Honeymooners Episode Reviews: "One Big Happy Family" & "A Weighty Problem":

[Frank Gannucci]

Honeymooners Episode Reviews: "One Big Happy Family" & "A Weighty Problem":

Episode #102 (Syndicated episode #59)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Lost Baby."
DVD: Attached to "Finders Keepers" & "Kramden Vs. Norton." On the Lost Episodes Restored DVD Box Set, it is attached to “Peacemaker”, “The Adoption”, “Stars Over Flatbush” & “A Weighty Problem”
Air Date: 4/9/55

This episode's film quality is not exactly 100% perfect on the releases made before the Lost Episodes Restored Bix Set. As you watch this episode, you will notice a line appearing on the screen AT ALL TIMES EVEN ON THE ORIGINAL DVD. On the Lost Episodes Restored DVD Box Set, a cleaner copy (with no line) was used. Anyhow, back to the episode. Ralph is demanding complete silence while he is doing his taxes. So when Trixie comes in and they only make minor noises, Ralph comes out all mad and is saying he needs silence when he is doing his taxes. Alice offers to help. Ralph obliges and as she is doing it, he yells in her ears to throw her off. It doesn't work. She does her end perfectly even with Ralph yelling. That doesn't say much for Ralph, doesn't it? Ed Norton comes down. He is having a tough time doing his taxes too. They compare income and expenses like one of Ralph's ideas which is making Secaucus, New Jersey a honeymooner's paradise, and when Ralph realizes that he and Norton between them are paying $90 a month in rent, he proposes that they pool their money and share an apartment. Ralph says that he knows Ed's faults and if he himself had any, Ed would know it. Gee, Ralph is 100% perfect? Something about that doesn't make sense.

The Kramdens and Nortons take a look at an apartment in 23 Mockingbird Lane in Flushing, Queens, New York. Years later, Mockingbird Lane would be that famous street on The Munsters. Ralph says that the kitchen is in a room all by itself. The benefits of the move are immediately obvious: at Chauncey Street the view from Ralph's window was the back of a Chinese restaurant; from the new apartment he can see the front of a Chinese restaurant. They take the apartment, but they don't know who should get the bigger bedroom. Ralph, of course says that he and Alice will take it. Ed Norton says that we will run this apartment like a democracy. Ralph says that we will but he and Alice will take the big bedroom. Ed: "Fine Ralph, have it your way but remember on this date April 9, 1955 (the day this episode aired on TV by the way), will go down as one of the biggest blows to democracy that has ever happened. It's all as you were then except you are theres." Ed says that when Ralph gets into that bedroom, it will be a small bedroom and not a big one. They announce that they took the apartment. Ralph: "That is it. One big happy family." Ralph and Ed sing which causes someone upstairs to complain. Ed: "It's just like home."

During the next scene, that line that appears on the screen now turns into a bigger white line for a few seconds before shrinking back to its original size. The euphoria of new surroundings wears off quickly though, when Norton spends all morning in the bathtub washing a toy boat while Ralph's waiting to bathe before going to work. When Ralph finally gets into the bathroom he takes a tumble on the soap Norton dropped on the floor and then can't get any hot water. Ralph tries to salvage his morning with a few waffles but Norton gets to them first, causing more friction. Ralph complains that Norton is only caring for himself and that last night there was two meatballs and that Ed grabbed the big one. Ralph: "If I were you, I would have grabbed the little one." Ed: "What are you complaining about? You got the little one." Today is Ed's day off. Ralph yells about the fact that Ed kept him waiting for a bath and he didn't have to go to work so he challenges Ed to a fight which ends when Ralph realizes that Ed has his glasses on and he can't punch him with glasses on.

