Lucy Carmichael's disappearing children

[novarrofan]

I'm not as familiar with the later three seasons of "The Lucy Show", but I was curious to know whether Chris and Jerry are even mentioned at all in later episodes after the big format change? I know Jimmy Garrett did two appearances after the start of season four in "Lucy at Marineland" and "Lucy the Choirmaster" but I was wondering if the children are even referred to again after that. I've thought it very odd that the children would simply go off to college and military school and NEVER visit their mother again. If memory serves me correctly in "Lucy the Choirmaster" I don't think Chris is even referred to at all (could be wrong there)! As if Chris wouldn't have come home to see her mother at Christmas!! Very strange way to handle it I hope Candy Moore and Jimmy Garrett are asked about how they felt about being dropped from the show in season four in future DVD releases.r

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by novarrofan

I'm not as familiar with the later three seasons of "The Lucy Show", but I was curious to know whether Chris and Jerry are even mentioned at all in later episodes after the big format change? I know Jimmy Garrett did two appearances after the start of season four in "Lucy at Marineland" and "Lucy the Choirmaster" but I was wondering if the children are even referred to again after that. I've thought it very odd that the children would simply go off to college and military school and NEVER visit their mother again. If memory serves me correctly in "Lucy the Choirmaster" I don't think Chris is even referred to at all (could be wrong there)! As if Chris wouldn't have come home to see her mother at Christmas!! Very strange way to handle it I hope Candy Moore and Jimmy Garrett are asked about how they felt about being dropped from the show in season four in future DVD releases.r

Candy Moore & Ralph Hart were both quoted as being disappointed in being dropped from the show in "The Lucy Book". Jimmy Garrett mentioned that his mom, after his last show, said that he was going to be moving on to bigger and better things.

[Jude The Obscure]

After the fourth season, when Lucy was being interviewed for a temp job she does mention she has two children, A daughter in college and a son in military school. I think many people fault the writers and producers for the incredible lack of continuity that disconnect the latter two seasons with the Danfield era.
One episode had Lucy getting her mail and saying "yay, I got a letter from my son Jimmy"--when Lucille was corrected as to her son's character being named Jerry, she very well replied she knew what she was doing by saying Jimmy.

[novarrofan]

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

After the fourth season, when Lucy was being interviewed for a temp job she does mention she has two children, A daughter in college and a son in military school. I think many people fault the writers and producers for the incredible lack of continuity that disconnect the latter two seasons with the Danfield era.
One episode had Lucy getting her mail and saying "yay, I got a letter from my son Jimmy"--when Lucille was corrected as to her son's character being named Jerry, she very well replied she knew what she was doing by saying Jimmy.

Ha ha I didn't know about Lucy calling her son Jimmy instead of Jerry. I felt the way the children were simply forgotten wasn't well done and if anything it doesn't show the Lucy Carmichael character as being a very hands on and caring mother. I know it's only television but if I had of been one of the writers I would have most definitely written in occasional episodes with the kids visiting or have Jerry still living with his mother in California as he was still very young. Poor Jerry locked up in a military school forever and never coming home !! LOL Sounds really awful!!! :-))

[Jude The Obscure]

But you must recall that the Danfield Lucy and the California Lucy are almost two entities......Danfield Lucy was more like Lucy Ricardo--clever, manipulative, and still a lot of fun. California Lucy was out and out stupid most of the time and only on rare occasions did she show any spark of real intelligence (such as Lucy the Bean Queen--which would almost be a plot of Lucy Ricardo's doing!).

[TV Knowledge Fan]

....Lucy Carmichael never, if at all, mentioned the fact that she "once" had children. They "disappeared" (as did Viv) because of the format change in the fall of '65; more guest stars, the move to Los Angeles, and fewer ties to the "old" Lucy of Danfield. The change in Lucy's character is directly tied into the fact that her original writers, Bob Carroll Jr. & Madelyn Davis, weren't writing for her after 1964. New writers, including Garry Marshall & Jerry Belson, Ray Singer, Milt Josefsberg, Bob O'Brien and Phil Leslie, weren't familiar with Lucy "the housewife", and focused more on the zany situations and slapstick she became involved with. And children would only have gotten "in the way". Incidentally, Phil Leslie's "Lucy the Bean Queen" script was based on one of the old "FIBBER McGEE & MOLLY" radio scripts he co-wrote with Don Quinn [Fibber tries to capitalize on a soup company's "double your money back" offer, only to discover he actually likes the soup!].

[biffbronson]

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

But you must recall that the Danfield Lucy and the California Lucy are almost two entities......Danfield Lucy was more like Lucy Ricardo--clever, manipulative, and still a lot of fun. California Lucy was out and out stupid most of the time and only on rare occasions did she show any spark of real intelligence (such as Lucy the Bean Queen--which would almost be a plot of Lucy Ricardo's doing!).

I have to disagree slightly regarding "California Lucy" -- ditzy yes, and allowing herself to get in odd situations, but I think "stupid" is a little harsh of an assessment. And she revived the intense affection for movie-stars that Lucy Ricardo had, an aspect of the character she was not able to play up while in the Danville setting. But I do allow that her California character did do some things that would have to be called stupid...!

[Jude The Obscure]

Stupid actions......ok, i'll call the actions stupid......harebrain....whacky....

This is due to the lack of consistent writers--once, Madelyn , Bob and the others from Lucy's classic writing team left, there was never a stable staff of writers who kept check on who and what the Lucy Carmichael character should be.

[Benno123]

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Stupid actions......ok, i'll call the actions stupid......harebrain....whacky....

This is due to the lack of consistent writers--once, Madelyn , Bob and the others from Lucy's classic writing team left, there was never a stable staff of writers who kept check on who and what the Lucy Carmichael character should be.

And this was carried over to Here's Lucy because there was not a consistant writing team for Lucy anymore. I'm not saying that the shows were not bad, I'm just saying that consistency was missing once the original team was gone.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

....Lucy Carmichael never, if at all, mentioned the fact that she "once" had children. They "disappeared" (as did Viv) because of the format change in the fall of '65; more guest stars, the move to Los Angeles, and fewer ties to the "old" Lucy of Danfield.

This is not true. There were occasional references to her children right into the sixth season. It wasn't by name (except in that one fifth season episode where she mistakenly referred to her son by the actor's name, not the character's name), but there were a number of times when she (or Mr. Mooney) made reference to her having two children. The last time was in the sixth season. I can't remember the episode; I'm thinking it's the one with Sid Caesar, but I'm not sure. But I distinctly remember her making a passing reference to her two children to some celebrity she had just met. There was also a time or two when she brought up her kids in relation to her salary, and I remember Mr. Mooney making a comment about her having two children. As for their absence, one thing you have to remember is the show originally aired between the months of September and March, months in which the kids would have been away at school. So the assumption would be that when they came home for the summer, viewers didn't get to share the experience because the show was on hiatus during that time.

[Jude The Obscure]

^Good explanation!!

[comedyfreak]

That makes sense.

[catlover79]

They're on the Island of Misfit TV Characters along with Chuck Cunningham, Judy Winslow, Carl Dixon, etc.

[McGillicuddy]

Actually, the same thing happened on The Doris Day Show. At the beginning of the 4th season (1971), Doris was back in a completely new format, and her kids had disappeared, never to be mentioned again. At least on Lucy, they explained the kids went away to school, on Doris Day, it was as if the kids never existed!

[Jude The Obscure]

The 4th season of The Doris Day Show was a total revisionist rewrite--it was as if Doris had never been married or had kids.

Lucy wasn't quite that forgetful.