Plot: What’s it about?
It is true that The Honeymooners was before my time, but I still managed to catch most of them in reruns, so I know a little about a show. Now I don’t know all the small details and stuff like that, but I have seen most of the episodes, so I am not clueless either. Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) and his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows) have all sorts of arguments, usually over money or Ralph’s silly gimmicks. Ralph, a bus driver, usually cooks up these gimmicks with his kooky neighbor, Ed Norton (Art Carney). Ralph wants to strike it rich, so he can leave his stressful job and put his nagging wife in a better mood. So he usually drags along Ed in these schemes, which often end up blowing up in their faces. As they realize what buffoons they’ve been, Alice and Ed’s wife Trixie (Joyce Randolph) are always there to remind them of their mistakes. But in the end, no matter how argumentative and cranky these couple can be, they never stop loving each other and that shows, even in the worst in times.
I’ve always liked this series and although the humor is dated at times, I think most of the laughs and charms still hold up well, which is impressive. Of course, some stuff doesn’t work as well now, but on the whole, I think The Honeymooners remains a very funny television series. I was pleased when I heard MPI was releasing some stuff from the series, but I am not too happy with the path they chose. I know we’re all used to having entire seasons released at once, but I would have liked perhaps some packs of discs, just loaded with episodes. But in the end, we’re given about two hours of material, divided up into three programs, plus one complete bonus episode. I am not opposed to “best of” programs by any means, but I prefer to have entire episodes, of which this disc contains only one. But as far as these types of programs go, these were amusing and well worth a look, if you like the series. I recommend this release to fans of the series looking for a fix, but I hope to see changes in how MPI handles The Honeymooners. I think most fans would like to see packs with several discs, all packed with full episodes, if not season boxed sets.
Video: How does it look?
The programs are shown full frame and since this is a television series, that is how it should be. I’ve never seen excellent home video presentations of this series, so my expectations were low, but this seems to be an average looking transfer. There is debris and specks present on the footage, but not to the extent that you can’t watch it. Just some lines here and there, never too much all at once, so no real worries. I do wish the clips looked better of course, but these are by no means that bad in the end.
Audio: How does it sound?
The same holds true for the audio, which is adequate, but shows some signs of wear and age. The vocals seem clean and easy to understand most of the time, but some spots are harsh and can be hard to decipher. The music and sound effects both fall under the same banner, usually solid, but sometimes a little on the bad side. I am not as pleased with the audio here, but it is far from as bad as it could be, so I won’t knock the score too much. This disc also includes English subtitles, which can be handy when the audio dips a little.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a bonus full length episode, Letter To The Boss, which is a treat to watch here.
