I Love Lucy 

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance

Won 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lucille Ball	...	Lucy Ricardo 181 episodes, 1951-1957
Desi Arnaz	...	Ricky Ricardo 181 episodes, 1951-1957
Vivian Vance	...	Ethel Mertz 180 episodes, 1951-1957
William Frawley	...	Fred Mertz 180 episodes, 1951-1957

Storyline

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz. The first major show to be put on film rather than kinescope.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | husband wife relationship | f rated | hit tv show | bandleader | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lucy in Connecticut

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 6625 Romaine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (179 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the Ricardos and the Mertzes were in Hollywood, the backdrop of Hollywood outside of the Ricardo's hotel suite replicates the view as it would have been seen from the top of the stages at the Desilu lot on Cahuenga Boulevard (now Ren-Mar Studios), two blocks to the west of Vine Street where a majority of the I Love Lucy (1951) episodes were shot. Most of the landmarks at Hollywood and Vine that are on the backdrop (except for the Brown Derby Restaurant, which was demolished in the 1980's) may still be seen at that location today, over fifty years later. The Capitol Records Building was under construction when these episodes were being filmed and is not seen on the backdrop. The "Beverly Palms Hotel" is a false hotel name, but its interior and exterior set designs combined elements of the Hollywood Plaza Hotel, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

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Goofs

For an entire season, the closing credits list Wilbur Hatch conducting the "Dezi" Arnaz orchestra. He spelled it Desi Arnaz.

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Quotes

Ricky Ricardo: I don't like that tone. You are thinking again.
Lucy Ricardo: There's no law about me going to Romanov's. Perhaps maybe stopping by your table and...
Ricky Ricardo: Lucy, if I so much as see your face at Romanov's, I'm gonna wrap you up in brown paper and mail you back to New York. And that's an ultimatum.
Ethel Mertz: An ultimatum? I'm not surprised.
Lucy Ricardo: I am. I didn't think he knew how to pronounce it.

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Crazy Credits

In the series' finale: I Love Lucy: The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue (1957), "Yankee Doodle Dandy" music is played, as the episode goes to & comes from a commercial break.

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Alternate Versions

Many scenes or parts of scenes are cut from the episodes for syndication, to make room for the much larger number of commercials present today.

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 1 August 2016 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bells
Written by James Pierpont
Performed by Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley

User Reviews

I Love Lucy...

Lucille Ball changed television forever when "I Love Lucy" hit the air in 1951. It featured a woman as a main character, which was rare back during that time and age. And the fact that the woman did not listen to her husband often was even more controversial. Everything the show was was rebellious. It was also extremely controversial because her husband was Cuban, and back in the '50's, barely anyone married other races, and if so, the subject was definitely not the premise for a television show.

So, through the ages, I Love Lucy has had a major impact on generations, and has not slipped into culture like many shows, but has been accepted into culture. Not to mention all the Lucy impersonators who have pageants each and every year. But the thing I remember most, is the famous "Eeeooowww!"

5/5 stars --

John Ulmer