Colorized "I Love Lucy" DVD set for Nov. 5, CBS Special airs Dec. 20

[nertz2mertz]

That was funny Joey!    Sorry if I seem a little picky with colors. I have this OBSESSION with seeing I Love Lucy in color. 

I would LOVE to see an episode the way the audience saw it. Even if it is colorized. I wonder if her roots were colorized mousy brown? 

 Ok that was bad!

[C L A U D E]

That was funny Joey!    Sorry if I seem a little picky with colors. I have this OBSESSION with seeing I Love Lucy in color. 

I would LOVE to see an episode the way the audience saw it. Even if it is colorized. I wonder if her roots were colorized mousy brown? 

 Ok that was bad!

I doubt that Lucy, with her own HAIR obsession, had her roots showing in mousy brown.  Not when you get your hair done on practically a daily basis.  LOL!

[vivfantoo*]

Ajrich, thanks for posting that picture of the back cover -- I didn't know that there were 3 episodes colorized! I thought it was just the Christmas one.

[JYuhas]

if they do decide to colorize the whole entire series on Blu-ray and/or DVD, I wonder if they'll colorize The Christmas Show flashbacks, too, 

[Lucille Ball fan]

I know that the flashback parts are left in black and white to create a memory effect. But I wish they had colorized the flashback parts. I know that we are very lucky to have 3 shows in color. Now if we can only push CBS to color the rest of the shows. Maybe good sales of the Christmas dvd will help get CBS to continue the color process.

[Annaleigh]

I will refrain from even truly giving my opinion on this. No matter what, it is beyond our grasp to get into a tizzy about it all. All I can say is I am on the fence about a lot of things.

[JYuhas]

Just out of curiosity, would anybody be able to record this off TV, and onto DVD for me, please? If somebody would do this for me, I'd appreciate it. I've included the date, times, and network below.

Friday, December 20 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS

[nertz2mertz]

Are these episodes on regular dvd or are they in high def? I got the impression they were in blu ray format.

I also keep reading about ILL on blu ray in 2014. Is it the whole series? 

[C L A U D E]

I will refrain from even truly giving my opinion on this. No matter what, it is beyond our grasp to get into a tizzy about it all. All I can say is I am on the fence about a lot of things.

Well, get off the fence, you might damage something.

[C L A U D E]

So, i'm in the HMV main store downtown this morning.  I see this lovely lady helping a clerk putting up about thirty Christmas dvds of various shows and movies.  So I approach her and ask if she's the manager, which she was.  Then I ask her f she will be getting the I Love Lucy Christmas dvd and she says, why yes, we just priced the twelve or so copies this morning and they will be put up next Tuesday but because there are only twelve, maybe you'd better reserve one and we'll call you when we put them up, so I did.  The we got to talking about Lucy and her shows and movies and she tells me her daughter was named Lucy and the show is her all time favorite.  No wonder they have all of Lucy's shows and released movies on dvd there, the manager is a Lucy fan.

[LittleRickyII]

I'm just going by the color publicity pic of Lucy and Desi standing in front of the tree.  I guess if they go through all that trouble why not color it the way it's seen in the pic. That being said, the new colors really do look better compared to the other colorized version. This is way better.

 

I've got two theories here:

 

Theory #1: For that publicity shot, they swapped out the actual curtains and replaced them with the red ones so their color publicity photo would look more Christmassy.

 

Theory #2: The regular curtains really were these red ones, and they only used red curtains because Karl Freund felt this was most optimal for filming in black and white, not because anyone actually thought they looked good.  And frankly, does anyone think those red curtains look nice next against those blue walls?  I find it rather jarring (frankly, ugly) and I don't think they would have chosen that color if they had been filming the show in color.  And for the same reason, perhaps this is why they did not use red when they colorized this episode.

 

I don't know if either of these theories are true, but just something that crossed my mind.

[C L A U D E]

I've got two theories here:

 

Theory #1: For that publicity shot, they swapped out the actual curtains and replaced them with the red ones so their color publicity photo would look more Christmassy.

