The Lucy Show: The Official Second Season ... coming out on July 13th, 2010! (1 Viewer)

[JohnMor]

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

Isn't it odd -- and kind of sad -- that we all seem to understand so well what was wrong with Lucy's later TV shows, but the so-called professionals working around her didn't?


It had to boil down to the fact that she made her cousin the producer and her husband the executive producer and they just flat-out didn't know what they were doing. And as long as the ratings stayed high, they figured they were doing ok.

We're all to blame for that to a degree. We tuned in each week, so we made the ratings high. And the TV Academy gave her Emmys the last two years of The Lucy Show, so they didn't help. At the time, even with the carping from critics, etc. we still "loved" Lucy every Monday night and helped convince her she was on the right track. But I know for me, it's because in those days prior to vcr's and owning episodes, you basically saw an ep of I Love Lucy once a year when it aired in it's repeat cycle. So to see a new Lucy was still an event to a degree, even if it was a pale imitation of what had come before. I not only laughed at the new Lucy ep, but it brought back memories of great ILL eps for me as well. NOW, being able to see them ad nauseum and compare them side by side, it seems inconceivable that I would tune in each week. But I did. As did millions of others. Sad. Because she deserved better and so did we.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Yes, that's true. I kept watching, living proof of the famous saying, "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." But I did finally give up some time during the fifth season of HERE'S LUCY.

 

[FP62]

ITA about Milt Josefsberg, but I believe that Gary Morton was the main culprit in the destruction of "The Lucy Show". I'll never know what Lucy ever saw in this tenth-rate stand-up comic or why she turned control of the series over to him. He obviously didn't understand her or her talent and, along with the hack writers he hired, seemed to enjoy making her look bad.

 

[Jack P]

The Herb Solow/Robert Justman memoir on "Star Trek" also reveals plenty about Gary's ineptitude as a would-be business executive at Desilu. Gary put forth the seemingly bright idea of building a "European street" on the backlot as a supposedly cost-effective way for Trek and Mission: Impossible to save on production costs by sharing the lot, except that Gary was going to have it built to 3/4 scale only in the style of Disneyland's Main Street, which would therefore make all the actors associated with Trek and Mission, especially those who were close to six feet tall or over, look quite ludicrous. Solow I think sent out a memo further underscoring the absurdity of this by noting that of all the Trek and Mission actors, "maybe Shatner could work in it without his lifts, but I'm not going to ask him to do that!" And when the plans of Gary's pet European street were shown to a designer who knew better he shook his head and said, "They're sick people."


Well, because Gary was Gary and the boss's husband, he got his street built anyway and as predicted it was almost unusable from a production standpoint, meaning Gary was responsible for flushing a big sum of Desilu money down the drain in his effort to get recognition.

 

[Corey3rd]

all you need to watch is the golf episode when Lucy teams up with Gary. He's got zero chemistry with her or his golf clubs. It's sad when you have to tell a guy that he's no Tom Arnold.

 

[Jack P]

Although Gary could play a decent game of "Password" against Lucy in the shows that used to air on Game Show Network.

 

[thetoonguy]

Originally Posted by Corey3rd

It's sad when you have to tell a guy that he's no Tom Arnold.

LOL!

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Originally Posted by Jack P

I'm glad Jack P posted this; I was thinking the same thing. When they played with the kids, they all seemed very affectionate, as well. (So did Jimmy and Gloria Stewart and their kids.) Maybe it was all an act, but I would like to think they were in fact as affectionate as they seemed.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by FP62

ITA about Milt Josefsberg, but I believe that Gary Morton was the main culprit in the destruction of "The Lucy Show". I'll never know what Lucy ever saw in this tenth-rate stand-up comic or why she turned control of the series over to him. He obviously didn't understand her or her talent and, along with the hack writers he hired, seemed to enjoy making her look bad.

If there's anything I can't stand, it's when Lucy does some mild visual comedy, and we can hear Gary Morton letting out this huge horselaugh. It always sounds as if he's standing right off camera, which he probably was.


Based on what he laughed so hard at, it's clear the man had a very simple sense of humor. I don't ever remember hearing that obnoxious laugh at a funny line -- just some stupid visual thing. (Not that there were that many funny lines to laugh at ...)

