The Honeymooners (TV Series) The Babysitter (1956) User Reviews

Phone Leads to Bad Communications

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 19 September 2017]

Alice, tired of the inconvenience, decides to get a phone for the apartment. She knows if she runs it by Ralph, the cheapskate will throw a fit. Of course, he does anyway. He even tries to ambush her by calling the number, waiting for it to be busy, and catching her in the act. This leads to forced dishonesty on her part. She picks up some baby-sitting gigs in order to pay for the phone, but only does it when Ralph is out. He overhears a man (a client of Alice's) mention her name at the barber shop. He assumes she is having an affair with him and goes ballistic. This has one great line. He is wearing his Raccoon Lodge uniform with the coonskin cap. When he wakes up the little boy Alice is babysitting, the kid says, "Gee. I didn't know Davey Crockett was so fat!" As a modern viewer who saw these shows when they premiered, I'm always amazed at how much power Ralph has (and how little).

The Kramdens Get a Telephone

[dougdoepke · 20 April 2017]

Happily there's the usual amount of series laughs. Alice gets a telephone installed that Ralph said was too expensive, which is his way of getting out of off-hours work. Due to a mix-up with the phone number, Ralph thinks his beloved is cheating on him even though she's just babysitting to help pay for the phone. So he thunders off to confront her supposed paramour, and you can guess the rest.

A highlight is when our favorite blowhard asserts his exalted "captain of the ship" status, telling poor Alice that next to him she's nothing but a lowly scullery maid. Meadows was such a good foil for blustery moments like this, a sturdy rock in a big wind storm. Norton gets some amusing moments, but nothing special. There are more scene changes and supporting cast than usual. Otherwise, it's a typically lively entry in that exceptional series.

Ralph's jealousy wears thin

[kellielulu · 5/10 · 14 November 2022]

Alice gets a phone but tries to hide it. That in itself is pretty ridiculous Ralph is going to know sooner than later. They even get a wrong number right away! He's sure she will be on it all the time and tries to trick her and catch her on it causing tension between them. Alice takes on babysitting jobs to pay for it without telling Ralph. This leads to more misunderstanding when he overhears another customer giving Alice's name and number out . He thinks he will catch her in with another man now. He instead catches her babysitting . She tells him it's mainly her fault in not telling him. Why she lets him off the hook after he has been trying to catch at something is a little disappointing. The funniest moment is the kid she's babysitting thinking Ralph is a fat Davy Crockett! The problem is Ralph thinks she's at the apartment with a man . His jealousy is beyond tiresome and there is no real excuse for it. One of the weakest episodes of the 39 episode season.