| Series Name | |
| Season 3, Episode 1 | |
 | |
| Air date | Spring 1989 |
| Written by | John Paragon |
| Directed by | John Paragon & Paul Reubens |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous Pajama Party |
next To Tell The Tooth |
Reba Eats and Pterri Runs is the 1st episode of Pee-Wee's Playhouse season 3.
Episode Plot[]
In the season premiere, Pee-wee writes a pen pal letter and says he wishes Reba would come to mail it. It turns out to be Reba's day off, so Pee-wee invites her over for breakfast; however, much to Reba's anger, the breakfast wasn't real.
Later, Pee-wee builds a huge card tower. Pterri dives into it and smashes it down, angering him; Pterri apologizes, but Pee-wee wags his fingers at Pterri, telling him to pick up each one of the cards as his punishment. Later Pterri drinks water from the Fish's tank, and Pee-wee orders him around, so Pee-wee gets so upset he sent Pterri into time-out. Pterri goes to his nest, angry, sad and scared; then, he hides underneath the bed.
When Mrs. Rene calls Pee-wee on the Picturephone, Pterri becomes guilty while in his nest and so angry, and also thinks nobody likes him anymore; Randy talks him into running away. After Mrs. Rene hangs up, Pee-wee goes to Pterri's nest, and finds a note from Pterri saying he is running away from the Playhouse because of nobody not liking him anymore, which shocks him. Herman sternly asked Randy if he did talk to Pterri about running away from the Playhouse, and Randy said yes because he believed Pee-wee hated Pterri. Pee-wee tells Randy he never hated Pterri, because he likes him, and also tells Randy he is angry with him because he didn't like what he did, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like him anymore; Randy apologizes and runs out to find Pterri.
Pee-wee asked Mr. Window, Clocky and the ants if they've seen Pterri, but they told him no. Everyone in the Playhouse felt bad for the way they treated Pterri, as they say it's all their fault; Pee-wee wishes for Pterri to come back, but Jambi told him that he already granted his one wish and he can't wish his problems away.
Herman tearfully holds a portrait of Pterri and admits he missed him so much, but Pterri overheard this; he taps Pee-wee on the shoulder, and Pee-wee turns to see him. Pterri admits he didn't really run away, and was actually hiding under the bed. Herman tells Pterri that when he has a problem, he should talk about it instead of running away, because running away will only make his problems worse, as it only hurts the people he loves most; Pee-wee also tells the viewers they should tell someone about their problems as well.
Pee-wee offers Pterri a ride in his scooter, but Pterri declines because everyone in the Playhouse wants to play with Pterri as their way of apologizing for the way they treated him. Pee-wee says good bye to his friends, and tells the viewers to have fun now.
Characters[]
- Pee Wee Herman
- Pterri
- Billy Baloney
- Ricardo
- Conky
- Jambi
- Reba
- Penny
- Globey
- Magic Screen
- Mr. Kite (cameo)
- The Food from the Refrigerator
- Floory
- Flowers
- King of Cartoons
- Fish
- Mrs. Rene
- Randy
- Mr. Window
- Clocky
- Ants
- Chairry
- Dog Chair
- The Dinosaur Family (cameo)
- Dirty Dog (cameo)
- Cool Cat (cameo)
- Chicky Baby (cameo)
Trivia[]
- Season 3 only had 2 episodes. The reason was because Paul Reubens was busy making "Big Top Pee-wee" at the time (a complete box office and critical failure compared to Big Adventure, only clocking $15 million at the box office and met with very negative reviews, even to this day) and that the 1988 Writers' Guild strike was happening.
- The Name Song was first sung in this episode but was cut due to time constraints in later airings, the 2004 DVD release, the 2014 Blu-Ray release and on streaming services. It would later be attempted again in the episode Something to Do.
- Both times, Conky does not join in (due to being asleep)
- Ricardo's line "I gotta go, Pee." is a play on "I gotta go pee [urinate].".
- Ricardo and Reba visit in this episode.
- The secret word was said and screamed at 15 times.
- Mrs. Rene calls on the Picture Phone.
- When the King of Cartoons comes, a red carpet is rolled out like he is a star walking to a Hollywood movie premiere.
- The events of this episode will be mentioned again in Playhouse for Sale, with Pterri's line "I didn't really run away; I just hid under the bed." re-recorded by John Paragon (one of the many lines that were re-recorded from their original deliveries).
- Irony: When Randy tells Pterri he should just run away, Pterri could have said no. He should just talk through his problems.
- The title could be a pun on Season 4, Episode 21 of All in the Family, which was called "Archie Eats and Runs".
- Reba helps Pee-wee introduce the Penny cartoon.
Notes[]
- Secret word: now
- Connect-the-dots: none
- Snack: Imaginary breakfast feast
- Wish: Reba would come over. Pee-wee later tries to wish Pterri would come back, but Jambi of course refuses.
- After the first couple of times that this episode aired on CBS, it stopped showing the part at the very beginning, the "My Name Is..." song, for an unknown reason. It skipped to the scene showing Ricardo entering the Playhouse to find out the day's secret word. The 1996 VHS release and Fox Family airings of this episode reinstated the song. However, the segment was again dropped on DVD releases, Adult Swim airings, and video streaming services.