TV Show Review: I Love Lucy Season 1 Volume 2

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Plenty of laughs from a master

Cons: The pieces are still coming together

The Bottom Line:

The laughs continue

As writers find characters

Early episodes

Still Laying the Foundation

Like many great shows, I Love Lucy started slow. Sure, it was still funny. But the laughs in the first half of season one don't reach the pinnacle they would once the show was established.

All the pieces are in place. Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) live in New York City. She stays home while he works as a band leader at a night club. Their best friends are their landlords, Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance).

This disc features four more episodes from the first season. Included in the set are:

"Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her" - Lucy keeps getting so caught up in the murder mystery novel she is reading that she doesn't want to put it down. When Ricky jokes about killing her, she takes it seriously. But a misunderstood conversation the next day makes it even worse.

"The Quiz Show" - Lucy is desperate to balance her household accounts. She's so desperate she goes on the radio show "Females are Fabulous" and agrees to pretend that a stranger was her real first husband.

"The Audition" - This is a remake of the unaired pilot (available on the volume one disc). Ricky has an audition for a television show, and Lucy wants to get into the act. Even though Ricky turns her down, it's Lucy to the rescue when Buffo the Clown gets hurt.

"The Seance" - Lucy's sudden interest in numerology and the supernatural plays havoc with Ricky's career. Fortunately, a seance may be just the thing to give him a second chance.

There are plenty of laughs on this disc. Lucy's comic timing is impeccable, and the other actors have the perfect reaction to her antics. And I much prefer this version of "The Audition" to the unaired pilot. This version is slimmer, faster, and funnier.

As I said earlier, however, the episodes on this disc still have some serious flaws. Part of the problem comes from the writing. The three writers who were working on the show at the time had been the writers on Lucy's radio show "My Favorite Husband." They obviously knew what Lucy was capable of doing. They aren't as familiar with the other actors, however, and Ricky, Fred, and Ethel are still supporting characters. Heck, Fred doesn't even appear in "The Quiz Show," and Ethel suffers the same fate in "The Audition."

The production is also a step down. The cameras don't quite get out of the way fast enough or catch a glimpse of something we aren't supposed to see. But I'm willing to give them a break here. They were pioneering a brand new way of recording a show. The occasional flaw is to be expected while people are learning.

And here's an interesting note for TV trivia fans. If you look closely in these episodes, Lucy and Ricky are almost sleeping in the same bed. True, they have twin beds. But the twin beds are right next to each other. Before the season is out, those beds will be separated. But I always find that fun while watching these early shows.

There was no learning curve with CBS when it came to the extras on this disc. It's loaded with features to delight anyone. They've got information on the guest stars for all four episodes, the original Phillip Morris opening, a couple of restored scenes that were cut in the 50's, and some trivia about these episodes. They've also got "flubs," mistakes that made it into the episodes. Finally, there are two complete episodes of "My Favorite Husband" that inspired two of the shows on this disc. And they certainly prove my point that this show was really being written for Lucy at this point.

The picture and sound are fine, certainly better then anything we see on TV these days. However, they aren't as clear as the later season releases. I've heard rumors that they hadn't been digitally restored yet, so that might be part of the problem. I think part of it, too, is the uneven lighting that was happening at the time. Yes, the show certainly had some kinks to work out still.

When the show was originally released on DVD, the first season was sold on nine separate volumes. This is the second of those. The season was later released as a seven disc set. If you are a fan of Lucy, I recommend you skip these individual discs and go straight to the full season set. You'll save money and shelf space.

The best was definitely yet to come with this season and this series. But that doesn't mean the episodes here aren't funny. They still make me laugh 50+ years after they first aired. Now that's some great comedy.