I Love Lucy - General Discussion

[GHScorpiosRule]

This year’s special airing on December 14-8:00PM EST.

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 2/5/2018 at 12:39 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Desi was a smart businessman and it's to his credit of using multi cameras, I think. Then there's "Desilu Productions." Both he and Lucille worked together with that.

 

On 6/5/2018 at 7:18 PM, VCRTracking said:

Interesting video. I didn't know Karl Freund, the cinematographer of I Love Lucy who created the lighting style for three camera sitcoms, which is used to this day, had also been the cinematographer for Metropolis and Dracula!

And here is where Desi Arnaz signed the greatest deal in all of television history.  If you are rolling your eyes at that statement, then please enjoy the behind the scenes history:

 

Because of the time zones in the U.S., it was standard practice to broadcast a show live on the east coast, and then rebroadcast with a kinescope in the later time zones.   Lucy and Desi did not want to move from California to New York, so instead of a live broadcast, they preferred to record each episode on high quality film in the early afternoon and then run the film at the broadcast time.  Add to this Karl Freund and his three-camera technique, and the process made perfect sense.

 

Except--

 

The network did not want to pay the extra money to record on high quality film, which was more expensive than simply broadcasting live.  So DesiLu agreed to pay this extra expense on the condition that DesiLu owned all of the rights to the film.  The network was only too happy to agree, because what value could there be in a copy of a show that had already been broadcast?

 

What value indeed!  It was because they owned the rights to the film that Desi Arnaz and Lucille ball literally invented the re-run.  Think about how many times the show "I Love Lucy" has been re-ran over the course of time.   But wait!  There's more!  DesiLu eventually sold the syndication rights back to CBS for piles of money.  So Desilu made money on the original episode, then made money on the re-runs of the original episodes, then made money selling the rights to the re-runs of the original episodes!

 

Oh yes, the greatest deal in television history is not an overstatement here.

[LexieLily]

On 12/2/2018 at 8:54 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

This year’s special airing on December 14-8:00PM EST.

Thanks!

[Spartan Girl]

On December 26, 2017 at 8:47 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And like you @legaleagle53, I ALWAYS cry when Ricky realizes he's the one who's going to be a father, and he sings that song; especially the last scene when Desi lowers his head and kisses Lucille's neck. I've said it before and I'll say it again: No one will ever convince me that that was them acting. It always comes off as the actual feelings and reactions of Desi and Lucille, not Ricky and Lucy.

That was indeed beautiful. It's to bad they don't include the part of Lucy when she found out she was pregnant, so dreamy-eyed and happy. It always a bummer when you remember that they split up in real life.

I love the Christmas special, even though 1) Lucy's colorized orange hair was distracting (was that really how it looked?) and 2) I found it odd that they didn't get a Christmas tree until literally the night before Christmas. Chalk it up to Fred and Ricky being cheap, I guess 😂😂😂😂

Still, Little Ricky's a darling. I loved how they were basically winging it on how to explain why Santa didn't come til he was sleeping. I always thought the real Santa should have appeared to Little Ricky before he vanished.

[GHScorpiosRule]

21 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

It's to bad they don't include the part of Lucy when she found out she was pregnant, so dreamy-eyed and happy

Do you mean at the doctor’s office? Because she is dreamy-eyed and happy when she gets home and tells Ethel.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Do you mean at the doctor’s office? Because she is dreamy-eyed and happy when she gets home and tells Ethel.

That's what I meant, yes.

[Magnumfangirl]

How much of Pioneer Women did they chop out?  I haven't seen that episode in years, but it felt like they cut a lot of it out.

[SmithW6079]

3 hours ago, Magnumfangirl said:

How much of Pioneer Women did they chop out?  I haven't seen that episode in years, but it felt like they cut a lot of it out.

They cut out the part where Lucy says, "That's a happy (hefty?) little loaf." That's one of my favorite lines.

I always like Fred and Ricky's duet on "Strolling Through the Park," especially their harmonizing at the end.

[LexieLily]

I wonder what on earth Lucy did with the rest of that bread :) 

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I wonder what on earth Lucy did with the rest of that bread :) 

Well, it's well-known that that really WAS a giant loaf of rye bread and not a fake prop, so the cast and crew ended up eating rye bread for at least a week because of it!

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said:

Well, it's well-known that that really WAS a giant loaf of rye bread and not a fake prop, so the cast and crew ended up eating rye bread for at least a week because of it!

