Frank Gannucci
08-07-2009, 07:25 AM
Episode Reviews: "Peacemaker" & "Adoption":
Episode #81 (Syndicated Episode #79)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Kramden Vs. Norton."
DVD: Attached to "Brother-in-Law" & "Santa and the Bookies."
This episode starts abruptly with Ed Norton fixing Ralph's alarm clock. The storyline here is that Ralph has to get up at 5am so Ed Norton tries to fix Ralph's alarm clock so it will go off at 5am. I heard that when this sketch was first presented on TV, this is the way it started and before it aired, Jack Lescoulie came on TV and explained the situation to the audience (since this was a sketch on the Jackie Gleason Show). Does anyone think that Jack Lescoulie's explanation should have been included here or not? It might unconfuse some viewers. Ed Norton accidentally sets off the alarm clock at 11pm but he tries to make sure Ralph doesn't hear it. It doesn't work. Ralph comes out like a zombie, kisses Ed (I wouldn't blame Art Carney and Jackie Gleason if they didn't like going through with that), and gets what he thinks is breakfast. He leaves. Alice comes in and Ed explains that this is one morning in which Ralph won't be late for work. Ralph comes in all ticked off at Ed (when he got down to the street he knew that it was 11pm). Ed hides in the bedroom. So Ralph says that he won't harm Ed. Ed comes out and Ralph yells at him. Ed leaves. Ralph complains to Alice that he needs some sleep and when he lays down, he needs an hour to go to sleep. Alice: "Remarkable, every night for 59 minutes you snore before you go to sleep." Ralph says he doesn't snore and if Alice paid as much attention to him as she does to the plant in the house, Ralph will be happy so Alice says that she will water him four times a week. Ha! Ralph eventually falls asleep sitting down so Alice manages to put him in bed. When you watch this episode on TV, what I mentioned above is edited out so much that viewers won't know why Ed is so upset at Ralph later on...
Upstairs, Trixie and Ed have a fight which results in Ed leaving. Ralph gets woken up and Alice tells him to go try to find Ed. Ralph says no (he has to get to sleep.) Alice says that his conscience won't let him sleep if he doesn't find Ed. Ralph reluctantly tries to find Ed. He thinks he is nuts trying to find him.
Ina ice cream parlor, Ed says to the waiter that all a man needs is his bowling ball. Ha! Ralph comes in and complains that he has looked all over for Ed and he wants him to come home. Ed says no because he doesn't love Trixie anymore. They eventually talk about going to Africa, but that goes nowhere. Ralph reminds Ed of all the gourmet meals that Trixie cooked for him. Ed: "Ralph, take me to the woman I love."
At home, Ralph says that he has bring Ed home and he is asleep, much
to Trixie's happiness. Ralph goes to sleep. Trixie thinks and comes up with something. If Ed can come home and go to sleep and not have any thoughts about what he did to Trixie tonight, then he has some nerve. She leaves and Trixie and Ed end up fighting each other upstairs again. Ralph wakes up and tries to barricade the door and window because one of them is going to try to come in. Ed does, saying he needs a place to sleep. Ralph says: "Sleep in the sewer." Ed says he can't, because the sewer can't be used for personal pleasure yet in "Songs & Witty Sayings", Ed and the crew of sewer workers use the sewer to hold parties on the job because they think that no one will replace them. Ralph gets out the folding cot, and that he won't go to sleep until Ed goes to sleep. Ralph is getting real anxious about going to sleep. Ed finally lies down and Ralph goes to bed. Ed decides to get up and yell out the window to Trix: "I'M NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE!" That gets Ralph up, but he sees Ed sleeping. He goes back to sleep. Ed gets Alice to get Ralph in here to tell him a message. Ralph comes in. Ed: "When you wake up, try not to make any noise to wake me up because I don't have to be up until 8." With that, Ralph brings Ed up to Trixie. He twists Ed's arm to get him to apologize. Nothing doing. Trixie doesn't accept it. Ed tells a story about his father smoking so much, that his face was hidden for seven years. I think if that really happened to someone, they would die of cancer. Ed also says that if he didn't marry Trixie and married a woman who's father was a pretty big man in town, he would get a better job than the one he has. The job? Driving his own garbage truck." Ralph: "He must have been a pretty big man in town." Ed goes outside so Ralph can talk to Trixie. Ralph brings up when he saw Ed in the ice cream parlor, Ed was all sad over leaving Trixie. One thing leads to another and Trixie apologizes to Ed. She should have been the one who is sorry. Ralph finds out that the argument that they were having was over him. Ed says that the way Ralph treated him earlier as far as the alarm clock goes, that Ralph is mean and he is going to stay that way. Trixie was defending Ralph in that situation. Ralph wants to kill Norton. He chases Norton and slips and injures his arm slipping on of the Manicotti's kid's skates.
