'Mooners Monday #34: Finally back to "Head of the House"

It's been a while since we started looking at "Head of the House," one of the better episodes of the series. When we left off last time, Norton had revealed to Alice how Ralph had boasted to a roving reporter about being the king of his castle. Alice ain't too thrilled about it, either:

I have to credit him in a strange way for not totally backing off. He stands firm and argues some more, even reiterating his stance when Trixie asks about it. I love when Ralph, as in this episode, gets all buddy-buddy with Ed after throwing him out because he wants to join forces with him against the women. It's all out in the open now, Ralph says, and he's glad.

This leads to one of the most famous scenes in the show's history: Ralph and Ed, determined to prove their supremacy over the womenfolk, getting "drunk" on the grape juice that they believe is wine. It's a silly situation, to be sure, but how can you go wrong with Gleason and Carney (who knew from experience, let's face it) playing smashed?

I don't know about you, but grape juice or not, these two seem like pretty cool guys to get drunk with. Ralph in particular is a lot chummier. They aren't the best singers in the world, but they bring a certain brio to their impromptu revelry.

Next week, we'll conclude our look at the episode with a glimpse of an outstanding minor character.