The Honeymooners

I never saw this show in its original run on ABC as there were few VCR's back them (better known as Betamex). It brought such a joy to my face to see Ralph, Alice, Norton and Trixie together again. The episode centers around Ralph and another one of his hair-brained schemes. This time he takes his Mother-in-Laws check, (played wonderfully by Eileen Heckhart), Ed's bonus check and withdraws all the money out of his joint account with Alice to buy lottery tickets in the hopes to win a million dollars. I can't tell you what happens afterwards because my time ran out watching this episode at the Museum of Television and Radio. But I would watch it again, completely this time. The set was exactly the same (in color) and of course, Jackie Gleason and the others aged quite a bit. Gleason lost weight, Carney gained. I don't know why they couldn't get Joyce Randolph to revive her role as Trixie. I have nothing against Jane Kean but she was in the later "Honeymooners" sketches with Shiela MacCrae (1966-1970)so it seemed like she didn't fit in. Interestingly enough, both Joyce Randolph and Jane Kean are still with us today. It would be nice if we could see them interviewed in some sort of a DVD release, which wouldn't be a bad idea. I doubt this or any of the the other "Honeymooners" reunions made in the late '70s were ever seen since their original broadcasts.

👎 The WORST of all the reunion Honeymooners Specials... DIRECTOR Jackie Gleason SHOULD HAVE STAYED AS AN ACTOR ONLY because his direction of this special looks like the work of a drunk behind the camera (and from reports, that may have indeed been the case) EVEN THE CHRISTMAS TREE 🎄 AT THE BEGINING OF THIS "CHRISTMAS SPECIAL" SEEMS TO VANISH like if no one even noticed... The performances are all absolutely terrible... Only Art Carney and at times Audrey Meadows seem to even remember how to play their characters... GLEASON (who had already started playing brilliantly Sherrif Buford T Justice in Smokey and the Bandit movies by this time, seems totally confused as how to play Ralph Kramden and his timing is atrocious) There is NOTHING even slightly "christmasy" about this holiday special... It is just plain BAD and an insult to the great series that The Honeymooners always was... This special should have remained LOST for the sake of all involved... Especially GLEASON.

First let me say that the other review posted for this show is incorrect, it is talking about the second Christmas Special (1978).

This 1977 Christmas Special has not been seen since it first aired in 1977, and I saw it then. At that time I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. But my opinion would be tainted by the joy of seeing my favorite TV characters in a new story after a decade of being off-air.

In the story: the confusion that went on as Norton directed a play put on by Ralph's boss brought me to the floor laughing. Everyone seemed to be spot-on with their performances, as if the series never stopped. Their characters were existing even though we were not able to watch them. But now some 35 years later I wish I could see this special again to see how it holds up. With all of the old shows readily available on DVD to compare this show to, it is frustrating not to see this again.

I can say that the other three specials were a bit of a let down when viewed again on DVD over 30 years later. As I have been seeing some of the live 1950's segments on DVD for the first time, these reunion specials no longer held that joy of something new. Now these final specials seem a bit tired with routines re-cycled from the 'good-old-days" of the early Honeymooners.

I am glad these were produced, as it was nice to see the gang again for one last group of hurrays. But they are just not up to the top-notch 1950's programs (neither were the color shows of the 1960's).

Of course "The Honeymooners" is one of the greatest TV shows of all time, and the skits before and after "the classic 39" on Jackie Gleason's various TV shows are just as good. Many don't even realize that the Honeymooners had versions in the '60s and '70s.

With this, "The Honeymooners Christmas Special" or whatever the proper name is, the era finally ends on a decent note.

The first thing about this Christmas special is that it pretty much has nothing to do with Christmas. You see some gifts and some decorations, but even a Christmas tree that appears at the start disappears quickly. There's really no mention of Christmas again.

The plot is kind of silly even for the Honeymooners, where Ralph buys a lot of lottery tickets (and with money that isn't his) because of something a gypsy woman told him. Now Ralph has always been a bit naive concerning getting into get-rich-quick schemes, but this one seems a little weak.

There are some decent laughs though, even if nothing outstanding. Ralph is still a bus driver (with that lame mustache now) and Norton is still a sewer worker, and still wearing his hat and vest. Audrey Meadows is Alice again, but her hair is seriously dated even for 1977, and there is no Joyce Randolph as Trixie which is a disappointment; Jean Kane instead takes the role. She's very pretty though especially towards the end.

It is curious how everything is the same, because if you go back to the early fifties, Ralph and Norton have been at the same jobs for almost thirty years, and the apartment still has appliances from the 1940s. I know the audience (taped in Atlantic City) wants to see the familiar stuff, but this kind of emphasizes what losers these guys must be, and who wants to think that?

Given that this was the final original show with the cast in action as their characters (anything after this was a clip show or anniversary show), it would have been nice for a few old school Gleason cast members to appear, who have been in seemingly countless Honeymooners shows and sketches like George Petrie and Frank Marth (you may not know the names but you know who they are).

One curious thing is that a few jokes are in there that are definitely of the times. Like, when the gang is making plans to eat at the Hong Kong Gardens, Trixie, mimicking a Chinese person, says "Ah, so!"

Another funny joke is how Ralph is caught by Alice's mother rubbing Norton's back (to get him to fall asleep) and singing to him, and his mother-in-law looks with disapproval and says she's going to call Anita Bryant. Anita of course hooked up with a coalition called "Save Our Children" (against homosexuality) and was a very vocal leader for it.

One thing missing was an abundance of fat jokes, which Gleason was never shy about doing, but seeing how Art Carney was pretty much about Gleason's size at this point, fat jokes wouldn't serve much of a purpose. Carney however, like the old days, gets the biggest laughs and is as pro as ever.

We do get to see the final curtain call after the show, one final introduction to the actors.

So really, this is an ok special although it would have been great for the characters to have actually celebrated Christmas and with a better script. Definitely good for some laughs though.