Some Questions Regarding The Honeymooners Lost Episodes

[cgcmgr]

Happy New Year everyone,

It's been quite a while since I posted on here. I accidentally deleted the list I had made that listed all the Honeymooners material I have. I decided to recreate the list and this led to a few questions. It's been a long time since I looked at my collection and without my list, I can't recall certain things. Hoping I can get some assistance here.

Color Episodes:
I have all of the released color episodes, including Life Upon the Wicked Stage, but I have noticed the color episodes released on the Jackie Gleason TV Treasures: 70th Anniversary Collection aren’t that great of quality. The same episodes that are within the full Jackie Gleason Show episodes on The Jackie Gleason Show in Color set are much better. Anyone else notice this and agree?

The Many Worlds of Jackie Gleason:
- Can anyone tell me the original air date and length of the video?
- This site says it was aired on January 4th, 1964 and it was 30-minutes in length
https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/2458...jackie-gleason
- This site says it was aired on December 21st, 1963 and it was an hour in length.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0614101/

Halloween Party 10/30/1954
- Does this episode exist anywhere? On the "Lost Episodes 1951-1957" boxed set from 2011 it is listed as lost. However, this site states that the episode was available on VHS only and MPI was going to include it on Disc.

http://www.classictvinfo.com/Honeymo...),6%2F1%2F1957
- I know this is an older site, but just wondering if it is available. Was it ever included in the 2005-2006 set and if so, why wasn't it included in the 2011 set?

According the 2011 Lost episodes 1951-1957 boxed set, and this site, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...oners_sketches, the below episodes are still lost. Can anyone tell me if any of these have surfaced and if so, where can I obtain them?

Supermarket Shopping / Alice’s Anniversary – October 19th, 1951
Alice's Sister Argues with Her Husband - January 4, 1952
Alice Finds a Dog – February 1st, 1952
Cold – February 8th, 1952
Surprise Party – April 4th, 1952
Easter Hats – April 11th, 1952
Spring Cleaning – April 18th, 1952
Manager of the Baseball Team – May 16th, 1952
Vacation Plans (Vacation at Fred’s Landing) – My 30th, 1952
Bus Driver’s Frolics (Alice Plays the Trombone) - ???
Meat Substitute - ???
The Home Run Ball - ???
The Mystery Novel - ???
The Expectant Father (Alice Knitting a Sweater for Dog) - ???
The Driving Lesson - ???
Sprained Thumb – October 4th, 1952
The Missing Pair of Pants – December 6th, 1952
Easter Hats – April 4th, 1953
Alice’s Birthday – May 16th, 1953
Halloween Party – October 30th, 1954
Teamwork Beat the Clock – November 20th, 1954
Six Month to Live – May 11th, 1957
Jackie Gleason Special – The Poor Soul in Christmas-Land – December 20th, 1970 - Which I believe is a re-run from 1966.

Thanks,
Chris

[Frank Gannucci]

Originally Posted by cgcmgr

Happy New Year everyone,

It's been quite a while since I posted on here. I accidentally deleted the list I had made that listed all the Honeymooners material I have. I decided to recreate the list and this led to a few questions. It's been a long time since I looked at my collection and without my list, I can't recall certain things. Hoping I can get some assistance here.

Color Episodes:
I have all of the released color episodes, including Life Upon the Wicked Stage, but I have noticed the color episodes released on the Jackie Gleason TV Treasures: 70th Anniversary Collection aren’t that great of quality. The same episodes that are within the full Jackie Gleason Show episodes on The Jackie Gleason Show in Color set are much better. Anyone else notice this and agree?

The Many Worlds of Jackie Gleason:
- Can anyone tell me the original air date and length of the video?
- This site says it was aired on January 4th, 1964 and it was 30-minutes in length
https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/2458...jackie-gleason
- This site says it was aired on December 21st, 1963 and it was an hour in length.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0614101/

Halloween Party 10/30/1954
- Does this episode exist anywhere? On the "Lost Episodes 1951-1957" boxed set from 2011 it is listed as lost. However, this site states that the episode was available on VHS only and MPI was going to include it on Disc.

http://www.classictvinfo.com/Honeymo...),6%2F1%2F1957
- I know this is an older site, but just wondering if it is available. Was it ever included in the 2005-2006 set and if so, why wasn't it included in the 2011 set?

According the 2011 Lost episodes 1951-1957 boxed set, and this site, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...oners_sketches, the below episodes are still lost. Can anyone tell me if any of these have surfaced and if so, where can I obtain them?

Supermarket Shopping / Alice’s Anniversary – October 19th, 1951
Alice's Sister Argues with Her Husband - January 4, 1952
Alice Finds a Dog – February 1st, 1952
Cold – February 8th, 1952
Surprise Party – April 4th, 1952
Easter Hats – April 11th, 1952
Spring Cleaning – April 18th, 1952
Manager of the Baseball Team – May 16th, 1952
Vacation Plans (Vacation at Fred’s Landing) – My 30th, 1952
Bus Driver’s Frolics (Alice Plays the Trombone) - ???
Meat Substitute - ???
The Home Run Ball - ???
The Mystery Novel - ???
The Expectant Father (Alice Knitting a Sweater for Dog) - ???
The Driving Lesson - ???
Sprained Thumb – October 4th, 1952
The Missing Pair of Pants – December 6th, 1952
Easter Hats – April 4th, 1953
Alice’s Birthday – May 16th, 1953
Halloween Party – October 30th, 1954
Teamwork Beat the Clock – November 20th, 1954
Six Month to Live – May 11th, 1957
Jackie Gleason Special – The Poor Soul in Christmas-Land – December 20th, 1970 - Which I believe is a re-run from 1966.

