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Well, I don't as it happens. I've always preferred Ricky, as I always felt him to be the funnier of the pair. Plus he's got that whole cool accent/musician thing going on. And the drumming. Nonetheless, the show is not called I Love Ricky. It's named after the less interesting one with the scary fans.
And I digress. I've been watching season four, as I make my way through the DVDs. I keep being distracted lately, so I've not been watching as much as before, and consequently it seems like the gang have been on the road for months. They've finally arrived in LA, though, hence this entry. "LA At Last" is one of the show's most famous episodes, and with good reason. I remembered it from the last time I saw it, in round about 1992, and recalled that it was quite a good one. I had no idea that my memory was capable of such understatement. This episode is quite extraordinary, and not just because of the humour. For starters, this is when the big name guest stars really started appearing. The gang is now staying in Hollywood, which gives plenty of opportunity for cameos, and the series by now was big news (this episode was first broadcast on the 7th February 1955, by which time I Love Lucy was seriously popular). It was still television, though, and in the fifties Hollywood was very suspicious of television. It was the Enemy. Not all film stars had the good sense to see that they could use it to their advantage. Maybe it was the show's good name, or the fact that Lucille Ball used to be a Hollywood figure herself, but the stars were prepared to appear in ILL; and here we have Eve Arden in a lovely little cameo, and William Holden as the main guest star. And he's terrific. It's a masterclass in comic timing, in subtle reactions, in laidback performing - the antithesis of everything ILL is usually about, really. Half the point of the show is its OTT-ness. Lucy's antics and facial expressions; Ricky's boggle-eyed reactions to it all; Fred and Ethel blowing everything out of proportion. Throw William Holden into the mix, and it adds a whole new side to the humour. I rather wish they'd kept him around.
It's a simple plot, like most of the episodes. After arriving in LA, Ricky has to go off to the film studios, so the others decide to go to lunch at the Brown Derby, in the hope of doing some star-spotting. Ethel exchanges a few words with Eve Arden, and then they realise that William Holden is in the next booth along. Lucy attempts to spy on him, prompting the waiter to put a sizeable potted plant between them, though this doesn't deter Lucy in the slightest. Eventually, feeling somewhat beleaguered, her target decides to turn the tables. It's a wonderful scene, with next to no dialogue. Lucy's all about overblown antics of course, and William Holden counters it with wordlessness, and an almost total lack of movement. Even at the end of the scene, when Lucy's attempt at a quick getaway results in him being covered in the contents of a passing waiter's tray, he doesn't move a muscle. It's the perfect reaction - or lack thereof. The waiter deserves kudos too, as his timing with the tray and the fall is spot on.
The scene changes then, to Ricky over at the studio. He doesn't get a great deal to do in this episode, though he still gets good stuff. He has a piece involving a suit of armour which is highly endearing, before he's introduced to William Holden, and winds up inviting his new friend home. Horrorstruck by the idea of meeting Holden again so soon, Lucy tries to disguise herself behind a pair of hideous glasses and a giant putty nose. The nose winds up first squished, then grossly lengthened as the result of an attempted quick fix, before finally meeting its end during a cigarette-lighting attempt. It's probably one of the most famous scenes in American sitcom history, and rightly so. Again, Holden's reactions are a masterclass in subtlety. Desi's accent gets stronger now and again, and he starts to fumble his lines, which is generally a surefire sign that he's close to one of his giggle attacks, but there's not even a flicker from Holden. And you didn't get retakes on ILL - Desi was very strict about that. Everything done like in a theatre show, and carry on regardless. That's a lot of pressure, even when you're not faced by a manic vision in bizarro glasses and a giant putty nose. This is wonderful, wonderful stuff - and it's hard to put those guest appearances into context nowadays. There aren't Hollywood stars as big as the likes of William Holden now. Brad Pitt did an episode of Friends, of course, and Gene Wilder did Will & Grace. I Love Lucy had William Holden, Rock Hudson and John Wayne in the space of one season - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. But then you don't get TV shows that big anymore, just like you don't get Hollywood stars that big anymore. Times have changed, and how. There's not a single credited actor for this episode of I Love Lucy that's still alive. Man, that's depressing.
Pictures, then, to lighten the mood.
Eve Arden talks with Ethel.
Lucy realises who's in the next booth.
And attempts to spy on him.
Undeterred by foliage.
Turning the tables. :D
Nervous under scrutiny, Lucy gets in a spaghetti tangle.
Ethel rescues her with her nail scissors.
And as the gang makes a quick getaway, Holden's joke backfires. :D
Desi being attacked by his own costume.
In disguise.
That can't be easy to act opposite.
I'm with you on that one, Bill.
Lighting a cigarette...
