CBS/Paramount is celebrating the 75th anniversary of I Love Lucy with a re-release of the series on Blu-ray. The set includes seasons 1-6 plus seasons 7-9 of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. All have been wonderfully restored with lossless audio. The set also includes hours of extras. If you haven’t picked up the 2024 Blu-ray release, this is a must own for Lucy fans.
When CBS wanted to turn Lucille Ball’s radio show My Favorite Husband into a television series, she refused to do it without her real-life husband bandleader Desi Arnaz playing her on-screen husband. The network reluctantly agreed. Debuting in 1951, I Love Lucy—the first scripted series to be shot on 35mm film in front of a studio audience—was a major success. And has been a constant presence on television since then.
The series focuses on the lives of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) living in New York City. Ricky is a band leader at a local club. A housewife, Lucy wants more than anything to be in showbusiness, but Ricky is adamantly against it. She occasionally auditions against his wishes, often in disguise. While they clearly love each other, many episodes have Lucy and Ricky one upping each other for general supremacy. Sometimes Lucy wins, sometimes Ricky wins, but they make up in the end.
They live in an apartment, and are good friends with their landlords and neighbors, Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance), who get in on the shenanigans. Ethel is the perfect partner in crime for Lucy. Some of my favorite episodes have the duo getting into trouble. Who doesn’t remember the chaotic chocolate factory conveyor belt, the grape stomping antics, or when they’re stuck on a ledge? Vivian Vance doesn’t always get enough credit for her comic chops, but she and Lucille Ball have wonderful comic chemistry.
While much of the first three seasons of I Love Lucy takes place in the Ricardos apartment, season four finds the Ricardos and the Mertzes in Los Angeles while Ricky films a movie, providing an excuse for guest appearances by Eve Arden, William Holden, and Richard Widmark, among others. After finishing the film, season five has the gang traveling in Europe, as Ricky tours with his band. Guest stars include John Wayne and Charles Boyer. Season six ends with the Ricardos and the Mertzes moving out to the Connecticut countryside.
After I Love Lucy ended its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings in 1957, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was a collection of thirteen one-hour specials that aired occasionally from 1957 to 1960. This was essentially a continuation of I Love Lucy, with the same cast of characters. With the Ricardos and the Mertzes still living in Connecticut, Ricky commutes to New York City, where he owns Club Babalu, and Lucy is still trying to get into show business.
While these last shows are still very good, one problem is length. Many of the episodes don’t have enough story to fill out an hour and feel drawn out. There are numerous celebrity guest stars to help move things along. It’s great to see Tallulah Bankhead, Milton Berle, Ida Lupino, and others.
Presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, I Love Lucy looks wonderful considering its age. Sourced from original 35mm negatives, episodes have a welcome crispness. Clarity and detail are surprisingly refined, particularly beginning in season three. Contrast is consistent throughout, with black levels leaning toward dark gray, while shadow detail shows nice delineation. Occasional aliasing is evident during some wide shots, particularly those featuring checkered clothing. There are some brief moments of shimmering, but fans should largely be happy with this set.
The audio for seasons one and two is presented in Dolby Digital Mono, while seasons three through nine are presented in DTS-HD MA Mono. The front focused presentation handles this dialogue heavy series well. The conga rhythms heard in Ricky’s nightclub have a nice, energetic feel. Dialogue is clean, clear, and concise throughout.
English SDH subtitles are available. Seasons one and two also have Spanish subtitles.
The 33-disc set contains a plethora of extras:
- I Love Lucy Costume & Makeup Tests
- “I Love Lucy: The Very First Show” (1990)
- 1951 Promo
- Audio Commentary
- Before and After
- Behind the Scenes
- On-Set Color Home Movies
- The Sunday Lucy Show
- Meet Marc Daniels
- Fancy Editing
- 1952 Promo
- Flashbacks
- Job Switching: Colorized Version
- Job Switching: French-Canadian Version
- Meet William Asher
- Behind the Scenes
- Stars in the Eye
- CBS Eyes
- Syndicated Version
- Welcome Little Ricky
- Heart Fund PSA
- Flashbacks
- Meet Karl Freund
- The Red Skelton Show (Clip)
- Spanish Main Title
- I Love Lucy: The Movie
- Flashbacks
- Season 3 and Network Promos
- March of Dimes PSA
- Promos for the Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz film The Long, Long Trailer
- Community Chest PSA
- Olympic Fund PSA
- Christmas With The Greatest Show on Earth
- Heart Fund PSA
- Promo for the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz film Forever, Darling
- Original opening/closing segments for reruns
- Colorized version of “Lucy and the Loving Cup” restored in HD
- Newly discovered and restored flashback sequence for “The Black Wig”
- The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Promo
- Desilu Playhouse Promo
- The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Summer Rerun Sponsor Material
- Desilu/Westinghouse Sponsor Presentation
- Eye on CBS Segment
