Category: Favorite Classic Television

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Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980) Favorite Classic Television I Love Lucy in the Movies

I Love Lucy in the Movies: Ladies in Retirement (1941)

For this installment of “I Love Lucy in the Movies,” I’m covering Ladies in Retirement (1941) which I watched last night. This is a very good gothic film noir starring Ida Lupino. Also starring in this film was Elsa Lanchester as one of Lupino’s mentally ill sisters. Aside from this film, another thing Lupino and Lanchester have in common is that they both appeared in I Love Lucy. Lupino, to be accurate, actually played herself in an episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. I’m counting it because The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is more or less a one-hour episode of I Love Lucy.

In 1956, after six years and 180 30-minute episodes, Desilu president and I Love Lucy star, Desi Arnaz, was eager to leave the hectic pace of producing a new episode every week. He had tried to end the series a year prior with “Return Home From Europe” being the final episode, but CBS threw money at him and Lucy to convince them to stay on another year. The ending dialogue in “Return Home From Europe” sounds like it was written to be a series finale. To convince CBS to allow him to pull the plug on I Love Lucy, Desi convinced them to allow him to air I Love Lucy as a 60-minute special sporadically throughout the year. CBS agreed and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was born.

The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, while more or less an hour long episode of I Love Lucy, it did have the minor difference in that each episode featured a celebrity who has an unfortunate encounter with Lucy. Logically, it makes sense, as Ricky Ricardo’s celebrity and ownership of Club Babalu makes it logical that he’d either hire these celebrities at his club, or he’d met them previously because of his time in Hollywood.

Ida Lupino and Elsa Lanchester appeared together in 1941’s Ladies in Retirement. In this film, Lupino plays Ellen, the spinster sister of her two mentally ill sisters, Emily and Louisa. Lanchester played Emily. In the film, Ellen receives a letter from the boarding house in London where her sisters are living. The letter informs her that Emily and Louisa are being evicted from the home due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be institutionalized, Ellen brings them to the home on the English moors where she works and lives. Ellen’s employer, Miss Fiske, graciously allows the two sisters to stay in her home, but quickly grows tired of their behavior. Eventually Miss Fiske gives Ellen the ultimatum that the sisters need to leave. Ellen tries to defend her sisters, but insults Miss Fiske in the process, and is fired. Later, taking matters into her own hands, Ellen strangles Miss Fiske to death. She makes it look as if Miss Fiske decided to take an extended trip. Ellen tells her sisters that she purchased the home for them. Eventually Miss Fiske’s absence and Ellen’s behavior arouses the suspicions of her nephew and the maid, Lucy.

Ida Lupino (center) and Elsa Lanchester (right) in “Ladies in Retirement”

The film never makes it clear what mental illness is that that the two sisters have, nor is there any indication that an event may have triggered or caused their mental illness. It is also unclear whether Emily and Louisa are actually mentally ill, or whether they are just eccentric. Elsa Lanchester excelled at playing these slightly off-kilter personalities.

Lanchester made her appearance on I Love Lucy first, playing “Mrs. Grundy” in a season 5 episode, “Off to Florida.” In the episode, Ricky is playing with his band at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami, Florida. Ricky, Fred, and Little Ricky go ahead to get some fishing in before Ricky has to work. Lucy and Ethel plan to take the train and meet the men down there. However, Lucy has lost the train tickets. To save face, she decides that she and Ethel will answer a “Share a Ride” classified ad to split the travel costs with another traveler who is also headed from New York City to Miami. Mrs. Grundy answers the ad.

Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball, and Elsa Lanchester in “I Love Lucy.”

Lucy and Ethel find Mrs. Grundy’s behavior odd. She prefers to travel at night or early in the morning. She won’t stop for meals, preferring to subsist on watercress sandwiches instead. Later, Mrs. Grundy gets a flat tire and expects Lucy and Ethel to change it while she naps. While looking for tools, Lucy and Ethel find a hatchet in the trunk. Thanks to a convenient radio bulletin about gray-haired escaped hatchet murderess, Evelyn Holmby, Lucy and Ethel jump to the conclusion that this must be Mrs. Grundy. Her weird eccentricities all make sense for a woman on the lam. Later, Lucy and Ethel are asleep while Mrs. Grundy is at the wheel. She also hears a radio bulletin about Evelyn Holmby, except this bulletin has more information. Mrs. Holmby, despite being gray haired, is thought to have dyed her hair red, and is also thought to be traveling with a blond companion. Comedy ensues with Lucy and Ethel suspecting Mrs. Grundy and Mrs. Grundy suspecting them.

This is the funniest episode of the Florida trilogy, with much of the humor coming from Elsa Lanchester. Her sing-songy line delivery, and her delightful eccentricity makes the episode.

Flash forward 3 years to the 10th installment of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” There would be 13 total. Celebrity couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff are the guest stars, playing themselves. In the episode, a mutual friend of Ricky’s and the Lupino/Duff’s double books his cabin on the lake–promising it to both of them. Both couples go to the cabin expecting a romantic week with their partner. However, when they all meet, Ricky and Howard hit it off over their mutual love of fishing and see it has an opportunity to fish, since their wives can talk to each other. The men end up spending the entire week fishing, with the women getting stuck cleaning the fish. Towards the end of the week, the women are desperate for some romantic time with their husbands and decide to sabotage the fishing expedition. The joke is on them however, when the husbands decide to throw their wives a bone and plan a romantic evening on the lake. Too bad Lucy and Ida have already sabotaged the boat.

From left to right: Ida Lupino, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Howard Duff (hunched over) in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”

This episode has some funny moments. Lucy and Ida trying to discreetly plug the holes in the boat (that they put there earlier) with gum and their bodies while also trying to be romantic is pretty funny. There are some good lines. However, on a whole this isn’t one of the better hour long episodes, though it’s not the worst one (I’d give that one to the Milton Berle episode). Often in these hour long episodes, the Mertzes are kept on the sidelines during the celebrity scenes. If there’s a female celebrity, she’s often given the role that we would expect for Ethel. In this episode, Ida is definitely in the Ethel Mertz part. In the Betty Grable episode, Lucy even calls her “an Ethel Mertz with money.” The Mertzes are barely in “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” I believe they only appear at the beginning to pick up Little Ricky to explain why he’s not in the rest of the episode.

