The Premiere Season
James Hiller | Beaverton, OR | 05/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the season that "I Love Lucy" fans have been waiting for on DVD. California, here we come! The Ricardos and the Mertzs travel to the sunny town of Hollywood to persue Ricky's film star dream. The end result is some of Lucy's most hilarious and memorable moments.
In order to star in the upcoming mvie "Don Juan", Ricky is whisked off to California to set his sights on the silver screen, and of course, in tow, brings Lucy, Fred and Ethel. The writer, sensing a goldmine ahead, didn't rush the foursome out to the Golden State right away, but let the momentum build up. The pre-traveling episodes are as rich as the rest of them. A particular favorite is when Ricky buys the car they plan to drive out in and Lucy needs to learn to drive it. Another, Fred packing the car a little too full. Once on the road, the foursome experience many adventures along the way, including a revisit of the hilarious Tennesse Ernie Ford and a visit to Ethel's home town.
Once they land in Hollywood, though, watch out. Viewed together, these episodes are the some of the best in the series. The acting and comedic timing of all four leads is impeccable. The writing is high quality and without fault. The plethora of guest stars that dance through the episodes are some of the brightest in the mid 50's, including a classic episode with Harpo Marx.
Were I to tell someone who hadn't ever seen one episode of this amazing show, I'd plug them into this season first. Certainly, its a great introduction to one of the greatest series ever."
It looks magnificent, too!
BR | LA, CA | 09/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One must note that this is the first time that the "I Love Lucy" episodes have been digitally cleaned up: both the sound and the picture have been put through rigorous computer programs to clean up the look and sound of the original. No longer will you hear hissing or bad audio edits. No more will you see patched film breaks or projector scratches or film splotches. This new batch of "Lucy" episodes looks almost like it was produced yesterday instead of over 50 years ago!"