Episode Reviews: "Manager of The Baseball Team" & "The Prowler":

[Frank Gannucci]

Episode #33
TV: Attached to "Income Tax."
VCR: Attached to "Cupid."
DVD: Attached to "Teamwork Beats The Clock", "Quiz Show" & "The Wit & Wisdom of Ed Norton."

Before I start this review, let me say this. MPI has received a lot of complaints about accidently attaching the 1953 version to "Hero" (where on the box, it advertises the 1957 version). They also have gotten a lot of complaints when they accidently attached the 1953 episode to the DVD release that has "Teamwork Beats The Clock", "Quiz Show" & "The Wit & Wisdom of Ed Norton" (where once again on the box, it advertises the 1957 version.) MPI probably did it by mistake since the both versions of this episode are very much alike. In 2002, I managed to get the MPI casssete Vol. 28 that has the 1957 version of this episode (even though some versions of Vol. 28 have the '53 version on it.)

The episode opens up with Alice worrying about where Ralph is. Ed and
Trixie come down. Alice says that she is worried about Ralph. He was supposed to come home a while ago. So, Trixie asks Ed to go outside and come back when he comes home. Ed says no because what's going to happen if he is in the hospital, he would have stayed out for nothing. Ed also says that because Ralph is married, he probably ran away. Ha! That's a very nice thing to say. Ed brings up a story about what happened to a person he knew. That person ran away and when the cops asked him questions, he didn't know anything. He was 3 years old. Ha!

Ralph comes home and has champagne for everyone. In fact, in the 1953
version of this episode, Ralph tires to open the bottle, but has a hard time doing so. That wasn't supposed to happen, so to cover it up, he says: "We will be drinking champagne if I can ever get this bottle open." He does. Ralph says that he is now the new manager of the Gotham Bus Depot. He always knew that he had the right qualifications. Yeah, sure he did. When Alice asks Ralph, how did he find out, Ralph says he heard it while walking by the president of the bus company's office. He later hears that a telegram will come tongith to confirm the whole thing. Ralph mentions that with him becoming the manager, he might even become the president. When he does become president, he's going to make some changes like having pretty stewerdess on each bus and to make sure that those people who happened to miss the bus by one minute, he's going to make sure evry bus starts a minute late. Question: Wouldn't that rule make some people a little angry that they might be one minute late to go to whatever they are going to? Just a thought. Ralph says that the salary he gets for being a manager is big. He says that with the money, he and Alice are going to go on a second honeymoon with Ed and Trixie and that Alice is going to get that bunion removed off her foot. Ralph also says that now that he's in the money, should he and Alice move out of this joint. He later says no. That place has been awful lucky to them. Yeah, sure it has.

After Ralph leaves, the telgram arrives saying that Ralph has become the manager all right. The manager of the Gotham City Baseball Team. Alice, Ed, and Trixie are all upset thinking that Ralph was becoming manager of the company and that all the plans that Ralph had for becoming president were not going to come to fruition for a while.

Ralph comes home and mentions about the respect Alice will get when she goes down to the store Ralph was just at. Ralph says with the money he's going to get, since it gets hot in the summertime, he's going to buy a mattress for this place. Yeah, Jackie made a blooper when he said that. Alice presents Ralph with the telegram and when Ralph reads it he' dissappointed and apologizes to Alice. Alice says tha Ralph is the most important thing in her life. They hug and kiss.

When I rented the video entitled: "Cupid/Manager of The Baseball Team
(1953 version)" in 1996, I originally thought I was going to get a thirty-minute episode of Ralph being the baseball manager. (Imagine how funny that would be.) You can imagine my dissappointment when I found out that the episode was less than fifteen minutes long.

TV: Attached to "Glow Worm Cleaning Powder."
VCR: Attached to "Stars Over Flatbush."
DVD: Attached to "Stand-In For Murder" & "Box Top Kid."

A cop knocks on Alice's door and warns her that a prowler is in the building but he's going to watch out for him. Alice is too nervous to go to sleep so she wakes up Ralph. Ralph wakes up and Alice explains that a crook is in the building and she is too nervous to go to sleep. Ralph: "Why don't you ask your mother to stay up with you? She knows a lot about men coming into the house this late at night. Ask your father."

Ralph gets the dresser and chairs and piles it up against the door. Ralph: "I do more work at night then most people do all day." Sure, you do Ralph. Someone knocks on the door and Ralph and Alice think it's the prowler so Ralph gets his old gun and tells Alice that if something happens to him, she would be covered. He is leaving all of the things in the apartment to her in his will. Alice should have sarcastically said: "Gee, thanks Ralph." The person who knocks on the door is Norton. So Ralph opens the door to let him in. Ed: "I just thought I would come by and tell you to pile up things against the door." Ralph: "Thank you but I already have done that." Ed: "How did I get in?" Ed is so stupid. Alice says that Ed should be ustairs protecting Trixie.

Another knock is heard so Ed thinking its the prowler yells: "HEY, GO AWAY!" It's Trixie. Trixie comes in and Alice says she gave them an awful scare. Ed replies: "That's okay Alice. She always looks like this in the morning." Ha! Trixie sys that Ed should have been upstairs protecting her. Ed says that he would but he heard the footsteps, thinking it's the prowler. Ralph says that it was Trixie. Ed: "Trixie is the prowler?" Ralph: "You are a mental case." Ed and Trixie leave.

Alice gives Ralph a cup of water and it is really hot. There's a lot of steam coming out of it. So much steam that it's impossible that that much steam could come from a cup of water. Ralph: "3am and we get hot water. During the day it's ice cold." Ralph says that as long as he's with Alice, nothing can happen to her just as the prowler is coming through the door. Ralph: "Just relax. Relax. Relax..." The prowler hits Ralph on the head. Ralph is unconscious. Alice notices the prowler and screams. The policeman comes by and nabs the prowler. Later on, Ralph regains consciousness. Ralph: "...Just relax. Relax. Relax." Alice tells him the prowler just got caught. Ralph says something about his old gun and how there was no way it could have harmed anybody. Ralph accidently hits the trigger and the gun makes such a noise that it stuns Ralph. Ralph: "You are married to the prize dope of all times." They hug.

When I saw this episode for the first time, I was laughing my head
off and immediately assumed that it was going to be a good 30-minute
episode. (This was before I found out that fifteen minute Honeymooners sketches were made.) I was dissappointed when I saw the ending come at the fifteen minute mark.

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

[Frank Gannucci]

You are indeed right. The part where I said: "Alice tells Ralph the thief has been caught" is incorrect.