Things are no better that night; everything Norton does--eating, tapping on the table, cleaning his eyeglasses--drives Ralph crazy. Ralph complains about Ed being selfish. Alice asks Ralph to look at a broken toaster. Ed says that the radio stat conductor is not making proper conduct with the electro curl. Translation: A screw is loose. Ed asks Ralph to put a knife on the loose screw while Ed plugs in the toaster. Alice is actually not smart enough to stop Ed and Ralph. Ralph is getting "electrocuted." Ralph throws Norton out which causes the man upstairs earlier to complain. Ralph (yells to the guy): "SHUT UP BEFORE I REPORT YOU TO THE SUPERINTENDENT!" Man (yells): "I AM THE SUPERINTENDENT." D'oh! Ralph reads the newspaper and listens to the radio. Ed comes back in and turns on the TV to Captain Video and His Video Rangers even though judging by the noise; it sounds like a Western show. They complain. Ralph turns up the volume on the radio louder which causes Ed to turn up the volume on the set. They act like babies, each turning up the volume up on each of their respective appliances that they are using. The radio "blows up." Ralph pulls the plug on the TV set. He complains to Trixie. Trixie: "You don't have to take that from him. Put it back in." Ralph and Ed yell at each other. Soon Ralph and Norton, Trixie and Ralph, and Alice and Trixie are squabbling. The superintendent of the building comes down and kicks the blabbermouths from Bensonhurst out of the apartment house. Alice scolds Ralph for ruining the one good idea he ever had. Ralph says that he takes the fault. Ed says that he takes the fault and the episode ends with Ralph and Norton quarreling over who was to blame for the whole mess.

Episode #103 (Syndicated Episode #106 & #107)
TV: In two parts.
VCR: Not attached to any other episode.
DVD: Attached to "Man In The Blue Suit", "Lunch Box" & "Lost Baby." On the Best of Lost Episodes, it is attached to “Stand-In For Murder” (’55 version), “Principle of The Thing”, “A Little Man Who Wasn’t There” & “Songwriters.” On the Restored Lost Episodes DVD Box Set, it is attached to “Peacemaker”, “The Adoption”, “Stars Over Flatbush” & “One Big Happy Family.”
Air Date: 4/16/55

The reason why this episode is not attached to any episode on VHS is because MPI believed the false information from The Honeymooners Lost Episodes book that stated that this episode is 48 minutes long. That is not the case. Episodes that haven't been released like the 1957 Trip to Europe episodes are said to have run longer. Thankfully, if you get this episode on DVD, you will get more episodes.

Trixie is helping Alice do some dress work. Ed Norton comes in and helps out himself. He also fixes Alice's leaky kitchen faucet and says to Alice to turn that thing down or otherwise they will get a face full. The girls leave. Ralph comes home all ticked off. The company inspector came on the bus. Ralph: "What do you think that chowder head had the gall to say to me? He said: 'Kramden, this is a warning. You are getting too fat to drive a bus. If you get any fatter, you wouldn't be able to get behind the wheel of a bus.' I was so mad; I wanted to throw him off." Ed: "I don't blame you Ralph. Why didn't you?" Ralph: "I couldn't squeeze out from behind the wheel." Gee, shouldn't that tell Ralph that he is too fat? Ralph has a book that says how much you should weigh at a certain height. Ed uses Alice's measuring tape to measure Ralph. The only trouble is that the tape is off by an inch but Ed and Ralph doesn’t know it. Ed measures Ralph. Ralph is 5'11 and since Ralph only weighs 246, he isn't overweight. Ed leaves.

Ralph goes over to the kitchen faucet which is still upside-down and gets a face full of water. Alice comes in and warns him to turn the faucet right side up before using it. Ralph: "Thanks a load." Ralph tells what happened with the company inspector and Alice assumes that the company inspector told Ralph he was too fat to drive a bus. Ralph: "How did you know I was overweight?" Ralph mentions that for his weight, he is four pounds underweight and that it says so in the chart. Alice: "You must have been looking at a chart for a hippo." Ha! Ralph is off to a Raccoon dinner without his jacket saying that he doesn't need it. Alice doesn't buy it and says that Ralph won't put it on because he's too fat. Ralph puts it on in the bedroom and leaves and as he leaves, you can see the back is ripped in half. Another inclination that says that Ralph is too fat.

