I Love Lucy: the complete first season

'50s TV DVDs

Entry posted by atari2600land July 31, 2010

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Well, this one I found pretty cheaply: 7 discs for $25. "I Love Lucy" is one of few '50s shows that has a cult following even though the first episode aired 58 years ago. About the only thing you can't find with Lucy on it is a PEZ dispenser. And it's airing even today (but only on the Hallmark Channel. You'd think TV Land or Nick at Nite, but they've gone to hell in a handbasket, airing stuff mostly from the 80's and 90's. ) Yep, every episode of the first season (including the Vitameatavegamin one) is here, all in their black and white glory. The only gripe I have about this is that the episodes start with the standard syndication heart opening, and the actual opening is under bonus features. At least the actual opening doesn't have TV Land's logo on it. And the quality had better be good: the package was made by CBS themselves (just like "The Honeymooners," but that's another blog entry.) And how does it stack up to the sitcom of today? I don't watch any sitcoms made today. It is a little outdated, but in a good way: since the show was sponsored by Phillip Morris, you actually see people smoking. If there's a warning in movie listings, there should probably be one on this package, but I doubt kids today are going to smoke just because they saw Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball doing it. And why do I like '50s TV shows anyway? It just wows me that the fact that I can watch what people did over 50 years ago. It has survived to this day, and now that some of them are on DVD, they will probably be preserved even longer. That, and it proves that you can actually produce a good TV show without sex and violence. Lucy did get pregnant in the second season, but none of those episodes were in the first season, and they were actually banned from using the word "pregnant!" That's '50s TV for you. If you're into this type of stuff, I can recommend two books (both made by TV Land, by the way.) The first is Nick at Nite's episode guide for classic TV shows they air (read: used to air, the book was made in the '90s.) and the second is called "TV Land To Go." This one includes a list of the Top 100 show episodes, with entries from a few different '50s shows (including "I Love Lucy," "The Honeymooners," and "The Abbott and Costello Show." Well, next time I'm going to review "Father Knows Best: The Complete Third Season", but I have to watch it first!