There are a couple of sets we see in "The New Neighbors" (season one) that we never see again. The better known one is the "fourth wall" and window in the Ricardo's apt. They had to design it well enough to handle shots from three different angles:

129764129765

129766


The other shot is this one in the Mertz' apt. Where is this supposed to be?
129767

Nice pics!

Ok, the second pic at the top. What is wrong with the wall behind Ricky? It looks like cheap wall paneling or a bad imitation of that. If you look at the rest of the walls in the apt. you will note they don't have what appears to be lines going up and down, as you would see if it was wood paneling. :crazy:

The third pic with Ricky looking at the girls as they look out the window, what is wrong with the window frame/sill right above Ethel's head? It looks like it is cracked? Oh wait, if you look at the second pic again with Ricky touching Lucy's back, it looks like window blinds. The Ricardos had blinds in the kitchen, but those blinds were those kind that DIDN'T have individual blinds, it was one sheet, do you know what I mean? Remember when Lucy had hidden her manuscript in the kitchen? Was that the only time there were blinds in the kitchen??????? The blinds in this second pic here are clearly out of place as the Ricardos didn't have any blinds of that kind in their apartment.

As for Fred's pic, WHERE IS THAT? They had a phone in their living room. The only other obvious place they would have a phone would be in the bedroom (such as the Ricardos) however, that is not the Mertzes bedroom, from what we have seen of it. Then again, it could be the "fourth wall" in the Mertzes bedroom.

I know what you mean. The wood panelling and the Venetian blinds are obviously out of place. It must have been a quick slap-together job for that one scene.

Yes, Venetian blinds (damn word escaped me there) :crazy: If you recall, the blinds the Ricardos had in their kitchen when Lucy wrote that novel, the blinds were NOT Venetian. Was that the only time those blinds were used in the kitchen for that scene? I can't recall.

Ok, the second pic at the top. What is wrong with the wall behind Ricky? It looks like cheap wall paneling or a bad imitation of that. If you look at the rest of the walls in the apt. you will not they don't have what appears to be lines going up and down, as you would see if it was wood paneling. :crazy:

The answer to what's wrong with the wall behind Ricky must have something to do with the fact this this was a temporary extension to the regular set, thrown together just for this particular episode. Back in the first season, the budget for this show was very small, so this rather sloppy looking wall might have been the best they could do with their limited resources. But putting this into the context of the "actual Ricardo apartment," what's wrong with the wall? No idea. Perhaps we could speculate that, in one of her past escapades, Lucy did some damage to the wall and this is the resulting repair work from cheap Fred.

The blinds in this second pic here are clearly out of place as the Ricardos didn't have any blinds of that kind in their apartment.

It seems like they were always trying to create an illusion of blinds in the living room of this first apartment. You'll notice that in all the daytime scenes in the living room, you'll see shadows against the back wall that appear to be created by the sun shining through blinds on the unseen fourth wall. In fact, you can see this in the first picture. If you look behind Ethel's head at the living room door, you will see these shadows.

The answer to what's wrong with the wall behind Ricky must have something to do with the fact this this was a temporary extension to the regular set, thrown together just for this particular episode. Back in the first season, the budget for this show was very small, so this rather sloppy looking wall might have been the best they could do with their limited resources. But putting this into the context of the "actual Ricardo apartment," what's wrong with the wall? No idea. Perhaps we could speculate that, in one of her past escapades, Lucy did some damage to the wall and this is the resulting repair work from cheap Fred.



It seems like they were always trying to create an illusion of blinds in the living room of this first apartment. You'll notice that in all the daytime scenes in the living room, you'll see shadows against the back wall that appear to be created by the sun shining through blinds on the unseen fourth wall. In fact, you can see this in the first picture. If you look behind Ethel's head at the living room door, you will see these shadows.
I do see that now. In fact, I have seen what it is you are referring to regarding shadows/light filtering into the apartment. As cheap as their budget was, it was nice to see they tried to give the illusion of sun coming through into that apartment. It gave it a nice touch of "reality".

I do see that now. In fact, I have seen what it is you are referring to regarding shadows/light filtering into the apartment. As cheap as their budget was, it was nice to see they tried to give the illusion of sun coming through into that apartment. It gave it a nice touch of "reality".

I agree. And if you compare this to, say, "The Honeymooners," where the walls of the apartment would shake every time they closed the door, and sometimes the buildings in the background seen through the window would shake as well, the "I Love Lucy" folks should be commended. I suspect this was largely due to Desi's influence. I have to give them credit as well for working over the course of that first year to make the apartment nicer looking. It was very bland looking in those early episodes, but over time they improved the furnishings and added some plants and made it look much, much nicer.

