User reviews

I am lucky where I am they air "Heres Lucy" on weekdays so I have seen many episodes. Here's Lucy isn't as good as "I Love Lucy" but it does have its laughs. I am a fan of Lucille Ball, and Gale Gordon, and I think they did a good show. The only thing which I dislike about the series is the singing and dancing acts. Also the show relies a lot on guest stars. There are episodes which will make you laugh and others which aren't as funny. It is nice seeing Lucy work with her kids though. I can't really compare this show though to "The Lucy Show" since I have only seen about thirty episodes most of being color. But overall this series is very well done. Not as good as "I Love Lucy" but its still worth watching.

I have been watching the entire run of Here's Lucy on Tubi and to me, Lucille Ball's third sitcom is very funny. An revamping of The Lucy Show, Ball plays a widow, Lucy Carter, with a daughter Kim and a son Craig. They are played by her real life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. The one holdover from The Lucy Show was Gale Gordon, who plays her brother in law/boss Harrison Otis Carter. To me, he is the nastiest sitcom boss between Mr. Slate of The Flintstones and Louie Depalma on Taxi. The chemistry between Ball and Gordon as well as Ball's outstanding physical comedy are the keys to the show's success. The younger Lucie and Desi Jr. Bring a youthful vibe to the proceedings.

By the show's fourth season, things begin to change. Desi Jr. Leaves the show for a movie career and Lucie Arnaz appears less frequently. The show seems to lose identity as more episodes revolve around guest stars and there are episodes that resemble a variety show. What Ball should have done after the cancellation of Mayberry RFD in 1971, is expand the show to an hour and change the format to a comedy/variety show.

In the fifth season, the show really goes downhill after Ball broke her leg skiing in Colorado. The show loses a lot of the physical comedy but semiregulars Mary Jane Croft and Vanda Barra get more screen time. More focus is on the Lucy/Harry relationship as well as more guest star episodes. Ball was going to end the series after the fifth season but CBS persuaded her to return for a sixth and eventually final season.

One thing you might notice throughout the show's run is that Ball's voice gets a lot deeper as a result of years of heavy smoking. There are also a number of episodes that feature Sid Gould in various roles. Gould is a cousin of Ball's husband Gary Morton.

If you've never seen, Here's Lucy watch it on Tubi or any streaming service that carries it. You'll see a very funny show for most of its run.

Recently, I watched the four-DVD set highlighting episodes from the several seasons of this show. Considering that the final years of this ratings winner ran concurrently with such sophisticated CBS series as "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Bob Newhart," it is surprising that it lasted as long as it did. I suppose it filled a void, but seeing Lucy cavort in what is basically a fifties-format sitcom that played in the turbulent 60s/70s, is still a bit of a shock.

Granted, the production quality is great, and the near-Technicolor hues are beautiful, but the plots are hackneyed, at best.

Lucy would once again rehash the format in the disastrous "Life with Lucy" misfire of the mid-eighties.

This series plays better than its previous existence as "The Lucy Show," which itself was a mutation of "The Lucille Ball Show." Business considerations in 1968 required Lucy to reformat the show, in order to maintain ownership. Plus, she finally made it a total family affair. Lucie and Desi Jr. are fine in their roles, albeit with a tendency to over-emote. Gale Gordon is an acquired taste, although he is always the consummate professional in whatever shenanigans the script requires.

The "extras" on the DVD set are quite revealing. Lucy was known as being tyrannical on the set, and it is quite evident in the outtakes and behind-the-scenes bits. Also, it is quite disconcerting to watch Lucy blatantly read the cue-cards in almost every episode.

Vivian Vance and Ball always had great chemistry, and the episodes joining the two are among the best. The guest-star format got a bit ridiculous in this series, with seemingly 75% of the episodes revolving around a celebrity.

Gary Morton, Lucy's husband, executive produced the show, as he did its previous lives throughout the 60s. He was also the warm-up for the show, as seen in the DVD extras. I hate to say it, but there was a reason he didn't find the success that many of his fellow Borscht Belt comedians enjoyed. Obviously, Lucy wanted a producer she could control. In the outtakes, you see her yelling "cut" time and time again, and believe me, that practice isn't kosher in the business.

