Friday, Dec. 16, 2011

Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

YouTube's a godsend for the bored December cubicle-dweller, a cornucopia of archival footage that disappeared from the holiday TV schedule a long time ago. Some clips are classics, others unforgettable oddities. The no-holds-barred Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas special is definitely the latter — a hyper, hallucinogenic mix of Christmas carols and A-list guest stars. Highlight: when the nutty, caffeinated, overgrown, man-child Paul Reubens hops about while concocting his wish list for Santa. It seems fitting that he would express his love of fruitcake.

(See TIME's list of the 7 essential holiday shows)