HERE'S LUCY: SEASON 3 - JUNE 15TH, 2010 - Page 2

So true, Brandon.  What I didn't expect to find was that I am now enjoying these more than The Lucy Show, and I expected the reverse to be true.

BTW, has anyone found this available in stock in any store?  I can't seem to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Gantt 

Well, it's taken me until season three to realize that Here's Lucy is more variety/sitcom, than traditional laugh-fest! I'm up to episode 13 of the new set and it's almost a dance/sing-a-long sequence every other show. While this can be pleasing, the material wrapped around these musical episodes doesn't always shine.

 

It's amazing how Lucy managed to attract some truly awful writers to her post I Love Lucy series. Although the HL has it moments, especially with the return of Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr., the popularity of the program can be mostly attributed to the presence of Lucille Ball herself and not the material within. Despite this I'll still be collecting all 6 seasons!

I've read several books about Lucy and her TV shows, and I believe the reason her scripts deteriorated so much is that she made her cousin the producer and her husband the executive producer (it was his job to buy the scripts), and they had absolutely no clue whatsoever about what makes a funny TV show.

The fact that Lucy didn't seem to know either is very strange, but all the books credit Desi Arnaz for the success of "I Love Lucy."  He often had to talk his wife into doing things which she didn't find funny -- and they usually turned out to be hilarious, of course.

Well, Desi warned her when he walked away from overseeing the initial Lucy Show episodes NOT to let the writers pawn off inferior material off on her simply because she could always make it look better.  But she didn't listen.  And of course, millions (myself included) abetted her by tuning each week, even when the shows were nowhere near what her talent deserved. 

I stuck it out for years, but I finally gave up after seeing the HERE'S LUCY episode where they went to live in Africa.  I think they had a gorilla for a butler, or something.

It wasn't just that it wasn't funny.  It was excruciatingly stupid.  I couldn't imagine anyone older than 5 laughing at it.

Over the years, I've met so many fans of I LOVE LUCY, who could talk on and on about their favorite episodes.  If I asked them what their favorite episode of HERE'S LUCY was, I'd get a blank stare.

OMG, Joe, I remember that episode.  And the tse tse fly!   It was just hideous.  I must have been about nine when it aired.  

You've got to watch the documentary: Lucy Meets the Burtons: A Comedic Gem. It postulates that Lucy knew that she had been working with inferior scripts, and because of this she went to great lengths to secure the services of Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. It really is a "warts and all" account of one of Here's Lucy's finest episodes.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff 

 

I've read several books about Lucy and her TV shows, and I believe the reason her scripts deteriorated so much is that she made her cousin the producer and her husband the executive producer (it was his job to buy the scripts), and they had absolutely no clue whatsoever about what makes a funny TV show.

 

The fact that Lucy didn't seem to know either is very strange, but all the books credit Desi Arnaz for the success of "I Love Lucy."  He often had to talk his wife into doing things which she didn't find funny -- and they usually turned out to be hilarious, of course.

I believe when Lucy met Richard Burton at a party and he told her he was a fan of "her show" and would like to be on it, she realized he was thinking of "I Love Lucy" and probably hadn't seen an episode of "Here's Lucy."

So she asked (begged?) Madelyn and Bob to put their anger aside and write her one more episode.

However ------

Although it was the best script "Here's Lucy" had had up to that point, is it really that good?  The funniest thing in it is a recycling of a routine from the early days of "I Love Lucy."  Could they really think of nothing else?

Also, isn't it ridiculous to think that Richard Burton would walk around with a ring worth millions of dollars in his pocket, and carelessly leave it behind?

None of the scripts Madelyn and Bob wrote for "Here's Lucy" were truly funny.  I believe for "I Love Lucy" and the first two seasons of "The Lucy Show," when the scripts were good, that Madelyn and Bob came up with the stories and visual humor routines, but the funny lines were contributed by Jess Oppenheimer, and later Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf.  Funny lines were not Madelyn and Bob's strong suit.

I love Lucy and watching "I Love Lucy" was one of my earliest memories in life.  But, in addition to the things pointed out above, I never could get past the lack of continuity on "Here's Lucy."  They are all performing in various shows, week after week and show after show, sharing the stage with the likes of Jack Benny and Ann-Margret, and when Wayne Newton asks Craig if he's had any experience, they have to mention some school function he was in as a kid.

At least with "Here's Lucy" Lucy's character had a small amount of responsibility and maturity since he was a mother to two teenagers.   It was ridiculous how Lucy Carmichael forgot all about her kids after season three.  In one season four episode, she couldn't even remember her son Jerry's name and referred to him as Jimmy.  Wasn't there anyone on staff who had the guts to correct her on this?

However, despite this, I'm surprised at how many of the Here's Lucy episodes I am enjoying, despite their overall lameness.  I think it's a comment on the state of comedy today that Lucy's style of humor looks more timeless.  And back in the late sixties and early seventies, we took all those talents who appeared on the show for granted.  They could do wonders with bad material, and often had to.

I have always felt that nostalgia is perhaps the only reason to enjoy the HERES LUCY series.  For many of us who were kids in the 70's, it was the one that we saw in first run.  Having been away from it for 30 years, I was also surprised at the inferiority of the many "animal episodes".

Lucie Arnaz herself has said those episodes don't hold up and that it was crazy for them to keep running into animals all the time (like monkeys).

But does it keep me from buying and watching?  Nope.  I'm a completist where Lucy is concerned, and I do find something in each episode she does that I'm happy I saw, even if the material surrounding it is poor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray 

I love Lucy and watching "I Love Lucy" was one of my earliest memories in life.  But, in addition to the things pointed out above, I never could get past the lack of continuity on "Here's Lucy."  They are all performing in various shows, week after week and show after show, sharing the stage with the likes of Jack Benny and Ann-Margret, and when Wayne Newton asks Craig if he's had any experience, they have to mention some school function he was in as a kid.