By this point in the series, Lucy and Desi’s marriage was so strained, that they were barely speaking. The tension and stress in their marriage comes through in the last episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, and it makes these episodes less enjoyable to watch. Each episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is worth watching, but they are not the same as I Love Lucy. Lucy and Desi would divorce only a year after “Lucy’s Summer Vacation” aired. For what it’s worth, Ida Lupino and Howard Duff would divorce in 1984 after 33 years of marriage.

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classic film Favorite Classic Television I Love Lucy in the Movies

“I Love Lucy” 75th Anniversary & “I Love Lucy” in the Movies

Today, October 15, 2026 marks the 75th anniversary my favorite show of all time–I Love Lucy. Aside from being my favorite show, and I’m sure a lot of people’s favorite show, I Love Lucy is also iconic and groundbreaking, establishing many of the sitcom production techniques still in use today. On Monday, October 15, 1951, the episode “The Girls Go into Business” aired at 9pm and introduced the nation to the exploits of the Ricardos and Mertzes. The episode, “Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her” was filmed first, but was the fourth episode to air.

For the first episode, the I Love Lucy crew was still working out how they were going to film this show. While there were shows on television at the time of I Love Lucy’s debut in 1951, they were shot on kinescope. Kinescope was essentially the equivalent of someone filming something playing on their television and posting the video on You Tube. Suffice it to say the quality was terrible. CBS was also insistent that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz relocate the production to New York City, for the kinescope–simply because more of the country’s population lived on that side of the country. CBS wanted most people to receive the live feed and then the populations living in other regions of the country would receive the kinescope recording.

Lucy and Desi did not want to move to New York, nor did they want their show looking like garbage to part of the population. Desi insisted that the show would be produced in Los Angeles and recorded on 35mm film–just like movies. CBS balked at the higher cost. As a compromise, Desi offered that he and Lucy would take a $1,000/week pay cut to make up the production difference. CBS agreed, thinking that this entire project was just a lark for Lucy and Desi. At the very least, Lucy and Desi figured that if the show failed, they’d have some fun recordings for their kids. Little did they know that 75 years later, their show would still be airing and still being talked about.

I discovered I Love Lucy in 1994 when I was 10. I came across it when flipping channels and I came across Nick at Nite. I was immediately hooked and I Love Lucy and the rest of the Nick at Nite lineup became must-see TV. I also credit I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball with getting me interested in classic film. While I’d seen some classic movies like The Wizard of Oz, thanks to the annual television screenings, I hadn’t see very many old films at all until I discovered I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball. My family used to go to the library about once a month and I was fortunate that my library had a large number of books about I Love Lucy and Lucy. I read every single one. From these books, I learned about Lucy’s film career. My library also just happened to have a large number of volumes from the Lucille Ball Signature Collection on VHS. I borrowed every single one.

From Lucy’s films, I discovered more favorite classic films and stars, such as Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn (Stage Door), Ann Miller (Too Many Girls), and Henry Fonda (The Big Street). At the same time, TCM had just debuted, and we had the channel as part of our cable package. I used to scour the tv guide (not the periodical) that came in the Sunday paper, and look for any of Lucy’s films airing on TCM. I’d then set them up on the VCR to record. I’ve seen almost all her films. There are only a few I haven’t seen yet.

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Iwould like to segue into my new feature I’m going to introduce on my blog–I Love Lucy in the Movies. Lucille Ball loved to surround herself with people she knew and liked from working with them during her film career. As a result, I Love Lucy features not only some big guest stars, but also a lot of great performances by character actors. In my blog feature, I’d like to spotlight the actor I recognized from a classic film and discuss their appearance in an I Love Lucy episode.

For my first installment of I Love Lucy in the Movies, I’m discussing Sheldon Leonard’s appearance in Another Thin Man (1939) which I recently watched on TCM for Myrna Loy’s star of the month.

Sheldon Leonard

In Another Thin Man, Leonard plays Phil Church, an employee of a man named McFay, who is hosting Nick and Nora Charles at his estate. However, McFay has been receiving death threats from Church who has been in prison for 10 years after being used by McFay as the fall guy to take blame for some illegal business activities. Nick visits Church in jail to ask about the death threats. Church tells him about dreams he has about McFay’s murder. He’s had the same dream three times and warns Nick that typically his dream comes true after the third time. Sure enough, McFay turns up dead.

In I Love Lucy, Sheldon Leonard appears in the episode “Sales Resistance” as a door-to-door salesman for the Handy Dandy company. He uses various sales tactics to pressure Lucy into making a purchase, though she tries to resist. He appeals to her ego by telling her fake anecdotes about previous customers who were foolish enough to pass up the great products and deals he was offering. Eventually he convinces Lucy to purchase a new vacuum cleaner, a “deal” that results in her having to buy every component (e.g., vacuum, cord, case, hose, etc.) separately. For $1.50, Leonard’s character throws in “the Kitchen Helper,” the first device he tries selling Lucy. It’s supposed to help the busy housewife with chopping.

In both Another Thin Man and I Love Lucy, Leonard plays a sleazy character. His distinctive New York accent and appearance lent themselves well to the world of unsavory characters. He would later go on to become a prolific producer at Desilu, home of I Love Lucy. Three of Leonard’s biggest shows were The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon–“Dances with Dogs” King of the Hill

King of the Hill is a newer topic than what typically write about on this blog, but I love this show so much and this episode so much, that I have to write about it. “Dances with Dogs,” which originally aired on December 1, 2002 is hysterical. It has such a ridiculous plot: Bobby Hill wants to enter the “Musical Canine Freestyle,” a dog-dancing contest which is a sensation in Canada.

At the start of the episode, Bobby watches as his parents, Hank and Peggy Hill, leave to get ice cream. He’s been waiting for his parents to leave, so he can practice dog dancing for an upcoming contest with Hank’s beloved 13-year old Bloodhound, Lady Bird (named after the first lady, Lady Bird Johnson). Bobby puts on The Beatles’ rendition of “Twist and Shout” and starts practicing. However, then Hank and Peggy come home unexpectedly after Hank is incensed that the employee put his fingers in his ice cream and killed his mood for ice cream. Hank, who seems perpetually embarrassed by free-spirit Bobby’s actions, is horrified to see his son dancing with the old Lady Bird. “She’s got arthritis!” Hank says.

Bobby, needing a new dog to dance with, goes next door to neighbor Kahn Souphanousiphone’s home and asks if he can dance with their West Highland Terrier, Doggie, in the upcoming contest. Kahn agrees, but Bobby has to clean up Doggie’s poop in their yard. Bobby agrees. Meanwhile, Hank realizes that Lady Bird seems to be benefiting physically from dancing. He decides that he’s going to enter the dog dancing contest. Hank chooses Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” as his and Lady Bird’s song.

