Why We Still Love Lucy

[mitsuki lover]

Huey Lewis and the News were famous for singing "It's Hip to be Square"
and there can't be any sitcom more square or hip than I Love Lucy.Despite it
being around as long as most people have been alive it remains one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.
The basic premise of the misadventures of a ditzy redheaded housewife and mother,her Cuban born bandleader husband and their best friends(who also happen to be their landlords)still attracts audience even today when the cast have all died.
It could be that Lucy Ricardo was someone that we all could identify with no matter our age,sex,creed,color,politics or whatever.Lucy was Everyone.
Her attempts(often ridiculoous)to break into show buisness was a reminder that we all have our dreams and that even if they don't come true we shouldn't stop
dreaming.
But probably most of all was Lucille Ball's own comic genius.A genius that was hinged with the perfectionist's goal to get it down right.And that was seen in all the stunts she performed on the series.Stunts that look effortless today but back when the show was filmed took days of planning and practice to get down right.
Though often imitated(how many times have we seen the chocolate factory
assembly line sequence done by others?)no-one has ever been really have to match what was done in the 1950s on I Love Lucy and no-one will ever probably be able to.
It was a unique series,an American Original,and people will probably still by loving Lucy when the first astronauts step foot on distant stars.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Astronauts will never be able to step foot on stars, by the way.

[Ingemar]

You and your narrow-minded thinking. No wonder you will never rise above the ranks.

[Fish and Chips]

...Who again?

[Ingemar]

Mister Smarty Pants, of course.

This inspires me to change my field to materials engineering so I can make a space suit impervious to radiation, heat and light.

[Danderson]

..........Anywhoo, back on subject.....

I heartily agree with the first post. I watch reruns at lunch time everyday and can never stop LOL'ing....Why can't we have entertainment like this any more?....

[ADXC]

Yeah, its pretty much one of the greatest sitcoms ever made. I just saw it today. Ive watched it since I was really little and have loved it ever since.

[jaems-kun]

I like how she stopped the japanese spies with her teeth.

[Stephen]

Patrick Bateman: Do you like Huey Lewis and the news?
Paul Allen: They're OK.
Patrick Bateman: Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercial and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far much more bitter, cynical sense of humour.
Paul Allen: Hey Halberstram.
Patrick Bateman: Yes, Allen?
Paul Allen: Why are their copies of the style section all over the place, d-do you have a dog? A little chow or something?
Patrick Bateman: No, Allen.
Paul Allen: Is that a rain coat?
Patrick Bateman: Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
[raises axe above head]
Patrick Bateman: Hey Paul!
*Patrick kills Paul with an axe*


Ahem. Anyway. If you get that ref you get 20 points. I never really cared too much for the show. I used to work at a TV station though, and I had to sit through way too many reruns of some of the classics.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I've seen a few episodes and I didn't laugh once. Maybe I just don't get most American humour (I prefer British humour and some Aussie).

[ADXC]

Its not just american humor, it can sometimes be the language gaps that are funny. Like in one instance Ricky tries to read a paragraph with the words through, tough, and some other words that have some of the same letters but different pronunciations. I remember him saying "Why are english words pronounced differently from the other words that look almost the same, in spanish the words are pronounced the same every time!"

Or theres also those times when Ricky's mother(Who only speaks spanish came for a visit, and Lucy did not know many spanish words.(Actually she didn't really know any.)
See there are different kinds of humor in the show, you just have to look for them.

[mechana2015]

Its not just american humor, it can sometimes be the language gaps that are funny. Like in one instance Ricky tries to read a paragraph with the words through, tough, and some other words that have some of the same letters but different pronunciations. I remember him saying "Why are english words pronounced differently from the other words that look almost the same, in spanish the words are pronounced the same every time!"

Or theres also those times when Ricky's mother(Who only speaks spanish came for a visit, and Lucy did not know many spanish words.(Actually she didn't really know any.)
See there are different kinds of humor in the show, you just have to look for them.

Actually I think what you're pointing out is a very american form of humor that's based on the close relations of spanish and english culture countries, and in parts of the world that are more internationalized wouldn't come across as funny... just commonplace. Also very american is single language centric humor, since most countries are surrounded by countries with other languages, or may even have several 'native tongues' within the country. (Switzerland has 3 or 4... china has at least 2, for examples)

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Mechana, you're right. I don't know any Spanish or any Spanish people, so that doesn't help. Australia is very multi-cultural though.

[ADXC]

Ah whatever, not everyone has to have the same kind of humor. I myself, also like to watch british comedy(Like "As Time Goes By" and "Waiting For God".) sometimes. PBS is the only channel that really has any though.

[mitsuki lover]

The amazing thing about the show was that it was based on an earlier
radio series starring Lucille Ball called My Favorite Husband.When the network decided to air it on television Ball had to fight to have her then real life husband Desi Arnaz play the role of her tv husband because of the fact that he was Cuban.