At home, Alice is helping Ralph nurse his arm which isn't broken. Ralph still wants to kill Ed now but Alice says it isn't a good idea. They talk and Ralph brings up the fact that he is right and she is wrong all the time. Yeah sure. Ralph calms down and apologizes to Alice for yelling at her. He goes into the bedroom to go to sleep but the alarm clock rings. It's 5am. Time to go to work. Ralph now has a weird expression on his face that is so funny that you can tell that Audrey is trying her best not to break character and laugh. Ralph (yells): "IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK! IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK! WAKE UP EVERYBODY. IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK AND I'M TAKING THE CLOCK WITH ME."
Episode #82 (Syndicated Episode #55)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Ralph's Diet."
DVD: Attached to "Stars Over Flatbush" & "Game Called on Account of
Marriage."
Alice is trying to give Ralph a haircut. (Ralph lost all his money.) Ralph doesn't like the idea, but goes along with it. He is also afraid that Alice will cut his ear off. Alice: "With the way you eat, you will grow another one." Ed comes down. Ralph looks at himself in a hand-held mirror, but his head gets stuck. Ed helps out by moving Ralph's head, but it gets stuck again. Alice gets it unstuck. Ralph has had it. He is going to the barber shop and getting his haircut on Alice's allowance Alice & Ralph go into the bedroom. Trixie comes
down all excited. Trixie (yells): "ALICE! ALICE!" The adoption agency called. The Kramdens may be able to get a baby. Alice gets the news and tries to talk to the doctor on Trixie's phone. Ed breaks the news to Ralph. Alice and Ralph want to adopt a baby. "We wanted this more than anything in the world," says Ralph. The adoption agency tells Alice her application is being considered, but that a staff worker must come to the apartment to look it over before final approval is granted. The Kramdens realize that there apartment looks terrible. So terrible that they might not get the kid so they go out and borrow a TV set, drapes, refrigerator, stove, new table and chairs, couch, etc.--to make the apartment look presentable. Ralph and Alice are as nervous as two kids on their first date as they wait for Miss Lawrence from the agency to arrive. Ralph says to Alice to be calm like he is, but he isn't calm at all. Miss Lawrence comes by and Ralph asks her for a cigar (he said he doesn't smoke but he smokes one every now and then.)
Miss Lawrence asks: "Are there any places of recreation?" Ralph says that there is a poolroom. Alice says there is a playground and she is planning on taking the baby there every day. Everything is going smooth until Ralph says to Alice that the light in the fridge turns on when you open the fridge. An ice man comes by with some ice to put in the ice box. Ralph says that they never got any ice from him. The man accidentally drops the ice on the floor. The jig is up. They tell Miss Lawrence that they spruced up the place and that the TV, the couch, the drapes, the refrigerator isn't theirs. They are fighting for this kid. Miss Lawrence says the agency is not as concerned with furnishings as it is with finding couples who really want children, and that she's never met a couple who want a child more than the Kramdens. Approved! Ralph tries to get Norton who comes in with a bunch of neighbors waiting to congratulate Ralph. (They heard by standing near the door.)
