Here’s Lucy – Season One (1968 – 1969/MPI DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: B
The Lucy Show ended in 1968 because the series
was owned by Desilu. At this time Desilu
was no longer owned by Lucille Ball. The
comedienne opted to begin a new series produced by the newly formed Lucille
Ball Productions. The result was another
long running series for the Queen of Comedy: Here’s Lucy.
Here’s Lucy had Ball playing Lucy Carter, a
widower. Her co-star was Gale Gordon,
who previously played Mr. Mooney in The
Lucy Show, and her two real life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz
Jr.
Lucy was
employed at the Unique Employment Agency working for her brother-in-law, Harrison
Otis Carter (Gordon). At home she coped
with her teen age children: Kim (Lucie) and Craig (Desi).
The first
season contains many funny moments proving Ball was still a master at physical
comedy. The Arnaz children are quite
able to keep up with their mother’s frantic pace. All 24 half-hours are included here.
As with
the last three years of The Lucy Show
guest stars kept popping up. On this DVD
set Lucy encounters, Carol Burnett, Eva Gabor, Van Johnson, Shelly Winters,
Tennessee Ernie Ford and Wayne Newton. The more memorable celebrity encounters feature
episodes with Cesar Romero, Jack Benny, Jackie Gleason and Vivian Vance.
What is
missing from these episodes is the warmth and wit of Ball’s previous series. There is barely any character development
between Lucy Carter and her children. Audiences cared about what happened to
Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and their best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz. During the first season the performers set up
and follow through on the comedic plots rather than develop
characterization. This will change a bit
as the series progresses.
Veteran
Lucy regulars, Mary Wickes and Mary Jane Croft appear briefly during the first
season (though both would be seen more frequently as the series went on). Their presence, no matter how brief, is
always a welcome sight.
The
extras on this set are outstanding as we hear a very informative discussion
from Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon from the radio series, Let’s Talk with Lucy. Gordon discusses his private life. He and Ball discuss the difficulty of working
on a comedy series and the troubling youth movement.
Fans get
a chance to see the I Love Lucy cast
in color filming episodes for The
Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour via silent home movies. Other silent movies consist of a cute film
titled, The Chase, with Lucy’s
second husband, Gary Morton and golfing footage with Jackie Gleason. Location shooting for Here’s Lucy is also presented as silent film.
The Arnaz
children’s screen test for the feature film, Yours, Mine and Ours is included and presented at different angles. We see the tests for the stop-motion animated
puppet of Lucy that introduces each episode with its opening credits.
In Meet the Carters, Lucie and Desi Arnaz
Jr. explain how their mother approached each about starring in the series and
their initial reactions. Each episode of
Here’s Lucy is introduced by either
Luci or Desi with recollections of the plot, guest star or the production. It is a nice addition more shows should try
out.
Both the
1.33 X 1 full color video and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio are excellent for
their time and age. Though there are
minor aliasing errors on the picture and the sound can show its age, these are
new copies and the show has not looked this good in a very long time.
This is a
must have for any Lucy fan.
- Fred Grandinetti
