Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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192 of 197 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
John Wayne, NYC, Europe, the Queen, Grapes & Cheese, June 19, 2005
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.
The fifth season of "I Love Lucy" that aired between 1955 and 1956 has 26 memorable episodes:
1. "Lucy Visits Grauman's": With Ethel's help, Lucy steals John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater.
2. "Lucy and John Wayne": Lucy and Ethel try to return the footprints that they stole, but they break; so Ricky enlists the help from John Wayne (himself) to make a new set. More than one may be needed.
3. "Lucy and the Dummy": After Ricky backs out of a party where Lucy wants her big break, Lucy makes a dummy of Ricky to dance with at the party.
4. "Ricky Sells the Car": After Ricky sells the car, Fred & Ethel think they'll have to ride a motorcycle back to NYC; but Ricky buys train tickets for all.
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.)
6. "Homecoming": Upon returning to NYC, Ricky is a big star, but Lucy initially doesn't share in everyone's worship of him.
7. "The Ricardos Are Interviewed": Ricky & Lucy consider moving and Ricky is to be interviewed on a prestigious show.
8. "Lucy Goes to a Rodeo": After Ricky can't help Fred with a rodeo-themed show for his lodge, Lucy & Ethel volunteer to help.
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.
11. "The Passports": Lucy can't find her birth certificate so that she can get her passport.
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!
14. "Second Honeymoon": Lucy wants the Atlantic cruise to be a second honeymoon, but Ricky is too busy with the band.
15. "Lucy Meets the Queen": After Lucy misses seeing the queen at Buckingham Palace, Ricky gets invited to met the queen, but not Lucy. Of course, when has "no" ever stopped Lucy?
16. "The Fox Hunt": Bragging that she can ride, Lucy gets to show how well she can actually ride a horse in a fox hunt.
17. "Lucy Goes to Scotland": Lucy wants to travel to Scotland to meet her distant McGillicuddy relatives. The dream sequence that unfolds is unforgettable.
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!
19. "Lucy Meets Charles Boyer": Lucy & Ethel are star-struck when they encounter Charles Boyer (himself) at a sidewalk cafe.
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!)
21. "Lucy in the Swiss Alps": Lucy, Ricky, Fred & Ethel get trapped in an avalanche while mountain climbing until they here "La Cucaracha" being played.
22. "Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy": In this heart-warming episode, Lucy misses Little Ricky during his birthday, so a little Italian shoeshine boy (Bart Bradley) and his friends get to celebrate with her.
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).
24. "Lucy's Bicycle Trip": Lucy has trouble crossing back into France when she can't find her passport.
25. "Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo": When Lucy picks up a chip in a Monte Carlo casino, she inadvertently wins thousands of French franks.
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.
Paramount Home Video's superb job of packaging all 30 episodes of the fourth season of "I Love Lucy" onto 5 DVD's is a good indication as to how they will similarly package the fifth season onto 4. Overall, for superb packaging and a great price, I rate the "I Love Lucy: The Complete Fifth Season" DVD box set with an anticipatory 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From LA to Europe, September 16, 2005
Season 5 of this classic sit com begins just a few months after season 4 ended. The gang is still in Los Angeles where Ricky has just finished filming his picture. Fortunately, there's still time for a few hijinks, including trying to steal John Wayne's footprints in the two hilarious episodes that start the season. Even traveling back is an adventure when Lucy decides there's a robber on the train.
Things are just beginning to settle down in New York when Ricky and his band get a series of bookings in Europe. Soon, the foursome are off again where Lucy meets the Queen in England, gets arrested for counterfeiting in Paris, and gets trapped in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
The most famous episode from this season comes near the end. "Lucy's Italian Movie" is better known as the grape stomping episode and has one of the classic physical comedy routines from the show in it.
Actually, the last several episodes are sharp as "Lucy's Bicycle Trip," "Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo," and "Return Home from Europe" are also absolutely hilarious episodes.
Even after five years, this show hasn't lost any of its laughs. In fact, the situations just seem to get more outrageous and yet they work. If we'd started with some of these stunts, it would seem implausible, but by now when Lucy wins a fortunate at roulette accidentally, we buy it. As with any season of any show, this one has its week moments. I find the England episodes rather dull. But over all, this set is more then worth it.
And this set continues to meet the high standards set by the previous releases. Since there are only 26 episodes this go around, there are only four discs. Still, the picture is sharp. The sound seemed a little weaker then normal is spots, but it's only a minute or so once or twice at disc. On the whole, it's fine. The discs are still loaded with the behind the scenes info we've grown to expect.
A brief note about "Lucy and the Dummy." The back of the box mentions it is edited from its original version. As the disc itself explains, the episode ran short originally, so they included a preview of a new movie coming soon from MGM. Since they couldn't get the rights to that promo, they couldn't include it here. Still, they have restored the run up to it, and it has nothing to do with the storyline or any of the jokes. We aren't really missing any I LOVE LUCY here.
This set has so many classic moments it's hard to list them all. Pack your bags and get ready to travel and laugh with Lucy.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hollywood! Europe! So many fantastic episodes in one season!, June 15, 2005
I must first get something out of the way: another reviewer stated that this 5th season is "the last season of I Love Lucy." No. I Love Lucy had six seasons (they moved to Connecticut in the the 6th), followed by 3 seasons of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (though each season was quite short). Okay, with that out of the way... This season is fantastic! The Ricardos and Mertz's are still in Hollywood when the season opens, they return to New York, then go to Europe for the rest of the season. Some of the best episodes of the sitcom's (and television's) history are included in season 5. It's so interesting to look back and note how television didn't have to resort to season cliff-hangers and shocking season premieres to gain an audience back then! (You'd never see a modern sitcom just leave with the character in the middle of a trip to L.A. and return the next season as if it was the next week!) I Love Lucy was a special show that still stands the test of time.
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