The Honeymooners is one of television's best-remembered and most imitated comedies in the history of television. Although the series ran for only one year in prime time (during the 1955-1956 season on CBS), it has succeeded remarkably in syndication and on videocassette. Generations of viewers have identified with Jackie Gleason's portrayal of Ralph Kramden, the aggravated bus driver from Brooklyn, whose dreams of advancement were continually upended.

The Honeymooners was among the last of the urban, working-class comedies on 1950s television. As the nation experienced postwar prosperity, so did the families on television. The Nelsons on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett, the Andersons on Father Knows Best, and the Cleavers on Leave It to Beaver all lived in the tree-lined, secure suburbs. By 1955, even the prototypical proletariat family, the Goldbergs, had moved out of the city. The Kramdens, however, were the exception. Ralph and his...