The Nortons accompany the Kramdens to the hospital. Ralph thanks the doctor. The Nortons eventually go outside. But Ralph is upset when they are told that they are going to get a girl. Ralph: "I want a boy." He was going to name the boy Ralph. Ralph: "Nobody wants a girl." What a nice thing to say...NOT! The doctor said that on the form, they would approve either sex. The doctor says he will see what he can do. He leaves and Alice goes outside in tears of sadness since that they are not getting the kid that is in the room. In a scene he would play again--with a puppy--in the Classic Thirty-nine episode "A Dog's Life," Ralph apologizes to the baby for not wanting to bring her home. During this scene, Jackie Gleason was reading his lines that were in the baby carriage (since there was no real baby in there). Ralph says that girls can't play football. In 1998, in high school, I remember hearing about a girl football player on the varsity football team. As the infant weaves her magic on Ralph, his arguments for not wanting a girl become less convincing. The doctor comes back with news that in a few weeks, they can get a boy. But Ralph now wants the girl. Ralph and Ed wheel the baby outside into the cab.
At home, the apartment is a mess. Ed comes in and introduces himself as "Uncle Ed." Ralph: "Don't scare the kid.". The "baby" is crying. So Ed thinks that she needs milk but there is no bottle. They think of putting the milk into a glove and cutting off one of the finger tips of it (which eventually causes milk to squirt all over them.) That is a scene that they did in "Lost Baby." Ralph kicks Ed out. The doctor and Alice come in with sad news. The mother wants her baby back. Ralph is angry. He yells at the doctor, saying that the mother put her up for adoption and now they are the legal parents so they shouldn't surrender her. The doctor leaves and Ralph is yelling about how much he loves the kid. There is no funny statements being said here. Alice is sobbing. Alice: "Imagine how the mother feels." This is something that I don't like to see, Alice sobbing. Ralph eventually realizes that it is wrong to keep the kid, so he goes upstairs to Ed's to call the doctor. He leaves, Alice alone. She is sobbing. Once again, I do not like Alice sobbing.
Credit goes to Yahoo! Groups You're A Riot!
Episode #81 (Syndicated Episode #79)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Kramden Vs. Norton."
DVD: Attached to "Brother-in-Law" & "Santa and the Bookies."
This episode starts abruptly with Ed Norton fixing Ralph's alarm clock. The storyline here is that Ralph has to get up at 5am so Ed Norton tries to fix Ralph's alarm clock so it will go off at 5am. I heard that when this sketch was first presented on TV, this is the way it started and before it aired, Jack Lescoulie came on TV and explained the situation to the audience (since this was a sketch on the Jackie Gleason Show). Does anyone think that Jack Lescoulie's explanation should have been included here or not? It might unconfuse some viewers. Ed Norton accidentally sets off the alarm clock at 11pm but he tries to make sure Ralph doesn't hear it. It doesn't work. Ralph comes out like a zombie, kisses Ed (I wouldn't blame Art Carney and Jackie Gleason if they didn't like going through with that), and gets what he thinks is breakfast. He leaves. Alice comes in and Ed explains that this is one morning in which Ralph won't be late for work. Ralph comes in all ticked off at Ed (when he got down to the street he knew that it was 11pm). Ed hides in the bedroom. So Ralph says that he won't harm Ed. Ed comes out and Ralph yells at him. Ed leaves. Ralph complains to Alice that he needs some sleep and when he lays down, he needs an hour to go to sleep. Alice: "Remarkable, every night for 59 minutes you snore before you go to sleep." Ralph says he doesn't snore and if Alice paid as much attention to him as she does to the plant in the house, Ralph will be happy so Alice says that she will water him four times a week. Ha! Ralph eventually falls asleep sitting down so Alice manages to put him in bed. When you watch this episode on TV, what I mentioned above is edited out so much that viewers won't know why Ed is so upset at Ralph later on...
Upstairs, Trixie and Ed have a fight which results in Ed leaving. Ralph gets woken up and Alice tells him to go try to find Ed. Ralph says no (he has to get to sleep.) Alice says that his conscience won't let him sleep if he doesn't find Ed. Ralph reluctantly tries to find Ed. He thinks he is nuts trying to find him.
