Customer Reviews

I Love Lucy - Season One (Vol. 3)

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I LOVE LUCY continues it's DVD debut with a third volume of episodes from the first season.

MEN ARE MESSY - Ricky and Lucy fight over the subject of neatness, culminating in Lucy sabotaging Ricky's photospread in "Look" magazine!

THE FUR COAT - Ricky brings home an expensive mink coat that he has hired as a prop in his new act, and Lucy thinks he has bought it for her!

LUCY IS JEALOUS OF GIRL SINGER - Lucy gatecrashes Ricky's new act when she suspects that he is dallying with the new lead dancer (Helen Silver).

DRAFTED - When Ricky receives an invitation to report to an army barracks to perform for the troops, Lucy thinks that he is being drafted!

Special features include: guest cast info, original Philip Morris opening, episodes of "My Favorite Husband" radio show and flubs.

I never thought I'd do it, but here I am purchasing (and rating) a DVD of probably the most rerun series in TV history. Makes one wonder why buy it in the first place. In my case I was fascinated (and educated) by the DVD's revelation that the show's presentation was altered after its network broadcasts. Most of us grew up with LUCY, but only in syndication, and many things about the show were changed for syndication, from the opening credits (the Philip Morris sponsor was more predominant, and the "heart-on-satin" logo came much later) to background music, sponsor placement, and even one moment of censorship which involved a passionate kiss by Lucy and actual husband Desi Arnaz (drastically pared down by rerun time). The genius of the DVD is that it restores all these elements back to their original 1951 content, and even includes two radio broadcasts of LUCY's prototype, "My Favorite Husband." As far as the episodes themselves are concerned: 'Drafted' is the least entertaining and most contrived (the misunderstanding reaches outrageous proportions); 'Men Are Messy' and 'The Fur Coat' are standard Lucy shenanigans; and the 'Girl Singer' episode is the best- although the girl (Helen Silver) is actually a gorgeous dancer, and smolders in the 'Jezebel' number. Lucy goes brunette in the chorus line, and wreaks classic havoc.

Wow...Paramount is already releasing the next two volumes in the 'I Love Lucy' Season 1 Collection!! So much for the accusations of the company 'milking it' ...eh! Volume 3 looks to be a good one, promising lots of laughs and good clean humor that people of all ages can share and enjoy!! Volume 3 picks up where Volume 2 left off, with Paramount releasing the episodes in the order of their original broadcast dates!!

Volume 3 kicks off with....
'Men Are Messy'- Lucy divides the apartment in half giving Ricky a half to be a slob.

Next episode...
'The Fur Coat'- Ricky brings home a mink coat that he borrowed for a club act and Lucy thinks it is hers! (CLASSIC EPISODE)

Next...
'Lucy Is Jealous Of Girl Dancer'- Lucy reads a gossip article that links Ricky to a girl at the club and she gets upset.

And last but not least...
'Drafted'- Lucy and Ethel think that Fred and Ricky have been drafted.

'The Fur Coat' is the only episode in this volume that has been previously released on the home entertainment market (unless you paid the big bucks from a ***certain video club***....you know what I mean). This volume contains bonus material as the previous two volumes did. These episodes are sure to bring a smile to your face and brighten up a rainy day. Order Volume 3 today!!

In this decade, every episode of "I Love Lucy" will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Every episode is still funny as funny as when they first aired. The shows are good. The shows are wholesome. They are healing and warm and will make you feel good. Buy them on VHS or DVD today.

Volume 3 is the one to get! With good and hillarious eps. My favorites are "The fur coat","Men are Messy" and "Lucy is jealous of Girl Dancer" I love all the extra's and the radio shows that was similar to, "The fur coat" and "Men are Messy"
I love this DVD and I'll be sure to get Volume 4!

"I Love Lucy" began on CBS, October 15, 1951, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz (married in real-life), with Vivian Vance and William Frawley.
This set is Season One, Volume 3.
Episode 8. "Men Are Messy". Filmed October 25, 1951, Broadcast December 3, 1951.
When Ricky comes home from work, he makes a mess on the desk trying to find something and takes off his clothes and leaves them laying around. Just like a man! Lucy has been trying to keep the apartment neat and clean all day. Lucy thinks of a solution.
Note: Kenny Morgan who played Kenny, the Press Agent, was married to Lucille Ball's cousin, Cleo, and was Desilu's PR Representative. Includes a "restored scene" not seen since 1951.

Episode 10, but shown as 9th episode. "The Fur Coat". Filmed November 9, 1951. Broadcast December 10, 1951.
Ricky rents a mink coat for a dancer at the club. However, Lucy thinks the mink is for her and she refuses to take it off. She wears it all day and all night.

Episode 11, but shown as 10th episode. "Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer". Filmed November 16, 1951. Broadcast December 17, 1951.
Ethel fills Lucy's head with nonsense. Lucy gets jealous of Rosemary, a girl dancer at the club that was used as a publicity story in the paper. Ricky assures her it is only a story, until Lucy finds something in his coat pocket.
The restored "long kiss" is here, not seen since 1951.

