Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The battle of the sexes goes into high gear on "I Love Lucy", May 20, 2003
It is interesting to rewatch the 1951-52 first season of "I Love Lucy," where the scripts were exploring the screwball possibilities of Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) trying to break into the world of entertainment like her husband, Ricky (Desi Arnaz), bandleader at the Tropicana Club. The first half of the season was okay, but the second half finds the cast and writers Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. really hitting stride. The theme of Volume 7 is on more about husbands and wives (or husbands versus wives) rather than on Lucy's show business aspirations:Episode 24, "The Gossip" (March 24, 1952) offers another battle of the sexes as Fred (William Frawley) and Ricky bet they can keep from gossiping longer than Ethel (Vivian Vance) and Lucy. The outcome is predictable, but the journey is half the fun. Episode 25, "Pioneer Women" (March 31, 1952) is, quite simply, the one with the twelve-foot loaf of bread. Everybody remembers the sight gag, but do you remember the premise? Fred and Ricky challenge Ethel and Lucy to a contest to see who can survive the longest without the conveniences of modern life. This means having to bake your own bread and figuring out how much yeast to use. Episode 26, "The Marriage License" (April 7, 1952) has Lucy finding out that her marriage license to Ricky is not legally binding. The simple thing to do would be to have the paperwork done right, but Lucy insists that Ricky play out their entire courtship. Not as funny as the how the same situation played out on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ("Laura's Little Lie," October 9, 1963), but then Petrie's had a kid, which gave that classic episode a bit more edge. Note: Elizabeth Patterson, who would play Little Ricky's baby-sitter Mrs. Trumbull appears in this episode, but as a different character. Episode 27, "The Kleptomaniac" (April 14, 1952) hinges on Ricky finding a whole bunch of goods that Lucy has collected for a charity bazaar. Since Ricky does not know about the bazaar, he jumps to the conclusion that Lucy is a kleptomaniac and needs psychiatric help. The psychiatrist is played by Jospeh Kearns, who would go on to play Mr. Wilson on "Dennis the Menace." This solid quartet puts Volume 7 in the top four of the nine volumes that collect the first season and the original unaired pilot (36 episodes in all). However, the top volume is the next one up, which contains one of the most famous "I Love Lucy" episodes of all time, "Lucy Does a TV Commercial." Still, what we have here is ample reason why every Monday night literally half of the nation's television sets were tuned to this classic situation comedy.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4 More Great Episodes With The Queen of Comedy: Lucille Ball, July 29, 2003
I was very happy to see the release of the next two DVD's (Volumes 7 and 8) containing 8 more episodes from the first season of the classic television series "I Love Lucy", which aired on television for six seasons between 1951 and 1957. Lucy Esmeralda MacGillicuddy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), Ethel Mae Roberta Louise Potter Mertz (Vivian Vance) and Fred Mertz (William Frawley) have more hilarious hijinx occur in the four episodes presented in "I Love Lucy Season One (Volume 7)":Episode 24: "The Gossip" (March 24, 1952). In this classic "battle of the sexes" episode, Ricky is unhappy with Lucy's incessant need to gossip. To share some vital information with Ethel without speaking, Lucy improvises with charades. Then, claiming that men gossip just as much as women, Lucy & Ethel are challenged by Ricky & Fred to a bet to see who can keep from gossiping the longest with hilarious results. Viewers may recognize the guest actor playing the milkman, Bob Jellison, who returned periodically in Seasons 4 & 5 to play Bobby the bellboy. Episode 25: "Pioneer Women" (March 31, 1952). This classic "battle of the sexes" episode is often remembered for the giant loaf of bread that attacks Lucy. The premise of the episode involves a $50 bet to see how long Ricky & Fred or Lucy & Ethel can go without using most modern conveniences while Lucy & Ethel are trying to gain acceptance into a posh women's club. Episode 26: "The Marriage License" (April 7, 1952). After cleaning out their desk, Lucy becomes concerned that her marriage license with Ricky isn't valid; so she insists that the two travel back to the same Connecticut town where they were first married to renew their vows. Viewers will probably recognize a guest appearance by Elizabeth Patterson, who later played Little Ricky's frequent baby-sitter Mrs. Trumble starting in Season Two. Episode 27: "The Kleptomaniac" (April 14, 1952). In this funny episode, Lucy doesn't want Ricky to know that she's raising money for the women's club that she & Ethel are in by managing an auction. Ricky comes across a large sum of cash in Lucy's purse, as well as her stash of items to be auctioned, and mistakenly concludes that Lucy's a kleptomaniac. Ricky enlists the help of a psychiatrist, played by guest actor Joseph Kearns, who is best remembered for his portrayal of "Mr. Wilson" in the TV sitcom "Dennis the Menace" (1959-1963). If you are debating whether to purchase any of the episodes on DVD, you won't be disappointed if you are a long-time fan of "I Love Lucy". As with the previous six volumes released so far, picture quality of the episodes is superb; and being able to watch the episodes uninterrupted and uncut is fantastic. I rate these 4 episodes with 5 out of 5 stars.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Queen of Comedy on DVD., May 11, 2003
The seventh volume of I Love Lucy's first season features episodes 24-27, which are all favorites of mine, especially "The Gossip." Although, like I've said before, I wish they would release season-by-season DVDs, this is still a must have collection. Lucy's brand of humor and physical gags transcends time and it shows, like always, on this set. And who doesn't love Lucy?1. "The Gossip" (aired 3/24/52)- The guys accuse Lucy and Ethel of gossiping (or "gosspin," as Ricky says), but the girls think that men talk just as much as women do. They start a bet that whoever gossips first will serve the other breakfast in bed for one month. So they can win the bet, Ricky and Fred come up with a juicy story about their neighbor: Betty Foster is running away with the milkman. Then they tell it to the girls in their sleep and just wait for one of them to let the cat out of the bag. 2. "Pioneer Women" (aired 3/31/52)- Can the Ricardos and the Mertzes survive without modern conveniences, just like their grandparents did, when another bet is started? We see Ethel churning butter and getting the churn stuck in her hands, Ricky riding a horse home and Lucy baking a very large loaf of bread. 3. "The Marriage License" (aired 4/7/52)- Lucy comes upon her marriage license and discovers that Ricky's last name is spelled Bicardi on the paper. Assuming that the license is no good and that she and Ricky aren't really husband and wife, Lucy decides that she wants to do everything over again. 4. "The Kleptomaniac" (aired 4/14/52)- Lucy has been hiding valuable items in the apartment from Ricky for a club bazaar she's organizing. When he secretly discovers them and also sees Lucy with large amounts of cash, he jumps to the conclusion that she is a kleptomaniac. When she finds out what he thinks she is, Lucy and Ethel play the part of kleptomaniacs on the night when he brings a psychologist over to help her. (This episode includes the hilarious and memorable moment where Lucy tries to hide a cuckoo clock from Ricky and Fred.)
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