I searched, and it would seem we have never had a thread for The Honeymooners.
I realize Ralph Kramden isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and some even feel the character was an abusive husband. But I disagree - like Homer Simpson, despite his faults Ralph’s heart was usually in the right place.
That aside, I think it was some very well crafted comedy. Jackie Gleason and Art Carney are a master class in comic timing and expressiveness. Some of my favorite moments:
Ralph wrenches his back bowling and has to keep it from Alice. Then Uncle Leo shows up - “It’s GOOD to see you, Ralph!” [slap on the back]
When Ralph and Norton buy a TV together and Art Carney is watching Captain Video. Jackie Gleason’s facial expression while watching him recite the Video Ranger Pledge is hysterical. As John Cleese said, it’s somewhat funny to watch someone behaving in a strange manner. What’s funnier is to watch someone who is in turn WATCHING someone who is behaving crazy.
The chef of the future.
The entire “$99,000 Answer” episode. It was one long setup for a single joke.
Scoring points with Bert Wiedermeyer’s wife was one of my faves.
"He’ll be a buried treasure*.
Or:
When the tides of life turn against you,
And the waves upset your boat.
Don’t waste your thoughts on what might have been,
Just turn on your back and float.
One of my favorite things was watching to see the background out the kitchen window inexplicably change between scenes.
I don’t think I could watch it any more. The acting was essentially performed for the stage, not for television. And let’s face it, like “I Love Lucy” the scripts were extremely predictable.
Still, in the day I suppose it was good. I doubt I could muster a smirk these days.
One of the best comedy shows ever. Somehow, it never ages.
It helps that Gleason was smart enough to film the show. “I Love Lucy” was taped. That’s why these two shows still exist. Others were either kinescoped or, more often, lost altogether. Too bad, because there were some really funny people on in the early 50s.
I’m not so fond of the 60s revival. Sheila MacRae was no Audrey Meadows, and the musical format was tedious.
Remember when Ralph was pretending not to be a cheapskate because they wanted to adopt? (I think?) And it was all blown when the iceman came with ice for the icebox?
I kind of like how surreally stagey it is; it’s not TV at all, it’s a filmed stage play thing. My parents love to watch the reruns, and I do like it too - I love Alice, you know she’d have beaten the crap out of Ralph if he’d ever really laid a hand on her. Plus, she was a total babe.
Okay, did I totally fabricate that? I looked at the list of Honeymooners episodes on Wikipedia and there’s nothing like that. I know I didn’t make it up, did I? I distinctly remember realizing as a child that that’s why Grandpa called the fridge an “icebox” and that they used to have, like, ice in them.
The one where Ralph is in a play and is rehearsing his script. He plays a rich, snooty playboy type (lol - no typecasting there) and the line in script is something like “I’ll give you everything - my money, my cars, my string of polo ponies” - although Ralph prounounces it “poloponies” (emphasis on “lop”) instead.
My memory of the Honeymooners is a little fuzzy. I of course remember the “Who wrote Way Down Upon the Swanee River?” episode and “Hello Ball”, but I seem to recall a less well known one where they did a Gift of the Magi episode where Ralph pawns his bowling ball to buy Alice a gift and Alice pawns something to buy a new Bowling ball bag for Ralph.
Does anyone remember this episode? What did Ralph get Alice that was related to what Alice pawned?
Anyway, I haven’t see it in 30 years or so and I remember it being one of the better sitcom Christmas episodes.
The skit you’re thinking of is probably “The Adoption”, which aired on the Jackie Gleason Show, and then was remade in the 60s. The remake was Audrey Meadows’ last performance as Alice.
Nope, filmed. They were the first to use the 3-camera technique. It was developed for the show by the cinematographer Karl Freund. I didn’t know of his résumé before now, which includes Key Largo, Dracula, Metropolis, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
I realize this thread is like six hundred years old but I stumbled upon it on google and thought I’d reply. The episode you’re referring to is called Twas the Night Before Christmas. Ralph buys Alice a small barbie pin box made of 2000 match sticks glued together that he is told was from the emperor of Japan’s house. Then Alice’s friend gives her the same gift on Christmas Eve and says its nothing special. Ralph, feeling guilty he got Alice a crappy gift, pawns his bowling ball to get her a better present, only to find that Alice bought him a bowling ball bag. As for Ralph’s new gift for Alice, he got her an orange juicer that is shaped like Napoleon, which you squeeze the oranges on Napoleon’s head and the juice shoots out of his ears. He got the idea for the gift from Norton who got the same thing for Trixie. Alice didn’t pawn anything to get Ralph’s gift.
Its easily one of the best Honeymooners episodes ever.
