227: TOYLAND (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series based on the play by Christine Houston about opinionated Chicago housewife Mary Jenkins and her many friends and neighbors. In this episode, the women collect money to buy toys for hospitalized children, though they are disappointed to discover that they have not raised as much as they had hoped to. Mary and Lester arrive at the mall toy store just after closing, but the remaining "employee" allows them inside and tells them to quickly take whatever they like. Mary is pleased with his generosity, realizing too late that he is in fact an armed robber. Things get even stranger when Pee-Wee Herman himself suddenly arrives, cheerfully explaining that he needs some last-minute props for a show. The robber, Tony, forces them all into the storeroom, though Pee-Wee seems largely unconcerned about the situation, and when Sandra arrives to find her friends, she is excited to meet the goofy TV star as she is locked up with the others.
Pee-Wee manages to escape his bonds and opens the store's back door, only to find that it faces a brick wall. Mary then attempts to use their last match to set off the fire alarm, but safety-conscious Pee-Wee blows it out, much to everyone's annoyance. They next decide to escape through the air vents, but Pee-Wee is again caught by Tony when he tries to phone for help. Sandra finally opts to distract Tony with her "wiles" so that the others may overpower him, but Tony does not fall for her offer to be his "moll" and notes that their antics have made this his "most interesting heist" yet. Pee-Wee then tries to use some of the store's childish toys to disarm him, however, and everyone is surprised and relieved when it works and he is captured. Later, Pee-Wee visits the Jenkins', and they reveal that their reward for catching the thief has allowed them to buy many toys for the kids after all. Pee-Wee eagerly agrees to make an appearance at the hospital, and Sandra accepts his offer of a date, though she is dismayed to find that his "Silver Shadow" is not the Rolls-Royce of her dreams. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:21:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 123032
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1985-1990
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Dick Bensfield … Executive Producer
- Jack Elinson … Executive Producer, Developed by
- Ron Bloomberg … Supervising Producer
- Bill Boulware … Supervising Producer, Created by
- Catherine Valenzuela … Co-Producer
- Gerren Keith … Director
- C.J. Banks … Created by
- Tracy Gamble … Writer
- Richard Vaczy … Writer
- Christine Houston … Based on the play by
- Ray Colcord … Theme Music by
- Marla Gibbs … Cast, Mary Jenkins
- Hal Williams … Cast, Lester Jenkins
- Alaina Reed … Cast, Rose Lee Holloway
- Jackée Harry … Cast, Sandra Clark
- Helen Martin … Cast, Pearl Shay
- Regina King … Cast, Brenda Jenkins
- Curtis Baldwin … Cast, Calvin Dobbs
- Pee-Wee Herman (see also: Paul Reubens) … Cast, Himself
- Terry Kiser … Cast, Tony