More Colorized I Love Lucy on CBS on May 17, 2015 (1 Viewer)

[Tooncy]

That's hilarious!

 

[JohnMor]

While I think that "Job Switching" is a slightly better overall episode, I agree with Lucille Ball when she stated that she thought the Vitameatavegamin bit was the best work she ever did. One of the greatest pieces of acting ever captured on film imo, no matter the medium or genre.

 

[Garysb]

I Love Lucy: CBS Announces New Colorized “Funny Money” Special

This Friday April 19, 2019 at 8 p.m. ET/PT I guess maybe the ratings are going down as CBS is not broadcasting this in May.

I Love Lucy has a whole new look! CBS just announced the premiere date for their new I Love Lucy special in April.

The one-hour special will feature two, newly colorized episodes of the classic TV show: “The Million-Dollar Idea” and “Bonus Bucks.” Both episodes originally aired in 1954.


CBS‘ I Love Lucy special debuts on April 19th at 8 p.m. ET/PT.


Read more info below:

I LOVE LUCY FUNNY MONEY SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized episodes of the classic series, will be broadcast Friday, April 19 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The two episodes, “The Million-Dollar Idea” and “Bonus Bucks,” are newly colorized with a nod to the 1950s period in which they were filmed. As with previous “Lucy” specials, the main titles and end credits are seamlessly combined into one set at the beginning and end of the hour, with no interruption between the episodes.

“I Love Lucy” stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as the Ricardos’ best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz.

In “The Million-Dollar Idea,” Lucy and Ethel attempt to get rich quick by bottling Lucy’s homemade salad dressing. A commercial pitch on a local TV program results in hundreds of orders, but Ricky soon determines that the girls are not charging enough to cover the cost of production and distribution. They decide to fill the initial orders and get out of the business fast, but a second TV appearance, designed to discourage additional sales, results in even more orders!

In “Bonus Bucks,” it’s the Ricardos vs. the Mertzes when both couples claim ownership of a dollar bill worth three hundred dollars in a newspaper’s “Bonus Bucks” contest. To save their friendship, they decide to split the winnings, each couple keeping half the actual bill until it can be redeemed. Unfortunately, Ricky puts the Ricardos’ half of the dollar in his pajama pocket – and Lucy sends those pajamas to the laundry!

“The Million-Dollar Idea” was originally broadcast Jan. 11, 1954, and “Bonus Bucks” on March 8, 1954. Both became immediate viewer favorites.

“I Love Lucy” was broadcast on the Network from Oct. 15, 1951, through June 24, 1957. It was voted “The Best TV Show of All Time” in a 2012 viewer poll conducted by People Magazine and ABC News.”

 

[Matt Hough]

Looking forward to seeing both these classic episodes in their new colorized renditions. Will have more to say after they air.

 

[Garysb]

How CBS Colorized the 'I Love Lucy Funny Money Special'

PREVIEWCBS




Need a boost after filing your tax return?

CBS suggests two newly colorized (and money-themed) episodes of I Love Lucy from 1954 to take away the pain. We wanted to learn how the original black-and-white comedy is transformed. Turns out, the process is easier to understand than the IRS code!

(TV Guide Magazine Archive)

"It's all about being true and respectful to the time period," says CBS home entertainment exec Ken Ross. "The only reason I Love Lucy wasn't shot in color is because the technology didn't exist then. The colorization is so much better than it was 25 years ago. We can make it look like it was shot in 2019."

Ross and his team begin by doing two to four weeks of research to identify original colors of costumes, sets, and props. Sources include an avid Los Angeles–based collector of Lucy memorabilia; anecdotal information from former Lucy staffers; vintage images of, for example, kitchen gadgets; and, in the case of Lucy's dress in "The Million Dollar Idea," a 1954 issue of TV Guide Magazine in which she and husband Desi Arnaz appeared (above).

The results go to industry leader West Wing Studios, which chooses representative frames and applies the selected hues. After some back-and-forth, CBS approves the final palette, and technicians step in for the 45- to 60-day colorizing process.

First, they create a "matte" for each layer of a scene — from a wall in the background all the way up to, oh, a coffee cup in the foreground. Proprietary software combines the layers into one seamless image. When images of a shot's first and last frame are input, the program applies the color to the motion in between. And voilà: the '50s in vivid color!


One particular source of pride for Ross in Friday's "Idea" and "Bonus Bucks" episodes? Lucy's signature red hair. "We finally got the coppery shade we wanted!"

I Love Lucy Funny Money Special, Friday, April 19, 8/7c, CBS

 

[Matt Hough]

And that first episode tonight was a knockout in color. Really, I think it's among the very best jobs I've ever seen done with colorization. Lucy's dress in that initial scene just popped off the screen. And the hair certainly did closely match her hair color in Best Foot Forward and Dubarry Was a Lady.