dixie yells for His Majesty to get up there, and she, though angry, plays her trumpet expertly. The king finally comes in and plops on Chairry. He aims the projector at the camera and a cartoon is shown to the audience.

[edit] Mini Golf

When the cartoon ends and Dixie takes her leave to go fix the tire, Pee-wee and the king are playing a game of mini golf using a small windmill. Pee-wee putts a golf ball toward the windmill, but misses. Now it's the king's turn. Pee-wee gives him his putter, as it's the only golf club the playhouse has. The king putts the ball and it actually moves around like it has a mind all its own. It spins around and then goes into the windmill, causing it to make funny "boing" noises (like the noises occasionally heard in the Picturephone in the later seasons). Then the ball emerges and rolls into the mousehole at the back of the playhouse. The Dinosaur family inside notice this. Mrs. Dinosaur sits down on the ball as though it were an egg. She then starts knitting while humming a variation of "Rockabye Baby". The kid dinosaurs are watching something on their TV. Then suddenly, the ball starts wiggling. Mr. Dinosaur nervously swallows the cigar he's smoking. Then Mrs. Dinosaur leaps up, letting out a shriek as the ball wiggles under her. The ball hatches like an egg, revealing a little bird cawing "Mama!"

Pee-wee and the king, who have been watching this, both laugh. "What do you know?" the king says. "I got a birdie!" They then hear Dixie's cab; the horn actually honks this time. The king hears this and says that it's Dixie; she finally fixed the tire (and probably has a better atittude). He leaves, saying, "Well, Pee-wee, I must be off. Have a good day!" Everyone screams, because the king said the secret word. Pee-wee says good-bye to the king and Dixie while the cab drives away.

Pee-wee then goes to look at his ant farm. "Hello, ants!" he shouts. In the farm, a car races to a seashore and stops. Two ants climb out of the car, wearing bathing suits and carrying surfboards to go surfing. One wipes out in a wave, while the other rides the wave, which forms the words, "Surf's Up!". "Cowabunga!" Pee-wee says.

[edit] Action Toys

Pee-wee then speaks to the audience, saying to get out some construction paper (the stiffer, the better). He does the same, then tells the audience to find something to draw with. He takes out an ordinary felt-tip pen. He then tells the audience to draw a picture of a little girl or a little boy. Or, he says, they can draw their favorite cartoon character, TV star or anything with two legs, but tells them not to draw the legs. He draws a little girl. Then he cuts out the figure, using plastic scissors because he claims they're safe. He tells the audience to do the same. Then he tells them to cut out two holes where the legs should be, which he does himself. Then he tells them to stick their fingers through the holes, which he does. He's created an action toy.

He has also created a second action toy (this one of a boy) for his other hand. He then moves his hands around, to make it look like his toys are having a conversation with each other (GIRL TOY: "Hey, what's that over there?" BOY TOY: (looking behind) "Where?" GIRL: "Made you look! Made you look!").

The doorbell rings and Pee-wee eagerly answers it. But it's just the Salesman, saying that he's going door-to-door, as usual. As always, Pee-wee just slams the door in his face and is about to storm away from the door in disgust, when he hears the doorbell ringing again. But this time, instead of the Salesman, it's Captain Carl. They say hi and ahoy to each other. Pee-wee then says that Carl is just in time for Snack Time. "Good, I haven't had a bite to eat all day," Carl says eagerly. Everyone screams. Carl, sounding annoyed, says, "You and your secret words. One of these days..." Everyone screams again. "C'mon, Pee-wee, what do you have to eat?" Pee-wee says, "I know, let's play 'restaurant'!" Carl smiles, while Pee-wee giggles.

[edit] Fine Dining

Captain Carl stands in the entrance to the playhouse, noticing a sign reading, "Please wait to be seated." Then Pee-wee steps up. "Good evening, sir," he says to Carl. "May I help you?" "Yeah, you can help me," says Carl. "I wanna get somethin' to eat." Pee-wee asks if he has a reservation and Carl says no. "What's the name?" Pee-wee asks. "Captain Carl," says Carl. Pee-wee picks up a microphone with one hand and holds his nose with other and says in a nasally voice, "Carl - party of one. Carl - party of one." Pee-wee then leads Carl to a table with a candle on it.

