46-10-10 Mr. Z - Handyman

STARRING ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Mr. Z, a newcomer to the neighborhood, is now living in Mis' Kessler's basement.  (He may in some ways remind you of Uncle Fletcher.)

While he's a nice, kind, polite considerate older gentleman, (he fixed the paw of little Charlie Husher's dog) Vic proposes the idea that he might be an escapee from a Holtmanville - a nearby mental institution.

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An interesting Vic and Sade episode that may or may not be "based" on the January 1945 Suspense play called, "To Find Help" -- but when I first heard it, I immediately associated it with the play.

Mr. Z, like Frank Sinatra in the Suspense play, is a handyman. (See Christine Miller's great synopsis of the play.)

Though it's never said Mr. Z is an escapee from an institution, Vic (and Mis' Kessler - on her own volition) seems to think he could be, but are roundly poo-pooed for this by Sade.

This very well could be the last Vic and Sade episode in the series but I have no confirmation on that.

Trivia:

+ Mr. Z had offered to clean up the Kessler's lawn for 75 cents. You'd be lucky in 2012 if you can get that done for $50.00.

+ Mis' Kessler has a daughter named Geraldine, who lived in the basement priot to Mr. Zee.

+ Without being prompted, Mis' Kessler called Holtmanville to see if he was an escapee from the mental institution.

+ Orville Wheenie now seems to know what a pompadour is supposed to do/be.  Whoopee.

+ Cliff Soubier played the part of Mr. Zee.

REAL INSIGHT

This episode is as close to real suspense as I have ever heard in the Vic and Sade series. But, just as Jane Austen's /Northanger Abbey/ serves to remind readers that gothic adventure is reserved mainly for thrillers, and that suspicious conduct generally has an innocent explanation, the escaped madman is merely a pleasant eccentric.

But this type of episode also suggests that the network didn't "get" the humor of Vic and Sade. It had been a glorification of the ordinary: a show where nothing happened, but did so in amusing ways. Introducing even the hint of a genuine threat seems to dim the perpetual sunlight of Virginia Avenue. Until now, the characters may have felt intimidated, but never threatened. This episode was part of the show's last season. It's just as well: I doubt the program could have lasted much longer now that its haven of security had been breached.  - Sarah Cole

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46-09-26 August Invoices

STARRING ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN , BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Vic is all alone at home and settled down to do some office work. He has two hours to complete it. A nearby street has been shut down (actually 2 of them, making the traffic lighter in front of his house), Sade's away on a car trip with Ruthie Stembottom to Towanda and Rush is at school.

He calls his secretary, Miss Hamersweet and instructs her to hold all of his calls. Peace and quiet.

But things go downhill the moment he hangs up the phone. First, Rush comes home and he does so with a yell.

Instead of being upset, Vic gets Rush to read him off some figures and he imagines this will make his job easier.

But wait! Sade comes home unexpectedly.

After Sade breaks a large gravy boat in the kitchen and Rush falls off of his chair, Uncle Fletcher arrives.

Then the telephone and front door bell ring at the same time.

Just when you think matters can't get worse for Vic, Uncle Fletcher has brought walnuts over and plans to crack them.

Then, Mis' Kessler lets herself in the back door.   She wants to go to Mis' Call's house but a coal truck has stalled out between the Gook and Donahue house and Mis' Kessler can't go that way and Mr. Erickson is putting in a new sidewalk(!) on the other side of the house and there are wooden horses everywhere.  Mis' Kessler eventually asks to go through the Gook living room, disturbing Vic even more.

Uncle Fletcher goes out back to crack nuts.

As soon as the Gooks get rid of Mis' Kessler, Orville Wheenie arrives.  He too wants to get to Virginia Avenue (from the alley) and asks to come through the house.

As soon as Wheenie exits, Mr. Sprawl comes in the back door.

Mis' Kessler has returned the mop she borrowed from Mis' Call and now must re-enter the Gook home to exit out to University Avenue.

As soon as she leaves, Mr. Sprawl then returns looking for a penny he forgot.  He finds it in his mitten.

And as Mr. Sprawl is leaving, Uncle Fletcher returns.  He wants to go out front.  

As soon as he leaves, Sade returns, apologizing for disturbing Vic.  Then a complete stranger shows up and goes right through the house!

Then a woman walks through the house, asking the Gooks for directions to the underwear department.

Then, a strange man whom knows Uncle Fletcher (calls him 'Fletch') and Mis' Kessler  knows wanders in to use the telephone.  Later it is found out that he's Mr. Thompson.  He and Mis' Kessler have a very, very strange conversation.

