I Love Blogging about Lucy

I was sure I had done this blog already, but I haven't.  I was looking through a list of TV series for inspiration and Lucy was there and I was thinking "I've done this one, right?"  But I haven't.  So without further ado, here's Lucy.  (Actually, I'm not covering Here's Lucy.  That'll be another blog.)



1942--THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR--"Lucy takes a Cruise"--Lucy and her friend Susie McNamera (who will go on to be a PRIVATE SECRETARY) go on a cruise where Lucy meets her future husband Ricky Ricardo and coincidentally her future landlords/best friends, the Mertzes.  As my friend Toby O'Brien has pointed out, this may be the first television crossover.  It is the very first episode of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, which was a continuation of I Love Lucy.  It aired 6 November 1957.



1951 to 1957--I LOVE LUCY--The story of Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, and their best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz.  Ricky is  in show business, and Lucy is usually trying to get into the act, causing a mess in the process.



December 1951--I LOVE LUCY--"Drafted"--Santa makes a brief appearance.

1952 to 1955--I LOVE LUCY--A comic strip ran that was in canon.

1952 - 1958--ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (TELEVISION SERIES)--Clark Kent moves to Los Angles (a great Metropolis) and becomes Superman.  NOTES:  THERE ARE A LOT OF HINTS LEADING THAT THIS SERIES IS IN CHICAGO, BUT AS TOBY O'BRIEN POINTED OUT, THEY HAVE TO BE NEAR THE DESERT, BECAUSE WHENEVER THEY LEAVE THE CITY, THEY SEEM TO BE IN THE DESERT.  SO I'M THINKING L.A.  IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THE TWO SUPERMEN LIVING FAR FROM EACH OTHER, TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY DIDN'T INTERACT MORE OFTEN.  THIS SERIES WILL CROSS WITH I LOVE LUCY, WHICH IS WHY SUPERMAN EXISTS IN THE TVCU.  Apparently whoever designed the architecture of Mayberry had also worked up in the Metropolis area.  Perhaps, like Mike Brady, he just keeps putting out the same designs over and over.  Note that because of the Wizard, the world had forgotten that Superman existed, so when this Clark makes his debut, the world knows him as the first and only Superman.  This Superman is very public, and the world knows of his existence.  He inspires a second age of super-heroes (and in fact, another age a thousand years in the future!)

May 4, 1954--THE BUICK-BERLE SHOW--Fred and Ethel Mertz appear.

1954 to 1962--I LOVE LUCY--Dell Comics published an I Love Lucy comic book that is part of the canon.

December 25, 1956--I LOVE LUCY--"1956 Christmas Show"--Lucy and the gang meet Santa, who pops in in Christmas morning.





January 1957--I LOVE LUCY--"Lucy and Superman"--In 1957, famed musician Ricky Ricardo wanted to get George Reeves to appear as Superman for his son's birthday party.  Ricky had a lot of Hollywood connections, and it looked like it was going to work.  But wait.  The events of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN are real.  Well, remember how those Fleisher cartoons were based on true stories?  So was the show.  The folks at DC were integral in the writing, and the casting of the show.  The folks at DC knew a secret though.  While most people thought Superman was a creation of DC Comics, in fact, they were getting their stories from Superman for the most part, though some things they got from the Planet stories and some they did make up.  So when they cast Reeves, they found someone who was the splitting image practically of Superman.  Now back to the story.  Reeves had a scheduling conflict and couldn't come to the party.  Ricky's wife Lucy, feeling bad, dressed as Superman.  But unexpectedly, Superman showed up with Ricky.  Now I say Superman, not Reeves.  At first, everyone (except the kids) thinks it's Reeves.  Sure he flies in, but it's in a way like seen on TV, where it could have been merely a stunt.  But then, when a heavy piano needs to be moved, Ricky with the help of Fred and Ethel Mertz, try to move it, but the combined strength of all three cannot budge it.  Then Superman moves it quickly and easily with one hand as if it was light as a feather.  And that's how we know.  He never breaks character, because he's not acting.  It is Superman.  (This takes place in the I Love Lucy episode "Lucy and Superman", and even in the credits, he's listed as Superman.)



1957 to 1960--THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR--After the end of the series, this show featured several specials continuing the series.

1958 to 1959--WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE--After the end of the series, this show featured several specials continuing the series.

December 1958--THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR/I LOVE LUCY--The Williams (of THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW) take a vacation in Connecticut.  They rent the home of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.

January 1959--THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW/WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE--"Lucy Upsets the Williams Household"--The Ricardos come pay the Williams a visit.

November 1959--SUNDAY SHOWCASE--Lucy and Ricky appear.

1959--THE ANN SOTHERN SHOW--Lucy Ricardo appears.

November 1959--SUNDAY SHOWCASE--"The Milton Berle Special"--Lucy and Ricky Ricardo appear.

1966--ADDAMS FAMILY--Santa pops in for a scene similar to that in the classic I LOVE LUCY episode.

1993--SESAME STREET STAYS UP LATE--Oscar the Grouch mentions he has cousins named Fred and Ethel.

1997--CONSPIRACY THEORY--Besides having crossover ties to both Mission: Impossible and the Man from U.N.C.L.E., Fred Mertz is also mentioned as a real person!!!

ALTERNATE REALITIES:

OLD TIME RADIO UNIVERSE--There exists a pilot for an I Love Lucy radio broadcast.  Because the script is based on the pilot of the TV show, but with changed dialogue, it can't fit in the TVCU.

SKITLANDIA--The Ricardos and Mertzes appear on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE COMPLEAT AL, THE 'WEIRD AL' YANKOVIC VIDEO LIBRARY:  HIS GREATEST HITS, MAD TV, and THE RICHARD BEY SHOW.