Hank and Lady Bird

Hank then walks in on Bobby practicing with Doggie and is upset that he’s dancing with neighbor Kahn’s dog. This scene brings the funniest exchange in the entire episode:

HANK: You’re dancing with the neighbor’s dog against me and Lady Bird?!
BOBBY: Well what was I supposed to do? Not dance with a dog?! Anyway, you said Lady Bird was too old to dance. If you pumped her full of pain pills, I’ll make sure you’re both disqualified.
HANK: Well, what do you care? Looks like you’ll dance with any dog that will have you!

Bill and Rex

Hank and Bobby continue bickering and trash talking each other about dog dancing, with Hank being offended that Bobby would deign to dance with Kahn’s dog. Eventually Peggy, my queen, has had enough:

PEGGY (to HANK): You both want to dance with dogs. You each have a dog you can dance with. You take your dog to the garage. You dance with her there. Bobby gets to dance with his dog in his bedroom. Everybody gets to dance with a dog. Everybody wins.

Meanwhile, Hank’s friend, eternal sad sack Bill Dauterive, decides that he’ll also get a dog to dance with. He ends up buying Rex, an ill-tempered Rottweiler, from an animal shelter. He selects Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” as their song. However, every time Bill tries to dance with Rex, he ends up being mauled. At the contest, Bill tries to dance with a muzzled Rex and is forced to remove the muzzle.

Bobby and Doggie

On the day of the dog dancing contest, Hank is humbled by Bobby. Hank, thinking that dog dancing is easy, more or less does a very simple slow dance with Lady Bird. Bobby on the other hand, took the dog dancing much more seriously and has choreographed a very impressive routine to Technotronic’s “Move This” with Doggie. Bobby is an excellent dog trainer and has obviously put a lot of work into the contest. The commentators, one being Scott Hamilton as “Sketch Randall,” (the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in Men’s Figure Skating), and the other “Dud Jeperson,” are hilarious as they speak in awe about Bobby’s performance.

SKETCH: We are witnessing a dream. I hope I never wake up.
DUD: Are they even touching the floor? Amazing!… I don’t even know how to describe that move.
SKETCH: I wish everyone who denies the pure athleticism of dog dancing could see what I’m seeing now.

Eventually, the dog dancing contest comes to an end and the winners for the “Beginners Off-Leash Musical Freestyle” contest are announced. Rhonda Clark and her Border Collie, Rusty take third place. Bobby and Doggie take second. Hank, way too optimistic about his lukewarm performance, assumes that he and Lady Bird will win first. However, Helen Bradley and her toy poodle, Buddy (same first name as my bird!) take first. “It’s a young dog’s sport,” Hank says to console Lady Bird.

Bobby asks the age old question.
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

I Love Lucy Blogathon–My I Love Lucy Collection!

Last, but not least, here is my I Love Lucy collection!

Some of my I Love Lucy dolls, from left to right: “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” “LA at Last!,” “Lucy Does a TV Commercial,” “The Audition,” “Lucy Gets in Pictures,” “The Diet,” and “Lucy is Enciente.”

My dolls live on top of my physical media collection.
More dolls, left to right: “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress,” “Job Switching,” “The Operetta,” “Lucy Tells the Truth,” and “The Ballet.”
The Lucille Ball tribute doll and my newest doll, “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown.”
My Lucy books, including the hard to find copy of Desi Arnaz’ memoir, “A Book.”
More of my Lucy books!
I Love Lucy Cookbook!
Lucille Ball on LIFE magazine
My I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball movie collection!
My all-time favorite movie on blu ray!!
My complete set of the Hallmark I Love Lucy ornaments
My I Love Lucy boxes
Lucy and Ethel blanket
I Love Lucy plates
I Love Lucy metal sign
A drawing my sister made for me, a poster from the I Love Lucy Colorized Celebration Theater event in 2019 and another metal sign.
A candid photo of Desi and Lucy that hangs in my kitchen
This year’s calendar from the Lucy-Desi Museum
Lucy coffee mugs
I Love Lucy trading cards and magnets

NOT PICTURED (due to needing to find it):

Desilu sweatshirt
Lucy and Desi cartoon figurine tank top
I Love Lucy Board Game
I Love Lucy Trivia Game
Lucille Ball sheet of commemorative stamps issued by USPS

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

I Love Lucy Blogathon–Top 5 Underrated Episodes of “I Love Lucy”

I’m here again with my second of three total posts about my all-time favorite television show–I Love Lucy! Everyone knows about the most famous moments of I Love Lucy–even people who have never seen an episode (they’re probably out there, hard to believe, I know), are probably aware of Vitameatavegamin. They’ve probably seen Lucy and Ethel struggling to wrap chocolates on the conveyor belt at Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen, or watched Lucy almost drown in the wine vat while stomping grapes with her large pizza-sized feet.

In this post, I wanted to highlight five underrated episodes which are just as funny as the more famous, iconic moments in the series. In this context, I’m considering “underrated” episodes to be ones that haven’t received a colorization and aren’t typically mentioned in any “Best of I Love Lucy” articles or other publications.

1. Home Movies. This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. It made me laugh the first time I saw it and it made me laugh the hundredth time I saw it. The episode opens with Fred and Ethel getting ready to go over to Lucy and Ricky’s for an evening of home movies–courtesy of the new film projector that Ricky has recently purchased. Fred is dreading the evening as he’s tired of watching the same home movies of Little Ricky. Fred and Ethel come up with a scheme to try and keep the conversation from lagging so that Ricky doesn’t have a chance to suggest his home movies. Unfortunately for them, they start eating Lucy’s caramels and are unable to speak. Ricky, having just purchased a new screen for his projector wants to try out the screen and once again plays the same home movies.

However, the evening ends up in shambles when Lucy falls asleep, while Fred and Ethel sneak out. Ricky is upset. He’s so upset in fact, that he informs Lucy, Fred and Ethel that he’s planning to make a television pilot film and he was going to use them as actors; but has since changed his mind. Discouraged and also never missing a chance to get into show business, Lucy decides that she will also make a television pilot film, starring herself, Fred and Ethel. She will then splice her film into Ricky’s so that he will unknowingly screen both films for the television producer.

