The Lucy Show: The Official Fourth Season ... Arrives on April 26th, 2011! (2 Viewers)

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff
Maybe he applies different standards to THE LUCY SHOW and HERE'S LUCY than those other comedy series that don't make the TOP/GREATEST lists?
And doesn't he take into account that very seldom does a comedy spin-off or a follow-up show rank higher than the mother/original show in these so-called TOP/GREATEST lists? I guess not.

Maybe I didn't make my point clearly.


There are a huge number of people who love I LOVE LUCY but don't even like THE LUCY SHOW or HERE'S LUCY.


And I made the point that Lucille Ball's TV career deteriorated enough so that while I LOVE LUCY usually is ranked #1 or #2 on lists of the greatest sitcoms in TV history, her followup series never even make the Top 100. That has to be significant. The vast majority of people just don't have the fond memories of the other shows that they have of I LOVE LUCY.


I guess it's true that all followups and spin-offs aren't as good as the originals -- but there's usually not that bad of a fall-off in quality. For instance, RHODA wasn't as good as THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, but it was almost as well done.


Actually, no one would expect THE LUCY SHOW and HERE'S LUCY to be as good as I LOVE LUCY. That isn't the point. It's how badly inferior they were that's the point. There are usually several good laughs in a typical episode of I LOVE LUCY, but in a typical episode of the last three or four seasons of THE LUCY SHOW or all of HERE'S LUCY, you're lucky if you smile or even chuckle once or twice.


The lines you quoted from THE LUCY SHOW don't hold a candle to the lines we quoted from I LOVE LUCY. And I defy you to come up with a similar list for HERE'S LUCY. I would think that would be close to impossible.

[/QUOTE]

:sigh:


OH, BROTHER ...

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Theodore J. Mooney



You've already quoted some from the first two seasons. It's not a line exactly, but I like the pathetic little noise Lucy makes when she's demoted in the episode "Lucy Drives a Dump Truck."


The entire scene where Lucy and Viv ruin each other's Christmas trees is a classic. They could get more laughs from facial expressions than most other comediennes.


From "Lucy and Viv Become Tycoons": "Oh, doesn't everybody have a marble slab?" (You had to be there.)


I love Lucy's expressions when Viv tells her she has some gossip, and all she says is that a woman at the bank has been biting her fingernails.


There are many examples. Lucy Carmichael really was Lucy Ricardo in the first two seasons of THE LUCY SHOW and I have no problem with those seasons, except for an occasional lame episode (such as "Lucy Visits the White House," which can get as stupid as anything on HERE'S LUCY.)


Especially after she moved to California, Lucy Carmichael becomes a different person. She certainly isn't as clever. The really funny lines seem to disappear.


To be honest, I'm sick of rehashing this over and over. Mr. Mooney, you might notice you're really the only defender of THE LUCY SHOW and HERE'S LUCY here. That, too, is significant.


But I don't want to ruin your enjoyment of those series, of which you have fond childhood memories! As I've said many times, I envy you. I wish I could enjoy them. But they usually just end up irritating me, when I think of what they could have been.

 

[JohnMor]

To me, the best "line(s)" of the entire run of The Lucy Show is the jingle Lucy and Viv sing to list all the ice cream flavors in "Lucy is a Soda Jerk" and the way Lucy has to sing it to herself each time the customer asks if they have a certain flavor. Funny, beautifully real and brilliantly delivered.


Funny you should mention the Christmas episode Joe. I enjoyed it up to that scene. Then I found them so intentionally mean to each other that all the humor of competing Christmas traditions evaporated. It's funny how comedy is so subjective. But that's a good thing. Keeps life interesting.

 

[Rob_Ray]

That last scene in the Christmas episode *was* mean, but what saved it was Viv's line where she said something like, "What are we doing?!" and when they were able to cobble together a tree out of the mess, all was made right. To me, it played like just another reworking of Laurel and Hardy's "Big Business."


And I agree about the jingle in "Lucy is a Soda Jerk." Beautifully done by Miss Ball.


While to an extent I largely agree with Joe L. about the frustrating quality of Lucille Ball's later series, *somebody* must have liked them, for they ran for twelve years. THE LUCY SHOW premiered just as I was starting first grade and HERE'S LUCY's final first-run episode was playing as I was graduating high school. So she must have been doing something right. I don't find them quite as terrible as Joe makes them out to be, for there are episodes in every season that are quite funny, mixed in with many that aren't. There are many, many episodes of THE LUCY SHOW that I prefer over such first-season I LOVE LUCY efforts as "The Young Fans," the one where Lucy babysits the twins and my least favorite of all, "Drafted."