Then... Uncle Fletcher shows up and almost immediately leaves.

After Mr. Thomspon leaves, another strange man enters the house and then another guy...  After they leave, in comes Mis Kessler again.

Then... Mr. Sprawl shows up again.

And so goes Vic's day.

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Not a bad episode, despite all the real characters, of which there are many.  The only thing is : I have a hard time imagining that Mr. Erickson would spend the money to put in a sidewalk. 

Trivia:

+ While he is the school principal, Rush has always referred to Mr. Chinbunny simply as, "Mr. Chinbunny" - until this episode, where he calls him "Principal Chinbunny."

+ Sade said Ruthie's car wouldn't "begin" because the propeller was broke.

+ Sade drops a gravy boat in the kitchen and smashes it. It was a Christmas gift to her from Charlie and Irene (first time either has been mentioned, unless she was referring to the Razorscums; but that's only a guess.)

+ The person ringing the doorbell was a stranger who wanted to know where the Burtons lived. Rush directed him across the street. The Burtons haven't been mentioned before.

+ It's Emerson Avenue (first time mentioned) and Oak streets that are shutdown. Virgina Avenue sits between the two streets, probably one east and one west.

+ Unlike in this episode, Mis' Kessler has no problem in remembering Orville's name.

+ A strange man came inside to use the phone.  Uncle Fletcher and Mis' Kessler both knew him as Mr. Thompson.  He calls his daughter on the telephone.

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46-09-19 Uncle Fletcher Farmed Out

STARRING ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN , BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Uncle Fletcher's landlady, Mis' Keller, plans to spend the winter in Ohio. How will Uncle Fletcher get fed? He fears she will stack up his meals in advance: one on top of the other ad infinitum.

Fletcher Rush (Clarence Hartzell)

However, that's not actually going to be the case. Mis' Keller has planned ahead and made a schedule: what will happen is that every three to four days Fletcher will go to a different neighbor's to stay and eat. First is Mis' Donahue's, then to Mis' Johnson's, etc.

But Uncle Fletcher isn't too happy about it all. He claims she has him staying with people he doesn't know and even claims that she has him taking a train out of state to eat!

Meanwhile, Mis' Kessler comes over and offers to let Uncle Fletcher spend the winter at her house and Sade counters by saying he can spend the winter with the Gooks.  This show of caring by the ladries makes Uncle Fletcher cry.

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This episode aired about three weeks later than the previous surviving episode... and the two episodes are coincidentally very much related.

Trivia:

+ Sade mentioned a Reverend Harold Kidneyslide. He got caught between two cyclones on Sept. 19 and ended up in Tazewell County; rolled up in the shape of a hoop at 50 miles an hour and passed away.

Recall that Uncle Fletcher's friend Andreson L. McFlutcher was also killed by getting stuck between two cyclones.

+ Mis' Kessler comes to the Gook house, returning Sade's "wringer." I suspect this refers to a laundry wringer. But she never actually borrowed Sade's wringer and she didn't bring the wringer over anyway; she brought over a fly swatter!

+ Mis' Kessler also seems to be having the darndest time remembering Orville Wheeney's first name.

When inviting Fletcher to spend the whole winter at her house, she says she has a balloonascope (like a telescope), a broken cornet, a parrot and seashells (hold them up to your ears and it sounds like Lake Eerie.)

+ Mis' Keller is planning on visiting her brother in Dismal Seepage, Ohio. He has 5 girls.

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46-07-18 Midsummer Madness

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

When the people around her begin losing their temper, Sade suspects "Midsummer Madness."

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"Midsummer Madness" is the heat of the summer; everyone is hot, bothered and irritable.

Trivia:

+ Ruthie Stembottom had some kind of argument with Mr. Kroucher, the grocer - so bad of an argument that she said she would not trade with him anymore.

Later though, they make up and things between them seem to be back to normal.

+ After Rush gets kicked out of the Bijou (by manager Milton Ferberman, no less) for making comments about Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman and Gloria Golden, he plans on suing the theater. Recall Blue Tooth Johnson had plans on more than one occasion to do this as well.

However, later, Mr. Ferberman calls up Rush offers him $1.75 to usher at the evening picture show, which Rush gratefully accepts.

+ Vic and his boss Mr. Ruebush exchanged feverish remarks about a missing paper.

However, Mr. Ruebush calls later and apologizes and invites Vic to the Butler House Hotel to eat supper.

It is revealed Mr. Ruebush's initials are "J.K."