Lucy, Fred and Ethel decide to make a western-themed show. Lucy paints a hilarious backdrop of a saloon (frankly, Lucy should look into being a backdrop artist. She’s a great painter). She and Ethel play cowboys, Tex and Nevada, respectively. They play out a typical Western scenario of two cowboys singing “I’m an Old Cowhand,” then playing cards and smoking. Nevada accuses Tex of cheatin’ which leads to a duel. Fred plays the sheriff who bursts into the saloon and wants to arrest Tex and Nevada.

Then we see Lucy at work running a film splicer and cutting the films together. However, we don’t see the end product until Ricky screens it for the producer. This film is hilarious. It starts with Ricky singing “Vaya Con Dios,” then goes into Lucy’s video, then back to Ricky, then Little Ricky, back to Lucy, then all of a sudden, it really goes haywire. The sound is mixed up with Lucy’s sound playing on top of Ricky’s video. There are random shots of Little Ricky. Then the film and sound start playing backwards, with the hilarious shot of Lucy’s cigarette smoke going back into her mouth. Then the film is sped up, then abruptly ends with Ricky’s “This is a Ricky Ricardo Production!” and Fred’s “I Got Wind of It!”

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2. Mr. and Mrs. TV Show. This episode begins with Lucy secretly having lunch at 21 (offscreen) with an executive who is acquainted with Carolyn Appleby. The executive, Harvey Cromwell, wants to do a show with Ricky. Lucy tells Ricky and is incensed when he wants to do the show, but without her. Eventually however, the executives come up with a concept for their show, a Mr. and Mrs. morning show, featuring Ricky and Lucy. Ricky is reluctant, but Cromwell insists, saying it is a “Mr. and Mrs. Show or else!” He has to convince Lucy to be a part of the show without telling her the truth. He feigns enthusiasm at her singing and makes her think that he’s going to demand that Lucy be added to the show.


Next, we see a common plot device on I Love Lucy, with Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel running through the entire show as written with no mistakes. Next up is the dress rehearsal before filming–or so they think. Cromwell tells Ricky (and only Ricky), that the “dress rehearsal” will be the actual show. They don’t want Lucy, Fred and Ethel to know they’re being filmed. It is right before the “dress rehearsal” when Lucy discovers that Ricky didn’t want her on the show after all. To get back at him, she decides to perform a different version of the show–with hilarious results. Lucy’s new performance brings my favorite line, “I woke up this morning feeling real blah. Felt like a real slob.”

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3. Bullfight Dance. This episode takes place during the Hollywood season. In this episode, Lucy is approached by Ricky’s agent to write an article called “What It’s Like to Be Married to Ricky Ricardo.” Lucy sees this as a golden opportunity. Lucy’s article is meant to promote the Heart Fund benefit that Ricky will be headlining. Lucy of course wants to be involved. Ricky of course says no. Lucy decides to blackmail Ricky by writing two versions of her article–one flattering to Ricky and the other not.

Not wanting bad publicity, Ricky concedes to Lucy’s demands. At first he asks her if she wants to do a musical number with him. He suggests a number where she sings “Humoresque” and he’ll sing “Swanee River.” Anyone familiar with these two songs will know that they both have the same medley, just different lyrics. The idea with this number is that the two performers will be singing their respective songs and then they’ll have moments of harmonization. However, Lucy keeps getting mixed up and starts singing Ricky’s song. Eventually, Ricky suggests a different number–a matador themed number. He’ll be the matador and Lucy will be the bull. Annoyed about her perceived demotion, Lucy decides to feminize the ferocious bull and steal Ricky’s thunder. She makes hilarious changes to the bull, including adding big eyelashes, lips, and a hat with flowers on it.

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4. Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald. In this episode, Ricky starts becoming self-conscious that his hairline is receding. Lucy thinks he’s nuts; but he can’t be convinced. He’s driving her crazy, insisting on wearing hats inside to hide his perceived baldness. To try and cure him, she decides that she’s going to purchase the most disgusting, most painful hair restoration treatment she can find.

While at the hair restoration store, she meets Mr. Thurlough, the hair restorer man. Mr. Thurlough thinks that Lucy’s talking about herself when she explains that she needs to find a treatment for someone who thinks they’re going bald. After explaining to him that it really is for her husband and not her, he tells her an anecdote about another woman and her alleged balding husband. Apparently, to convince this man that he actually had a lot of hair, the wife invited a bunch of actually bald men so he could compare. Lucy decides to do the same thing and has Mr. Thurlough hook her up with some of his bald clients. This plan fails.

At her wit’s end, Lucy decides to follow through on her original plan, to make Ricky go through the grossest, smelliest, most painful hair restoration treatment. She sits him down and starts going to work. She essentially makes a salad dressing on top of his head with oil, vinegar, and eggs. Then, she makes a mustard plaster and has Ricky put a nylon over his head. This leads to the funniest scene in the episode when Ricky pulls the nylon all the way over his face–scaring Lucy. Eventually, he covers his head in the mustard plaster and puts a heat cap on top of it, so he can bake.

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5. Lucy Raises Tulips. The penultimate episode features Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel living in the country in Connecticut. Lucy and Ricky own a large home with Fred and Ethel living in the good-sized guest home on the property. Lucy has entered the annual tulip competition, a competition which has been won by her neighbor Betty Ramsey, every year. Lucy is determined to win. The judges will be visiting her home in the next day or two and she wants Ricky to mow the lawn so that it looks nice. However, Ricky is procrastinating.

Lucy ends up trying to mow the lawn herself and runs amuck on the machine. After getting home from driving on the Boston Post Road against traffic, Lucy accidentally mows through Betty’s tulip garden. She comes up the idea to replace Betty’s yellow tulips with lifelike wax ones from the nearby store. Since Lucy was only able to mow half the lawn, Ricky opts to finish the job, however he does it in the dark, so dark it was darker than the inside of his sombrero. Unfortunately for Lucy, Ricky has accidentally mowed right through her tulip bed. To cover up his indiscretion, he decides to replace the flowers with lifelike pink wax tulips, resembling Lucy’s. Both Lucy and Betty are now competing with wax flowers.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

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.

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Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

11th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon–Mama’s Family, “The Big Nap”

The character of Thelma “Mama” Harper originated as a reoccurring skit, “The Family,” on The Carol Burnett Show. Mama and “The Family” made their debut in 1974 in the skit entitled, “Phillip’s Visit.” The original iteration of Mama featured her as a ill-tempered, somewhat senile, and very quick to insult anyone, even members of her family. Vicki Lawrence, then in her 20s (!) played Mama, with Carol Burnett as Eunice and Harvey Korman as Eunice’s husband, Ed.

