For decades now, Turner Classic Movies has produced moving tributes to the stars, writers, producers, musicians and other personalities associated with films. In many ways, these short films shown between scheduled movies have surpassed the “In Memoriam” tribute film shown at each Academy Awards show.
Tonight, TCM presents a short festival showcasing films associated with those who left us in 2023.
The late Paul Reubens is recalled with the audaciously original 1985 comedy “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (8 p.m., TV-PG). While it does not seem a likely TCM “classic” selection, it offers a sly satire of road movie conventions and even pokes fun at the idea that Hollywood turns everything into Hollywood.
Years before “Seinfeld” spoofed the “fake”-looking NBC adaptation of its “show about nothing,” Pee-Wee and his friend Dottie (E.G. Daily) attended the drive-in premiere of their story, in which they were portrayed by James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild.
At a time when so many male stand-up comedians were moving toward confessional despair and anger, Reubens’ alter ego was brave enough to double down on silly.
“Big Adventure” would pave the way for his ingenious Saturday morning CBS show, a kids’-show hallucination made for adults. Decades before Adult Swim catered to a certain “herbal” mentality, “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” seemed custom made for the wake-and-bake crowd.
Seen nearly 40 years later, “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and “Big Adventure” were an explosion of 1980s culture. It merged a campy L.A. take on mid-20th-century retro clothes, hair and design with a very downtown post-punk New York aesthetic. Somebody once described “Playhouse” as a B-52s album cover come to life, mirroring the kitschy post-modern approach of that Athens, Georgia, band.
Pee-Wee was a “performance artist” at a time when everybody from David Letterman to Joe Isuzu to Max Headroom seemed to be performing at a winking remove from their characters. Even the president of the United States, a former movie star, appeared to be playing a role.
In addition to teaching silly viewers of all ages that there was no basement in the Alamo, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” introduced us to the wildly inventive director Tim Burton.
Well into the wee hours of Friday morning, TCM also recalls Melinda Dillon with the 1981 drama “Absence of Malice” (9:45 p.m., TV-14); Glenda Jackson in the 1971 romance “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (midnight, TV-MA); Treat Williams in the 1979 adaptation of “Hair” (2 a.m., TV-MA); Jane Birkin in the 1966 mystery “Blow-Up” (4:15 a.m., TV-MA) and low-budget auteur Bert I. Gordon with the 1965 teen musical/exploitation film “Village of the Giants” (6:15 a.m., TV-PG).
— With “Barbie” the biggest movie of the year, we can expect new doll- and toy-centric films in our future. Not one to let the pop-culture grass grow under its feet, Netflix streams the Japanese computer-animated kids’ comedy series “Pokemon Concierge,” featuring a character named Haru who makes sure the Pokemon characters are comfortable at their poolside hotel.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A subway shooting on “Law & Order” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— A pastry chef makes it to a gingerbread competition in “The Sweetest Christmas” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G) from 2017.
— The Browns host the Jets in Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m., Prime Video).
— Bash’s immigration hearing does not go smoothly on “Transplant” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
An IRA soldier (Stephen Rea) becomes besotted with the lover (Jaye Davidson) of the British soldier (Forest Whitaker) he was assigned to murder in the 1992 drama “The Crying Game” (9 p.m., TMCX). Directed by Neil Jordan, the film’s popularity was enhanced by a warning not to reveal its surprise twist.
SERIES NOTES
Book smart on “Young Sheldon” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “Lego Masters” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Sam creates a podcast on “Ghosts” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
On two episodes of “Ghosts UK” (CBS, TV-PG): a booking snafu (9 p.m.); an artifact sparks memories (9:30 p.m.) … “Press Your Luck” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
A botched mission puts the team in the hospital on “SEAL Team” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Kenan Thompson, Olivia Rodrigo and Evie Colbert visit “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Reba McEntire, Werner Herzog and Tom Odell drop by “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r).
