Who can forget the antics of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and Fred and Ethel Mertz? (Mostly in terms of the 1st and 4th of the foregoing individuals).
“I Love Lucy” was
one of the earliest television series to be produced after the advent of
the, well, television. I suppose among the hundreds of broadcasts of
this homey production, my favorites are the vitameatavegamin, the
chocolate factory and the grape-stomping segments; none of which, as I
recall, had anything to do with the recurring theme of the show; (and
perhaps why these are my favorites in the series).
Today’s “I Love Lucy” falls into that major theme, and had as its focus the notion of Lucy making it big in the entertainment industry; be it Broadway or Hollywood.
As the sit-com begins we see Ricky reading a letter, and subsequently informing Lucy that he will be going to Hawaii for a special one night band performance. And his wife hardly gets the obvious question out before Ricky provides her a resounding, ‘No!’
Of course, ‘No’ never really meant ‘no’ to Lucy, and immediately she and Ethel connive to change Ricky’s mind. And since I have seen this particular segment one too many times, as soon as I recognized it, I turned the channel.
Again, and again (and again) over the several years which “I Love Lucy” was produced, the agenda is the same. Broadway, or Hollywood, (or possibly, some little theater production). And honestly, it gets a bit wearisome. (At least that has been my own experience).
And as much business acumen as Lucille Ball possessed, (vs. the hair-brained schemes of her television character, Lucy) I personally think she “missed the ball” with this one.
Granted, the “I Love Lucy” show was popular in its time, and has, no doubt, been seen by a geometrically larger number of people in reruns. Nonetheless, in my humble opinion, the broadcast might potentially have pulled double the viewers had she “mixed it up” a bit more, and built slightly more originality into the plots of her weekly broadcasts.
Nevertheless, it is with no shame, whatsoever, that I freely admit,
“I (and millions like me)
… Loved (our) Lucy.”
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary," Vol. 36. Copyright pending
If you would like to copy, share or save, please include the credit line, above
****************
Today’s “I Love Lucy” falls into that major theme, and had as its focus the notion of Lucy making it big in the entertainment industry; be it Broadway or Hollywood.
As the sit-com begins we see Ricky reading a letter, and subsequently informing Lucy that he will be going to Hawaii for a special one night band performance. And his wife hardly gets the obvious question out before Ricky provides her a resounding, ‘No!’
Of course, ‘No’ never really meant ‘no’ to Lucy, and immediately she and Ethel connive to change Ricky’s mind. And since I have seen this particular segment one too many times, as soon as I recognized it, I turned the channel.
Again, and again (and again) over the several years which “I Love Lucy” was produced, the agenda is the same. Broadway, or Hollywood, (or possibly, some little theater production). And honestly, it gets a bit wearisome. (At least that has been my own experience).
And as much business acumen as Lucille Ball possessed, (vs. the hair-brained schemes of her television character, Lucy) I personally think she “missed the ball” with this one.
Granted, the “I Love Lucy” show was popular in its time, and has, no doubt, been seen by a geometrically larger number of people in reruns. Nonetheless, in my humble opinion, the broadcast might potentially have pulled double the viewers had she “mixed it up” a bit more, and built slightly more originality into the plots of her weekly broadcasts.
Nevertheless, it is with no shame, whatsoever, that I freely admit,
“I (and millions like me)
… Loved (our) Lucy.”
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary," Vol. 36. Copyright pending
If you would like to copy, share or save, please include the credit line, above
****************
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