Lucy's Favorite Episodes

[Neil]

Lucy's Favorite Lucy's according to Viacom. List released some time in the 70s.   Some odd choices and strange omissions.  21 episodes in all.   This was before the episodes were remastered.  Stations received 16mm prints, already a step down in quality from the original 35mm's,  and they were cycled from station to station almost until the emulsion was worn off the film.  I Love Lucy was brought back to Portland with some ballyhoo in 1977 and scheduled for the prime 7:00pm slot.  I could not believe how threadbare the prints were.  To make way for more commercials, stations would do their own cutting.  Then after showing, splice the film back together before sending to next station.  (I'm pretty sure that's how it worked.)  I remember seeing "Goes to Scotland" that STARTED in the middle of the mayor's song!  Despite the film quality, Lucy did quite well and ran there for a few years, then shifted to 3:00pm where it ran even longer.  

"Lucy's Favorites"  In chronological order:  The Adagio, The Ballet, The Freezer, Does a TV Commercial, The Saxophone, Goes to Hospital, Camping Trip, Girls Buy Dress Shop, Equal Rights, Million Dollar Idea, Mertz & Kurtz, LA at Last, Harpo Marx, John Wayne, Charles Boyer, Bob Hope, Orson Welles, Little Ricky's School Pageant, Loving Cup, Lucy Raises Chickens, Builds Bar-b-Q.

[HarryCarter]

Very interesting. Some of these inclusions are pretty bizarre. The Adagio is possibly my least favorite episode. I would think The Girls Go into Business would be a least favorite for Lucy because of what was going on when they were filming it. The Operetta and Job Switching are surprising omissions. I wonder how much input Lucy actually had in these, if any. 

[Mot Morenzi]

I, too, was surprised by The Adagio being on the list. It’s one of my least favourites as well. 

[Neil]

In an interview focusing on her upcoming non-Lucy debut in "KO Kitty", she's asked what her favorites are and mentioned a few with the surprising inclusion of "the one we did with Edward Everett Horton ("Lucy Plays Cupid").   Evidently "Lucy Makes Room for Danny" had already been filmed but had not yet aired.  She says "that one turned out quite well"......which is an UNDERSTATEMENT.   When people discuss the hour shows, the favorite named most often is "Tallulah".  It's a close 2nd to "Danny", my favorite.  Everyone was justifiably proud.  It won some sort of award. Writers Guild?  Directors Guild?  Not sure which (or maybe both).  The following spring with the TV season over, TV Guide listed the greatest TV offerings of the 58-59 season.  Most were specials but "Danny" got a mention.  The only other show with regular characters was an episode of Father Knows Best "Kathy Grows Up", which I have since seen (and don't know why it was singled out).   Who knew "Makes Room" was going to be the last high-water mark for the Ricardo/Mertz format?  When CBS ran the hours as a summer replacement series,  they were shown completely out of order, but in the same sequence each year: Danny, Havana, Grable/Horse and Chevalier/Mexico being the first four.   Berle was 5th if I recall.  Tallulah was not shown until well into the run.  Depending on when the new season started in the fall, they didn't always run all 13.  The last 3 shown were Howard/Ida, Kovacs and Paul Douglas but they didn't always get an airing.  Both Douglas and Kovacs died within a short time after their episode was done.  I had no idea who either of them were.   The Howard/Ida episode: you really miss the Mertzes.  The bit where people are in the same house but one couple doesn't know the other is there, doesn't quite work for me, but it was trotted out again for the Carol Channing pilot and a Mothers In Law episode (I think).   I haven't seen "KO Kitty" is quite some time.  The print I have is very poor.  So I don't remember whether it's good or not.  

I think CBS was pleasantly surprised that the first airing of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was such a huge ratings hit.  Enough so that they were run an additional 4 times as a series, the last run being the summer of 1967,  by which time evening TV had gone all-color.  So LDCH has the distinction of being the series that had the most prime time showings and the last network offering in b/w.  

[teenageluminary]

Quote

Lucy's Favorite Lucy's according to Viacom. List released some time in the 70s.   Some odd choices and strange omissions.  21 episodes in all.

I agree with the posters upthread that it's odd that The Operetta isn't on there, since she later told Lee Tannen that this was one of her favorite episodes. 

It's also weird to see Lucy and Orson Welles on that list, since Lucille Ball later described Welles as being pompous and overbearing (if Jim Brochu's book is to be believed.) At one point, Lucille Ball also apparently referred to this as "the episode where I got a broomstick up my ass" (referring to the finale.) 

[Mot Morenzi]

6 hours ago, Neil said:

In an interview focusing on her upcoming non-Lucy debut in "KO Kitty", she's asked what her favorites are and mentioned a few with the surprising inclusion of "the one we did with Edward Everett Horton ("Lucy Plays Cupid").   Evidently "Lucy Makes Room for Danny" had already been filmed but had not yet aired.  She says "that one turned out quite well"......which is an UNDERSTATEMENT.   When people discuss the hour shows, the favorite named most often is "Tallulah".  It's a close 2nd to "Danny", my favorite.  Everyone was justifiably proud.  It won some sort of award. Writers Guild?  Directors Guild?  Not sure which (or maybe both).  The following spring with the TV season over, TV Guide listed the greatest TV offerings of the 58-59 season.  Most were specials but "Danny" got a mention.  The only other show with regular characters was an episode of Father Knows Best "Kathy Grows Up", which I have since seen (and don't know why it was singled out).   Who knew "Makes Room" was going to be the last high-water mark for the Ricardo/Mertz format?  When CBS ran the hours as a summer replacement series,  they were shown completely out of order, but in the same sequence each year: Danny, Havana, Grable/Horse and Chevalier/Mexico being the first four.   Berle was 5th if I recall.  Tallulah was not shown until well into the run.  Depending on when the new season started in the fall, they didn't always run all 13.  The last 3 shown were Howard/Ida, Kovacs and Paul Douglas but they didn't always get an airing.  Both Douglas and Kovacs died within a short time after their episode was done.  I had no idea who either of them were.   The Howard/Ida episode: you really miss the Mertzes.  The bit where people are in the same house but one couple doesn't know the other is there, doesn't quite work for me, but it was trotted out again for the Carol Channing pilot and a Mothers In Law episode (I think).   I haven't seen "KO Kitty" is quite some time.  The print I have is very poor.  So I don't remember whether it's good or not.  

I think CBS was pleasantly surprised that the first airing of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was such a huge ratings hit.  Enough so that they were run an additional 4 times as a series, the last run being the summer of 1967,  by which time evening TV had gone all-color.  So LDCH has the distinction of being the series that had the most prime time showings and the last network offering in b/w.  

Danny and Tallulah are definitely my overall favourites of the hour shows. Uranium would have to be third. The chase scene is terrific, and probably my favourite moment from the series, but the events leading up to it are rather slow.

Also, maybe MacMurray wasn’t the best choice for guest star in that outing. Somebody with a little more pep might’ve brought more energy to the proceedings…like Jeff Chandler or Jack Lemmon, perhaps? Even Lucy said Fred was a total square, but a nice man, and admitted their different styles of comedy didn’t mesh well.