Cute musical numbers. Strangely they never said if they raised enough money for a new gymnasium which was the entire point of the musical.
5 Reviews
Cute musical numbers
rerunwatcher3 May 2021
Is This "Here's Lucy" or "The Carol Burnett Show"?
kgraovac27 November 2023
Lucy and kids attend a taping of the Carol Burnett Show and put her on the spot by asking her to appear in a benefit to raise money for a new gym.
This is the only time Burnett appears on a LUCY series playing herself. Her responses to the "audience" in the Q&A section are corny but cute. Carole Cook plays an audience member who inexplicably sounds like she's got a mouth full of marbles. Cook dubs all of Lucy's singing in the musical numbers and her voice is totally recognizable.
In the show-within-a-show, Lucy and Carol's segment comes off best. Desi is not as adept at the musical comedy stuff as his sister, but their number here isn't that great anyway. There is lots of filler with various gymnasts showing their stuff. This was so the cast would be able to make costume changes but at least those guys will have something to show their grandchildren. Notice the diversity of the extras who are playing the high school kids. Lucy would have been a hit with Blackrock.
**Gale Gordon Cartwheel Alert**
This is the only time Burnett appears on a LUCY series playing herself. Her responses to the "audience" in the Q&A section are corny but cute. Carole Cook plays an audience member who inexplicably sounds like she's got a mouth full of marbles. Cook dubs all of Lucy's singing in the musical numbers and her voice is totally recognizable.
In the show-within-a-show, Lucy and Carol's segment comes off best. Desi is not as adept at the musical comedy stuff as his sister, but their number here isn't that great anyway. There is lots of filler with various gymnasts showing their stuff. This was so the cast would be able to make costume changes but at least those guys will have something to show their grandchildren. Notice the diversity of the extras who are playing the high school kids. Lucy would have been a hit with Blackrock.
**Gale Gordon Cartwheel Alert**
Dear "Mikhail080"
chasealanparker16 June 2019
Lucy probably got the idea that people wanted to see her sing and dance when she was on Vaudeville, or perhaps it was when she starred in Mame or any one of the multiple successful musicals she was apart of. I assume you'll never read this probably because it's been 8 years since you posted it and not because you're a successful singing, dancing comedian who has enough experience to pass judgement on another artist.
Lame, awful and embarrassingly bad
mikhail0807 January 2011
All the humor in this episode is purely unintentional. Who ever or what ever gave Lucille Ball the idea that audiences wanted to see her sing and dance? It was only funny in "I Love Lucy" because she was so terrible! Here she tries to play it straight with the help of a game but in-over-her-head Carol Burnett -- and the results are woeful.
And of course Lucy plops her untalented teenage kids into the middle of it all! It's only funny for the bizarre costumes and song choices. The writers stole a punchline from Mae West's "Belle of the Nineties" and gave it to Burnett! The aged Lucille Ball in a high school play? Backed up by Burnett and cart-wheel turning Gale Gordon? This doesn't work on so many levels!
And of course Lucy plops her untalented teenage kids into the middle of it all! It's only funny for the bizarre costumes and song choices. The writers stole a punchline from Mae West's "Belle of the Nineties" and gave it to Burnett! The aged Lucille Ball in a high school play? Backed up by Burnett and cart-wheel turning Gale Gordon? This doesn't work on so many levels!
Lucy and Carol, I love you, but this is a sitcom and not a musical!
george_cherucheril27 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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