Honeymooners wish list

[The Great One]

What are some of the things you wish you could have seen in any of the
Honeymooners episodes that they never did show?

For me, I wish they would have shown:

1) Ralph and Alice's bedroom

2) Ralph driving a bus on his route with patrons bording at stops along the way.

3) Norton working down in the sewer with his co-workers.

[Bill S.]

I'd have to agree with those three when it comes to things I would have liked to have seen on the show, especially the bedroom. At the very top of my Honeymooners wish list, however, would have to be seeing all the episodes on this list make it to DVD: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/honeymooners/Stillost.html

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

I'd have to agree with those three when it comes to things I would have liked to have seen on the show, especially the bedroom. At the very top of my Honeymooners wish list, however, would have to be seeing all the episodes on this list make it to DVD: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/honeymooners/Stillost.html

I definitely agree with you on that one. That really would be a dream come true if MPI released all of those "still lost" episodes. What do you think are the chances of that happening?

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by The Great One

I definitely agree with you on that one. That really would be a dream come true if MPI released all of those "still lost" episodes. What do you think are the chances of that happening?

Well you can never really be sure with MPI. They've assured me time and time again that the Lost Episodes re-release will be as complete as possible with the material available to them. As far as I know, they have the rights to release anything that aired on the Jackie Gleason Show from 1952-1957, but the problem is, we don't know how much of that material is in their possession. The "Stand In For Murder" remake DOES exist, it was shown at a R.A.L.P.H. convention in the 80's, but there's a chance that it's in the hands of a private collector and not the hands of the people in charge at MPI. On the other hand, the "recently discovered" "Love Letter" WILL be included in the re-release, as well as the "Halloween Party" remake, if I remember correctly. I wish they would put someone in charge that's actually a fan of the show so they could see that things get done the right way.

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Well you can never really be sure with MPI. They've assured me time and time again that the Lost Episodes re-release will be as complete as possible with the material available to them. As far as I know, they have the rights to release anything that aired on the Jackie Gleason Show from 1952-1957, but the problem is, we don't know how much of that material is in their possession. The "Stand In For Murder" remake DOES exist, it was shown at a R.A.L.P.H. convention in the 80's, but there's a chance that it's in the hands of a private collector and not the hands of the people in charge at MPI. On the other hand, the "recently discovered" "Love Letter" WILL be included in the re-release, as well as the "Halloween Party" remake, if I remember correctly. I wish they would put someone in charge that's actually a fan of the show so they could see that things get done the right way.

Wow! That's very interesting information. Thanks for sharing it on this message board. Maybe MPI is playing games with everyone and they probably know more than what they have revealed so far about what they have in their possession. Depending on what Honeymooners info I read whether from a book or from the internet I get different answers as to how many episodes of the Honeymooners are in existence. And so that is a question I have for you, what is the total number of Honeymooners episodes in existence from the very first one to the very last one? Do you know?

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by The Great One

Depending on what Honeymooners info I read whether from a book or from the internet I get different answers as to how many episodes of the Honeymooners are in existence. And so that is a question I have for you, what is the total number of Honeymooners episodes in existence from the very first one to the very last one? Do you know?

Well I couldn't give you an exact answer on how many episodes still exist today for sure. I've heard that a few kinescopes of the Lost Episodes deteriorated over time, but you never know if there's another copy out there, collectors that own shows like the "Stand In For Murder" remake must have obtained a copy somehow. What I can tell you is how many episodes are known of...

As you may or may not know, The Honeymooners started as a sketch on Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars in 1951 on the DuMont network. Pert Kelton played Alice in these sketches. 7 of them exist for sure, but more may have been produced. The problem here is that when the DuMont network went off the air, they destroyed many of their kinescopes (hence the reason Gleason started keeping copies of kinescopes when he moved the show to CBS). These shows are often referred to as "The Really Lost Episodes." Two Honeymooners sketches were also done on the Ed Sullivan Show in early 1952 with Pert Kelton, then Audrey took the part of Alice and Jackie moved his show to CBS.

