The Lucy Show - The Official First Season DVD Review - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 07-07-2009, 12:31 AM

Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance are back again! Following the end of the series I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Lucille Ball wasn't quite ready to leave TV, but she couldn't continue playing Lucy Ricardo, the woman married to Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo, after her painful real-life divorce from Desi Arnaz. So, in 1962, Ball came together with fellow I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance to create the new series, The Lucy Show. Initially, the series contained a lot of the slapstick style comedy that fans of I Love Lucy remembered very well, and Ball and Vance played characters that were very similar to their characters on I Love Lucy. The series is also the first TV series that contained Gale Gordon as one of Lucy's co-stars, although he actually does NOT appear until the second season (Charles Lane plays a different character that fills his role for the first season).

The Lucy Show wasn't quite the same as I Love Lucy, though. No longer did Ball and Vance play Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz. Now, they were Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley, two women sharing a home in Connecticut after each of them lost their husbands. Lucy was a widow (she did not want to play a divorcee because she did not want viewers to think she had divorced Ricky Ricardo, despite the fact that it was well-known that she had indeed divorced Desi Arnaz in real life) and Vivian was divorced from her husband, Ralph, who seemed to be somewhat of a deadbeat father. Lucy had two children, teenage daughter Chris (Candy Moore) and a younger son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett). Vivian had a son, Sherman (Ralph Hart), who was roughly the same age as Jerry. In many ways, it was like a 1960s version of the TV series Kate & Allie. The series was based upon the book Life Without George, although the series did have a rather major retooling in the fourth season.

The Official First Season marks the very first time that all 30 episodes from the 1962-1963 season have been released on DVD. Although there have been many public domain releases of the series over the years, they mostly contain episodes from the fifth season, and only two episodes from the first season have fallen into public domain. The four disc DVD set contains all 30 episodes with superb video and audio quality, and plenty of nice special features that are certain to please almost any fan of Lucille Ball.

Read our review by Skees here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/thelucy...dvdreview.html

Please post any questions or comments about this set.

TeeVeeCloset · 07-07-2009, 09:00 AM

WOW! What a Review! This release was on my "must get" list even if they butchered it but so glad to hear they DID IT RIGHT! Kudo's finally to CBS/Paramount, they also did "I Love Lucy" perfect, so I guess they know they can't fool around with Lucy! Thanks for the heads up about the "set up" menu as I usually ignore them as you mentioned, but I will definatley be first watching them in "vintage mode", the times you provided of both versions are very helpful as well.....the only slight disappointment is no current interview with Candy Moore, would love to see and hear her comments today as she was one of my many childhood TV crush's....lol....looking forward to hearing her overly project and shout her dialogue again!

McGillicuddy · 07-09-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeVeeCloset

WOW! What a Review! This release was on my "must get" list even if they butchered it but so glad to hear they DID IT RIGHT! Kudo's finally to CBS/Paramount, they also did "I Love Lucy" perfect, so I guess they know they can't fool around with Lucy! Thanks for the heads up about the "set up" menu as I usually ignore them as you mentioned, but I will definatley be first watching them in "vintage mode", the times you provided of both versions are very helpful as well.....the only slight disappointment is no current interview with Candy Moore, would love to see and hear her comments today as she was one of my many childhood TV crush's....lol....looking forward to hearing her overly project and shout her dialogue again!

I just pre-ordered my Lucy Show -Official First Season set, along with the Lucy Specials that just came out! Already have Lucy-Desi home movies and soon I will pre-order Here's Lucy.

I'm going to have a whole shelf just for "Lucy" dvd sets, along with I Love Lucy and The L & D Comedy Hour!

TeeVeeCloset · 07-10-2009, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

I just pre-ordered my Lucy Show -Official First Season set, along with the Lucy Specials that just came out! Already have Lucy-Desi home movies and soon I will pre-order Here's Lucy.

I'm going to have a whole shelf just for "Lucy" dvd sets, along with I Love Lucy and The L & D Comedy Hour!

Appreciated your response about dedicating a whole half shelf just to Lucy, as I do as well....I'm always re-arranging to get maximum available space, it almost has to dictate as to what I buy.....it's all about shelf space!...lol....

Robert 13 · 07-10-2009, 12:11 PM

I hope they have already begun work on Season 2 because this is definitely going to be a big seller. Pre-sales are already high for many online retailers. They need to take advantage of this momentum and, I think, announcing Season 2 soon after the release of Season 1 would continue the excitement and keep the enthusiasm for this show high.

I, for one, can't wait for Season 3 when Lucy and Viv are camp cooks. That episode is absolutely hysterical with the hot-cake batter and the hole in the floor.

catlover79 · 07-10-2009, 12:27 PM

Kasey · 07-11-2009, 02:09 PM

I agree, I love Season 3. Although the subsequent color seasons were never as great as Season 1, I do feel the quality really dipped in Season 2, beginning with the terrible "Cleopatra" episode.

I am not sure whether the writers figured that the audience would be so excited to see Lucy in color that inferior scripts would go unnoticed (yes, I realize they didn't originally air in color even though they were filmed that way), but Season 2 always seemed a bit of a let-down.

Season 3 had some gems like "Lucy the Good Skate", "Lucy and the Ceramic Cat". I really want Season 4 as well. It wasn't great overall, but "Lucy In the Music World" aka. the Wing-Ding episode is a campy treat, and I would love to see it restored and uncut.

As a completist, I'd like all 6 seasons, but if they choose not to release 5 & 6, I won't be too disappointed as I have those on old Nick-at-Nite tapes and there were only a handful of standouts from that period eg. "Viv Visits Lucy", and "Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account".

LittleRickyII · 07-12-2009, 03:27 PM

Oh no, that Cleopatra episode is one of my favorites! Several other Season Two episodes that are among my favorites from the entire series: Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale, Lucy Goes to Art Class, Lucy Conducts the Symphony (IMO, one of Lucille Ball's greatest performances ever), Lucy Enters a Baking Contest, The Loophole in the Lease, Lucy Takes a Job at the Bank, Lucy Is Her Own Lawyer. The only ones I don't care much for from that season are Lucy and the Military Academy, Lucy Takes Up Golf and Lucy and the Scout Trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kasey

I agree, I love Season 3. Although the subsequent color seasons were never as great as Season 1, I do feel the quality really dipped in Season 2, beginning with the terrible "Cleopatra" episode.

I am not sure whether the writers figured that the audience would be so excited to see Lucy in color that inferior scripts would go unnoticed (yes, I realize they didn't originally air in color even though they were filmed that way), but Season 2 always seemed a bit of a let-down.

Season 3 had some gems like "Lucy the Good Skate", "Lucy and the Ceramic Cat". I really want Season 4 as well. It wasn't great overall, but "Lucy In the Music World" aka. the Wing-Ding episode is a campy treat, and I would love to see it restored and uncut.

As a completist, I'd like all 6 seasons, but if they choose not to release 5 & 6, I won't be too disappointed as I have those on old Nick-at-Nite tapes and there were only a handful of standouts from that period eg. "Viv Visits Lucy", and "Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account".

Jude The Obscure · 07-17-2009, 12:20 AM

Lucy and Viv in that pie making contest!! "I told you so, I Told you so, I told you so!!!"

Can't wait to get this.......those extras are just AMAZING!!!!!!!

LittleRickyII · 08-02-2009, 01:37 PM

Very good review, but I would like to point out one error. The town where Lucy and Viv lived, Danfield, was in Upstate New York, not Connecticut.

Jude The Obscure · 08-03-2009, 12:42 AM

^ Are people still making that error?

That error has been repeated from one TV reference book to another, along with that Lucy in season 4 moves to San Fransico!!

LittleRickyII · 08-03-2009, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

^ Are people still making that error?

That error has been repeated from one TV reference book to another, along with that Lucy in season 4 moves to San Fransico!!

There was a book the first came out about 30 years ago called The Complete Directory of Primetime Network TV Shows. I was written by, I think, Tim Brooks and Earl Marsh (I can't believe I remember that; I guess I looked at that book too much). It was the first book of its kind and gave a synopsis of every prime time TV show aired up to that point. I think this is where that Lucy Show misinformation began, and then later references got their information from that book. And then it got repeated so much, everyone assumed it was the truth. I remember these three errors in their write-up: 1) Lucy first lived in Danfield, Connecticut; 2) Lucy worked as Mr. Mooney's secretary in Danfield; 3) in the fourth season, she moved to San Francisco. I assume the confusion about the location of Danfield might have something to do with Westport being in Connecticut? I don't know why they assumed Mr. Mooney was Lucy's boss in Danfield. As for moving to San Francisco, maybe they were confusing Lucy's move with Doris Martin's move to San Francisco on The Doris Day Show?

TV Guy · 08-03-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

I am not sure whether the writers figured that the audience would be so excited to see Lucy in color that inferior scripts would go unnoticed (yes, I realize they didn't originally air in color even though they were filmed that way), but Season 2 always seemed a bit of a let-down.

Honestly, I felt that each subsequent season was weaker than the previous one, as more and more of the "I Love Lucy" veterans drifted away. Season 2 was the first full season produced without Desi Arnaz, and the scripts aren't nearly as consistent. There are definitely some gems in there ("Kiddie Parties, Inc.", for example) but several of the crew were quoted as saying that the writers got lazy once Desi wasn't around to coax rewrites out of them.

