Wow they were bad, and it’s odd because the episodes before they arrived and the episodes after they left Great Britain were actually quite good.
shareCan't say I agree. I think all the European eps are strong, although there's some I enjoy more than others. I LOVE the fox hunt.
shareI like the "Europe" episodes. The one set in Scotland isn't great but at least it's a dream sequence.
Question: Lucy says she wants to go to Scotland to look up "her mother's relatives," but if they were "MacGillidudys" wouldn't they be her father's relatives? A small point, to be sure, but I don't think we ever learn her Mom's maiden name.
I wonder if there was ever an intent to have the group visit Germany and Spain, as these countries were referenced in episodes in which the characters were preparing for the European trip.
The post-Europe episodes I don't care for are the ones set in Florida. Except for the Orson Welles and Elsa Lanchester episodes, I think they're among the worst in the entire series. I also think the episode with "Mario the Gondalier" is pretty bad.
As far as the "MacGillicuddy" name, I questioned that several years ago. Lucy's mom does say something about looking up "our relatives". But the MacGillicuddy family wouldn't have been HER family. I suggested that maybe Lucy's mother was a single mom and it was her family.
But of course that would have never been referenced in a fifties TV show!
I really dislike those Europe episodes, not a fan of the whole Hollywood arc either.
shareThe Hollywood arc is so smartly conceived and written. Not a bad apple in the bunch, in my opinion. I do see how people prefer their New York daily lifestyle, but Desi and Jess Oppenheimer needed to expand the series. I don't think the European arc is quite as strong as the Hollywood shows, but they're still good.
share I love the Hollywood arc. Lucy could do her "celebrity hunting" in a way that made sense. I am sure the audience at the time really enjoyed seeing all those BIG name stars on the little screen. Today of course, those stars don't mean much to young viewers of the show.
Another reason why the Harpo Marx ep is still so famous. Like you, PJ, I prefer the Widmark show and, to a lesser extent, the Cornell Wilde offering. But Marx is STILL legendary, while the other men are only remembered by the TCM audience.
share Gary, as far as Harpo being LEGENDARY... you must hang out with a more sophisticated crowd of teen-agers than I do! lol
I've spoken with teens who have NO idea WHO Marlon Brando is. And he came around a lot later than the Marx Brothers. That's only one example. If a celebrity isn't trending on Facebook or some other site, he is unknown to them.
As for myself, when I saw these episodes when I was a kid, I had no idea who Richard Widmark or Cornell Wilde were. The strength of the episodes rested in Lucy's performance, i.e., wearing Bobby the bellboy's uniform or getting into an argument with the bus driver who was taking them on a tour of Hollywood movie star homes.
I watched old movies with my mom. But the only big stars I was familiar with in the ILL Hollywood episodes were Rock Hudson, Bill Holden and "the Duke". The episodes were funny even though I wasn't familiar with the big name stars in the episodes.
I don't understand what your point exactly is, PJ. You seem to think that if a teenager doesn't know who Harpo is, then he's no longer a legend. Uh, okay. I guess the same goes for two teens I worked with TEN YEARS ago who had no idea who Steve Martin is. So, according to how you think, unless you are no longer known world wide by the majority of TEENAGERS, it's time to turn in in your "legend" badge.
I'll write Steve today and let him in on the sad news that he's no longer a legend. I'll let you write to Harpo's surviving relatives.
Anyway, back to my point: Harpo Marx is a delightful I Love Lucy episode from the Hollywood arc. His work on this offering is terrific fun, and his rendering of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is quite touching. So, yes, it's quite possibly the most famous Hollywood episode of I Love Lucy.
Oops, I didn't mean to imply that Harpo Marx is NOT legendary, Gary. I meant that the young crowd I know, the under thirty bunch, is totally unaware of some of the screen legends. They don't have a sense of history and I mean recent history!
Sure there are lots of screen and sports legends, but I haven't met many young people who are familiar with them.
One example, I had a can of Arnold Palmer iced tea. I don't know if it's sold nation wide but it's sold in Pennsylvania where Mr. Palmer is from. It's half tea and half lemonade. A teen-ager asked me who he was. I figured that he was a kid and didn't know him. But his mom, who is in her thirties didn't know who he was either.
They said that they don't follow golf. But the guy is a "native son" from Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
When I was a kid I knew who Babe Ruth was along with other famous sports stars who were way before my time. There's just no sense of history today among younger people.
Yes, the legends ARE still legends. It's just that the young folks don't know them.