Life With Lucy aired from September until November 1986 on ABC.
Probably One of the most widely anticipated new series-and most embarrassing flop- of the 1986 season was this ill-conceived comedy that marked the return of Lucille Ball to series television after 12 years.
In order for her to even consider doing the show, ABC had to pay Ms. Ball a huge salary, give her complete creative control, guarantee her a time slot on the fall schedule and it was to have no pilot testing before preview audiences... What ABC ended up with was a rehash of the Lucy shows of years prior - only this time, with a 75 year old star.
Lucy was cast as Lucy Barker, a free-spirited Grandmother whose husband Sam had died, leaving her half interest in M&B Hardware in South Pasadena, California. Lucy decided to move in and help run the place, but her idea of "help" (like arranging all the merchandise in alphabetical order!) was not appreciated by her late husband's partner, crabby old Curtis McGibbon (played by Ms Ball's longtime foil Gale Gordon, then 80 )
To complicate the situation, Lucy's daughter Margo ( Ann Dusenberry)was married to McGibbon's son Ted ( Larry Anderson), a law student. All of them, including Lucy's young grandchildren Becky and Kevin( Jenny Lewis, Philip J. Amelio ll), lived in the building together. With one bathroom. Leonard ( Donovan Scott), was an employee at the store.
There was plenty of slapstick comedy and sight gags and Lucy celebrity chasing as in days of old; Ms. Ball was in great shape for her age, but unfortunately the scripts were not... The series was cancelled after only two months never to be seen again.
A Review from The New York Times
TV REVIEWS; LUCILLE BALL RETURNS IN ABC COMEDY SERIES
By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: September 22, 1986
TWO children are squealing happily that Grandma is coming. The door opens and, as the studio audience cheers warmly, Lucille Ball bursts in, lugging a large plant, its big green leaves smartly setting off the star's bright orange hair. Explaining that the plant is sick, she promptly screws her face into an impersonation of a dreaded spider mite.
Lucy's back. Thirty-five years ago, in 1951, she became a superstar in the classic comedy series ''I Love Lucy.'' In the 1960's, she was a businesswoman and mother of grown children in ''The Lucy Show.'' Now, in ''Life With Lucy,'' on ABC Saturdays at 8 P.M., she is playing what the network hopes will be ''a free-spirited grandmother who thinks life holds lots of excitment no matter what age you are.'' This past Saturday's premiere, not made available for advance reviewing, suggests that even Lucy's beloved wackiness has its limits.
The hitch, of course, is that age does, and should, make a difference. Young Lucy Ricardo was an inspired clown whose antics, from modified pratfalls to stomping on grapes in a wine vat, required extraordinary energy. Created and produced by Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr., veteran collaborators with Ms. Ball, ''Life With Lucy'' tries to pretend that time has stood still. Lucy is given bits and routines that are clearly designed to trigger memories of past bits and routines. The results come uneasily close to the spectacle of a great entertainer, who doesn't have to prove anything, trying too hard to show that she can still be the life of the party.
The plot has a widowed Lucy moving in with her daughter, Margo (Ann Dusenberry), Margo's law-student husband, Ted (Larry Anderson), and their two children. Ted's father, Curtis, was the partner of Lucy's husband in a hardware business, and he now strongly resents having to work with the widow. Worse, not wanting his grandchildren under her influence, he, too, decides to move in with the family, making this still another multigenerational television unit. Carefully buttressing remembrances of things past, blustery Curtis is played by Gale Gordon, Ms. Ball's devoted foil during the decade of ''The Lucy Show.''
At the hardware store, the stars are given opportunities for some physical comedy. However, when Lucy rides a rolling store ladder into Curtis's nose, viewers are more likely to wince than giggle. When the person slipping on a banana peel turns out to be elderly, the threat of a truly serious injury overwhelms the joke. The premiere, directed by Peter Baldwin, also featured a mishap with an ''industrial-sized fire extinguisher'' that left the performers awash in a sea of foam. The effort was misspent, especially as the cameras didn't even bother to disguise the fact that another offstage machine was supplying the suds.
''Life With Lucy'' is almost frantically determined to demonstrate that the old gags and routines still work best. Unfortunately, despite the familiar faces, they worked better the first time around. It is time for fresh ideas that can take advantage of different but still formidable talents.
This photo gallery contains pictures for sitcoms of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and today, as well as dramas, soaps, reality shows, cartoons, game shows, variety shows, talk shows and late night tv photo galleries.
Please note that all pictures uploaded between August 6-31, 2009 were lost in a database crash. While the photos are still on the server, the information (title, description, number of views, who uploaded them, etc.) attached to each photo was lost. In addition, any photo edits, moves or any other account changes from this period were lost. Our apologies to all members who are missing photos and for the downtime. We appreciate you taking the time to share them with us. Click here for archived files by category which are no longer in the database. We would appreciate it if the original uploaders could re-upload them when they have the opportunity. Thank you.
To upload photos, please choose the appropriate category and login with your existing
message board username and password. If you are new, you will need to
register before
uploading any photos. Only ".jpg" files will upload - ".jpeg", ".gif", ".png" or any other image
format will not work. You will need to convert them to ".jpg". Please upload only sitcom
and tv related photos.
To request any photos be removed, please use the "Report Photo" link that is the bottom of
every photo if you are registered and logged in. This is the quickest and easiest method. You can also
send an e-mail with the url of the photo(s). We will also gladly credit or
link to any site that is the original source of any photos.
If you have any questions, comments, requests for new categories, etc. - please contact us.
All images, logos, and other materials are copyright their respective owners. No rights
are given or implied.
Powered by: PhotoPost PHP Copyright 2004-2012 All Enthusiast, Inc.