Episode 9, but shown as 11th episode. "Drafted". Filmed November 2, 1951. Broadcast Christmas Eve, December 24, 1951.
Lucy and Ricky believe in never reading each other's mail, however this one is from the War Department. Lucy believes Ricky has been drafted.
Includes a special surprise "Christmas" tag scene that hasn't been seen since 1951. This special scene is 3 minutes long. Never shown in tv syndication.

Boy, those prop men are good at changing the time on the living room clock, aren't they? Notice that barometer changes too.

Bonus material:
Flubs. Guest Cast. Radio Show #1: My Favorite Husband, June 4, 1950.
Radio Show #2: My Favorite Husband, May 13, 1949.
8 Special Footage includes what you did not see in tv syndication. Also the original "I Love Lucy" animated opening of 1951.

Watching "I Love Lucy" (1951-57, 57-60) is so therapeutic. No matter how many times I have seen an episode nor how many years have gone by, I still enjoy "I Love Lucy".
August 6, 2011 celebrates what would have been Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday. Jamestown, New York will be celebrating.
October 15, 2011 marks the 60th Anniversary of "I Love Lucy".

"Brought to you by Philip Morris".

Volume 3 of the "I Love Lucy" DVD collection has what I think is the best of the episodes on these first four DVD collections, along with a trio of lesser efforts:

Episode 8, "Men Are Messy" (December 3, 1951) has Lucy and Ethel responding to this fact of life by turning the Ricardo apartment into a hillbilly shanty to teach the boy's a lesson. This is just standard battle of the sexes fare.

Episode 9, "The Fur Coat" (December 10, 1951) is the classic first season episode where Ricky brings home a rented mink coat for his act and Lucy jumps to the conclusion it is a surprise gift for her. Lucy simply milks this simple premise for everything it is worth, ending up in one of the best early crying jags for her character as the coat is taken away to be returned.

Episode 10, "Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer" (December 17, 1951), who is actually more of Ricky's new dancing partner at the Club. So Lucy joins the chorus line to keep an eye on the two. But wait a minute. Didn't she try to join the chorus line in Episode 3, "The Diet," but fail? So much for consistency.

Episode 11, "Drafted" (Decmeber 24, 1951) is what the girls think has happened to Ricky and Fred when they overhear the boys rehearsing a military number for a benefit show. This is one of the lamest premises for an episode in the show's entire run and a rare sub-par episode.

All of these episodes were written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr., who were often rehashing scripts from Lucy's successful radio program "My Favorite Husband" and turning them into televison shows. That might be the simplest and best explanation for why these episodes are not as good as what we would see later. After all, Fred and Ethel were not part of the radio series, nor was Ricky for that matter. Once the writers really had a sense for the characters and their relationships "I Love Lucy" would really blossom.

Bought this as part of a "Buy Three for a Discount" price. I was surprised to see there were only a few episodes on each DVD - I didn't read the description closely enough. Thought I was getting the first 3 years of the show, my error.
I bought the DVDs to use in my work with Seniors at a nursing home. They have been a hit! Just as fun to watch as ever and a good stroll down memory lane!

I find this DVD very entertaining and humorous to watch. I would recommend this to other people.

I Love Lucy first began to show signs of the sit com we would all come to know and love with these episodes. While not the height of the show we'd love later, they are enjoyable.

"Men are Messy" finds Lucy and Ethel trying to break their husbands of being slobs. While the ending is not up to the rest of the episode, the beginning is hilarious.

In "The Fur Coat," Lucy thinks a coat Ricky has rented for his act is a gift for her. When she refuses to take it off, he must go to great lengths to get it back. Wonderful all the way around and the best of the show so far.

"Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer" finds Lucy believing the gossip in the paper about the new dancer (not singer) at the club.

The weakest episode, "Drafted" finds the girls thinking that the men are entering boot camp. This is one of the weakest in the series. Originally airing on Christmas Eve, this episode features a special restored holiday tag at the end not shown in syndication.

The writers are still relying too much are Lucy and scripts from the radio show. But the other characters are beginning to develop. While not my favorite, the best is certainly yet to come.

This DVD is a collector's dream. The episodes are presented in their entirety, and they look and sound sharp. There are occasional flaws in the picture, but considering the source material is 50 years old, it really isn't bad at all. Brief things cut for syndication have been added back in, adding to the fun. (I can't believe the humorous references to the original sponsor they managed to work in.) The sound is presented in mono. While it won't challenge your sound system at all, it serves the purpose well and is faithful to the original audio recording. The extras feature the original opening plugging the show's sponsor (the episodes themselves use the heart we're used to from reruns), info on the guest cast, an inconsistency already in episode to episode continuity, and two episodes of Lucy's radio show "My Favorite Husband" that got reworked for the show.

True, the way season 1 was released isn't nearly as nice in terms of sets as other shows have gotten. But this is still a classic comedy with decent bonus material to make any fan happy.