Episode Reviews: "Ralph's Diet" & "Dinner Guest":

[Frank Gannucci]

Episode #31
TV: Attached to "Alice Plays Cupid."
VCR: Attached to "The Adoption."
DVD: Attached to "A Little Man Who Wasn´t There", "Goodnight Sweet Prince" & "Gleason´s Honeybloopers Volume 1."

Before I begin this review, I will write this minor point. On
honeymooners.net, it says both "Ralph's Diet" & "Norton Moves In"
aired live on the same date when in fact they weren't. The latter aried on 4/18 and the former aired on 4/25.

As the name implies, Ralph is on a diet. (A storyline device that
would repeat itself later on in the series.) Mrs. Manicotti comes
down and says that her husband's birthday is today and she wants to
hide the food until he gets home. She invites Ralph and Alice to come
but Alice decines. She thinks with all the food there, it would be
too tempting for Ralph. Mrs. Manicotti leaves the food in the Kramden
apartment and leaves. Alice puts the cake and turkey (the food Mrs.
Manicotti brought down) into a drawer, but before she closes it, she
puts her finger into the cake and licks it off her finger.

Ralph comes home and says the diet is off. Ralph also says that there
wasn't enough lunch for him. Alice: "You had enough food for you to
last five days." Ralph: "Is that so? Well, I would like to live for
six or seven days." Alice says the doctor told Ralph to go on a diet.
Ralph makes this excuse: "I drive a bus all day. I got to have
something that will stick to my ribs." Gee, what an excuse Ralph has.
Alice: "Look at the stomach." Ralph: "That is not my stomach. It
happens to be a very low chest."

Alice gives Ralph some juice that has the nourishment of a lot of
food, including steak. Ralph tries it and thinks that the people who
made the juice left out the steak. Ralph wants to go to the fridge
but Alice won't let him. Ralph then thinks that since he hasn't eaten
that much, maybe he lost enough weight all day. He gets on the scale.
Ralph: "I don't need the diet anymore. I lost a pound."
Alice: "Ralph, when you lose a pound, it's like Bayoone losing a
mosquito." What does Alice mean when she says this?

Ralph then tries to get his mind of food by reading a newspaper.
Within five seconds of reading it, he stops and syas: "I'm starving."
Ralph turns on the radio to hear a baseball game. The announcer for
the game promotes some food which of course causes Ralph to break the
radio. Ha!

Ed Norton comes down. So Alice tells him to make sure Ralph doesn't
eat. Ed (with a banana in his mouth): "What's cooking?" Ralph says
it's nothing. Ralph asks Ed for the banana as Ed is eating it. Ed
doesn't give him the banana. Ralph then asks why didn't Ed respond to
him. Ed: "I don't like to talk with my mouth full." Ed tries to help
Ralph by if he says that he doesn't like meatballs among some other
foods. Ed leaves saying he made himself hungry.

Ralph tries to leave in hopes of getting some food. Ralph spots the
cake and turkey in the drawer and immediately starts his feast.
Ralph: "Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! This is living." Alice and Mrs.
Manicotti come down and see the damage that Ralph did to the food.
Alice says to Mrs. Manicotti that she can go down to the store and
get another cake and turkey and that Ralph will pay for it. Ralph
says that he's sorry and that he will start a new diet tomorrow.
Yeah, sure he will. Alice forgives him and they embrace.

Episode #32
TV: Attached to "Norton Moves In."
VCR: Attached to "Letter To The Boss" & "Suspense."
DVD: Attached to "Letter To The Boss", "Suspense" & "Ralph Kramden's
Greatest Schemes."

This episode opens up with the Kramdens having dinner with the
Ralph's boss Freddie Muller and his wife. A different actor is
playing Freddie in this episode. In future episodes, the role was
filled by George Petrie. Fred says: "I ate so much the lid came of my
pot." Ralph laughs and repeats what he said to Alice, the only thing
is he gets the words mixed up so Fred corrects him. Ralph says that
if Fred doesn't finish his turkey, Alice will make Ralph have turkey
on Mon-Wed and have Apple pie on Thursday.

Ralph tries to talk to Fred about getting a promotion, but Alice cuts
Ralph off by saying: "Would you two like to wash your hands?" They do
just that. Ralph offers Fred a towel that says: "Hers." That's
because all the "His"'s are being cleaned.