Now that you mention it, I do remember reading that in one of my I Love Lucy books... :-)

[opus]

I feel guilty, but I just can’t suspend disbelief that that bread stayed in that oven and came out so perfectly shaped.

Do love the exchange when the women come out and say they’re revolting.

[LexieLily]

5 hours ago, opus said:

I feel guilty, but I just can’t suspend disbelief that that bread stayed in that oven and came out so perfectly shaped.

Do love the exchange when the women come out and say they’re revolting.

Also, when they are deciding on the terms of the bet. Hee :)

 

Lucy: Okay, what do you want to bet?

Fred: How 'bout $10?               

Ethel: What's the matter with $20? 

Ricky: Well, what's the matter with $30?

Lucy: What's the matter with $50?!

Fred: What was the matter with ten dollars?!

Edited December 16, 2018 by LexieLily

[Mystery]

On 12/15/2018 at 6:12 AM, Spartan Girl said:

I love the Christmas special, even though 1) Lucy's colorized orange hair was distracting (was that really how it looked?) and 2) I found it odd that they didn't get a Christmas tree until literally the night before Christmas. Chalk it up to Fred and Ricky being cheap, I guess 😂😂😂😂

They said that Santa was bringing it, so maybe that was a tradition that I never heard of. To me it seems like that takes a lot of the fun and anticipation out of Christmas. 

I thought that the colorization really highlighted all the smoke that Desi was puffing out around the others. And as other people have said, Lucy! hair! Wow. It seemed much more orange in the Christmas episode than it did in the pioneer one (it seemed about the same as the clips, though). But then, it *was* fake; Lucy was a natural brunette. So maybe she never cared about whether it looked realistic. 

I'm still trying to work my brain around "20 dishes a meal" (when Lucy was counting how many dishes she's done). 

[chessiegal]

I've known people who don't put up a Christmas tree until after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve. Big surprise in the morning I suppose. Not how I was raised or have done it.

[Nordly Beaumont]

1 hour ago, Mystery said:

I'm still trying to work my brain around "20 dishes a meal" (when Lucy was counting how many dishes she's done).

Me too! Is she counting each piece of silverware as a "dish"? 

I remember the first time I saw this one and I was so proud of myself when I figured out a loaf of bread couldn't be bigger than the oven that baked it! Hollywood couldn't pull one over on little seven year old me!

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Me too! Is she counting each piece of silverware as a "dish"? 

I remember the first time I saw this one and I was so proud of myself when I figured out a loaf of bread couldn't be bigger than the oven that baked it! Hollywood couldn't pull one over on little seven year old me!

And how did Ethel of course have washed SO many more dishes than Lucy? 

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 12/15/2018 at 3:44 PM, SmithW6079 said:

They cut out the part where Lucy says, "That's a happy (hefty?) little loaf." That's one of my favorite lines.

Well DAMN. Not keeping this on the dvr. Naively, I thought since they were airing this on CBS and in color, we'd get the full, original broadcast version. BAH! At least I have the ENTIRE series on dvd.

9 hours ago, LexieLily said:

And how did Ethel of course have washed SO many more dishes than Lucy? 

Ethel and Fred have been married longer.

[VCRTracking]

Check out the neat thing Google did today to commemorate Desi Arnaz' 102 birthday today:

[Scarlett45]

WHAT HAPPENED to I Love Lucy on Hallmark?!! I woke up to The Middle!

[HyeChaps]

If Ricky performed most of his nights at the nightclub, would he be having dinner at home very much (necessitating all those dishes)?

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 8/5/2019 at 7:11 AM, Scarlett45 said:

WHAT HAPPENED to I Love Lucy on Hallmark?!! I woke up to The Middle!

Our lovable and crazy redhead returned today on the Hallmark channel! But I really do wish that it would return on MeTV.

Edited September 18, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Maverick]

Just in time to be taken off again in October for Christmas movies months on end. 

[Scarlett45]

43 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Our lovable and crazy redhead returned today on the Hallmark channel! But I really do wish that it would return on MeTV.

I saw, but now she’s only on 4-6am, and then Golden Girls starts at 6. I like the Golden Girls but I want to watch I love Lucy during my 6-7am hour!

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I saw, but now she’s only on 4-6am, and then Golden Girls starts at 6. I like the Golden Girls but I want to watch I love Lucy during my 6-7am hour!

