Search - The Lucy Show on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/25/2023...

Not as good as the I Love Lucy Show with plotline content and lower audio and video quality. Slide on over to the I Love Lucy series instead!

Can't get enough of Lucy

C. Cartmel | Bangkok, Thailand | 08/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As I am the first reviewer for these discs I will try to give as many details as I can to help you decide whether to purchase or not.



There are 30 episodes on 3discs of The Lucy Show, Lucille Ball's second major series. They are divided into Disc 1 - Lucy The Troublemaker, Disc 2 - Lucy And Friends, and Disc 3 Lucy's Wacky Adventures. The box says that the episodes has been "Re-Mastered For Best Possible Picture Quality" but I don't know about that. The picture quality is OK. It seems like it is just as it was in the '60s only being watched on a better TV set than at that time. It is very bright at times! But it is certainly watchable so this shouldn't put you off. The sound is fine.



All but two of the episodes are from season 5 and 6 (1966/1967). The other two being from the first season meaning we don't really get a good overview of the whole series and how it progressed, including not seeing Lucy's first boss Mr. Barnsdhal (Charles Lane) or Candy Moore which was disappointing.



The Episodes -

Disc 1

Lucy the Starmaker - season 6, episode 4 - 02 Oct. '67

Lucy Meets Robert Goulet - #6.8 - 30 Oct. '67

Lucy Gets a Roommate - #5.7 - 31 Oct. '66

Lucy and Carol in Palm Springs - #07 Nov. '66

Main Street USA - #5.17 - 23 Jan. '66

Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account - #6.6 - 16 Oct. '67

Lucy's Barbershop Quartet - #1.9 - 04 Feb. '63

Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower - #1.8 - 28 Jan. '63

Lucy and the Substitute Secretary - #5.14 - 02 Jan. '67

Lucy and the French Movie Star - #6.3 - 25 Sep. '67



Disc 2

Lucy Meets John Wayne - #5.10 - 21 Nov. '66

Lucy and the Flight Manager - #5.20 - 20 Feb. '67

Lucy and Paul Winchell - #5.4 - 30 Oct. '66

Lucy Flies to London - #5.6 - 17 Oct. '66

Lucy Meets Sheldon Leonard - #5.22 - 06 Mar. '67

Lucy and the Efficiency Expert - #5.13 - 12 Dec. '67 (also know as Lucy and Phil Silvers)

Mooney the Monkey - #5.12 - 05 Dec. '66 (also known as Lucy and the Monkey)

Lucy and the Ring-A-Ding Ring - #5.6 - 17 Oct. '66

Lucy Meets Tennessee Ernie Ford - #5.21 - 27 Feb. '67

Lucy Gets Caught in the Draft - #5.9 - 14 Feb. '66



Disc 3

Lucy and George Burns - #5.1 - 12 Sep. '66

Lucy Meets the Berles - #6.1 - 11.Sep. '67

Lucy, the Bean Queen - #5.7 - 26 Sep. '66

Lucy Meets the Law - #5.19 - 13 Sep. '67

Lucy Gets Trapped - #6.2 - 18 Sep. '67

Lucy the Babysitter - #5.16 - 16 Jan. '67

Lucy Metts Pat Collins - #5.11 - 28 Nov. '66

Little Old Lady - #6.7 - 23 Oct. '67 (also known as Little Old Lucy)

Viv Visits Lucy - #5.15- 09 Jan. .67

Lucy and the Submarine - #5.2 - 19 Sep. '66



Each disc also contains Radio Highlights of Lucy in 'My Favorite Husband' together with lots of Photos.



In my opinion, a 'must buy' for all Lucy lovers (especially considering the incredibly low price for what it is!). My only disappointment, together with the fact that they were nearly all from the same period, is that there were too many special guests. Too often Lucy takes a secondary and often straight-man role when a special guest takes centre stage (this was definately the case with the 'Here's Lucy' box set which had a very poor episode selection). The best episodes are the ones that pretty much just contain Lucy and the regulars and concentrate on them alone. (For example, the one with George Burns was totally boring as the scripts are often limited in such cases, but when Viv and Lucy put in a shower it is a laugh a second!).



Hope this has helped you decide!

"

Until they get it right . . .

trebe | 07/31/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Lucy Show will probably be released on DVD in season packages someday. At this time what is available is a ridiculous number of `best of' collections. This dirt-cheap collection is one option, if you want a large dose of the wacky redhead. Unfortunately the video quality is very poor, comparable to bad VHS. Images are blurry, flat and oversaturated. While the quality is horrible, you do get 30 episodes on 3 DVD's for a low price.



