Is it just me . . .

[LucyFan]

Or does the character of Lucy Carmichael seem more like Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy) in the early seasons, and then she seems more like Lucy Carter (Here's Lucy) in the later seasons? Please respond.

[LucyFan]

Bump!

[NCVARick]

Originally posted by LucyFan
Or does the character of Lucy Carmichael seem more like Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy) in the early seasons, and then she seems more like Lucy Carter (Here's Lucy) in the later seasons? Please respond.

No, it's not just you. The Lucy Carmichael in the early seasons was the same shrewd, clever schemer that Lucy Ricardo was. The later Lucy Carmichael and the early Lucy Carter were both brainless Gracie Allens. But later on in Here's Lucy, after Bob Carroll, Jr. and Madelyn Davis were back on board, Lucy Carter was reborn as Lucy Ricardo (at least when they wrote the scripts).

[SPLAIN]

Totally agree, very insightful!

[That Other Fan]

No, I disagree...

The situations may have became sillier (to some) and some of the writers may not have had the "craft" in getting Lucy into those "wacky" situations as the ILL writers, but I think Lucille Ball was pretty consistent with the way she portrayed Lucy (For the entire run of her Four series...Five, if you count "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour").

[NCVARick]

Originally posted by That Other Fan
No, I disagree...

The situations may have became sillier (to some) and some of the writers may not have had the "craft" in getting Lucy into those "wacky" situations as the ILL writers, but I think Lucille Ball was pretty consistent with the way she portrayed Lucy (For the entire run of her Four series...Five, if you count "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour").

I think the original poster made this observation because of differences in the character that seem so obvious to me. The difference was always so striking to me when the show was being rerun. By the sixth season, I had become accustomed to a featherheaded, dimwitted Lucy Carmichael. Then the show would cycle back to the first season and I felt I was watching a different character. She seemed so much stronger, easily standing her ground with Viv, and she was not dimwitted at all. The wild situations she would get herself into in the early seasons were the result of boldness, doing things the average person wouldn't have the courage to do. And, of course, failing because she was getting herself in over her head. The wild situations the later Lucy Carmichael got into were the result of her stupidity. Actually, there was a degree of inconsistency in the character just within those later seasons. Sometimes, like in the Bean Queen episode, Lucy would be portrayed as bright and clever. But then in the next episode she would be daffy and stupid again.

[Beavis]

I would have to agree withyou on this one...

[That Other Fan]

Originally posted by NCVARick
I think the original poster made this observation because of differences in the character that seem so obvious to me. The difference was always so striking to me when the show was being rerun. By the sixth season, I had become accustomed to a featherheaded, dimwitted Lucy Carmichael. Then the show would cycle back to the first season and I felt I was watching a different character. She seemed so much stronger, easily standing her ground with Viv, and she was not dimwitted at all. The wild situations she would get herself into in the early seasons were the result of boldness, doing things the average person wouldn't have the courage to do. And, of course, failing because she was getting herself in over her head. The wild situations the later Lucy Carmichael got into were the result of her stupidity. Actually, there was a degree of inconsistency in the character just within those later seasons. Sometimes, like in the Bean Queen episode, Lucy would be portrayed as bright and clever. But then in the next episode she would be daffy and stupid again.

Like I said, I disagree...

Lucille Ball (IMO) remained true to that character and the way she portrayed it.

I think the situations got sillier and yes some of the writers were better at getting the Lucy character into the situations than other (in terms of believability), but the character remained the same.

The situations perhaps are more reminiscent of Here's Lucy(meaning the writing), but the character never changed.

[bb25]

I have to agree that the way she portrayed Lucy Carmichael did get different after Viv left. Actually, it changed a little after the 2nd season, most likely due to the new, unknown writers and lack of direction on their part...

I've always been interested to know, how was Lucy Barker alike and different from Lucy's prior "last names" ?