The 1983-1984 cast of “Mama’s Family.”

In 1983, “The Family” sketch was spun-off into a television sitcom, Mama’s Family, starring Vicki Lawrence, now in her 30s, playing the 60-something Mama. Korman appeared at the beginning of each episode as “Alistair Quince,” to introduce the next installment of Mama’s Family. Korman and Burnett would appear sporadically as Eunice and Ed. New family members were added, including Mama’s son, Vinton aka “Vint” (Ken Berry), neighbor and soon-to-be Vint’s new wife, Naomi (Dorothy Lyman), and Vint’s teenaged children, Buzz (Eric Brown) and Sonja (Karin Argoud). Future stars of The Golden Girls, Betty White and Rue McClanahan, played Mama’s daughter Ellen and Mama’s sister Fran, respectively.

The 1986-1990 cast of “Mama’s Family.”

This iteration of Mama’s Family ran for two seasons until it was canceled. The first two seasons were put into reruns and unexpectedly performed well. A couple years later, in 1986, show producer Joe Hamilton (also Carol Burnett’s ex-husband) revived the series for first-run syndication. Hamilton retooled the series. The character of Mama was softened to be less mean and more caring towards her family. However, she was still quick with a smart and witty retort. Vint’s children were removed from the series and never mentioned again. In the original series, Vint was more intelligent and more apt to stand up to his mother. In the new version, Vint is a bit of a dope; but is more loveable. The Naomi character was changed from being sassy and also willing to stand up to Thelma to being a bit of a bimbo and more shrill.

By now, Betty White and Rue McClanahan were busy on The Golden Girls, so their characters did not make an appearance in the new version of the series. Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence were somewhat estranged during this time, so Burnett’s character, Eunice, was only mentioned by name. White’s character, Ellen, was also only mentioned by name. McClanahan’s character, Fran, was killed off in the first episode of the new series, with the group arriving home from her funeral. Fran died after choking on a toothpick at the local watering hole, The Bigger Jigger. New characters were added to the series, neighbor Iola (Beverly Archer) and Mama’s grandson (Eunice’s son), Bubba (Allan Kayser). In my opinion, the second version of the series is the best version of the series.

Naomi, Vint, and Mama in “The Big Nap.”

Now onto the episode of Mama’s Family I wanted to discuss, “The Big Nap.” This episode originally aired on January 20, 1990. Throughout the second iteration of the series, Mama is established to be a big fan of classic film. She and Iola watch Bette Davis in “Now Voyager” in an episode on Valentine’s Day and in another episode, Mama falls asleep in the middle of a Deanna Durbin marathon. In “The Big Nap,” Mama is ready to settle in for another evening of the “Private Eye Film Festival,” featuring a triple feature of private eye films. Mama says that she’s planning to watch “Danger My Lovely,” “Murder My Pretty,” and “Kiss Me, Vicious.” The previous night she watched “Kiss of Danger,” “Murder My Vicious,” and “Kill Me, My Lovely.” These films are obviously all fictitious titles, but are similar to well-known film noir titles (“Murder My Sweet,” “Kiss Me Deadly,” “Kiss of Death,” etc.).

Detective T. Harper in “The Big Nap.”

Before Mama starts watching her films, neighbor Iola shows up with some startling news: her notoriously large and reclusive mother is missing. While Vint, Naomi, Bubba and Iola are out looking for her, Mama settles in her her movie marathon. Soon, we hear some stereotypical film noir music and typical private eye type narration. It’s obviously fake audio made for the episode, but it sets the tone for the type of film Mama is watching. Mama then starts to feel guilty for not spending her time looking for Iola’s mother. She is then reminded of another private eye film she watched. This then segues into Mama daydreaming about being a private eye.

The scene transitions into sepia tone. Mama provides the narration for the story. She is “T. Harper,” Private Eye. She dons a fedora and trench coat and begins investigating her new case. She works from her home, aka her “showplace,” because she prefers it. Mama’s narration is very funny and uses a lot of the common film noir tropes: slang, metaphors, a jaded tone, her personal thoughts as to what’s going on, a feeling of weariness, etc.

“Things got so bad, I took up hitting the sauce. Just my luck, it needed oregano and I was out.”

Mama then says this funny line:

“This was a job for my girl Friday. Her name was Tuesday. She started on a Monday, and by Wednesday, she’d asked for Thursday off.”

Miss Neighborly

Very cleverly, all the other family members and Iola are seen as characters in Mama’s dream, sporting their familiar character traits. Naomi is Tuesday, Mama’s Girl Friday. She speaks with a thick Brooklyn accent and is a complete bimbo. She’s seen perched at a typewriter, which is what she was doing in the episode prior to Mama’s daydream. Tuesday’s boyfriend, is Vint aka “Johnny Deadbolt,” a take-off of Vint’s job as a locksmith. Johnny is a typical dimwitted gangster. Mama’s neighbor, Iola, shows up in the femme fatale role, as “Miss Neighborly,” a take-off of Mary Astor’s “Miss Wonderley” from The Maltese Falcon. Miss Neighborly has hired Mama to find her mother. Iola’s tendency to whip up meals on the fly is spoofed with her randomly making an eggplant parmigiana in Mama’s kitchen. Throughout Mama’s dream, Miss Neighborly keeps making random meals. She also pays Mama for her work on the case in coupons. Finally, Bubba is Miss Neighborly’s brute of a “chauffeur,” a local hood named Lucky. He also uses a New York-esque accent. All the characters are suspects in Mama’s eyes.

“Coupons. More coupons than I’d ever seen in my whole life. Thirty-cents off cornflakes. Fifty cents off ground chuck. Why, there was even a two-for-one on oregano?”

Mama’s dream ends with her identifying Miss Neighborly as the culprit. She also figures out that Miss Neighborly’s mother wasn’t missing–in fact, she had no mother. Tapping into Iola’s homemaker traits, Miss Neighborly is revealed to have invented a mother who developed fantastic recipes that were shared with the world. Her mother was a sensation, and Miss Neighborly became tired of not getting any credit, so she concocted this story to get rid of her mother.

“I wanted to be more than an orphan. I wanted to be the finest cook in America and make a fortune on my recipes…I was tired. Tired of her getting all the glory. They were my recipes. It was my book. She didn’t create caramel crab cake surprise. I did. Me, the daughter. But mother said, ‘The daughter had to stay in the background.’ But I am the mother. And the daughter. Mother, daughter. Mother, daughter…”

The episode ends with Naomi, Vint, Bubba, and Iola returning, stating that they’d located Iola’s mother. It seems that she heard the ice cream truck and had followed it, until realizing she was three blocks away. Tired, she stopped in the Donut Hut, seated on the first three stools. Mama decides that she’d be better off watching a Shirley Temple Film Festival, instead of a Private Eye Film Festival.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television Favorite Modern Movies (post-1980)

On the Spot Blogathon–“The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) & “A Very Brady Sequel” (1996)

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) is an American pop culture icon. Even the most layman television fan can hear famous lines like “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” or “porkchops and applesauce,” or “Oh! My nose!” and not only know where the quote originates from; but even know which character uttered the line. The Brady Bunch sometimes gets a bad rap for being corny and unrealistic. Frankly, I love The Brady Bunch for those reasons–which is why I love The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). I may have seen both films in the theater in middle school when the movies were new!

The movie cast recreates the iconic opening credit sequence.

The Brady Bunch Movie did a very good job with casting actors who somewhat resemble their television predecessors. Carol (Shelley Long) has Florence Henderson’s iconic flip/shag mullet ‘do. She wears a lot of brightly colored and patterned pantsuits. Carol puts absurd amounts of sugar in her coffee and constantly says “Oh Mike!” throughout the film. Gary Cole plays Mike Brady and while he doesn’t look exactly like Robert Reed (original Mike Brady), he has his style of speaking down to a T. Mike is very adept at always having a lesson at the ready, whether it’s something short like “when you tattle on others, you’re really tattling on yourself. You’re saying ‘I’m a tattletale'” or a more long-winded lecture, such as when he lectures Greg on not wanting to take part in the Search for the Stars Contest. Henriette Mantel, while she doesn’t really look like Ann B. Davis, she sounds similar to Alice and does a good job emulating her way of speaking. I also love how Alice’s formal dress looks like a fancier version of her maid uniform; but it’s the same thing. Even Ann B. Davis wears a powder blue jacket with buttons in the same arrangement in her cameo scene.

The Brady kids are varying levels of successful in terms of portryal with the standout being Jennifer Elise Cox as the perpetually overshadowed and ignored Jan. Eve Plumb gave us a very memorable portrayal of middle child Jan, who constantly feels inadequate next to her popular sister Marcia. Jan provided The Brady Bunch‘s most iconic quote: “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” Christine Taylor as Marcia is the second best character in the film. She is a dead-ringer for Maureen McCormick. She also is adept at mimicking some of McCormick’s odd pronunciations, “skewl” (school) being one of the most memorable.

Christopher Daniel Barnes plays oldest child Greg. He is most known for providing the voice of Prince Eric in 1989’s The Little Mermaid. He looks somewhat like Barry Williams and does a good job acting like the “Casanova of Clinton Avenue.” Paul Sutera plays middle son, Peter, memorably played by Christopher Knight in the original. Jesse Lee and Olivia Hack play Bobby and Cindy Brady, recreating the parts played by Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen in the original series.

The Brady Bunch Movie presents a satirical look at our favorite 1970s family and plops them down in 1995 Los Angeles. The Bradys still live in their iconic mid-century modern home at 4222 Clinton Way–astroturf lawn and all. There are dozens of references to the original show. As an avid viewer of the television show and a massive fan of the movies, I could list all the references; but that may make this article insanely long to read. One of the main references to the show are the Bradys’ neighbors–Mr. and Mrs. Dittmeyer (Michael McKean and Jean Smart), who were mentioned on one or two occasions in the original series. Carol memorably hooks one of Mr. Dittmeyer’s bags of charcoal when she’s practicing casting a fishing line in the backyard. However, every characters’ respective personality and quirks are played to the hilt for laughs.

While The Brady Bunch television show is often criticized for being unrealistic in its tackling of non-issues like breaking mom’s favorite vase, or having to appear in a television show. This criticism is understandable, especially when it aired alongside shows like All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. However, I would argue that having shows about having to wear glasses or braces, or being peer pressured to smoke cigarettes is far easier to relate to than a more timely, 1970s-centric, issue. While some shows from the 1970s seem more dated, The Brady Bunch remains timeless, which is why it still remains relevant today.

However, The Brady Bunch Movie does feature a very serious un-Bradylike issue as its main plot: Mike and Carol are behind in their property taxes and face foreclosure if they can’t come up with $20,000 by the end of the week. Their neighbor, Mr. Dittmeyer, is the villain of the story. He is in real estate development and hates the Bradys. He is trying to convince his neighbors to sell their homes to a developer for a tidy sum. The only hold out are the Bradys. Due to their mail being misdelivered and Mr. Dittmeyer’s opening of the Bradys’ mail, he gets wind of the Bradys’ tax problems. He is only too happy to buy their house at the upcoming auction.

The kids have one of their infamous kid meetings to come up with a plan. Marcia is going to become a model (of course). Bobby and Cindy are going to try and find money around the house. Greg is going to become rock star, Johnny Bravo (obviously), and Peter is going to ask neighbors if they need chores done around their home. Jan’s plan is to enter the $20,000 “Search for the Stars” contest. This is the plan that they ultimately follow through with at the end of the film, and of course because its The Brady Bunch, they win. I love that all the original recordings performed by The Brady Bunch Kids are used in this film.

The Brady Bunch kids perform “Keep On” and win $20,000 to save their home!

The movie also features subplots for the kids, with Jan’s being the most memorable. Marcia accidentally makes two dates for the same night: one with Charlie and the other with “Big Man on Campus,” Doug Simpson. Doug is more interested in getting Marcia into the sack, since despite being the most popular girl in school, she is notoriously “harder to get into than a Pearl Jam concert.” Marcia’s also trying to get Davy Jones of The Monkees to perform at the prom. Greg is trying to become Johnny Bravo, by singing songs like ” ‘Til I Met You” (…clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew. Ponies never ran before, ’til I met you…). ” ‘Til I Met You” was co-written by Barry Williams. While the Greg in the television show was made out to be a ladies’ man, this Greg is so lame that girls literally scream and run out of the room.

Peter is going through puberty and also finds himself having a crush on Holly, the grunge girlfriend of his neighbor, Eric. Holly also thinks Peter’s cute “in a Gilligan sort of way.” Bobby becomes the school safety monitor and hates that his job involves ratting out his classmates. Then there’s Cindy. Frankly, the Cindy in this movie is a moron, she looks to be at least 12 but acts 5. She echoes the sentiments of Susan Olsen who hated how ridiculous Cindy acted throughout the series.

