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Our Miss Brooks vs. My Favorite Husband


Brock

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I have been listening to a lot of Our Miss Brooks and My Favorite Husband lately whiling away the hours as I tackle another project and I find the more I listen to both shows, the more I laugh to Our Miss Brooks than My Favorite Husband. While both are still funny today, I find Our Miss Brooks is hysterically so. Oddly enough, however, the humour doesn't seem to translate as successfully to television. (I chalk part of that up to Robert Rockwell)

 

Which of the shows do you prefer and why?

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I enjoy both shows very much, but I find Our Miss Brooks makes me giggle and laugh more than My Favorite Husband. I think part of it has to do with Eve Arden's humor compared to Lucille's. With Lucy, in many ways you need to see her as well as hear her to fully appreciate the breadth of her talent. I believe Lucy's comedic abilities were still very much in the developmental stage when she did the radio show, as evidenced by comparing the radio episodes that inspired TV counterparts and her performances in each of them. Not that there was anything remotely wrong with her work on the radio show, but Bob and Madelyn were such visual writers that, at many times, the comedy bits only felt like part of the picture.

 

Eve, however, is very deadpan, and as a result was able to paint a more complete portrait on radio. And because Our Miss Brooks was more dialogue driven, it comes across better on radio. I also agree, however, that the humor didn't translate as well on the TV version. I've only seen a handful of episodes, but it doesn't feel as energetic or spontaneous. In many ways, the visuals felt superfluous, whereas I Love Lucy definitely enhanced the My Favorite Husband concept.

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Although Eve's 'voice' is more 'interesting in the minds' eye, Lucille has almost everyone beat on the physical level of comedy; few women have EVER out-done Lucy on THAT level - sitting here thinking; and I can't come up with one -

 

There's a topic we can discuss - YOUNG and OLD - different generations can respond on this Lounge with much authority.  Who can we 'pit' Lucille against in the physical acting of comedy?

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  • 2 months later...

I've introduced Max to Our Miss Brooks. We've been listening to it during dinner lately. He's really taken to it and I love to watch him laugh.

 

He likes Lucy but her voice tends to grate on him so he can only handle small doses ( I'll have to work on that). So he hasn't done any MFH yet.

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