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What episodes are you watching on "The Lucy Show"?


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I'm up to show seven of season two of The Lucy show and loved the Carole Cook interview, best SPECIAL feature for that season, just a great interview, wonder if Carole got as big a kick about her interviewer that most of us gays did.  Carole touches on many great stories, could have listened to her for hours, she's just the best.

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Who the hell is Bill Halloran and how come he wrote two Lucy shows i've seen so far, i noticed the other two Bobs were out those weeks.

Why they started bringing in outside writers in season 2 to work with Bob and Madelyn has always been a mystery to me.  As is why he was brought in for this important 2-parter, the introduction of Mr. Mooney.  Schiller and Weiskopf did not get another gig ("Red Skelton") until the following season, but maybe they were working on pilots.  I can't tell the difference between the BBBM shows and the ones with other writers which leads me to conclude that Bob and Madelyn were the ones who kept the scripts consistently sharp.  I've only seen O'Halloran's name on one other show: an episode of "Dragnet 67"!   I think he was a writer on one other episode that season ("Cub Scout Camping Trip"?).  According to Madelyn, he didn't contribute much except the "Who's in the Barnyard?" card game and the line "4 little lambs and a billy goat and billy goats are wild."

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Why they started bringing in outside writers in season 2 to work with Bob and Madelyn has always been a mystery to me.  As is why he was brought in for this important 2-parter, the introduction of Mr. Mooney.  Schiller and Weiskopf did not get another gig ("Red Skelton") until the following season, but maybe they were working on pilots.  I can't tell the difference between the BBBM shows and the ones with other writers which leads me to conclude that Bob and Madelyn were the ones who kept the scripts consistently sharp.  I've only seen O'Halloran's name on one other show: an episode of "Dragnet 67"!   I think he was a writer on one other episode that season ("Cub Scout Camping Trip"?).  According to Madelyn, he didn't contribute much except the "Who's in the Barnyard?" card game and the line "4 little lambs and a billy goat and billy goats are wild."

Well, like i said, i watched the first seven and it was Halloran between the two Bobs, unless they used them and then not show the ones they did in order?  Anyway, notice this is where Bob and Madelyn started getting that credit at the end of Carroll and Martin associates or something.  I thought the two parter was HIGH LARRY YOUS!  I remembered it was funny but forgot how funny.  

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No, he wasn't. (No offence, Chedd! :D )

I think season two has some very good physical stunts, but the build ups are rather boring.

Case in point: 

  • Kiddie Parties, with the balloons
  • Duck Hunting, Lucy falls in some deep water, if I remember right
  • Redecorate, the car through the house
  • College Reunion, taking the statue upstairs
  • Symphony, the entire second act
  • Golf, Lucy goes wild on a cart
  • Open A Restaurant, the earthquake thing or whatever
  • Millionaire, green Lucy

I'm sure there's more. I think they were so desperate for ideas that they came up with some very good climaxes, but didn't work too hard on the events leading to them. For a lot of season 2 episodes, all I can remember are the moments listed above.

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Watching Lucy and VIv in the baking contest I noticed something I never did before.  When the pie contestants come in the room a woman shouts out to Viv.  Lucy asks who that was.  Viv says that's Ebba my biggest fan.  A nice Lucy person name drop I never noticed before.  So far this is the only time I remember Ebba's first name being used in a show.  The lady was not the real Ebba though

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Almost finished with season two and love it all.  Noticed that Tina Cole played an extra or small role in one, she used to date one of the My Three Sons, the middle one i think.  The Ethel Merman double header was fantastic but it's true that the difference in Merman's LOOKS is jarring, seeing as they filmed them separately.  The symphony one was her best yet, classic Lucy, finally letting her shine, loved every minute of it.  I much preferred Ethel to Viv who is so annoying at times, cranky, always bitching about something.  Just saw the one about golf that featured gary, i still say he was pretty good and should have been on as her boyfriend.

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Ok, finished season two and it was a lot better than i remembered, only one i fast forwarded thru was that damned Scout one.  LOVED Lucy mentioning in the only season one show i hadn't seen, the one with little petie marshall, that her guest list for her sister's wedding was MY BROTHER FRED AND HIS WIFE ZO, CLEO AND CECIL AND PAULA AND JACK CARTER, LOL!