... has very predictable results.
Great stuff. It's left me wanting to watch Stalag 17 again, though. I wonder if it's out on DVD? Must be, surely.
And I digress. I've been watching season four, as I make my way through the DVDs. I keep being distracted lately, so I've not been watching as much as before, and consequently it seems like the gang have been on the road for months. They've finally arrived in LA, though, hence this entry. "LA At Last" is one of the show's most famous episodes, and with good reason. I remembered it from the last time I saw it, in round about 1992, and recalled that it was quite a good one. I had no idea that my memory was capable of such understatement. This episode is quite extraordinary, and not just because of the humour. For starters, this is when the big name guest stars really started appearing. The gang is now staying in Hollywood, which gives plenty of opportunity for cameos, and the series by now was big news (this episode was first broadcast on the 7th February 1955, by which time I Love Lucy was seriously popular). It was still television, though, and in the fifties Hollywood was very suspicious of television. It was the Enemy. Not all film stars had the good sense to see that they could use it to their advantage. Maybe it was the show's good name, or the fact that Lucille Ball used to be a Hollywood figure herself, but the stars were prepared to appear in ILL; and here we have Eve Arden in a lovely little cameo, and William Holden as the main guest star. And he's terrific. It's a masterclass in comic timing, in subtle reactions, in laidback performing - the antithesis of everything ILL is usually about, really. Half the point of the show is its OTT-ness. Lucy's antics and facial expressions; Ricky's boggle-eyed reactions to it all; Fred and Ethel blowing everything out of proportion. Throw William Holden into the mix, and it adds a whole new side to the humour. I rather wish they'd kept him around.
It's a simple plot, like most of the episodes. After arriving in LA, Ricky has to go off to the film studios, so the others decide to go to lunch at the Brown Derby, in the hope of doing some star-spotting. Ethel exchanges a few words with Eve Arden, and then they realise that William Holden is in the next booth along. Lucy attempts to spy on him, prompting the waiter to put a sizeable potted plant between them, though this doesn't deter Lucy in the slightest. Eventually, feeling somewhat beleaguered, her target decides to turn the tables. It's a wonderful scene, with next to no dialogue. Lucy's all about overblown antics of course, and William Holden counters it with wordlessness, and an almost total lack of movement. Even at the end of the scene, when Lucy's attempt at a quick getaway results in him being covered in the contents of a passing waiter's tray, he doesn't move a muscle. It's the perfect reaction - or lack thereof. The waiter deserves kudos too, as his timing with the tray and the fall is spot on.
The scene changes then, to Ricky over at the studio. He doesn't get a great deal to do in this episode, though he still gets good stuff. He has a piece involving a suit of armour which is highly endearing, before he's introduced to William Holden, and winds up inviting his new friend home. Horrorstruck by the idea of meeting Holden again so soon, Lucy tries to disguise herself behind a pair of hideous glasses and a giant putty nose. The nose winds up first squished, then grossly lengthened as the result of an attempted quick fix, before finally meeting its end during a cigarette-lighting attempt. It's probably one of the most famous scenes in American sitcom history, and rightly so. Again, Holden's reactions are a masterclass in subtlety. Desi's accent gets stronger now and again, and he starts to fumble his lines, which is generally a surefire sign that he's close to one of his giggle attacks, but there's not even a flicker from Holden. And you didn't get retakes on ILL - Desi was very strict about that. Everything done like in a theatre show, and carry on regardless. That's a lot of pressure, even when you're not faced by a manic vision in bizarro glasses and a giant putty nose. This is wonderful, wonderful stuff - and it's hard to put those guest appearances into context nowadays. There aren't Hollywood stars as big as the likes of William Holden now. Brad Pitt did an episode of Friends, of course, and Gene Wilder did Will & Grace. I Love Lucy had William Holden, Rock Hudson and John Wayne in the space of one season - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. But then you don't get TV shows that big anymore, just like you don't get Hollywood stars that big anymore. Times have changed, and how. There's not a single credited actor for this episode of I Love Lucy that's still alive. Man, that's depressing.
Pictures, then, to lighten the mood.
Eve Arden talks with Ethel.
Lucy realises who's in the next booth.
And attempts to spy on him.
Undeterred by foliage.
Turning the tables. :D
Nervous under scrutiny, Lucy gets in a spaghetti tangle.
Ethel rescues her with her nail scissors.
And as the gang makes a quick getaway, Holden's joke backfires. :D
Desi being attacked by his own costume.
In disguise.
That can't be easy to act opposite.
I'm with you on that one, Bill.
Lighting a cigarette...
... has very predictable results.
Great stuff. It's left me wanting to watch Stalag 17 again, though. I wonder if it's out on DVD? Must be, surely.
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