"I Love Lucy" Complete Series (1 Viewer)

Does anyone know how this is going to be packaged? I noticed a picture of it in a heart shaped box, but am curious to see the inside.

I also read that the first season has been remastered. Was the 1st season set not remastered?

I'm curious too because the heart-shaped part sticks out of a rectangle box. I'll definitely be getting this though as I've waited a long time to buy it. I knew they would do something like this so I resisted buying each season until the series was complete. Glad I did.

I felt there was something wrong with the first season, but people told me I was wrong. Many, if not most, of the episodes ran short.

I was told, well, the commercials ran longer the first season.

My theory is this:

Many first season shows were later cut for reruns, where they added a minute or two of new footage at the beginning (for instance, when Lucy had to stop working due to her pregnancy.)

I think the First Season Set used the cut versions and didn't replace the missing footage. But it's possible I'm wrong.

I don't remember the source but I read specifically that it was not true
that they cut episodes when they added wrap arounds for shows that were
first rerun during "I Love Lucy"'s network run. If you look at some fan websites every season after the first had some reruns mixed in with the first run shows and most included a wrap around remember when. The fact was they reduced the commercials or perhaps the PSAs. Lucy and Desi did spots for the Heart Fund and March of Dimes and others that sometimes ran in the last commercial spot.

I just don't think that's true. I read otherwise -- in order to make time for those one or two minute introductions, one or two minutes were cut out of the shows. And probably thrown away.

I fear this will be like the Brady Bunch set in with flimsy paper between each disc but Heart shape instead of 60's flower icons. I believe the Andy Griffith show complete set was done in in a a similar way but I did not get that as I had enough of the individual seasons to make it a problem. Never got Brady Bunch before the set, loved the bonus disc but the case was poor and I fear that this is that way but I may go ahead and get it if that movie is in it and I never bought Lucy before. I think the disks will be in a paper heart shaped wallet with bits of the discs exposed. This wallet will fit into a heart shaped box but it will be no nirvana. This heart shaped box will rest in another transparent box with various Lucy images on the front. There will probably be some type of tacky cardboard support for the heart's sides to rest upon.

I don't understand why these companies have to produce such gimicky packaging for their complete season sets. I certainly hope the I Love Lucy discs are housed in proper cases within the heart box. I plan on keeping the DVDs, but that heart packaging is going straight to the trash.

All of the I Love Lucy shows released on DVD were new transfers from the best materials CBS/Paramount has, but beginning with season two, the series got better transfers than season one got, as well as a frame-by-frame digital cleaning that the first season didn't get, either. The first season episodes--include the unaired kinescoped pilot--have subsequently been retransferred and cleaned up to match the later seasons. The new season one transfers are what will be in the box set.

The first ten or twelve I Love Lucy episodes do have a shorter running time than later episodes. At first, the series was formatted like this:

opening credits/commercial/act one/commercial/act two/commercial/tag scene/commercial/closing credits

After a few episodes, the tag scene and fourth commercial were eliminated, and the length of the show's other commerical breaks shortened, which lengthened the running time of the shows themselves.

If you watch those early shows, the tag scenes are generally easy to spot. They're those short scenes at the end of the episodes, preceded by a fade out/fade in. The tag scene in "The Seance" is interesting. After Ricky takes Mr. Meriweather downstairs and Fred comes back into the apartment, watch closely when Lucy and the Mertzes all sit down, looking puzzled. Just before Ricky bursts in, there is a just barely perceptible splice or jump in the image. As originally aired, act two of "The Seance" faded out on Lucy and the Mertzes and the tag scene faded in on the very same shot, with them in the same positions, just before Ricky's entrance. When the episode was rebroadcast, CBS simply cut out of the act two fade out/tag fade in, and joined the two scenes together.

A few Lucy episodes were edited to shorten their running time a little when those repeat broadcast wraparounds were added during the original prime time run. These subsequently eliminated bits were recovered from 16mm prints and, where possible, inserted back into the shows as they appear on DVD. In other instances, they're included as bonus features. The only other edits made to the show during its original prime time run were to remove occasional direct references to the show's original sponsor, Philip Morris Cigarettes, after other companies began paying the tab for the series. "The Audition" has one such bit, and "Lucy Does a TV Commerical" has another.

