A Quick Look at TV: THE HONEYMOONERS

   For many, I Love Lucy's biggest competitor for best 50's sitcom remains The Honeymooners. Born of a series of sketches done on The Jackie Gleason Show, the filmed series told of Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden and his eternal search for a better life for himself and his long-suffering (though quite beautiful) wife, Alice. They lived in a run-down apartment building near their best friends, the Nortons -kooky Ed and his more stable wife, Trixie. The show was loved mainly for it's cast. Jackie Gleason, of course, was the dimwitted dreamer and designated loser Ralph. Audrey Meadows was originally turned down for the part of Alice on the grounds that she was too glamorous (a set of in-character photos convinced Gleason she was right for the part). Joyce Randolph was the most passive personality the show offered in the form of patient-but-opinionated Trixie. The real break-out star of the series was Art Carney as Ed Norton. Ralph's frustrations manifested largely in a big mouth and thundering voice, with which he would often berate Alice (though he was quick to apologize -even during a heated argument- if he ever crossed the line). Despite his bravado, Ralph often evidenced fear of his wife, and the thought of ever losing her. What some people have missed is that the Kramdens, for all their fighting, genuinely loved each other. One need look no further than the episode in which gangsters tie the cast down and take Ralph into the next room. During what is perceived to be a savage beating on Ralph, Meadows unleashes some of the most spine-tingling shrieks of concern ever recorded. Ralph's biggest problem was that he was short-sighted. While often thinking of himself first, he did have concerns about his wife's future, and she meant just as much if not more to him than he himself often did. His attempted verbal abuses of her were more the result of his anger at himself, and his inability to give Alice what he knew she really deserved. (It's also obvious that Ralph knew Alice could take it, otherwise he might've moderated his tone a little.) Thus, a layer of psychological complexity marked The Honeymooners, and kept it fresh over decades of reruns. Only 39 episodes were filmed as official Honeymooners segments (the kinescoped "lost episodes" which hit video and TV syndication were segments taken from the old The Jackie Gleason Show). The characters would be revived for a series of specials throughout the 60's. It would also inspire The Flintstones, the first prime-time animated sitcom.