I Love Lucy - The Complete Third Season

Rating:
Summary: I Love Lucy Season Three
Review: Finally, another I Love Lucy season on DVD. Lucy, Ricky, and the Mertzes return with more of their wacky escapedes, ideas, and plots for revenge on their spouses that continue to turn out not exactly as planned. Episodes included in season three are:

Ricky's Life Story..................The Girls Go Into Business
The Sublease.......................Equal Rights
Baby Pictures.......................Lucy Tells the Truth
The French Revue................Redec. Mertzes'Apartment
Too Many Crooks.................Changin the Boys' Wardrobe
Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined...Ricky's Old Girl Friend
The Million-Dollar Idea...........Ricky Minds the Baby
The Charm School................Sentimental Anniversary
Fan Magazine Interview.........Oil Wells
Ricky Loses His Temper.........Home Movies
Bonus Bucks........................Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation
Lucy is Envious....................Lucy Writes a Novel
The Club Dance...................The Black Wig
The Diner...........................Tennessee Ernie Visits
Tennessee Ernie Hangs On.....The Golf Game
Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress

Rating:
Summary: 3RD SEASON DVD IS SUPERB!
Review: For us 20 something year old's, all we have are our grandparents to remember when I Love Lucy was on the air but this show is not just limited to those with gray hair and bifocals. All ages can enjoy this hilarious clean comedy. Parents can definitely be comforted knowing that their kids' minds won't be warped because due to controversial material that are part of sitcoms today. TV Land only shows I Love Lucy once or twice a day, and I can't remember the last time I actually watched it on TV. Buying the DVD is highly recommended...you can never get sick of Lucy and Ethel's antics....all they need to do is put out the last four seasons and us Lucy maniacs are in heaven!

Rating:
Summary: Welcome "I Love Lucy" Season Three!
Review: I am happy that CBS and Paramount have released another season of "I Love Lucy." I have watched this series in its perpetual repeats my entire life and owning these DVD sets and being able to watch classic "Lucy" anytime I want is terrific.

I'm a big fan of "I Love Lucy" episodes set in the Ricardo's New York City apartment. Season Three contains 31 really enjoyable episodes of this variety. There are no Hollywood stars or European locales just fun situations involving Lucy, Ricky, Ethel and Fred. Of course, there are still all of our favorite "Lucy" antics. She tries to get into Ricky's show ("The French Revue"), she fights with Ethel ("Lucy and Ethel Buy The Same Dress") and she gets into those outrageous situations only she can get into ("Bonus Bucks").

This set also includes one of my all-time favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes, "Lucy is Envious." This is the one where Lucy and Ethel pledge $500 to a charity of Lucy's snotty school friend and in order to raise the money they take a job dressing up as Martian women for a publicity stunt for a movie. The ending scene in this episode is especially funny.

As with Season Two, they have packaged the entire season (31 episodes) into a cardboard sleeve that holds five slim cases containing the five DVD discs. The whole season of classic episodes will take up a spot on your DVD shelf about two inches wide but the entertainment is much more enormous.

The extras are comparable to the Season Two set. You will find original openings and transitions, some deleted scenes used to bridge continuity when shows were rerun, some commercials that Lucy and Desi did to promote their films, etc., there are flubs, and some radio shows of Lucy's "My Favorite Husband" series. What is missing is commentaries by either Lucy experts or surviving cast members or crew. I would have found it interesting to have had "Lucy" writers Bob Carroll, Jr. and Madelyn Pugh's commentaries included. Commentaries probably would have meant a bigger investment from CBS, so maybe that's why we have none.

For the most part the visual quality of the episodes is outstanding. I have never seen some of these shows look so sharp and clear with rich shades of gray and lots of picture detail. This is the good news. The bad news is there are two episodes, "Sentimental Anniversary" and "Bonus Bucks" (a favorite of mine), that are of far inferior quality. These two episodes have a muddy look with very little picture definition. When these are played side by side with the pristine episodes they really look bad. I don't know how they slipped these two poor quality transfers onto the DVD set. This is my biggest complaint. I hope CBS doesn't let this happen on any more Lucy sets.

Rating:
Summary: A Dress Shop, Home Movies, Telling the Truth & Cousin Ernie
Review: 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 third season of "I Love Lucy" that aired between 1953 and 1954 has 31 memorable episodes:

1. "Ricky's 'Life' Story": Not happy about being ignored in Ricky's magazine interview, Lucy gets back at Ricky.

2. "The Girls Go Into Business": Lucy & Ethel purchase a dress shop, but things don't turn out as profitably as they had imagined.

3. "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress": Getting a rare opportunity to perform on TV for their women's club, Lucy & Ethel purchase the same dress.

