Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

LittleRickyII · 05-08-2011, 06:30 PM

Somebody please convince me there's a reason I should like this episode. For me, it has to rank as possibly the stupidest episode Lucille Ball ever did. It starts with a horrendous script. One of the problems with the fourth season of TLS is the seemingly endless string of writers, names I don't recognize in the writing credits, and they appear to be people who didn't have a clue how to write for Lucille Ball. In this case, the writers are Edmund Beloin and Henry Garson, who leave you almost pleading for the return of Bob and Madelyn. This episode is totally unbelievable and plays like nothing but a cartoon. Here are some of the problems (SPOILER warning, in case you haven't seen this):

1) Lucy Ricardo's fascination with celebrities could be endearing: stealing a Richard Widmark grapefruit or loose John Wayne footprints is almost understandable and the viewer can relate. But Lucy Carmichael's excessive obsession in this episode, that drives her to collect tons of movie magazines and paraphernalia and get two jobs in the same day for the sole purpose of trying to see movie stars, makes her seem like the most shallow person on the planet.

2) At job #1, selling maps to movie star homes on a street corner in Beverly Hills, Mr. Mooney just happens to ride by that very spot on his bicycle. Unbelievable coincidence.

3) At job #2 as a theater usher at a Hollywood premiere, Mr. Mooney just happens to show up as someone's guest at that same premiere. Yet another unbelievable coincidence, and in the same episode no less!

4) Lucy gets the second job by pretending to be a young man, but her only disguise is a uniform: she's still in full makeup (lipstick, mascara, false eyelashes, eye shadow), yet everyone seems convinced she's a young man.

5) All the theater ushers are required to do military drills. Since when is that part of the job of a theater usher?

6) Mr. Mooney is six inches from Lucy's face and doesn't even recognize her. He calls her "boy."

7) A movie actress brings a gorilla as her escort to the premiere!

8) Lucy suddenly isn't afraid of huge beasts and goes chasing after the gorilla because it stole her autograph book. Please.

It boggles my mind that Lucille Ball would accept scripts like this. She let Bob and Madelyn go a couple years earlier for "Lucy Enters a Baking Contest" which, frankly, was a wonderful script and very funny and believable. Yet she kept accepting garbage scripts like this one from other writers after they left. This one was particularly pitiful.

lucyandethel · 05-09-2011, 12:12 AM

With comedy, it is best not to try and find the logic, just enjoy the absurdity!

McGillicuddy · 05-09-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyandethel

With comedy, it is best not to try and find the logic, just enjoy the absurdity!

Yeah, I learned to accept the absurdity of Mr. Mooney coinsidently showing up where ever Lucy is. It was absurd enough in Danfield, where he was her neighbor, but in massive Los Angeles!!

By the way, I thought the stupidist episode was Lucy, the Superwoman! But over all I loved season 4 also.

LittleRickyII · 05-09-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyandethel

With comedy, it is best not to try and find the logic, just enjoy the absurdity!

I get your point, but this particular episode is so far beyond absurd, and totally insults the viewer's intelligence, it's impossible to enjoy anything about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

Yeah, I learned to accept the absurdity of Mr. Mooney coinsidently showing up where ever Lucy is. It was absurd enough in Danfield, where he was her neighbor, but in massive Los Angeles!!

By the way, I thought the stupidist episode was Lucy, the Superwoman! But over all I loved season 4 also.

Okay, you got me there. That's another one where I have to hold my nose when I watch. The old writers took such care to craft scripts viewers could relate to and slowly get lured into a slightly absurd situation, but these stories that are so far-fetched, over the top, and humanly impossible, you have to suspend disbelief so much there is no reality left to hold onto. It just makes me wonder: what was she thinking, allowing this stuff to go into production?

05-08-2011, 06:30 PM	#1
LittleRickyII Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 22, 2009 Location: California Posts: 2,246	Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere Somebody please convince me there's a reason I should like this episode. For me, it has to rank as possibly the stupidest episode Lucille Ball ever did. It starts with a horrendous script. One of the problems with the fourth season of TLS is the seemingly endless string of writers, names I don't recognize in the writing credits, and they appear to be people who didn't have a clue how to write for Lucille Ball. In this case, the writers are Edmund Beloin and Henry Garson, who leave you almost pleading for the return of Bob and Madelyn. This episode is totally unbelievable and plays like nothing but a cartoon. Here are some of the problems (SPOILER warning, in case you haven't seen this): 1) Lucy Ricardo's fascination with celebrities could be endearing: stealing a Richard Widmark grapefruit or loose John Wayne footprints is almost understandable and the viewer can relate. But Lucy Carmichael's excessive obsession in this episode, that drives her to collect tons of movie magazines and paraphernalia and get two jobs in the same day for the sole purpose of trying to see movie stars, makes her seem like the most shallow person on the planet. 2) At job #1, selling maps to movie star homes on a street corner in Beverly Hills, Mr. Mooney just happens to ride by that very spot on his bicycle. Unbelievable coincidence. 3) At job #2 as a theater usher at a Hollywood premiere, Mr. Mooney just happens to show up as someone's guest at that same premiere. Yet another unbelievable coincidence, and in the same episode no less! 4) Lucy gets the second job by pretending to be a young man, but her only disguise is a uniform: she's still in full makeup (lipstick, mascara, false eyelashes, eye shadow), yet everyone seems convinced she's a young man. 5) All the theater ushers are required to do military drills. Since when is that part of the job of a theater usher? 6) Mr. Mooney is six inches from Lucy's face and doesn't even recognize her. He calls her "boy." 7) A movie actress brings a gorilla as her escort to the premiere! 8) Lucy suddenly isn't afraid of huge beasts and goes chasing after the gorilla because it stole her autograph book. Please. It boggles my mind that Lucille Ball would accept scripts like this. She let Bob and Madelyn go a couple years earlier for "Lucy Enters a Baking Contest" which, frankly, was a wonderful script and very funny and believable. Yet she kept accepting garbage scripts like this one from other writers after they left. This one was particularly pitiful.
	Last edited by LittleRickyII; 05-08-2011 at 08:00 PM.

05-09-2011, 12:12 AM	#2
lucyandethel Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 18, 2009 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 435	With comedy, it is best not to try and find the logic, just enjoy the absurdity!