A few days before the ceremonies announcing the selection of the Raccoon of the Year, the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler of the Racoons tells Ralph that he will be sitting on the dais that night and to be prepared to say a few words. Ralph, of course, takes this to mean that he is to be the Raccoon of the Year, and begins to write his "humbling" acceptance speech.

Ralph's lodge brother, Stanley, is about to marry Alice's sister, Agnes. At the Raccoons' bachelor party for Stanley, Ralph warns the young man not to move in with Agnes's parents after the wedding. But this advice backfires when Agnes shows up at the Kramdens' after the wedding reception, sobbing that her new husband has changed into a "beast". Can Ralph get Stanley and Agnes back together without Alice knowing that he was the one who gave Stanley the advice?

The Kramdens get a telegram from Alice's mother, telling them she was coming for a visit. Ralph is less then pleased and asks to stay with the Nortons. When Trixie pushes Ed to get Ralph to go back to his wife Ed says some things that makes her mad and she goes and stays with Alice. Later Ralph and Alice find out they made a mistake when the read the telegram, and Ralph finds he's put his foot in his mouth.

The Raccoons are planning for an annual Raccoon Fishing Trip, and this time, the Raccoons vote not to take their wives. But Alice and Trixie will not stand for being left behind.

When Alice has a telephone installed, Ralph feels threatened both by her newfound freedom and the prospect of another bill to pay. Alice is baby-sitting to pay for the phone but Ralph thinks she's two-timing him.

Norton invests in Ralph's stock when Ralph wants twenty dollars. When Ralph thinks he is named in a millionaire's will, arguments arise. It turns out Ralph was simply left a pet bird named Fortune, and much of the money was left to the butler and maid.

Outraged when he gets a notice from his landlord, Mr. Johnson, that his rent is being raised, Ralph--over Alice's objections--goes on a rent strike to "teach that Johnson a lesson". Unfortunately it's the middle of winter, and when the landlord turns off the heat, water and electricity, it looks like that the only one being taught "a lesson" is Ralph.

Ralph's birthday is coming up, and he finds out that Alice is planning a surprise party for him. On that day, however, no party materializes and Ralph is, to say the least, disappointed. He's even more disappointed when he finds a man's glove that's not his hidden in a dresser drawer and gets suspicious when Alice seems in a hurry to get him out of the house that night.

After Alice finds Ralph's old coronet in the bedroom closet. Ralph remembers lost career chances, and feels discouraged. But after a visit from a kindly, elderly millionaire couple who used to live in the apartment. They help Ralph see that he is still young enough to pursue new opportunities. With Norton's help, Ralph makes a list of all his strong and weak points so that he can correct his faults and become a success.

Mr. Marshall, Ralph's boss, receives a new pool table as a birthday present from his wife. Hearing of Ralph's prowess at pool, he asks Ralph to stop by his house that night to teach him the "fundamentals" of the game. When Norton shows up, Marshall invites him, too. Ralph sees this as an opportunity to "get in good with the boss", but at Marshall's home that night, Norton makes such an impression on Marshall that he offers Norton a job at the bus company as Bus Driver Supervisor--the job that Ralph has been after for a long time.

Ralph is about to receive an award as the city's safest bus driver. This honor includes a feature story in a major magazine; and a ceremony at City Hall, where Ralph, Alice, and the Nortons will meet the Mayor. But on the way to the ceremony, Ralph gets into an accident, which is actually the other driver's fault. Will the truth come out so that Ralph can accept his award?

A ring that was intended for Norton's new supervisor in the sewer, but that instead gets stuck on Ralph's finger accidentally, is all it takes to jeopardize Ralph's friendship with Norton - until an explosion in the sewer brings Ralph to his senses.

Ralph buys Alice a vacuum while there is a Raccoon election going on for convention manager, and it's up to Norton to be the deciding vote.

Ralph goes into a panic when he gets a letter from the Internal Revenue Service ordering that he appear at their office the next morning, fearing that the IRS is investigating him for income tax evasion. He then discovers he just forgot to sign his name)

In order to raise money for the Raccoon Lodge, the lodge members decide to put on a play, and hire a professional director, Mr. Faversham, to direct it. Ralph is given the lead and Alice is given the female lead. Ralph starts "seeing stars" when he learns that Faversham's friend, Hollywood producer Herbert J. Whiteside, is in town looking to cast his new picture and will be attending the play's opening night.

Norton loses his job after following Ralph's advice and starts selling steam ironsn door to door. When Ed lies about how much money he's making so that the Kramdens don't feel bad, Ralph himself considers selling steam irons door to door.

Counterfeiters have lost a suitcase of 'funny money' and have to wait 30 days to retrieve it. Once 30 days have elapsed it becomes the property of the person who found it...Ralph Kramden. When he discovers the contents of the case he goes on a wild spending spree despite Alice's warnings that this doesn't seem right. It isn't long before the gangsters come calling for their loot.

Ralph injures his back after a bowling tournament a day before his physical examination.

Alice is so tired of Ralph's complaining about the housework not getting done that she decides to hire themselves a maid while she goes off to get a job herself.

When Norton's sleepwalking through Ralph's apartment disturbs Ralph one time too many, Ralph decides to get to the root of Norton's trouble.

Because of a suggestion he made, Ralph gets laid off. While they're trying to figure out how to cope with the bills, Alice decides to go back to work over Ralph's objections. The real trouble starts when Ralph finds out who has to do the house work, and when Alice's boss comes to the apartment to pick her up.

Ralph throws Alice's mother out of the apartment, but Alice soon walks out on him, too. In a last ditch effort to save their marriage, Ralph cuts a record to apologize to Alice - and also, reluctantly, to her mother.

After a visit from some teenagers, Alice feels that she and Ralph are starting to get old. She wants Ralph to take her out for some youthful activities, starting with roller-skating. But Ralph thinks the idea is ridiculous, and at first, resists it.

A new neighbor moves next door to the Kramdens. This neighbor is a dance instructor and teaches the wives to do the mambo, at their husbands' collective expense.

Ralph tells a newspaper that he's head of the house and then has to prove it to a co-worker.