Ina ice cream parlor, Ed says to the waiter that all a man needs is his bowling ball. Ha! Ralph comes in and complains that he has looked all over for Ed and he wants him to come home. Ed says no because he doesn't love Trixie anymore. They eventually talk about going to Africa, but that goes nowhere. Ralph reminds Ed of all the gourmet meals that Trixie cooked for him. Ed: "Ralph, take me to the woman I love."
At home, Ralph says that he has bring Ed home and he is asleep, much
to Trixie's happiness. Ralph goes to sleep. Trixie thinks and comes up with something. If Ed can come home and go to sleep and not have any thoughts about what he did to Trixie tonight, then he has some nerve. She leaves and Trixie and Ed end up fighting each other upstairs again. Ralph wakes up and tries to barricade the door and window because one of them is going to try to come in. Ed does, saying he needs a place to sleep. Ralph says: "Sleep in the sewer." Ed says he can't, because the sewer can't be used for personal pleasure yet in "Songs & Witty Sayings", Ed and the crew of sewer workers use the sewer to hold parties on the job because they think that no one will replace them. Ralph gets out the folding cot, and that he won't go to sleep until Ed goes to sleep. Ralph is getting real anxious about going to sleep. Ed finally lies down and Ralph goes to bed. Ed decides to get up and yell out the window to Trix: "I'M NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE!" That gets Ralph up, but he sees Ed sleeping. He goes back to sleep. Ed gets Alice to get Ralph in here to tell him a message. Ralph comes in. Ed: "When you wake up, try not to make any noise to wake me up because I don't have to be up until 8." With that, Ralph brings Ed up to Trixie. He twists Ed's arm to get him to apologize. Nothing doing. Trixie doesn't accept it. Ed tells a story about his father smoking so much, that his face was hidden for seven years. I think if that really happened to someone, they would die of cancer. Ed also says that if he didn't marry Trixie and married a woman who's father was a pretty big man in town, he would get a better job than the one he has. The job? Driving his own garbage truck." Ralph: "He must have been a pretty big man in town." Ed goes outside so Ralph can talk to Trixie. Ralph brings up when he saw Ed in the ice cream parlor, Ed was all sad over leaving Trixie. One thing leads to another and Trixie apologizes to Ed. She should have been the one who is sorry. Ralph finds out that the argument that they were having was over him. Ed says that the way Ralph treated him earlier as far as the alarm clock goes, that Ralph is mean and he is going to stay that way. Trixie was defending Ralph in that situation. Ralph wants to kill Norton. He chases Norton and slips and injures his arm slipping on of the Manicotti's kid's skates.
At home, Alice is helping Ralph nurse his arm which isn't broken. Ralph still wants to kill Ed now but Alice says it isn't a good idea. They talk and Ralph brings up the fact that he is right and she is wrong all the time. Yeah sure. Ralph calms down and apologizes to Alice for yelling at her. He goes into the bedroom to go to sleep but the alarm clock rings. It's 5am. Time to go to work. Ralph now has a weird expression on his face that is so funny that you can tell that Audrey is trying her best not to break character and laugh. Ralph (yells): "IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK! IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK! WAKE UP EVERYBODY. IT'S FIVE O' CLOCK AND I'M TAKING THE CLOCK WITH ME."
Episode #82 (Syndicated Episode #55)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Ralph's Diet."
DVD: Attached to "Stars Over Flatbush" & "Game Called on Account of
Marriage."
