Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Over 50 years ago during the early years of broadcast television, the very inspired talents of Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and her then husband Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) were showcased on their hilarious television show "I Love Lucy". TV execs had initially rejected the plausibility of the show because of Desi and because they intended to tape the shows. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of Lucille Ball and Desi's obvious talents, the show first aired in 1951 and quickly became one of the most successful TV shows during all six of its regular seasons. As Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy", Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were joined by William Frawley (1877-1966) and Viviane Vance (1909-1979) as their best-friends/apartment landlords of Fred and Ethel Mertz. The first season of "I Love Lucy" that aired between 1951 and 1952 has 35 memorable episodes: 1. "The Girls Want To Go To the Nightclub": For the Mertzes' anniversary, Ethel & Lucy want to go a nightclub, but Fred & Ricky want to see the fights. 2. "Be A Pal": Thinking their marriage is going cold, Lucy joins Ricky for a poker game, then turns their apartment into a Cuban getaway. 3. "The Diet": To be in one of Ricky's shows, Lucy must lose 22 pounds. No steak for Lucy. 4. "Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her": Lucy's mystery-book reading makes her suspicious of Ricky. 5. "The Quiz Show": Lucy goes on a game show to win money after Ricky cuts her allowance. 6. "The Audition": Lucy sneaks into Ricky's latest show as Buffo the Clown. 7. "The Séance": Reading horoscopes & numerology, Lucy gives Ricky bad advice; but tries to fix it with a hilarious séance. 8. "Men are Messy": Lucy divides their apartment in half when she tires of Ricky being messy, but goes whole-hog to impress a magazine photographer. 9. "Drafted": Lucy & Ethel think that Ricky & Fred have been drafted, but the men think the girls are pregnant. 10. "The Fur Coat": Lucy thinks that a mink coat that Ricky brought home is hers, but he only rented it for a show. 11. "Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer": Lucy sneaks into Ricky's show to spy on him and chorus girl Rosemary (Helen Silver). 12. "The Adagio": Lucy wants to learn the Apache dance from a Frenchman (Shepard Menken) and makes Ricky jealous. 13. "The Benefit": Lucy gets Ricky to perform for Ethel's womens club, but only if she can perform too. 14. "The Amatuer Hour": Lucy baby-sits two terrorizing boys to make money to pay for an expensive dress. 15. "Lucy Plays Cupid": Lucy tries to get to elderly singles together, but they get the wrong ideas. 16. "Lucy Fakes Illness": Lucy pretends to go nuts in order for Ricky to let her perform, but he gets even with her. 17. "Lucy Writes a Play": Lucy writes a play for her woman's club, but when Ricky won't do it, she changes it from Cuban to English. Ricky later changes his mind, but gets the wrong script. 18. "Breaking the Lease": After a fight, Lucy & Ricky want to move, but Ethel & Fred won't end their lease; so Lucy & Ricky have a little party. 19. "The Ballet": Lucy gets ballet lessons from Madame Lamond (Mary Wickes) thinking that Ricky will let her perform at the club. Ballet & burlesque don't mix. 20. "The Young Fans": Ricky & Lucy each have teenagers (Janet Waldo & Richard Crenna respectively) with crushes on them. 21. "New Neighbors": Against Ricky's orders, Lucy tries to met their new neighbors who she comes to think are enemy agents. 22. "Fred and Ethel Fight": Lucy & Ricky help Ethel & Fred end a days-old fight, but end up in a big fight themselves. 23. "The Moustache": Lucy dons a fake beard & mustache to get Ricky to shave, but she used the wrong glue. 24. "The Gossip": When boys bet the girls that they can't stop gossipping, Ricky cheats, but Lucy gets back. 25. "Pioneer Women": On a bet, everyone tries to live in accordance with late nineteenth-century technology with hilarious results. Look out for that bread! 26. "The Marriage License": Lucy thinks her marriage liscence with Ricky is invalid due to a misspelling. 27. "The Kleptomaniac": While collecting items for a women's club bazaar, Ricky thinks Lucy is a kleptomaniac. 28. "Cuban Pals": Lucy gets jealous over a girl (now woman) who had performed with him in Cuba. 29. "The Freezer": The Ricardos & Mertzes purchase a used commercial freezer to save money, but Lucy gets locked in while trying to hide the beef. 30. "Lucy Does a TV Commercial": One of the best episodes of all time with Lucy drinking too much Vitametavegamin for a TV commercial that Ricky begrudginly allows her to do. 31. "The Publicity Agent": Lucy pretends to be the "Maharincess of Franistan" to boost Ricky's sagging popularity. 32. "Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio": Lucy & Ricky go on a radio quiz show. 33. "Lucy's Schedule": Unhappy with Lucy's disorderliness, Ricky puts her on a tight schedule; but the wife (Edith Meiser) of his new boss (Gale Gordon) starts a woman's revolution. Look out for low-flying dinner rolls! 34. "Ricky Thinks He is Going Bald": When Ricky thinks he's going bald, Lucy resorts to tortuous hair-growing methods. 35. "Ricky Asks For a Raise": When Ricky's boss (Gale Gordon) won't give him a raise, Lucy, Ethel & Fred make bogus club reservations as multiple people and promptly leave when Ricky's not performing. Paramount Home Video has no doubt done a superb job of repackaging the first season on 7 DVD's. Overall, I rate the "I Love Lucy: The Complete First Season" DVD box set with 5 out of 5 stars!