Potato sack race!

Finally, there’s Jan. Jan is so awesome and has the best subplot of the entire film. First she has to bear the indignity of having to wear glasses–saying that “glasses make [her] look positively goofy.” Then, she is mistaken for Marcia at school. Jan is so tired of Marcia being better than her at everything, she decides to set herself apart. In a scene straight out of the show (except a swap of venue and a more exaggerated sized wig), Jan decides to don a giant black afro wig to the prom, in a desperate attempt to draw attention away from Marcia. Her anxiety over being in constant competition with Marcia starts causing her to hear voices. Jennifer Elise Cox’s portrayal of Jan is worth the admission alone to the film.

“But Jan, you don’t have any friends.”
My favorite line from the film. It makes me laugh every time.

In A Very Brady Sequel, the film answers one of the burning questions of the original series: What happened to Carol’s first husband? The original series never addresses what happened to the girls’ father/Carol’s husband. After the second season, the show stops even addressing the fact that the Brady Bunch is a blended family. Carol even makes comments about the boys inheriting traits from her!

Alice dusts the iconic horse statue in the original series.

The film starts with Trevor Thomas (Tim Mattheson) and Carol’s husband Roy Martin on a boat. Roy has a rare (i.e., expensive) statue in his possession and tells Trevor that he sent it ahead to his wife, Carol. Trevor and Roy’s ship then wrecks and Roy dies. Trevor spends the next decade or so trying to find where Roy’s wife, Carol lives. He finally tracks Carol down at the Brady home and introduces himself as Roy Martin. Carol and the girls are understandably shocked. Roy then spots the rare statue in the Bradys’ home–it’s the horse statue which was seen on a sideboard in the Bradys’ living room next to the famous stairs.

The Brady Kids take Trevor shopping and make him over into a horrendous looking vintage suit!

Like in the first film, there are numerous subplots involving the other characters in the film. The family is getting ready shopping and planning for Mike and Carol’s upcoming wedding anniversary. In an ode to another memorable episode, Greg and Marcia fight over the newly remodeled bedroom in the attic. In the show, Greg won the attic using the argument that he was older and was graduating the next year. In the movie however, both Marcia and Greg are given the room, with the idea that they’d share. However, when you have two opposite sex teenagers, technically not related, sharing a bedroom… Don’t get me wrong, Greg and Marcia don’t hook up; but they find themselves having very awkward feelings about each other. This entire subplot is an allusion to the real-life romance between Greg and Marcia’s original actors, Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick, who dated during season 4 and into season 5. There are many season 4 episodes where you can see Greg making cow eyes at Marcia.

Marcia and Greg are double dating (with other people, not each other) and get way too excited talking about Marcia’s hair care regimen.

In A Very Brady Sequel, Jan’s neurotic behavior continues when she invents a fake boyfriend named George Glass. Jan in the television series also made up a fake boyfriend named George Glass, but she didn’t go to the extent of making a dummy and pretending to be with him. Jan is so desperate to be seen as desirable that she hilariously calls a 1-900 hotline to speak to a “live guy.” Peter, Bobby and Cindy don’t have that exciting of storylines. Peter starts to idolize Trevor which concerns Mike. Bobby and Cindy start a “detective agency” and end up discovering that Trevor isn’t who he says he is. This leads to Trevor kidnapping Carol and taking her to Hawaii where he can meet with Professor Whitehead to sell the horse statue. As we all remember, in the television show, Vincent Price played the infamous Professor Whitehead who kidnaps the boys and ties them to large statues in his cave. There’s also the hilarious tiki statue and great “DO DO DO DOOOO” music that makes an appearance.

A Very Brady Sequel pays homage to the pilot episode of the television shows with Carol’s gold dress and the girls’ pink dresses. Mike and the boys however do not don pink paisley suits in the show.

The sequel isn’t nearly as good as the first film; but it is still funny and worth watching. The first film feels more cohesive, and all the references feel more organic. In the second film, all the in-jokes seem more forced, as if the writers realized there were more jokes from the series that they need to fit in. There are some funny scenes, such as Carol getting her hair done at a punk hair salon; or Jan seeing her guidance counselor Mrs. Cummings (RuPaul) at the pool with her daughters who are exactly like Marcia, Jan and Cindy. Though, I’m easy to please, so I find a lot of the scenes pretty funny. I love Jan’s phone call to the 1-900 number. “I’d like to speak to a live guy. What do you mean ‘what am I wearing?’ My red jumper with the floral print trim. What do you mean, ‘take it off?’ “

The sequel ends with Greg and Marcia finally ending the suspense and kissing each other (just go with it, they’re not technically related; though I’m sure a relationship between the two would cause some strange drama in the family). Jan meets a real boy named George Glass while in Hawaii and ends up inviting him to Mike and Carol’s anniversary party. The party ends with a shocker–the reappearance of Mike’s first wife!

Mike’s first wife, Jeannie (Barbara Eden). Eden would have been in her 60s at this time and she’s still making this outfit work, you go, Barbara !

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

The John Saxon Blogathon–“Ménage-a-Phyllis” (1974)

When I saw this Blogathon announced, I’ll admit that I wasn’t too familiar with John Saxon. I only knew him from his performance in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation as one of James Stewart’s son-in-laws. When I saw this blogathon announced, I perused John’s filmography and realized that I’d seen him in more things than I thought I had. He had a very long, interesting and diverse career, beginning with appearing as a teen idol in the 1950s, Italian films in the early 1960s, and even appearing with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, which I saw for the first time at the 2023 TCM Film Festival. John even appeared in three episodes of another favorite show of mine, Murder She Wrote.

However, what really stuck out at me was John’s appearance in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Ménage-a-Phyllis.” When I read the synopsis of the episode, it immediately came back to me. ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ was my second favorite show back in middle and high school in the 90s when I watched Nick at Nite religiously. It was second only to I Love Lucy.

Phyllis discusses using her hair to hide the earrings that Mary lent her.

“Ménage-a-Phyllis” starts with Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) and Lou (Ed Asner) in Mary’s living room, trying to come up with a subject for an upcoming documentary. Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) comes busting in in her usual way, fishing for compliments about despite how glamorous and good she looks in her new outfit, she couldn’t possibly be a model. Of course, she’s wanting Lou and Mary to assure her that of course she could be a model. She then asks Mary if she could borrow a pair of earrings. She then casually drops the bombshell that she’s getting ready for her date to the ballet–except she isn’t going with her husband, the never seen Lars. Instead, she’s going out with another man, Mike (John Saxon). She states that Lars is aware and fully approves as he is not interested in the art scene in Minneapolis. Phyllis states that her relationship with Mike is purely platonic.

