HERE'S LUCY: SEASON 4 - MARCH 29TH, 2011 (1 Viewer)

[Robert13]

That's actually been my favorite episode so far along with "Itallian Bombshell" with Kaye Ballard. I love when Dinah and Lucy get stuck on the ski-lift. Dinah's reaction to Lucy is priceless.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Just recieved my copy this morning! I couldn't resist putting the DVD into the DVD player. I am now watching the very first episode of the season with Joe Mannix! This is such a treat!


EDIT:


Just watched the first five episodes of this season 4 DVD set and here are my grades for each one:


Joe Mannix ... give it an A. Loved the guest star and the physical comedy that Lucille Ball got to do.

Candid Camera ... give it a C-. The plot was OK I guess. I didn't care too much for the final scene with the musical number.

Italian Bombshell ... give it an A. Loved the fact that it was brought to the attention that Harry had an actual love interest in his past.

Few Extra Dollars .... give it an A+. We see Lucy scheming in this episode with the help of her daughter, Kim. LOVE IT!

Astronauts ... give it a C+. This is one of the episodes that had Lucy being annoying. On the flip side, this one featured Roy Roberts who previously played Mr. Cheever on the later seasons of The Lucy Show.


I've noticed that Mary Jane Croft only appeared in the Mannix episode of these five. Also, Lucie Arnaz had little screen time in the Astronauts episode.


Next one up to watch: All-Nun Band with Lucy player, Mary Wickes.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I'm not sure I follow you ... what is it you couldn't resist? You got it and started watching it ... that sounds normal to me. What am I missing here?

 

[JohnMor]

Aside from Someone's On The Ski Lift with Dinah I didn't really enjoy too many eps on the first disc. Even the Mannix ep was a dud to me, except for the brief scene of them tied up. And don't get me started on the Tony Randall ep! But overall, I still laughed more this season than at any prior one. To me the standouts were: the Dinah Shore ep, Lucy and the Little Old Lady, Lucy's Replacement, Kim Moves Out, With Viv as a Friend, Who Needs An Enemy? and Lucy's Punctured Romance. Ginger Rogers Comes to Tea almost makes the list, but just barely misses.


But there were some fine scenes here and there in other eps: I LOVE the scene where Vanda Barra beats Harry with her purse in Lucy and the Italian Bombshell. And I love Lucy's reaction to Harry's line about the doorknobs. Priceless moment.


To me the worst were the Tony Randall, Candid Camera, Jungle and Lucy's Lucky Day eps, plus the horrid pilot for Lucie. Yech!

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

All-Nun Band - give it a B. Mary Wickes was a delight to see. Enjoyed her role in this episode as a nun ... it reminded me of her future movies, Sister Act 1 & 2. It was great to see Lucy playing on her saxophone again.

Ski Lift with Dinah - give it an A. Loved the guest star and the physical comedy that Lucille Ball got to do. This episode certainly had a beautiful setting.

Mountain Climber - give it a C. Didn't care too much for the storyline of this episode or that fake, unrealistic-looking bear that chased Lucy up the mountain. However, I did enjoy Gale Gordon's and Tony Rondall's performances of being a couple of drunk guys.

Flip Go Legit - give it a A. Loved the parody of Gone with the Wind. And Flip Wilson as Prissy was a riot!

The Celebrities - give it an A. Loved Lucy's disguises as an old lady and a heavy-set authoritative woman ... she played those parts quite well. The guest star in this episode was spectacular I thought with doing those voices of John Wayne, Jack Benny, and Jimmy Stewart. The final scene gave me quite a laugh with Jack Benny popping up.

Up Next to Watch: Lucy's Lucky Day

 

[Rob_Ray]

I watched "All Nun Band" the other day and was struck by the fact that Mary Wickes' habit was exactly the same as the one she wore in both "The Trouble with Angels" and its sequel. Either her costume was pulled off the rack from the same costume company or else she was given the costume as a souvenir after the feature films were completed a few years prior to this HL appearance.


"Mary Wickes: Have Habit Will Travel"

 

[Joe Lugoff]

"The Lucy Book" pointed out that the writers of the "Nun" episode didn't seem to realize that if the nun was Harry's sister, she'd have to be Lucy's sister-in-law, too.


It apparently didn't dawn on anyone, not even Lucy or Mary or Gale or the producers or director ........................


Just another HERE'S LUCY eye roller.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Oh, Joe! Quit trying to apply logic to "Here's Lucy"!!! The two are mutually exclusive.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

"The Lucy Book" pointed out that the writers of the "Nun" episode didn't seem to realize that if the nun was Harry's sister, she'd have to be Lucy's sister-in-law, too.


It apparently didn't dawn on anyone, not even Lucy or Mary or Gale or the producers or director ........................


Just another HERE'S LUCY eye roller.

But that also is one of his MANY errors in the book. No where does Lucy seem to indicate that in the actual episode, or that she had never met her before. She greets her the minute she walks into the office, as if they'd met in the past at least once before. He clearly hadn't watched many of the eps in quite a while before he wrote the analyses. Note too that he claims Lucy quits her job at the Agency to go to work for Flip Wilson. Huh??


