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Here's Lucy: Season Four

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On March 29, 2011 "Here's Lucy: Season 4" arrives on DVD which makes me a very happy boy. Out of all the Lucille Ball sitcoms this one has always been my favorite due to the show's premise and production during the colorful late sixties and early 1970's. This was, however, the first time that one of Lucille Ball's comedy series fell completely out of the Top 10 rated shows on American prime-time televison. Because CBS changed its timeslot by pushing it up a half hour opposite ABC's powerful "Monday Night Football" Lucy saw her ratings drop considerably. Still, "Here's Lucy" held its own against the American football boys bringing in a 23.7 Nielsen rating, finishing at #11 for the 1971-1972 season.

The guest stars this season was a who's who of Hollywood royalty including Rich Little, Vivian Vance (who reprises her role as Aunt Viv), Helen Hayes, Dinah Shore, David Frost, and many others. The shows are remastered from their original 35 mm film negatives and this DVD set includes all 24 episodes uncut.

The bonuses, like previous "Here's Lucy" DVD box sets, are many and include; the featurette "Here's Harry: Remembering Gale Gordon", five new "Here's Lucy" production files, brand new opening introductions on each individual episode with such people as Rich Little, Kaye Ballard, Lucy Arnaz, and Tim Matheson, Lucille Ball Home Movies, Lucy on the "Pearl Baily Show", commercials, and mutiple episodes of Lucy's radio series called "Let's Talk To Lucy" with Dinah Shore.

UPDATE: "Here's Lucy-Season 5" comes to DVD on February 28, 2012!!!

The following are the "Here's Lucy" season four episodes, their airdates, and guest-stars in brackets where applicable.

1. "Lucy and Flip Go Legit", Sept. 12, 1971 (Flip Wilson)
2. "Lucy and the Mountain Climber", Sept. 20, 1971 (Tony Randall)
3. "Lucy and the Italian Bombshell", Sept. 27, 1971 (Kaye Ballard)
4. "Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage", Oct. 4, 1971 (Mike Connors)
5. "Lucy and the Astronauts", Oct. 11, 1971
6. "Lucy Makes A Few Extra Dollars", Oct. 18, 1971
7. "Someone's On The Ski Lift With Dinah", Oct. 25, 1971 (Dinah Shore)
8. "Lucy and Her All-Nun Band", Nov. 1, 1971 (The Remnants)
9. "Won't You Calm Down, Dan Daily?", Nov. 8, 1971 (Dan Daily)
10. "Lucy and the Celebrities", Nov. 15, 1971 (Rich Little and Jack Benny)
11. "Ginger Rogers Comes To Tea", Nov. 22, 1971 (Ginger Rogers)
12. "Lucy Helps David Frost Go Night-Night", Nov. 29, 1971 (David Frost)
13. "Lucy in the Jungle", December 6, 1971
14. "Lucy and Candid Camera", Dec. 13, 1971 (Allen Funt)
15. "Lucy's Lucky Day", Dec. 20, 1971
16. "Lucy's Bonus Bounces", Dec. 27, 1971
17. "Lucy and the Little Old Lady", Jan. 3, 1972 (Helen Hayes)
18. "Lucy and the Chinese Curse", Jan. 10, 1972 (Keye Luke)
19. "Lucy's Replacement", Jan. 17, 1972
20. "Kim Moves Out", Jan. 24, 1972
21. "Lucy Sublets The Office", Jan. 31, 1972 (Wally Cox)
22. "Lucy's Punctured Romance", Feb. 7, 1972 (Bob Cummings)
23. "With Viv As A Friend, Who Needs An Enemy?", Feb. 14, 1972 (Vivian Vance), my favorite episode this season because the chemistry between Lucy and Vivian is still evident.
24. "Kim Finally Cuts You-Know-Who's Apron Strings", Feb. 21, 1972, which was a pilot for a proposed spin-off of "Here's Lucy" starring Lucy Arnaz called "The Lucy Arnaz Show" that CBS didn't pick up.

