Sorry about the lack of postings, but with the chaos in Egypt on Friday (History major and news junkie, after all) and spending some family time on Saturday, didn't to have a chance to post until today. I'll be making every effort to keep the blog posts daily going forward.
Now, to today's show:
I Love Lucy: Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her
Originally broadcast on CBS on Monday, November 5, 1951 at 9 PM ET.
Plot: Obsessed with a murder mystery novel, Lucy begins to wonder if Ricky is plotting to do away with her after overhearing a phone call between Ricky and his agent.
Analysis: Lucy’s mugging with the camera is what makes this one a lot of fun, especially when she thinks Ricky has drugged her. Aside from that, this show is starting to develop its formula: Lucy either makes a misconception or plots a scheme enabled by Ethel, Ricky solves the problem and we’re done in about twenty minutes. This is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it is fun to see how fast the show got it so right to become such a classic.
Continuing our profile of the actors, we turn to Vivian Vance now. Contrary to casting, Vance was actually 42 at this point in the show, 22 years younger than her on-screen husband William Frawley and only 2 years older than Lucy. She was also not the first choice for Ethel, as originally Lucy wanted another actress, Bea Benaderet, for the part. But Benaderet was already cast in the Burns and Allen television broadcasts and was unavailable. Vance also at this point had no television or movie experience, being exclusively a stage actress. Despite all these shortcomings, Vance would eventually win over Lucy and the audience over the course of the show.
Once again, the original opening is included as an extra on the DVD, so to recreate a resemblance to the original broadcast, simply watch that first, then jump to the beginning of the episode after the opening.
The Bottom Line: It may not be the funniest Lucy episode ever, but Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her continues to develop the dynamics between Lucy and Ricky and Lucy and Ethel, which is key for how the show will develop as we go along. If you are interested in seeing the episode, it is included in two formats: I Love Lucy: The Complete First Season (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lucy-Complete....97198253&sr=1-4) or I Love Lucy: The Complete Series (http://www.amazon.com/I-Love-Lucy-Comple....97198253&sr=1-1), depending on how much Lucy you may want or be able to afford.
Next time, another tale of tomorrow.
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