44-05-03 Russell Has Three Bosses

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Putting up the swing is a ritual

It's time to put up the porch swing and Russell is elected.  Despite plenty of others around to help (Sade, Vic and Uncle Fletcher), Russell must do it alone.  Why?  Because he's one rotten little trivial laborer, that's why.

SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

___________________

Russell is at his best when thoroughly agitated.  It's shame we can't hear this one.

I imagine the ritual of putting up and taking down the porch swing was used for an episode backdrop most every year that Vic and Sade was on the radio.

TRIVIA:

* This episode implies that the Husher family lives on Virginia Avenue and is near the Gook house.  Also, the McForper family live on Virginia Ave. (To my knowledge, this is their only time mentioned).  The McForper's left their porch swing out during the winter and it's deep into spring in this episode; Sade considers this a knock on their housekeeping.

* Lodge devotee Honky J. Sponger was mentioned a few times in the script; one time his name was typed as "Honky G. Sponger".

44-03-24 The Seven Minute March

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

• Vic comes home all excited – wants to know if the Evans Photographer Studio telephoned.
• After the disappointment of his cancelled trip to Sweet Esther, Wisconsin, Vic's spirits brighten at the news that Homer U. McDancy is arriving by train this afternoon and they'll march together at the Union Depot and be photographed for the Lodge magazine. The train will be stopping for seven minutes.  Vic calls himself a "stoop-head" for saying, "I'm going to dance with Homer U. McMarchy."
• Vic's eager to let Honky J. Sponger in on this event.
• Russell: "By George, Gov is as happy as a horse."  
• Russell mentions Shorty McClellan has obtained permission from his parents to smoke cigars when he turns 25.  He already has the cigar.  Sade suspects it'll be stale after eleven years.  Russell explains Shorty's preserving it by soaking it in gasoline.  Six months prior to his twenty-fifth birthday he'll remove it from the gasoline and dry it in the sunshine.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

____________________

A week earlier, Vic's spirit was crushed when his trip to Sweet Esther fell apart.  In that episode, McDancy was to have a five minute layover at the train depot.  This episode gives them two more precious marching minutes.

The story about Short McClellan is classic; it's one I would love to hear.  Still, the text remaining is precious to me.

45-12-07 There's Going to be a Great Day

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

The city the Gooks live in has been accepted to host the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way Convention in May of 1946 and Vic is to be Grand Marshal.

________________________

A fun episode.

Trivia:

+ This episode marks the end of the surviving "Series 2."  The next series originally was a 30 minute series that had a live audience.

+ Mis' Harris is over visiting Sade (and Rush) and the three talk about the Donahue attic mystery.

+ Sade, for the first time in the entire series, refers to Mis' Donahue as "Mrs. Donahue."

+ Sade, who previously said she was going to confront Mis' Donahue about the attic goings-on changes her mind in this episode as she says, "Until she says something herself about this business, I'm certainly not going to."

+ Uncle Fletcher gives his two cents about the attic, saying he doubts there is a insane murderer or "hairy ape gnawing at his chains" crouching up there.

+ Being the Grand Marshal, Vic was given his choice of transportation: a horse, a motorcycle or a rickshaw. He chose all three!

+ During the convention, Vic has the duty of climbing up on his roof and shooting off a Roman candle at midnight. He'll also have to install 3 extra telephones in his house.

+ In passing, Vic mentions there will be dirigible balloon rides.

+ Uncle Fletcher mentions Ernie Spoocher from Belvidere, Illinois.

+ Vic feels so good about the news, he gives Mis' Harris a kiss.

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

44-07-24 Robert and Slobert Are Scoundrels!

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic is upset!

Honky J. Sponger, the lodge secretary from Chicago, visits Vic briefly at the train depot and asks Vic why Robert and Slobert Hink are out to undermine him and his position on the All-Star Marching Team.