Thanks,
Chris

I think the many worlds of Jackie Gleason is an hour.

I am sure that Halloween Party For The Boss has NEVER been released. The releases that say Halloween Party For The Boss actually have the older sketch entitled Halloween Party. I had both volumes of the VHS tapes and the sketch is not on there.

None of the sketches have surfaced except for Poor Soul in XMas Land which I have. However Teamwork Beats The Clock has for decades never been lost. It is available on the box set.

Anyone know where to obtain them? I may be interested myself. My email is Gannooch@AOL.com.

[cgcmgr]

Thanks Frank. Appreciate the reply. Looks like I have my list in order.

[ChrisTV]

Hi Chris, Regarding.....

Color Episodes:
Since the release of Jackie Gleason TV Treasures: 70th Anniversary Collection I have done some more homework. When this set released I gave it a harsh review. Not for the content, but for the quality. For years I have been saying... WHY DON'T THEY RELEASE THIS ON BLU-RAY instead of DVD?

Recently, I have found out why. A Lot of shows, especially variety shows from the mid 60's thru the 70's were filmed on video tape.

And I'm finding that most studios will not release shows filmed on video tape onto Blu-Ray. Apparently, it's not worth the cost. The quality is almost always the same as it would look on DVD. This is why show such as "All in the Family", "The Jeffersons", "Good Times", "Maude" from the 70's thru numerous shows in the mid 80's won't get a Blu-Ray release. Shows like "The Odd Couple", "MASH" & "Cheers" were filmed on film & have released on Blu-Ray & look beautiful. "Roseanne" for example was filmed on video tape and the Blu-Ray quality I have seen is terrible.

The Many Worlds of Jackie Gleason:
The original air date is January 4th, 1964 and is 60 mins.

Halloween Party 10/30/1954
This episode is considered lost. Only the 1952 & 1953 sketches have been released & run about 10 mins each. The lost 1954 sketch is believed to be an extended 30 min version of the shorter sketches. It is believed that one of Art Carney's famous 'Bloopers' occurred in this 1954 episode and this could be why it is missing.
NOTE: see attachments for story.

Regarding the following....
These are from Gleason's first hosting gig on 'Cavalcade of Stars' and are all considered still lost.
Supermarket Shopping / Alice’s Anniversary – October 19th, 1951
Alice's Sister Argues with Her Husband - January 4, 1952
Alice Finds a Dog – February 1st, 1952
Cold – February 8th, 1952
Surprise Party – April 4th, 1952
Easter Hats – April 11th, 1952
Spring Cleaning – April 18th, 1952
Manager of the Baseball Team – May 16th, 1952
Vacation Plans (Vacation at Fred’s Landing) – My 30th, 1952
Bus Driver’s Frolics (Alice Plays the Trombone) - ???
Meat Substitute - ???
The Home Run Ball - ???
The Mystery Novel - ???
The Expectant Father (Alice Knitting a Sweater for Dog) - ???
The Driving Lesson - ???

The following are from The Jackie Gleason Show

Sprained Thumb – October 4th, 1952 (wrong date in book - aired 9/19/53 - & is included in 2011 DVD box set.)
The Missing Pair of Pants – December 6th, 1952 (Still LOST)
Easter Hats – April 4th, 1953 (Still LOST)
Alice’s Birthday – May 16th, 1953 (Still LOST)
Halloween Party – October 30th, 1954 (Still LOST)
Teamwork Beat the Clock – November 20th, 1954 (was found - aired 11/20/54 & is included in 2011 DVD box set.)
Six Month to Live – May 11th, 1957 (Still LOST)
Jackie Gleason Special – The Poor Soul in Christmas-Land – December 20th, 1970 - Which I believe is a re-run from 1966. (This is a rerun of the 1966 show)

Any questions, let me know.
Chris

[ChrisTV]

.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by ChrisTV

Hi Chris, Regarding.....

Color Episodes:
Since the release of Jackie Gleason TV Treasures: 70th Anniversary Collection I have done some more homework. When this set released I gave it a harsh review. Not for the content, but for the quality. For years I have been saying... WHY DON'T THEY RELEASE THIS ON BLU-RAY instead of DVD?

Recently, I have found out why. A Lot of shows, especially variety shows from the mid 60's thru the 70's were filmed on video tape.

Video tapes from that era were big, bulky, and expensive. Many shows were considered not worthy of retention at the time. Those tapes were either reused (taped over, or "wiped") or thrown away. Some shows, like select Goodson-Todman game shows, were preserved on film reels in a kinescope format, where a film camera captures a TV monitor image. Many live performances that were retained are in this format. Most of the live performances of the original What's My Line? were kept, and even ther few that were videotaped were retained on kinescope.

As you mentioned, video tapes from that era don't have the quality necessary for Blu-Ray. That would include many sitcoms, where the format became quite popular, starting with All in the Family.

[cgcmgr]

Thanks for the answers guys, I greatly appreciate. I'll post back if I have any questions.

[TMC]

The so-called "lost" Honeymooners episodes were all the sketches that were done live as part of Jackie Gleason's 1950s CBS variety show, everything that preceded and followed the one season (1955-1956) when it was filmed as a standalone, half-hour sitcom. They vary from short sketches to full-hour episodes. After the standalone season, Gleason did one more season of his variety show from 1956 to 1957 that included one-hour musical episodes, including the original "Trip to Europe" one-hour musicals that were remade in the 1960s for his Miami Beach variety show (with Sheila MacRae as Alice).