For fans, the episodes should bring back some warm memories. Lucy had wonderful chemistry with her costars, having worked with them before. Spunky Vivian Vance was a comic genius in her own right. Though sometimes a reluctant participant, Viv still found herself taking part in Lucy's nuttiest schemes. Gale Gordon was wonderful as Lucy's boss, Mr. Mooney. Beneath the vanity and gruff bluster, you always knew was a pretty good guy. Gordon seemed to really enjoy over the top, physical comedy. Later, quirky Mary Jane Croft replaced Viv as Lucy's sidekick.



Though no `best of' collection will satisfy every fan, most of these episodes are among the more memorable ones. The problem here is that the emphasis is a bit too heavy towards the later episodes in the series. Just two are from the period when Viv and Lucy's kids were on the show. The episodes from the early years are almost entirely omitted. A little more balance would have been nice. The standout episodes are:



Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower. Always a `do it yourselfer', Lucy and Viv attempt to save money by installing a shower. Needless to say, the project is an overflowing disaster. A truly classic Lucy and Viv misadventure.



Lucy meets John Wayne - Few but Lucy could get `The Duke' to appear on a TV sitcom. Lucy disrupts production on movie set, contributing the immortal line `Pushing up daisies', before being asked to leave.



Main Street USA - A celebration of America's small towns, Lucy leads the fight to preserve a way of life.



Lucy Gets Caught in the Draft - Victim of a draft board mix up, `Lou C Carmichael' is told to report for Army induction.



Lucy Meets Robert Goulet - Lucy enters a friend in a Robert Goulet look alike contest, submitting a life-sized cowboy photo.



Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account: The famous funny man was a close friend and frequent guest on Lucy's various projects. This episode plays up Benny's reputation as a compulsive tightwad.



Lucy Meets the Berles: In this classic, Lucy gets hired as Uncle Miltie's housekeeper. Overhearing Berle rehearsing a script with lovely Ruta Lee, Lucy believes that he is cheating on his wife, and takes action.



Lucy the Bean Queen - Never one to pass up a good deal, Lucy takes advantage of a double your money back refund offer on canned beans, to raise cash to buy furniture. Aided by Mary Jane, Lucy corners the local canned bean market.



The numerous `best of' collections for The Lucy Show often feature the same episodes, so compare them carefully before you buy. In this case, weigh the poor quality against the low price for 30 episodes. Lucy's fans might also want to look at the compilation for Here's Lucy, which features 24 remastered episodes, bonus material, and extensive commentaries by Lucy's kids, Lucille Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr. Very well done, this set is fabulous. Hopefully both The Lucy Show, and Here's Lucy will be available in full season sets of similar quality someday, and make the current best of collections superfluous.

"

This is the BEST collection of The Lucy Show out there!

Brett Heitkam | Lena, IL United States | 05/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Lucy Show has been available on DVD for years. You can usually find the DVDs in Dollar Stores or bargain bins. Generally, there are 2 to 8 episodes on each disc. I have spent years trying to collect as many episodes of this show on DVD as I could. Scouring these terrible quality DVDs, trying to figure out which episodes I had and which ones I needed, I came to the conclusion that there seemed to be just a small number of Lucy Shows available. From that small amount, these independently owned, far from perfect DVD companies just seem to pick episodes at random to release.



Finally, I stumbled upon this collection and realized that these 30 episodes are all that is available of The Lucy Show on DVD at this point. I purchased this set, hoping that the quality was good enough that I could get rid of my old scattershot Lucy Show DVDs and replace them with this small, comprehensive 3-disc set. Lo and behold, I was right! Out of all the different DVD releases I have found of the Lucy Show, this one is by far the best. Not only does it offer EVERY EPISODE that is available to the public (as of this writing), but it is also by FAR the best in terms of picture and sound quality. Now, don't get me wrong, the picture and sound are FAR from perfect; these public domain episodes will probably never look as good as the official I Love Lucy and Here's Lucy releases, which are pristine. Quality is perfectly acceptable, however, and definitely watchable. Until Paramount, or whoever owns the rights to this series, officially releases it season by season on DVD, this is the best we Lucy fans can get. Check out some of the other reviews for lists of the episodes; I see no need to take up space with that here since previous reviewers have already done it. Just know that the HILARIOUS episode Viv Visits Lucy is here on disc 3 and it is worth the price of the set by itself!!!



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ANY REAL COLLECTOR OF LUCY TV SHOWS AND MEMORABILIA. IT IS THE BEST WE HAVE FOR NOW!"