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==Behind the scenes== |
==Behind the scenes== |
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*"The Man from Space" actually first aired on [[December 31]], [[1955]], since Ralph was planning to attend a New Year's Eve costume party. According to imdb.com, the episode of ''The Honeymooners'' that aired on November 5, 1955, was "The Sleepwalker". |
*"The Man from Space" actually first aired on [[December 31]], [[1955]], since Ralph was planning to attend a New Year's Eve costume party. According to imdb.com, the episode of ''The Honeymooners'' that aired on November 5, 1955, was "The Sleepwalker". |
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| − | *Although Milton Baines did ask the question of "What's a rerun?", television shows were being shown in reruns as early as 1953, when networks realized the value of filming a live broadcast and telecasting it again later.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819697,00.html%7C "Film v. Live Shows", TIME Magazine, March 29, 1954]</ref> However, the practice did not become prevalent until the summer of 1955, when reruns of ''I Love Lucy'' were being repeated.<ref>[http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ilovelucy.html Sitcoms Online]</ref> The Baines family, of course, did not have |
+ | *Although Milton Baines did ask the question of "What's a rerun?", television shows were being shown in reruns as early as 1953, when networks realized the value of filming a live broadcast and telecasting it again later.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819697,00.html%7C "Film v. Live Shows", TIME Magazine, March 29, 1954]</ref> However, the practice did not become prevalent until the summer of 1955, when reruns of ''I Love Lucy'' were being repeated.<ref>[http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ilovelucy.html Sitcoms Online]</ref> The Baines family, of course, did not have their first television set until November 5, so Milton's question is understandable. The question ("What's a rerun?") set up Marty's joke ("You'll find out"). |
*Marty was readily recognized as a "man from space" on two occasions when he wore a yellow [[radiation suit]]: at the [[Twin Pines Ranch]], and in George's bedroom as "[[Darth Vader]]". |
*Marty was readily recognized as a "man from space" on two occasions when he wore a yellow [[radiation suit]]: at the [[Twin Pines Ranch]], and in George's bedroom as "[[Darth Vader]]". |
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Revision as of 19:18, 5 May 2020
Original run of The Honeymooners in 1955.
- "Bang-zoom!"
- —Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden in "The Man from Space"
"The Man from Space" was an episode of The Honeymooners that first aired on November 5, 1955.
History
The premise of "The Man from Space" was that Jackie Gleason's character on the show, Ralph Kramden, wanted to attend a costume party, but found he couldn't afford to rent the Henry VIII costume he had planned to wear.[1] He was therefore forced to improvise, and when he came out of his and his wife Alice's apartment bedroom wearing an outlandish costume he had made himself, Alice said she couldn't tell what he was supposed to be. Ralph proudly announced that he was "The Man from Space!" Alice was still baffled, and commented that "nobody else is going to recognize it either".
Marty's family saw George watching a rerun of the episode the evening of October 25, 1985 while the family was having dinner, and laughing at Ralph's costume for an embarrassingly long time. Marty and Dave had seen this episode several times before, and amused each other during the meal by saying the lines one step ahead of the actors until Lorraine told them to stop. Marty did the same thing when he later happened to see the same episode while eating dinner at the Baines residence.[2]
On seeing the episode in 1955, at the point when Ralph first appeared on-screen wearing his costume, Marty blurted out that he recognized what the costume was, even before Ralph had revealed it to Alice. Lorraine's brother Milton wondered how Marty could have known this, since the episode was brand new and broadcast live.
Behind the scenes
- "The Man from Space" actually first aired on December 31, 1955, since Ralph was planning to attend a New Year's Eve costume party. According to imdb.com, the episode of The Honeymooners that aired on November 5, 1955, was "The Sleepwalker".
- Although Milton Baines did ask the question of "What's a rerun?", television shows were being shown in reruns as early as 1953, when networks realized the value of filming a live broadcast and telecasting it again later.[3] However, the practice did not become prevalent until the summer of 1955, when reruns of I Love Lucy were being repeated.[4] The Baines family, of course, did not have their first television set until November 5, so Milton's question is understandable. The question ("What's a rerun?") set up Marty's joke ("You'll find out").
- Marty was readily recognized as a "man from space" on two occasions when he wore a yellow radiation suit: at the Twin Pines Ranch, and in George's bedroom as "Darth Vader".
