I Love Lucy

[Dave James]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

[sonnymax]

One of my all-time favorite shows as well. Just a few reminders of some classic episodes:

[Dave James]

All good episodes, but I'll still take the one with William Holden when the gang was out in Hollywood. When Lucy lights her prosthetic nose on fire, which, it's a good a moment as there's ever been on TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kNsMWAFRV4&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL9C5E6F682E7FBAF9

[BruceH]

At least a couple of generations grew up watching repeats of I Love Lucy, perhaps the most iconic of all 50's sitcoms. None of Lucille Ball's later shows were quite as good.

[Jazzmoose]

To narrow down my age, the two shows I've probably seen the most are I Love Lucy and Gilligan's Island. I'm not really sure I want to see either of them again. I revisited the Phil Silvers Show (having discovered it in the mid seventies) and was kind of disappointed. If Sgt. Bilko can't hold up for me, I think I'd rather leave the memories as memories. (Particularly Gilligan's Island; even if it was just as I remember it, I'd hate it now!)

Edited October 16, 2011 by Jazzmoose

[Free For All]

To narrow down my age

I didn't realize there was any mystery remaining.

[JETman]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

I think ensemble comedy has evolved way beyond 'I Love Lucy' in the last several decades! See 'All in the Family', 'The Odd Couple', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Frasier' as some of the more shining examples.

[ejp626]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

I think ensemble comedy has evolved way beyond 'I Love Lucy' in the last several decades! See 'All in the Family', 'The Odd Couple', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Frasier' as some of the more shining examples.

Well, it's all about taste, but as far as ensemble chemistry, I would take Lucy over All in the Family any day. Now Dick van Dyke Show vs. I Love Lucy -- that's a much closer call.

Edited October 16, 2011 by ejp626

[BruceH]

To narrow down my age, the two shows I've probably seen the most are I Love Lucy and Gilligan's Island. I'm not really sure I want to see either of them again. I revisited the Phil Silvers Show (having discovered it in the mid seventies) and was kind of disappointed. If Sgt. Bilko can't hold up for me, I think I'd rather leave the memories as memories. (Particularly Gilligan's Island; even if it was just as I remember it, I'd hate it now!)

I doubt anyone can like Gilligan's Island as much as kids between the ages of 4 and 10. Too much beyond 10 and...forget it.

[JETman]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

I think ensemble comedy has evolved way beyond 'I Love Lucy' in the last several decades! See 'All in the Family', 'The Odd Couple', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Frasier' as some of the more shining examples.

Well, it's all about taste, but as far as ensemble chemistry, I would take Lucy over All in the Family any day. Now Dick van Dyke Show vs. I Love Lucy -- that's a much closer call.

To each his own, I guess! Carroll O'Connor was brilliant. Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

[sonnymax]

...Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

Respectfully, you're talking out of your ass.

[JETman]

...Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

Respectfully, you're talking out of your ass.

You're posting my quote out of context. I saw it, I lived it, AND I have my own opinions. My original post was in response to the claim that 'I Love Lucy' may have been the best example of ensemble comedy ever.

Keep the nastiness at bay, please. If you have a conflicting opinion, I'm ok with that. Just try to back it up a little more eloquently.

[paul secor]

From The New York Times obituary of Bob Carroll Jr., one of the writers of "I Love Lucy":

Happily for the writers, few ideas were off limits. Most weeks, they approached Ms. Ball to ask her some variation on the following:

Can we tie you to a chair? Roll you in a rug? Hang you out the window? Can we fly you through the air? Put you on stilts? Put four dozen eggs down your blouse? Will you bark like a seal? Work with an elephant? Sing to a sheep?

Can we dip you in chocolate? Coat you in clay? Splatter you with mud? Will you fight with a woman in a vat full of grapes? Work on an out-of-control conveyor belt in a candy factory? Can we put you in handcuffs? Blacken your teeth? Set your nose on fire?

Ms. Ball, resilient, agreed to everything.

Often interviewed about the Golden Age of television, Mr. Carroll was forthright about the changes in the medium since then:

“I’m not too sure about these reality shows,” he told The Daily News of Los Angeles in 2001. “They take 16 contestants, 100 crew, tons of equipment, go to Borneo — and all we had to do was say, ‘Ethel, if Ricky finds out I bought this hat, he’ll kill me.’ ”

[Chuck Nessa]

[ejp626]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

I think ensemble comedy has evolved way beyond 'I Love Lucy' in the last several decades! See 'All in the Family', 'The Odd Couple', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Frasier' as some of the more shining examples.

Well, it's all about taste, but as far as ensemble chemistry, I would take Lucy over All in the Family any day. Now Dick van Dyke Show vs. I Love Lucy -- that's a much closer call.

To each his own, I guess! Carroll O'Connor was brilliant. Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

For me, despite knowing where the show was coming from and the "growth" demonstrated by the Archie character by the end of the series, I still find myself turned off by the bellowing, blow-hard Archie is in so many of the episodes. Cruel put-downs of his son-in-law and berating his daughter and even his wife at times? Just not feeling it. My guess is I won't ever watch another rerun of All in the Family in this life at least whereas I frequently catch the I Love Lucy Show.

[sonnymax]

...Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

Respectfully, you're talking out of your ass.

You're posting my quote out of context. I saw it, I lived it, AND I have my own opinions. My original post was in response to the claim that 'I Love Lucy' may have been the best example of ensemble comedy ever.

Keep the nastiness at bay, please. If you have a conflicting opinion, I'm ok with that. Just try to back it up a little more eloquently.

