The Lucy Show 

The wacky misadventures of a forever scheming woman, her reluctant best friend, and her cantankerous boss.

Creators:

Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Davis, Bob Schiller

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Gale Gordon, Vivian Vance

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Lucille Ball	...	Lucy Carmichael / ... 156 episodes, 1962-1968
Gale Gordon	...	Mr. Theodore J. Mooney 111 episodes, 1963-1968
Vivian Vance	...	Vivian Bagley / ... 81 episodes, 1962-1968

Storyline

After the death of her husband, Lucy Carmichael and her friend, the recently divorced Vivian Bagley, move into a house together with their children. The series follows the adventures of the widow Lucy as she grapples with the comic complications of life on her own, and with her income being controlled by the impatient and grumpy banker Mr. Mooney.

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Plot Keywords:

secretary | widow | redheaded woman | sitcom | child | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lucille Ball Show

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions,Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (156 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Lane appeared occasionally in the first season as Mr. Barnsdahl. But Lane had trouble remembering his lines and his character was written out of the show.

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Quotes

Lucy Carmichael: Weren't you ever a teenager?
Theodore J. Mooney: Well, of course, what do you think?
Lucy Carmichael: I thought one day they opened the bank vault and out you popped, full grown and stingy!

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Alternate Versions

When the series was first rerun in syndication in 1968, all episodes featured the season 4 opening sequence. These versions were also syndicated in the 1990s. When show was syndicated in the 1970s, the original versions were used.

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Connections

Referenced in The 'Burbs (1989)

User Reviews

I Actually LIKED THE LATER, California EPISODES BETTER

I tend to disagree with many of the previous comments about how the show was not the same without Vivian Vance. I was just given a four CD box set of 28 episodes, some black and whites taking place in Connecticut, but most were the color ones taking place in California.

I found the early episodes unappealing, in many ways, especially coming off of I Love Lucy. Bear in mind, I was born in 1959, so I viewed all of the black and white Lucy's in re-runs. I did not like the setting in Danfield, CT. Lucy did not seem to fit in there well, the children did nothing for me and as far as Vivian Vance, I had already seen their best antics on I Love Lucy. I Love Lucy is a show that only comes about once in a lifetime and they were so good, I did not think this aging team, now getting into their 50's, were as good and many were just repeats. I just watched the Shower Installation episode, which is considered one of the funniest, and again, I didn't think it was that funny. I saw this comedy routine on Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges. I did like the day they both went to a farm and William Frawley was there and Vance said to Lucy, "hey this guy looks familiar, doesn't he?" They did continue to get great guest stars and that was a saving grace. I may not be the best critic, because I rarely saw the black and white episodes in re-runs.

What I did get to see live and then in the early 70's in re-runs, were the color shows from 1965-68, when Lucy relocates to California. Here, the kids and Vance were gone and Lucy got to do her own antics and since she was so enormously funny and talented, I liked watching her solo with either famous actors and comedians or with some of the supporting cast from earlier Lucy's like Mary Jane Croft and Mary Wickes, to name a few. Gale Gordon was splendid as the straight man to Lucy's foils and the way he yelled MRS. CARMICHAEL!!! The show was sunny and colorful and the apartment stage set seem to fit her now 60's style much better as does Southern California. Yes, there were some marginal episodes, but many great ones as well. My favorite being Mary Wickes as Aunt Agatha. Bear in mind that the last two years of this show, 1967-68, it was number two in the ratings, higher than any of the ratings when it took place in Connecticut.

All in all the show had many funny moments and again, I liked seeing Lucy solo. When Here's Lucy came along in the fall of 1968, with Vance, Lucy Arnaz and Desi Jr. as well as Gale Gordon, the show was better and funnier with many good episodes both on CBS and NBC. All of her shows lasted six seasons, the norm for a good comedy.

I cherish all of the work she did throughout her 23 consecutive years on television. She and all of her cast will always be missed forever.....