 

Theory #2: The regular curtains really were these red ones, and they only used red curtains because Karl Freund felt this was most optimal for filming in black and white, not because anyone actually thought they looked good.  And frankly, does anyone think those red curtains look nice next against those blue walls?  I find it rather jarring (frankly, ugly) and I don't think they would have chosen that color if they had been filming the show in color.  And for the same reason, perhaps this is why they did not use red when they colorized this episode.

 

I don't know if either of these theories are true, but just something that crossed my mind.

Well, you may very well be right about the first one.  Never thought of that.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

I've got two theories here:

 

Theory #1: For that publicity shot, they swapped out the actual curtains and replaced them with the red ones so their color publicity photo would look more Christmassy.

 

Theory #2: The regular curtains really were these red ones, and they only used red curtains because Karl Freund felt this was most optimal for filming in black and white, not because anyone actually thought they looked good.  And frankly, does anyone think those red curtains look nice next against those blue walls?  I find it rather jarring (frankly, ugly) and I don't think they would have chosen that color if they had been filming the show in color.  And for the same reason, perhaps this is why they did not use red when they colorized this episode.

 

I don't know if either of these theories are true, but just something that crossed my mind.

I sincerely doubt they'd go to all the trouble of swapping out some curtains just for a publicity shot; actually, if I were you I'd wonder whether they walls -- and while we're at it, the sofa and matching chair for that matter, which I always assumed were a dark brown -- were actually blue! 

 

Of all the "aparrments" I've ever lived in I've never walked into one where the walls were painted anything other than an off-white or varation thereof.  Blue living room walls? Green kitchen?? I kinda doubt it... Doesn't quite "wash"!

[C L A U D E]

I sincerely doubt they'd go to all the trouble of swapping out some curtains just for a publicity shot; actually, if I were you I'd wonder whether they walls -- and while we're at it, the sofa and matching chair for that matter, which I always assumed were a dark brown -- were actually blue! 

 

Of all the "aparrments" I've ever lived in I've never walked into one where the walls were painted anything other than an off-white or varation thereof.  Blue living room walls? Green kitchen?? I kinda doubt it... Doesn't quite "wash"!

Ever live in one of those famous New York brownstones?  Or live on a fake set made for a tv show?  LOL!  The colors might surprise you.

[JYuhas]

Just out of curiosity, I'd love to conduct an interview with the people who did the recent colorization of the "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode, and ask them all of these questions, featured here. 

 

I hope this gets really good/positive feedback. I'd love to see the whole series in color, as well as back in prime-time.  If they did that, it could draw in a whole new young audience of fans.

 

I don't know why there are a lot of people that are against colorizing "I Love Lucy."  They're going by the bad color jobs in the '80s, like, Ted Turner, etc.

 

Do you think that the flashback sequences should've been colorized?

 

Here's another question, did they, or didn't they know what the colors of the show's opening "heart on satin" credits were? I mean, were there color photos and/or video of that?  I asked Gregg Oppenheimer when the colorized "Scotland" was released, and he said that they were the right colors.  I don't know how he found out, or how he knew, but he said either it was researched, or somebody remembered.  Oh, in addition to asking Gregg Oppenheimer about it, I also asked Legend Films, and they told me the same thing that Gregg did, about the original colors for the heart on satin opening credits.  Apparently, it was done in color, and filmed in color, but, was presented in black & white, for that's how the episodes were shown  I always thought that it was the colors that were used on the Colombia House videos, and then the Paramount/CBS DVDs.  I'm talking about the episode title cards, that appeared before each episode, with the air-dates, etc. 

 

Do you think Keith Thibodeaux would know and/or remember specifics regarding the sets, props, etc."  Or, do you think he was too young to remember any of it?

Also, did the colors of the second apartment change over the years? In the earlier episodes, it looks like it's all one color. Then, in the later episodes, the walls are light, but the trimming & edging are darker.

I often wonder if the people who colorize things go to great lengths for accuracy, like to seek color photographs, color video, or if they just do trial and error, and do what they think is better, and/or would look the best. I mean, I know they had color photo graphs of some of the scenes in the Scotland episode, so they went with what they had. But, I guess when it comes down to wardrobe, like Ethel's dress in the Christmas episode, they winged it.  

I wonder why that wasn't done when the Christmas show was colorized in 1990.  I know, a lot has happened since then, but still.

