Episode Reviews: Audio of "New Bowling Ball" & Audio of "New Manager" (Please Read):

[Frank Gannucci]

Episode Reviews: Audio of "New Bowling Ball" & Audio of "New Manager" (Please Read)

Episode #203
DVD: MPI MIGHT release this episode along with a few other short color sketches.
Color & Lost Episode Title: “The New Bowling Ball”:

While I only have the audio, I can tell that the opening theme music of the show sounds a little different.

The episode opens up with Alice coming home. Ralph comes in shortly therafter. Ralph is in no hurry to eat. Alice gave Ralph the rent money this morning. Ralph didn't give the landlord the money because he didn't see him. Ralph proposes a vacation to Miami Beach (you were expecting a different place?) Ralph shows Alice his bowling ball and says that it will take them to Miami Beach because him and Ed are entering a bowling tournament. Ralph spent the money on the bowling ball but with a few dollars left over, Alice can spend the money on a pail and shovel that she can use in the sand. Shelia was 48 at the time of the filming of this episode. If Alice was the same age, wouldn't she look weird playing with those things unless she was babysitting or had a kid? Alice knows that Ralph thinks that Miami Beach is the fun and sun capital of the world. (Gee, I wonder where they got that line?) but according to her, if they didn't pay the rent, they will be thrown out onto the streets in Brooklyn which according to her is "the snow and sleet capital of the world." What about the North & South Poles?

Ed comes down and says that Trixie wants Alice to come by and look at her new drapes. Alice leaves. Ralph says that you can't please women. Ralph goes to get his jacket. Ed says that he will take some of his clothing off because he doesn't want to get overheated. Ed: "The doctor says I have a very basic metabolism." As Ed is taking things off, he cleans up. Ed (in a strange voice): "I hate a messy living room." Maybe he was imitating an actor. Ralph comes out all confident. He says that there are a lot of famous people in Miami Beach like Nixon and Adnew. Ed: "What bowling tournament did they win?" Ralph: "That is the president." Richard Nixon went to Miami Beach? Ralph shows off his new bowling ball to Ed. Ed thinks that the bowling ball is a beaut.

Ed has an idea. He has a motion picture camera and he will show footage of them warming up. When Ed starts to film Ralph, he says: "Quiet on the set." Ralph gets his ball stuck. Ed: "Have no fear. Norton is here." Ralph: "I got fitted for this two weeks ago." Ed: "That was also 40 pizzas ago." I think Ed tried to pull the bowling ball off of Ralph by putting his foot on Ralph's suit and pulling but Ralph says his suit is getting dirty. Ed: "Wear a glove. No one will notice." Ed has another idea. Ralph will turn his thumb to the left while Ed will screw the ball to the right. Care to guess what the outcome is? If you guessed "didn't work", step up and claim your prize. Ed has another idea but Ralph says he will listen but he won't do it. Ed: "It's a scientific fact that cold expands and heat contracts." So he will douse the ball with cold water. Ralph eventually obliges. Ed & Ralph are so stupid for them to think that cold expands and heat contracts. Ed puts the ball in a bucket of little cold water and I think nothing visually is happening but Ed says: "I wouldn't be surprised if it was working right now." Then they don't think that the water is cold enough. They put colder water in it.

Alice comes home and knows that Ralph's hand is stuck and they are using cold water to get the finger out. Ed: "It's a scientific fact that cold expands and heat contracts." Alice: "It's the other way around." Ralph is upset. Ed says that they put hot water on it. He does but I think that the water is so hot that steam comes out. Ralph coughs. Somehow, he is not screaming in pain. The finger is out. Ralph is happy. Ed or Ralph knock the ball off the table and it breaks. That was one weakly made bowling ball. Ralph is upset. Ralph (yells): "MY GORGEOUS BOWLING BALL." Ed: "You lost the bowling ball but you gained a puzzle. Ed says that he is going down to the alleys and getting himself a new partner. Ed: "I advise you to take better care of your equipment." Ralph is even more upset.

During the curtain call, Jackie praises the Miami Beach audience. Since Tiny Tim was on hand during the other part of the variety show he says that he will be introduced by the Beatles to the Queen of England. He then says "Goodnight."

Just before the curtain call, Johnny plugs next weeks show and apparently they also showed clips from next weeks show. I heard that when people went to TV tapings for Jackie's show. They tape things that not only would be played the following day (Saturday) but also for future episodes since they figured they better get the stars filmed while they were down there in Miami Beach.

Episode #205
DVD: CBS might release this episode in the future.
Color Episode Title: “The New Manager.”
Lost Episode Title: “Manager of The Baseball Team”

Before I start this review, let me say this. MPI has received a lot of complaints about accidentally 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 accidentally 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 cassette Vol. 28 that has the 1957 version of this episode (even though some versions of Vol. 28 have the '53 version on it.) There are very few differences between the '57 version and the '53 version.

The opening theme music sounds a little different but other than that, it is the same. Also, Johnny Olsen plugs the sponsor. Johnny: "Brought to you by the Greyhound Corporation. 'We got more going for you than buses.'"

The episode opens up with Alice worrying about where Ralph is. Trixie comes down. Alice says that she is worried about Ralph. He was supposed to come home a while ago. Ed comes down. 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! Ed than apologizes for being so insensitive to Alice but than suggests that all of them go to the movies. Oh boy!

Ralph comes home and has champagne for everyone. In fact, in the 1953 version of this episode, Ralph tries 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. Since they only have three wine glasses, he will drink from a coffee cup. Ralph: "That guy who is on TV every Saturday night drinks it from a coffee cup." Ed: "Art Carney?" Ralph: "No, the funny one." Ralph says that he is now the new manager of the Gotham Bus Depot. When Alice asks Ralph, how he found 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 tonight to confirm the whole thing. Alice says that since they can afford it, they can go on a second honeymoon. Ralph says that the Nortons can come and they will go to a classy oceanside resort like Keansburg, NJ. 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 stewardess 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 every 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 will go get some cold cuts and beer and they will separate.

After Ralph leaves, the telegram 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 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. The Nortons want to leave. Ralph asks Ed for a beer. Ed: "I'm not thirsty. I think I will go upstairs and have a beer." They leave. Alice presents Ralph with the telegram and when Ralph reads it. Ralph: "You have become the new manager of the GOSAM Bus Company Baseball Team." Sounds like Jackie flubbed his line. Ralph is disappointed and apologizes to Alice. Alice says that Ralph is the most important thing in her life. They hug and kiss.

During the curtain call, Jackie praises the crowd and says "Goodnight." Johnny Olsen plugs the sponsor of the show, the Greyhound Corporation.

On my piece of audio, there is an ad for the CBS TV special "Spoon River."

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 disappointment when I found out that the episode was less than fifteen minutes long.