Would you consder-"Oh My aching Back" a INCOMPLETE episode? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TVFactFan · 07-29-2006, 04:39 PM

To me this episode seems incomplete because at the end once Alice finds out that Ralph did go bowling, when he asked what's for dinner she put the bowling trophy on the Table and then the ep is over. I waiting to hear how Ralph would talk his way out of lying but the closing credits started which is I feel the ep was not completed the right way

Brian Damage · 07-29-2006, 04:49 PM

I disagree, I thought it ended perfectly. It didn't matter what Ralph said, because he was caught.

TVFactFan · 07-29-2006, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I disagree, I thought it ended perfectly. It didn't matter what Ralph said, because he was caught.

I know but the ep ended with Alice being mad at Ralph which to me means INCOMPLETE-lol

Brian Damage · 07-30-2006, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVResearcher

I know but the ep ended with Alice being mad at Ralph which to me means INCOMPLETE-lol

Nope

Tweety · 07-30-2006, 09:27 PM

That's an interesting point though...

This is one of the few episodes that doesn't end with the "Baby, you're the greatest" trademark line.

Another was the "Please leave the premises" episode, which ends with Ralph and Alice on the sidewalk after being evicted (I think that Ralph grudgingly agrees to pay the increase when it starts snowing, saying he's only backing down because Alice gets a virus so easily)... it ends with Alice using the 'pins and needles' line to relieve the stress...

True, that episode ("Oh My Aching Back") ends without that type of resolution, but I think it's ok in that case...as long as we know that Ralph didn't put one over on Alice, that's all we really need to see.

TV Knowledge Fan · 08-01-2006, 07:53 PM

...there was supposed to be a closing scene where Ralph once again admits he was stupid for trying to decive Alice, she forgives him, he says "Baby, you're the greatest", big clinch, fade out! I don't know why Gleason omitted this ending from the version that was filmed.....

Bill S. · 08-01-2006, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

...there was supposed to be a closing scene where Ralph once again admits he was stupid for trying to decive Alice, she forgives him, he says "Baby, you're the greatest", big clinch, fade out! I don't know why Gleason omitted this ending from the version that was filmed.....

Did you get this info from The Official Honeymooners Treasury? If so, there were a number of funny bits in that book that weren't used for some strange reason.

TVFactFan · 08-01-2006, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

...there was supposed to be a closing scene where Ralph once again admits he was stupid for trying to decive Alice, she forgives him, he says "Baby, you're the greatest", big clinch, fade out! I don't know why Gleason omitted this ending from the version that was filmed.....

See the ending just didn't feel right to me

VIDEOWACK · 08-01-2006, 10:57 PM

I believe it was simply a matter of ending an episode with Ralph having egg on his face....with no apology.....with nothing! I am sure Gleason knew exactly what he was doing every moment of the way. If he were with us today and were reading these inputs.....he'd be quite amused with the analyzing of every line, scene, and entire episode of each of these C-39s.

dlemond · 08-02-2006, 12:11 AM

What about "Funny Money" ending with Alice reminding Ralph that he quit his job, leaving the room, and Ralph just reflecting on that.

I thought that was an odd ending.

(I'm not as familiar with all the episodes, did they ever explain about how he got his job back?)

Bill S. · 08-02-2006, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlemond

I'm not as familiar with all the episodes, did they ever explain about how he got his job back?

Nope, it wasn't really that type of show. Once something happened in an episode, you rarely heard about it in another episode. For example, at the end of "A Dog's Life," Ralph brings home all those dogs that were "over their limit," but we never see or hear about them again after that. On the other hand, in "Oh My Aching Back," they did mention Norton's sleepwalking attack from "The Sleepwalker." Either way, that's one of the good things about this show, unlike most TV shows these days, you don't have to watch the episodes in order to follow what's going on.