😄😄😄😄 I dvr!!!!

[GHScorpiosRule]

FYI:

The next color episode to air alongside the Christmas one this year is...”Paris At Last!”

We get to see Lucy get arrested and the insistence of innocence in four languages in color!!!😂😂😂😂

Airs December 20 on CBS.

The show will return to MeTV in 2020!!

Edited December 13, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Maverick]

 The nose burning was in LA at Last.  Paris at last has the counterfeit money and the game of language telephone.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

20 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 The nose burning was in LA at Last.  Paris at last has the counterfeit money and the game of language telephone.  

D’OH!!! You’re right! But the translation of French & German—>German & Spanish—>Spanish & English is 😂😂😂😂

Fixed!

[rmontro]

On 12/12/2019 at 10:31 PM, Maverick said:

Paris at last has the counterfeit money and the game of language telephone.  

I guess since no one has commented on this since it aired, I will.  Yeah, the "language telephone" game was probably the highlight of the episode.  And Lucy complaining "Waiter, there are snails on my plate!". 

I've seen the colorized Christmas episode so many times now I can sleep through it, but I guess it's become a bit of a holiday tradition, at least for me.

I know Lucille Ball was a great star and comedienne, but every time I watch I Love Lucy I always think how underrated Desi Arnaz was.  I know he has some dated lines, but he adds so much to the show.

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 hours ago, rmontro said:

I guess since no one has commented on this since it aired, I will.  Yeah, the "language telephone" game was probably the highlight of the episode.  And Lucy complaining "Waiter, there are snails on my plate!". 

I've seen the colorized Christmas episode so many times now I can sleep through it, but I guess it's become a bit of a holiday tradition, at least for me.

I know Lucille Ball was a great star and comedienne, but every time I watch I Love Lucy I always think how underrated Desi Arnaz was.  I know he has some dated lines, but he adds so much to the show.

You beat me to it!

I loved watching the French Cop to French/German cop to German/Spanish wino, to Spanish/English Ricky!

Same with the Christmas episode. And it still bugs me that they waited until Christmas Eve to get a tree and trim it!

[Maverick]

 That was still common then.  Traditionally the wasn't put up untill Christmas Eve. It wasn't until the commercialization of Christmas, largely in the Post WWII era, that Christmas became a weeks long season. In the50s slot of people held on to their "old fashioned Christmas" traditions they knew as a kid.

 Since the Christmas episode was never added to syndication, I still haven't seen it as much as most of the other episodes. 

[rmontro]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Same with the Christmas episode. And it still bugs me that they waited until Christmas Eve to get a tree and trim it!

That does seem odd, but I've heard of this before.  It actually does seem to be an old Christmas tradition of sorts.  For kids like Ricky, I suppose it makes the day all the more magical.  They go to bed and wake up to find not only the presents but the living room transformed with a tree and all.  I haven't heard of anyone doing this in recent years, but who knows?

[Gemma Violet]

Yeah, I remember reading Christmas stories in my youth (1960s) and I always found it strange that the people in the stories would put up the tree on Christmas Eve.  Not every story had that, but enough so that I figured it was a thing for some people/generations.   (Some of those library books were 10-20 years old or more, so it makes sense since the stories were probably about people in the 1940s-50s.)

Edited December 30, 2019 by Gemma Violet

[VCRTracking]

Decided to post this video. It isn't about the 50s show but about Lucy:

 

 

 

[SmithW6079]

I've been watching the show on Hulu. First off, why does Hulu not have all the episodes? There are episodes missing from every season, including some of my favorites.

One thing I've come to realize: the earlier seasons were the best, when they were in New York. I think the California episodes strained my disbelief that Hollywood would be interested in making a movie star out of a nightclub band leader. It just never seemed realistic (within the show universe). Europe made a little more sense, since he was touring with his band (although that once again, Fred & Ethel would leave their own lives to manage the tour did).

While there are one or two episodes once they move to Connecticut that I like, by and large, I feel like those seasons were bad. It was stupid that Fred and Ethel would leave the apartment building they owned and managed to become the Ricardos' hired help. (And, if I recall, not even getting paid -- just working for a share of the egg profits from the chickens we never saw again. Yes, I know they had the rent money from the building, but they would be paying for the manager and they still had maintenance on it.)

