Money! Money! Money! The accumulation of financial and social resources was the driving force behind this short lived but great comedy series.
The Honeymooners was the greatest program of television's golden age, better than "I Love Lucy", "Texaco Star Theater", and "Your Show of Shows" . I've seen "I Love Lucy" reruns many times and clips of the other two great programs, and "Jackie Gleason's "Honeymooners" a spin off from his classic variety series is still my favorite.
Gleason's ever popular character Ralph Kramden is one of life's lovable and colorful losers. He's always looking for that get- rich- quick scheme that will pull him as his loving wife Alice (Audrey Meadows) out of the doldrums of East Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, to the Penthouses on Park Avenue. He always means well for himself and his wife Alice, but does foolish things to make a bad situation for him and Alice worse.
During all of his foolish endeavors he recruits his 'ol Pal Norton, as kind of like an insurance policy to subliminally tell Alice, "Hey I wasn't the only fool who thought he could invent No-Cal pizza." Norton (Art Carney) is one goofy dude. He has like a sixth sense when it comes to A) Keeping friendships, B)Doing inappropriate things only to remind Ralph of some of these foolish get rich quick schemes,C)Creating problems for Ralph without knowing what he's doing and D) not saying inappropriate things when the friendship itself is at stake.
Among my favorite episodes when Ralph's get-rich-quick schemes nearly send him and Alice to the moon are "Funny Money", "Better Living Through TV", "Opportunity Knocks, But", "Dial J For Janitor", and the all time classic, "The $99,000 Answer" when Ralph things he's going to win a fortune on a game show. He practices learning music like a madman then falls flat on his face on National TV because he forgot to ask Norton a simple but important question relating to a music writer.
There are also other classic episodes like "TV or Not TV" where Ralph is too frugal to buy Alice a television set, then goes halves with Norton, and eventually becomes obsessed with television. Norton is hilarious during his "Captain Video" monologue.
In "Oh, My Aching Back", Ralph throws his back out bowling, and has to hide the sad fact from Alice that he might fail his employment physical because of it. Hiding Ralph's painful condition from Alice, Norton plays doctor and takes Ralph's temperature. "What's my temperature NORTON!!" exclaims Ralph. "A Hundred and Eleven!!" cries out Norton, not aware that if you put a cigarette lighter to the thermometer it raises the temperature.
In "Please Leave the Premisis", Ralph decides to play hardball with a greedy landlord, and winds up out in the cold. Ralph says he's being brave and defiant like General George Washington, and that there "will be no deserters is his army",meaning he, Alice and Norton have to remain in the cold without utilities. Unfortunately General Cornwallis wins this round over George Washington, and Martha convinces George to pay the rent increase.
Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, and Joyce Randolph (as Norton's wife) had great chemistry together, as Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden really took us to the moon.
The Honeymooners was the greatest program of television's golden age, better than "I Love Lucy", "Texaco Star Theater", and "Your Show of Shows" . I've seen "I Love Lucy" reruns many times and clips of the other two great programs, and "Jackie Gleason's "Honeymooners" a spin off from his classic variety series is still my favorite.
Gleason's ever popular character Ralph Kramden is one of life's lovable and colorful losers. He's always looking for that get- rich- quick scheme that will pull him as his loving wife Alice (Audrey Meadows) out of the doldrums of East Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, to the Penthouses on Park Avenue. He always means well for himself and his wife Alice, but does foolish things to make a bad situation for him and Alice worse.
During all of his foolish endeavors he recruits his 'ol Pal Norton, as kind of like an insurance policy to subliminally tell Alice, "Hey I wasn't the only fool who thought he could invent No-Cal pizza." Norton (Art Carney) is one goofy dude. He has like a sixth sense when it comes to A) Keeping friendships, B)Doing inappropriate things only to remind Ralph of some of these foolish get rich quick schemes,C)Creating problems for Ralph without knowing what he's doing and D) not saying inappropriate things when the friendship itself is at stake.
Among my favorite episodes when Ralph's get-rich-quick schemes nearly send him and Alice to the moon are "Funny Money", "Better Living Through TV", "Opportunity Knocks, But", "Dial J For Janitor", and the all time classic, "The $99,000 Answer" when Ralph things he's going to win a fortune on a game show. He practices learning music like a madman then falls flat on his face on National TV because he forgot to ask Norton a simple but important question relating to a music writer.
There are also other classic episodes like "TV or Not TV" where Ralph is too frugal to buy Alice a television set, then goes halves with Norton, and eventually becomes obsessed with television. Norton is hilarious during his "Captain Video" monologue.
In "Oh, My Aching Back", Ralph throws his back out bowling, and has to hide the sad fact from Alice that he might fail his employment physical because of it. Hiding Ralph's painful condition from Alice, Norton plays doctor and takes Ralph's temperature. "What's my temperature NORTON!!" exclaims Ralph. "A Hundred and Eleven!!" cries out Norton, not aware that if you put a cigarette lighter to the thermometer it raises the temperature.
In "Please Leave the Premisis", Ralph decides to play hardball with a greedy landlord, and winds up out in the cold. Ralph says he's being brave and defiant like General George Washington, and that there "will be no deserters is his army",meaning he, Alice and Norton have to remain in the cold without utilities. Unfortunately General Cornwallis wins this round over George Washington, and Martha convinces George to pay the rent increase.
Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, and Joyce Randolph (as Norton's wife) had great chemistry together, as Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden really took us to the moon.