 

[Randy Korstick]

Growing Up in the 70's in So. Cal. The Lucy Show was rarely re-run so I haven't seen over half the episodes before so they are somewhat of a treat for me. What I did see most of as a kid was Here's Lucy and I love Lucy. Believe it or not as a kid Here's Lucy was my favorite. I now of course see the error of my youth and easily acknowledge I love Lucy as her best series but I still have fond memories of Here's Lucy and would rank it second now over The Lucy Show which I find dull sometimes although I enjoy all 3 shows: Here's Lucy, The Lucy Show and I Love Lucy on DVD. I like Desi Jr. and Lucy Arnaz on Here's Lucy and also enjoy the late 60's early 70's setting and feel of that show.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray

While to an extent I largely agree with Joe L. about the frustrating quality of Lucille Ball's later series, *somebody* must have liked them, for they ran for twelve years. THE LUCY SHOW premiered just as I was starting first grade and HERE'S LUCY's final first-run episode was playing as I was graduating high school. So she must have been doing something right. I don't find them quite as terrible as Joe makes them out to be, for there are episodes in every season that are quite funny, mixed in with many that aren't. There are many, many episodes of THE LUCY SHOW that I prefer over such first-season I LOVE LUCY efforts as "The Young Fans," the one where Lucy babysits the twins and my least favorite of all, "Drafted."

OMG, "Drafted" is awful. Just hideous. Oh the humanity!


I'm definitely one of the ones who kept tuning in each week for Here's Lucy (don't remember TLS during it's intial run, except on CBS weekdays). I enjoyed her antics tremendously back then. But tastes refine and change as we mature. I don't get the same kick I did then on the later 2 series.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Actually, because times have changed and what passes for comedy and family entertainment has devolved so badly in the past few decades, Lucy's later series are looking better to me these days. Not very good, mind you, but better. It's nice to see the old Hollywood veterans like Cesar Romero, Robert Alda, Shelley Winters and Eva Gabor, still in their prime. And there's just an innocence to it all that's so sorely lacking in family entertainment today.


Ditto THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW. I sometimes watch the show on Sunday evenings as I did in the sixties, and while a few of the earlier ones were terribly silly, the show hit its stride about midway through the first season, with a couple of back-to-badk gems being the one where everyone is giving everyone else the silent treatment and the one where the girls get jobs in Herb's office. I'm close to the end of that first season now and am dreading the switch from Roger C. Carmel to Richard Deacon, as Roger and Kaye have developed a terrific rapport with each other which makes the four leads play off each other very much as the four ILL leads did. I suspect the chemistry will suffer in season two.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray
... such first-season I LOVE LUCY efforts as "The Young Fans," the one where Lucy babysits the twins and my least favorite of all, "Drafted."

And that one with Miss Lewis and Mr. Ritter.


"Drafted" might be the single worst episode. The idea that they'd think Fred, who was in his 60s, would be drafted, is so dumb, for stupidity it ranks with the 5th Season LUCY SHOW episode where Lucy herself gets drafted -- almost as old as Fred was, and the wrong sex! To find episodes like that funny, you have to put your brain "on hold."

 

[Kasey]

"Lucy is a Soda Jerk" may be my favorite of the whole series. It certainly doesn't seem to have anything extraordinary about it to make it so, but it just is.


I also love the line when Lucy interrupts the overweight woman eating the sundae to proudly proclaim "My DAUGHTER made that!"

 

[FrancisP]

The reason The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy get no respect is because I Love Lucy was so good. The fact is despite what some people say, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy were successful. I happen to like The Lucy Show although I am just getting into Here's Lucy. The fact is that The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy were different from I Love Lucy because the formats were different. The Lucy Show went through 2 transformations because of Viv's departure for whatever the reason. I also think that Gail Gordon was every bit as good as William Frawley. I can see why he was the first choice to play Fred Mertz. I also happened to like Lucy Gets Drafted and my brain is fine thank you.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

The Lucy Show: The Official Fourth Season is now up for pre-order on Amazon.com. Be sure to order your copy!

 

[Rob_Ray]

Originally Posted by Theodore J. Mooney

Just call Circle 7-2099 or write to 623 E. 68th Street and place your order today.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray



Just call Circle 7-2099 or write to 623 E. 68th Street and place your order today.

And do it NOW!!

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by FrancisP

I also happened to like Lucy Gets Drafted and my brain is fine thank you.

There's no reason for that episode to be so dumb. She goes to the physical -- how did she pass it? They only drafted males in those days. I know they say Lucille Ball was tough, but I doubt she had you-know-whats.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Originally Posted by FrancisP

The reason The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy get no respect is because I Love Lucy was so good. The fact is despite what some people say, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy were successful. I happen to like The Lucy Show although I am just getting into Here's Lucy. The fact is that The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy were different from I Love Lucy because the formats were different. The Lucy Show went through 2 transformations because of Viv's departure for whatever the reason. I also think that Gail Gordon was every bit as good as William Frawley. I can see why he was the first choice to play Fred Mertz. I also happened to like Lucy Gets Drafted and my brain is fine thank you.

