section_path: Career/1992–2002: Public retreat and comeback
section_name: 1992–2002: Public retreat and comeback
paragraph_text: 1992–2002: Public retreat and comeback
  
  After his 1991 arrest (see below), Reubens kept a low profile, dedicating himself to writing and collecting a variety of things, "everything from fake food, to lamps", although he did do some dubbing and took small parts in films such as 1992's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Tim Burton 's Batman Returns (Reubens portrayed the Penguin 's father) and 1996's Matilda and Dunston Checks In. In 1993, he voiced the character Lock in another one of Burton's productions, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Pee-wee's Playhouse had already ended by the time Reubens was arrested. He cited an overworked crew and a decline in the show's quality in his decision against making a sixth season. The show's popularity and quantity of episodes had allowed for rerun broadcasts, but CBS canceled the reruns on July 29, 1991.
  
  During the mid-1990s, Reubens played a recurring role on the TV series Murphy Brown. The role earned him positive reviews and his only non-Pee-wee Emmy nomination, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He appeared six times on the show between 1995 and 1997. Afterward, Reubens began working on an NBC pilot entitled Meet the Muckles, a show that would be based on You Can't Take It with You. The project got stuck in development hell and was later dropped when Reubens's ideas grew too elaborate and expensive, although Philip Rosenthal blamed NBC's negative response on Reubens being on a "blacklist".
  
  By 1999, Reubens had given several interviews as himself and made public appearances while promoting the film Mystery Men, the first being on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that year. He also starred in Dwight Yoakam 's Western South of Heaven, West of Hell, portraying a rapist and killer. In 2001, Reubens had his first extended television role since Playhouse, as the host of the short-lived ABC game show You Don't Know Jack, based on the video game series of the same name. It was cancelled after six episodes due to low ratings.
  
  Reubens played a flamboyant hairdresser turned drug dealer in Ted Demme 's 2001 drama Blow, which starred Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp. His performance was praised and he began receiving scripts for potential film projects.
  
  After his 1991 arrest (see below), Reubens kept a low profile, dedicating himself to writing and collecting a variety of things, "everything from fake food, to lamps", although he did do some dubbing and took small parts in films such as 1992's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Tim Burton 's Batman Returns (Reubens portrayed the Penguin 's father) and 1996's Matilda and Dunston Checks In. In 1993, he voiced the character Lock in another one of Burton's productions, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Pee-wee's Playhouse had already ended by the time Reubens was arrested. He cited an overworked crew and a decline in the show's quality in his decision against making a sixth season. The show's popularity and quantity of episodes had allowed for rerun broadcasts, but CBS canceled the reruns on July 29, 1991.
  
  During the mid-1990s, Reubens played a recurring role on the TV series Murphy Brown. The role earned him positive reviews and his only non-Pee-wee Emmy nomination, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He appeared six times on the show between 1995 and 1997. Afterward, Reubens began working on an NBC pilot entitled Meet the Muckles, a show that would be based on You Can't Take It with You. The project got stuck in development hell and was later dropped when Reubens's ideas grew too elaborate and expensive, although Philip Rosenthal blamed NBC's negative response on Reubens being on a "blacklist".
  
  By 1999, Reubens had given several interviews as himself and made public appearances while promoting the film Mystery Men, the first being on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that year. He also starred in Dwight Yoakam 's Western South of Heaven, West of Hell, portraying a rapist and killer. In 2001, Reubens had his first extended television role since Playhouse, as the host of the short-lived ABC game show You Don't Know Jack, based on the video game series of the same name. It was cancelled after six episodes due to low ratings.
  
  Reubens played a flamboyant hairdresser turned drug dealer in Ted Demme 's 2001 drama Blow, which starred Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp. His performance was praised and he began receiving scripts for potential film projects.