View Full Version : Episode Reviews: "Cold" & "Pickles":


Frank Gannucci
12-26-2008, 12:36 PM
Episode #13
TV: Attached to "Expectant Father."
VCR: Attached to "Ralph's Sweet Tooth" & "Pickles."
DVD: Attached to "My Fair Landlord", "Halloween Party", "Lost Job" & "Ralph's Sweet Tooth."

In this episode, Ralph has a terrible cold but by the way he's been acting, you think he was MUCH sicker than he is. Alice is trying to nurse him back to health. Trixie comes by, but of course if you see this episode on TV, Trixie is already in the beginning scene.

Ralph doesn't want a doctor to come by because he thinks the doctor will charge him like $10 to paint his throat. Paint his throat? Ralph: "I can have this whole joint painted for $8." Alice says that doctors don't paint throats anymore for people who have colds. Alice makes Ralph some water to put his feet in. Ralph puts his feet in the water. The water pouring from Alice's kettle is scolding hot. As Ralph is screaming in pain, you can see Joyce Randolph trying her best not to laugh. It was that funny.

After Trixie leaves, Ralph complains about Alice bringing in people when he is sick. Ralph then asks Alice to take off the plaster that on his back. He has a cold that is so severe, that he has to have plaster on his back? Taking it off is painful for Ralph. So after Alice is halfway through taking it off, Ralph thinks that she has taken it all of his back. She reveals that she only took some of it off. Ralph says to please the other half of it back on.

Ralph tells Alice a story on how he knew someone who won money and lost it. Alice tells Ralph that she took out a life insurance policy on him. Ralph of course has a fit and accuses her of wanting to see him die. She calls her selfish. Alice then says that she took a life insurance policy on her too. Ralph says that he's sorry and Alice forgives him.

Episode #14
TV: Attached to "Lucky Number."
VCR: Attached to "Ralph's Sweet Tooth" & "Cold"
DVD: Attached to "Boys & Girls Together", "Anniversary Gift", & "This Is Your Life"

The episode opens with Ralph and Alice retuning home after going on a long shopping spree. Immediately, they get into an argument on what Alice spent that day. If you see this episode on TV, you will notice that the episode begins right in the MIDDLE of the argument.

Ralph is upset that Alice just spent his whole paycheck: $42.50 a week. Ralph says that he doesn't want his salary revealed to the whole building. So Alice yells: "$42.50 A WEEK! $42.50 A WEEK! $42.50 A WEEK!" Ralph decides that Alice wants to make it public, so he makes it public by yelling out the window what he earns per week. This same spiel by both would be repeated in two more episodes "The Next Champ", "The Main Event" & "Brother Ralph." But in the latter episode, Ralph decides not to make his salary public and another difference is that in both B&W episodes, he earns $62 a week, while in the color episode, he makes $82 a week.

Ralph is also complaining that he's tired of Alice dragging him all over the neighborhood for her shopping spree. One of the things Alice did was walk three more blocks from one store to another store to buy pickles. She says she saved a few cents by doing that because in the other store they were in, pickles cost more.

Ralph says because Alice spent his whole paycheck, he doesn't have any money,much like Alice. But, when Ed Norton comes down to borrow $5, Ralph is more than happy to give it to him. He hid the money in a very safe place. Ed leaves. Alice complains that Ralph lied. But Ralph says, since he used the $5 that Ed borrowed, he now doesn't have enough money to buy Alice her anniversary present. Alice thought that Ralph forgot. So when the present arrives at the house, Ralph says he has no money. So Alice pays for it, by getting the money that she hid in a very safe place.

Ralph now knows that Alice lied to him also. Alice reveals that she was going to use that money to buy Ralph a gift. After she says that, Alice says that she needs a pickle. Ralph jumps to the conclusion that they are going to have a baby. He gets so excited, but then Alice breaks the news to him that she has an allergy and she needs those pickels to help her get cured. But, she says that one of these days, they will have a baby. The only baby, they ever wound up having was one in which they adopted and had to give it back to the original mother. The storyline in which Ralph thought that Alice was pregnant was repeated a few times after they made this episode.