George McGrath Movies

Master chef Emeril Lagasse, the garrulous star of one of cable TV's most popular cooking shows, played "himself" in this eponymously titled NBC sitcom. The story lines revolved around the behind-the-scenes intrigues attending Emeril's weekly TV series and his clashes with his virtually all-female production staff: producer Cassandra Gilman (Lisa Ann Walter), stage manager Melva LeBlanc (Sherri Shepard), and fussy food stylist B.D. Benson (Carrie Preston). Further yocks were generated by Emeril's domestic travails with his agent, Jerry McKenney (Robert Urich), and his funky teenaged son, James (James Laffety), who worked as an intern on the TV show. Lagasse's trademarked catch phrase "Bam!" was not unexpectedly hauled out at the slightest provocation, usually when the writing failed to come up to the usual standards of executive producers Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. Its scheduled September 18, 2001, debut date was postponed by news coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy, and Emeril finally emerged from the oven on September 25, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season three of Pee-Wee's Playhouse finds the irrepressible Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) and the whole Playhouse gang (human and otherwise) back for even more hilarious adventures -- though not as many adventures as in previous seasons, inasmuch as only a handful new episodes were produced. In "I Remember Curtis," Pee-Wee reminisces about his old pal Cowboy Curtis (yes, that's a young Laurence Fishburne) with the help of clips from previous episodes. Future Law & Order co-star S. Epatha Merkerson is prominently featured as Reba the Mail Lady in "Reba Eats, Pterri Runs." Jimmy Smits guest stars as a muscular computer repairman in "Conky's Breakdown." In "To Tell the Tooth," Pee-wee must practice what he preaches after admonishing his friends not to be scared by the dentist. A frantic search is conducted for several of Pee-Wee's favorite playthings in "Mystery." A popular singing trio is spotlighted in "Dr. Pee-Wee and the Del Rubios" "Front Page Pee-Wee" finds our hero transforming the playhouse into a newspaper office. And rascally Randy accidentally causes a"Fire in the Playhouse," though Fireman Frank (Stephen Parry) prevents things from getting out of hand. ~ Rovi

The 13 first-season episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse have become such beloved classics that it hardly seems necessary to offer an overview, but here goes anyway: In "Ice Cream Soup," the series opener, Pee-Wee (Paul Reubens) introduces us to his friends Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (yes, that's Laurence Fishburne), Jambi the Genie (John Paragon), Captain Carl (Phil Hartman), and the King of Cartoons (Gilbert Lewis), among many others. He also treats us to the first Secret Word, "door" (and remember to SCREAM REAL LOUD!). "Luau for Two" finds Pee-Wee throwing a luau in the Playhouse, tiki torches and all. Our hero breaks out the paper airplanes and whipped cream when he is cooped up indoors on a "Rainy Day" -- and also makes a prank phone call, much to his everlasting regret. In "Just Another Day," Cowboy Curtis teaches Pee-Wee how to square-dance. "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is highlighted by Pee-Wee's magic show, which ends up rendering him invisible. Miss Yvonne treats grouchy neighbor Mrs. Steve (Shirley Stoler) to a "Beauty Makeover" in the episode of the same name. "The Restaurant" is what Pee-Wee calls his own kitchen when Captain Carl shows up for a peanut-butter sandwich. Everyone has "Ants in Your Pants" when the denizens of Pee-Wee's animated ant farm make good their escape. A one-eyed "Monster in the Playhouse" soon finds Pee-Wee surrounded by a whole bunch of new friends. A nervous Cowboy Curtis stages a dress rehearsal of his date with Miss Yvonne in "Cowboy and the Countess." Rascally Randy suffers mightily when he consumes the "Stolen Apples" from Mrs. Steve's backyard. Pee-Wee is rescued from a mousehole by his kiddie pals (including at least one overgrown "ringer") in "The Gang's All Here." And it's nonstop fun for everyone, including the usually reserved Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson) in the aptly titled "Party." It was during this maiden season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse that the series won the first of its many Emmy awards, one for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Outstanding Achievement in Videotape Editing. ~ Rovi

Pee-wee Herman, the effervescent man-child created by actor Paul Reubens during his years with the Groundlings comedy troupe, was the star of the delightfully "retro" CBS kiddie show Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Each week (beginning Saturday, September 13, 1986), the titular hero whisked the viewers to puppetland, a magical world filled with anthropomorphic furniture, talking animals, and some of the zaniest human characters this side of the Milky Way. Joining Pee-Wee in his surrealistic adventures were Lynne Stewart as Miss Yvonne, "the most beautiful lady in Puppetland"; John Paragon as Jambi, a disembodied genie head who grants Pee-Wee one wish per week; Gilbert Lewis and later William Marshall as the King of Cartoons, who showed vintage animation clips on his own portable projector; Shirley Stoler and Suzanne Kent as Pee-Wee's neighbors Mrs. Steve and Mrs. Rene; and Gregory Harrison as Conky, a frequently malfunctioning robot. Prominent amongst the very animated inanimate objects in Pee-Wee's oddly shaped (but warmly inviting) playhouse were Chairry the Chair, Globey the Globe, a bunch of talking flowers, the all-purpose Magic Screen, and even a chatty floor named Floory. And there was a veritable honor roll of puppet and marionettes characters, ranging from Countess the Cow to red-headed troublemaker Randy. Oh, and let's not forget such peripheral personalities as the Dinosaur Family, the Ant Farm, and Penny (all depicted via stop-motion animation), and, during season five, a Spanish-speaking cartoon superhero named El Hombre. In addition to the above-mentioned "regulars," Pee-Wee's Playhouse featured a number of stellar performers on their way up. Laurence Fishburne was seen as rope-twirlin', knee-slappin' Cowboy Curtis, Phil Hartman showed up as crusty Captain Carl, Law & Order's S. Epatha Merkerson popped in as Reba the Mail Lady (replacing Johann Carlo, who during the series' first season was cast as trumpet-blowing mail carrier Dixie), and future leading lady Natasha Lyonne was Opal, one of the many children who congregated at the Playhouse each week. And speaking of children, the kids at home were invited to join in on the fun by "screaming real loud" whenever anyone spoke the Secret Word of the Day. The bulk of the series' 45 half-hour episodes -- which featured everything from indoor luaus to sleepovers to space travel -- were filmed during the first three seasons, with seasons four and five yielding only a handful of new installments. Contrary to popular belief, Pee-Wee's Playhouse was not canceled by CBS in the summer of 1991 due to adverse publicity involving Paul Reubens' private life; rather, Reubens himself had already made the decision to pull the plug on the show at the end of season five. The recipient of no fewer than 22 Emmy nominations, Pee-Wee's Playhouse has also been voted one of the Top 25 Cult Shows by TV Guide -- and like most cult shows, it entertained on two levels, as nonstop fun for the kiddies and sly satire for adults. To quote Jambi the Genie, "Mekka-lekka-hi, mekka-hiney-ho!" ~ Rovi

Rat-pack pals Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford reprise their roles of Charlie Salt and Chris Pepper, respectively, in this film that marks the directorial debut of comedian/writer Jerry Lewis. Lawford also plays Lord Sydney Pepper, the twin brother of Charlie who is a murder victim. Salt and Pepper investigate the crime in this uneven comedy feature. Pepper takes the place of his dead brother and winds up involved in a diamond-smuggling operation. The duo is chased through the bucolic English countryside by Interpol agents and crooks after the stolen gems. Like many sequels, it fails to be as amusing as the original, which wasn't that great in the first place. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi