Honeymooners Episode Reviews: "What's The Name" & "Box Top Kid":

[Frank Gannucci]

Honeymooners Episode Reviews: "What's The Name" & "Box Top Kid":

Episode #79 (Syndicated episode #108)
TV: Attached to "Lawsuit."
VCR: On some Volume 27s, it is attached to "The People's Choice" (the rest mistakenly have the episode entitled "What's Her Name.")
DVD: On the original DVD releases it says it's on Volume 24, but it's "What's Her Name." On the remastered Lost Episodes DVD Box Set, it is attached to “Hair-Raising Tale”, “Box Top Kid”, “Two Men On A Horse”, “Good Buy Aunt Ethel” & “Vacation At Fred’s Landing” (’54 version).
Air Date; 5/15/54

"What's The Name":

In 2013, a script of the earlier version of this episode entitled What's Her Name" (and according to the script, it was called "What's Her Name Again") was available on ebay. Unfortunately, I didn't know about it and I don't have it.Here's the link. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...oewhatae-tm-s-

The episode opens up with the Kramdens returning home from the movies with the Nortons. Ralph is upset because every time there was a love scene in the movie, Ed had to kiss Trixie while he was between them. Ha! After Ralph yells at Alice because he doesn't want to have a sandwich, Alice says it wouldn't hurt for him to act like that Robert Coleman in that picture.

Ralph comes out wearing a long-sleeve shirt and some loud boxers. Alice laughs at what Ralph has on. As Ralph is putting on his robe, Alice is talking about one of the girls in the movie that Ralph probably liked. Alice then talks about some other girl in the picture that she can't remember the girl. She asks Ralph. He doesn't know. He goes to sleep and within 10 seconds he comes back out saying he can't sleep because he can't think of the woman's name. One of the things that they try to do is to sit down and get off the subject in hopes that they will remember the name. This lasts for about five seconds. So Alice gets the newspaper's theatrical section from the garbage can. Ralph reads the names: "''Burning Lips'', Gary Coleman, Lana Turner...'" Alice: "Well?" Ralph: "I can't read the other name. It has ketchup all over it. Do you have to put ketchup on the garbage?" Question: If Ralph wanted to know the name so bad, couldn't he just wipe the ketchup off the name? Wouldn't the name still be readable? Ah, whatever.

Ed Norton comes down. Ralph asks him to remember the names of the people in the movie. When Ed gets down to Lana Turner, he asks Ralph to keep on going while he still is thinking about Lana. Ha! The movie theater is a block or so away, so Ed looks out the window to see the names. Alice: "Be careful Ed. You might fall out." Ralph: "That is a chance we got to take." Gee, Ralph is a great friend, isn't he? (Note the sarcasm.) Ed can't read all the star's names because something is obstructing his view. A policeman comes in. The policeman says to cut out the racket or the story will have to be told to the judge. Ralph: "That's it! Arlene Judge, that's her name." Ed goes home and the policeman leaves. Ralph wants to go to sleep, but Alice is mad. They both sing a song entitled: "One Of These Days, Pow!" The song ends with Ralph singing: "One of these days, Pow!" Alice: "Right in the kisser." Ralph: "One of these days..." Both: "Powwww!" They both hug and kiss.

Episode #80 (Syndicated episode #77)
TV: In two-parts.
VCR: Attached to "Halloween Party”
DVD: Attached to "Stand-In For Murder" & "The Prowler." On the Remastered Lost Episodes DVD Box Set, it is attached to “Hair-Raising Tale”, “Box Top Kid”, “Two Men On A Horse”, “Good Buy Aunt Ethel” & “Vacation At Fred’s Landing” (’54 version).
Air Date: 5/22/54
Color Episode Title: "In 25 Words Or Less."
Lost Episode Title: "Box Top Kid."

"Box Top Kid":

Alice's sister, Helen, and her husband, Frank, have won a cruise to Europe, and Ralph and Alice go to see them off on the boat. They are in their stateroom. Ralph is jealous and acts it too. One of the things that Frank has is a video camera that he plans to use on the trip. One of the things that he films is Ralph dancing in a terrible manner and the girls dancing. He plans to show the video off at the Raccoon Lodge. So Ralph tries to run after him in the stateroom to get that video. Ralph is acted like his typical self here.

The next day, Alice, who is outside on the fire escape is talking to Trixie about how big and beautiful the boat was and the cruise in which Frank and Helen was going on. According to her, the boat was as big as a city. Trixie says that Ed says that you should visit every major part of America first then go to Europe. Trixie: "So far, last year we have scratched off Bayonne, Yonkers and Scranton." Alice: "What have you scratched off this year?" Trixie: "I would like to scratch off Norton." Trixie leaves.

Ralph and Ed come in. Ralph has bought every product that's running a contest--$23.50 worth of dog food, cereal, cake mix, detergent, etc.--so he can win something too. He says to Ed that once Alice finds out about this if she finds about this, he will pull the scheme in which he has done this for her. Alice listens and when Ralph and Ed want to put the boxes on the fire escape, they spot Alice. Alice doesn't believe what Ralph has done and the "I did it for you" scheme. Alice goes into the bedroom as Ralph and Ed do the contest work. One of the contests required Ralph to open the box. But the box is too tough for Jackie to open. D'oh! Not something that was in the script. Anyway, one contest is "Guess the US President. One of the clues is a woman washing and the other clue is a ton. Ed: "I know it. Eisenhower. What they are trying to say is Washington. Who's in Washington right now? Eisenhower." Ed is so stupid and Ralph's more stupid for believing him. They also do another contest for the Slim-O Bread Company in which you have to write an essay on how Slim-O has made you lose weight. Ed writes what Ralph says: "Before I started eating delicious Slim-O bread, I weighed 250 pounds. I now weigh..." Ed: "260 pounds." Ralph says to erase that and put down 170 pounds. Ralph's winning slogan: "Slim-O Bread adds to the taste and takes away from the waist." They do another contest where you have to name the dog that is in the picture. Ed suggests: Ralph as the name so not only can people can call him, but so can dogs. Ed: "Ralph! Ralph!" Ed barks like a dog and Ralph kicks him out.

The next day, Alice says to Trixie that Ralph finally won a contest. A big puppy dog named Happy. The dog's appetite is o big, that he ate the large amount of dog food that the Kramdens had for lunch. Ralph comes home and is scared to death of the dog. He says that he is a dinosaur. Alice: "That is Happy, the dog that you won." Ralph: "He doesn't look happy to me." Ralph also says: "He is too big for a zoo." Ralph says that they have to give toe dog away. Ed comes in. Ralph mentions what he has won and says that they have to give the dog away. He says he doesn't want to go in the bedroom, the place where the dog is, because he claims he is afraid that he will get too attached to him. Yeah! A telegram comes saying that Ralph won the Slim-O Bread contest and the first prize is a cruise for two to Europe. Ed: "You and me are going to have a fun time in Paris." Ralph says that he will be taking Alice and when he sees Frank and Helen coming home while they are going to Europe, he will gloat. Ed: "That's what I like about Ralph. He never holds a grudge." Just think, later on in the series, the whole Honeymooners gang would have gone to Europe two times. Mrs. Manicotti comes in and hears the news. Ralph and Alice say that they will go to Italy, Mrs. Manicotti's home country, and get a souvenir for her. She leaves. The only problem is that the man from the Slim-O bread company is going to come and see pictures of what Ralph looked like before he lost all the weight thanks to Slim-O Bread. Ed's solution: "You sad in the essay that you lost eighty pounds by eating 80 loaves of bread. What you need to do is between now and when the guy gets here is eat 80 loaves of bread." Gee, that makes sense. Ed then gives Ralph the idea he needs. He will be "Mr. Kramden" and Ralph will be "Ed." Ralph will take a picture of Ed looking like he's a big guy.

The next day, Alice arrives with the camera. Ed comes in with a bunch of pillows underneath his jacket to make him look big but according to Alice, he looks like an overstuffed balloon. Alice leaves. Ralph takes the picture and it came out great. (He used a non-disposable camera.) Ed goes into the bedroom to change. The man from the Slim-O Bread Company comes. Ralph and Ed have a little problem as far as their "real identities" are. Ed refers to himself as "Ralph Kramden" but he does it in a funny fashion. The man from the Bread Company sees the picture of what "Ralph" looked like before and is puzzled by the fact that "Ralph's" face didn't decrease in size due to the decrease in his weight so "Ed" covers it buy saying that "Ralph" ate the food very fast. He believes him. The whole idea works until Mrs. Manicotti foils it. When the Slim-O man questions her, she tells him that Ralph is Kramden. Ralph is also fat, so he doesn't get to go to Europe. No one gets to go to Europe.

This episode marked the first episode I saw a two-part episode on TV. I saw the first part of this episode on WPIX in 1996 and up until that time, I didn't know that any Honeymooners episode had been split in two parts.

Credit I think goes to (the original) Bill's 'Mooners Archives, eBay.com, tv.com, Honeymooners Lost Episodes Book, tvguide.com, honeymooners.net, Honeymooners Lost Episodes DVD booklet, Wikipedia.org, Yahoo Groups You're A Riot! & Amazon.com.

[Frank Gannucci]

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