Honeymooners Episode Reviews: “A Matter of Life & Death” & “The Sleepwalker”:

[Frank Gannucci]

Honeymooners Episode Reviews: “A Matter of Life & Death” & “The Sleepwalker”:

Episode #114 (Syndicated Episode #5)
TV: Half-hour
VCR: Attached to "The Worry Wart." On some tapes, it’s attached to “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done” & “The Sleepwalker.” On some tapes, it’s attached to “Ralph’s Big Mouth” (aka “Mind Your Own Business”), “On Stage” , “The Sleepwalker” & “Pal O’ Mine.”
DVD: Attached to the other first eight classic 39 episodes in the first DVD of the classic 39 episodes box set. The HD Blu-Ray set I believe has the exact same episodes and may include some bonus material.
Color & Lost Episode Title: “Six Months To Live.”
Air Date: Sat. 10/29/55

To see the script, click here: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co...episode=s04e05

TV Land had a section of it's website that is dedicated to The Honeymooners. It showed pictures, episode guide etc. When they did the episode guide, they put the title of the episode in bold and the summary in a font like the one I am typing in right now. But, when they list this episode, not only did they not bold the title, they included it in the summary of "A Woman's Work Is Never Done."

Incidentally, this episode was done earlier as a sketch called: "Six Months To Live." “Six Months To Live” was also redone again in the 1956-1957 season. To this day, only one of the two versions have been shown on TV (that being the original version on "The Best of Gleason" III Special in 1989) while the other version has yet to be released on TV, video or DVD. The last time a few clips of this were shown was in 2002 during the Honeymooners 50th Anniversary Special. It was done again as a Color Honeymooners episode with the same title as the original.

Alice is home. Trixie visits. Alice is talking about her mother's dog being sick and having to be taken to the doctor. It was more expensive more to have the doctor give the dog a check-up then it did Ralph when he recently visited the doctor. A telegram is going to come by tonight with the news about the dog. Ralph and Ed come in to a long ovation. At first, when I saw this episode, I knew that sometimes when Jackie, Art, Audrey, or Joyce made an appearance for the first or second time, they got an ovation that lasted about five seconds. But the ovation in this episode for Jackie and Art was longer and I thought it was because both of them came in at the same time and I guess someone and/or the crowd felt that they should have given them a longer ovation since they came on the set together. But, I have seen other episodes since then that more than one of the primary cast members came on the set and they got like a five-second ovation. I hope what I wrote made sense.

Back to the episode, Ed wants a kiss from Trixie. But she says no. One of the reasons is that he worked in the sewer all day. The girls go upstairs. Ed asks Ralph if he wants to bowl tonight. Ralph says no. He thinks that there is something wrong with him since he went to the doctor and he has been felling tired lately. Could it be plain exhaustion? The telegram is sent in. Ralph gets the telegram from the delivery man and when the man holds out his hand expecting a tip, Ralph says: "Your hand is very dirty." Ralph reads the telegram aloud to Ed. The dog is dying in six months from monochromia (sp?). Ralph: "This is the type of disease that normally affects Boxers." Ralph thinks that the letter is about him and he is dying. Ed: "Doctors can be wrong to you know. Take a friend of mine, the doctor gave him six months to live. Boy, did he make a monkey out of that doctor. He lived for almost eight months." In 2002, during the Honeymooners 50th Anniversary Special, they played clips from versions of this scene of this episode and played them in a collage format like they showed Ralph receiving the telegram in the second version of this episode and then in the third version, they showed Ralph saying to the man: "Your hand is very dirty." They continued doing this until Ralph finished the letter. Ralph gets an idea; he will sell this story to a magazine for $5,000. He writes a will and in the will, he will give Ed his bowling shoes. Ed: "I was going to give myself a pair of bowling shoes. This couldn't have happened at a better time." Gee, that was so not nice of Ed to say that.

At the magazine (which by the way is called: "Universal Magazine") headquarters, Ralph arrives and tells his story. The president of the magazine says that he will do it and when Ralph's tongue turns blue (like the telegram said) they will do a cover spread on it. Ha!