I've also come to hate Fred's cracks at Ethel about her weight and her eating (and Lucy's too, for that matter). Vivian Vance was a beautiful woman -- certainly on par with Lucille Ball. I know Vivian didn't like that her character was married to a man 25 years older than she, but marriages with that age disparity do happen, so that didn't strain my credulity. That she was supposed to be Fred's contemporary did. 

I wish Hulu had some of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. The Tallulah Bankhead episode is one of my favorites.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Except for maybe one or two episodes, with "Lucy Does The Tango" being my favorite, I don't like the final season. As for Fred and Ethel moving to Connecticut, PLOT! to have William and Vivian still appear on the show.

I've never liked Fred. Always inserting himself as someone who could save Ricky money in the European tour, and being so very bad at it; his boasting that since he grew up on a farm, he knew EVERYTHING about chickens, and then having to tell Ricky he was wrong and it would take a lot longer before they'd see profits.

So what if Fred was the "hired help"? He and Ethel got to live rent free in the guest house.

I found the actress who played Betty Ramsey just as annoying as Caroline Appleby.

I love the California episodes if only for the cameos of the Golden Age Hollywood celebrities. But yeah, it was ridiculous that Ricky shows up to work on some unknown movie that gets shelved and doesn't do any other movie, but New York is fawning over him as if he's equal to the likes of Hudson, Wayne, Holden, etc.

I hate that MeTV had to go and stick in two additional commercial breaks--right in the middle of a scene! I used to enjoy just the two commercial breaks. They've left Andy Griffith and Perry Mason alone.

All that said, I still love this show.

[Maverick]

 Yeah, the CT episodes aren't good.   The showing was just aging and the change in locale didn't do anything to perk it up.   Add to the fact there was no cast chemistry because Lucy and Desi were falling apart and Vivian always hated Frawley.

 I prefer the California episodes to the European ones.   I wish there had been more episodes based on their cross country road trip.  For that era, it wasn't that far fetched that a studio would put Ricky into a Hollywood movie and try to turn him into a Latin heartthrob.  And Ricky did make a movie, we just didn't get to see it or ever hear much about it...which was odd.   

[Snow Apple]

I like the Hollywood episodes and all the star appearances too. I especially liked th Brown Derby episode. Ethel got to touch and talk to Eve Arden. Fred's reaction when the intercom called for Eva Gardner, "She may be people, but she's not like you and me." 

I loved the audience's gasp when Rock Hudson showed up.

 The only thing I'm still upset about after all these years was Lucy ended up with the plain tweed suit (or was it the plain black dress) instead of one of the gorgeous party dresses.

[GHScorpiosRule]

24 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

 The only thing I'm still upset about after all these years was Lucy ended up with the plain tweed suit (or was it the plain black dress) instead of one of the gorgeous party dresses.

And it looked even more horrendous in color.

[Maverick]

She bought the plain black dress but Don Loper gave it to her for free when she agreed to wear the tweed suit in the show. 

 I loved Don Juan Gets Shelved.   Classic Lucy scheme getting Ricky in trouble. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Nothing will top the laugh factor as when Lucy sets her nose on fire when William Holden shows up and the looks of disgust from him and the bug-eyed from Ricky when she tried to readjust the whatever she used and ended up like Pinocchio!

And of course "Lucy Does the Tango" and Ricky smashes all those eggs and Lucy is dripping with egg.

I remember watching a special, where one of the writers/producers said it was the longest recorded laughter in history. I believe it, because watching it this morning, again, for the umpteenth time, I was laughing my butt off.

[LexieLily]

6 hours ago, Maverick said:

Yeah, the CT episodes aren't good.   The showing was just aging and the change in locale didn't do anything to perk it up.   Add to the fact there was no cast chemistry because Lucy and Desi were falling apart and Vivian always hated Frawley.

They moved to CT towards the end of the original series, didn't they? I can't watch some of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episodes for the same reason, because the behind-the-scenes almost hostility between Lucy and Desi due to their marriage breaking up bled into the episodes and it made it sad and uncomfortable (Lucy being red-eyed in scenes in The Ricardo's Go to Japan because she and Desi were yelling at each other in between takes, Edie Adams singing "That's All" on the last episode not knowing Lucy had filed for divorce from Desi the day before, the scene at the train station in the episode Lucy gets a gig on TV and she and Ricky barely see each other anymore, the last scene of the last episode with a kiss between Lucy/Lucille and Ricky/Desi.)