And then it got worse. Season 3 was done almost entirely without the participation of Lucy's longtime writers, and Vivian Vance had a lesser role in the series. Starting with season 4, Viv was gone, as was much of the supporting cast. All of these changes were for the worse.

I know it's not fair to do, but even the superior season 1 of "The Lucy Show" suffers in comparison with "I Love Lucy". Sure, the blocked comedy pieces (the physical comedy) are as good as ever. But I miss the witty banter among the four main characters from ILL which surrounded the physical comedy and really enriched the episodes. "The Lucy Show" tries to do some of this, but it's like a table with only two legs.

Part of the problem is that the two ladies really have no support - the kids are pretty much one-dimensional props; Barnsdahl doesn't have a reason to be around that much; and Dick Martin is criminally underused. With ILL, you have many different possibilities for plots: Lucy vs. Ricky; the Ricardos vs. the Mertzes; the men vs. the women. With TLS, the possibilities are much more limited. The setup feels contrived, too, with Viv and her son sharing the house with Lucy and her kids - so much more "sitcommy" than the setup for ILL. And I miss the romantic aspect of the show - Lucy's dates seem pretty platonic, and pretty much disappear after the first season or two.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really enjoying season 1 again, and it's a very solid show for that season, at least. But it's not difficult to see why the writers ran out of gas relatively quickly. The show's premise and supporting cast were not nearly as sturdy as ILL, and it really wasn't built for an extended run.

McGillicuddy · 08-04-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV Guy

Honestly, I felt that each subsequent season was weaker than the previous one, as more and more of the "I Love Lucy" veterans drifted away. Season 2 was the first full season produced without Desi Arnaz, and the scripts aren't nearly as consistent. There are definitely some gems in there ("Kiddie Parties, Inc.", for example) but several of the crew were quoted as saying that the writers got lazy once Desi wasn't around to coax rewrites out of them.

And then it got worse. Season 3 was done almost entirely without the participation of Lucy's longtime writers, and Vivian Vance had a lesser role in the series. Starting with season 4, Viv was gone, as was much of the supporting cast. All of these changes were for the worse.

I know it's not fair to do, but even the superior season 1 of "The Lucy Show" suffers in comparison with "I Love Lucy". Sure, the blocked comedy pieces (the physical comedy) are as good as ever. But I miss the witty banter among the four main characters from ILL which surrounded the physical comedy and really enriched the episodes. "The Lucy Show" tries to do some of this, but it's like a table with only two legs.

Part of the problem is that the two ladies really have no support - the kids are pretty much one-dimensional props; Barnsdahl doesn't have a reason to be around that much; and Dick Martin is criminally underused. With ILL, you have many different possibilities for plots: Lucy vs. Ricky; the Ricardos vs. the Mertzes; the men vs. the women. With TLS, the possibilities are much more limited. The setup feels contrived, too, with Viv and her son sharing the house with Lucy and her kids - so much more "sitcommy" than the setup for ILL. And I miss the romantic aspect of the show - Lucy's dates seem pretty platonic, and pretty much disappear after the first season or two.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really enjoying season 1 again, and it's a very solid show for that season, at least. But it's not difficult to see why the writers ran out of gas relatively quickly. The show's premise and supporting cast were not nearly as sturdy as ILL, and it really wasn't built for an extended run.

With the later seasons of The Lucy Show and on into Here's Lucy, it seemed more like a cross between a sitcom and a variety show, with continuous big-name guest stars and all the stage shows they put on!

Jude The Obscure · 08-04-2009, 10:00 PM

Both Charles Lane and Dick Martin were told on the onset, that their characters would be phased out as the season went along. Charles was simply a placeholder til Gale Gordon was free of Dennis the Menace (they knew it was a matter of time as Dennis' ratings were really falling fast). Dick was told he was there to give the girls support until the feel of the show was established. Notice that both disappear soon after the 13th episode.