Certainly, I recommend catching a few episodes of this series, if only to see how a top-notch comedienne manages to strait-jacket herself with a format that limits her own talents.

This was to be the least successful of Lucy's series but yet is not a big loss from the Lucy Show. It actually kind of spun in from the old show with almost no break. The difference is Lucy is finally considered more mature in her role here.

A lot of the same folks who worked on her previous series as writers and guest stars (Milton Berle for example) are here too. Lucie Arnez and Desi Jr. came on board here with mom. Some of us teens thought Lucie Arnez was pretty attractive when we saw her. She never got the chance to try as much comedy as mom was still the star.

While this is not quite as strong as the earlier series, it still has some great moments. The divorced mom character struck a cord as in real life this woman was becoming more common. The only thing is most divorced moms in real life were bitter while Lucy was funny. I take funny over bitter myself, but that is why this show like many situation comedies put a little realty in, but still were living in a never-never land.

This series can't come close to replicating the success of "I Love Lucy" but at times it gives "The Lucy Show" a run for its money-"Here's Lucy" had scads of big-name guest stars, including, in one episode, my fave Ann-Margret.

The song she's given to perform along with Desi Jr is beneath their considerable talents, but they shine anyway. (Besides, Ann-Margret could be hawking tuna fish in commercials and she'd still outshine every actress In Hollywood.) People tuned in because they loved Lucy, so even the weaker stories slid by, carried by the skills of Ball, the appeal of Desi Jr & Lucie, and curmudgeon poster-boy Gale Gordon. All in all, it's a pleasant series that leaves you with a good feeling.

Lucille Ball is the greatest comic of all time. Here's Lucy was a fun, campy show. It was great to see Lucy, Gale, and Lucy's kids all acting together. Fans now have the complete series of I Love Lucy and The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour. I would love to see Here's Lucy released as season sets on DVD. I hope to see complete series releases of The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life With Lucy. All of these shows are important parts of Lucy's television history. If you haven't voted yet, please do so at tvshowsondvd.com. Maybe we will get some good news on a future release!! The more votes, the more fans can show their enthusiasm!! Can you imagine owning all the Lucy shows in your own collection?!?!?

Lucille Ball worked at RKO and has walk-on;s and the speaking parts and then starring roles. Other female stars at that studio were Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Maureen O'Hara yet it was Ms. Ball who along with her husband bought the studio and its 3 studio lots to be named Desilu Gower, Desilu Cahuenga and Desilu Culver (the old Selznick studio where Gone With The Win, Rebecca, and Since You Went Away were filmed.

Desilu had a string of his I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks and then hit dramatic bulls-eye with The Untouchables. The Arnaz marriage failed and Ms. Ball bought out her husband and became the first and to this day the only female to run a studio. Lucille Ball over ruled her Board of Directors and gave Herb Solow the green light to produce Mission Impossible and Star Trek two very costly shows. Lucy also approved Mannix and filmed a smash hit Desilu film Yours Mine and Ours. Capping this acticty off was a great special Lucy show Lucy in London where she dropped the school marm clothes she wore in Here's Lucy and showed a vibrant, lithe body a chorus girl 30 years younger would envy. Lucy was more "Mame" in that special than she was in the WB film.

Lucille Ball made Here's Lucy with Gale Gordon and towards the end run of the series the premise became worn. Why would a gorgeous smart woman be in so many silly situations. Liz Smith the late great columnist said Lucy should have been a magazine editor who could control a situation with a glance of her eyes.

Lucy was first choice by Sinatra for the glowering figure Angela Lansbury played in Machurian Candidate. Lucy (along with Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner ) turned down the role Geraldine Page played so brilliantly on Sweet Bird Of Youth. Lucy woman told Dick Cavett she wanted to work with JohnFord which would have been a great opportunity to be seen as the great actress she was. Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Carter were fiction. The real Lucy was a tough beautiful, glamorous smart driven woman.

I recently watched quite a bit of a 4-DVD set of "Here's Lucy!" episodes including extras such as rehearsal footage, syndication sales tapes, Thalians award show, commentary by Lucie and Desi, Jr., etc.

