Did you like the version with Vivian or without her? I liked the one with her, the episodes that she wasn't in were really bad.

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Andrew Carden

I'm with you -- the Vivian Vance episodes are much better. It helped that during her run, a lot of the "I Love Lucy" crew was still behind the scenes. Also, after she left, there was almost no cast! Every episode was about Lucy, Mr. Mooney, and some guest star. Really formulaic. Lucy Carmichael got really stupid during the California seasons.

The Vivian Vance years for sure was the better format, the Mooney episodes from the last few seasons were not particularly memorable and I've never felt the impulse to watch those episodes over again after seeing them once. The team of Lucy and Viv was pure magic, and even though Mary Jane was a good sidekick, you can't get any better than Lucy and Viv.

My favorite is also the Vivian Vance years, the two played off one another pefectly. It's too bad Viv didn't want to do the show anymore.