Vic learns the twins have tried hard to bribe Sponger into making them the leaders of the Team, going as far as to give him a barrel of cooking apples, homemade mucilage, a gunny sack of cured hickory nuts and $3.00 in cash to have Vic thrown out of power. They also wrote dozens of letters to lodge headquarters.

________________________

Vic is so angry that he plans on writing the twins a blistering letter.

Trivia:

+ In Russell's baseball game at Tatman's vacant lot, he was playing center field.

+ Sade's feet are aching; she bets that she and Ruthie Stembottom walked 5 miles.

+ A rarity: Vic does not give his usual "hi-dee-hi ho-dee-ho" entrance.

+ Vic has a new straw hat.

+ Sade calls Sponger, "Chunky G. Plunger"... {{{HEAR}}}

+ In episode 44-07-17 Marchin' Plans Disappear, we find out there is trouble between the Hinks and Vic but we have no idea what has happened between them. In this episode, we get a fill-in of at least the gist of what happened; the Hinks invited the entire Marching Team to Hoopston, Illinois for some sort of get together - but Vic wasn't among the invited.

+ Sponger tells Vic that the twins have promised Marching Team improvements, including installing gold teeth (uppers and lowers) in each members' mouths.

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

44-07-17 Marching Plans Disappear

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic gets an exciting letter from Honky J. Sponger at lodge headquarters, that proposes a month-long All-Star Marching Band camping trip in Dismal Seepage, Ohio. Such a trip would bring much-needed publicity to the marching team.

Of course, Vic is raring to go, until his family reminds him of the various ailments of other members of the marching team and other things that could go wrong.

________________________

There's not much of anything funnier in the whole series than the All-Star Marching Team. We all know of Vic's enthusiasm for marching and so when he is shut down from this, you know he has to be heartbroken.

Vic doesn't give a second thought of spending the whole hot month of August in a Chataqua tent, with two people to a cot. He doesn't even seem to think about the money lost from taking a whole month off from Consolidated Kitchenware. Face it: the joys of marching are a drug to Vic.

Trivia:

+ Russell says Smelly Clark and Blue Tooth Johnson were almost in a fist fight. We never do learn what caused the anger between the two but the instigator seems to have been Archie McDuffer, a mean, big kid who was at Tatman's vacant lot.

+ We find that Monroe and Lee Streets intersect somewhere near the vacant lot.

+ Among the events we have missed (due to missing episodes) are Homer U. McDancey is in the hospital for an unspecified ailment; Y.Y. Flirch had his foot broken when a fast passenger train hit him and Robert and Slobert Hink and Vic are on the outs - Vic even went so far as to call them, "crooks."

+ The way Sade talked, E.W. Smith may also be a part of the All-Star Marching Team. He would be the 11th member, but someone could have quit or maybe someone lost their position. Russell makes mention that there are [still] only 10 members of the team.

+ Russell read that Dismal Seepage, Ohio reaches an average high temperature of 115 degrees in August and has 80 mosquitoes per square foot of air.

+ At the end of the episode, a dejected Vic goes over to Ike Kneesuffer's to pass time playing indoor horseshoes. Vic often does this when he is disappointed.

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

44-07-05 Visiting Dignitaries

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

After finding a telegram from Honky J. Sponger (lodge headquarters) that had been sent hours earlier to his secretary, Vic rushes home from work to gather his lodge regalia and try and learn a speech from Volume 3 of his lodge library.

________________________

The avid Vic and Sade listener will find many parallels with this episode and 39-01-02 Lodge Regalia Out On Loan, except, in the latter episode, his regalia wasn't at home but lent out to several people.

Trivia:

+ We find out that as of this date (July 5, 1944), Sade is 36 years old. In reality, actress Bernadine Flynn was closer to 42 years old in this episode, having been born January 2, 1904.

However, in this episode, Sade's birthday is August 20th and she was already 34 years old in 1934, meaning she would have been born in 1900 instead of 1904.  Who knows?

