A Classic TV Christmas: Advent 2017 Day 3

People have their favorite Christmas stories. For many it's Dicken's A Christmas Carol which pretty much established the modern traditions of the holiday. Some are devoted to the animated tales of the Grinch or Charlie Brown. But for me, my favorite Christmas story is The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

The story is quite simple. A husband and wife are struggling to make ends meet. Hubby wants to buy his lovely bride a comb for her luxurious long hair. Wifey wants to buy a gold chain for her man's beloved pocket watch. In order to buy the items, the man sells his watch and the wife sells her hair. In the end both end up finding out that the best gift for the season are each other. There's been dozens of variants on this story. Perhaps the best known is from the 1950s short lived series, The Honeymooners.

This episode is not to be confused with the
Honeymooners Christmas Special that aired on ABC December 1978.

The Honeymooners was originally a skit on the Jackie Gleason Show. The show was about the misadventures of bus driver Ralph Kramden played by Gleason and his best buddy Ed Norton (Art Carney.) The two guys were married to Alice and Trixie, who often poo-pooed many of their harebrained schemes. Despite being hugely popular, the show only lasted 39 episodes.

Merry Christmas from the
Kramdens and Nortons!!!

I didn't realize that this episode surpassed the I Love Lucy Special by almost a full-year. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' aired on December 24, 1955. In this episode, filmed before a live audience, Ralph buys his wife a gift that he learns is pretty stupid. So he sells his beloved bowling ball to buy Alice something better. On Christmas Day, Alice surprises Ralph with a bowling ball bag to which Ralph has to admit what he did. Ralph finalizes the episode by making a huge speech about how Christmas is more than presents and Alice's heart melts realizing that despite his faults, Ralph loves her more than anything. 

Really, I don't think I can give this episode justice. So my Advent gift for you today is the episode in it's entirety. Enjoy... and until tomorrow- Merry Christmas!

The Honeymooners #3

Somewhere around 1986-1990, right before the rise of the Internet, fan clubs stopped publishing newsletters and got into the comic book industry. These books would feature original stories, articles with surviving cast and crew members, and ads for fan-made books and other merch. With an Art Carney interview and an ad for a Honeymooners book made by the founder of the Jackie Gleason fan club, this Christmas-themed issue was one such example. How else could you explain a 1987 comic book about a 1955 TV show? 

 The book, like the classic series, follows the Kramdens (Ralph & Alice) and the Nortons (Ed & Trixie), as they struggle to make ends meet in the Big Apple. Here, Alice has been dropping hints for a new dress for Christmas. A dress that costs $200! (Which in 1987's dollars would be about $827 according to saving.org!) 

   Not wanting to disappoint his beloved, Ralph seeks to get the dress by investing his Christmas bonus on a Christmas tree venture with an old friend. Alice sees this as another one of her husband's get rich quick schemes and a fight ensues. In disgust, the couple wishes that they had never met. Key the 'It's a Wonderful Life' homage...  But there's a twist- fate keeps bringing the two together and the comic's artist and writer can't figure out how! 

    This issue was interesting. I liked the story and it seem very original despite the oft-used holiday plot device. The art was quite good, but the printing was terrible. 

   The bottom third of the page looked like the images were double exposed. I think if this series wasn't a labor of love between a select few Honeymooners fans, they probably could've afforded to not allow a massive print error like this to be released. But I've never heard of Triad Publications and I'm sure for a tiny publisher like them, money was an object. 

   Originally, 24 issues of the Honeymooners was planned but only 12 were released. Sales must have been dismal. Oddly enough, I've only ever found this issue in bargain bins on multiple occasions. And believe me, the bargain bins abound with these type of comics and while they aren't of the best quality they aren't horrible reads.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.