Loving Lucy

You've got some 'splainin' to do 

Before I dive into I Love Lucy, let me explain some of the reasoning behind my ranking: I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Mary Tyler Moore and All in the Family. All these shows are excellent, and if you go by particular criteria, the ranking changes entirely. But since we're talking about situation comedy, I'm placing the emphasis on laugh-out-loud funny, and my first two shows (Lucy and Seinfeld) fulfill that handily.

Now, about Lucy. I once read a humor magazine that defined "camp" as "seriousness that has failed". Like pornography, you may not be able to define it, but you know it when you see it. Sometimes it's a seriousness that's intended to fail. What can you say of a show about a Cuban band leader, his dazzling red-headed stage-struck wife, and hammy upstairs middle-aged neighbors that used to be in Vaudeville? I Love Lucy was expertly cast, expertly written, and had a premise that can elicit laughs all by itself. Most people recall the slapstick: Lucy with her head stuck in a trophy cup, Lucy in the chocolate factory, Lucy stomping grapes in Italy. Lucille Ball herself always recalled the chocolate factory as one of her favorite episodes. But what made the show funny to me was the witty repartee:

"She looks more like a witch than I do".
"She has a pretty big 'potamus".
"You take care of the beef, I'll take care of the ham".
"You'd think somebody orders a 500 pound fish every five minutes!"


We're going to Hollywood! 

Then, endless fun was had with Ricky's accent: "Looocy, you've got some 'splainin' to do!". Some people thought Desi Arnaz did too much bug-eyed overacting, but I thought he was a perfect foil, and excellent counterpoint to his manic wife. William Frawley was perfect as the skinflint Fred Mertz, and Vivian Vance was a perfect, good-sport sidekick for Lucy. This show is one where everything came together: writing, directing, casting and acting. Most shows nowadays will have an Achilles heel on at least one of those factors. I Love Lucy was one of the first shows out of the gate, but established some ideas used to this day: video taping for syndication, 3-camera filming, celebrity cameos for ratings boost. Lucy, herself, was spectacular. A statuesque redheaded, former Goldwyn girl in her early 40's, she could've lived off royalties from her earlier "B" movie career. When her TV show began, she saw it as a fun extension of a radio gig she'd already been doing. Neither she (nor anyone else) saw what a phenomenon her TV show or TV itself would come to be. Lucy herself was phenomenal because she would unself-consiously throw herself into any role: cowboy, masseur, pizza maker, vamp. She could do it all with believability and panache.

The show did have a long run, and appeared to fade in quality in the final season where the Ricardos and Mertz's moved to the suburbs in Connecticut. The out-of-control silliness gave way to conventional, flat sitcom dialog. Worth noting: Lucy had 2 followup series in the 60's and 70's. The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy. Both tried to borrow from I Love Lucy somewhat, but the thrill was gone. She attempted another one in the 80's that barely made it past pilot stage. Interesting also, because other sitcom luminaries have had trouble making lightening strike twice. The closest ever was Bob Newhart who had two long-running, successful series.

I Love Lucy, like Chevrolet, apple pie and the Statue of Liberty, is a permanent piece of Americana. Like Seinfeld that came 40 years later, dialog and plot lines from the show drifted into popular culture and people could refer to certain episodes as a shared reference point. It's a testament to I Love Lucy's staying power that a half century later, people still mimic "Vitametavegamin" and they still love Lucy.