Lucy Writes a Play

[NOVARick]

This is another confusing episode for me. Remember, Lucy originally writes a play with a Cuban theme, but when Ricky refuses to appear in it, she changes it to a British theme and recruits Fred to costar. When the play is about to go on, Ricky has decided to appear after all but has not communicated this to Lucy. So while Lucy and Ethel are reciting their British dialogue and the set is decorated with an English theme, Ricky comes out in his Cuban costume reciting lines from Lucy's earlier Cuban-themed version. So here's what I don't understand:

1) If Ricky was thinking this was still Lucy's Cuban-themed play, then what was his cue to come out on the stage? Lucy and Ethel were reading from an entirely different script with lines he was not even familiar with.

2) An exasperated Lucy pulls down the curtain to regroup and start over again. You would think that, backstage, Lucy and Ricky at this point would have consulted with one another about what to do. Especially since they were changing the set and everyone was changing their costumes. Ricky HAD to notice! But when the curtain comes up, Lucy and Ethel have switched to the Cuban theme, and now Ricky's doing the British theme!

3) When the curtain comes up the second time, how is it that Lucy and Ethel just happened to have those British costumes on hand? They came there only thinking they would be doing the Cuban theme, so where did they get the British costumes? And how did they manage to get a Cuban set up to replace the British one? And how did Ricky manage to come up with his Cuban costume since he had originally come there with a British costume? Where did that come from? It's not like these things are just happen to be laying around.

4) When Ricky comes out the second time in his British outfit, Lucy and Ethel are now reciting the Cuban dialogue. So what was Ricky's cue this time? And how did he suddenly know the dialogue to the Cuban version when it was the British version he had learned?

[Madame X]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

This is another confusing episode for me. Remember, Lucy originally writes a play with a Cuban theme, but when Ricky refuses to appear in it, she changes it to a British theme and recruits Fred to costar. When the play is about to go on, Ricky has decided to appear after all but has not communicated this to Lucy. So while Lucy and Ethel are reciting their British dialogue and the set is decorated with an English theme, Ricky comes out in his Cuban costume reciting lines from Lucy's earlier Cuban-themed version. So here's what I don't understand:

1) If Ricky was thinking this was still Lucy's Cuban-themed play, then what was his cue to come out on the stage? Lucy and Ethel were reading from an entirely different script with lines he was not even familiar with.

2) An exasperated Lucy pulls down the curtain to regroup and start over again. You would think that, backstage, Lucy and Ricky at this point would have consulted with one another about what to do. Especially since they were changing the set and everyone was changing their costumes. Ricky HAD to notice! But when the curtain comes up, Lucy and Ethel have switched to the Cuban theme, and now Ricky's doing the British theme!

3) When the curtain comes up the second time, how is it that Lucy and Ethel just happened to have those British costumes on hand? They came there only thinking they would be doing the Cuban theme, so where did they get the British costumes? And how did they manage to get a Cuban set up to replace the British one? And how did Ricky manage to come up with his Cuban costume since he had originally come there with a British costume? Where did that come from? It's not like these things are just happen to be laying around.

4) When Ricky comes out the second time in his British outfit, Lucy and Ethel are now reciting the Cuban dialogue. So what was Ricky's cue this time? And how did he suddenly know the dialogue to the Cuban version when it was the British version he had learned?

Great points!

[tdr]

Yes, the whole setup at the end failed not only to make 'good' sense, but any sense at all. How can any actor be prepared to enter the stage and have no idea what the actors in scene already are doing? Did he sit in a dark sound-proof booth til somebody said "Get out there and do it"?

I know I have said this before, but this is why I never rate the 1st season very highly compared to the rest of the series-- they stretched for laughs by going completely outside any believable basis, evidently following the example of film comedy shorts [The 3 Stooges, Edgar Kennedy, et al]. Burro in the apartment, lip-sinking Carmen Miranda, pretending to be a chair and shooting their door with pots on their heads as helmets, a well-shaped 8-foot loaf of bread out of a 2-foot oven....... I'm glad they realized they didn't have to go that far out, and good character comedy could carry the show a long way.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by tdr

Yes, the whole setup at the end failed not only to make 'good' sense, but any sense at all. How can any actor be prepared to enter the stage and have no idea what the actors in scene already are doing? Did he sit in a dark sound-proof booth til somebody said "Get out there and do it"?

I know I have said this before, but this is why I never rate the 1st season very highly compared to the rest of the series-- they stretched for laughs by going completely outside any believable basis, evidently following the example of film comedy shorts [The 3 Stooges, Edgar Kennedy, et al]. Burro in the apartment, lip-sinking Carmen Miranda, pretending to be a chair and shooting their door with pots on their heads as helmets, a well-shaped 8-foot loaf of bread out of a 2-foot oven....... I'm glad they realized they didn't have to go that far out, and good character comedy could carry the show a long way.