I agree. And if you compare this to, say, "The Honeymooners," where the walls of the apartment would shake every time they closed the door, and sometimes the buildings in the background seen through the window would shake as well, the "I Love Lucy" folks should be commended. I suspect this was largely due to Desi's influence. I have to give them credit as well for working over the course of that first year to make the apartment nicer looking. It was very bland looking in those early episodes, but over time they improved the furnishings and added some plants and made it look much, much nicer.
That is so true. I agree. It was very bland to look at. It did get better as time went on and if you look at it in a very realistic way, isn't that how it is in real life? ;)

I think the few times the ILL set seemed cheap and obvious, is small in comparison to as you say the Honeymooners. I know Madame X pointed out the fake background in the Jimmy Demerat golf episode as needing a good "ironing" :lol: and other numerous things, but overall, it was nice not to see things move as someone closed or slammed a door.

Speaking of sets that were never seen again, and the Mertzes bedroom...wasn't "Vacation From Marriage" the only time we see their bedroom?

Speaking of sets that were never seen again, and the Mertzes bedroom...wasn't "Vacation From Marriage" the only time we see their bedroom?
Yes it is. That bedroom of theirs seemed so drab, just like their living room. :crazy:

Yes it is. That bedroom of theirs seemed so drab, just like their living room. :crazy:


Oh! But Hey! and C'mon! There was a framed picture that said "Home Sweet Home" above their beds. I am certain that was an inspiration for the many passionate and intimate moments we fans never heard about. ;) :lol:

Oh! But Hey! and C'mon! There was a framed picture that said "Home Sweet Home" above their beds. I am certain that was an inspiration for the many passionate and intimate moments we fans never heard about. ;) :lol:
:rofl: Don't even make me try and imagine what went on in that bedroom of theirs. :eek: :lol:

:rofl: Don't even make me try and imagine what went on in that bedroom of theirs. :eek: :lol:

puke:

Fred's pants were too high, and Ethel's dresses were too low... : omg:

puke:

Fred's pants were too high, and Ethel's dresses were too low... : omg:
:brent


Fred's pants were indeed too high. But I guess he wore them that way to keep his tie in place...(insert pic here showing Fred wearing his pants too high and his tie tucked in them...:rofl:)

I will dig up a picture of Fred's disappearing waistline. His belt became a bra.
Another Mertz omg:

I will dig up a picture of Fred's disappearing waistline. His belt became a bra.
Another Mertz omg:
OMG :brent "his belt became a bra"....TOUCHE!!!!!:cool:

I will dig up a picture of Fred's disappearing waistline. His belt became a bra.
Another Mertz omg:

:lol: This reminds me of a bit Nick at Nite used to run years ago called "The Pants that Ate Fred Mertz."

:lol: This reminds me of a bit Nick at Nite used to run years ago called "The Pants that Ate Fred Mertz."
:brent OMG, I forgot abt that.

I must admit the apartments were very confusing, im like thinking hey? whats in that door? where the hell is this room? i just learnt to live with the many questions of the i love lucy show lol.

I must admit the apartments were very confusing, im like thinking hey? whats in that door? where the hell is this room? i just learnt to live with the many questions of the i love lucy show lol.
I know what you mean. :lol: I would ask myself questions like you stated, but knew that I would never really get an answer. However, being on this forum, it gives us new opportunities to explore, inquire and just try and figure out certain things. :lol:

:lol: This reminds me of a bit Nick at Nite used to run years ago called "The Pants that Ate Fred Mertz."
LOL! I remember that one...that's when Nick At Nite was actually worth watching.

LOL! I remember that one...that's when Nick At Nite was actually worth watching.
Those were the days weren't they? ;)

I remember being so excited when Nickelodeon appeared. Then it became Nick at Nite and TVLand appeared. I upgraded my cable package just so I could get TVLand. It was so cool. Finally a station made for me!

