In this episode Ralph berates Alice for some small housework chores that she neglected to do.\u00a0 She explains how busy she was but he won\u2019t hear what she\u2019s saying.\u00a0 He threatens to introduce a demerit system to highlight her deficiencies.\u00a0 Alice tells Ralph she\u2019s fed up with his ingratitude and declares that she is going to get a job and with her salary hire a maid to do the housework.<\/p>\n
When they go to the employment agency the manager explains that due to the shortage of domestic help the maids have become very independent and unless their employers accede to all their requirements and exceptions, they refuse to accept assignments.\u00a0 Then we meet the available maid, Thelma.\u00a0 She\u2019s taller than Ralph and looks extremely strong.\u00a0 She tells the Kramdens that she doesn\u2019t do heavy jobs like windows and floors because she\u2019s \u201csickly.\u201d \u00a0But when she hands Ralph her suitcase to carry for her, its unexpectedly extreme weight drags him down to the ground and he exclaims sarcastically, \u201cSickly!\u201d<\/p>\n
Thelma resists most of Ralph\u2019s demands for her to assume a genteel and respectful manner of addressing him.\u00a0 When Ralph attempts to get her to address Norton and himself politely she mockingly refers to them as, \u201cthe simp and the blimp.\u201d\u00a0 When this causes Ralph to explode in anger she quits and leaves.<\/p>\n
Now Ralph is forced to do the housework himself since Alice has found a job at the local bakery as the jelly donut stuffer.\u00a0 He tries to recruit Norton to help him with the backlog of chores but they both prove hopelessly inept.\u00a0 Finally, he decides to try and flatter Alice about her appearance in the hope that she will agree to quit her job and resume her wifely duties.\u00a0 After being rebuffed for his obvious flattery Ralph is forced to admit that housework is harder than his job and begs Alice to come back.<\/p>\n
This is one of my favorite episodes.\u00a0 Alice has one of the best lines in the series.\u00a0 While sarcastically pretending how much she enjoys mopping the floors and washing the windows she mocks the outdated appliances in the apartment.\u00a0 She says she is so thrilled with having an atomic kitchen.\u00a0 She explains that she calls it that because, \u201cIt looks like Yucca Flats after the blast.\u201d\u00a0 Which is referencing the American nuclear testing in the desert southwest in the 1950\u2019s.<\/p>\n
In general Ralph\u2019s imperious behavior toward Alice sets the pattern for their relationship.\u00a0 Alice comes off as the reasonable wife but Ralph is demanding and unreasonable.\u00a0 Invariably he gets knocked down a couple of pegs and has to swallow his pride and apologize to Alice.\u00a0 And although this does make him a sort of straw man for Alice to pummel, Ralph manages to make the whole spectacle hilarious and entertaining.\u00a0 And between the physical comedy, the battle of the sexes and the machinations that Ralph and Norton always resort to, the half hour almost always entertains.\u00a0 Highly recommended.<\/p>\n