Who Saw the First Musical Honeymooners Episode Last Weekend?

[howilu]

Last weekend, Goodlife reran the first musical Honeymooners episode that hasn't been seen in over 30 years. Who saw the episode and what were your thoughts on seeing the comedy classic in color for the first time in ages?

My take on the musical Honeymooners. It was great seeing Jackie Gleason and Art Carney together again, as well as newcomers Sheila McCrae and Jane Kean, though most of the musicals are remakes of several Lost Episodes. I wonder if Goodlife will show the Trip to Europe episodes.

[marvin g]

I think they're funny but I don't particularly care for the 'breajing out in song' routine. Secondly Jane Kean is alright as Trixie but nobody can play Alice but Audrey Meadows! Sheila McRae is a bit winey where as Audrey could stand toe to toe with Ralph. Also her delivery with the punch lines were impeccable!

[TV Guy]

You know, I don't think Sheila MacRae was half bad. I mean, it was a thankless job stepping into Audrey Meadows' shoes, and I was expecting her to be worse. My bigger problem is with the production values -- these episodes are nothing more than videotaped stage performances. The scenery is extremely cheesy, and you can sometimes even see the edge of the stage (these shows were taped in an auditorium in Miami). And the actors are shouting their lines at the top of their lungs, presumably so those sitting in the back of the auditorium could hear. The videotape (rather than film) also makes things look cheap.

These episodes are an interesting curio, but there's a reason they've stayed "lost" all these years.

[VIDEOWACK]

Yes, I would have to agree that the Miami Beach Gleason/Honeymooners shows left a great deal to be desired. I am a most ardent Jackie Gleason fan and have been since I was a small child (when his shows were done live). Even as a teen while watching the Miami shows , I felt a sense of "forcing myself" to enjoy these new color shows as if I was trying to relive the days of what Gleason had done previously. The overly ornate sets bathed in as many colors as a designer could put together, the reverberating auditorium echo from everyone's shouting dialogue, open microphones near carelessly placed headphones thereby being able to hear even the director's cues on some shows, and the constant eye contact with the camera (mainly due to the fact that the lyrics to all the songs were on a prompter atop each camera) took so much away from what I remembered in years prior. Still, even with ALL of that.....they are a piece of Gleason/Honeymooners history and oddly enough, I DO manage a smile here and there while seeing them nearly 40 years later.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

You know, I don't think Sheila MacRae was half bad. I mean, it was a thankless job stepping into Audrey Meadows' shoes, and I was expecting her to be worse. My bigger problem is with the production values -- these episodes are nothing more than videotaped stage performances. The scenery is extremely cheesy, and you can sometimes even see the edge of the stage (these shows were taped in an auditorium in Miami). And the actors are shouting their lines at the top of their lungs, presumably so those sitting in the back of the auditorium could hear. The videotape (rather than film) also makes things look cheap.

Your description sort of reminds me of the last years of The Benny Hill Show, where the budgets were going up the stratosphere but the presentation was likewise becoming cheesier and cheesier (and Hill's energy level - or lack thereof - reminiscent of Gleason after his move to Florida). More specifically, this quote from Mark Lewisohn's Funny, Peculiar biography of "The Lad Himself":

. . . considering the ever-rising budgets, these last . . . shows always looked strangely 'cheap'.

Unlike Gleason who steadfastly avoided rehearsing whenever he could, Hill's shows had up to four weeks of rehearsal - and some segments took as much as 32 or so takes to get a usable moment for his show. And the level of performances from his supporting cast was way below Benny's 1960's/'70's heyday.