Possible 2010 release for Here's Lucy? (1 Viewer)

[Theodore J. Mooney]

How can that be??? I've seen several networks such as Nick-at-Nite and TV Land repeat the show under the title The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Also, all 13 shows are treated as a series and not as specials when it comes to putting them into an syndication package.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Well, I have seen all 144 episodes and she looked fine to me throughout. I didn't see any difference of her acting in the later seasons.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Nick at Nite (and the versions on the DVDs) were the "summer repeat" prints. I think some of the original openings were shown as extras on the DVDs.

It was a series to the extent that it was a series of specials. They were on every other month, for the most part. But it wasn't a series in the sense of a weekly series, except for 13 weeks in the summers of 1962-65 and 1967.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I don't consider the "Lucy-Desis" as its own series; it's really just an extension of "I Love Lucy" itself--same characters and situations. Bigger guest stars.

As for the "phoning it in" comment, I was referring to the fact that "Here's Lucy" was a little shopworn in the end. It was just getting repetitive and at the time, I had the feeling that it was only still on the air for old time's sake, not because it was comedically brilliant in and of itself. It was a comfortable but worn old pair of shoes.

 

[Larry.P]

I HAVE seen all 144 episodes numerous times, and I stand by my statement. Thank you.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

If that is so, then why does "a series of specials" need to be lumped with an actual weekly series?

 

[Ethan Riley]

Dude--what is the issue??? The Lucy/Desi's are an extension of "I Love Lucy." I did not say they were an actual part of the series. They are sequels or follow-ups; however you want to view them. But they do in fact continue the adventures of Lucy Ricardo. Is there some sort of Lucy snobbery factoring in here? I can't quite understand the umbrage.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

You just said that you didn't consider The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour it's own series. Now you are saying it's a follow-up? Isn't a follow-up program a series?

So does this mean that other "sequels/extensions" such as Archie Bunker's Place, Mayberry R.F.D., The Golden Palace, Three's a Crowd and Sanford are not their own series either?

I don't have problem. I'm just confused by your logic.

 

[Rob_Ray]

The other series you mentioned were indeed regularly scheduled weekly series. The Lucy-Desi's were originally made as individual specials sponsored by Ford and special episodes of the Westinghouse Playhouse. It was only many years later that they were packaged together, slightly edited down and re-aired as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." And indeed years after that, they were edited further and re-aired yet again as "We Love Lucy." But originally they were no more a series than the various Gilligan's Island Reuniun Specials were. If this counts as a series, then so does the Sunday Lucy Show and Lucy in Connecticut, which were packages of old ILL episodes re-aired in CBS primetime.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Nevermind.

 

[JohnMor]

I gotta say that I find there was definitely a decline in the quality of Lucy's performances the last couple of years of HL as a rule. But there were exceptions, too. "Lucy Is Really In A Pickle," for example. Even Lucie Arnaz acknolwedged that she (Lucy) was reading off cue cards the last couple of years. Not that she was horrible, but she was not giving the complete performances she did on ILL or TLS, or even early HL.

Add to that some of the HIDEOUS scripts HL had, and it can be painful to sit through at times.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Theodore J. Mooney, I'm not sure how old you are, but I'm guessing you're about 10 to 20 years younger than I am. I was alive and very much interested in "I Love Lucy" when these hour shows were new.

We all thought of it merely as a continuation of "I Love Lucy." Desi Arnaz even said when the show stopped production of 30-minute episodes in the 1956-57 season that in the future it would continue as bimonthly hour specials.

CBS decided to rerun them all in the summer of 1962. That was when they called them "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," but we all knew that wasn't a real series -- it was reruns of the specials.

Why you don't believe us, I don't know.

It wasn't even unique. They also reran other comedy specials as "The CBS Comedy Hour" or something like that. No one considered that a series.

You know the DVDs refer to the hour shows as "I Love Lucy" - Seasons 7, 8 and 9. That isn't technically correct, but it's close to what it really was.

This is a pet peeve of mine. The hour specials are very good, for the most part. In fact, I rank the scripts of the shows with Tallulah Bankhead and Danny Thomas as two of the greatest scripts Lucille Ball ever got in her entire career!

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

I agree. Those two scripts were among the best.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I read about the next (planned) hour show in one of the many books on Lucy and Desilu I've read. I couldn't begin to remember where it was now.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I think an earlier post put it best so that the difference may be understood that this is not a series and just several specials and follow-ups to I Love Lucy which is why they are still in the country right where season 6 of ILL ends. This is exactly the same way that the 3-4 Return/Rescue from Gilligan's Island were done. Those are not considered a seperate series either but specials/follow-ups.
The Lucy/Desi specials were always planned as 5 episodes a year so three years is a decent time for these to run. The total # of episodes in this case is not really relevant.
Desi stated himself as can be read in several books that he wanted to produce more at desilu but he knew I Love Lucy was still popular so he continued it as 5 specials a year so he could have his time free to produce. He never started a new series or it would have been new sets and new characters.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I also concur on the excellence of the Danny Thomas (the courtroom sequence is priceless as Lucy mimes a snowball fight!) and Tallulah episodes. I also liked the finale with Ernie Kovacs, which of course was bittersweet as the divorce was filed the very next day after the filimg wrapped.

 

[Brian Himes]

I'm very excited about getting Here's Lucy in complete season sets. As I said in an earlier post, this it the series the I grew up watching Lucy. I have vey fond memories of this series and will be glad to see it again. While I do understand that near the end it was looking a bit tattered around the edges it was still a good show. Bring on the DVDs.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

One thing that will be somewhat irritating in the first season of "Here's Lucy" is that when Lucy Carter sings, her voice is dubbed by Carole Cook. How they thought they were fooling anyone, I'll never know. We all knew how Lucy sounded when she sang.

Eventually they stopped that nonsense and Lucy sang for herself, as painful as that sometimes was.

 

[JohnMor]

Even though I'm not a big fan of this series (or LB's previous one), I am very glad it is coming to dvd complete. Both for the fans who want it, and because it bodes well for more classic TV on dvd.

As you said, "Bring on the DVDs."

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I wouldn't dream of not getting this series. I might be a masochist, but I want to see it again and bend over backwards to find something good about it.

The only way one can enjoy late Lucille Ball is to forget that "I Love Lucy" ever existed. "Here's Lucy" should not be compared to it. It should be compared to other shows of its era, such as "Green Acres" and "The Doris Day Show."

During the run of "Here's Lucy," TV comedy changed due to "All in the Family," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "M*A*S*H." Instead of adapting, Lucy seemed to go backwards. Her TV days were numbered then. She had no real success on TV during the last 15 years of her life.

If she had done something like "The Golden Girls," she might have been back on top again. But, no. All she could think of was working with Gale Gordon again and dropping something on his foot for the big laugh. :rolleyes