Ralph orders Alice to shut that door so he can talk to ALice. He says
that every time Ralph wanted to talk to Fred about getting a
promotion, Alice has cut him off. To some people, on paper this would
seem like it's Alice's fault. But is it? The ending of this episode
tells us the question. Ralph calls Fred a moax behind his back. Gee,
that was very nice was it? Of course not. Ralph says to ALice that
since she has been offering Fred food: "Am I trying to get that
promotion or are you trying to become Fred's cook?" Fred comes out
along with his wife so Ralph sings: "I wish I was in Dixie."

Ralph offers to play poker. The boss says no. He and his wife want to
watch TV. Ralph says that if they had a TV Set, it would be getting
repaired. The boss has a car and one of the things that he offers is
a ride, then he offers to go to a drive-in movie. Ralph says no to
bot and in response to the latter, he says: "What for? We are all
married." Alice says to Ralph to tell them that joke you heard the
other day, but Alice accidently says it herself. Ralph he has heard a
1000 better jokes. He doesn't know where he got that one. Fred: "I
told you that joke the other day." Ouch!

Alice turns on the radio so they can listen to music. Ralph tries to
alk business with Fred, but he gets cut off when Fred says don't turn
the dial that is the type of music that he like, which is Mambo. I
kind of like the song that's playing too in a way. All of them end up
dancing to the music. Fred dances with Alice and Ralph dances with
the boss' wife (Harriett). In the middle of all this, Ed Norton comes
down. This is a scene that I like. Imagine if had a friend like Ed
Norton, he came down to see you, comes right through your door (and
in the process reveals one of their traits, not knocking on their
friend's door, just barging right in), and sees you with people that
s/he doesn't know and the people who s/he doesn't know doesn't know
him either. Ed apologizes becuase he didn't know the Kramdens had
company. He offers to dance to mambo correctly. Ed shows Harriett the
right way to mambo. He dances in a very funny way. MPI video said in
this episode: "Norton's patented body movements are precious as he
staelas the scene with
his famous Mambo step."

Ed offers to show Ralph the correct way. Yes, he dances with Ralph.
Ed accidently steps on Ralph's foot. So Ralph yells: "AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Jackie's facial expressions are great. Ed: "Now you are doing it."
Ralph: "You stepped on my foot." Ralph turns off the radio. Ralph
embarrasses Ed in front of Ralph's boss by yelling at him. Ed tells
Alice the club meeting is tonight. Alice says that because of the
company, she can't go. Fred and Harriett say don't worry, they have
to go anyway. They leave. Ed leaves, but before he leaves he says
his "goodbyes" to the boss and his wife and says that he enjoyed
dancing with Harriett more than he did with Ralph. I can't blame him!

After they leave, Ralph gives Alice a tongue lashing about Alice
cutting Ralph off whenever he wanted to talk business witht he boss.
Ralph: "Everytime tat I want you to help me out, you fail me." Ralph
says that every man in history has had a woman behind him. Ralph
brings up Napolean. Alice: "Don't tell me you are comparing yourself
to Napolean." Ralph: "There's one difference between me and Napolean.
He had his hand in his shirt because his hand was cold. I have my
hand in there because my heart aches." Alice: "Why don't you jump out
the window." Ralph: "You said that yesterday." Alice: "Yeah, but you
didn't do it." I wonder why. Alice says that Ralph doesn't scare her.
So Ralph says, that he may never be able to take Alice out. Alice
says that the last time they went out, Ralph had a Raccoon coat on
and they went to see Rudolph Valentino in "The Sheik."

The boss comes up to pick up his wife's purse. Ralph tries to talk
business again but Alice cuts him off again. Fred says that he had to
go to other dinners with some other bus drivers who work for the
Gotham Bus Company and all they wanted to do was talk business but
Ralph never said a word. It looks like Ralph is going to get his
promotion after all. Right? Right? The boss leaves and then Ralph
apologizes to Alice. Alice: "I love you Naploean." Ralph: "Josephine,
you're the greatest." They hug and kiss.

Credit goes to mpihomevideo.com & Yahoo! Groups You're A Riot!