But my favorite error of his is how he states that Lucy Meets the Burtons was filmed at the very end of S3 but aired first. It was filmed at the end of S2 so as to get the summer's worth of publicity. But this genius seems to believe they filmed the ENTIRE S3 over the summer before the premiere ep aired in Sept. He states this several times in the book. Good grief.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by JohnMor





But that also is one of his MANY errors in the book. No where does Lucy seem to indicate that in the actual episode, or that she had never met her before. She greets her the minute she walks into the office, as if they'd met in the past at least once before. He clearly hadn't watched many of the eps in quite a while before he wrote the analyses. Note too that he claims Lucy quits her job at the Agency to go to work for Flip Wilson. Huh??


But my favorite error of his is how he states that Lucy Meets the Burtons was filmed at the very end of S3 but aired first. It was filmed at the end of S2 so as to get the summer's worth of publicity. But this genius seems to believe they filmed the ENTIRE S3 over the summer before the premiere ep aired in Sept. He states this several times in the book. Good grief.

Yes, I'm afraid that book is full of errors. I should have realized that his complaint about the nun/sister-in-law situation might be one -- of course, with HERE'S LUCY, you never know.


Thank you so much for mentioning that mixup about the episode with the Burtons! When I first read his chronology of events, I was all, "Huh???"


He even states it was director Jerry Paris's first HERE'S LUCY episode -- then he proceeds to list him as director for an episode three weeks later. It's a neat trick directing your first episode at the end of a season where you had directed another episode.


The most irritating thing about "The Lucy Book" is that he never hesitates to trash Lucille Ball, but does nothing but rave over Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., constantly telling us how beautiful and talented they are and what wonderful people they are. Gee, do you think maybe it's because they paid for the book? (It says "Authorized by Desilu, Too" right on top of the cover.)


Lucie Arnaz doesn't have a small fraction of the beauty or talent of her mother. Just compare their careers! And, of course, like his father, Desi, Jr. threw everything away for substance abuse.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff /forum/thread/306324/here-s-lucy-season-4-march-29th-2011/30#post_3798216

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

LOL.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Theodore J. Mooney

But it's sadly one of the dumber television shows of its era.


I was watching some Season 5 and 6 episodes on YouTube and I laughed exactly once. Otherwise, I never so much as cracked a smile. They go through the motions, and the audience laughs and applauds on cue, but it just ... isn't ... funny. Not just compared to I LOVE LUCY -- compared to anything.


For me, they never seem like real people living real lives who get involved in funny situations, which is how the Ricardos and Mertzes seemed to me. I can't put my finger on it. There's something very mechanical about HERE'S LUCY.


And sorry, even in Season 6, Lucie Arnaz comes off like she's in a play at high school. Very amateurish.

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff




They go through the motions, and the audience laughs and applauds on cue, but it just ... isn't ... funny. .

One of the recent cases in point of that that really sticks out is in the S4 Dinah Shore ep. Lucy simply rolls over the bed (with her skis on) to answer the phone and the audience applaudes like she did some remarkable piece of business. It's kinda like the late career concerts by Sinatra when he can barely hit the notes he used to, but the audience gives him the ovation anyway. Almost for past services. I think it's kind of the same with Lucy. It's both sweet and sad at the same time.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Originally Posted by JohnMor One of the recent cases in point of that that really sticks out is in the S4 Dinah Shore ep. Lucy simply rolls over the bed (with her skis on) to answer the phone and the audience applaudes like she did some remarkable piece of business. It's kinda like the late career concerts by Sinatra when he can barely hit the notes he used to, but the audience gives him the ovation anyway. Almost for past services. I think it's kind of the same with Lucy. It's both sweet and sad at the same time.

I was watching that one the other day at home with a friend and I found myself applauding even before the studio audience did. We're so used to seeing the Lucille Ball of this vintage just standing there, yelling at Gale Gordon and the top of her lungs, or obnoxiously telling Richard Burton that his acting makes his plumbing look good, that when she's actually doing something funny that also happens to be both physical and clever, we want to cheer. Plus, somehow it was nice that Lucy was all alone on the stage -- just her and the audience. It was a fleeting moment where Lucille Ball connected with the audience -- something she did as Lucy Ricardo virtually every week on I Love Lucy but seldom did by this point in her career.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff /forum/thread/306324/here-s-lucy-season-4-march-29th-2011/30#post_3798550

 

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray




I was watching that one the other day at home with a friend and I found myself applauding even before the studio audience did. We're so used to seeing the Lucille Ball of this vintage just standing there, yelling at Gale Gordon and the top of her lungs, or obnoxiously telling Richard Burton that his acting makes his plumbing look good, that when she's actually doing something funny that also happens to be both physical and clever, we want to cheer. Plus, somehow it was nice that Lucy was all alone on the stage -- just her and the audience. It was a fleeting moment where Lucille Ball connected with the audience -- something she did as Lucy Ricardo virtually every week on I Love Lucy but seldom did by this point in her career.

That's very true. Excellent point!

And of course, I love it when she sails down the stairs and out the front doors of the lodge.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Theodore J. Mooney

The great majority of people in this world agree with me. Over the years, when I've asked I LOVE LUCY fans what they think of HERE'S LUCY, almost every single one of them said they hated it.

 

[WaveCrest]

Received my copy of Season 4 in the week. I still think the front cover artwork is one of my favourites from any TV DVD title I've purchased. Like the presentation on both sides of the sleeve (even though there's no synopsis for each episode on the reverse of the sleeve). Not tested the discs out yet.

 

[Theodore J. Mooney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

The great majority of people in this world agree with me.

Prove that statement. Otherwise, it's just another conclusion by you.