MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Just a Nonsense Comment

Just a Nonsense Comment

posted 7 years ago by [email protected] (5486)
14 replies | jump to latest

Sometimes things on ILL make no sense. I'm not talking about the great sight gags like the after effects of Lucy falling in a vat of starch, landing in a palm tree or riding a runaway lawn mower through Connecticut. lol

You had to take all that physical comedy with a grain of salt. Lucy really took a beating and survived against all odds.

But sometimes little bits of dialogue made no sense. In the Hollywood episode when they are buying a car, they are so excited when Fred comes home with a Cadillac.
Lucy grabs her coat and says, "I hope little Ricky gets back in time to see it." He was off somewhere with Mrs. Trumbull.

That's a "what?" on so many levels. "Gets back in time", in time for what? Fred bought the car, it wasn't a rental, presumably it was going to STAY in front of the house! And little Ricky lived there, Mrs. Trumbull was bringing him back sometime that day. It's not like he was off at college!

And why would a toddler be so excited to see it? He wasn't even talking yet. I could understand if "little Ricky" was seventeen. He'd be excited at the prospect of the family getting new wheels. He'd probably want to drive it. But why would a baby care about a car?

And when Ricky bought the Pontiac, Lucy asked him to run and get Mrs. Trumbull to sit with the baby while they went downstairs to look at the new car. So apparently that time, even though little Ricky was on the premises, Lucy had no desire to show him the car. lol

I just thought it was a comment that made no sense.

Seemed like a silly remark to make in light of the fact that the baby couldn't even be carried down a few flights of stairs to see the new car when he WAS home!

[–] Gubbio (3893) 7 years ago

Meh ???

I stand by the opinion that "Leetle Reekie" should have NEVER been written in as a character.

He was NOT needed for Lucy's brand of shenanigans, and the writers constantly had to make reference to his whereabouts -- so that it didn't seem that Lucy had abandoned him.

(Years ago, some posters here thought that Lucy was a bad mother, because she was always running out the door, pawning the kid off on the Mertz's or Mrs. Trumbull.)

Keith Thibodeaux was a very cute kid, but the character was totally unnecessary.

_

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

Was Little Ricky written into the show because Lucy was obviously very pregnant while filming, so it had to be done?

[–] Gubbio (3893) 7 years ago

Was Little Ricky written into the show because Lucy was obviously very pregnant while filming, so it had to be done?

That's the usual argument people give.

But, I still maintain that Lucy could have been shot from the waist up or hidden behind furniture. It's been done that way before.

My feeling is that the Arnaz's were happy and trying to make their marriage work, so they wanted their on-screen counterparts to become parents.

The kid was total deadwood and not needed.

_

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

Yes, but since the show was filmed live, would it have been practical to try to shoot her always waist up and behind things? I mean even after much rehearsal, she could accidentally not hit her mark and her pregnant body would be live on camera. Or, even after much rehearsal, one of the three cameramen may not get the right shot and accidentally film Lucy full bodied.

[–] [email protected] (5486) 7 years ago

I read that Desi did not want to "shoot around" his wife's pregnancy. He said he was excited and "I wanted to talk about my child."

Other shows have written around an actress's pregnancy, but here the stars of the show were expecting and they wanted the baby IN it.

On 'McMillan and Wife', Susan Saint James was pregnant in the first season. They wrote it into the show, but the next season the baby was forgotten about.

Later on, Susan Saint James was pregnant again while starring in 'Kate and Allie'. I remember they had some creative ways to disguise her pregnancy. In one episode she wore a giant bunny costume for a Halloween party. And while sick in bed, Kate reminisced in flashbacks about when she and Allie (Jane Curtin) were expecting at the same time.
They hid Shelley Long's pregnancy on 'Cheers'. But she had a whole bar to hide behind!
The Arnazes were so excited I think they were oblivious to how a baby would throw a monkey wrench into the show.
There could've been a way to have it both ways. They could've started mentioning their son Ricky Jr. who was an adolescent and conveniently away at boarding school! That way they could've done the pregnancy episodes as flashbacks.

"Remember when you were expecting?" type stories. All the baby stories could have been "flashbacks" when Lucy was expecting. But they would never have gone for that idea.

And Lucy ALWAYS "hit her marks". ha! When Lucy meets John Wayne, she knocks Desi out of the way because he's in the way of HER mark as she runs to greet John Wayne. It's mentioned on the DVD extra. "Get in Lucille Ball's way at your own risk" or something like that. She always knew her marks.

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

I think that's great! Really romantic. I know Lucy was an older mother giving birth, so they may had been trying to get pregnant for a while and super excited about it finally happening. That puts a whole new perspective on it, then. I love the episode when Ricky sings to Lucy about the baby. It's really sweet. Thanks for this information.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

I completely disagree - Little Ricky bonded Fred and Ethel to Lucy and Ricky, by becoming his God
parents. Secondly, too many great episodes were inspired by him, not the least of which, involve
Carolyn Appleby, a huge asset to the show. I cannot imagine ILL without "Baby Pictures",
"Superman", or any of a host of others. Also, there would be no Mrs. Trumble without Little Ricky,
and she was a charming character - utterly delightful in "Never Do Business With Friends" and
"Ricky's Movie Offer" (she tries to sing an audition!). So many aspects to the series wouldn't have
been there without him.

