Mot Morenzi

I take it that failed sitcom of Mulaney's from a few years back was not an accurate testament to his talents?

I think the RA story is so prevalent because of that Goodtimes "Funny World of Lucy" documentary, which includes footage from a Dick Cavett interview in the 70s where she discussed it. Those tapes were a dime a dozen back in the 90s, then it was put on DVD in the early 2000s. I'm sure a huge number of casual Lucy fans would've picked that set up because of how inexpensive it was. Many probably only know the story from there and not her book. In the Cavett interview, she claimed RA combined with malnutrition led to her infirmity; she wasn't taking proper care of herself in NYC and became very run down because of it. So again, the story seems to change slightly with each telling. I thought that woman's article was a tad overreactive but I was pleased the comments were so balanced. I do agree with her point that the estate should make more of an effort getting the information removed from other sources, if it's that pressing a concern.

Let me see. There was the phone giveaway episode in season 2. Then we had Lucy Wants New Furniture the following year, and she gave her old stuff to the Mertzes.

Lucy Misses the Mertzes - A touching episode, but rather slow in pace. It's rare to see such a quiet episode with so little action. I do like how it cements the closeness of their friendships, though. Lucy Gets Chummy With the Neighbors - A good introduction to the Ramseys, and (IMO) the best of the new furniture episodes. I wish Frank Nelson had made more appearances as Ralph, he was quite good in the part. Lucy did have a point - their NYC furniture did not suit that house.

Open a Rear Window: Hitchcock takes over as "Mame" director CBS/FOX Video to feature "Drafted, Lucy Goes to a Rodeo" on "The I Love Lucy Collection: Volume 37" CBS/FOX recalls Lucy volume 37 due to lack of sales

A while back I saw a thread somewhere that featured guests contributing mock "gag" headlines for news articles about Desperate Housewives. I believe one of them went: "Denton Faces Class Action Lawsuit From Bored Fans Who Want Their Time Back". In any event, I got a real kick out of them and thought maybe we could come up with a few newsworthy joke stories about Lucy and company. Obviously everything said here will be in fun and is not meant to be taken seriously or as insults. "I Love Loosey: Andes, Windom share details of Ball's flirtatious nature on set" " 'Lucy' propman recovering from Joan Crawford inflicted wire-hanger wounds" "Lucy Show soundstage flooded due to overflowing toilet; Blondell investigated" "Desperately Seeking Fred: Unemployed Vance begs Frawley to resurrect Fred & Ethel in new show" "Morton Developing TLS Spinoff for Himself; Gould approached to co-star" "Dick Martin's return for TLS finale cancelled due to audiences not remembering who his character was" "My Three Spinoffs: Ball to produce 3 new pilots for Garrett, Hart and Moore in apology for dumping them from her show" "Here's Lucy, Mother's-in-Law crossover cancelled; Carmel quits in protest" "Burton, Taylor episode to be reshot after cameraman accidentally loads camera with black & white film; everyone enraged at having to spend another week together" "Lost 7th Season Here's Lucy scripts discovered; all would have showcased Prohaska's gorilla act"

"Secrets and Scandals", huh? Let me take a wild guess: Bill and Viv didn't get along, Lucy forced Viv to be overweight and wear ugly clothes, CBS didn't want Desi, didn't want the pregnancy story, Lucy wasn't a natural redhead...am I in the ballpark?

I'll have to watch this when I'm in the mood for a good cringe. Even lesser Lucy episodes like "Drafted" had solid structure and weren't disjointed. Even if the plots were silly, they were at least well structured and paced.

Comma usage has gotten so slapdash. It seems people either use too many or not enough; there's no in-between anymore.

Shame...SHAAAAAME! SCANDALOOOUS!

Thanks for that. I'll track down Rose Marie's while I wait for Kaye's to be released.

Are there plans to release the Kaye and Rose Marie films digitally or on DVD? Or do licensing issues limit them solely to theatrical exhibition?

We've started re-watching The Mothers-in-Law in Kaye's honor. It's been a while since I've seen it, so it's fun to be experiencing it again. Max remembers it from its original run in Australia - he says it was a "must-watch" in his family's household.

God, what a loss. I could feel my heart plummet the moment I saw the (beautifully done) banner. Just too sad. I'm thrilled at the tributes she's getting, though.

Beautiful Carol Channing tribute. Love the photo of her with Lucy and Betty.

Bobby Jellison's nephew did a show telling about his uncle's life. Did anyone here see or hear about this production a few years ago? http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1191

The "oops, there goes my doorbell" bit was brilliant. I just wish they hadn't used it for only this one episode. Had it recurred like in radio it would've been great. I have no doubt the writers were inspired by their own or others' experiences with party lines.

Lucy's pronunciation of "pahtio" in Runaway Butterfly popped into my head today, for some reason. It's bugged me ever since I first saw it - it just seems pretentious. I watched "Redecorating" this afternoon. The party line scene with Florence Halop is very funny, but it's so out of the blue. That was never a recurring subplot like it was on the radio show. It would've been a fun running gag, but in this instance it felt like padding.

That par couldn't be any more sub if it tried.

That is a funny moment, but not the one I'm remembering. I seem to think it had something to do with the fire department.

I couldn't find an equivalent thread for this so I thought I'd start a new one. When you recall a particular line or moment from one of Lucy's shows, but can't remember the specific episode, ask about it here to track down the answer. For the first question, what episode has Ricky confused over the proper name for hotcakes (tortillas, flap-cakes, hot-jacks)? I know it's from an episode I've seen many times and I'll probably feel like a dunce when someone tells me.

I think this moment was from The Lucy Show - a great Viv scene. She says something along the lines of: "Well, thank you, Lucy! That's really nice of- wait a minute!" Her split-second change from grateful to irritated was so well done. Any recollections of what episode it's in?

Ooh, I'd forgotten about that Equal Rights scene. As for LWL, it's kind of hard not to imagine Lucy Barker smoking, what with that voice and all! On the subject of sponsors and cast commercials, was there a specific reason Lucille never did any commercials on "The Lucy Show"? Was she just too busy? Surely if she was okay pitching cigarettes and Lilt she wouldn't have had any objections to Jell-O Pudding, Dream Whip and Swan. Look at all the Jell-O commercials she did on the radio.

How wonderful you got to become friends with him! Yeah, I thought we saw them with cigarettes on a few occasions after PM stop sponsoring. The brands were just never mentioned after that. Curious that the Mertzes were never depicted as smokers. You'd think considering how desperate PM was that they'd have forced Vance and Frawley to do so. I'm honestly surprised they never stipulated that a character named "Philip Morris" be a series regular. I don't hate Stamp, per se, but it's just not a favorite. Lucy Carmichael is very whiny and grating in that installment, and Viv overplays the haughty, which makes her far less funny. Not only was Sherman taller in his last appearance, but his voice had audibly deepened. I believe Ralph Hart did six episodes during season three, but they were primarily one-scene bit parts. All of the children were basically afterthoughts that year.

That episode surprised me the last time I saw it. It had been a long time, back when I first got the Columbia House tape which included it. I'd forgotten just how good it was. By and large, the Volunteer Fire Dept. shows tended to be highlights. I wish they hadn't abandoned that subplot entirely for season 3. It wasn't until this episode that I consciously registered Lucy Carmichael wasn't a smoker. It was funny watching Lucy act like she'd never had a cigarette in her life. (Off topic for a moment: I can't remember any specific moments from memory, but were Lucy and Ricky ever shown smoking after Philip Morris stopped sponsoring them? There must've been a few occasions, though not nearly as prevalent as before.)