Captain Carl sits down at the table and Pee-wee tells him his waiter will be right with him. Pee-wee then gives him the menu and then disappears off-screen for a second, then reappears with a pad to take Carl's order. He brings with him a glass of water for Carl. The dialogue exchange goes as follows below:

PEE-WEE: "Hello, I'm your waiter, Pee-wee, and I will be serving you this evening."
CAPTAIN CARL: (looks at menu) "Oh, this sounds good: juicy steak. I'll have that."
PEE-WEE: "How'd you like that cooked?"
CAPTAIN CARL: "Medium."
PEE-WEE: "Wise choice. Baked potato, french fried, au gratin, mashed, boiled new potatoes or rice."
CAPTAIN CARL: "Baked."
PEE-WEE: "Mm-hmm, wise choice. Soup or salad?"
CAPTAIN CARL: "What's your soup?"
PEE-WEE: "Liver and noodles."
CARL: "I'll have salad."
PEE-WEE: "You have your choice of dressings: French, thousand island, blue cheese, ranch, Italian and our special playhouse dressing."
CAPTAIN CARL: "What's the house dressing?"
PEE-WEE: "Liver and noodles."
CAPTAIN CARL: "I'll have thousand island."
PEE-WEE: "Care for a beverage?"
CAPTAIN CARL: "Lemonade."
PEE-WEE: "Pink or regular?"
CAPTAIN CARL: "Pink."
PEE-WEE: "Okay."

Pee-wee then leaves, but then returns seconds later, saying that he's sorry, but he's just been informed they're out of the juicy steak. Carl then asks how the chicken is. Pee-wee says that it's excellent, but unfortunately they're out of that, too. Carl then decides to have the lobster, but Pee-wee says he wouldn't recommend that; they're out of that, too! Carl then asks, annoyed, "Then what do you have?" "A peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Pee-wee says. Carl slams the menu down in disgust, saying he'll take that, then. Pee-wee is about to ask what kind of bread he wants when Carl says, "Just bring the sandwich!"

So Pee-wee leaves for a moment and brings the sandwich. "Will that be all?" he asks. "Yeah," says Carl. Pee-wee then puts a check down on the table. "What's this?" Carl asks. "Your check," says Pee-wee. Carl looks at it and says, shocked, "$2.00 for a peanut butter sandwich?!" "And jelly," says Pee-wee. Angrily, Carl tries to hand Pee-wee the two bills, but he points to the cash register, telling him that he pays over there.

Carl gets up and goes over to the cashier, who just so happens to be... Pee-wee! He asks him how was everything. Carl just grunts angrily and plops the two bucks on the counter and heads out the playhouse door. "Have a nice day!" Pee-wee calls to Carl. Everyone screams. Carl grunts angrily again as he goes through the door. Pee-wee, smiling, places the two dollar bills in the register.

[edit] Today's Wish

Magic Screen then tells Pee-wee that it's time to play with it. "Yay! Here we go!" Pee-wee says. "Where are we going?" Magic Screen asks with a laugh. "That was so funny I almost forgot to laugh," Pee-wee says happily.

Pee-wee, then, leaps into the screen. He then throws out his connecting dots and sings his song about the dots connecting. They form a shopping cart. "Let's go shopping," Pee-wee says. He pushes the cart along past an aisle in a grocery store. He drops into his cart a box of cereal and a carton of eggs. He then continues on down the road and asks a woman going past him to tell him where he can find the pterodactyl food. "Aisle four," she says. Pee-wee moves on, but then the ground shakes and the cart is acting up. "How do you stop this thing?!" he cries. "I'm outta control in the supermarket!" He collides his cart into a line of carts, which knock him out of the screen and into the waiting arms of Chairry. She puts her plush arms over his eyes. "Guess who," she says. "Uh... Chairry," he says. "How'd you guess?" she asks. "You're the only person I know with upholstered arms," Pee-wee replies.

Chairry then asks Pee-wee if he has had his wish for the day. Everyone screams, since Chairry just said the secret word. "Wish?" Pee-wee exclaims. "I almost forgot." He then goes over to Jambi's box and knocks on it. The doors on the box open and Jambi looks out at Pee-wee. "What is it?" Jambi asks. "I would like to have my wish granted, please," Pee-wee says. "What would like to wish for?" Jambi asks. "Aw, c'mon, say it like a real genie," Pee-wee says. Jambi sighs and says, "Oh, all right." He then says mysteriously, "Your wish is my command, o wise and powerful master." Then he continues in a normal voice: "So what do you want?" Pee-wee tries to think of what to wish for, but can't think of anything. Finally, he says, "I wish I knew to what to wish for." Jambi grants Pee-wee's wish and says, "It is done." Pee-wee then says ecstatically, "I know what to wish for!"