At home, Alice is mad at Ralph for giving that story to that magazine. She knows that he is not dying. Ralph tries to convince her by giving her the telegram. She laughs uncontrollably while Ralph thinks that she has no heart. Alice tells him that he is not dying and this telegram is for mom's dog Ginger. Ralph is ecstatic. He is not going to die now. During this scene, you can see that it was clipped. But, when Ralph remembers the story in the magazine, he faints. Alice offers to help Ralph by going in the bathroom to get some medicine. Ed comes in and when he sees Ralph on the floor, he thinks that he died. Ed: "He didn't last the six months. They will say on Ralph's bus now: 'Step to the rear of the Paradise Express.'" Ed cries, but I think you can tell that Art wasn't really crying. Alice gives Ralph the medicine. Ed says it is no use. But, when he sees Ralph up and about, he is relived. Ralph: "I am not going to die." Ed: "You mean never?" Ralph: "I don't mean never. If I don't die in six months, they will see that I do." Ralph picks up the newspaper on the table (the one that Ed brought in). How did he know that it was on the table? Ralph tries to think his way out of this mess. Alice: "Don't think Ralph, because if you think, you will only get yourself in trouble." Ralph gets an idea. He will let Norton come with him to the magazine and tell him that he is cured. Ed: "Don't touch me Ralph. I'm sterile."

At the magazine, Ed is disguised as Doctor Norton and he keeps on saying to people: "Don't touch me. I'm sterile." Ralph gets upset at that. The president of the magazine comes in and Ralph explains that there won't be a second part to the story since he has been cured. He says that Doctor Norton read part one of the story and he is the only one with cure for monochromia. The president asks Norton: "Where did you go to school?" Ed: "P.S. 31 Oyster Bay." President: "I mean collage." Ralph: "Oxford." President: "Oh, in England." Ed: "Oh, is that where it is?" President: "You went to Oxford and you didn't know that it was in England?" Ed: "With all that fog, I couldn't tell." President: "Where did you practice medicine?" Ed: "I don't have to practice it. I know it." The president smells a hoax and that Ed is no doctor and him and possibly Ralph should go to jail for fraud. Ralph saves both of them by offering what really happened. The president of the magazine listens.

At home, Ralph tells the story to Alice while eating blueberry pie. Ralph: "You don't know what I have been through." Ralph looks at his tongue in the mirror and that the tongue is blue from the pie, he nearly has a heart attack. But he clams down. They kiss and embrace.