I hope this gets a lot of positive feedback, so that they'll be able to green-light, and move forward with colorizing all of the episodes, for all of the seasons, including "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour''
 

[C L A U D E]

 

Just out of curiosity, I'd love to conduct an interview with the people who did the recent colorization of the "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode, and ask them all of these questions, featured here. 

 

I hope this gets really good/positive feedback. I'd love to see the whole series in color, as well as back in prime-time.  If they did that, it could draw in a whole new young audience of fans.

 

I don't know why there are a lot of people that are against colorizing "I Love Lucy."  They're going by the bad color jobs in the '80s, like, Ted Turner, etc.

 

Do you think that the flashback sequences should've been colorized?

 

Here's another question, did they, or didn't they know what the colors of the show's opening "heart on satin" credits were? I mean, were there color photos and/or video of that?  I asked Gregg Oppenheimer when the colorized "Scotland" was released, and he said that they were the right colors.  I don't know how he found out, or how he knew, but he said either it was researched, or somebody remembered.  Oh, in addition to asking Gregg Oppenheimer about it, I also asked Legend Films, and they told me the same thing that Gregg did, about the original colors for the heart on satin opening credits.  Apparently, it was done in color, and filmed in color, but, was presented in black & white, for that's how the episodes were shown  I always thought that it was the colors that were used on the Colombia House videos, and then the Paramount/CBS DVDs.  I'm talking about the episode title cards, that appeared before each episode, with the air-dates, etc.

 

Do you think Keith Thibodeaux would know and/or remember specifics regarding the sets, props, etc."  Or, do you think he was too young to remember any of it?

 

Also, did the colors of the second apartment change over the years? In the earlier episodes, it looks like it's all one color. Then, in the later episodes, the walls are light, but the trimming & edging are darker.

 

I often wonder if the people who colorize things go to great lengths for accuracy, like to seek color photographs, color video, or if they just do trial and error, and do what they think is better, and/or would look the best. I mean, I know they had color photo graphs of some of the scenes in the Scotland episode, so they went with what they had. But, I guess when it comes down to wardrobe, like Ethel's dress in the Christmas episode, they winged it.  

 

I wonder why that wasn't done when the Christmas show was colorized in 1990.  I know, a lot has happened since then, but still.

 

I hope this gets a lot of positive feedback, so that they'll be able to green-light, and move forward with colorizing all of the episodes, for all of the seasons, including "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour''

 

 

The ones who are against colorization are probably descendants of the ones who did not think sound was a good idea for films.

[LittleRickyII]

I sincerely doubt they'd go to all the trouble of swapping out some curtains just for a publicity shot; actually, if I were you I'd wonder whether they walls -- and while we're at it, the sofa and matching chair for that matter, which I always assumed were a dark brown -- were actually blue! 

 

Of all the "aparrments" I've ever lived in I've never walked into one where the walls were painted anything other than an off-white or varation thereof.  Blue living room walls? Green kitchen?? I kinda doubt it... Doesn't quite "wash"!

Supposedly this is an actual color photo and it shows the walls are blue. So they do match this photo.  And the green matting of the photos over the fireplace, and the bricks around the fireplace, were also matched in the colorized episode.  As for swapping out the drapes, I don't think that would have been a big effort.  If you've ever visited the props department of a movie studio, they have pretty much everything available that you can imagine and that kind of thing can be done in an instant.

 

And JYuhas, that's a great list of questions you have there.  And I'm with you about colorizing the whole series.  I understand the other side, and I've leaned in that direction in the past, but I really enjoy seeing the colorized episodes and like the idea of having the option of seeing it both ways.  And I agree it would extend the life of this series many more years.

 

 

[LittleRickyII]

Ever live in one of those famous New York brownstones?  Or live on a fake set made for a tv show?  LOL!  The colors might surprise you.

I'm with you there.  I know people who have painted their apartments far more out there colors than blue.  Those blue walls look pretty tame to me. In fact, a house I used to own had blue living room walls when I bought it (same light blue color).

[nertz2mertz]

I've got two theories here:

 

Theory #1: For that publicity shot, they swapped out the actual curtains and replaced them with the red ones so their color publicity photo would look more Christmassy.