So now we have the Lost Episodes, which aired on CBS as segments of The Jackie Gleason Show from 1952-1957. Many sources still report the total number of these sketches being 78, which is way off. All in all, there are 103 sketches that make up the Lost Episodes, the 70 something episodes that are released, the Trip to Europe sketches from 1957 and the rest of the "Still Lost" episodes. In between these sketches was the Classic 39, which are self explanatory.

As we move into the 1960's, Gleason did 3 Honeymooners sketches on his American Scene Magazine variety show (only when Art was available). Two of these aired in 1962, with Sue Anne Langdon and Patricia Wilson as Alice & Trixie. The third was a remake of the Lost Episode "The Adoption," done in January 1966, with Audrey Meadows reprising her role as Alice. These three episodes are the last black & white Honeymooners ever performed. After that, The Color Honeymooners, as they're known today, began. From 1966-1970, 49 episodes were made, 38 of which were hour-long musical remakes of earlier Lost Episodes.

Then finally, there were 5 reunion specials done in the 70's. I couldn't tell you much about these because I haven't seen them, and that's not really my department. So, this essay (lol) should give you a rough idea of how many Honeymooners episodes were made over the years. If you have any more questions let me know.

[MrBand]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Well I couldn't give you an exact answer on how many episodes still exist today for sure. I've heard that a few kinescopes of the Lost Episodes deteriorated over time, but you never know if there's another copy out there, collectors that own shows like the "Stand In For Murder" remake must have obtained a copy somehow. What I can tell you is how many episodes are known of...

As you may or may not know, The Honeymooners started as a sketch on Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars in 1951 on the DuMont network. Pert Kelton played Alice in these sketches. 7 of them exist for sure, but more may have been produced. The problem here is that when the DuMont network went off the air, they destroyed many of their kinescopes (hence the reason Gleason started keeping copies of kinescopes when he moved the show to CBS). These shows are often referred to as "The Really Lost Episodes." Two Honeymooners sketches were also done on the Ed Sullivan Show in early 1952 with Pert Kelton, then Audrey took the part of Alice and Jackie moved his show to CBS.

So now we have the Lost Episodes, which aired on CBS as segments of The Jackie Gleason Show from 1952-1957. Many sources still report the total number of these sketches being 78, which is way off. All in all, there are 103 sketches that make up the Lost Episodes, the 70 something episodes that are released, the Trip to Europe sketches from 1957 and the rest of the "Still Lost" episodes. In between these sketches was the Classic 39, which are self explanatory.

As we move into the 1960's, Gleason did 3 Honeymooners sketches on his American Scene Magazine variety show (only when Art was available). Two of these aired in 1962, with Sue Anne Langdon and Patricia Wilson as Alice & Trixie. The third was a remake of the Lost Episode "The Adoption," done in January 1966, with Audrey Meadows reprising her role as Alice. These three episodes are the last black & white Honeymooners ever performed. After that, The Color Honeymooners, as they're known today, began. From 1966-1970, 49 episodes were made, 38 of which were hour-long musical remakes of earlier Lost Episodes.

Then finally, there were 5 reunion specials done in the 70's. I couldn't tell you much about these because I haven't seen them, and that's not really my department. So, this essay (lol) should give you a rough idea of how many Honeymooners episodes were made over the years. If you have any more questions let me know.

I know everyone would like to see a more reverent edition of the Lost episodes on DVD, (myself included), but I'd be happy if they'd finish the Color Honeymooners first. Even though I saw them via American Life, they were missing the original opening and the production number with the JT Dancers. I'd also like to own a pristine copy of the Poor Soul in Christmasland from 1966 as well as the 70s shows. I was hoping we'd see volume 2 from MPI by now and my enthusiastic congratulatory email to MPI went unanswered, so I'm concerned about the future of this series.

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by MrBand

I know everyone would like to see a more reverent edition of the Lost episodes on DVD, (myself included), but I'd be happy if they'd finish the Color Honeymooners first. Even though I saw them via American Life, they were missing the original opening and the production number with the JT Dancers. I'd also like to own a pristine copy of the Poor Soul in Christmasland from 1966 as well as the 70s shows. I was hoping we'd see volume 2 from MPI by now and my enthusiastic congratulatory email to MPI went unanswered, so I'm concerned about the future of this series.