TV.com when listing the Color version of this episode described it as being exactly the same as the Classic 39 version. That is incorrect. It is exactly the same as the lost episode versions.
Honeymooners Episode Reviews: "The Sleepwalker" & "Better Living Through TV":
To see the NEW script for "The Sleepwalker", click here: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co...episode=s04e06
Episode #115 (Syndicated Episode #6)
TV: Half-hour.
VCR: Attached to "Pal O' Mine." On some tapes, it’s attached to “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done” & “A Matter of Life & Death.” On some tapes, it’s attached to “On Stage”, “A Matter of Life & Death”, “Ralph’s Big Mouth” (aka “Mind Your Own Business”) & “Pal O’ Mine.”
DVD: Attached to the other first eight classic 39 episodes in the first DVD of the classic 39 episodes box set. The HD Blu-Ray set I believe has the exact same episodes and may include some bonus material. On the Fan Favorites: Best of The Honeymooners, it is attached to “Funny Money”, “TV or Not TV”, “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done”, “Better Living Through TV”, “The Man From Space”, “$99,000 Answer” & “Young At Heart.”
Air Date: Sat. 11/5/55
For some strange and odd reason, some TV guides and websites say this about this episode: "Norton accompanies Ralph on a business trip." Talk about inaccurate and not doing your homework. This has been going on for years; even tvland.com gave the wrong information about this episode in their Schedules section (although in the episode guide, they had the right summary.) I think the reason was that the original script had Ralph solving Ed’s sleepwalking problem while Ralph was on a business trip to Detroit. Wikipedia.org once said that in this episode Ralph has Ed stay in HIS apartment. Gee, you think that since this episode has was first shown on TV over fifty years ago and has been replayed multiple times since then, you think the descriptions would be more accurate.
As far as the original script goes, it was available on Ebay in 2014. ChrisTv from sitcomsonline.com said it looked to be George Petrie's copy. George, as standard for what was known as than as a Gleason player, played MANY roles on the show. In this episode, he played a doctor. I bid on the script but was considerably lost at the last second. Talk about being like Ralph. Unfortunately or not, Ebay doesn't reveal the winners of auctions to the public. Only to the winner. Portions of the original script can be read in The Honeymooners Treasury books along with portions of the original scripts to the other Classic 39 episodes.
To the episode. Ed has been sleepwalking again and Trixie comes into the Kramden apartment and explains that Ed has been sleepwalking again and that she is scared for his safety. (He is sleepwalking on the top of the building.) Ralph gets woken up and yells at Ed Norton to come down. That doesn't work. The girls ask Ralph to follow Ed just to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Ralph reluctantly does so. But, when Ed peels a banana and puts the banana peel down, Ralph slips and yells: “DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trixie says that Ed went to the sewer psychiatrist and that he said Ed should have his favorite dinner every night: Chicken chow-mien with potato pancakes. Do those two foods go together? I think not. Ralph comes back inside and says that Ed walked back into the Norton apartment and right back in bed. Ralph offers Trixie some pins to put on their floor (he accidentally drops some) and a bell on his wrist to wake him up. She leaves. Ralph complains on how this has gone on for days and that Ed has it good. According to Ralph, he eats, sleeps and exercises at the same time. Ed comes down. With all the yelling, he was woken up. He leaves. Ralph: "I woke him out of a sound sleep?..." (steps on the pins, yells): "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
The next day, Trixie comes by. She hasn't slept in several nights because she is so worried about Ed. Ralph comes out. Ralph gets told of Trixie's problem and that if she has an idea on what he can do, he will help out. Alice says that why Ralph doesn’t keep an eye on Ed. Ralph says no. Ralph: "She hasn't slept in several nights? How about me? Do you care if I waste away?" Alice: "Sure I do Ralph. But you wouldn't waste away if you stayed awake for nine years." Ha! Ed comes in with the bell on his wrist. His earlier plan did not work. He says that he will look out for Ed and tonight is the night Ed takes him on a tour of a certain sewer.
This is the only scene that we got to see the Norton's bedroom. Ed offers Ralph so fruit which includes some kumquats. Ralph complains that Ed has used his toothbrush. He also tells Ed that he can't go out the window because he has nailed it shut and that he will hide the key of the bedroom somewhere right now. Ed can't look. Ralph and Ed do just that. When I saw this episode one time, I said to myself an easier way for Ralph to solve his problem, but I can't remember what it is now. Ralph and Ed sleep in their respective beds. Ed has the bell on his wrist and when he flips the pages of a magazine, it drives Ralph nuts. Ed then reveals that he knows where the key is hidden so now Ralph puts they key under his pillow. Ralph: "Now, you will have to lift me up to get the key." Ed: "Congratulations Ralph. You came up with a case even Dick Tracy couldn't solve." Ha! When Ed offers Ralph a kumquat, Ralph yells: "WILL YOU GET TO BED?"
In the middle of the night, Ed sleepwalks and pushes Ralph off of his pillow easily to get the key. So much for Ralph's idea. Ed leaves the room sleepwalking.
Later that night, Ralph gets the doctor to come and examine Ed on account of the bump in his head, not the one he just got sleepwalking. Ralph asks Ed where he got the bump and says that he got it when a ladder from the fire escape, fell on him. Ed gets into the bed as the doctor arrives. The doctor wants Ed to give him an injection. Ed, being Ed, is scared and starts to cry. Ralph says that kids get injections and nothing happens to them. The doctor gives Ed the "injection" and Ralph faints but the doctor gets him up. The doctor asks Ed to count from 100 down. After Ed says: "97", he says: "3." Ed also says that he wasn't allowed to go to college because he had to go through seventh and eight grade first. The doctor says that now they can know why Ed is sleepwalking. Ed says: "Lulu." That was Ed's dog that he had when he was a child. He loved the dog very much and he was upset when it died. The doctor says that Ed is sleepwalking because he wants to find Lulu. Ralph offers the solution. He will give him another dog and that will cure him of his problems. The doctor says that he should examine Ed for about six more months. Ralph: "I can't last that long doc." The doctor says he needs more proof. Ed: "Lulu." Ralph: "That is proof enough for me." Ralph is going to get him a dog.
If you watched the first few seconds of the next scene in syndication as well as any video release made prior to the Blu Ray release, the quality is terrible. Not so on the Blu Ray. I don't know if this scene was digitally re-mastered or not prior to the Blu Ray release or not. Trixie thanks Ralph for the idea. Lulu II is cradled in Ed's arms while he is sleeping. Ralph's idea has worked or has it? Ed comes in sleepwalking with Lulu II in his arms and the bell on his wrist. Looks like Ralph should have listened to the doctor.

Credit I think goes to (the original) Bill's 'Mooners Archives, eBay.com, tv.com, Honeymooners Lost Episodes Book, tvguide.com, honeymooners.net, Honeymooners Lost Episodes DVD booklet, Wikipedia.org, Yahoo Groups You're A Riot! & Amazon.com.