TV Guy
09-10-2017, 02:01 PM
This is now streaming as part of Amazon Prime. It's the 1977 special that marks Lucy's last collaboration with Vivian Vance, Mary Wickes, and Mary Jane Croft.
Be forewarned: it's not a great special. The stale script shows how tired Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll were of the Lucy format at that point. The various set pieces seem forced, such as Lucy and Viv's frosting fight, and some of the lines are pretty corny. Gale is playing Lucy's father-in-law rather than her brother-in-law, and that's pretty ridiculous. Lucy also has a TV husband, played by Ed McMahon, for the first time since Ricky. Unfortunately, he's useless.
Visually, it's not an attractive special. It was done on videotape as opposed to film - perhaps a nod to the contemporary sitcoms of the time (the Norman Lear shows) or maybe just a cost-savings measure on the part of Lucille Ball Productions. The harsh videotape didn't do any favors for Lucy and Viv, who would have benefitted from the use of film on this one. The main set is cheap-looking and the 70s decor and fashions are really ugly (think "Maude").
At first glance, you wonder why LBP didn't just use the "Here's Lucy" format. The same story could have been done with those characters. But my guess is that Carroll and Davis came up with this new format as the first of a potential series of specials or perhaps as a backdoor pilot for a new series. In that context, a new format makes more sense.
Anyway - check it out. It's interesting as a historical curiousity, and worth seeing what the "Lucy" format looked like in the late 70s.
Be forewarned: it's not a great special. The stale script shows how tired Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll were of the Lucy format at that point. The various set pieces seem forced, such as Lucy and Viv's frosting fight, and some of the lines are pretty corny. Gale is playing Lucy's father-in-law rather than her brother-in-law, and that's pretty ridiculous. Lucy also has a TV husband, played by Ed McMahon, for the first time since Ricky. Unfortunately, he's useless.
Visually, it's not an attractive special. It was done on videotape as opposed to film - perhaps a nod to the contemporary sitcoms of the time (the Norman Lear shows) or maybe just a cost-savings measure on the part of Lucille Ball Productions. The harsh videotape didn't do any favors for Lucy and Viv, who would have benefitted from the use of film on this one. The main set is cheap-looking and the 70s decor and fashions are really ugly (think "Maude").
At first glance, you wonder why LBP didn't just use the "Here's Lucy" format. The same story could have been done with those characters. But my guess is that Carroll and Davis came up with this new format as the first of a potential series of specials or perhaps as a backdoor pilot for a new series. In that context, a new format makes more sense.
Anyway - check it out. It's interesting as a historical curiousity, and worth seeing what the "Lucy" format looked like in the late 70s.