Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: 31 Shows that can still make you laugh 60 years later
Cons: Only minor ones
The Bottom Line:
TV history
That is still guaranteed to
Make you die laughing
Hilarious and Historic TV Season
After winning fans in season one, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) and their neighbors/landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance) are back for the hilarious second season of I Love Lucy.
Ricky is a nightclub performer and Lucy is his stay at home wife (this was the 50's.) who longs to get into the show. She's always in the middle of some funny predicament and Fred and Ethel get pulled into the adventures.
The season opens with "Job Switching," one of the most famous episodes of the show. In it, the women head out to get jobs while the men stay home to cook and clean. Lucy and Ethel's attempts to find a job land them at a chocolate conveyer belt.
The most famous storyline of the season almost didn't happen. Because Lucille Ball was pregnant, Lucy Ricardo became pregnant as well. Of course, at the time the censor boards were concerned about the storylines, so it took some fast talking to get these classic shows aired. "Lucy is Enceinte" is charming as Lucy tries to give Ricky the good news. "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" is the hilarious conclusion of the storyline. I always laugh at Ricky, Fred, and Ethel's panicked reaction when Lucy announced "The time has come."
Other highlights of this season include "The Club Election," where Lucy and Ethel campaign against each other to lead their women's club, "Lucy Changes Her Mind," where she annoys a waiter with her indecisiveness, "Lucy's Last Birthday," the only episode to feature the words to the theme song, and "Never Do Business with Friends," where the foursome fight over a broken washing machine.
There are flaws to the season. Many of the storylines are familiar because they've been done many times over the last 60 years. Little attention is paid to previous episodes of the show, which explains why Lucy gets new furniture and Ethel gets a new washing machine twice this season.
But these complaints are minor. The shows are still funny today. I laugh at the witty banter and absurd situations every time I watch the episodes.
So, what do you get with this set? All 31 episodes are preserved on five discs. And I do mean preserved. The black and white picture has been cleaned up. It's sharp with hardly any dust. They couldn't have looked better when they first aired, and they make most of the airings on TV look shabby. The sound is mono but comes through my speaker crystal clear. And the extras are nice. Scenes deleted from the shows for syndication are included as are the original openings and commercial transitions. Each disc includes a complete episode of the radio show Lucy did before this show. There are also behind the scenes photos and stories, complete guest cast list, and "flubs" - mistakes that are usually included in the episodes.
I Love Lucy season two is a classic television comedy. It's great to see it get the treatment it deserves.
Season 2 Episodes:
1. Job Switching
2. The Saxaphone
3. The Anniversary Present
4. The Handcuffs
5. The Operetta
6. Vacation from Marriage
7. The Courtroom
8. Redecorating
9. Ricky Loses His Voice
10. Lucy is Enceinte
11. Pregnant Women are Unpredictable
12. Lucy's Show-Biz Swan Song
13. Lucy Hires an English Tutor
14. Ricky Has Labor Pains
15. Lucy Becomes a Sculptress
16. Lucy Goes to the Hospital
17. Sales Resistence
18. The Inferiority Complex
19. The Club Election
20. The Black Eye
21. Lucy Changes Her Mind
22. No Children Allowed
23. Lucy Hires a Maid
24. The Indian Show
25. Lucy's Last Birthday
26. The Ricardos Change Apartments
27. Lucy is a Matchmaker
28. Lucy Buys New Furniture
29. The Camping Trip
30. Ricky and Fred are TV Fans
31. Never Do Business with Friends
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