Customer Reviews

I Love Lucy: The Complete Series

5 star:		(208)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been watching I Love Lucy since my elementary school years. I grew up watching it, even though I wasn't around when it first came out. Young and old love this show.

It is much cheaper buying the complete series than buying each individual season, which is what I did, until I saw this on Amazon, so I sold my other sets to get this one. Usually Amazon is pretty competitive with their prices, but I got this set for $137.72 at Sams Club. Now I will be waiting for complete series of TV sows to come out, rather than buy each individual season of different TV shows.

This set includes all 180 episodes plus the pilot episode to make it 181 episodes from the show I Love Lucy plus the 13 episodes from The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour series for seasons 7, 8, and 9, making it a total of 194 episodes. All of the discs are exactly the same as the individual season boxed sets, but there is a bonus DVD included.

This disc includes:
"Lucy Goes to Scotland"-In Color
"I Love Lucy: The Movie"
Lucy and Desi's First Joint TV Appearance
"I Love Lucy" At the Sixth Annual Emmy Awards
On-Set Commercial From the Series Premiere

It was great being able to see one of the episodes in color, to see what the audience saw when they were there watching the actors in person. It was especially nice to see Lucy's red hair, but I do have to admit I much prefer the series in black and white because that's what I'm used to.

Many people in the past reviews have mentioned I Love Lucy: The Movie. Well to be honest it's only three episodes (The Benefit, Breaking the Lease, and the Ballet) all one right after the other with some extra minutes in between each episode to add a story line from one episode to transition to another, so it flows together and makes sense to create a movie length show. It's still great to watch, but it wasn't as big a deal as I thought it was going to be.

And there are many other extra bonus features on each disc, the same bonus features that are on each of the season boxed sets. The discs are also the same in appearance both on the outside just looking at it, and also once put in the DVD player, on the main menu screen. Also what I have noticed on the bonus disc before choosing to play the commercial for Philip Morris, there is a warning label: "This material is shown in its historical context. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND SMOKING, WHICH CAUSES LUNG CANCER, AND OTHER DISEASES."

On all of the discs there are Spanish Subtitles, and on every season disc (not the bonus DVD) you can choose to watch any episode with English or Spanish as the spoken language.

Also on the first season discs in this set, on the main menu screen you can choose to play all episodes on the disc or play them individually. If you choose to play them all by clicking the "play all" button on the screen, the I Love Lucy song plays with Ricky singing the lyrics. Then there is a group of people singing the song right before it ends. There are several different scenes from the show that show on the screen while the song is playing. Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel are in color on the screen during the song, but everything else is in black and white. Before the song plays and right after it, a pink curtain pulls up and down that says "The Collector's Edition." You'll probably recognize the lyrics to the theme song.

These are the words to I Love Lucy:

I LOVE LUCY
AND SHE LOVES ME
WE'RE AS HAPPY AS TWO CAN BE
SOMETIMES WE QUARREL BUT THEN
HOW WE LOVE MAKING UP AGAIN
LUCY KISSES LIKE NO ONE CAN
SHE'S MY MISSUS AND I'M HER MAN
AND LIFE IS HEAVEN YOU SEE
CAUSE I LOVE LUCY
YES I LOVE LUCY
AND LUCY LOVES ME

The pilot episode on the first disc from the first season, I was surprised how clear the screen was. All of the discs have such clear picture quality, much better quality on these discs than on reruns on TV. Of course it may depend on how good a picture your TV gets. If you have a good picture on your TV, then the reruns on TV are usually pretty clear too.

In this complete series, the DVDs are not in cases, like they were for the individual seasons. Instead there are two cardboard book-like CD cases that they are in (accordion shape style). One has seasons 1-3 including the bonus disc and the other for seasons 4-9, so they are split up about equally to be the same size to fit into its case. For each slot in the CD case, it says what season and what disc the slot is. The colors on the slots match the colors on the discs. For example, the first seasons' discs are pink, so the slots for season one are pink. Everything is put in order and easier to locate and find.

There is also a pamphlet or small thin book (whatever you want to call it) that tells you what is on each disc. For each page in it, it lists each episodes' title, the air date and a small summary about the episode. And below the episode lists/guides, there are "Bonus Material Highlights" which mention which episodes from "My Favorite Husband" are on the disc and whatever special features the disc has: "Behind the Scenes" Featurette, "Behind the Scenes" Slide Show, slide shows, Audio Commentary, Meet Special People, Photo Gallery etc. On each page, there are several photos of Lucy and the gang from different episodes as well. Also, just like the DVDs and the book-like accordion CD cases are organized by color, so is the pamphlet/thin book. Season one's DVDs are pink, and so are the pages in the pamphlet/thin book for the pages that season one is on. Season three is colored blue, so the pages with season three are blue, and so are the DVDs and the slots to put them away in.