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Ok, finished season two and it was a lot better than i remembered, only one i fast forwarded thru was that damned Scout one. LOVED Lucy mentioning in the only season one show i hadn't seen, the one with little petie marshall, that her guest list for her sister's wedding was MY BROTHER FRED AND HIS WIFE ZO, CLEO AND CECIL AND PAULA AND JACK CARTER, LOL!

"But Paula and Jack aren't family". I know Viv but Gary made me invite them.

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Someone posted the "Mainstreet USA" number on Facebook.

A couple of things:

Carole Cook's singing can be heard very prominently in the chorus but she's nowhere to be seen as far as I can discern.  I think she had a speaking role in part 2, but it was cut from the CBS morning version I'm familiar with.

Listen to Lucy's singing when she hits the high note "A" of Mainstreet US"A" the first time.  It's such a high one and she hits it well with a little vibrato even.  But this is the first time I've wondered, did Carole hit the note for her?  Sounds a little too good to be Lucy.  Lucy could still sing in an acceptable range and remember this is just 4 years before she was announced as the screen's "Mame". 

 

The "Mainstreet" episode has a real small town "Music Man" feel, but it's awfully simple-minded.  For one thing, even in 1967 did any town still have a "livery stable"?  I'm not even sure what one is.  The equivalent today would be a facial salon that takes out liver spots, I guess.  

But the number itself has a catchy tune, a grudging kudos to Mel.  Would it have been a burden on John Bubbles to actually learn the lyrics he's lipping to?  Who was his vocal coach?  Hazel Pearce??  

This ep having a part 2 is SOOOO redundant.  If the logic was that they wanted to get another episode out of this expensive set they built, they might have done "Gorboona" as a (shudder) 2-parter. 

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I finally got around to watching Lucy in London a few nights ago, so now I'm quickly going through the rest of my season 5 dvd that was sitting on the shelf for a while.

 

Specifically so far, the two Carol Burnett episodes (I'd always assumed they cut out of syndication the line where Carol says she moved out but nope, looks like she's just a very quiet roommate for the rest of the series. Hah). And then the one where Lou C. is drafted (that poor haircut) and then the John Wayne one (one of my least favorite of season 5) and then Pat Collins (I enjoyed the beginning more where Lucy and Mary Jane were fake shopping so they get free food) and finally Mooney, the Monkey which is a lot more fun that I remember it. I must be so used to the "guy in a gorilla suit" thing now that I'm fine with it.

 

The guy who played the monkey has a funny imdb page with the listings of him as various animals. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698512/?ref_=tt_cl_t6

 

Incidentally, imdb calls the episode "Lucy and the Monkey" while the DVD calls it "Mooney, the Monkey." I prefer that title I guess.

 

I'm looking forward to Substitute Secretary as that's my favorite of season 5.

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Hate "John Wayne"?  WAAAAHHHHH!  I guess I'm the only who sees something in this episode: Lucy's bravura performance.

Spoiler alert warning: "Substitute Secretary" is one of my favorites but season 5 goes downhill from there.


and then the John Wayne one (one of my least favorite of season 5)

Incidentally, imdb calls the episode "Lucy and the Monkey" while the DVD calls it "Mooney, the Monkey." I prefer that title I guess.

 

I'm looking forward to Substitute Secretary as that's my favorite of season 5.

 

I recently showed Max the two Ethel Merman episodes and he loved them. It's been years since I'd seen them myself, I'd forgotten just how enjoyable they were.

Note that it's not until Episode 50 (or so) that The Lucy Show gets a bona fide guest star.

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"Viv Moves Out"

It seems that for a short period, the networks were hot on ROberta "Up a Lazy River" Sherwood with this and her Donna Reed pilot episode, in which she also went up that lazy river.  She's got an interesting voice, but not much in the way of acting skills. Doubt she could have carried a show, even with the help of brother Gale Gordon.  Was she  big enough name to qualify as "guest star"?

One question though: Lucy's renting out Viv's room to ROberta.......and her son????, future big Patrick on Broadway in Angela's mame: Jerry Lanning.   You mean mother and son are sharing a room?  Or does Jerry L. room with Jerry C. and get Sherman's old top bunk.  Deleted from script: Jerry L using stilts to get to his bed.

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