Boy Did We Love Lucy

America couldn't get enough of Lucille Ball.  I Love Lucy was a top-rated hit that ran from 1951 to 1957, followed immediately by The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour that lasted until 1960.  At that point, however, Lucy had enough of Desi, and the two divorced, ending a great husband and wife team.

But that's hardly the end of the story.  America still loved Lucy, and she starred in The Lucy Show from 1962 to 1968 followed by Here's Lucy from 1968 to 1974, and most of the these twelve seasons saw her in the top ten, which made her TV's leading comedienne for almost a quarter century. (There was a comeback in 1986, Life With Lucy, but the less said about that the better.)

These solo Lucy outings don't have much of a reputation.  Lately I've been watching episodes of Here's Lucy on COZI TV just to see if they're as bad as all that. They are.

Here's Lucy, which costars Gale Gordon as Lucy's brother-in-law/boss, and her kids Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. as her character's kids, is horrible--witless farce filled with dumb gags.  In fact, the show seems to be mostly an excuse for Lucy to use her star power to bring in other stars.

Not that there weren't occasional big-name guests on I Love Lucy, but it made sense there, since Lucy's husband Ricky was in show biz, and one season they went to Hollywood. But hardly an episode of Here's Lucy goes by where they don't meet a celebrity playing himself or herself.  For example, the last several episodes I've watched were built around Liberace, Patty Andrews (of the Andrews Sisters), Lawrence Welk, Frankie Avalon, Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, Ann-Margret, Wayne Newton and Donny Osmond.

One thing the show teaches--if you live in Los Angeles, as Lucy's character does, it's really easy to get to know celebrities.  You only need to walk up to them and engage them in conversation.  Or call them at home or where they work and ask to be let in.  And feel free to ask them for help in any hare-brained scheme you've gotten yourself into.  They will happily comply.

You may have noticed most of the guest stars are musical acts, which means that before too long Lucy and her family will perform a musical number with them.  This is where the show gets interesting--you never know what you'll see.  I enjoyed Donny Osmond and Lucie Arnaz singing "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."

So that's why I watch.  Also, Lucie Arnaz is pretty cute.