The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 09, 1981, Page Page 8, Image 8
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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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