+ Uncle Fletcher comes over to the Gook house complaining that he's been insulted by landlady, Mis' Keller and plans to give her his six months' notice. (Actually, it seems he was mad because she threw out hyena grease because it was stinking and put on top of her sideboard.)

He's also mad at her because "she claims she's too busy to listen" to his dreams.

However, she later calls and everything seems to be all right.

+ Uncle Fletcher keeps his hyena grease in a crock that says, "Compliments of Sweet Esther, Wisconsin" on it.

+ It rains in this episode.

Here's Bernadine Flynn as Sade and Clarence Hartzell as Uncle Fletcher doing a commercial for Fitch Shampoo: {{{HEAR}}}

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46-07-04 Women's Auxiliary

 

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade spoke for Vic and told Vernon Korkell she would fix it so that he could join the Sewage Worker's Silver Cornet Band, even though his instrument is the piano, not the cornet  (it is revealed that he also plays the banjo.)  Vic argues with Sade and tells her the banjo doesn't belong in an all-cornet band.

Meanwhile, Vic has news of a Women's Auxiliary for his lodge. Sade - not-so-suprisingly - refuses to join, despite the promise that she can ride either a horse or a motorcycle.  Eventually she changes her mind when she makes a deal with Vic - that if he will fix it so that Vernon can play his banjo in the Sewage Worker's band, she'll ride in the parade.

Intertwined is Rush and Orville Wheeney practicing "evil chuckles."

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This is the first episode of "Series 3" that was presented "in full" - that is, no prior editing was done to it.  "Series 3" begins with a vignette or gist of the episode that gives you a hint of what the episode is about.

The 30 minute Vic and Sade episodes were really a bad idea.  There's more of the new characters, there's the annoying incidental music and almost three times the story length of those in the first and second series.

While this episode seems to be about the lodge, it's not really about the lodge at all.  It's much more about these suddenly-real characters.

The idea that Sade would agree (at any cost) to ride in a lodge parade at all -- seems silly. 

Trivia:

+ In this episode we learn that Vic's in-laws Bess and Walter Helfer once gave him long underwear for Christmas. Recall they once gave him a pair of easy slippers as a Christmas gift as well. They were decorated with Indian heads and tassels.

+ Vic says this is the first time the Women's Auxiliary has been official at his lodge. True, but once there was mention of a Women's Auxiliary Marching Team.

+ Rush says Mildred Tisdale publicly said he "wasn't good-looking."  Rush then goes on to say that, "He's plenty good-looking!"  This is not the first time he's gone down that avenue of thought.

+ Orville Wheenie is again a gas meter reader.  Recall he was fired from this same job in "Series 2."

+ Rush reads aloud from a volume of Third Lieutenant Stanley.  In it, he faces counterfeiting clothes manufacturers.  He has a solid gold revolver in a mink holster.  He also has twin rows of teeth(!) - of course, the color of old ivory.

+ When Uncle Fletcher and Roy Dejectedly (a real character now in "Series 3") arrive, they say they are seriously talking about buying part of the Little Tiny Petite Pheasent Feather Tea Shoppy.  However, they only plan on investing $9.00.

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45-12-04 Orville Wheenie Gets Hired and Fired

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

After being warned six different times about going to sleep in the customer's basements, Orville Wheenie gets fired from his job as apprentice meter reader for the gas company.

Vernon Korkel passes on that his (incredibly strong) mother-in-law hopes that Vic can get Orville a job at Consolidated Kitchenware.  Orville then lets is slip that if Vic doesn't hire him that she's threatened to tear Vic in half like a newspaper.

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The underlying threat of Vic getting manhandled by a woman is amusing.  Vic seems both hesitant to hire the doofus Orville and fears for his safety all at once.

Trivia:

+ Uncle Fletcher tells Vernon that he looks like George J. McTrotch from Oklahoma.

+ Ross Bresnahann was Orville's boss at the gas company. Both of his legs were broken after Orville's mother came to his office after her son was fired and she brought her fist down on his desk with "considerable force."

+ Vic succumbs to his fear and invites Orville to Consolidated Kitchenware on Monday to work in the boxing department.

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45-11-27 Parade of Interruptions

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade complains to Vic that she can't get any work done because visitors keep interrupting her.

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And she aint kidding! Sade is interrupted by a total of nine people, including Vic.

This is a better than the average show, although, it's not one of the better ones.

Trivia:

+ Vic came home early from work because workmen were hammering on the steam pipes.

+ Sade complains to Vic about the visitors simply walking in the house without knocking. This was never a problem before 'Series 2' because there were no real people (save the Brainfeebles and Leland "I Want My Mommy" Richards.) This "problem" was created by Paul Rhymer!