4. "Equal Rights": When Lucy & Ethel demand equal rights from Ricky & Fred, the men only think that they are getting back at them at a restaurant.

5. "Baby Pictures": Lucy's jealousy over Carolyn Appleby's (Doris Singleton) baby as compared with Little Ricky is not advantageous to Ricky's upcoming appearance on a TV show hosted by Carolyn's husband.

6. "Lucy Tells the Truth": Lucy bets Ricky that she can tell the truth for 24 hours and drives everyone crazy.

7. "The French Revue": Ricky bets Lucy $50 that she won't be able to sneak into his new French review club act.

8. "Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment": Lucy helps Ethel & Fred redecorate their apartment, including new paint and new upholstery with obvious results.

9. "Too Many Crooks": Ricky thinks Lucy is the notorious "Madame X" that has been robbing nearby apartments; she's really been collecting objects for a club bazaar.

10. "Changing the Boys' Wardrobe": Disgusted by Ricky & Fred's aging wardrobe, Lucy & Ethel sell their husband's old clothes to a second-hand man.

11. "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined": A visit to an eye doctor doesn't help Lucy audition for a jitterbug number that she has practiced for.

12. "Ricky's Old Girlfriend": Lucy's worried about Ricky's reaction to a visit in NY by one of his old Cuban girlfriends: Carlotta Romero.

13. "The Million-Dollar Idea": Lucy & Ethel's TV commercial to sell Lucy's salad dressing ends up doing much better than expected.

14. "Ricky Minds the Baby": Ricky doesn't do as good a job as Lucy of taking care of Little Ricky.

15. "The Charm School": Lucy & Ethel go to charm school to keep Ricky & Fred interested in them.

16. "Sentimental Anniversary": Lucy & Ricky want to have a quiet wedding anniversary, but Fred & Ethel have other ideas.

17. "Fan Magazine Interview": Lucy & Ricky prepare for a fan magazine interview, but a quarrel between them could change the interview outcome.

18. "Oil Wells": The Ricardos' new neighbors want them to invest in oil wells.

19. "Ricky Loses His Temper": Lucy bets Ricky that he can't keep his temper and that she won't buy any new hats.

20. "Home Movies": When Ricky gets the opportunity to do a film audition, Lucy, Ethel & Fred create their own film that Lucy edits with Ricky's home movies of Little Ricky.

21. "Bonus Bucks": Lucy & Ethel become obsessed with trying to win money with 'bonus bucks'.

22. "Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation": Lucy & Ethel go on a game show to try and win a trip to Hawaii to be with Ricky.

23. "Lucy Is Envious": Lucy is too ashamed to admit that she can't afford a $500 donation to a rich friend's charity.

24. "Lucy Writes a Novel": Lucy decides to write a novel, but doesn't like the response that she gets from an interested publisher.

25. "Lucy's Club Dance": When Lucy & Ethel's 'all-girl' orchestra rehearse horribly for a club dance, Ricky has to think fast since Lucy put his name as their orchestra leader.

26. "The Black Wig": To test Ricky's fidelity, Lucy dons a black wig to tempt him; but Fred knows all about the scheme.

27. "The Diner": When Ricky decides to quit show business, he & Fred purchase a diner; but everyone isn't too happy with their new duties.

28. "Tennessee Ernie Visits": When Cousin Ernie (Tennessee Ernie Ford, 1919-1991) pays the Ricardos an unexpected visit, Lucy tries to scare him away.

29. "Tennessee Ernie Hangs On": Still staying with the Ricardos, Lucy once again tries to get him to leave by pretending that she & Ricky are impoverished.

30. "The Golf Game": Wanting to spend more time with Ricky & Fred, Lucy & Ethel get the men to teach them how to play golf; but it isn't how most people play the game.

31. "The Sublease": Planning to be gone for a while, Lucy & Ricky sublet their apartment; but Lucy (per usual) changes her mind and wants to get their apartment back from the timid Mr. Beecher (Jay Novello, 1904-1982).

Paramount Home Video's superb job of packaging all 32 episodes of the second season of "I Love Lucy" onto 5 DVD's is a good indication as to how they will similarly package the third season. Overall, for superb packaging and a great price, I rate the "I Love Lucy: The Complete Third Season" DVD box set with an anticipatory 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth The Money!
Review: What can I say about I Love Lucy? It's one of the best sitcoms ever made. I am expecting Season 3 to be a great box set. The video and audio quality on the first 2 seasons are as good as they can be and are in pretty good condition considering the shows age. They have a good amount of extras as well. I was very happy to find it at such a good deal at Amazon.