+ The Volume 3 official lodge greeting for a dignitary:
Oh lemon-colored messenger from celestial galaxies, oh sweet-fingered zither player from the skies, let the hem of your garment touch my flesh. Scream defiance to the yellow stars and kick your heels in savage delight. Crush a crazy moon between your great white teeth and roll your eyes at the Milky Way. Stop little brother, while the red...

The above is different from the official lodge greeting for a dignitary in Volume 7 of the lodge library, which you may recall:

Oh little frenzied brother of mine, bring your clutching hand and listen for the call of the golden oriole as the maiden stands by the splashing pool as the mischevious tarantella...

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

44-05-01 Lodge Holiday Visits

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

In a letter from lodge headquarters, Vic is alerted of a lodge idea that could save him money if he takes a trip somewhere; he and his family would be the guest of a lodge brother in another town.

But the hospitality is reciprocal and there's almost 50 people that Vic knows of that ar headed his way in the coming Summer. Sade tells Vic to squash any ideas of her entertaining unknown lodge brothers.

________________________

Fun episode with some really strange people making the trips with the lodge members, such as a straw boss, a dentist, a secretary, a music teacher, an errand boy, a milkman, a barber and a janitor.

Trivia:

+ Sade got another postal card from the Lazy Hours Pool Parlor; coupon is good for a free saucer of cole slaw with every third game played.

+ Russell got another card from his Sunday School teacher. Seems that whenever Russell (or for that matter, Rush) would act conspicuous at Sunday School, Mis' Neagle would send them an "I missed you at Sunday School last week" postal card.

+ Sade says that beef punkles take four hours to cook.

+ Charlie Razorscum is clowning around inside of his house; Russell is most amused by him.

+ One of the lodge members mentioned in Vic's letter has the first name of "Rose."

+ The list of all the out of town lodge members is listed in the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way section of the blog.

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

44-03-17 Vic's Cancelled Trip

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNADINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic is disappointed when his proposed trip to Sweet Esther, Wisconsin falls through.

Hoping to spend some quality time with his friend Homer U. McDancey is Sweet Esther, nothing seems to go right for Vic. First of all, McDancey's stop in Sweet Esther would only be a five minute layover as he rushes to another train station three blocks away to catch another train to the East Coast.

Another problem exists in that in order for Vic to go to Sweet Esther, he'd have to take a total of 5 different trains to get there.

________________________

Not a funny episode but certainly an entertaining one. A question occurs to me though, is that Vic should have known about the difficulties of getting to Sweet Esther as he had planned on going once before (of course it's possible that trip got ruined too - we'll probably never know because Proctor and Gamble threw away so many episodes.)

Slyly, Russell Miller sort of takes on the role of Uncle Fletcher in this episode, being a slightly annoying background piece for Vic and Sade while complaining about something in his tooth.

Trivia:

+ Russell suggests that Blue Tooth Johnson is trying to be deceitful because he traded a bicylce pump for a doghouse - yet he has no dog.

+ Russell says that Blue Tooth "gets a sensation" when pouring water down his neck."

+ The highest-level of lodge brother to date is mentioned in this episode: Honky J. Sponger of Chicago is a Sublime Sky Brother Imperial Sacred Stars of the Milky Way.  Although the title seems lofty, it's more or less a combined business manager, publicity agent and general secretary. Sponger wanted a picture of McDancey and Vic marching together during their visits to Sweet Esther but even that's impossible because McDancey has to almost run three blocks to catch his connecting train and the street near the railway station is currently being torn up.

Train route to Sweet Esther

+ In order for Vic to take a train trip to Sweet Esther, Wisconsin, Vic would have to go first to Peoria, change trains and then head to Galesburg, Illinois - change trains and go to Sycamore, Illinois - change trains and go to Dubuque, Iowa and then finally catch a train that goes to Sweet Esther (a fictional city.)

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!