The pamphlet/thin book fits inside the box with the two CD cases. The cover for the box, with the I Love Lucy logo on it, fits nicely over it. It's a cute way to store the series, but it probably could have been put together better, but it's still great for any Lucy lover, and it's a wonderful collectors item.

It really is a great product, and better, a great show! It's great to watch over and over again.

Once a fan, always a fan!

What can I say that isn't already known about the best-loved sitcom in television history? Well, it has a history of many firsts as its makers were pioneers in television. They single-handledly invented the re-run. They were also the first show to have a video club in VHS format for sale back in the late eighties. I purchased those tapes and still own them, and waited for the day the full six seasons would be available on DVD. I also own the 13 episodes of the "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" on VHS, which were shot as once-a-month specials at the end of Lucy and Desi's run. A separate DVD package for that makes sense, and we the fans look forward to its release (hey, while you're at it, guys, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy would be great too!).

So from the first episode shot (which aired as episode #3, entitled "Lucy Thinks Ricky Wants To Murder Her", to the final episode from season six, entitled "Lucy Dedicates A Statue", you now have the complete set, with a pristine and lovingly restored picture, and all the extras from each season DVD.

Here's something a lot of people are surprised to know when I tell them. The advantage of watching all six seasons in a package like this is you see the story of the Ricardos and the Mertzes unfold, and the story has an arc, particularly for Lucy. This is perhaps most evident in one particular Hollywood episode, when she is offered a golden opportunity. But I won't give anything away here, you'll have to see what I mean!

Lucy collectors have been around since the beginning of the I Love Lucy phenomenon, and I think it's mainly because the show has heart. The jokes never get old, and there is a genuine appeal - you can relate to the show no matter who you are or where you're from. Sure, there was backstage controversy over the marriage which ended in divorce in 1960, and women's groups may quibble about how Lucy did not exactly move the women's movement forward, but it did what television does best: reflect the times of our culture. If anything Lucille Ball was quite the pioneer herself, as the first female TV Studio executive, navigating Desilu well into the 1970's.

Anyone who wants to see a master at play in situation comedy should take a good look at this collection. In fact, the work of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance (whom I may submit here as the greatest sidekick in sitcom history) and William Frawley presents the original Fab Four, way before Seinfeld. These cats still show how it's done.

I had purchased each season of "I Love Lucy" and enjoyed them. But I decided to pass them off to my mother so she could enjoy the episodes whenever she wanted - and in the process, made my two nieces fans of Lucy's. They love to spend time at Grandma's watching the show with her. But I started to miss my DVD collection. Then I spotted the Complete Series set at Target for $140 and couldn't pass it up. While not a fan of the way the studios are treating consumers by releasing a "Complete Series Box Set" with new extras - Studios, please allow fans who have already purchased these discs the opportunity to also get the bonuses - this set is done right.

First, the packaging is neat, though not the best. There are two accordian-style books made of a glossy type of paper with color-coded slots for each season and each slot numbered for each disc per season - one disc per slot. The discs should be safer in this than if they were in paper sleeves, which based on past reviews of other sets fall apart and glue gets transfered to the discs - that won't happen with this set. The discs for Seasons 2-9 are the exact same discs as what were released in the season sets (except disc 5 from Season 4 has the missing scenes in the bonus features that were discovered after the original discs were pressed - a replacement disc was available from Paramount). But the Season 1 discs are brand-new. The episodes have been digitally restored and they look incredible. I can't believe the difference from the previous release. The Season 1 episodes in the original release had a more grainy look compared to the rest of the series. They are now sharp and clear - very little grain. They now look as good as the rest of the series. I have noticed that any extras that show smoking (such as an original commercial) has a warning stating that this is being shown in a historical context and that smoking is bad for you. There is a booklet that lists all the episodes on each disc. The descriptions are taken from the disc covers of the original sets. Plus it lists a few bonus highlights for each disc and now I know which episodes of "My Favorite Husband" are on each disc. But the best part is the Bonus Disc. There are several bonus features on it, but I will only cover two - the others are the opening commercial from the first episode, clips from the Emmys (Vivian Vance and I Love Lucy won), Lucy and Desi's first appearance together on TV on Ed Wynn's show. First, the colorized episode of "Lucy Goes to Scotland." WOW! I hate colorization but this one was done with love. Using color publicity photos and the color dress rehearsal footage (and new technology), this episode was colorized and looks incredible. Even "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" (which were colorized only a couple of years ago) don't even come close to this. The skin tones are just slightly off (in the non-dream scenes) but the episode actually looks like it was filmed in color. That's how good a job was done on this episode. It is mentioned in text that this episode was specially designed for the studio audience in mind and used a lot of bright colors, whereas most other episodes used muted colors such as gray and browns. Then, there is the "I Love Lucy Movie." Wow! This had been lost for 48 years and no one even remembered that it existed. What a find. It looks beautiful and is very enjoyable. It runs 1 hour and 20 minutes. An explanation of the history of this movie in text form can also be selected.

I understand and agree with what everyone is saying about the studios ripping off the consumers to make more money but in this case, I am very happy to spend the money - quite a bit less than what I had paid for the original sets. If the bonus disc becomes available seperately, BUY IT! I can't wait to sit down and watch the whole set. I love Lucy!

I would gladly this set 5 stars, except for the fact that it is currently cheaper to purchase all 6 seasons of "I Love Lucy" individually. That should not be. There is nothing extra in this set that is not included in the individual sets, except for a fancy piece of cardboard on the bottom and some extra plastic wrap holding all of the sets together. I really don't understand Amazon's pricing policy. Their DVDs go dramatically up and down in price every week. Just last week the "I Love Lucy" seasons were $45 each, making this complete series collection a good deal. Now it is not worth it. Buy them individually and save 50 bucks. But beware, maybe next week they'll jack the prices up again.

I Love Lucy The Complete Series is now being made available on DVD and there are rumors that the long awaited I Love Lucy may be included with the set, lets just hope that they also make a seperate disc as well for the movie for us fans that allready bought all of the seperate seasons of I Love Lucy on DVD. This Complete Series is now available for pre-order on various websites including Amazon and will release on October, 23, 2007!

With this set you get all 179 half hour episodes of I Love Lucy as well as 13 FULL hour episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour on DVD for the low low price of only $168.99 and packaged beautifully plus digitally remastered to crystal clear perfection!!

There will also be bonuses including Lucille Ball on the radio show "My favorite Husband, rare commercials, clips in color, Desilu studio tour with Lucy and the gang and much more.. With the bonuses alone you get several hours of fun and if you bought the season DVD sets it will be much of the same bonuses in this complete series.

If you have never bought the Lucy season sets and you are a fan then you do not know what you are missing. The shows are in crystal clear picture quality and not like they were when DVD's were first made and VHS's also, these are so nice and remastered to perfection and clearer than what you will see on tv. I wont even watch I Love Lucy on the television anymore because the DVD's are so much clearer that it doesn't look right to watch it a little on tv.

You not only get every single episode of the I Love Lucy show and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour to watch over and over again but you get never before seen bonuses that are very rare and some of these bonuses have never been seen on cable before now. This is the absolute perfect gift for any Lucy fan and is a must have collection to own!

I bought my season sets seperately as they were being made and I paid about $250 for the complete collection individually and the I Love Lucy movie was not even included, you will be very lucky to get that lost movie, which was recently found 50 years later after I love Lucy was produced and they may be adding that movie with this set. The I Love Lucy movie as of now has never been released to the public but by stong requests from many fans it will be out soon!

I will keep updating this review as I find out more information about what is included with the set but this is a terrific value and not to be passed up even if the movie is not included with the complete series.. This is a terrific value and price!!

(UPDATE: The price of this set has now went up so I believe that if you were able to buy it at the $168.99 Amazon will match it via there policy but if you are just now buying it you will have to pay the new price unless it goes down before the release date which tends to happen a lot on Amazon with price changes so keep a look out and do price comparisons at dvdpricesearch website for this set to get the best deals. Also great news it has been confirmed that the lost I Love Lucy movie will be included with this set )

Over 50 years ago during the early years of broadcast television, the very inspired talents of Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and her then husband Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) were showcased on their hilarious television show "I Love Lucy". TV execs had initially rejected the plausibility of the show because of Desi and because they intended to tape the shows. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of Lucille Ball and Desi's obvious talents, the show first aired in 1951 and quickly became one of the most successful TV shows during all six of its regular seasons. As Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy", Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were joined by William Frawley (1877-1966) and Viviane Vance (1909-1979) as their best-friends/apartment landlords of Fred and Ethel Mertz.

Listed below are some of the best of the show's 180 episodes & 1 special contained within this six-season DVD set.

First Season (35 Episodes):

2. "Be A Pal": Thinking their marriage is going cold, Lucy joins Ricky for a poker game, then turns their apartment into a Cuban getaway.

3. "The Diet": To be in one of Ricky's shows, Lucy must lose 22 pounds. No steak for Lucy.

8. "Men are Messy": Lucy divides their apartment in half when she tires of Ricky being messy, but goes whole-hog to impress a magazine photographer.

13. "The Benefit": Lucy gets Ricky to perform for Ethel's womens club, but only if she can perform too.

17. "Lucy Writes a Play": Lucy writes a play for her woman's club, but when Ricky won't do it, she changes it from Cuban to English. Ricky later changes his mind, but gets the wrong script.

18. "Breaking the Lease": After a fight, Lucy & Ricky want to move, but Ethel & Fred won't end their lease; so Lucy & Ricky have a little party.

29. "The Freezer": The Ricardos & Mertzes purchase a used commercial freezer to save money, but Lucy gets locked in while trying to hide the beef.

30. "Lucy Does a TV Commercial": One of the best episodes of all time with Lucy drinking too much Vitametavegamin for a TV commercial that Ricky begrudgingly allows her to do.

33. "Lucy's Schedule": Unhappy with Lucy's disorderliness, Ricky puts her on a tight schedule; but the wife (Edith Meiser) of his new boss (Gale Gordon) starts a woman's revolution. Look out for low-flying dinner rolls!

34. "Ricky Thinks He is Going Bald": When Ricky thinks he's going bald, Lucy resorts to tortuous hair-growing methods.

Second Season (32 Episodes):

1. "Job Switching": Lucy & Ethel get jobs at a chocolate factory, while Ricky & Fred try their hands at being "house-husbands" and cook up a large mess; a famous & very popular all-time favorite episode.

2. "The Saxophone": Lucy's talent (or lack thereof) of playing the saxophone is showcased when she wants to join Ricky on a band tour.

5. "The Operetta": Lucy writes an operetta for her woman's club to perform to raise money. Unfortunately, Lucy hasn't been very good managing the club's finances.

7. "The Courtroom": Ricky & Lucy purchase a new TV for Fred & Ethel's anniversary, but things go awry when the TV appears to need to be adjusted.

8. "Redecorating": Lucy thinks that she's won new furniture and decides to give their apartment a wallpaper makeover.

10. "Lucy is Enciente": Lucy tries to find the right way to tell Ricky that she's pregnant.

22. "No Children Allowed": A frequent "I Love Lucy" recurring character is introduced: Mrs. Trumble (Elizabeth Patterson, 1875-1966).

28. "Lucy Wants New Furniture": Lucy gets a new sofa & coffee table without Ricky's permission, so she tries to economize to pay for it.

32. "Never Do Business With Friends": Ricky gets Lucy a new washing machine. so Fred & Ethel purchase their old one, but it doesn't work as well as expected. (One of my favorite all-time episodes.)

Third Season (31 Episodes):

1. "Ricky's 'Life' Story": Not happy about being ignored in Ricky's magazine interview, Lucy gets back at Ricky.

3. "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress": Getting a rare opportunity to perform on TV for their women's club, Lucy & Ethel purchase the same dress.

6. "Lucy Tells the Truth": Lucy bets Ricky that she can tell the truth for 24 hours and drives everyone crazy.

8. "Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment": Lucy helps Ethel & Fred redecorate their apartment, including new paint and new upholstery with obvious results.

12. "Ricky's Old Girlfriend": Lucy's worried about Ricky's reaction to a visit in NY by one of his old Cuban girlfriends: Carlotta Romero.

13. "The Million-Dollar Idea": Lucy & Ethel's TV commercial to sell Lucy's salad dressing ends up doing much better than expected.

15. "The Charm School": Lucy & Ethel go to charm school to keep Ricky & Fred interested in them.

17. "Fan Magazine Interview": Lucy & Ricky prepare for a fan magazine interview, but a quarrel between them could change the interview outcome.

19. "Ricky Loses His Temper": Lucy bets Ricky that he can't keep his temper and that she won't buy any new hats.

20. "Home Movies": When Ricky gets the opportunity to do a film audition, Lucy, Ethel & Fred create their own film that Lucy edits with Ricky's home movies of Little Ricky.

21. "Bonus Bucks": Lucy & Ethel become obsessed with trying to win money with 'bonus bucks'.

25. "Lucy's Club Dance": When Lucy & Ethel's 'all-girl' orchestra rehearse horribly for a club dance, Ricky has to think fast since Lucy put his name as their orchestra leader.

27. "The Diner": When Ricky decides to quit show business, he & Fred purchase a diner; but everyone isn't too happy with their new duties.

28. "Tennessee Ernie Visits": When Cousin Ernie (Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1919-1991) pays the Ricardos an unexpected visit, Lucy tries to scare him away.

Fourth Season (30 Episodes):

1. "The Business Manager": Ricky's hired business manager (Charles Lane) for Lucy's household budget only allows her $5/month to spend.

5. "Mr. and Mrs. TV Show": Ricky's reluctance to do a live morning TV show with Lucy from their apartment backfires for Lucy when she tries to get back at him by sabotaging what she believes is only a dress rehearsal.

6. "Ricky's Movie Offer": When a talent scout comes to audition Ricky at the Ricardo's apartment, Lucy isn't about to give up her big chance.

7. "Ricky's Screen Test": Lucy wants more than a bit part in Ricky's audition for "Don Juan".

8. "Lucy's Mother-in-Law": Lucy tries to impress Ricky's mother on visit from Cuba by having a Spanish-speaking translator on an earphone.

9. "Ethel's Birthday": Fred asks Lucy to pick out Ethel's birthday gift; Ethel's reaction angers Lucy with hilarious results at a play.

11. "Getting Ready": When the gang decides to drive to Hollywood, Fred purchases an old used car.

12. "Lucy Learns to Drive": When Ricky gets a new convertible, Lucy insists that she learn to drive; but when Lucy wants to teach Ethel, uh oh!

13. "California, Here We Come": Confusion ensues when Lucy's mother (Kathryn Card, 1892-1964) decides to join the car trip to California, but a better decision is made as Lucy, Ricky, Fred & Ethel head west!

14. "First Stop": With everyone tired of riding in the car, Lucy pulls over to a run-down restaurant/hotel.

17. "L.A. at Last": Lucy, Fred & Ethel eat the famous Brown Derby where Lucy makes a mess of William Holden (himself, 1918-1981) in a nearby booth.

19. "Lucy Gets in Pictures": Lucy finally gets her big chance to appear in a film thanks to Ricky, but the headdress is too much to handle.

20. "The Fashion Show": Lucy finds a way to get a free original Don Loper (himself, 1906-1972) dress; but she quickly learns that sunburns and wool don't mix.

28. "Harpo Marx": Again to impress the visiting Carolyn Appleby, Lucy pretends to be Harpo Marx, but the real Harpo (himself, 1888-1964) shows up!

Fifth Season (26 Episodes):

1. "Lucy Visits Grauman's": With Ethel's help, Lucy steals John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater.

5. "The Great Train Robbery": Thinking there's a jewel thief on board the train to NYC, Lucy can't stop pulling the emergency brake cord. (Train conductor played by Frank Nelson, 1911-1986.)

9. "Nursery School": After Lucy's fear of Little Ricky getting sick at nursery school comes to pass, she is determined to stay with him at the hospital.

10. "Ricky's European Booking": When Ricky can't afford to take Lucy on his European tour, she & Ethel dream up a raffle to help the "Ladies Overseas Aid", which they think is themselves.

12. "Staten Island Ferry": To help Fred overcome seasickness, Lucy takes him onto the Staten Island Ferry; but she gets seasick herself and may be late to the passport office. (Passport clerk played by Charles Lane.)

13. "Bon Voyage": When the ship leaves port for Europe, Lucy is inadvertently left behind; so she'll have to get to ship via a helicopter. One of the best fifth-season episodes!

18. "Paris at Last": Not having any French currency, Lucy, Ethel & Fred exchange money with a so-called French artist (Shepard Menken, 1921-1999), who turns out to be a counterfeiter. The translation sequence is priceless, as is Lucy's introduction to escargot!

20. "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown": When Lucy goes on hunger strike to force Ricky to buy her an expensive French-designed dress, Ricky & Fred have dresses custom-made out of burlap. (A fantastic episode!)

23. "Lucy's Italian Movie": In one of the best episodes of all time, Lucy takes "getting some local color" a little literally when she travels to an old-fashioned Italian winery to press grapes to impress an Italian film director. (Italian wine stomper played by Theresa Tirelli, 1907-1989).

26. "Return Home From Europe": To sneak home a 30-pound cheese, Lucy dresses it up as baby to fly home to NYC; but the passenger (Mary Jane Croft, 1916-1999) next to her flips out when the cheese disappears.

Sixth season (26 Episodes & 1 special):

2. "Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums": Thump. Thump. Thump, thump, thump. Little Ricky (Keith Thibodeaux) learning to play the drums starts to drive everyone crazy; including Fred & Ethel with his persistent rhythm.

5. "Visitor from Italy": Mario (Jay Novello, 1904-1982) from Italy comes to visit on his way to San Franchesca to see his brother, but Lucy thinks it's supposed to be San Francisco so she helps Mario get a job in a pizza parlor to raise money, only to have to flip some pizza dough herself.

6. "Off to Florida": To visit Ricky & Fred in Florida, Lucy & Ethel carpool with Mrs. Edna Grundy (Elsa Lanchester, 1902-1986) and her watercress sandwiches, but they come to think that she is a murderer after hearing a report on the car radio.

9. "The Ricardos Visit Cuba": Finally visiting Cuba after many years, Lucy gets the opportunity to meet more of Ricky's relatives, but ends up trying to hide while rolling cigars.

10. "Little Ricky's School Pageant": Ricky, Lucy, Fred & Ethel appear in Little Ricky's school show with Lucy as a wicked witch.

14. "Lucy Wants to Move to the Country": After Lucy wants her, Ricky & Little Ricky to buy a home in Connecticut, she starts to have second thoughts and gets help from Ethel & Fred to sour the deal with the sellers: Mr. & Mrs. Spaulding (Frank Wilcox, 1907-1974, & Eleanor Audley, 1905-1991).

16. "Lucy Misses the Mertzes": Alone in their new home, Ricky & Lucy decide to visit Fred & Ethel in New York, but Fred & Ethel decide to visit Ricky & Lucy.

17. "Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors": Like Lucy ever needed an excuse to buy new furniture, her new friend & next-door neighbor Betty Ramsay (Mary Jane Croft, 1916-1999) helps to convince Lucy that she needs to.

18. "Lucy Raises Chickens": To help pay their bills, Lucy & Ricky decide to get chickens and sell the eggs; so Lucy & Ethel buy 500 baby chicks that Little Ricky finds hidden away and accidentally lets loose.

19. "Lucy Does the Tango": After Ricky threatens to sell their chickens that won't lay eggs and he & Fred aren't speaking to each other, Lucy plans to plant store-bought eggs in the nests; but she also has to hide them and practice the Tango with Ricky with some sticky results.

22. "Housewarming": Ethel's jealousy of Betty Ramsey's friendship with Lucy quickly becomes Lucy's jealousy of Ethel when Ethel & Betty find out that their both from Albuquerque. Things get worse when Lucy thinks that Ethel is planning a surprise housewarming party for her & Ricky.

23. "Building a Bar-B-Q": Ricky & Fred build a wonderful brick barbeque, but Lucy thinks her wedding ring fell into the cement; so she & Ethel take it apart looking, then attempt to put it back together with hilarious results.

25. "Lucy Raises Tulips": Tulips and riding lawnmowers don't go together, which is what Lucy finds out when she tries to mow her yard and takes out Betty's prize tulips. Lucy also discovers that wax tulips don't do well in the sun.

26. "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue": In the very last regular "I Love Lucy" episode, after Lucy accidentally destroys the statue to be dedicated, she pretends to be the statue. The real children of Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz (Lucie Arnaz & Desi Arnaz, Jr.) made uncredited cameo appearances.

"I Love Lucy" will remain a part of Americana forever. Though it has not been in production for 50 years, it continues to attract a new audience as people young & old are captivated by the extraordinary talents of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. I therefore rate the "I Love Lucy - The Complete Series" on DVD with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.

It goes without saying what a ground-breaking and iconic sitcom 'I Love Lucy' was and still remains today. It paved the way for television programs to be preserved on film and also implemented the use of multiple cameras. It brought a series production to Hollywood, which was not the trend at the time. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz where true television pioneers, but to a young kid who grew up with re-runs of this classic series, all that mattered was they made me laugh. And now a few decades later, it's still making me (as well as my family) laugh. I may have drifted away from the series from time to time, but every few years I've always returned to my television to relive those laughs that are still as potent today as they always were.

Another review once stated that this series has become so ingrained in the public consciousness that it's easy to take for granted how brilliant to whole affair truly was. This box set assembled by CBS and Paramount will certainly rectify that. Even though the program is repeated multiple times a day, this is a great way to kick back and appreciate the comic gold and all the hysterical situations at your own leisure. Every great episode is here and sporting beautifully restored print transfers. This is the cleanest and sharpest I've ever seen the show. The contrast is better than anything I've seen broadcast on television. I showed some episodes to several people and they were all pleasantly surprised by how great a show of this age looks on DVD. Kudos to all responsible for these transfers, they look smashing.

The extras are plentiful, but I haven't had the time to go through them all just yet. By simply spot-checking different discs, a treasure chest of cool material can be found. Rare color footage from an audience member who smuggled a camera into a taping of the show was a particularly nice inclusion. The packaging is very interesting. All 34 discs are split between two thin (some may say flimsy) cardboard wallets which open accordion-style to reveal each DVD sitting in one of 17 slots. While most all of the discs may have a tiny scratch of scuff here and there, they are much better protected then similar complete series sets such as 'Alias' and 'The X-Files' where each DVD is housed in ridged cardboard sleeves that can mar the surface of the discs when slid in and out. With this design you can pick each disc up a drop it back in it's slot fairly easily without further wear and tear to the product. The two DVD containers are housed in a sturdy cardboard box with a lid that sports the famous heart logo and the series title. A handy booklet with summaries of all the episodes and disc content is also included. This container can slide into a clear plastic box which features a few pictures of Lucy in some classic situations printed on the margins. This creates an attractive look, but the plastic box is a bit hard to open on the ends without bending or cracking because of the flap sides. Now, they probably could have stored the disc holders one in front of the other instead of side by side and cut down the shelf space significantly, but I'm still fairly happy with this design - it makes for a nice display.

In closing, this is a remarkable value (especially if you can catch it on sale for around $120) and the enjoyment I've received from "I Love Lucy" over the years made this more or less a no-brainer purchase for me. Highly recommended!

Paramount Home Entertainment deserves oodles and oodles of back-slapping praise for the "tender loving care" treatment it has shown toward the pioneering television sitcom "I Love Lucy", and the remastering effort that has been put into all of the complete-season DVD boxed sets of that series.

In just a two-year period (2004-2006), Paramount released all six seasons of the series in deluxe, feature-packed DVD sets....and each season set looks just great.

The 180 black-and-white episodes that can be found in this "I Love Lucy: The Complete Series" 30-Disc mega-collection have been cleaned up to near-pristine clarity. The shows look gorgeous on all of these DVDs.

The "Lost Pilot" for "Lucy" is also included in this "All Seasons" set (and it has a lengthy running time of over 34 minutes too). The Pilot was evidently lost and unseen for decades, prior to a 16mm print of the program luckily being unearthed in 1990. The video quality of that Pilot broadcast is not up to par with the other regular episodes in this six-season collection, but it isn't terrible quality either.

Being able to see Lucy and Ricky Ricardo's first-ever episode on DVD is a real treat, and I'm glad that Paramount has put the Pilot on the Season-One set. It's great fun to see, especially the final scene with Lucy on stage with Ricky at Ricky's nightclub. The seemingly ad-libbed banter between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is fabulous. (As is the "plunger" gag, which was perfectly implemented by Lucy in that scene.)

I'll have to admit that when Paramount started issuing the full-season compilations of "I Love Lucy", I had no intention at all of buying all six seasons of the show. But after initially buying Seasons 4 and 5 (the years with the gang in Hollywood, which are my favorites), I found myself wanting all six seasons. The many bonus features that have been added to each of these DVD sets was certainly a major reason for my wanting to get all of the seasons.

In addition to the crystal-clear episodes themselves, this Complete-Series DVD aggregation sports a wide variety of fun-to-peruse supplemental items, such as:

38 Complete Episodes of Lucille Ball's Radio Show ("My Favorite Husband");
Audio Commentary Tracks (on some discs);
Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes;
Lost Scenes;
Deleted Footage;
Script Excerpts;
Guest Cast Information;
Original Opening Credits;
Original Animated Sequences;
Restored Music;
Promotional Spots;
Production Notes;
Photo Galleries;
Song Selections;
Colorized Christmas Show Scenes (from Season 6);
Isolated Bloopers (i.e., clips from episodes containing goofs/flubs);
Spanish Audio Tracks (on most episodes).

Holy mackerel! It'd be hard to ask for more than the above large batch of extras for a TV series that first aired from 1951 to 1957, huh?

My favorite bonuses are the many "My Favorite Husband" full-length radio programs that have been included as audio extras on each and every DVD. As a rule, Paramount has placed one radio show on each disc, but some discs have more than one. The first-season set, in fact, contains a total of 13 radio shows. Very nice indeed.