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

They moved to CT towards the end of the original series, didn't they?

Yes. This is the final season of this show.

[Nordly Beaumont]

7 hours ago, Maverick said:

Vivian always hated Frawley.

What great actors and professionals they were! You never saw how much they hated each other. Yeah, they fought as Ethel and Fred, but there were also times where they were sweet to each other, or plotting together, and in those times they really portrayed a couple who loved each other. I'm especially impressed with Vivian Vance, because I've read how hard it was for her. Yet she never let it show. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:59 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

What great actors and professionals they were! You never saw how much they hated each other.

I always use Frawley and Vance as an example whenever I read comments about actors who refuse to be professional and do the job because of personality clashes or issues. More recently, see Julianna Margulies/Archie Panjabi, and Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon.

But, I digress.

I always notice the little things, and noticed, after reading comments here how behind the scenes, things just disintegrated between Desi and Lucille in the last season, that Desi wasn't wearing his wedding ring any more. he/Ricky wore it during all of the New York years, but I noticed it was gone during the tail end of the European episodes.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Tomorrow MeTV will air the series finale and we resume with Season One on Wednesday!!

Edited September 8, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[SmithW6079]

Does anyone watch Rick Nineg's YouTube channel? He's a big "I Love Lucy" fan and does a lot of videos on the show, as well as other classic sitcoms. Usually the videos cover some "unknown" facts or trivia.

 

[Gemma Violet]

I like Rick Nineg, too.  He used to have longer video clips of the show on his Youtube channel but was forced to take many down due to copyright issues.  So he modified the channel to be more ILL trivia-type stuff and now includes lots of still photos.  He also covers other classic shows on his channel. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by Gemma Violet

[GHScorpiosRule]

I don't know why I never caught these inconsistencies in the many years I've been watching this show, but working remotely, I don't know, has me paying more attention?

Anyhoo. In Season one, the first handful of episodes has Lucy speaking in a squeaking voice, almost. Twice, we've seen her showcase her talent--when she auditions to play Sally Sweet to Ricky's Cuban Pete--when she goes on that diet and then loses the last few pounds by roasting in a sauna machine. And the second when she does that routine of a hobo with a cello and calls Ricky "Ricky Riscardoh" a skit Lucille and Desi performed, where she called him "Desi Arnezee."

So, Lucy had talent. But, whatever.

The other...inconsistency, or rather, scenery that makes no sense is that Lucy and Ricky live in a brownstone, at least three or four flights up. Yet, the door at the kitchen opens up to a garden view, as if they live on the ground floor! Wouldn't Ethel, Lucy, Ricky, Fred, have to, like, oh, I dunno, climb down some kind of fire escape? We only get a view from when the door opens and I don't see any view of the city from where their apartment is located!

Then there's this:

For the first season and first nine episodes of the second season, Lucy and Ricky's bed is ONE bed; okay, twin beds pushed together, but it looks like ONE bed. Then, after episode 9, "Ricky Loses His Voice", and their new furniture comes in, they now have two separate twin beds!

And then, THEN, in "Lucy is Enciente", Lucy specifically tells Ethel NOT to tell Fred she's going to have a baby, because she wants to tell Ricky first. But what happens when Ethel AND Fred show up? They BOTH ask if Lucy has told Ricky yet. And Fred KNOWS. Meaning Ethel opened her big fat mouth.

But the ending always gets me. Like ALWAYS. Because as I've stated her up thread, no one will convince me those last 10 seconds or so was acting. It really looked like Lucille and Desi showing their actual emotions.

[Kromm]

On 11/10/2020 at 5:27 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

The other...inconsistency, or rather, scenery that makes no sense is that Lucy and Ricky live in a brownstone, at least three or four flights up. Yet, the door at the kitchen opens up to a garden view, as if they live on the ground floor! Wouldn't Ethel, Lucy, Ricky, Fred, have to, like, oh, I dunno, climb down some kind of fire escape? We only get a view from when the door opens and I don't see any view of the city from where their apartment is located!

Bare minimum, they have to be at least on the 2nd floor. It's made clear on countless occasions that the Murtz' are DOWNSTAIRS.

EDIT - actually it just occurred to me that it's not uncommon in New York City for landlord apartments to be in basements. So that's a possible explanation.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Kromm