I Love Lucy Quotes

Laugh at Marriage With Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred

TVRelationshipsLucille BallI Love Lucy

8 Comments

Annie Scudder Annie Scudder
Wow. Lots of great thoughts on here. Love reading everyone's insights.
GZO GZO
If any main character in a sitcom were "normal", you wouldn't have a show. Lucy's hi-jinx were based on the fact that she wanted a more exciting life. She wasn't content just minding the home and the baby. She wanted more! She was ballsy, and really was up for any challenge posed to her. I'm not sure how that's an embarrassment to women. If anything, she was trying to move beyond being the average housewife. That said, there are a few episodes where I am actually mad at her (like when she pretends the apartment got robbed and hides so they think she's been kidnapped, just to prove a point to Ricky, the point which I don't even remember--I was livid!), so I can see what you mean by "infantile and selfish", but Lucy, overall, was a very funny character, and episodes like that were the exception, not the rule. Can you think of anyone else on TV at the time that was like Lucy, willing to take all the risks in the world to get something better for herself? No one so world-famous, at least. Also, if you notice, all of her schemes always catch up to her, so it's not like her kind of behaviour was being promoted or anything. It was simply exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness, just to get laughs. Also, very few people, in my opinion, have done better than her in terms of physical comedy. Lucille Ball was willing to do anything for a laugh. Lucille Ball was also a very sharp businesswoman, which is why I Love Lucy got as big as it did. She really didn't take crap from people, and as far as her job went, she never phoned it in. Lucille Ball the woman was very little like Lucy the character, other than she wanted to be as big as she deserved to be, and she really did enjoy making people laugh.The Honeymooners, on the other hand, were actually miserable and depressing. That apartment! Ralph and Alice were way too aggressive with each other. I wasn't sure which one was going to beat up the other first! At least in I Love Lucy, you (or at least I) can feel the love between the characters. (Alright, maybe not Fred and Ethel. But definitely Lucy and Ricky!)Anyway, I watched I Love Lucy in the 90s when it first started airing on Nick at Nite, and it basically shaped my life. I recently read her autobiography, "Love, Lucy" and I think it's a good read if you're interested in knowing Lucille Ball beyond Lucy Ricardo.
GZO GZO
If any main character in a sitcom were "normal", you wouldn't have a show. Lucy's hi-jinx were based on the fact that she wanted a more exciting life. She wasn't content just minding the home and the baby. She wanted more! She was ballsy, and really was up for any challenge posed to her. I'm not sure how that's an embarrassment to women. If anything, she was trying to move beyond being the average housewife. That said, there are a few episodes where I am actually mad at her (like when she pretends the apartment got robbed and hides so they think she's been kidnapped, just to prove a point to Ricky, the point which I don't even remember--I was livid!), so I can see what you mean by "infantile and selfish", but Lucy, overall, was a very funny character, and episodes like that were the exception, not the rule. Can you think of anyone else on TV at the time that was like Lucy, willing to take all the risks in the world to get something better for herself? No one so world-famous, at least. Also, if you notice, all of her schemes always catch up to her, so it's not like her kind of behaviour was being promoted or anything. It was simply exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness, just to get laughs. Also, very few people, in my opinion, have done better than her in terms of physical comedy. Lucille Ball was willing to do anything for a laugh. Lucille Ball was also a very sharp businesswoman, which is why I Love Lucy got as big as it did. She really didn't take crap from people, and as far as her job went, she never phoned it in. Lucille Ball the woman was very little like Lucy the character, other than she wanted to be as big as she deserved to be, and she really did enjoy making people laugh. The Honeymooners, on the other hand, were actually miserable and depressing. That apartment! Ralph and Alice were way too aggressive with each other. I wasn't sure which one was going to beat up the other first! At least in I Love Lucy, you (or at least I) can feel the love between the characters. (Alright, maybe not Fred and Ethel. But definitely Lucy and Ricky!) Anyway, I watched I Love Lucy in the 90s when it first started airing on Nick at Nite, and it basically shaped my life. I recently read her autobiography, "Love, Lucy" and I think it's a good read if you're interested in knowing Lucille Ball beyond Lucy Ricardo.
stephley stephley
I watched it in the early 70s. I completely agree that Lucille Ball was a trail blazer – but on the show, Lucy was manipulative, sneaky, infantile & selfish. Both couples were miserably passive-aggressive. (I never liked the Honeymooners either, maybe I realized the marital hi-jinx would lead to unhappiness & divorce). Liz Lemon definitely is a flawed character, way too self-deprecating. But she’s also portrayed as a self-supporting, capable professional woman – she’s able to play office politics but is also supportive of the other characters. Her love life is played for laughs but frankly, if Liz had a healthy dating life the comedy would suffer.
stephley stephley
I watched it in the early 70s.I completely agree that Lucille Ball was a trail blazer – but on the show, Lucy was manipulative, sneaky, infantile & selfish. Both couples were miserably passive-aggressive. (I never liked the Honeymooners either, maybe I realized the marital hi-jinx would lead to unhappiness & divorce). Liz Lemon definitely is a flawed character, way too self-deprecating. But she’s also portrayed as a self-supporting, capable professional woman – she’s able to play office politics but is also supportive of the other characters. Her love life is played for laughs but frankly, if Liz had a healthy dating life the comedy would suffer.
MSucre MSucre
Stephley, what was embarrassing about her? According to your profile you're a fan of 30 Rock. Liz Lemon's crazy antics are surely as embarrassing, but not to "women" in a general sense. How is Lucy different?Were you watching it in the 50s when it originally aired? I watched in the 80s, and by then women's comedy wasn't confined to marital hijinks. But given the cultural norms in the 50s, I think there's no denying that Lucy was a trail blazer.
MSucre MSucre
Stephley, what was embarrassing about her? According to your profile you're a fan of 30 Rock. Liz Lemon's crazy antics are surely as embarrassing, but not to "women" in a general sense. How is Lucy different? Were you watching it in the 50s when it originally aired? I watched in the 80s, and by then women's comedy wasn't confined to marital hijinks. But given the cultural norms in the 50s, I think there's no denying that Lucy was a trail blazer.
stephley stephley
I know she's credited with blazing trails for women, but I never loved Lucy. Even as a kid, I thought her show was an embarrassment to women.
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