I said "respectfully".

[JETman]

Just for the record and so this doesn't pass unacknowledged, 60 years ago tonight, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS. I don't know if you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this show, but to me, it's as good now as it was then. I still laugh in spite of seeing the same episodes over and over and over again. Maybe the best ensemble chemistry in the history of television.

I think ensemble comedy has evolved way beyond 'I Love Lucy' in the last several decades! See 'All in the Family', 'The Odd Couple', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Frasier' as some of the more shining examples.

Well, it's all about taste, but as far as ensemble chemistry, I would take Lucy over All in the Family any day. Now Dick van Dyke Show vs. I Love Lucy -- that's a much closer call.

To each his own, I guess! Carroll O'Connor was brilliant. Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

For me, despite knowing where the show was coming from and the "growth" demonstrated by the Archie character by the end of the series, I still find myself turned off by the bellowing, blow-hard Archie is in so many of the episodes. Cruel put-downs of his son-in-law and berating his daughter and even his wife at times? Just not feeling it. My guess is I won't ever watch another rerun of All in the Family in this life at least whereas I frequently catch the I Love Lucy Show.

What exactly are you "feeling" about I Love Lucy? Do you have red hair? Are you Cuban?

...Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke were just goofy, IMNSHO.

Respectfully, you're talking out of your ass.

You're posting my quote out of context. I saw it, I lived it, AND I have my own opinions. My original post was in response to the claim that 'I Love Lucy' may have been the best example of ensemble comedy ever.

Keep the nastiness at bay, please. If you have a conflicting opinion, I'm ok with that. Just try to back it up a little more eloquently.

I said "respectfully".

Very good! Now back up your opinion.

[sonnymax]

I saw it, I lived it, AND I have my own opinions.

Very good! Now back up your opinion.

You're kidding, right? Why get your tighty whities all in a bunch? We're talking about much-beloved comedies here, not religion or politics. As someone else pointed out, it's a matter of personal taste, not something you can prove or disprove. For you to label iconic comedians "goofy" based on your preference for a different form of humor is...er, how do I put this?...Ah yes, to elocute from within your gluteus maximus. Eloquent enough for ya?

[Leeway]

Besides being a classic, funny show, there are many socio-economic aspects of the show that are worth examining. I'm sure there must be some Ph.D theses out there on the show. There was a good one on the "Simpsons" not too long ago. Anyway, one detail of the show that always interested me is the fact that Fred owns the apartment building on the Upper East side of Manhattan that they live in. Nowadays, this would put you among the superrich, but Fred is always portrayed as a decent palooka, certainly not wealthy. There are a lot of details like that that once you start looking for them.

[JETman]

I saw it, I lived it, AND I have my own opinions.

Very good! Now back up your opinion.

You're kidding, right? Why get your tighty whities all in a bunch? We're talking about much-beloved comedies here, not religion or politics. As someone else pointed out, it's a matter of personal taste, not something you can prove or disprove. For you to label iconic comedians "goofy" based on your preference for a different form of humor is...er, how do I put this?...Ah yes, to elocute from within your gluteus maximus. Eloquent enough for ya?

Not as eloquent as "Bite Me"!

[JSngry]

Didn't John Ritter & Lucille Ball have a mutual admiration society based on the other's ability to do physical comedy?

I was kind of taken aback when I heard that, b/c Three's Company always exemplified to me the worst tendencies of TV sitcommage. But upon further review...it still does, pretty much. But there's no denying the "ensemble chemistry" and the truly expert physical comedy either.

[ejp626]

Nowadays, this would put you among the superrich, but Fred is always portrayed as a decent palooka, certainly not wealthy. There are a lot of details like that that once you start looking for them.

I don't recall that (that he owned the place) but I do remember he is generally portrayed as a bit of a miser, though he usually goes along with the crazy scheme of the day.

[Leeway]

Nowadays, this would put you among the superrich, but Fred is always portrayed as a decent palooka, certainly not wealthy. There are a lot of details like that that once you start looking for them.

I don't recall that (that he owned the place) but I do remember he is generally portrayed as a bit of a miser, though he usually goes along with the crazy scheme of the day.

Fred Mertz has his own Wikipedia entry (lol), which states:

"Eventually, Fred and Ethel retired and bought a brownstone apartment in New York City. In 1942, Lucy and Ricky moved into the brownstone apartment building where Fred, Ethel, Lucy, and Ricky quickly became friends. Fred's best friend, Ricky Ricardo, and Ricky's wife, Lucy, live in the apartment house."

Here the link:

Fred

[ejp626]

I don't recall that (that he owned the place) but I do remember he is generally portrayed as a bit of a miser, though he usually goes along with the crazy scheme of the day.

Fred Mertz has his own Wikipedia entry (lol), which states:

"Eventually, Fred and Ethel retired and bought a brownstone apartment in New York City. In 1942, Lucy and Ricky moved into the brownstone apartment building where Fred, Ethel, Lucy, and Ricky quickly became friends. Fred's best friend, Ricky Ricardo, and Ricky's wife, Lucy, live in the apartment house."

Here the link:

Fred

I'm not disputing they owned the place, I simply don't remember it but I'm sure I never saw all the episodes. I think Fred was business manager for Ricky's band, in addition to having had an earlier vaudeville career, or something like that.

Yeah, I love how sometimes TV episodes (Chuckles) not just the shows themselves get their own wiki page. Well, wiki certainly has its finger on the pulse of what matters.

Edited October 20, 2011 by ejp626