 

At least with "Here's Lucy" Lucy's character had a small amount of responsibility and maturity since he was a mother to two teenagers.   It was ridiculous how Lucy Carmichael forgot all about her kids after season three.  In one season four episode, she couldn't even remember her son Jerry's name and referred to him as Jimmy.  Wasn't there anyone on staff who had the guts to correct her on this?

 

However, despite this, I'm surprised at how many of the Here's Lucy episodes I am enjoying, despite their overall lameness.  I think it's a comment on the state of comedy today that Lucy's style of humor looks more timeless.  And back in the late sixties and early seventies, we took all those talents who appeared on the show for granted.  They could do wonders with bad material, and often had to.

Also, on "The Lucy Show," in Season 2 she attended her college reunion ... and in Season 6, she had to go back to high school to get her diploma.  And instead of getting a GED, like anyone her age would, she actually went back to high school with the teenagers.

I always wondered if the creators of her show were stupid themselves, or did they think the audience was stupid and wrote down to them?

About her calling Jerry "Jimmy":  The book, "The Lucy Book," which covers her entire TV career in chronological order, talks about that.  It says everyone told her she was wrong (she was confusing the actor's name with the character's name), but she insisted she was right, and that was that.  Couldn't anyone have pulled an old script off the shelf?  Or shown her something with Jimmy Garrett's name on it?

Sometimes things got so stupid on the later "Lucy Show" seasons and "Here's Lucy" that it's almost as if they come from some other Universe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff 

 

 

I always wondered if the creators of her show were stupid themselves, or did they think the audience was stupid and wrote down to them?

 

 

I honestly don't think they cared.  As someone pointed out earlier, the later seasons of the Lucy Show and virtually all of Here's Lucy played like extended Carol Burnett Show sketches.  There was no reality to any of it and no attempt was made to keep any sort of continuity bible for later reference.  I was frankly surprised that when the Carters ran into Wayne Newton outside of Las Vegas that they remembered the fact that the Carters had already met Wayne Newton the previous season.
 

Some of season three really does bring a smile to my face. The Burton episode, the musical extravaganzas (all seven of them!), the Harry-centric episodes (especially the one where Lucy and family convince him that he needs glasses) are prime examples.

One of the things that really bother's me is the quality of acting. Everybody plays it so broadly and over-the-top to get a laugh. I think this is because they knew the scripts were shoddy. To compensate everyone is doing exaggerated double-takes, funny walks, and crazy mannerisms. Not funny. Something I Love Lucy never resorted to.

The Make Room for Granddaddy episode only highlights how off the rails Here’s Lucy was. The premise of the Danny Thomas show episode was nothing groundbreaking, but it was all played completely straight and low-key. This only heightened the comedy, and for once Lucy Carter was presented as a realistic person. Lucy should have hired these writers after MRFG was cancelled!

Overall I did enjoyed this season more than the first two, and I’m really looking forward to the remaining three.

Here's Lucy works best as a variety show. the series seemed best when it had guest stars and musical numbers instead of allowing itself to become a normal sitcom. Works better than most Variety Shows from this era.

sure there's no real history to these characters, but it seems to less be a case of assuming the audience is stupid so much as not wanting to straitjacket itself into a reality.

When HERE'S LUCY was being planned in 1968, I wonder if anyone sat down and wrote out character descriptions.

Of course, Uncle Harry would be easy:  Gale Gordon was playing the same character he always played throughout his career.

Was there any thought given to Kim and Craig?  I imagine all they wrote was, "They are typical teenagers."  They seemed to have no distinguishing characteristics at all.  (The same could be said for Chris and Sherman on "The Lucy Show," but not Jerry.)

But what was Lucy supposed to be?  In the early seasons, at times she's so pushy and obnoxious she isn't endearing at all.

The lack of a defined character for Lucy Carter is extra bad, since Lucy Ricardo was probably the funniest single character in the history of sitcoms, and was pretty consistent throughout the whole series.

I don't really see much difference between late Lucy Carmichael and early Lucy Carter. If Lucy hadn't sold Desilu or didn't want to own her

show after sale, Lucy Carmichael probably would have suddenly had 2 new teenage children. After all, her old children hadn't been seen in 3 years. If she forgot them, I sure the writers probably thought the audience had too. Doris Day lost her kids and became a virgin again during the 5 years her sitcom was on. It happens.

Bottom line as had been said many times on this board, what Lucy Ricardo had that other Lucys lacked was a Ricky. Ether they didn't want the character to have a husband because it couldn't be Desi or that in the 60's it wasn't considered sexy for a middle aged woman to be in a romance or whatever. The Boss father figure that Gale Gordon played is no substitute for the husband.

The other thing of course is that except for the break between the Lucy Desi specials and the start of The Lucy Show, Lucy had been doing the same character for over 20 years. It was a shame that Lucy was unable to be as successful with any other character, once that

character had run its course. By the end of Here's Lucy she was working just because she wanted to work even if it was no longer funny.

What I find sad is that is she apparently felt that she was not wanted because she had aged after the failure of her last sitcom. For someone who gave such joy to so many, that is a terrible ending.

Roll on Season Four!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garysb 




This episode was a partial remake of the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ricky are handcuffed together.
 

I finally got to see this episode on Hallmark today. Very funny! Though I think the Burton revamp is more charming.

I have season 1 & 2 of Here's Lucy.

It is great to see the show again.