In spite of Lucy's neediness, bitterness, volume and high vocal pitch, I quite enjoyed her honed technique, especially in the Burton/Taylor episode where she seems to really give a damn.

Also, her clothes are very chic for the most part (nicer than all the other actors' costumes) and I especially loved the once-familiar "fallout shelter" sign in the hallway outside Uncle Harry's office! The dance number Ann-Margret does with Desi, Jr. is something to behold. The Wayne Newton episode, believe it or not, is fun. And Lucy, Lucie and Ginger Rogers dancing the Charleston is cute. Lucy loved a Charleston!

The animated Lucy puppet during the credits is adorable, but you get sick of it if you watch too many episodes!

What I really want to see are "The Lucy Show" (before "Here's Lucy!") episodes and extras, when Viv was Lucy's housemate and there were three kids living with them (not Lucy's own kids).

I highly recommend this set to Lucy fans. I think it is very well produced and I appreciate the voice over's done by Luci and Desi Jr.

However.....If I were to suggest a few things, I would rather have this show released in a complete season by season format instead of selected episodes. For instance, the Mary Tyler Moore shows would be a good example of how to release this as they are being released (although very very slowly) in a season by season packaging format. I'm not sure this will happen with "Here's Lucy" but it would sure be nice.....so here's hoping for some future volumes of this great show on DVD. Highly recommended to all even though I wished they would release ALL the shows instead of selected episodes. I give it 10 stars!

Recently I was volunteering at the local library sorting used donations. These used items are resold to pay for community programs such as guest speakers. Volunteers have first chance to purchase donated items. I was intrigued when I came across a VCR tape with the written title "Nude Painting". I was intrigued and purchased the tape thinking it was a program on how to paint nude models. However, I was treated to an 'Here's Lucy' episode where Lucille models to help a frustrated painter sell his paintings. The painter was portrayed by Danny Thomas. This was first time I had seen the show 'Here's Lucy' and I was impressed. I had expected a corny outdated show instead I was treated to a pretty good comedy show that made me laugh. Whether I was laughing at myself for being fooled, or at the comic routines I don't know.

I have always been a fan of Lucille Ball. She is the greatest commedienne of all time. To see here working with her own children was wonderful. Gale Gordon and Lucy had chemistry. You do not find that too often in a lot of television shows. This by far one of the greatest shows since "I Love Lucy."

"The Lucy Show" ended in 1968 after Lucille Ball sold her beloved Desilu studios to Paramount. With the studio went the property known as "The Lucy Show". But Lucy still wanted to entertain us, so she commissioned a slightly different format which would include what was the "Lucy Carmichael" character, with a slight change of name to "Lucy Carter", with the happy inclusion of her real-life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. This is what Lucy truly wanted, to make her show a "family affair". The series continued it's "guest star" format from the later "Lucy Shows", and returned the star to playing a mother, which was somewhat reminiscent of the early "Lucy Shows". While I haven't seen "Here's Lucy" for many years, due to the fact that the shows rerun rights are owned by a different company than the previous "Lucy" series, I have seen the sparkling restorations on DVD, and the show holds up very well, indeed. It is bittersweet indeed to witness Lucy in an episode with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and realize that they are gone now. Lucy is a legend, thank god she has left us such a legacy of laughter.

Yes, it's me again. The boy from Melbourne who reviews trash he watched in his childhood, perhaps for catharsis or to kill spare hours...

As for 'Here's Lucy'... I haven't seen this programme since 1992, when it last surfaced on free-to-air television in Australia. And I thought (hoped) the memories were fading when this show popped up in a conversation.

And that's when it happened. When I realised those memories weren't far away ...

The garish colours, the guest stars, Gale Gordon's bluster...Lucy's red hair, Lucie's screech, the musical numbers ... the dancing doll, Desi jnr, (very) dated humour ...

At the time of HL's 1992 Australian broadcast, one reviewer compared it to the after-effects of a carbohydrate-heavy meal. I agree with this reviewer. I'm not a fan of Lucy B.'s humour, and esp not this programme. But I'm glad i caught it all those years ago, if only to say i saw one of the most outrageously and unapologetically kitsch shows ever to haunt the history of television.