This set--the Honeymoonie's Holy Grail--contains all 39 episodes from the legendary
1955-1956 season. There's no commentary from some "expert" who compares Ralph to
gods from Greek mythology or memories from some assistant producer--it's just the
meat, and that's enough to make any fan salivate. This was the only season that The
Honeymooners had a life of its own apart from the Jackie Gleason Show, and as much
as we tried to welcome the "Lost Episodes" into our family, they very rarely matched
the high quality of the classic 39. Rather than sequence them in order, the producers
have decided to group them by eight different themes including Ralph's jealous
nature, his life at the Gotham Bus Company, his friendship with Norton, domestic
troubles, and financial woes. Sometimes this approach is a bit forced, but it does
illustrate why The Honeymooners is the ultimate situation comedy: You can show them
out of order. No matter what happens to the Bensonhurst foursome, Ralph will still
work for the bus company, Norton in the sewer. They'll be struggling to get by,
passing the time bowling, shooting pool, arguing with the wives, and dreaming of a
better day. And it's in the mundanity of everyday life that The Honeymooners finds
boundless humor. Even when the events were anything but mundane--bank robbers,
counterfeiters, TV commercials, game shows, golf dates with The Boss--the real
story and the best jokes were about the reality of their lives and the realization
that, because of marriage and friendship, they didn't really have it so bad after
all. The chemistry between Jackie Gleason and Art Carney still amazes after all
these years. Audrey Meadows's Alice is the perfect foil for Ralph, stern but
sympathetic. And Joyce Randolph's Trixie? Well, let's just call her "earnest.
" Still, for all of Norton's frenetic energy and Alice's wisdom, the show belongs
to Ralph Kramden. Somehow, Gleason took a chauvinistic, paranoid, insensitive,
scheming, bitter, loudmouth, underachieving bus driver and made him a hero to
millions. |
|