As I mentioned, the fourth and fifth seasons of "I Love Lucy" are the top years of the series as far as my "Lucy" tastes are concerned. And I think a lot of other people concur with that assessment about the "California Trip" episodes being the best the series has to offer.

That's not intended to diminish the excellence of some of the other classic programs in the six-year life of this sitcom either, of which there were quite a few, without doubt. But the 20-plus episodes which had the Ricardos and the Mertzes living in Hollywood (in 1955) are the cream of the Lucy crop in my view. I find myself re-watching the Season-Four and Season-Five programs more than any others.

--------------------

"I Love Lucy" has long been considered by many people to be the greatest television program ever to enter American living rooms. It was certainly trend-setting in a number of ways, including its multi-camera filming technique. That crazy-acting redhead named Lucy Ricardo has seemingly never lost her appeal.

And I kind of doubt she ever will lose that magic "something" that keeps viewers coming back to see her again and again in these 180 TV episodes that comprise the "I Love Lucy" franchise. With these six stupendous seasonal sets of "ILL" on the DVD market, how COULD any sitcom fan lose interest in Mrs. Ricardo and company?

So why not just quit fighting the temptation, and set aside the green stuff with which to purchase this darn-near-perfect "I Love Lucy: The Complete Series" DVD collection? Each and every episode has been well cared for on these DVDs, the packaging is great too, and there are so many bonus features here, it's difficult to know where to start.

Paramount Home Entertainment -- I salute you. These impeccable, jam-packed "I Love Lucy" sets are bound to get a lot of air time in my DVD player....for years to come.

This is one of the best TV shows of all time. As far as content and clarity goes, this DVD set really delivers. However, I'm here to review the packaging because it's just that bad! In fact, as others have pointed out, it's frustrating to the point of being comical. I can't believe someone actually agreed to release this set the way it is.

To get at the DVDs, you have to go through an adventure in poor design. For starters, the flaps on the [side] of the outer plastic box are quite rigid. You must pull these open so you can slide the contents out [horizontally]. Inside the clear outer box is light plastic insert sitting on top of the heart-shaped DVD case. Because the DVD case is heavier than the plastic insert, getting the two out in synch and back in again is somewhat of an art form since the light insert tends to get stuck on the outer packaging.

Now, if you manage to get the heart-shaped DVD case out without dropping everything on the floor, you'll be greeted with the challenge of navigating the DVD case. The big red heart lifts up to access the individual discs, but when you want to put it back, you have to pull the sides apart because it fits like a snug saddle. If you're not careful, you'll end up cramming the heart into the DVD case.

Finally, we come to the layout of the DVD "case". It's nice they included a color-coded booklet, but this is only of limited assistance since it's nearly impossible to find the exact disc you're looking for while the "accordion" divider is inside the box (color-coded or not). You could take the divider out, but your discs will probably end up all over the floor. If you leave it in, then you have to fumble around until you find the disc you're looking for. This means spreading the flaps with your fingers on one hand, while using your index and thumb on your other hand to pinch the DVD and pry it [up] from inside the box. (this is the only way I've figured out how to do this so far.) Unfortunately, you'll end up getting your finger prints all over the read surface of the DVDs -- if not scratching them. But don't worry, with packaging like this, there's a good chance some of the discs already come scratched from the factory!

My guess is that appearance was more important than functionality, and as artwork goes, it is a nice looking box set. However, if you're concerned about scratching your discs, then I STRONGLY suggest you invest a few more dollars to buy the seasons individually. Those sets come in proper plastic cases. If you do purchase this and wish to use it frequently, then I recommend you purchase some blank DVD cases!

This is an excellent boxed set. The extras are great, the shows never looked better, everything (finally) in the right order, as broadcast. Minor complaints, I had to order a replacement set because some of the DVDs were scratched, dirty, scuffed, etc. Then I mixed the best of the two sets, but I SHOULD NOT have to do this on a factory sealed product. If you buy it, examine the DVDs and don't settle. Maybe if these companies keep getting faulty product back, it will give them a reason to be more careful in manufacture. Sadly, it's a hassle for Amazon, and not their fault. When you open a factory sealed CD, it isnt all scratched and dirty, so why should DVDs be? No excuse for this. Also, the 13 Lucy/Desi specials should have been included in this set, they were really I Love Lucy shows, tho the title is different. Id have been glad to pay extra to have those also included. But none of this is Lucy's fault, and this set is LONG overdue for the fan. BUY IT, and enjoy......