Lucy Calls the President

I think I was 7 or 8 when this was on TV - so honestly I'm only giving it a 7 because I remember my parents thought it was good. My brother and I thought it lacked the zaniness of Lucy's previous sitcoms - but in retrospect I suspect she was eschewing the more slapstick-oriented style of the sitcoms for more sophisticated humor.

What I remember most, though, is how it presented a view Jimmy Carter's presidency early on in his first and only term that has largely been lost to history.

Believe it or not, people were actually kind of excited about Jimmy Carter at the beginning of his presidency. After Vietnam and Watergate, America wanted a nice, normal-guy kind of president - and Jimmy Carter fit the bill perfectly. And although people mostly remember Carter mostly for out-of-control inflation and his inability to handle the Iran hostage crisis - he actually set some landmark precedents for how US presidents conduct themselves. For starters - he was the first US president to ask to be called by his nickname throughout his candidacy and presidency.

Richard Nixon was Dick Nixon to his friends and 'Tricky Dick' to his enemies - but was always Richard Nixon in any official capacity. And I'm pretty certain it never crossed Lucille Ball's mind to do a TV movie in which she invited him over for dinner.

Whatever his limitations as a president, Jimmy Carter was always just Jimmy to his friends, his enemies, and to the country as a whole. And one of the very few Lucy and the rest of us would be happy to have for dinner.

.....it's still Lucy and many of her long-time co-professionals, either beside her or behind the cameras. In contrast to many emerging comedies in 1977, this is trapped in time, identical in style to 1960's Lucille Ball series----although the reliable Gale Gordon is cast as her father-in-law, and she's not a widow. (Ed McMahon is miscast as the husband, but he's still less annoying than he is as Ed McMahon.) The familiar supporting cast reliably goes through their paces as the thin-but-familiar plot unfolds toward the surprise guest at the end. Casual viewers may or may not like this, but those of us who really love Lucy will want to give it a watch....and maybe add it to their collection.

Lucy and Viv are my favorite couple ever!! Ever since I was a little girl, long before I acknowledged myself as being sapphic and long before I ever really understood lesbianism or romance at all, Lucy and Viv still somehow struck a chord with me. They always made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and somehow, I knew that I wanted what they had with each-other. They are my ideal pair and always have been!

Looking back, it's no wonder "The Lucy Show" was unofficially referred to as "Two Dykes In Danfield" by the writers and crew in the early years when Lucy and Viv were featured living together! As a kid, I hated knowing this bit of trivia, as I thought it was an insult. But now that I am a sexually developed woman and no longer a sexually shy child, I totally appreciate that secondary title, whether it was given with sincerity or not, because the fact that the writers and crew even thought of it proves that I'm not alone in sensing a certain deliciously lovely lesbian energy between Lucy and Viv!💜💜💜💜💕

This here may not be the best TV movie in general, but we get great Lucy-Viv screentime, and that makes it so special! These two women, though supposedly straight in real-life, have an on-screen chemistry that turns me on and resonates with me on a more personal level than any other! They never kissed on the lips or had a sex scene, yet every touch of the hand, every sly remark, every inside joke, gives me all the warm fuzzies as though they had- now THAT'S chemistry!!

They really should have made a movie together, just the two of them! It would have given all the official lesbian films a run for the money and even put some to shame!

Lucy & Viv 4ever!!! 💌💜💜💜💜💜💕

This intriguing (but probably forgettable to most) farce was most likely an attempt to launch an all-new Lucy series, with most of the original cast members (sans-Desi Sr.). The humor was quite good for those that remember and loved the original Lucy shows. And it was a delight to see these lovable oddballs together again, but it still seemed like there was something missing. The humor and pratfalls and gadgetry gags were done with a bit less energy... clear indicators that our favorite redhead and her pals were beginning to look and feel their age.

I don't remember the premise for WHY President Carter and family were going to visit Lucy's home, but I do remember that - after a number of hilarious calamities in the home, capped by the loss of Lucy's front tooth and the "thubthequent thlurring of her thpeech patternth", it turned out that the President had to cancel. (Did anyone REALLY expect the Chief Executive to actually visit a sitcom pilot?)

Still, all was not lost when Miss Lillian did place a call to Lucy (and comments on Lucy's speech impediment, "And they say WE talk funny...")

Unfortunately, Lucy's future in television sitcommery only went further down when she tried to again revive her old glory with "Life with Lucy". Now, I was not so much laughing at her antics, as I was concerned that she would need a hip replacement if she fell. It was sort of like watching Roger Moore attempt to run across train tops and climb the Golden Gate Bridge as James Bond, when he was already pushing his mid-fifties...

By the time she had reached this point in her life, I found her to be much more effective as a dramatic actress ("Stone Pillow"), or grand-dame host of special events like the Emmys, with David Letterman.

Her passing was especially poignant for me as it was on the day before I first visited the newly-opened Disney MGM Studios in Orlando. The flags were at half staff, and the "Superstar Television" attraction held a moment of silence in tribute to her.

After more than half-a-century, we STILL love Lucy.

If I didn't know any better I would have sworn that this was a pilot for yet another Lucille Ball series. Might have been a good one. But I doubt that the White House would have put its imprimatur on a TV series, a special but not a TV series by having a first family member appear.

I also don't think that Ed McMahon would have left the Tonight Show and Johnny Carson to do a series either.

McMahon and Lucy are a married couple in a small Indiana town. Ed's father Gale Gordon lives with them and Ed owns a bowling alley. Lucy on a national call-in show speaks to President Carter about a community problem and he decides to drop in as he's speaking in Indianapolis the next day.

The rest of the show is devoted to her frantic preparations for the presidential visit. Such Lucy friends as Mary Jane Croft, Mary Wickes, and Vivian Vance are also in this which features the usual Lucy schemes and situations.

Lucy fans and others will love it.