Season 4 of Here's Lucy should be titled Here's Lucy And Friends, because this Season and the last two seasons- Season 5 and Season 6, are packed full with many of Lucy's closest and dearest friends. These shows are a real treat for seeing many of our favorite celebrities from 1971 and 1972! This is also the last season we will see Lucy's great physical comedy featured. In 1972, Lucy broke her leg in a skiing accident and spent almost the entire Season 5 in a leg cast. This Season 4 will sadly, be the last time to enjoy Lucy's great physical comedy skills.

Featured in Season 4 are the following guest stars, whom Lucy hand picked from her many friends:
FLIP WILSON, who was a friend to both Dean Martin and Lucy from The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.
TONY RANDALL, who was a friend since Lucy was on What's My Line?
KAYE BALLARD, who was a close friend to Lucy for many years. While bike riding together in a secluded part in Beverly Hills one day, a rabid dog came running out of a wooded area charging at them and foaming at the mouth. Kaye was so terrified she fell off her bike, but Lucy just stood her ground and yelled at the dog, Get The Hell Out Of Here. Go Back In The Woods. The dog did as Lucy told it, and Kaye said, That's Why Lucy Was Queen Of The World. She was tough when she had to be. She was The Best.
MIKE CONNORS, who did Mannix at Desilu Studios.
GARY MORTON, her best friend and husband.
DINAH SHORE, who had Lucy on her specials. (Which I hope will be on dvd some day!)
JACK BENNY, her close friend and next door neighbor in real life.
RICH LITTLE, who was a friend to both Dean Martin and Lucy from The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.
DAN DAILEY, who was a good friend from Lucy's MGM days.
GINGER ROGERS, who was Lucy's cousin and who always gave Lucy a brief part in her Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger's movies, when Lucy first came to Hollywood.
DAVID FROST, who always loved Lucy to be in a cameo in his shows.
ALLEN FUNT, who Lucy was a fan of.
DICK PATTERSON, who Lucy used in quite a few of her shows.
HELEN HAYES, who Lucy greatly admired.
TIM MATHESON, who was in Yours, Mine And Ours.
WALLY COX, who was in the movie A Guide For The Married Man, where Lucy was married to Art Carney.
RICHARD DEACON, who was in Critic's Choice with Lucy and Bob Hope, and also The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour.
BOB CUMMINGS, who was in The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour.
VIVIAN VANCE, who was Lucy's irreplaceable partner in television and dearest friend.

As always, MPI will release this Season 4 of Here's Lucy uncut and digitally remastered in flawless color, along with the following extras: Never before seen films, Unreleased home movies, Exclusive featurettes, Introductions by Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr. and production personnel, Behind the scenes footage, Let's Talk To Lucy radio show, Bloopers, Promos, Commercials and more! MPI told me they are including a wealth of never before seen goodies!!! I can't wait until March 29th for yet another wonderful Here's Lucy Season from MPI! A Thousand Thanks MPI from All Your Lucy Fans Who Truly Appreciate The Fantastic Job That You Continue To Do!

SEASON 4 EPISODES:
01. Sep 13, 1971 LUCY AND FLIP GO LEGIT- Lucy gets Flip Wilson to play Prissy in Gone With The Wind. (Flip Wilson guest stars)
02. Sep 20, 1971 LUCY AND THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER- Lucy goes mountain climbing with Harry's new fitness fanatic partner. (Tony Randall guest stars)
03. Sep 27, 1971 LUCY AND THE ITALIAN BOMBSHELL- Harry's old Italian girlfriend visits making Harry want to look his best. (Kaye Ballard guest stars)
04. Oct 04, 1971 LUCY AND MANNIX ARE HELD HOSTAGE- When Lucy needs protection from a robbery gang, Harry hires Private Eye Joe Mannix. (Mary Jane Croft and Mike Connors guest star)
05. Oct 11, 1971 LUCY AND THE ASTRONAUTS- Lucy gets decontaminated after being exposed to astronauts returning from space.
06. Oct 18, 1971 LUCY MAKES A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS- Lucy and Kim use guilt on Harry when he won't give Lucy a raise. (Gary Morton guest stars)
07. Oct 25, 1971 SOMEONE'S ON THE SKI LIFT WITH DINAH- When Lucy is on vacation, she gets stuck on a ski lift with Dinah Shore. (Dinah Shore guest stars)
08. Nov 01, 1971 LUCY AND HER ALL-NUN BAND- To help out Harry's sister who is a nun with a charity, Lucy hires their all nun band and has to take the place of one of the ill nuns. (Mary Wickes guest stars)
09. Nov 08, 1971 LUCY AND THE CELEBRITIES- Lucy gets celebrity imitator Rich Little to help in her radio campaign. (Jack Benny and Rich Little guest star)
10. Nov 15, 1971 WON'T YOU CALM DOWN, DAN DAILEY?- Dan Dailey can't deal with the help he gets from Harry's employment agency, when the help turns out to be Lucy. (Dan Dailey guest stars)
11. Nov 22, 1971 GINGER ROGERS COMES TO TEA- Lucy and Harry can't believe it when the lady sitting next to them in the movie theatre, who leaves her purse behind, is Ginger Rogers, and they can't wait to return her purse to her in person! (Ginger Rogers guest stars)
12. Nov 29, 1971 LUCY HELPS DAVID FROST GO NIGHT-NIGHT- Lucy takes the job of making sure David Frost gets a good night's sleep while on a long flight to England, but of course it's not easy sleeping with Lucy. (David Frost guest stars)
13. Dec 06, 1971 LUCY IN THE JUNGLE- To help Harry get some rest and relaxation, Lucy arranges a house swap vacation with a family that lives in the African jungle.
14. Dec 13, 1971 LUCY AND CANDID CAMERA- When a robber, who looks like Allen Funt, asks the Carters to help him with a robbery, they willingly help, thinking they are on Candid Camera. (Allen Funt guest stars)
15. Dec 20, 1971 LUCY'S LUCKY DAY- Lucy has one week to train a chimpanzee to do a trick, to win a $1,000.00 prize on a game show. (Dick Patterson guest stars)
16. Dec 27, 1971 LUCY'S BONUS BOUNCES- Harry suddenly gives Lucy a raise, when his psychiatrist tells him to, and Lucy gets so suspicious that she trails him to see what he's up to.
17. Jan 03, 1972 LUCY AND THE LITTLE OLD LADY- Lucy and Kim befriend a little old lady, but think she's up to no good, when she sells Harry some real estate, they think is phony. (Helen Hayes guest stars)
18. Jan 10, 1972 LUCY AND THE CHINESE CURSE- A Chinese man must repay Lucy for saving his life according to his custom, but Lucy and Kim are driven crazy by that much repayment.
19. Jan 17, 1972 LUCY'S REPLACEMENT- Lucy and Kim must figure out how to get rid of the computer that took away Lucy's job.
20. Jan 24, 1972 KIM MOVES OUT- Kim needs her own space and decides to move out. (Tim Matheson guest stars)
21. Jan 31, 1972 LUCY SUBLETS THE OFFICE- When Lucy is made office manager, she wants to impress Harry by saving money and sublets the office to a toy maker. (Wally Cox and Richard Deacon guest star)
22. Feb 07, 1972 LUCY'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE- Harry and Kim think Lucy's new boyfriend is a playboy and decide to break them up. (Bob Cummings guest stars)
23. Feb 14, 1972 WITH VIV AS A FRIEND, WHO NEEDS AN ENEMY?- Lucy's best friend Viv comes for a visit and suddenly takes Lucy's job at the employment agency. (Vivian Vance guest stars)
24. Feb 21, 1972 KIM FINALLY CUTS YOU-KNOW-WHO'S APRON STRINGS- When Kim moves into her own apartment, she can't believe that she has to deal with not only wild men, but wacky neighbors.

I've been waiting for this day, because I knew this was coming to DVD, and also Dennis the Menace The Original Series season 1 came out, but that's another review, check it out if you want, but finally we get season 4 of this great series, I have not watched it yet, but I watched all these growing up in re runs, so I know a lot of the episodes already, but for you people who have already bought seasons 1, 2, and 3 like me, you're getting the same great release from M.P.I. the same great packaging, and the same great remastering, it's so wonderful to watch this show again with many others, I don't think you will ever see this on re runs again, and it's a shame (same with 'The Lucy Show') especially with the way television is now, which is stale (my opinion of course) so having these season sets is great, and brings back a lot of my childhood memories, a lot of great episodes on this season, many memorable ones, this is a show that got better as the seasons progressed, but they are all great, so all you people that have already bought the first 3 seasons, you know what you're getting, the same great product as before, for people who haven't, buy all means, buy all 4 seasons, you will not be disappointed, and I'm glad to hear that M.P.I. has already said they are going to release the whole series, and also CBS/Paramount is also going to release 'The Lucy Show Season 4' April 26th, so it looks like at long last, us Lucy fans are going to have ALL of Lucy, except maybe 'Life With Lucy' but you never know, we could see it, but Lucy fans REJOICE!

"Here's Lucy" was good old fashioned TV during its initial broadcast and remains so. I retract any negative comments I had about this show in its' prior season DVD releases. Truth be told, I love Lucille Ball in just about anything. It is great to see that such care has been taken of the original prints. Never has it looked this clear. I also like the new comments by Desi Jr.,his sister, Lucie and other associates of Here's Lucy. Big shout outs to Irma Kusely (hair dresser) and Hal King (makeup) for making Ball look good. Good job.

While it may not be as good as "The Lucy Show", "Here`s Lucy" is still an excellent comedy. And unlike most tv shows, it actually gets better as it goes along. In season 4 they are getting close to the same quality as the older Lucy Show. Lucy and Gale Gordon were one of the truely great comedy teams, and they could always get a good laugh out of just about anyone. There are also many great guest stars in season 4 and the gags and acting are top notch.
You really can`t go wrong with this one. Much better than anything you can find these days in the morden tv wasteland.

I love ALL of the Televison Shows that Lucille Ball has made. Even though she has gone to a better place, she alsways has, is and always will be an Extramly Classly Lady, she's a Classic. In my own Opinion, Nobody will Ever come Anywheres Near Lucille Ball, when it comes to being a Superior Actress, in my own Opinion; she's the Very Best! To the very best of my knowledge, Most if NOT ALL of the Television Shows that Lucille Ball had made { I Love Lucy / The Lucy Show & Here's Lucy } are still being Aired today, Approximatley 50 Years Later; how may televison shows do you know of that contiue to be Aired After so Many Years and continues to be going just as " STRONG " now, as it did when these Shows had first come out?

I just recieved "Here's Lucy" season four, and I must say, so far it is hilarious. Lucy is very funny and looks very good in this season. This is a great season, so if you just wanna laugh, pick up Here's Lucy!

It's an excellent addition to the first 3 seasons. I personally enjoy watching Lucy & Gale Gordon's collaborative team work. They make an exceptional great pair on screen. Wholesome family entertainment that appeals even to my 8 year old god-daughter. Can't wait for the release of season 5.

Hilarious and beautiful episodes once again. Lucy the Queens and her beautiful children and excellent guest and co-stars. What could be better?