While I'd like to see the Color Honeymooners get a proper release, I'd much rather them finish the Lost Episodes collection. I think MPI should've finished what they started before starting a whole new collection. The Lost Episodes have been out for so long and released in so many different packages that it's ridiculous the collection is still so incomplete. At least the Color shows are easily available to us, some of these Lost Episodes haven't been seen by the public since their original air date. Whatever the case may be, Lost Episodes or Color episodes, MPI needs to get a move on. I haven't heard back from them yet either and I'm starting to become annoyed. How well did the first Color Honeymooners set sell? That could have something to do with this whole situation.

[T-Greg]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Then finally, there were 5 reunion specials done in the 70's. I couldn't tell you much about these because I haven't seen them, and that's not really my department. So, this essay (lol) should give you a rough idea of how many Honeymooners episodes were made over the years. If you have any more questions let me know.

Bill. There were 4 reunion specials, all on ABC. Audrey played Alice and Jane Kean played Trixie.

Second Honeymoon (2/2/76)
Christmas Carol (11/28/77)
Valentine Special (2/13/78
Christmas Special (12/10/78)

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by T-Greg

Bill. There were 4 reunion specials, all on ABC. Audrey played Alice and Jane Kean played Trixie.

Yeah you're right, my mistake. I just glanced at John's book real quick to see whether it was 4 or 5, he had the "Women's Lib" episode listed with those 4 so it threw me off. Any idea who played Alice & Trixie in "Women's Lib"?

[The Great One]

[QUOTE=Bill S.]
So now we have the Lost Episodes, which aired on CBS as segments of The Jackie Gleason Show from 1952-1957. Many sources still report the total number of these sketches being 78, which is way off. All in all, there are 103 sketches that make up the Lost Episodes, the 70 something episodes that are released, the Trip to Europe sketches from 1957 and the rest of the "Still Lost" episodes. In between these sketches was the Classic 39, which are self explanatory.

Thanks for your reply to my first question. It helps clear up all of the confusion.

Another question: If MPI has all of the lost episodes why don't they just release everything on dvd?

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by The Great One

Another question: If MPI has all of the lost episodes why don't they just release everything on dvd?

Well, that's a question I've been asking myself for many years. But like I said earlier, while they have the rights to release them all, they might not have everything in their possession (which was the case with the original version of "Love Letter"). There's also the fact that a good portion of the "Still Lost" sketches are alternate versions of shows already available, so they could have been mistaken for those other versions, or MPI might not have wanted to release so many similar episodes in the same package. I'm sure some of the old kinescopes are in bad shape, but I like to believe that everything is still out there somewhere. Like I also said earlier, they need to hire somebody that's actually a fan of the show and will take the time to hunt this material down, wherever it may be.

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

Well, that's a question I've been asking myself for many years. But like I said earlier, while they have the rights to release them all, they might not have everything in their possession (which was the case with the original version of "Love Letter"). There's also the fact that a good portion of the "Still Lost" sketches are alternate versions of shows already available, so they could have been mistaken for those other versions, or MPI might not have wanted to release so many similar episodes in the same package. I'm sure some of the old kinescopes are in bad shape, but I like to believe that everything is still out there somewhere. Like I also said earlier, they need to hire somebody that's actually a fan of the show and will take the time to hunt this material down, wherever it may be.

You bring up many good points and I think that's as far as any Honeymooners fan can go for now. Maybe one day we all can celebrate being able to purchase all of the episodes in existence.

[Bill S.]

Originally Posted by The Great One

You bring up many good points and I think that's as far as any Honeymooners fan can go for now. Maybe one day we all can celebrate being able to purchase all of the episodes in existence.

I've been hoping for that day for ages. It'd be a dream come true to have all 103 Lost Episodes released in a nice box set in order of air date. If you think about it, the earlier Lost Episodes are shorter, so if they released them in order, they could fit more episodes on one disc, therefore making the box set smaller and more affordable. In fact, that's such a good idea, I think I might go apply for a job at MPI.

[The Great One]

Originally Posted by Bill S.

It'd be a dream come true to have all 103 Lost Episodes released in a nice box set in order of air date.

That definitely belongs on every true Honeymooners fan wish list !!!