Plot: What’s it about?
I have seen most of The Honeymooners episodes on laserdisc and I’ve liked most of them, to be sure. The show has become a television classic, with great work from Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Joyce Randolph, and Audrey Meadows. Since I like the series, I am very happy to see that MPI has started to release some episodes, although I don’t like their release pattern thus far. This is the first installment in MPI’s series of The Honeymooners: Lost Episodes. The episodes are part of a collection of episodes which first ran on The Jackie Gleason show, then resurfaced in the 1980s. I am pleased to see these episodes given a release, but I think fans would rather have a boxed set of all the episodes, as opposed to single discs like this. In any event, it’s good to have these on DVD in the end, so I won’t complain much. Below is a listing of the episodes included on this volume, as well as a brief synopsis for each one.
1. Letter to the Boss- When his boss informs him that he no longer has to come in and drive a bus, Ralph believes he has been fired. As such, he becomes irate and pens a nasty letter to his boss, letting him know just what he really thinks about him. He soon drops the letter in the mail and heads home, but then he learns that he’s been promoted, which is why he won’t need to come in to drive the bus anymore. Can Ralph and Norton manage to stop that letter in time, or will Ralph snatch defeat from the jaws of victory once again?
2. Suspense- As Alice reads from a playbook, Ralph overhears and assumes she is just talking, which is bad news in this case. You see, Alice was reading lines that included a murder situation, with her husband as the victim. Ralph begins to panic and without asking Alice for an explanation, he jumps to all sorts of conclusions. Alice may have been reading lines before, but after Ralph’s antics, she may want to make those fictional lines a reality!
3. Dinner Guest- Ralph decides he needs to win over his boss, so invites him and his wife over for dinner one evening. Alice prepares a wonderful meal and all seems to be well enough, but you know this won’t go off without a hitch. Now it is just a matter of time before something goes wrong and of course, odds are that Norton will be involved somehow…
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. The shows have not aged too well, but have held up in decent enough form, I think. The prints have specks & debris, but look clean, though again, the age shows with these episodes. At times there are tears and more serious damage, but in the end, the image is watchable. The contrast is smooth and sharper than expected, so no detail is buried here. This is about as good as these episodes are going to look, unless some massive restoration work is done.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio here is much cleaner than expected, with no distortion or other age related errors to speak of. I wouldn’t say these sound all that crisp, but they sound as good as any other releases of this series, which is about all you can ask for. The music has no errors to report, while dialogue is clean and always easy to understand. This is by no means a reference level track, but given the material involved, I think this is just fine.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a bonus episode titled Ralph Kramden’s Greatest Schemes. This episode is a reel of Ralph’s schemes, plots, and outrageous plans, all of which seem to blow up right in his face, without fail.
