"The Honeymooners" (1955) TV series 1955-1956

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

A bus driver and his sewer worker friend struggle to strike it rich while their wives look on with weary patience.

Plot Keywords:

Sewer | Bus Driver | Friendship | Fraternal Order | Raccoon

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 20	1:00 AM	CW	Young at Heart	#1.20
Mon. July 20	1:00 AM	WGNAMER	Young Man With a Horn	#1.26
Mon. July 20	1:30 AM	WGNAMER	Head of the House	#1.27

Cast

Jackie Gleason	...	Ralph Kramden (39 episodes, 1955-1956)
Joyce Randolph	...	Trixie Norton (39 episodes, 1955-1956)
Art Carney	...	Ed Norton (39 episodes, 1955-1956)
Audrey Meadows	...	Alice Kramden (39 episodes, 1955-1956)

Runtime:

30 min (39 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Adelphi Theatre, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Jackie Gleason Enterprises

Trivia:

Jackie Gleason refused to work with Art Carney in anything besides Honeymooners material until the TV movie Izzy & Moe (1985) (TV).

Goofs:

Continuity: The background in the Kramden's window changes. Sometimes there are windows and fire escapes. Other times the fire escapes aren't there. This happens within episodes, not just from one episode to another.

Quotes:

Ralph: I have - I've got an explanation. A perfect one. I'm a dope. Not a run-of-the-mill dope, the world's champ. For years I've been talking for granted the most wonderful thing tht's ever happened to me - you. I've never shown you the appreciation you deserve, Alice. You could walk outta that door right now and I wouldn't blame you. You deserve something better than me. There are a million guys who'd give you anything if they could have a girl like you.
Alice: Ralph, I don't want a million. There's just one guy I want: you.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Uncensored Comedy: That's Not Funny! (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're My Greatest Love

Epitomizing Human Error!!

What is wrong with Ralph Kramden? Objectively speaking, everything!! He is so faulted, why would anyone want to be his friend? Why would any woman want to be his wife? Originally starting off as a variety show skit, one of three on Jackie Gleason's comedy hour, it (the Honeymooners) undeniably became the favorite! The totally Brooklyn venue sort of explained everything! "One of these days Alice!! bang!!! zoom!!" this was a dubious form of humor!! The distinction that Jackie Gleason made was that without having a kid, and thus, there would not be an innocent child who was witnessing abuse, and also, Ralph never actually hitting Alice, the punchline (No pun intended) was fanny!! Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) was the culprit for the lion's share of calamity on this program!! The conclusion to every episode had Ralph seeking some sort of forgiveness from his beyond tolerant and loving wife, Alice!! At first, Audrey Meadows was not considered a suitable fit for the role of Alice Kramden, she was too glamorous and intelligent! Next day for rehearsal, she dressed herself down and got a little boisterous.. The cast and directors loved it, and more importantly, so did the television audience!! Art Carney, was the extremely likable buffoon, Ed Norton, who garnered a charismatic following with the live studio audience he was performing for, as well as anyone who watched "The Honeymooners"!! Carney was a favorite on "The Honeymooners" and contributed to the success of the series tremendously!! Joyce Randolph (Ed Norton's wife, Trixie) had more of a cameo appearance on the show, yet her typically New York disposition spiced the show up, and most episodes which she stared in were considered the better ones!! What was the most significant aspect to "The Honeymooners" was that it evoked a bittersweet end result of human error!! An avalanche of character discrepancies besieged Ralph Kramden's emotional resolve in almost every segment of "The Honeymooners" The most critical aspect to a humorous situation is when the resonating complications to a given situation are completely avoidable!! The peccant plight of Ralph Kramden was always neon accented on this program!! Mistakes are made because people are only human and they make them... Once mistakes are made, all there is really left to do is to laugh!! This is the definition of situation comedy and "The Honeymooners" perpetually depicted such inexcusably inevitable flaws with the Kramdens and the Nortons with a flippant reality!! Such outrageous human atrocities were portrayed far more astutely than perhaps any other of television's attempt at a situation comedy show made before or after "The Honeymooners" aired!! I loved "The Honeymooners", it has an identifiability which puts people's inadequacies in their proper perspectives. Living in a tenement, constantly bickering, making the wrong decisions about money, what little of it that you have, and basically, reducing your life to one big mess are ingredients for total catastrophe!! However, what this show points out time and time again is that all of the characters in this television show have the ability to laugh everything off!! All four of them are not phased by adversity, because they know that all of them love and care for one another!! This was the summon substance of what "The Honeymooners" was all about!! Perhaps the most effective comedy ever to be made... in a denotative sense, relating to situation comedies and their initial purpose for amusing people...without question!! "The Honeymooners" was the best comedy ever made!! The mercurial element to this show made it extremely plausible!! In terms of poignancy issues, and sharp and witty one liners, there are other shows that are better, by and large though, in all aspects of situation comedy, "The Honeymooners" is one of the top ten sitcoms in the history of television!!