Little Ricky also softened Lucy. she loved her baby, and it made people relate to her more. The
baby also strengthened Lucy and Ricky's marriage.

What was so smart was not "Jumping the shark" was not having Lucy pregnant a second time (as they
foolishly did on "Bewitched"). Little Ricky never interrupted the comedy or got in the way of
those great scripts. Even in the end, it was great, for instance, having him responsible for hiding
all those eggs! His character simply inspired too many scripts.

I'm no fan of TV shows that have youngsters carrying the show, or being so adorable that we're
supposed to coo every time they're on camera. But Little Ricky was never overdone. Sure, there's
a few in the sixth year - "Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright" - that I'm not crazy about. But I LOVE
"Little Ricky Leans to Play the Drums." Everyone trapped by that "baby bongo beater!"

So I stand by MY opinion that he was indeed an asset to the series.

[–] Gubbio (3893) 7 years ago

So I stand by MY opinion that he was indeed an asset to the series.

That's why they make Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. ;-)

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

I was thinking about the episode when Little Ricky hides the chickens and the Mertzes and Ricardos almost part ways, he was integral to that plot, definitely. I think you have a good point about the audience being able to relate more to Lucy as mother than as Lucy as exceptionally stylish housewife. It was the Baby Boom, after all. The Superman and Baby Picture episodes were good, as you mention. One character Little Ricky REALLY softened was Fred. Tight fisted, old Fred was wrapped around Little Ricky's finger and shelled out money to go take Little Ricky to baseball games and things like that. The pet episode when Little Ricky brings home the puppy is so sweet because Fred tries to be the heavy, but can't throw out the puppy since Little Ricky announces he named it after his favorite person- Fred!

If Desi made an emotional decision to include his wife's pregnancy and their child, I think that is very charming. I don't think Little Ricky takes away from the series.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

Absolutely....I had forgotten about how Fred was softened by him.

On many series, I HATE a baby as an addition. "All in the Family" comes to mind. To me, this
great series lost its edge when Mike and Gloria moved next door and had a BABY. Yuck.

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

I never saw All in the Family. I hate when kids on television or movies act unnaturally. They say things that children just would never say, it is annoying. I know a lot of people hate Leave it to Beaver because it is too 'perfect' but the kids on the show say things kids would say and they think the way kids think. The writers on that show knew kids and how they think.

Little Ricky also brought in Lucy's mother more into the show, which was an addition. Ricky had to put up with two silly women at once.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

"Leave it to Beaver": I never liked that show because I thought June and (especially) Ward
were extremely cold parents. By contrast, I LOVED "Dennis the Menace" because I
thought Alice and Henry were very sweet parents. Plus Joseph Kearns as Mr. Wilson was
hilarious. Not into "kiddie" shows, but that one's an exception.

[–] PlaintiveMelody (245) 7 years ago

I don't think I ever saw Dennis the Menace. Lol, I like Ward, I think he is a warm dad, and understanding. It's funny how people's perceptions vary. I like Ward's lectures to the boys.

[–] [email protected] (5486) 7 years ago

gbennett- I do agree with you. Having a baby made Lucy more well rounded. All four characters were less self involved when they focused on the baby's well being.

And he cemented the friendship of the two couples. They became more like family. Little Ricky was the catalyst for many stories. The Ricardos used his college fund to guilt the Mertzes into splitting the stock in "Oil Wells."

Ethel- "That's hitting a rich godmother below my money belt." lol

The nursery school episode was funny. Lucy was against it at first. Then the baby got tonsillitis after attending.

Lucy- "This is all your fault. He inherited his weak tonsils from you. Everyone knows Cubans have weak tonsils."
Every mother could relate to Lucy sneaking into the hospital to stay the night with her child.
And as PlaintiveMelody said, little Ricky brought out the best in grumpy old Fred!

But I do think they could've found a way to introduce Mrs. Trumbull without a baby on the show. But 'No Children Allowed' was a funny episode.

My "on the other hand" problem goes back to what I wrote in my OP, namely those throw away comments to prove that though he was "out of sight", the baby wasn't "out of mind".

"I hope little Ricky gets home soon... he's sleeping... just put him down for his nap... Mrs. Trumbull took him to the park, the zoo, SOMEWHERE else"...etc.

It was the best they could do, I guess, while filming in front of a studio audience. A baby couldn't be in too many scenes.

I suppose the baby's life wasn't much different from other kids with busy parents. Lucy and Desi were at the studio for long hours and their own children were in the care of others.

Lucie Arnaz said that their live-in nanny mostly raised her and her brother.

Anyway, the show was about Lucy's antics, not watching a woman raise a child.