Oh well... Sigh... :(

I know what you mean. :lol: I would ask myself questions like you stated, but knew that I would never really get an answer. However, being on this forum, it gives us new opportunities to explore, inquire and just try and figure out certain things. :lol:

Yes you are right, this board has answered many questions, it was actually this board that got be more into i love lucy! ;)

There are a couple of sets we see in "The New Neighbors" (season one) that we never see again. The better known one is the "fourth wall" and window in the Ricardo's apt. They had to design it well enough to handle shots from three different angles:

129764129765

129766


The other shot is this one in the Mertz' apt. Where is this supposed to be?
129767
Maybe those sets were built like that because they didn't have a big buget.:D

Ok, the second pic at the top. What is wrong with the wall behind Ricky? It looks like cheap wall paneling or a bad imitation of that. If you look at the rest of the walls in the apt. you will note they don't have what appears to be lines going up and down, as you would see if it was wood paneling. :crazy:

I had another thought on this. Remember, the window scene was only a short segment at the beginning of the episode, but a large portion of the of the episode after the window scene still took place in the living room. Having that window there for the rest of the episode would have been a distraction to the some of the studio audience, as well as the cameras, and would have inhibited their ability to see the action going on in the living room. So they needed something that could quickly be removed. This window, therefore, had to be something they could push up against the end of the wall on the permanent set and then remove as soon as they were done with it. What it appears that they constructed was a window attached to the end of the living room wall. And then this whole window/wall end contraption got pushed up against the end of wall on the permanent set. I'm assuming that when they did this, for some reason it could not be pushed completely flush against the permanent set without leaving a gap. So I think the panel you see there is to cover up that gap.

I had another thought on this. Remember, the window scene was only a short segment at the beginning of the episode, but a large portion of the of the episode after the window scene still took place in the living room. Having that window there for the rest of the episode would have been a distraction to the some of the studio audience, as well as the cameras, and would have inhibited their ability to see the action going on in the living room. So they needed something that could quickly be removed. This window, therefore, had to be something they could push up against the end of the wall on the permanent set and then remove as soon as they were done with it. What it appears that they constructed was a window attached to the end of the living room wall. And then this whole window/wall end contraption got pushed up against the end of wall on the permanent set. I'm assuming that when they did this, for some reason it could not be pushed completely flush against the permanent set without leaving a gap. So I think the panel you see there is to cover up that gap.
That is very interesting. I can see that now that I read your post. I looked at the pic again and it seems you are on the money. I am imagining it like a child's railroad track that can easily be put together and appear seamless, yet have that line that shows where it is put together. Good reasoning!:D

I had another thought on this. Remember, the window scene was only a short segment at the beginning of the episode, but a large portion of the of the episode after the window scene still took place in the living room. Having that window there for the rest of the episode would have been a distraction to the some of the studio audience, as well as the cameras, and would have inhibited their ability to see the action going on in the living room. So they needed something that could quickly be removed. This window, therefore, had to be something they could push up against the end of the wall on the permanent set and then remove as soon as they were done with it. What it appears that they constructed was a window attached to the end of the living room wall. And then this whole window/wall end contraption got pushed up against the end of wall on the permanent set. I'm assuming that when they did this, for some reason it could not be pushed completely flush against the permanent set without leaving a gap. So I think the panel you see there is to cover up that gap.

Sounds logical to me!

That is very interesting. I can see that now that I read your post. I looked at the pic again and it seems you are on the money. I am imagining it like a child's railroad track that can easily be put together and appear seamless, yet have that line that shows where it is put together. Good reasoning!:D

Wow, I'm glad to know you understood me. It's very hard trying to explain that. :crazy:

Wow, I'm glad to know you understood me. It's very hard trying to explain that. :crazy:
I know you took the time to try and make it clear, it is well appreciated. I know what you mean when you are typing something but it doesn't seem to match what your brain is thinking. I guess us ILL fans know what we all mean. :D :lol:

Sounds logical to me!

At this point in time with most of those people gone, I suppose the best we can do is try guess at these things. One thing I've long wondered about is the episode where they change apartments. I think they had left General Services Studio by this point and were in a much larger facility, Motion Picture Center, so were no longer forced to do things like putting curtains in front of the kitchen set for Lucy to do her Vitameatavegamin segment, or redress Lucy and Ricky's bedroom to turn it into the Mertzes' living room. So they now had room to have both the new and old Ricardo living room on the set at the same time to do this episode. (Or maybe the took down the old Ricardo bedroom that week and put the new living room there for this episode.) The old apartment living room had been located at about the middle of the stage, and I would assume the new living would have been placed in the same location once it became part of the new permanent set. So after that transition episode, what do you think they did? My guess is they built the new living room for that episode in such a way that it could be relocated after that week. And then as soon as that episode was filmed, they tore down the old set, moved the new living room to the space that had been occupied by the old living room, and then built the rest of the new apartment around it. Does that make sense, or do I sound like I'm smoking dope?

Fabulous pictures Madame X. Thanks for sharing them!:wave: