University of South Carolina Libraries
30th Ann Brings Be By ROBIN ROBERTS SUM Writer October 15, 1981 marks a 30th anniversary, but there probably won't be any cake, presents or hoopla to celebrate the occasion, for it was October 15, 1951 that I Love Lucy /taKnfa/) UV.UUVVU. On that Monday night at 9 EST, Americans were introduced to Lucy Ricardo, her soon to be long-suffering Cuban husband Ricky, and their landlords and friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz. But this was more than just the beginning of a program that would become one of television's most popular shows. It was also the refinement of the situation comedy as a form of entertainment. Not only is I Love Lucy television's first real situation comedy, but many people, myself included, consider it the hMt tp|pvi?inn nrnffrnm nf all-Hmp If isn't v?rv HiffipnH tn understand why. J Love Lucy's charm and durability can be summed up in one name, Lucille Ball. WHO BETTER to star in television's most successful comedy than a redheaded clown whose comedic talents, as demostrated in I Love Lucy, are to this day incomparable. As stages truck Lucy Ricardo, Miss Ball is irresistibly irrepressible. Some people consider the Lucy Ricardo character to be an insult to women in light of the women's movement. Lucy wanted a career in show business, but Ricky wanted her to stay home and cook and clean and take care of little Ricky. Sometimes she had to resort to tears to get what she wanted. But some people feel that Lucy Ricardo was television's first liberated woman because she got Ricky to do what she wanted. Bom sides nave a valid arguement, out tne snow snouid be taken for what it was in the 1950's, a comedy that poked fun at the husband and wife roles in marriages. JUST ABOUT everyone who loves I Love Lucy has several episodes that are their favorites, a handful of shows they yam a-?g MM. pa B Coupon expires I ^ Bar-B-Q | I Pork Sandwich J ' served with slaw and i j I ! pickles on warm bun. Bj I 994 | IGameroom and Ice Cream * Open til I 2:00 ? f ! Super Co=rM I | Chili Dog | I with mustard and homemade chili | | i $1.19 i I" i Gameroom and Ice Cream ? | Open til I 2:00 | Coupon expires [ j xwr i f jS&s Ham and Cheese Sandwich I U with mustard and pickles 99< Cameroom and Ice Cream mmannn Open til 12:00 I i iversary ( ick Fond N enjoy seeing the 21st time as much as they enjoyed seeing the | first time. Listed below in chronological order are 10 episodes i that are my favorites. 1 "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" is the classic episode in , which Lucy is the Vitametavegamin girl. After rehearsing an sampling the product several times, she gets inebriated 1 because of the high alcohol content in the liquid. f In "Job Switching," another classic, Lucy and Ethel get ] jobs, and Ricky and Fred do housework. The girls work for a 1 candy factory and find they can't wrap candy fast enough. 'I. A AT I.AST" is in thp CMlllonpp r?f onicnHoc in 1 --- m m. ?- -? - ??-? MV^jjUVUVX/ V* V|/lUW?VtJ VVIIVV1 VU AAA California. On her first day in Los Angeles, Lucy literally runs into William Holden at the Brown Derby. Later she dons a putty nose to keep Holden from recognizing her. Lucy's 1 attempt at eating nonchalantly while Holden stares at her is 1 also a highlight of this episode. "Lucy Visits Grauman's" while in California and decides to steal John Wavne's cement footprints from the forecourt. 1 With Ethel's help she manages to get the slab, but she sticks j her foot in a bucket of cement. At the end of this episode, Lucy and Ethel drop and break the slab. { "Lucy and John Wayne" team up in the second part of the story involving John Wayne's footprints. "THE GREAT Train Robbery" occurs as the Ricardos, the Mertzes and Mrs. MacGuillicuddy are on their way back to New York from California. Lucy mistakes a jeweler for a tliief and a thief for a G-man. Chaos erupts. (iv 4.1 /~v- 11 ...l _ t 1 ?:il. r?' -l TT% 1 Liucy rnceui uie v^uevn wiien in juunuun wtui rucny, r reu and Ethel. After several unsuccessful attempts at seeing the Queen, Lucy joins a performance Ricky is giving for her. Highlights of this episode include Lucy's attempts at making a Buckingham Palace guard smile and dancing with a charley horse in her leg. "Lucy's Italian Movie" is also a classic. During a visit to ~ Rome, Lucy is offered a part in an Italian film, "Bitter Grapes," so she goes to a small Italian town to learn how IrtU IfeJIffWii"*? BesTouRRmf [l^v^B^ifLWhflb (3 ond sftioon [ | :V>v/w ."HiL m n -Jr\'r3ryz?ir7 r. r^ii:,-r:r illllBllfil llfflfflattWli ^mgggg mm m w* leifiories*! 'v| grapes are made into wine. After a hilarious fight in a wine vat with a local worker, a grape-stained Lucy returns to Ricky and loses the part in the film. 1-: "OFF TO Florida" finds Lucy and Ethel riding from New Vnrlf tn ITlnriHa with n Mrc rininfiv hponiiQP T.urv lrvat thpir train tickets. En route, Lucy mistakes Mrs. Grundy for an escaped hatchet murderess and vice versa. The sequence in 4* ^ which Luoy and Ethel change a flat tire on Mrs. Grundy's car ^ is delicious. "Country Club Dance" was one of the last episodes of the series. It takes place after the Ricardos and Mertzes have moved to Connecticut. Numerous episodes of the series centered around Lucy's jealousy. Some "femme fatale" would happen by, and Lucy would immediatedly become insecure. We knew she had nothing to worry about; she was better looking than all of them. But her feelings of inadequacy were still fun to witness. In one episode Lucy, Ethel and Betty Ramsey become upset with their husbands for the "discusting spectle" they &L make over a neighbor's cousin. The girls decide to glamorize,^ r * themselves for an upcoming dance. Lucy puts on "a tight dress, loose hips and wet lips," and the results are priceless. There should be at least two dozen more on this list, but these are the best of the best. If your fetish for I Love Lucy is as great as mine, you might be interested in "Lucy x Ricky x Fred x Ethel: The Story of I Love Lucy" by Bart Andrews. This book tells the behindthe-scenes story of the show and includes the title, original air date and a synopsis for each of the 179 episodies of the series in syndication. It also tells about one episode that has onlv aired once. M. I Love Lucy'8 30th anniversary may seem trivial to most IL people. But to those of us who still laugh out loud at Lucy 9 Ricardo's shenanigans, it is a cause for celebration. I C COUPON^ST"^k I I ' Ki Assorted, Colorful I I GENUINE STONE BEADS | ! fig Vi. "}' Jade, Tiger Eye, Onyx, < Goldstone or Lapis O *5 c 4mm $2.99 Doz. 7 & 8 mm $5.99 Doz.1^5 O Limited Quanities-No Dealers Please 1? L Coupon good thru 10/17/81 \m The Jewelry Warehouse ? I 909 Plait Springs Rd. W. Cola. h|b I, 9 til 6 Mon. Sat. % 'It'* more than ju?t another jewelry EHMHMMHGHHMBHBMHBHBHMBMIfHyMKHCMMMHHflMBnBNHM - 9 I SOUTHERN WOMENS I I SERVICES n f to g .. .to talk with someone who cares b Problem pregnancy counsleing I( Abortion counseling and services |J Pregnancy tests Jj Birth control services |! Trained counselors I Speakers for school & civic groups I , Abortion counseling & services I "Confidential Contact With I i | Someone Who Cares" !r? 1 254-4368 24-Hour I 1 1614 Two Notch Rd. Answering Service I