Original Opening - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

batcat24 · 01-09-2007, 07:00 PM

Did you know that the heart opening was not the original opening?It was added when the show was in reruns.The Original Opening is on the DVDs of I Love Lucy.

eng51squad51 · 01-09-2007, 09:54 PM

yes the heart is the syndication version when I love lucy moved to tvland they brought back the orignal opening by replacing the orignal sponsors with the tvland logo.and when you still watch I love lucy on tvland you still see the orignal opening.

TV_on_the_Porch · 01-10-2007, 05:03 AM

That's not really an accurate statement. What you see at the beginning of a TV Land episode is a substantially edited and modified snippet of an original sponsor opening. They're tacked on without any regard to which animation originally preceded which episode. A great many of the originals just didn't lend themselves to the TV Land treatment, and it's just as well. If you want to see how ILL openings really looked and sounded, you should seek them out at YouTube.

TV Knowledge Fan · 01-10-2007, 06:04 PM

... indeed "modified" several of the original animated openings of the show to eliminate the "sponsor's product" prominently featured within the title {Philip Morris, Lilt, Jell-O, etc.}, adding the "Vivian Vance/William Frawley" credit at the end.

See, Desi Arnaz was VERY meticulous about how the original opening and closing titles, transitions and commercials were handled during each episode. He arranged for a "seamless" flow from the opening titles through the opening commercial, to the "first act", the animated transition to the middle commercial, to the "second act", and animated transition to the "integrated" plug for the sponsor's product he and Lucy delivered at the end, through the closing credits (with the sponsor's product prominently behind them). You'd have to see one of the original CBS film prints of the show to understand this setup. When "I LOVE LUCY" was first repeated on CBS' daytime schedule in 1959, a "standard" opening and closing title had to be created for those network repeats and future syndication- hence, the "heart" titles that EVERYONE'S seen for over 40 years.

01-09-2007, 07:00 PM	#1
batcat24 batcat24 Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 10, 2006 Location: Balch Springs, texas Posts: 74	Original Opening Did you know that the heart opening was not the original opening?It was added when the show was in reruns.The Original Opening is on the DVDs of I Love Lucy.

01-10-2007, 05:03 AM	#3
TV_on_the_Porch anything good on? Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 879	That's not really an accurate statement. What you see at the beginning of a TV Land episode is a substantially edited and modified snippet of an original sponsor opening. They're tacked on without any regard to which animation originally preceded which episode. A great many of the originals just didn't lend themselves to the TV Land treatment, and it's just as well. If you want to see how ILL openings really looked and sounded, you should seek them out at YouTube.
	__________________ Turn up the good times!

01-10-2007, 06:04 PM	#4
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	TV LAND.... ... indeed "modified" several of the original animated openings of the show to eliminate the "sponsor's product" prominently featured within the title {Philip Morris, Lilt, Jell-O, etc.}, adding the "Vivian Vance/William Frawley" credit at the end. See, Desi Arnaz was VERY meticulous about how the original opening and closing titles, transitions and commercials were handled during each episode. He arranged for a "seamless" flow from the opening titles through the opening commercial, to the "first act", the animated transition to the middle commercial, to the "second act", and animated transition to the "integrated" plug for the sponsor's product he and Lucy delivered at the end, through the closing credits (with the sponsor's product prominently behind them). You'd have to see one of the original CBS film prints of the show to understand this setup. When "I LOVE LUCY" was first repeated on CBS' daytime schedule in 1959, a "standard" opening and closing title had to be created for those network repeats and future syndication- hence, the "heart" titles that EVERYONE'S seen for over 40 years.

01-09-2007, 09:54 PM	#2
eng51squad51 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 17, 2002 Location: SC Posts: 978	yes the heart is the syndication version when I love lucy moved to tvland they brought back the orignal opening by replacing the orignal sponsors with the tvland logo.and when you still watch I love lucy on tvland you still see the orignal opening.