Applause!

[Madame X]

When checking out the opening scenes for a thread I posted previously, I also noticed occasions when the audience acknowledged an actor's entrance with applause.

The earliest it happened was episode #5 (A Matter of Life and Death). There was no applause again until #13 & #14 ('Twas the Night Before Christmas & The Man From Space).

The entrance applause stopped after that but resumed on #20 (Young at Heart), and continued for the rest of the series.

Either the audience had an "applause sign," or they were previously instructed when to applaud, or the "Honeymooners" were so popular after 19 weeks the audience couldn't help themselves.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by Madame X

When checking out the opening scenes for a thread I posted previously, I also noticed occasions when the audience acknowledged an actor's entrance with applause.

The earliest it happened was episode #5 (A Matter of Life and Death). There was no applause again until #13 & #14 ('Twas the Night Before Christmas & The Man From Space).

The entrance applause stopped after that but resumed on #20 (Young at Heart), and continued for the rest of the series.

Either the audience had an "applause sign," or they were previously instructed when to applaud, or the "Honeymooners" were so popular after 19 weeks the audience couldn't help themselves.

It also seems a barometer of when an episode was filmed, as well as who was credited as director of photography at the time. Actually, on "The $99,000 Answer," there was applause when Ralph came on stage in Act I, Scene 1 (the scene where he told the game show host he "brives a dus"), but I guess this was in the context of the game show scene.

As for DP's: Doug Downs was cinematographer on Episodes #1-12, 15-17 and 19, Dan Cavelli handled "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," and 14, 18 and 20 on were Jack Etra. That too, as well as applause or not, are clues as to the order of filming.