Hi Laura,
Weird. One of my BR's made a similar comment about the timeline. But before I wrote the story, I did a search of the name "Ralph" in all of the show's scripts, and Ralph only appears, at least as a named character, in the fourth season. The timing of Ralph's appearance in canon actually works perfectly for this story. Did he appear in an unnamed, non-speaking role earlier in the show?
To research this story, I actually watched all the relevant parts of the three episodes in which he appears (Lord of the Flys, Stop the Presses, and Night before Myxymas). (He is also mentioned by name in two other fourth season episodes.)
It was in LotF that he asks Lois out. Could that be what you are remembering?
edit: I just looked up James DuMont's filmography, and he only appeared in the fourth season of L&C, so he apparently didn't even have a non-speaking role on the show earlier. FWIW, I had been surprised to discover that he was only in three episodes. It is a credit to the actor and the writers that they made the character so memorable that so many people think he had more of a presence on the show than he actually did.
Joy,
Lynn