At the Raccoon meeting, everyone is so sick of eating food while Ralph comes in eating another turkey (according to the cooks, he had already eaten everything in sight.) He goes over to them and asks for more. Cook: "We don't have anything more to throw away." Ralph says that all of us should get more food. See, everyone else is full but Ralph is the only one who's hungry. Ralph goes into the kitchen to get some cigars. He goes out the "In" door. Ed goes to the kitchen and tries to go out the "Out" door and accidently hits Ralph. Ralph and Ed then have a funny conversation about what door Ed should have used to go out into the kitchen which in the middle of it, Ralph says that a five-year-old is smarter than Ed. Gee, that was nice...NOT! The meeting starts and Ralph gives a treasury report. He states that the Raccoons have a deficit of $489. Immediately after Ed gives is foolish idea to cut the dues in half to cut the deficit in half, Ralph makes a motion that the meeting should be adjourned. Meeting adjourned! Some meeting. It's like: "What are you going to do about the deficit Ralph?" one of the Raccoons bets Ralph that he's not six feet tall, and it turns out he's right--Ralph's only 5 feet 11 inches! A five-foot-eleven bus driver is supposed to weight 238 pounds, and Ralph weighed 246--before the banquet. If Ralph doesn't lose eight pounds before the physical he's supposed to take, he could lose his job. This is the end of the first half.

When this episode is shown on TV in two-parts, after the first half, they show us what is going to happen in the second half. That is something you don't see with other two part episodes. Also, when I originally recorded part 2 of this episode from WPIX in 1996, I thought it was a half-hour show since my VCR only picked up the last few minutes of the recap in part two. I later learned that there was more to this episode.

Ralph immediately goes on a diet. Two days before Ralph's physical at home, Alice is eating food so fast that Trixie is getting concerned. Alice: "The sight of food drives Ralph crazy." Mrs. Manicotti comes by and asks if she could hide a birthday cake for her husband for a surprise and asks if Ralph and Alice can come. Alice says yes but Ralph can't come because with all the food and his diet, it will be too tempting. Mrs. Manicotti says that she will be cooking veal cottichitore (sp?) tonight and that the smell will go outside. She leaves. Ralph comes home and when he hears Trixie saying that she has to go home because she has things to do, he accuses her of mentioning food. She leaves. Ralph is going crazy by not getting any substantial amount of food. He opens the window and when he smells Mrs. Manicotti's food, he says that the whole building is against him. He calms down and Alice gives him a fork and a knife with his supper which consists of two celery sticks. Ralph (yells): "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THAT WAS MY SUPPER? WHAT ARE THESE THINGS (the fork and knife) FOR, TO COMMIT SUICIDE WITH?" Ralph comes down and says that tomorrow, he isn’t going home. He's going straight from his job to the gym and he's going to stay there until 10 or 11 and work out and not come home until he's under the weight limit. Almost like me in a way except that I am not fat.

Ed comes down as Alice leaves and says that some people with a reducing machine will come by tonight. He and Ralph play a crossword puzzle which only makes it worse when it mentions things that relate to food. The people with the reducing machine come and after Ralph is rapped in, the machine is turned on. Ralph is having a lot of trouble so he yells for Norton as things from the set start to fall because of the reducing machine.

The night before the physical, the girls are in the Kramden home. Alice puts the cake away. Ed Norton comes up to fix the pipe. He has a late shift tonight in the sewer. The girls leave. Ralph comes home early. He didn't have the strength to exercise so he got on the scale and it said: "238 and 3 quarter pounds." He's a quarter of a pound underweight. Gee, Ralph not having the strength to work out is such a surprise...NOT! Another question: Shouldn't it strike Ralph that the scale he used might be off balance since it said: "238 and 3 quarter pounds" and the scale at the physical could say something different? Ralph goes to the fridge and sees the food for the party. He wants it but Ed won't let him have it. He appreciated Ed's help as Ed leaves. But when Ralph discovers the cake, some weird music plays and Ralph snaps. He takes the food just as the girls arrive. Ralph (yells): "I'M DESPERATE ALICE! STAND BACK!" He goes into the bedroom. Alice retrieves the smashed cake and food. Trixie and Mrs. Manicotti leave. Alice says that since the food was being in here was her idea and that she didn't know Ralph was going to be home early, it was her fault. Alice goes to bed, but Ralph wants to have one small feast, he likes the icing and cake that were on his fingers as the weird music plays again and the episode ends without any footage of Ralph getting his physical.

Credit I believe goes to eBay.com, tv.com, Honeymooners Lost Episodes Book, tvguide.com, honeymooners.net, Honeymooners Box Set booklet Honeymooners Lost Episodes DVD booklet, Wikipedia.org, Yahoo Groups You're A Riot! & Amazon.com.