the lost episodes are much funnier than the 39 classics from 56/57. the honeymooners is a rough comedy in many ways and the lesser quality of video found on many lost eps seems to match the comedy. whereas to me the classic 39 is on film and too polished looking for that brand of comedy. plus after 5 years of eps the plot quality had gone down somewhat.

Jackie Gleason definitely repeated the plot theme but I haven't seen all of the Lost Episodes so it's hard to comment on what years of the Honeymooners were better.

I prefer the Lost Episodes as well. The Classic 39 are classics, no doubt about it, but something about that live feel appeals to me more. Lost or Classic aside, I think they put on consistently great shows, starting with the original "Letter to the Boss" and ending with "My Fair Landlord." The Trip to Europe shows are interesting, but as one reviewer put it, "the Kramdens and Nortons work best in their native Brooklyn."

Hard to say which ones are better. Both have great, good and fair episodes.

I would like to watch episodes in the best quality I can matter if it matches the time period or not.

I enjoy them all.