What's your favorite epidsode of the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour? Mine is The Celebrity Next Door. I liked it because it took place at home and I thought Tallulah Bankhead did a great job. It was the only one that I laughed out loud at out of all the specials.

My favorite episode would be the one with Ernie Kovacs. I think that one is very funny. I still laugh every time I see it. :lol:

Lucy takes a cruise to Havana.

I find the last LDCH very forced. :(

I really enjoy the "...Cruise to Havana," "Celebrity Next Door," "Lucy Makes Room for Danny," and even "Lucy Wants A Career." To me, those 4 resemble the 1/2 hour series the closest (all interior filmed on a soundstage with a live studio audience, timing and everything is great) while I feel that the shows from "Lucy's Summer Vacation" on to the end just seem forced with tired (and unhappy) stars.

Just my opinion, though!

I really enjoy the "...Cruise to Havana," "Celebrity Next Door," "Lucy Makes Room for Danny," and even "Lucy Wants A Career." To me, those 4 resemble the 1/2 hour series the closest (all interior filmed on a soundstage with a live studio audience, timing and everything is great) while I feel that the shows from "Lucy's Summer Vacation" on to the end just seem forced with tired (and unhappy) stars.

Just my opinion, though!
Lucy takes a cruise to Havana.

I find the last LDCH very forced. :(
Two excellent observations. I read in Lucy's book that when they filmed the last special they knew it was the last time they would all be together. By that time Lucy and Desi's marriage was beyond repair, the two weren't speaking unless it was to do a scene.

I liked the one with Danny Thomas. How many episodes were there of the LDCH?

There were 13 episodes of the Comedy Hour -- 26 if you count the 1/2 version that was created for syndication. If the show was syndicated today as a current TV series, no doubt in my mind that these 26 1/2 hour edited episodes would be included because that makes up an additional season in rerun terms, and the syndicater could get more money for the show!

"Lucy Makes Room for Danny" is my favorite. There were so many great scenes and memorable lines, like the one (my favorite) where Lucy is explaining to Ethel why sneaking into the house and taking the rent check is not stealing (a line that the clueless editors shamelessly cut out when the show was repackaged as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour"). The scene where Kathy catches Lucy in the bedroom with Danny is classic.

The script for this episode was flawless and fit the hour format perfectly, unlike the Tallulah episode which played like two half-hour episodes stuck together. Also the entire cast blended so well together with particularly good chemistry between Lucy and Danny Thomas. I love the scene where Lucy comes by to "pick up a few things" while Danny is having breakfast.

Gale Gordon was also exceptional as the judge with many great laughs coming from that classic courtroom scene with a voiceless Lucy acting out the snowball fight. Gale's reactions to Lucy in that scene were priceless. Although Lucy and Gale had played together before in two early "I Love Lucy" episodes (with Gale playing the rather bland Mr. Littlefield), and on "My Favorite Husband," this was the first time we actually got to see the great chemistry Lucy and Gale had working together, which would define their later roles together on "The Lucy Show" and "Here's Lucy."

I have never seen the one with Danny Thomas, so I'll check it out.

I have never seen the one with Danny Thomas, so I'll check it out.

Definitely, you should. The comedy hours are out on DVD now and it's well worth the small price just for this episode. Of course, you get ALL the episodes, and some really good extras. One of the extras is the special show Lucy, Desi, Vivian and Bill did for the Westinghouse dealers. There has already been a DVD out of just that Westinghouse dealers' special. And, believe it or not, the DVD of the Westhinghouse dealers special has been selling for MORE than this LDCH DVD set that not only includes this same Westinghouse dealers special (and in higher quality and full length) but, of couse, all the LDCHs and even more extras. It's quite a bargain.

I have the I Love Lucy seasons 7, 8, and 9 I haven't seen all the episodes yet. When I watch them it's in the order they were first aired.

Rick is correct about the Danny Thomas episode -- that is I Love Lucy/Lucille Ball television perfection at its highest standard! Too bad, in my opinion, that after that episode the series started a slow trend down. Even at its worst, it's still notches above what is considered great today.

my favorite is Lucy Wins a Racehorse. I think that this is Ethel mertz/Vivan Vance best performance see my post Lucy Wins a Race Horse

Rick is correct about the Danny Thomas episode -- that is I Love Lucy/Lucille Ball television perfection at its highest standard! Too bad, in my opinion, that after that episode the series started a slow trend down. Even at its worst, it's still notches above what is considered great today.

And I agree with you about that downward trend that followed after the Danny Thomas episode. However, I do get a kick out of "Lucy Wants a Career." There's not much new in that episode. It features yet another Lucy-wants-to-get-in-show-business plot like we've seen many times before; contains a Lucy-under-the-influence scene reminiscent of "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" and "Staten Island Ferry"; and an audition scene with Lucy competing against beautiful young hopefuls that's very reminiscent of the "The Diet." But perhaps it's that familiarity that I find appealing. It reminds me of those earlier episodes from the glory days. And most of the remaining episodes at least have a scene or two that are worth watching. Possible exceptions are the disastrous "Lucy's Summer Vacation" and "Lucy Meets the Moustache."

I'm with you on "Lucy Wants A Career," even though I think it's a notch below in originality, I still really enjoy that show. Nothing new in it, except that Lucy doesn't have to sneak into the act, and is a major success at it! Plus, I think it's about the last true scenes between her and Desi with real chemistry behind them. I guess just for good ol' laughs without doing anything ground breaking, "Career" is the episode to see!

As for "Mustache," it's interesting for the fact that it's the final show, nothing more nothing less IMO. In fact, I think the highlight of the episode is when Edie Adams sings "That's All," just because I've always liked that song. Plus I think it's great that there's all these instruments in the song when all there was at the house was Ethel playing the piano!!! But besides that, and of course the final few moments with the last kiss, the episode doesn't get much play around me.

I've always wondered whatw ould have happened had the show had a true final episode ala "Newhart" or "Mary Tyler Moore," etc. Had the marriage not been over at the time the show was filmed, and all circumstances different, I just wonder what the final show would have been like.

Lucy Wants a Career