Alice is trying to give Ralph a haircut. (Ralph lost all his money.) Ralph doesn't like the idea, but goes along with it. He is also afraid that Alice will cut his ear off. Alice: "With the way you eat, you will grow another one." Ed comes down. Ralph looks at himself in a hand-held mirror, but his head gets stuck. Ed helps out by moving Ralph's head, but it gets stuck again. Alice gets it unstuck. Ralph has had it. He is going to the barber shop and getting his haircut on Alice's allowance Alice & Ralph go into the bedroom. Trixie comes
down all excited. Trixie (yells): "ALICE! ALICE!" The adoption agency called. The Kramdens may be able to get a baby. Alice gets the news and tries to talk to the doctor on Trixie's phone. Ed breaks the news to Ralph. Alice and Ralph want to adopt a baby. "We wanted this more than anything in the world," says Ralph. The adoption agency tells Alice her application is being considered, but that a staff worker must come to the apartment to look it over before final approval is granted. The Kramdens realize that there apartment looks terrible. So terrible that they might not get the kid so they go out and borrow a TV set, drapes, refrigerator, stove, new table and chairs, couch, etc.--to make the apartment look presentable. Ralph and Alice are as nervous as two kids on their first date as they wait for Miss Lawrence from the agency to arrive. Ralph says to Alice to be calm like he is, but he isn't calm at all. Miss Lawrence comes by and Ralph asks her for a cigar (he said he doesn't smoke but he smokes one every now and then.)
Miss Lawrence asks: "Are there any places of recreation?" Ralph says that there is a poolroom. Alice says there is a playground and she is planning on taking the baby there every day. Everything is going smooth until Ralph says to Alice that the light in the fridge turns on when you open the fridge. An ice man comes by with some ice to put in the ice box. Ralph says that they never got any ice from him. The man accidentally drops the ice on the floor. The jig is up. They tell Miss Lawrence that they spruced up the place and that the TV, the couch, the drapes, the refrigerator isn't theirs. They are fighting for this kid. Miss Lawrence says the agency is not as concerned with furnishings as it is with finding couples who really want children, and that she's never met a couple who want a child more than the Kramdens. Approved! Ralph tries to get Norton who comes in with a bunch of neighbors waiting to congratulate Ralph. (They heard by standing near the door.)
The Nortons accompany the Kramdens to the hospital. Ralph thanks the doctor. The Nortons eventually go outside. But Ralph is upset when they are told that they are going to get a girl. Ralph: "I want a boy." He was going to name the boy Ralph. Ralph: "Nobody wants a girl." What a nice thing to say...NOT! The doctor said that on the form, they would approve either sex. The doctor says he will see what he can do. He leaves and Alice goes outside in tears of sadness since that they are not getting the kid that is in the room. In a scene he would play again--with a puppy--in the Classic Thirty-nine episode "A Dog's Life," Ralph apologizes to the baby for not wanting to bring her home. During this scene, Jackie Gleason was reading his lines that were in the baby carriage (since there was no real baby in there). Ralph says that girls can't play football. In 1998, in high school, I remember hearing about a girl football player on the varsity football team. As the infant weaves her magic on Ralph, his arguments for not wanting a girl become less convincing. The doctor comes back with news that in a few weeks, they can get a boy. But Ralph now wants the girl. Ralph and Ed wheel the baby outside into the cab.
At home, the apartment is a mess. Ed comes in and introduces himself as "Uncle Ed." Ralph: "Don't scare the kid.". The "baby" is crying. So Ed thinks that she needs milk but there is no bottle. They think of putting the milk into a glove and cutting off one of the finger tips of it (which eventually causes milk to squirt all over them.) That is a scene that they did in "Lost Baby." Ralph kicks Ed out. The doctor and Alice come in with sad news. The mother wants her baby back. Ralph is angry. He yells at the doctor, saying that the mother put her up for adoption and now they are the legal parents so they shouldn't surrender her. The doctor leaves and Ralph is yelling about how much he loves the kid. There is no funny statements being said here. Alice is sobbing. Alice: "Imagine how the mother feels." This is something that I don't like to see, Alice sobbing. Ralph eventually realizes that it is wrong to keep the kid, so he goes upstairs to Ed's to call the doctor. He leaves, Alice alone. She is sobbing. Once again, I do not like Alice sobbing.
Credit goes to Yahoo! Groups You're A Riot!