This post is more a rave
than a rant, but in keeping with the way I have been doing things, we will keep
it as a rant.
If you fondly remember The
Lucy Show--the series that Lucille Ball did after I Love Lucy and her marriage
to Desi Arnaz ended--than you are in luck! MPI Video has just released the
entire first season of the show on DVD.
No, this show was never,
never up to the comedic standards--and trailblazing techniques--of the I Love
Lucy show. The Lucy Show--and later, Here's Lucy, which is also being released
in the season by season format by MPI at a later date--were basically
off-shoots of the character Arnaz and Ball created for Lucy on I Love Lucy--the
scatterbrained lady with ultimately, a heart of gold.
In The Lucy Show, Ball and
during the first three seasons, her ultimate comic foil, Vivian Vance--Ethel
from I Love Lucy--go it alone without steady males in their lives, and looking
at this show nearly 50 years after the first season was produced, they carry it
off very well.
They get into similar
comedic scrapes like they did on their previous series, and yes, the ladies are
a bit older here, but the show is corny, dated and very, very funny, all at the
same time.
They certainly don't make
sitcoms like this anymore!
The Lucy Show was a virtual
family affair for Ball, as the show was not only executive produced by former
husband Arnaz (she married comic Gary Morton during these years), but both
Lucie Arnaz and Desi Jr. can be seen on the show from time to time if you look
hard enough.
The one drawback is the
kids on the show. They are cloying, annoying, and can't act at all, but I guess
you get the good with the bad here. I will bet that Lucy realized this when The
Lucy Show ended its run, because on Here's Lucy, her kids co-starred with her.
All in all, a fine package.
For Lucy fans who have been stuck with third-rate DVD versions of these shows
in the past, this release is a revelation.
By the way, there are many
extras on the DVD, including a wide-ranging interview with Lucie Arnaz where
she talks about everything from her participation in show to the uneasiness she
felt with her mom, father and stepfather on the set at the same time. And Lucie
looks terrific, by the way, as she talks candidly about many things, especially
about here mom.
Also, you get to see an
early Dick Martin, who played Lucy's next door neighbor--and quasi love
interest--on the show.
If there is one DVD for you
to get that's out right now, this is it!
So now that you are done
reading this entry, scoot over to http://www.mpihomevideo.com/ or amazon.com
and pick this DVD up. You will not regret it.
The only regret that I have is this: why did it
take so long for this to come out?
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