You hit the nail on the head. When you have to suspend your disbelief that much and find yourself bombarded with so many implausibilities and lost in illogical scenarios, it spoils the fun. What makes the later seasons work for me is that the plots are constructed in a way that you can believe and relate to what's happening. This is why I hesitated for so long in buying the first season DVD. I already had all the other seasons. As much as I love the Vitameatavegamin scene, I have a hard time accepting, in that earlier scene, that Ricky would intentionally electrocute his wife! This stuff is way over the top and I can't imagine the writers would even have thought of doing something like that in the later seasons.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

You hit the nail on the head. When you have to suspend your disbelief that much and find yourself bombarded with so many implausibilities and lost in illogical scenarios, it spoils the fun. What makes the later seasons work for me is that the plots are constructed in a way that you can believe and relate to what's happening. This is why I hesitated for so long in buying the first season DVD. I already had all the other seasons. As much as I love the Vitameatavegamin scene, I have a hard time accepting, in that earlier scene, that Ricky would intentionally electrocute his wife! This stuff is way over the top and I can't imagine the writers would even have thought of doing something like that in the later seasons.

That electrocute thingy is way out of line to try and prove a point, especially to the one you love. And Desi was worried abt how Latinos looked if he "cheated on his taxes"?

I applaud you for saying (well said if I may say) what has been bugging me forever!

I too want to know why the costumes were so readily available? Did they just have all the costumes in a big trunk and they hauled that big trunk to the theatre? I doubt it.

And if Ricky was never aware of the British play, how would he know what to say? That never made sense.

Do you mean to tell me when Lucy said, "Let's switch plays." No one commented as to which one, since Ricky was Cuban and the girls were british. Who was going to change costumes?

Again, too many flaws, but not as many as the other episode.

BTW, this was the first time the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League was mentioned.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

That electrocute thingy is way out of line to try and prove a point, especially to the one you love. And Desi was worried abt how Latinos looked if he "cheated on his taxes"?

I applaud you for saying (well said if I may say) what has been bugging me forever!

I too want to know why the costumes were so readily available? Did they just have all the costumes in a big trunk and they hauled that big trunk to the theatre? I doubt it.

And if Ricky was never aware of the British play, how would he know what to say? That never made sense.

Do you mean to tell me when Lucy said, "Let's switch plays." No one commented as to which one, since Ricky was Cuban and the girls were british. Who was going to change costumes?

Again, too many flaws, but not as many as the other episode.

BTW, this was the first time the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League was mentioned.

And what the heck was going on backstage? During this big switcharoo, Lucy and Ethel are busy changing costumes AND rebuilding the set and Ricky doesn't even notice? And let's not forget that audience sitting there waiting for all this to happen. Man were they patient!

[Ireneparalegal]

Don't forget, they had that woman reading them HIAWATHA (sp?)... She was certainly ready to read that poem "just in case".

I agree Rick. Couldn't Ricky see the commotion going on? And wouldn't Ricky say, "I don't know the british play lines, so we are doing the cuban play, right?" or something like that.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

Don't forget, they had that woman reading them HIAWATHA (sp?)... She was certainly ready to read that poem "just in case".

Oh yeah, I forgot about her. Listening to her must have had them riveted to their seats!

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I agree Rick. Couldn't Ricky see the commotion going on? And wouldn't Ricky say, "I don't know the british play lines, so we are doing the cuban play, right?" or something like that.

Exactly! And this is a guy who goes to work every day reheasing with his band so that everything is just right by the time they perform before an audience.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

Oh yeah, I forgot about her. Listening to her must have had them riveted to their seats!



Exactly! And this is a guy who goes to work every day reheasing with his band so that everything is just right by the time they perform before an audience.

"...riveted to their seats." You'd have to rivet my butt to a chair to sit and listen to that crap.

The Ricky character at times seemed just as zany as Lucy. It does seem strange that a man who ran a nightclub, band and all, didn't get the details right abt the play.

[Madame X]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

"...riveted to their seats." You'd have to rivet my butt to a chair to sit and listen to that crap.

The Ricky character at times seemed just as zany as Lucy. It does seem strange that a man who ran a nightclub, band and all, didn't get the details right abt the play.

I agree. Sometimes Ricky had his head in the clouds.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Madame X

I agree. Sometimes Ricky had his head in the clouds.

If he couldn't recognize Ethel in that "mexican" outfit, than he was not too bright.

[catlover79]

Samantha Stephens of Bewitched would've thanked her lucky stars could she have seen this episode. Her attempt at writing a play was not nearly as disasterous!!

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Samantha Stephens of Bewitched would've thanked her lucky stars could she have seen this episode. Her attempt at writing a play was not nearly as disasterous!!

Yeah, and she had the characters come to life, LOL.