But Jambi smiles and says that it's too late. Pee-wee's smile disappears as he asks, "What do you mean?" "You already had your wish," Jambi replies. Pee-wee says no, he didn't. The dialogue exchange bounces back and forth over whether or not Pee-wee has had wish already. Finally, Jambi decides to prove to Pee-wee that he has had his wish by showing an instant replay on Magic Screen, who promptly shows the sequence again. When Pee-wee learns this, he accuses Jambi of tricking him and demands another wish. But Jambi just says, "You know the rules, Pee-wee: only one wish per show." "No! No!" Pee-wee shouts in a spoiled tone. He storms around the playhouse, having a fit and yelling, "No!" repeatedly. Finally, Jambi grins and the gilded box's doors close. Pee-wee then shakes around as if he is having a seizure.

[edit] A Weed

Pee-wee is later seen working out on the exercise belt. He announces that it's time for a Penny cartoon, which is shown forthwith and without delay.

When the Penny cartoon ends, Pee-wee is going to the bathroom. Knucklehead is heard calling, "Knock, knock," repeatedly. "Just a minute, Knucklehead!" Pee-wee calls repeatedly, until he finally emerges from the bathroom. He hurries over to the other end of the playhouse, a small trail of toilet paper stuck on his shoe, though he doesn't know it yet. "Knock, knock!" says Knucklehead impatiently. "Who's there?" Pee-wee asks. "Look." "'Look' who?" "Look who's got toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoe!" Knucklehead laughs. Pee-wee notices the toilet paper on his shoe and peels it off.

Then Pee-wee hears the flowers whimpering and calling for help. He hurries over to investigate. He asks the flowers what the matter is. It turns out there's a weed growing in the flowers' box. Pee-wee yanks the weed out and scolds it for being in the flower box instead of the weed patch where it belongs. He takes the weed outside and puts somewhere out there and then returns inside.

[edit] Underwater

Pee-wee then comes back inside the playhouse. "He sure is brave, isn't he?" the flowers say. "He's my hero!" "Yep," Pee-wee agrees. "Nothing scares me!" Then he turns around and freaks out at the sight of seeing someone in a scuba mask and wearing a scuba tank on his back. Pee-wee blacks out. The person wearing the scuba mask is really just Tito. When he notices that he scared Pee-wee, he tries to wake him up. Pee-wee opens his eyes and freaks out a second time before regaining control of himself. He notices that the person was really Tito. "I didn't scare you, did I?" Tito asks. "Me? No!" Pee-wee says, getting up. "Scare me? No, you didn't scare me. I knew it was you the whole time."

Pee-wee notices the scuba tank on Tito's back. He says that's a scuba tank. Tito says yes and then asks him if he knows what scuba stands for. Pee-wee says no. Then he asks Globey and then Chairry, but neither of them know. Then he asks Conky, who replies yes. "'Scuba'," Conky says, "stands for: 'Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus'." Pee-wee then says, "Underwater... That sounds like fun!"

Then the viewers see Pee-wee swimming under the surface of the ocean. "Look!" Pee-wee giggles. "I'm underwater!" Tito then swims up to Pee-wee, no longer wearing anything except his bathing suit. He tells Pee-wee to use the buddy system when underwater; Tito is Pee-wee's buddy. "Hey, buddy!" Pee-wee laughs. They then go swimming. They pass by some fish. "That's a school of fish," Tito says. "What're they learning?" Pee-wee asks.

Then Pee-wee and Tito pass by a reef, which Pee-wee says looks like a tree. Then they pass by some seaweed (which Pee-wee says look like plants) and an underwater mountain (which Pee-wee says looks like the Grand Canyon). "Boy, there's sure a lotta cool stuff down here!" Pee-wee says. "There sure is," Tito says. "Y'know, three-quarters of the earth is just like this." "It is?" Pee-wee asks. "Sure," Tito says. "That's how much of the earth is covered with water. It's a whole other world down here." The fish from Pee-wee's aquarium then swim by, telling him to please return to the playhouse; it's time to say good-bye. So Pee-wee swims out of view and the viewers find him back at the playhouse, sans Tito. "Boy, that sure was fun!" Pee-wee says.

Pee-wee goes over to his scooter's hiding place and flips up the iron on the ironing board. The hidden door rises, releasing his red scooter. He mounts the scooter. He says his good-bye to the audience and tells them to "have a great rest-of-the-day!" Everyone screams one last time. Pee-wee then 'scoots' out, and the supposedly locked door swings open, and he flies out of the playhouse. The end credits roll.

[edit] Trivia

The secret word is screamed when heard as part of the words, "days" (when Carl says, "One of these days—") and "today" (when Chairry asks Pee-wee if he's had his wish for today).