There are some changes in the fourth season, but the format and formula of Here's Lucy remains much the same. Lucille Ball returns as Lucille Carter, the scatterbrained secretary to Harrison Otis Carter (the marvelous, Gale Gordon), the owner of Carter's Unique Employment Agency. The biggest changes in season four are related to Lucy Carter's kids, Kim and Craig. With Desi Arnaz Jr. leaving to pursue a musical career, Craig was written out of the series. This change elevated daughter Kim's role, and Lucy Arnaz stepped up nicely filling the void. Kim would also make major personal strides, moving out on her own at the tail end of the season.

Here's Lucy had achieved a reputation for featuring some of the top performers in entertainment as guest stars, and this season is no exception. Lucy's close friends, Vivian Vance, Wally Cox, and Jack Benny return to make repeat appearances. Although somewhat scaled down, the program continues to feature song and dance production numbers.

Odd Couple star Tony Randall was able to make time to appear in the hilarious `Lucy And The Mountain Climber', where he plays Rudy Springer, Harry's new business partner and a health nut. Afraid that Mr. Springer will regard her as too old, Lucy challenges him to a race up a mountain.

It's the apogee of zaniness in `Lucy And The Astronauts", when Harry and Lucy are aboard a carrier assigned to recover a team of Apollo astronauts, returning from the moon. When Lucy kisses the returning heroes, both Lucy and Harry are quarantined with the team for two weeks, driving them and their attending physician nuts.

In `Lucy And The Celebrities', Harry expects Lucy to gets some famous celebs to give testimonials for the Carter agency. Lucy enlists Kim's pal Rich Little, who delivers a fantastic performance impersonating Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and Jack Benny. This wonderfully entertaining episode is capped by a cameo by the real Jack Benny.

Vivian Vance, Lucy's longtime co-star on I Love Lucy (1951-57), and The Lucy Show (1962-1968) returns for her final appearance in the series. This time things get adversarial, as Viv becomes Harry's secretary when Lucy quits.

In `Lucy Sublets The Office', the redhead rents space to a toy inventor played by Wally Cox, who makes his fourth Here's Lucy appearance. As always, the pair have great chemistry together. The episode also features Richard Deacon, and a plethora of toys.

It's great fun to see Lucy working with legendary private eye Joe Mannix, played by Mike Connors. Mannix gets koshed on the head, and then while tied to a chair, he jumps around like a kangaroo, with Lucy along for the ride. In another adventure, Lucy takes on the job of making sure that talk show host David Frost gets adequate sleep while on a trans-Atlantic fight from California to London. Of course it turns out to be a disaster, with Lucy and Frost creating an incident in the air. While on vacation, Lucy runs into Dinah Shore at a ski lodge, and while stuck on a ski lift, the two engage in a songfest. Other notable guest stars include Helen Hayes, Dan Daley, Flip Wilson, Ginger Rogers, Bob Cummings, Keye Luke, and Candid Camera's Alan Funt.

In the season finale, Lucy and Harry appear only briefly. The episode focuses on Kim, who has moved to an apartment near the marina, managed by Lucy's brother Herb (Alan Oppenheimer). Kim gets involved with an amorous English race car driver, who wants to get into the fast lane a bit too quickly. Fortunately Kim is prepared, thanks to a book on self defense from her mother.

Here's Lucy continues to be a program with a heavy emphasis on guest stars, and having some familiarity with who these people are, and their context within the entertainment scene at the time, is essential to understanding and fully appreciating much of the program's humor. While some of the comedy transcends time, the series may not connect as well with those who are not acquainted with the various guest stars. For those of a certain age however, Here's Lucy is pure gold for entertainment nostalgia.

The 24 episodes are closed captioned, and each features an introduction by someone involved in that particular episode. As always, there are lots of extras, including a warm tribute to the wonderful Gale Gordon. There are excerpts from Lucy's radio program featuring Dinah Shore, and a clip from The Pearl Bailey Show. Overseen by Lucie Arnaz, the Here's Lucy DVD sets are extremely high quality packages, that pay a wonderful homage to her beloved mother. Here's Lucy was still going strong in its fourth season, and finished the 1971-72 season at #11 in the Nielsen's.