"Lucy Does a TV Commerical" is also interesting in that the DVD bonus features include both the "as originally aired" version of the scene where Lucy is inside the TV set and the subsequently reedited version that eliminated the aforementioned reference to Philip Morris. I Love Lucy was filmed simultaneously with three cameras, and the reedited "TV Commercial" uses footage from a different camera for one shot in that scene than was used in the original broadcast version. "Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio" also uses footage from a different camera for one shot in its reedited version than was used in the original broadcast version. (The alternate camera angle hid a very blatant plug for Philip Morris that was visible in the original.)

Thanks for the info.

Has anyone one picked this set up yet that can give us a review?

I wonder if on the remastered season 1 they give you the option to play the show with the original opening credits like they did in the 6th season set.
This instead of just including the original openings as extras .
I loved that feature and wish all seasons had that option.

I picked up the set last night. I don't mind the packaging. It's kinda cute. I'm disappointed the digital mastering error in "Lucy Meets the Queen" (it looks like an upscaling error) wasn't corrected, and I don't believe the missing strawberries bit from the hour long show is back. The first season looks a little better than it did the first time out. I especially noticed that the pilot didn't have all of the dropouts it once had. I don't think the remastering of the first season alone merits any kind of repurchase. I haven't seen the bonus disc yet. All in all, I'm happy with the set. I just wish they would fix that little digital glitch. It would be very easy to do.

Hey Scott, can you post some pictures of the packaging? Like inside pictures of it? and are the discs the same as they were in the season sets? and bonus features. what all is on the bonus disc? These are the questions that haunt me.

Unfortunately, I can't post pics....The set is in a clear plastic cover with pics from various seasons on the front. You slide the actual box out of the plastic, and the I LOVE LUCY heart comes off of the top. Inside, there are two cases that look like cd holders. The first case is for Seasons 1-3 and the second is for 4-the Comedy hours. There is a booklet included that includes the same info that the individual sets did (ex. synopsis, air date, production number, etc.) That's pretty much it. The discs have the same cover art as the regular seasons, and they appear to be the exact same except for the first season which has been remastered to match the quality of the remaining seasons. The bonus disc includes the never before seen I LOVE LUCY MOVIE which was supposed to be released in 1953, but shelved and only recently discovered. It consists of three episodes strung together along with a rare look at Desi introducing Lucy to the studio audience on set. Lucy and Desi's first tv appearance together in 1949 is on the disc, as well as some Emmy moments, and the episode "Lucy Goes to Scotland" is available on the bonus disc in a colorized version, with the colors being chosen according to rare color stills of the episode.

I watched the bonus disc. I liked the " I Love Lucy" movie. Even though it was all staged for the movie I liked the backstage stuff with the people coming in , Desi Arnaz doing the warm up , and the introduction of the cast. I liked the extended version of the theme song over the opening credits. I don't recall ever hearing this arrangement of the song.
For anyone who has seen a taping of a TV show the process hasn't changed much in 50 years. The new footage is mostly exposition and there are not many, if any jokes. Of the other bonus material I liked the included commercials best. They finally included Phillip Morris commercials which all the season sets had omitted. None with Lucy and Desi in person . However there is one commercial which has the stick figure Lucy and Desi singing a commercial jingle using the real Lucy and Desi voices. I think this is only time the cartoons talked. Its a Christmas ad to get people to give Phillip Morris cartons as gifts. They also included parts of shows where they mention Phillip Morris as part of the story. These are cut out of the shows in reruns. An example of this was in "Lucy does a Commercial" . When Lucy is in the TV she says " Call For Phillip Morris " before saying this is the Lucy Ricardo Show.
The colorized show I could skip. As always they seem to leave the month and teeth area grey. Some may think it looks good but I did not like the skin colors which showed off the heavy makeup .

Jacob, you can see the pics from the complete series set over on DVD Talk. I've linked the post below.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showpost.ph...2&postcount=24

I was curious how sturdy the package is. I don't want to buy anything that looks like it will fall apart.

Thanks for posting the pics! I have the set but I will not be officially getting it in my possession until Christmas. So I can't open it yet. The inside of the set looks interesting. Is the booklet much different than the individual ones accompanying each set?

The only thing I read about the booklet is the following: "...and inside you find a nice booklet, detailing each season set, and the contents of the discs".

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....2&page=1&pp=25

Thanks for the link! I love it. But I didnt see the booklet either.

Here's a good shot of the booklet (if the person who posted this doesn't mind me directly linking to one of their pics).

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...y/IMG_0906.jpg