(About the earrings Mary offers to lend Phyllis)
PHYLLIS: Don’t you have anything a little nicer?…Never mind, my hair’ll help cover them. Anyway Mike has never seen them.

MARY: Mike?!

PHYLLIS: Uh-huh. The guy I go out with…

MARY: Phyl, what do you mean ‘the guy you go out with?’…

PHYLLIS: As you know, Lars and I have this perfect marriage, based on mutual respect and esteem. There’s just one problem: When it comes to culture, Lars is a pinhead. So I’ve got myself a companion. A bright, interesting guy. He and I go to the ballet, concerts and museums together. Lars, of course, totally approves…I know it’s a daring new concept: the idea that a man and a woman can just be friends; but I’ve always been a pioneer.

Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

Phyllis falls ill and becomes even more insufferable than she is normally.

One evening, Phyllis and Mike are set to attend a concert, however Phyllis falls ill. In a truly obnoxious Phyllis scene, she reverts back to childhood when Mary brings her magazines and ice cream, just like her mother used to. She then starts speaking like a toddler, saying that she “wuvs” everything. Mike and Mary attend the concert together and start seeing each other regularly, leaving Phyllis out. She starts to feel jealous and self conscious, thinking that Mike obviously prefers the younger Mary than her.

MARY: Phyl, come on. For once in your life, will you say what you mean? Will you just talk plain?

PHYLLIS: Okay, cutie. You want plain. I’m gonna give you plain. That dude isn’t going to be interested in a cultural evening with a happily married housewife when he’s got Action City, USA.

Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

To Mike’s credit, he genuinely is just hanging out with Phyllis to have someone with whom to attend concerts, ballets, and other artistic events. The idea of a married woman having a platonic friendship with a single man is brought up, with both Murray (Gavin MacLeod) and Ted (Ted Knight) voicing their distaste of the idea. Mary is a little shocked by Phyllis’ rather progressive relationship but believes her when she says it’s platonic. I don’t think Lou cares either way. The episode concludes with Mike telling Mary and Phyllis that he’s planning on marrying an ex-girlfriend of his, saying they worked things out.

(Telling Phyllis that he’s returning to his ex-girlfriend, Sharon, and getting married)

MIKE: We’re gonna get married.

PHYLLIS: Oh Mike, how nice. Have you told Mary?

MIKE: Yeah, I just told her.

PHYLLIS: Oh, poor Mary. Poor, dear, brave, gallant, Mary… Well Mike, I just hope that you and Sharon will be as happy in your marriage as Lars is in mine.

John Saxon as “Mike,” Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

John Saxon does a very good job in this episode as one of Mary’s beaus, even though he’s really just someone with whom she goes to concerts and films. Even Mary says she is tired of attending artistic foreign films, which to me alludes to the fact that she and Mike don’t really have anything in common. Unlike many of Mary’s beaus, John’s character doesn’t have some sort of ulterior motive (i.e., trying to get Mary into bed), he isn’t a doofus, he isn’t indecisive, he isn’t a creep, he’s just a decent guy who likes the Minneapolis art scene.

Mary and John Saxon
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

The Aaron Spellingverse Blogathon- I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound.”

Aaron Spelling is known for producing some of the biggest shows of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Some of his most popular shows include Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Charmed. Many people do not realize that before he was producing television shows, amassing his massive wealth and building his 56,500 square foot, 123-room home, aka “The Manor,” Spelling was acting on television. His very first television appearance was in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound.”

RICKY (from the car): Where are we?
LUCY: Where are we? Uhhh…where are we Ethel?
ETHEL: Uh… I don’t know, I wasn’t paying much attention.
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: Shucks, you’re in Tennessee!
LUCY: Tennessee?!
ETHEL: Tennessee?!
RICKY (from the car): Tennessee?!
FRED (from the car): Tennessee?!
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got a bad echo in that car!
LUCY: Yeah well…How do you get back to Highway 60?
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got here from Highway 60?! But there a’int no roads! You must’ve come across that mountain, in them old logging ruts. How’d you do it?
LUCY: T’weren’t easy. Tell me where is the next city?
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You can get to Nashville from here. You go straight down here a piece, until you get to that big road, and you stay right on it, and it’ll take you right through Bent Fork.
LUCY: Bent Fork?!
ETHEL: Bent Fork?!
RICKY (from the car): Bent Fork?!
FRED (from the car): Bent Fork?!
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: There goes that echo again!

Lucille Ball as “Lucy,” Desi Arnaz as “Ricky,” Vivian Vance as “Ethel,” William Frawley as “Fred,” and Aaron Spelling as “Gas Station Attendant.” I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound,” January 24, 1955.

While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.

While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.

However, Teensy and Weensy express interest in dancing with Ricky (because why not? He’s hot!). Ricky at first refuses, but is convinced to do so by Ernie. Ernie comes up with another plan, telling the Sheriff that Ricky will dance with the twins, but only if they can do a square dance, “so he can dance with both at once.” This is where Aaron Spelling comes back into the episode as he just happens to be at the jail. Maybe he had heard about the trouble the group got into and wanted to see what happened. Spelling, the Sheriff, Teensy and Weensy round out the square alongside the Ricardos and Mertzes. Ernie serves as the square dance caller. They start with a traditional square dance; but Ernie soon gives clever calls that subtly cue the Ricardos and Mertzes to make their move to escape. They grab a rope and tie the Sheriff, his daughters and Aaron Spelling up and they’re back on the road!

This is a very funny episode, though you can’t help but feel sorry for Teensy and Weensy. They fill the role that is present in a lot of old television shows and movies where a father with supposedly unattractive daughters feels compelled to try and pawn them off on any man who will pay them even a second of attention. Cousin Ernie can be a bit of a divisive figure in the I Love Lucy community; but I love him. Aaron Spelling’s re-appearance at the end of the episode is somewhat random as he just kind of shows up again, but obviously they needed eight people for the square and Spelling was already on the set. Spelling’s appearance isn’t entirely memorable unless you’re a big I Love Lucy fan and he’s unrecognizable from his 70s-90s image. However, it is fun to see a huge television titan at the beginning of his career in such a goofy role. He could have done worse though for his television debut than I Love Lucy, the #1 show in the country.