07-07-2009, 12:31 AM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,681	The Lucy Show - The Official First Season DVD Review Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance are back again! Following the end of the series I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Lucille Ball wasn't quite ready to leave TV, but she couldn't continue playing Lucy Ricardo, the woman married to Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo, after her painful real-life divorce from Desi Arnaz. So, in 1962, Ball came together with fellow I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance to create the new series, The Lucy Show. Initially, the series contained a lot of the slapstick style comedy that fans of I Love Lucy remembered very well, and Ball and Vance played characters that were very similar to their characters on I Love Lucy. The series is also the first TV series that contained Gale Gordon as one of Lucy's co-stars, although he actually does NOT appear until the second season (Charles Lane plays a different character that fills his role for the first season). The Lucy Show wasn't quite the same as I Love Lucy, though. No longer did Ball and Vance play Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz. Now, they were Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley, two women sharing a home in Connecticut after each of them lost their husbands. Lucy was a widow (she did not want to play a divorcee because she did not want viewers to think she had divorced Ricky Ricardo, despite the fact that it was well-known that she had indeed divorced Desi Arnaz in real life) and Vivian was divorced from her husband, Ralph, who seemed to be somewhat of a deadbeat father. Lucy had two children, teenage daughter Chris (Candy Moore) and a younger son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett). Vivian had a son, Sherman (Ralph Hart), who was roughly the same age as Jerry. In many ways, it was like a 1960s version of the TV series Kate & Allie. The series was based upon the book Life Without George, although the series did have a rather major retooling in the fourth season. The Official First Season marks the very first time that all 30 episodes from the 1962-1963 season have been released on DVD. Although there have been many public domain releases of the series over the years, they mostly contain episodes from the fifth season, and only two episodes from the first season have fallen into public domain. The four disc DVD set contains all 30 episodes with superb video and audio quality, and plenty of nice special features that are certain to please almost any fan of Lucille Ball. Read our review by Skees here: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/thelucy...dvdreview.html Please post any questions or comments about this set.

07-07-2009, 09:00 AM	#2
TeeVeeCloset Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 25, 2003 Posts: 1,873	WOW! What a Review! This release was on my "must get" list even if they butchered it but so glad to hear they DID IT RIGHT! Kudo's finally to CBS/Paramount, they also did "I Love Lucy" perfect, so I guess they know they can't fool around with Lucy! Thanks for the heads up about the "set up" menu as I usually ignore them as you mentioned, but I will definatley be first watching them in "vintage mode", the times you provided of both versions are very helpful as well.....the only slight disappointment is no current interview with Candy Moore, would love to see and hear her comments today as she was one of my many childhood TV crush's....lol....looking forward to hearing her overly project and shout her dialogue again!
	__________________ Living near "Ozzie Nelson Drive".....

07-10-2009, 12:11 PM	#5
Robert 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: May 10, 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,521	I hope they have already begun work on Season 2 because this is definitely going to be a big seller. Pre-sales are already high for many online retailers. They need to take advantage of this momentum and, I think, announcing Season 2 soon after the release of Season 1 would continue the excitement and keep the enthusiasm for this show high. I, for one, can't wait for Season 3 when Lucy and Viv are camp cooks. That episode is absolutely hysterical with the hot-cake batter and the hole in the floor.
	__________________ Com'è straordinaria la vita, che un giorno ti senti come in un sogno e poi ti ritrovi all'inferno - Dolcenera

07-10-2009, 12:27 PM	#6
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

07-11-2009, 02:09 PM	#7
Kasey Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 22, 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,143	I agree, I love Season 3. Although the subsequent color seasons were never as great as Season 1, I do feel the quality really dipped in Season 2, beginning with the terrible "Cleopatra" episode. I am not sure whether the writers figured that the audience would be so excited to see Lucy in color that inferior scripts would go unnoticed (yes, I realize they didn't originally air in color even though they were filmed that way), but Season 2 always seemed a bit of a let-down. Season 3 had some gems like "Lucy the Good Skate", "Lucy and the Ceramic Cat". I really want Season 4 as well. It wasn't great overall, but "Lucy In the Music World" aka. the Wing-Ding episode is a campy treat, and I would love to see it restored and uncut. As a completist, I'd like all 6 seasons, but if they choose not to release 5 & 6, I won't be too disappointed as I have those on old Nick-at-Nite tapes and there were only a handful of standouts from that period eg. "Viv Visits Lucy", and "Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account".

07-17-2009, 12:20 AM	#9
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,520	Lucy and Viv in that pie making contest!! "I told you so, I Told you so, I told you so!!!" Can't wait to get this.......those extras are just AMAZING!!!!!!!

08-02-2009, 01:37 PM	#10
LittleRickyII Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 22, 2009 Location: California Posts: 2,246	Very good review, but I would like to point out one error. The town where Lucy and Viv lived, Danfield, was in Upstate New York, not Connecticut.

08-03-2009, 12:42 AM	#11
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,520	^ Are people still making that error? That error has been repeated from one TV reference book to another, along with that Lucy in season 4 moves to San Fransico!!

08-04-2009, 10:00 PM	#15
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,520	Both Charles Lane and Dick Martin were told on the onset, that their characters would be phased out as the season went along. Charles was simply a placeholder til Gale Gordon was free of Dennis the Menace (they knew it was a matter of time as Dennis' ratings were really falling fast). Dick was told he was there to give the girls support until the feel of the show was established. Notice that both disappear soon after the 13th episode.