That is true ... both shows were a success. In fact, The Lucy Show always placed in the top ten most-watched programs throughout its entire run. And the seasons (1965-1966, 1966-1967, & 1967-1968) that highly get criticized were the same ones that the drew the highest ratings for the show and earned Ms. Ball not one but TWO Emmy awards. And the series went out with a BANG as it ended its run as the No. #2 show in the nation only to be bested by The Andy Griffith Show. That in itself says a lot. As for Here's Lucy, it placed in the top 10 for its first four seasons and ranked in the top 30 for all of its six seasons. So yes ... they were both a definite success.


When I was first exposed to Here's Lucy back in 1998 when PAX-TV was running the show, I noticed that Gale Gordon's character (Harrison Otis Carter) reminded me a lot of Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy as both were tightwads and could be grouchy and unloveable at times. Seeing Gordon in this role gave me a taste of what might have been with him playing Fred Mertz.

I am proud to say that Lucy Gets Drafted is one of my favorite episodes of the entire Lucy Show series. This was one of the first episodes that I saw when I revisited this series over a decade ago ... and I enjoyed immensely as it was new to me. The concept of Lucy herself getting drafted was intriguing at the time. Prior to this, I didn't see anything like this before. And the way she got drafted, I thought, was hilarious with her name getting mispelled and being thought of more or less as a guy. One of my favorite scenes in this episode is when she came out of the barbershop with a crewcut sobbing and saying something along the lines of "look at my hair, look at my hair, it is so short!" only to have a guy come out of the barbershop seconds later and say "What are you crying about, mac? My hair was longer than yours!" Her facial expression afterwards was PRICELESS! Then there is that scene at the end when Jim Nabors made a cameo appearance as Gomer Pyle. Just when the Sergeant thought he was free and clear of a knucklehead here comes another one! This entire episode had me laughing so hard. I still consider it one of the greats of the series despite its flaws.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Originally Posted by Theodore J. Mooney




When I was first exposed to Here's Lucy back in 1998 when PAX-TV was running the show, I noticed that Gale Gordon's character (Harrison Otis Carter) reminded me a lot of Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy as both were tightwads and could be grouchy and unloveable at times. Seeing Gordon in this role gave me a taste of what might have been with him playing Fred Mertz.







If you really want a taste of what might have been with him playing Fred Mertz, check out My Favorite Husband, virtually every episode of which is available for download. Gale Gordon would have been fine as Fred, in some ways better than Bill Frawley, because he would have been closer in age to his wife and young enough to be plausible as Ricky's best friend. The Mertzes are supposed to be about ten years older than the Ricardos, but Bill Frawley was old enough to be everyone else's father. Of course, he was so talented and wonderful in the role that in the end it didn't matter, but episodes like "Drafted" would have worked much better if Viv had been partnered with someone her own age.


As a matter of fact, "Drafted" is one of the many, many episodes of "My Favorite Husband" which were reworked for ILL. When you hear the radio version, it's actually a very funny show. But what works on radio doesn't always work on TV, as the writers soon discovered.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

The popularity of THE LUCY SHOW doesn't settle the issue as to whether or not is was a good show. Popularity has never necessarily equated to greatness, or vice versa. In fact, I think it's indisputable that if a TV network put on Shakespeare or symphony concerts, the ratings would be very low -- but if they put on people wrestling in the mud, the ratings would be decent.


I always find it interesting when people try to defend the indefensible. Ask one hundred people over the age of 50 what they think of I LOVE LUCY vs. THE LUCY SHOW/HERE'S LUCY, and you know what they'll say. Come on. Even Lucille Ball herself would say it, wherever she may be now.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Everything fell into place beautifully for I LOVE LUCY. It was a very lucky day when Bea Benederet and Gale Gordon weren't available. They're both fine, but Vance and Frawley were phenomenal -- the greatest supporting players in TV history, if you ask me, which of course, you didn't.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff The popularity of THE LUCY SHOW doesn't settle the issue as to whether or not is was a good show

It's all subjective. What you think is/was a good show others might think otherwise.

Originally Posted By Joe Lugoff I always find it interesting when people try to defend the indefensible.

There is nothing to defend. Both The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy were a success. Why is that so hard to comprehend?

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff Ask one hundred over the age of 50 what they of I LOVE LUCY vs. THE LUCY SHOW/HERE'S LUCY, and you know what they'll say. Come on.

I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and Here's Lucy all came from different decades. It would be better to ask them how they would compare the various Lucy shows with the contemporary shows of their time. Examples: THE HONEYMOONERS VS. I LOVE LUCY, THAT GIRL VS. THE LUCY SHOW, ect.

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff Even Lucille Ball herself would say it, wherever she may be now

From my perspective, Ms. Ball usually changed her mind over the years when it came to choosing a favorite. And I don't blame her ... they all brought her success and a rewarding career AND gave millions of people and her fans some clean, quality entertainment. And I am sure each one was special to her in one way or the other as they each provided her with different, unique experiences and warm memories.

 

[JohnMor]

Ultimately, all that matters is that they exist to be enjoyed or not enjoyed as each individual sees fit. And that CBS/Paramount and MPI have done wonderful work putting them out on DVD. It's a shame that ALL TV shows on DVD don't get such treatment.