I Love Lucy Blogathon–“My Answers to the I Love Lucy Tag”

When I learned that “The Classic Movie Muse” was holding an I Love Lucy blogathon, I knew I had to participate. I knew I had to participate enough that apparently, I felt compelled to submit three, count ’em THREE articles. Fortunately, if there’s one thing I know, it’s I Love Lucy, so it’s not requiring a lot of research or time on my part. I thought I’d start with the answers to The Classic Movie Muse’s I Love Lucy tag, as it’d be relatively easy to do.

The I Love Lucy Tag:

Q: When did you first start watching I Love Lucy?
A: I started watching “I Love Lucy” at around age 10-ish, so 1994, when I discovered it one evening on Nick at Nite. The first episode I saw was “L.A. at Last!” with guest star William Holden. I thought the episode and Lucy in particular, was HILARIOUS. From then on, I was a Nick at Nite devotee, I watched ‘Lucy’ every night, and then the “Whole Lotta Lucy” Saturdays, with two episodes of ‘Lucy’ and an episode of the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” I also loved Nick at Nite’s Block Party Summer, because ‘Lucy’ was always featured, meaning that there were 3 hour blocks of ‘Lucy’ every week, AND “Whole Lotta Lucy Saturday.”

Q: What are your favorite I Love Lucy episodes?
A: My favorite I Love Lucy episodes are:

1. L.A. at Last! (the burning nose episode with William Holden)
2. Ethel’s Birthday (the infamous hostess pants episode)
3. Lucy Wants a Paris Gown (Lucy and Ethel get faux Jacques Marcell Parisian dresses made of burlap)
4. The Black Wig (Lucy tries out the “New Italian Haircut”)
5. The Million Dollar Idea (Lucy and Ethel try to sell Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing)
6. Fred and Ethel Fight (Lucy and Ricky try to get the feuding Mertzes back together and end up in a fight themselves)
7. Tennessee Ernie Visits & Tennessee Ernie Hangs On (I love Ernie Ford, he’s hilarious)
8. Home Movies (Lucy and the Mertzes make their own Western-themed television pilot)
9. The Star Upstairs (CORNEL WILDE IS IN THE PENTHOUSE)
10. In Palm Springs (Would you like a piece of Rock, Mr. Candy?)
    

Q: What’s your favorite Lucy disguise or costume?
A: I love all of the ridiculous rubber masks she wears in the “Harpo Marx” episode when Carolyn Appleby visits Hollywood (enroute to Hawaii) and wants to meet all the stars that Lucy has been hobnobbing with, per the postcards she’s written to friends back home. After getting Carolyn’s glasses away from her, Lucy disappears. While she’s gone, big stars like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Jimmy Durante stop over (obviously all Lucy in a rubber mask). The entire thing is absurd, but is the showcase for my favorite Lucy impression–her Clark Gable impression. “Gotta little laryngitis, baby!” This also leads into Lucy’s fabulous Harpo Marx costume (and actual costume, not a mask), where she ends up reenacting the famous mirror bit from “Duck Soup” with Harpo himself. Harpo just happens to be at the hotel performing in a benefit.

Q: If you could own one prop from the show, what would it be?
A: I want to own that bizarre device from “The Marriage License” that Lucy finds while she’s cleaning out her desk. Neither she nor Ethel know what it is; but Lucy can’t throw it away “because it might be something I need!”

Q: Which secondary character do you enjoy the most?
A: I love Tennessee Ernie. He is hilarious. “Normally I toss and turn, but not in that thing!”

Q: You’re planning a get together with Lucy, Ricky, Fred & Ethel. What is the order of the day?
A: This is assuming that I am alive in the 1950s and lived in the I Love Lucy-universe, obviously. I would plan this party while the gang is still in Hollywood. This is an all-day extravaganza. First we’d go down to the pool, to see who’s hanging out, since all the stars seem to be poolside at the Beverly Palms. Then we’d go to the Brown Derby so that I could be a “Johnny Jump Up” with Lucy and Ethel. I want to try the famous Derby Cobb Salad. I would also be like Lucy and look at all the caricatures on the wall. I would hob with every nob that was worth hobbing with. Then, we’d all go down to Grauman’s Chinese Theater, so that I could sit on Bill Holden and maybe see a movie. After that, we’d go back to the hotel and hope that we run into Bobby the bellboy. Then, because I always wanted to go to one of those big Hollywood clubs, we’d all go to the Mocambo, using Ricky’s clout of course to get in. I’d play “Mother, May I?” when choosing between Fred or Ricky to dance with, obviously, after I was done saying “My mother told me to pick YOUUUU!” I’d dance with Ricky. Hopefully, Ricky will be summoned to the stage to sing a couple numbers, preferably “Babalu.” By then, it’ll be time to return to the hotel and call it a day.

Q: Which I Love Lucy catchphrase do you find yourself using the most?
A: I don’t know if it’s a catchphrase per se, but I find myself using the “are you having trouble with your liver?” line from “Lucy Writes a Play” a lot. I also use Lucy’s “Mertz?!” line from “In Palm Springs” a lot. Finally, I enjoy the entire exchange in “Home Movies,” with “Smile when you say that,” “no man can say that to me,” and “Are you accusin’ me of cheatin’?”

Q: What’s your favorite musical moment from the show?
A: I love the “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” song from “Home Movies” as well as Lucy’s lip-syncing to Carmen Miranda’s “Mamãe Eu Quero” from “Be a Pal.”

Q: If I Love Lucy had a “lost episode” that you could watch, what kind of plot would you want?
A: I would love to see an episode featuring Albert and his wife from apartment 4B. “Albert! Albert! Are you coming?” “I told you I’d be there in a minute!” OH FOR HEAVEN’S SAKES ALBERT, GO EAT YOUR LUNCH!

Q: What’s something you’ve learned from I Love Lucy about comedy, relationships or life?
A: That good friends are worth keeping and investing in the relationship. To this day, I have never been friendless. I have friends.

Q: Why do you think I Love Lucy has remained popular for so many generations?
A: I think it has remained popular because Lucy’s humor is timeless. Even as crazy as Lucy Ricardo can be, all of her schemes start from a plausible premise and go awry–something that could conceivably happen to anyone. Take “Million Dollar Idea” as an example. Lucy makes good salad dressing. She and the Mertzes think that there’s money to be made. Lucy and Ethel figure out that they can use their connections with Carolyn Appleby and her husband to get on TV to market the dressing. Only they underestimate the cost of overhead and production and don’t markup their product enough. They also underestimate their demand. They try to “unsell” it, only to get MORE orders.

Also, save for the occasional reference to a 1950s figure like Kinsey, or Harry S. Truman, or Mamie and Dwight Eisenhower, I Love Lucy isn’t topical. There aren’t episodes talking about the Red Scare, or the Korean War or anything like that. That’s why shows such as All in the Family from the 1970s that very much dealt which issues at the time can feel outdated and younger generations can’t even connect with it. I Love Lucy doesn’t have that issue. Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy are like the famous silent film comedians (Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd) who have all endured, even 100 years later. Funny is funny, no matter the time period.

Finally, I think that Lucy and Desi’s decision to film the show versus using kinescope is one of the biggest reasons that the show endures. Look at The Honeymooners, a show considered to be groundbreaking and a major sitcom of the 1950s. However, it was filmed on kinescope, so the quality is really really poor. While The Honeymooners is known and episodes can probably be seen here and there, nobody is clamoring to rewatch old episodes of a 70-year old show on kinescope.