I love Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett. Both women were extraordinarily talented entertainers. They respected each other. Carol being the younger of the two would have done anything for Lucy. It was a wonderful relationship that always showed through. I expected a top-notch episode, but it turned out to be a clunker.
Lucy put situation comedy on the map with a huge exclamation point! Her 1951 "I Love Lucy" debut rocketed her to not just stardom but earned her the love and affection of fans for generations. Desi Arnaz deserves mention because he was also a big part of the success of "I Love Lucy." By 1969 when this episode aired, Lucy had a sitcom on air every year starting in 1951 with the exception of two years. During those two years, Lucy only took off because she was going through a painful divorce from Desi and had to take over leadership of their studio Desilu productions. Lucy followed up with the successful "The Lucy Show" in 1962 which ran for six seasons.
By 1969, when this episode aired, Lucy had two sitcoms in the can both of which were picked up for syndication. She no longer had to run Desilu having sold it the year before. She ended "Here's Lucy" after six seasons when it qualified for syndication. Lucy was thinking about retirement. "Here's Lucy" was her final sitcom.
This was also her first time working with her children, Lucie and Desi Jr. This was Lucy's last chance to help her kids launch their own careers. Both kids were musically talented. They inherited this talent from Desi Sr. Lucie could sing and dance. Desi Jr. Played the drums.
This explains why the Carol Burnett episode was not a situational comedy but a musical performance. Lucy had a lot of credibility with fans and was one of the few entertainers who could get away with this bait-and-switch. This might have worked in 1969. Watching this episode more than 50 years later, it is painfully obvious that it does pass the test of time.
Lucie and Desi Jr. Want to help accelerate fundraising for their high school to build a new gym. The school is holding a musical to raise funds with both Lucie and Desi Jr. Participating. Lucy gets the idea to convince Carol Burnett to appear in the musical.
Carol plays herself. Lucy is in the audience as Carol starts her show off with her usual question-and-answer session with the studio audience. This was not filmed in Carol's studio. This segment was funny as Lucy is ignored whenever she raises her hand to ask Carol a question. She finally gets her question in at the end of the session. Carol does not want to do the musical probably because she had scheduling constraints. Carol is a nice person. Her audience eggs her into agreeing to Lucy's request.
The next scene is the musical at the high school. Lucie and Desi Jr. Are performing in a forgettable number. They are singing about how they want a new gym. The other students look too old to be in high school. Then Lucy and Carol perform with Gale Gordon. This episode is a total loss.
"Here's Lucy" is a sitcom and not a musical variety show for them to perform song and dance numbers. Lucie and Desi Jr. Were both musically talented and there was no harm for them to display their talents elsewhere. Lucy should have booked her kids to do a number on Carol's show. Carol would have done anything for Lucy. Also, the kids could have picked a type of musical performance popular with young people and not the stodgy musical score used.
Carol Burnett was a great comedian, and it was a loss that she was not utilized for her comedic abilities in this episode. I would have loved to see Carol play a fictional character instead of playing herself. There are too many "Here's Lucy" episodes where Lucy runs into real-life stars.
There were two other season one episodes which were musicals and not sitcoms. Those episodes were episode 9 featuring Wayne Newton and episode 23 featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Lucy put situation comedy on the map with a huge exclamation point! Her 1951 "I Love Lucy" debut rocketed her to not just stardom but earned her the love and affection of fans for generations. Desi Arnaz deserves mention because he was also a big part of the success of "I Love Lucy." By 1969 when this episode aired, Lucy had a sitcom on air every year starting in 1951 with the exception of two years. During those two years, Lucy only took off because she was going through a painful divorce from Desi and had to take over leadership of their studio Desilu productions. Lucy followed up with the successful "The Lucy Show" in 1962 which ran for six seasons.
By 1969, when this episode aired, Lucy had two sitcoms in the can both of which were picked up for syndication. She no longer had to run Desilu having sold it the year before. She ended "Here's Lucy" after six seasons when it qualified for syndication. Lucy was thinking about retirement. "Here's Lucy" was her final sitcom.
This was also her first time working with her children, Lucie and Desi Jr. This was Lucy's last chance to help her kids launch their own careers. Both kids were musically talented. They inherited this talent from Desi Sr. Lucie could sing and dance. Desi Jr. Played the drums.
This explains why the Carol Burnett episode was not a situational comedy but a musical performance. Lucy had a lot of credibility with fans and was one of the few entertainers who could get away with this bait-and-switch. This might have worked in 1969. Watching this episode more than 50 years later, it is painfully obvious that it does pass the test of time.
Lucie and Desi Jr. Want to help accelerate fundraising for their high school to build a new gym. The school is holding a musical to raise funds with both Lucie and Desi Jr. Participating. Lucy gets the idea to convince Carol Burnett to appear in the musical.
Carol plays herself. Lucy is in the audience as Carol starts her show off with her usual question-and-answer session with the studio audience. This was not filmed in Carol's studio. This segment was funny as Lucy is ignored whenever she raises her hand to ask Carol a question. She finally gets her question in at the end of the session. Carol does not want to do the musical probably because she had scheduling constraints. Carol is a nice person. Her audience eggs her into agreeing to Lucy's request.
The next scene is the musical at the high school. Lucie and Desi Jr. Are performing in a forgettable number. They are singing about how they want a new gym. The other students look too old to be in high school. Then Lucy and Carol perform with Gale Gordon. This episode is a total loss.
"Here's Lucy" is a sitcom and not a musical variety show for them to perform song and dance numbers. Lucie and Desi Jr. Were both musically talented and there was no harm for them to display their talents elsewhere. Lucy should have booked her kids to do a number on Carol's show. Carol would have done anything for Lucy. Also, the kids could have picked a type of musical performance popular with young people and not the stodgy musical score used.
Carol Burnett was a great comedian, and it was a loss that she was not utilized for her comedic abilities in this episode. I would have loved to see Carol play a fictional character instead of playing herself. There are too many "Here's Lucy" episodes where Lucy runs into real-life stars.
There were two other season one episodes which were musicals and not sitcoms. Those episodes were episode 9 featuring Wayne Newton and episode 23 featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford.