Heads Up...Honeymooners Marathon today on WGN

Just wanted folks who dig it as much as me and might not want to watch football all day. On until 9:30 PM EST.

 

Can it core a apple?

 

Oh it can core a apple!



Wow, I wish I was able to get WGN here. On a related note, WTTW in Chicago was showing a one-hour Jackie Gleason special with clips from The Jackie Gleason Show last week when I was in town visiting. Any fans of his should definitely check this out if they're repeating it - there's some incredibly funny clips.

 

The special I believe you are talking about is Jackie Gleason: Genius at Work which was produced a couple of years ago and shown on PBS. It is available from MPI Video and this is a wonderful sample of Gleason's 1950s non-Honeymooner characters. Though clips of the Kramdens are still present as well

The vol. 4 of the Color Honeymooners (from the sun and fun capital of the world, Miami Beach!) contains a "reunion" sketch called "Women's Lib" from a 1973 Gleason special which, one first viewing I thought was ok but not the best Honeymooners I have seen. I watched it again recently and found that I enjoyed it more the second time. Now if they would officially release the four reunion shows that were produced for ABC between 1976 and 1978 it would be an almost perfect Kramden universe!

 

WGN is a "super station" that is available on basic packages by pretty much all basic cable/satellite providers. Who do you go through in L.A. that doesn't carry it?

 

I can watch the Classic 39 anytime I want. For $28.99 at Amazon, it's well worth the purchase price.



The Lost Episodes are also worthwhile.

 

I don't subscribe to cable, I just get over-the-air channels. Most of my "television" viewing is done over the Internet.

 

I was just at Amoeba and bought Genius At Work, thanks for the help with the title!

 

Glad I could help! And the DVD contains an edited down episode of The Jackie Gleason Show (from 1954 I believe) that was used to promote Gleason's And Away We Go! album where he sings a song as each character. I wish that the entire show would have been included, but I'm guessing that the teasers of each song and character has to do with the music rights.

If you ever have the chance to see an MPI release called The Great Gleason that was released on VHS in 1986 or 1987, that is well worth the search. While some of the material is repeated that you would find on the DVD, there is also much more footage from Gleason's variety series and that release runs around 95 mins or so.

 

Thanks Benno123, I'll keep my eyes out for that as well.

I really wish someone would release complete episodes of The Jackie Gleason Show, unedited. But the market for this would be pretty small so it's understandable. Unfortunate, but understandable.

As it stands, I'm in the process of getting the "lost" episodes on DVD even though IMO MPI did a terrible job in releasing these (overpriced, "filler" clip episodes padding the discs out, poor packaging, fewer discs could have been used, etc.). Hopefully MPI will lose the rights and someone else will give these the treatment they deserve.

 

With the digital transition, a number of stations are airing vintage television shows, via the Retro Television Network, on one of their new, additional multicast channels.
Check it out--and it's FREE.

 

That 39 episode box set just may be the best complete series DVD EVER!
Insanely worth it

 

Whats the story on The Lost Episodes ?

 

They're the ones that weren't on film, but are from kinescopes instead, as I recall.

Harry

 

Right. The bottom line is that the "Electronicam" system resulted in filmed episodes of the classic 39 that we can watch in high quality all these years later, wheras the kinescoped sketches don't look that good, hence the term "lost". As I recall, Jackie had these stored away and they were finally released by his estate after his passing.

Since the brilliance and chemistry of Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Joyce Randolph (and Pert Kelton) shine through no matter what system they were recorded on, the lost episodes can be a real treat, especially after seeing the famous 39 over and over for years.

Harry

 

Mr. Ralph Kramden,on his Marathon today:"ME? A Marathon? A-Hammana-A-hammana-A-hammana!" WE LOVE YOU,JACKIE!

 

I have both the DVD set and the VHS set of the 39. Some of the episodes are of better transfer quality then the DVD ones.

 

For a musical interlude, here's the JACKIE GLEASON SHOW theme, "Melencholy Serenade".

Harry

 

Ralph was ahead of his time--too bad he's not around for what he was waiting for....3-D Televsion!

 

He was a visionary. Now where is that low cal pizza!?