VIDEOWACK · 08-02-2006, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Nope, it wasn't really that type of show. Once something happened in an episode, you rarely heard about it in another episode. For example, at the end of "A Dog's Life," Ralph brings home all those dogs that were "over their limit," but we never see or hear about them again after that. On the other hand, in "Oh My Aching Back," they did mention Norton's sleepwalking attack from "The Sleepwalker." Either way, that's one of the good things about this show, unlike most TV shows these days, you don't have to watch the episodes in order to follow what's going on.

The same thing applies to TV OR NOT TV. Once that episode ended, the TV set was gone. In THE BABY SITTER the phone is present but is gone in next ep. It's like each individual episode was one unique experience.

TV Knowledge Fan · 08-02-2006, 04:45 PM

...what appeared in the Kramden's kitchen. He INSISTED that no telephones, radios, TV sets, or any "modern conveniences" appear in that kitchen. If they did, it was merely a "plot device" that had to do with the week's story, and would disappear the following week, as if they never existed.

And there was another tradition that started when The Nestle Company was one of Gleason's "rotating sponsors" of his hour-long variety show in 1953-'55.
Somehow, during the "Honeymooners" sketches, one of the Nestle ad agency representatives always made sure there was a jar of "Instant Nescafe" coffee on the kitchen table...even when "THE HONEYMOONERS" was sponsored by Buick in the '55-'56 season [Nestle was the primary sponsor of "STAGE SHOW" that season]. Jackie KNEW that jar was on the table, but let it stay there during the live broadcasts or filmed episode. But nobody dared place it on the table while HE was watching, or during rehearsals.

And, yes, "bill", I DID read about the ending for "Oh My Aching Back" in "The Official Honeymooners Treasury". What the writers put into the script didn't ALWAYS appear on camera in the final version. Gleason had a "photographic memory", but didn't always follow the script as it was written.

In "Please Leave the Premises", he forgets the line he's supposed to say to Alice as to WHY he's giving in and paying the rent increase...he keeps "vamping" with the line, "I'll tell you what it is!!", and then exaggerates his dilemma {"Oh, I'll TELL you what it is!!!!"}, and then delivers a line that's completely different from what Marx and Stone wrote. But it didn't matter....his ad-libbing made the moment FUNNIER than what was actually written!! Do you think that piece of business in "Dial J For Janitor" where the janitor's phone keeps buzzing when Ralph answers it, causing him to pound the wall to "silence" it, was WRITTEN that way? Or after he yells out the door to all the tenants to start using the phone, and then has an attack of "smoker's cough", causing him to say, "Sure is dusty out there!"? Jackie could get away with this because he was so GOOD at covering "mistakes" and last-minute glitches.......

TVFactFan · 08-02-2006, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Nope, it wasn't really that type of show. Once something happened in an episode, you rarely heard about it in another episode. For example, at the end of "A Dog's Life," Ralph brings home all those dogs that were "over their limit," but we never see or hear about them again after that. On the other hand, in "Oh My Aching Back," they did mention Norton's sleepwalking attack from "The Sleepwalker." Either way, that's one of the good things about this show, unlike most TV shows these days, you don't have to watch the episodes in order to follow what's going on.

I did notice the consistency of the Sleep Walk episode. I was surpised to hear it mentioned it again

Bill S. · 08-02-2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVResearcher

I did notice the consistency of the Sleep Walk episode. I was surpised to hear it mentioned it again

Yeah, usually when they mentioned things that happened in the past, it was something we never actually saw. For example, Ralph's "no-cal pizza" scheme...often mentioned, but never seen.

07-29-2006, 04:39 PM	#1
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,073	Would you consder-"Oh My aching Back" a INCOMPLETE episode? To me this episode seems incomplete because at the end once Alice finds out that Ralph did go bowling, when he asked what's for dinner she put the bowling trophy on the Table and then the ep is over. I waiting to hear how Ralph would talk his way out of lying but the closing credits started which is I feel the ep was not completed the right way

07-29-2006, 04:49 PM	#2
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	I disagree, I thought it ended perfectly. It didn't matter what Ralph said, because he was caught.
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

08-01-2006, 07:53 PM	#6
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	In the original script... ...there was supposed to be a closing scene where Ralph once again admits he was stupid for trying to decive Alice, she forgives him, he says "Baby, you're the greatest", big clinch, fade out! I don't know why Gleason omitted this ending from the version that was filmed.....

