Here's Lucy

I highly recommend this set to Lucy fans. I think it is very well produced and I appreciate the voice over's done by Luci and Desi Jr.

However.....If I were to suggest a few things, I would rather have this show released in a complete season by season format instead of selected episodes. For instance, the Mary Tyler Moore shows would be a good example of how to release this as they are being released (although very very slowly) in a season by season packaging format. I'm not sure this will happen with "Here's Lucy" but it would sure be nice.....so here's hoping for some future volumes of this great show on DVD. Highly recommended to all even though I wished they would release ALL the shows instead of selected episodes. I give it 10 stars!

This was to be the least successful of Lucy's series but yet is not a big loss from the Lucy Show. It actually kind of spun in from the old show with almost no break. The difference is Lucy is finally considered more mature in her role here.

A lot of the same folks who worked on her previous series as writers and guest stars (Milton Berle for example) are here too. Lucie Arnez and Desi Jr. came on board here with mom. Some of us teens thought Lucie Arnez was pretty attractive when we saw her. She never got the chance to try as much comedy as mom was still the star.

While this is not quite as strong as the earlier series, it still has some great moments. The divorced mom character struck a cord as in real life this woman was becoming more common. The only thing is most divorced moms in real life were bitter while Lucy was funny. I take funny over bitter myself, but that is why this show like many situation comedies put a little realty in, but still were living in a never-never land.

I have always been a fan of Lucille Ball. She is the greatest commedienne of all time. To see here working with her own children was wonderful. Gale Gordon and Lucy had chemistry. You do not find that too often in a lot of television shows. This by far one of the greatest shows since "I Love Lucy."

I recently watched quite a bit of a 4-DVD set of "Here's Lucy!" episodes including extras such as rehearsal footage, syndication sales tapes, Thalians award show, commentary by Lucie and Desi, Jr., etc.

In spite of Lucy's neediness, bitterness, volume and high vocal pitch, I quite enjoyed her honed technique, especially in the Burton/Taylor episode where she seems to really give a damn.

Also, her clothes are very chic for the most part (nicer than all the other actors' costumes) and I especially loved the once-familiar "fallout shelter" sign in the hallway outside Uncle Harry's office! The dance number Ann-Margret does with Desi, Jr. is something to behold. The Wayne Newton episode, believe it or not, is fun. And Lucy, Lucie and Ginger Rogers dancing the Charleston is cute. Lucy loved a Charleston!

The animated Lucy puppet during the credits is adorable, but you get sick of it if you watch too many episodes!

What I really want to see are "The Lucy Show" (before "Here's Lucy!") episodes and extras, when Viv was Lucy's housemate and there were three kids living with them (not Lucy's own kids).

I have been watching the entire run of Here's Lucy on Tubi and to me, Lucille Ball's third sitcom is very funny. An revamping of The Lucy Show, Ball plays a widow, Lucy Carter, with a daughter Kim and a son Craig. They are played by her real life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. The one holdover from The Lucy Show was Gale Gordon, who plays her brother in law/boss Harrison Otis Carter. To me, he is the nastiest sitcom boss between Mr. Slate of The Flintstones and Louie Depalma on Taxi. The chemistry between Ball and Gordon as well as Ball's outstanding physical comedy are the keys to the show's success. The younger Lucie and Desi Jr. Bring a youthful vibe to the proceedings.

By the show's fourth season, things begin to change. Desi Jr. Leaves the show for a movie career and Lucie Arnaz appears less frequently. The show seems to lose identity as more episodes revolve around guest stars and there are episodes that resemble a variety show. What Ball should have done after the cancellation of Mayberry RFD in 1971, is expand the show to an hour and change the format to a comedy/variety show.

In the fifth season, the show really goes downhill after Ball broke her leg skiing in Colorado. The show loses a lot of the physical comedy but semiregulars Mary Jane Croft and Vanda Barra get more screen time. More focus is on the Lucy/Harry relationship as well as more guest star episodes. Ball was going to end the series after the fifth season but CBS persuaded her to return for a sixth and eventually final season.

One thing you might notice throughout the show's run is that Ball's voice gets a lot deeper as a result of years of heavy smoking. There are also a number of episodes that feature Sid Gould in various roles. Gould is a cousin of Ball's husband Gary Morton.

If you've never seen, Here's Lucy watch it on Tubi or any streaming service that carries it. You'll see a very funny show for most of its run.