 

Theory #2: The regular curtains really were these red ones, and they only used red curtains because Karl Freund felt this was most optimal for filming in black and white, not because anyone actually thought they looked good.  And frankly, does anyone think those red curtains look nice next against those blue walls?  I find it rather jarring (frankly, ugly) and I don't think they would have chosen that color if they had been filming the show in color.  And for the same reason, perhaps this is why they did not use red when they colorized this episode.

 

I don't know if either of these theories are true, but just something that crossed my mind.

 

I was thinking the same thing about #1. But I think the second sounds about right. Since the actual set was painted in different shades of grey, the red color against the blue would have been a bit too much....I think. Red was used a lot from the color pics I've seen. It would have been nice to seem colorize it with the actual colors so that we can experience  what the audience saw. 

[LittleRickyII]

I was thinking the same thing about #1. But I think the second sounds about right. Since the actual set was painted in different shades of grey, the red color against the blue would have been a bit too much....I think. Red was used a lot from the color pics I've seen. It would have been nice to seem colorize it with the actual colors so that we can experience  what the audience saw. 

 

I've read in the past that the set was painted in shades of gray, but in that photograph I posted, the second apartment is blue.  And in the color home movie footage that audience member shot during the filming of "The Audition" (which just surfaced in recent years) the walls of both the apartment (apartment #1) and decorations at the Tropicana, have a pinkish color.  And color photos of the Connecticut home show brown wood and green plaster.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

The ones who are against colorization are probably descendants of the ones who did not think sound was a good idea for films.

Hardee har, har! Apples & oranges, cupcake! Apples & oranges! Oh - and for those who need to "see" them in color, apples are RED (or green) and oranges are....ORANGE, like Lucy's haircolor in this latest misguided attempt at colorizing it! 

[Desiluforever]

 

Of all the "aparrments" I've ever lived in I've never walked into one where the walls were painted anything other than an off-white or varation thereof.  Blue living room walls? Green kitchen?? I kinda doubt it... Doesn't quite "wash"!

They were blue. I guarantee you, the photo of Lucy as Marilyn above is most certainly correct. And this not a real apartment, it's a set. 

[Lucille Ball fan]

Misguided attempt at colorizing it? So just what is wrong with the current colorized shows? The colors look good and they seem to be as accurate as can be after 62 years of watching the shows in black and white.  Atleast they are trying to get the colors as right as they can. Like it or not color for I Love Lucy is here to stay. CBS has found a way to make more money on the show and that way is color. You know that saying that money talks. I think that I Love Lucy should be in color period, it is 2013 and the current color process in very good. Remember this new I Love Lucy Colorized Christmas dvd includes the three shows in black and white. One can watch the color or black and white versions. As CBS releases more color I Love Lucy dvds I say they will also include the black and white option also. So for anyone that hates I Love Lucy in color get over it and get use to it. Color for I Love Lucy is here and trust me it will not go away. Color for the show is the shows future.

[nertz2mertz]

Misguided attempt at colorizing it? So just what is wrong with the current colorized shows? The colors look good and they seem to be as accurate as can be after 62 years of watching the shows in black and white.  Atleast they are trying to get the colors as right as they can. Like it or not color for I Love Lucy is here to stay. CBS has found a way to make more money on the show and that way is color. You know that saying that money talks. I think that I Love Lucy should be in color period, it is 2013 and the current color process in very good. Remember this new I Love Lucy Colorized Christmas dvd includes the three shows in black and white. One can watch the color or black and white versions. As CBS releases more color I Love Lucy dvds I say they will also include the black and white option also. So for anyone that hates I Love Lucy in color get over it and get use to it. Color for I Love Lucy is here and trust me it will not go away. Color for the show is the shows future.

 

I agree. But if all that hard work is put into it, wouldn't it make more "cents" to color it exactly as it was seen 62 years ago? Wouldn't CBS get more publicity to the new generation if they saw it exactly as it was seen by the public in the 1950's? Lucy is funny regardless of what color they use, but it seems to me like a slap in the face to the queen of comedy to color her like a clown when she deserves better after all the hard work they put into Desilu! They gave us the laughter, let's give back what she deserves! 

[nertz2mertz]