08-01-2006, 10:57 PM	#9
VIDEOWACK Member Eternal Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 30, 2003 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 339	I believe it was simply a matter of ending an episode with Ralph having egg on his face....with no apology.....with nothing! I am sure Gleason knew exactly what he was doing every moment of the way. If he were with us today and were reading these inputs.....he'd be quite amused with the analyzing of every line, scene, and entire episode of each of these C-39s.
	__________________ Rob Honorary Raccoon

08-02-2006, 04:45 PM	#13
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	Jackie was very observant about... ...what appeared in the Kramden's kitchen. He INSISTED that no telephones, radios, TV sets, or any "modern conveniences" appear in that kitchen. If they did, it was merely a "plot device" that had to do with the week's story, and would disappear the following week, as if they never existed. And there was another tradition that started when The Nestle Company was one of Gleason's "rotating sponsors" of his hour-long variety show in 1953-'55. Somehow, during the "Honeymooners" sketches, one of the Nestle ad agency representatives always made sure there was a jar of "Instant Nescafe" coffee on the kitchen table...even when "THE HONEYMOONERS" was sponsored by Buick in the '55-'56 season [Nestle was the primary sponsor of "STAGE SHOW" that season]. Jackie KNEW that jar was on the table, but let it stay there during the live broadcasts or filmed episode. But nobody dared place it on the table while HE was watching, or during rehearsals. And, yes, "bill", I DID read about the ending for "Oh My Aching Back" in "The Official Honeymooners Treasury". What the writers put into the script didn't ALWAYS appear on camera in the final version. Gleason had a "photographic memory", but didn't always follow the script as it was written. In "Please Leave the Premises", he forgets the line he's supposed to say to Alice as to WHY he's giving in and paying the rent increase...he keeps "vamping" with the line, "I'll tell you what it is!!", and then exaggerates his dilemma {"Oh, I'll TELL you what it is!!!!"}, and then delivers a line that's completely different from what Marx and Stone wrote. But it didn't matter....his ad-libbing made the moment FUNNIER than what was actually written!! Do you think that piece of business in "Dial J For Janitor" where the janitor's phone keeps buzzing when Ralph answers it, causing him to pound the wall to "silence" it, was WRITTEN that way? Or after he yells out the door to all the tenants to start using the phone, and then has an attack of "smoker's cough", causing him to say, "Sure is dusty out there!"? Jackie could get away with this because he was so GOOD at covering "mistakes" and last-minute glitches.......

07-30-2006, 09:27 PM	#5
Tweety Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 18, 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 6,804	That's an interesting point though... This is one of the few episodes that doesn't end with the "Baby, you're the greatest" trademark line. Another was the "Please leave the premises" episode, which ends with Ralph and Alice on the sidewalk after being evicted (I think that Ralph grudgingly agrees to pay the increase when it starts snowing, saying he's only backing down because Alice gets a virus so easily)... it ends with Alice using the 'pins and needles' line to relieve the stress... True, that episode ("Oh My Aching Back") ends without that type of resolution, but I think it's ok in that case...as long as we know that Ralph didn't put one over on Alice, that's all we really need to see.

08-02-2006, 12:11 AM	#10
dlemond Hey, I know you. Moderator Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 03, 2001 Location: New Jersey Posts: 6,751	What about "Funny Money" ending with Alice reminding Ralph that he quit his job, leaving the room, and Ralph just reflecting on that. I thought that was an odd ending. (I'm not as familiar with all the episodes, did they ever explain about how he got his job back?)