+ Those who had bothered Sade before Vic arrived:

• The Brick Mush man
• Mr. Sprawl (he came to bring embroidery hoops that Mis' Harris had borrowed.)
• Vernon Korkell (not to read the meter but to kiss-off time.)
• Mr. Gumpox (he just noticed the big chip knocked out of the garbage box. That incident occured July 28, 1944, almost a year and a half prior to this incident!)
• Mr. Erickson (wanted to see if the back porch really needed to be fixed.)
  
• Rishigan Fishigan (came by to see if the Gooks needed their windows washed.)
  
• A cosmetics saleman (he had some stuff to smear on your face to make you look pretty.)

Once Vic got to the house, more visitors (all real characters) arrived:

• Orville Wheenie (he came by looking for Vernon Korkell who was long gone)
• Uncle Fletcher
• Mr. Gertner (The City Water Inspector; his first appearance. He seems to know Uncle Fletcher pretty well, since he calls him "Fletch.")
• Jimmy Custard (Still confused, he's lost his glasses and thinks Sade is called, "Mrs. Emerson.")
• Harry Dean (A telephone repairman; his first appearance.)

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45-11-26 Sweetcorn, A Shattered Bullfinch

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sweet Corn McBlock, a rather new member of the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way lodge, is being kicked out by Vic for not paying his dues.

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This episode may remind of you 42-xx-xx Lodge Speech Rehearsal where Vic rehearses throwing Hank Gutstop out of the lodge.

In this episode though, he uses a different ritual and isn't quite as animated as he was in his rehearsal of throwing out Hank.

Trivia:

+ Orville Wheenie is an apprentice meter reader and he fears he is about to get fired from his job. He's been falling asleep reading meters in people's basements and cellars.

+ Wheeney is all confused about what a pompadour is and what it's supposed to do. He's trying to get it to lay down and may even send to Chicago for something called "Grizzly Bear Grease" to get his to do so.

+ The speech for Gutstop's removal referred to him as a "bob-o-link with a broken wing" - this speech has McBlock repeating to Vic that he is a "shattered bullfinch."
{{{HEAR}}}

+ The speech for McBlock (edited): {{{HEAR}}}

Oh despicable fragment of hateful scum, you are a loathesome reptile! Your glittering sword I snatch, oh miserable wretch! I sunder this standing blade, oh stumbling pig! Miserable wretch, I chastise you! Miserable wretch, sob and weep! Miserable wretch, tear your hair! Miserable wretch, scream and shriek!

+ It takes an hour by train to get to Peoria from where the Gooks live.

+ McBlock has taken a 3 day job in Peoria helping build a walk by the Illinois River. He gets paid $7.50 a day.

+ McBlock is in the habit of calling Vic, "V.R."

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45-11-20 Mis' Korkle, Strong Lady (The Return of Rush Gook)

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

The Korkells travel 20 blocks by foot to borrow sugar but what is even more fascinating is the story of Mis' Korkell's mother, who is a professional football player!

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Rush returns to the broadcast and we are introduced to a new family, the Korkells and her brother, Orville.

Trivia:

+ Rush is back! {{{HEAR}}}


+ Rush and Blue Tooth Johnson had a discussion about who was better looking. Rush has had a problem with conceit in the past.

+ The Gooks are in the front room and all 3 visitors enter at different times throughout the play through the back door -- and none of them knock.

+ Vernon Korkell and his wife Edith live on the 700 block of Mulberry Avenue (Mulberry Avenue has never been mentioned in the series but Mulberry Street was mentioned in the very first episode.)

+ Mr. Gumpox's horse Howard stepped on Vernon's foot, bruising it.

+ Mis' Korkell's brother, Orville Wheenie (according to Wikipedia, played by Johnny Coons) is obviously a half-wit. Among the half-wit things he does is tell Rush that (he guesses) his sister "must be close to 30 years old" and he also tries to quiet down his accidental pompadour haircut with unusual items.

+ Vernon is a gas meter reader. His wife affectionately calls him, "Mr. Husband."

+ Vic accidentally calls Rush, "Russell."

+ Despite going through World War II and a stint in the Navy, Rush is still only 14 years old.

+ Edith has enormous strength as she can easily pick up her husband, which amazes Rush. She claims she got her strength from her mother.

+ Mis' Korkell's mother plays professional football (probably for Peoria.) Their mascot seems to be the Wildcats. They were to play the Pittsburgh coal mining team (men) the next Saturday in Pittsburgh. {{{HEAR}}}

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