My Top 25 Favorite TV Shows: #11!

For those of you incredibly confused by this picture and the identity of the TV show this week, it's "The Honeymooners."

And, if you truly were in the dark, I'd suggest you stop reading this blog immediately. You are no pal o'mine.

No TV show oozed New York City than "The Honeymooners." It was set in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, but the apartment could have been in any borough during the 1950s. I remember one of my grandmother's cousins (or nieces, she changed the story several times) had an apartment on Knox Place in the Bronx and it was eerily reminiscent of the Kramden's two room apartment. I used to like going there because the woman was a terrific baker and she used to concoct these great strawberry squares. One time, with my mouth covered in strawberry jam, I felt the need to raise the kitchen window near the fire escape. And I yelled upstairs.

"Norton!"

I don't think I got to do that a second time.

"The Honeymooners" was the very first off-network rerun that local station WPIX ever bought and they have been running it ever since. And, for years and years and years, I'd watch them. Even if I knew the lines cold. It's like I wanted to hear them all one last time just in case I got hit by a bus the next day.

"Hello, Ball."

"Tuna fish?? What am I, a cat or something?"

"I've got that Neapolitan Knockwurst that you like so much."

"I call you 'Killer' because you slay me."

"And I'm calling Bellevue because you're nuts!"

"Base-o Fomine!"

I can remember the first time I heard them. I can remember the last time I heard them. And I look forward to the very next time I will hear them. "The Honeymooners" is meat loaf with gravy, french fries, a Taylor Ham sandwich, and pepperoni pizza. Visual and aural comfort food.

And my father's favorite TV show.

I don't remember seeing him watch much comedy. More importantly, I don't remember seeing him laugh at much comedy. But, I do remember he was always enjoying himself if it was "I Love Lucy," a Myron Cohen album, and Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden.

I think you had to grow up in New York to get "The Honeymooners." More than any other show, this was about New Yorkers living in New York in a setting that could only be conjured up by New Yorkers. Indeed, the ultra-famous 39 half hours were filmed in Manhattan with a real live studio audience with guffaws that could only come from New Yorkers. You can even hear kids in the audience, yelling instructions at Ralph and Norton. And, given the grittiness of New York itself, even the production seems raw. Often, you can see that Gleason has messed up a line because you can tell that he got the inflection wrong. But, it didn't matter. They just put it up there and pressed on.

That's what you did in New York.

Years later, Gleason found a whole bunch of "Honeymooners" shows in his basement. These were the sketches that were embedded in his variety program and not included in the classic 39 filmed episodes. There was tons of press as Honeymooner fans clamored to see this "new" material. And, amazingly, it didn't measure up. A lot of it was funny, but nowhere near the level of perfection from the 39 filmed shows.

"Honeymooner" love is a totally unique love. For a few years back in the 80s, there was a NY-based society called "RALPH" that had an annual convention devoted to all things Kramden. While I would normally look at people who frequented these fan gatherings as geeks, it was different with the RALPH conventions. So different that I even attended myself, usually along with the renowned Mr. Anonymous from the Barbara Judith Deluxe Furnished Apartments on Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't about being a fan. It was all about honoring one of the most perfect set of TV episodes ever produced.

And it was all about, for one more fleeting moment, hearing my father laugh his ass off.

And you, too, can do the same. Here's a clip from my favorite Honeymooners episode. Ralph getting ready to appear on a TV game show.

A har-dee-har-har.

Dinner last night: Hollywood Bowl hot dog.