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Corey3rd

all you need to watch is the golf episode when Lucy teams up with Gary. He's got zero chemistry with her or his golf clubs. It's sad when you have to tell a guy that he's no Tom Arnold.

Knowing Lucy's absurd nepotism, I bet she considered having Lucy Carmichael get married and having Gary Morton play her husband. That golf episode was probably a "pilot" of sorts. Even Lucy had the sense to see that he didn't have much talent.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Originally Posted by Dave B Ferris




I'm glad Jack P posted this; I was thinking the same thing. When they played with the kids, they all seemed very affectionate, as well. (So did Jimmy and Gloria Stewart and their kids.) Maybe it was all an act, but I would like to think they were in fact as affectionate as they seemed.

Well, according to the books, they weren't.


In fact, in the first "Password" episode, I think it's fairly clear that Lucy and Lucie must have had "words" before the show. There seems to be a tension between them. I can just hear Lucy saying to her daughter, "You're not going to wear THAT, are you?"


As for Desi, Jr., he's on record saying he couldn't wait to turn 18 and get out of HERE'S LUCY and out of the house, which he did the split second he could. Of course, he was into sex and drugs more than anything else.


However, Lucie and Desi, Jr. have said that they thought Gary Morton was a nice man.

 

[Statskeeper]

However, Lucie and Desi, Jr. have said that they thought Gary Morton was a nice man.

He may have been a nice man but he didn't have any business sense. IIRC he made a remark shortly after Lucy died that he could sell a lot (without a house) they owned somewhere in Beverly Hills for twice its value because Lucy was attached to it. And Desilu under Lucy and Gary had a lot of failed pilots until Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Lucy must have wanted a husband she could control, or at least one who wouldn't overshadow her and he fit the bill.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack P /forum/thread/299920/the-lucy-show-...-coming-out-on-july-13th-2010/90#post_3714091

 

[Jack P]

I only refer to the executive officer of the "Seaview" as "Mr. Morton."

 

[Ian K McLachlan]

I really am enjoying watching season 2 of the Lucy Show. I always liked Vivian Vance and although I hope that all the Lucy Show seasons will be released in time, I particularly hope that season 3 will be released soon. The box sets are excellent. Lots of interesting extras. But who is the interviewer/host ?

 

[FrancisP]

The Desilu studios were a huge moneymaker. There were a large number of shows filmed there such as Hogan's Heroes and Andy Griffith.


When Desi Arnez was running the studio, he wanted to prove that they could produce more complex shows than Lucille Ball's shows. Star Trek was the result of that even though Desi was gone by that time. Lucille Ball was the only one on the Desilu board that wanted the show.


I do think that seasons 4-6 are unfairly maligned. The direction was different and had to be when Vivian Vance left. There are a number of memorable episodes from those seasons.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

One has to watch Seasons 4-6 in a different frame of mind to derive any enjoyment from them.


It's difficult for me to see Lucy Carmichael go from the clever schemer to the brainless nincompoop. She has to be seen as a totally different character.


For instance, in the episode when Carol Burnett moves in with her, she suggests that Lucy call in sick to work. Lucy acts as if that would never have occurred to her, and that it just wouldn't be the right thing to do.


That's not the Lucy Carmichael from Danfield!

 

[FrancisP]

Once Vivian Vance decided to leave, Gale Gordon as Lucy's foil made sense. However there was no way they could do the same thing so it had to be different. At first, they tried to find a replacement but apparently that flopped.


Lucy did come up with some schemes. Lucy and the Bean Queen had Lucy coming up with an idea to buy new furniture. Lucy and the Submarine had Lucy sneaking onto a submarine to get important papers signed. Lucy Gets Trapped has Lucy deciding to call out sick to go to a sale.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

Well, as even Gary Morton recognized -- and he's quoted on this in "The Lucy Book" -- starting in Season 4, Lucy Carmichael's character would change according to the particular story that week. She would occasionally be the schemer again; but she more often would be the brainless nincompoop.

 

[FP62]

It also never made sense that Mooney would keep firing, then rehiring Lucy after all of her foul-ups. At least on "Here's Lucy", viewers can understand that the reason Harry keeps her on is because she's his brother's widow and is supporting his niece and nephew. But why does Mooney put up with this woman who seems to be a constant thorn in his side?