When this first aired at the end of 1964, this plot line hadn't been as overused as it would be in later years, but this episode has very little to offer. Vivian Vance does not appear in it and we only see Gale Gordon in the opening scene, where he is dressed as a Scout troop leader. Lucy believes the kids will think of her as a bad mother if she doesn't get them tickets to see Danny Kaye (What???).
There are so many things wrong here so I'll start off with the one good thing: Lucy wears a stunning cape and hat ensemble that makes her look ultra chic and sophisticated. When she stalks Danny at a restaurant, she tries to blend in with the models who are putting on a fashion show there. This bit is done much more effectively in the Here's Lucy episode "Lucy's Working Daughter". Danny performs an impromptu comedy routine for the mature gentlemen he's sitting with, but it's not very funny.
During their interactions, he calls Lucy "young lady" several times (Groan). Predictably, before the fade-out, he ends up with a plate of food all over him and, undeterred, Lucy follows him to his hotel. There are a bunch of teenage groupies waiting for him outside who rip his clothes off as if he were one of The Beatles (another WHAT???). I wasn't born yet, but I highly doubt Boomer teens would be going crazy for a variety entertainer in his mid-Fifties back in 1964-even Paul Anka would have been a stretch by that point.
She bribes the doorman to borrow his unform (this is where the Lucy image on the Season 3 DVD cover comes from) and resumes pestering Mr. Kaye until he agrees to let her and the kids be extras on his TV special. After all this, the writers don't even bother to include Chris and Jerry in the episode. All we have is Lucy remaining on stage after all the other extras have departed, throwing Danny off his cues until he finally gives up and just decides to include her in the act. A few bars of "Hey Look Me Over" are heard when the TV special segment begins.
I think this episode--more than any other of its kind--has Lucy spending the bulk of it being intrusive, pushy and making a nuisance of herself. Worth seeing only for her fabulous outfit, or if you have a fetish for Scout Leader or Doorman uniforms. Of note, Candy Moore has gone on record to state that Danny Kaye was one of the very few guest stars to whom Lucille Ball deferred, besides Ethel Merman.
