Aside from being a great, at moments, side-splitting episode, I'm gonna pose the theory that this is quite possibly the last great APARTMENT offering, which has zilch to do with the Hollywood/European arc. There are truly classic shows in Hollywood and Europe, and some great offerings in the country era, but I can't think of another regular East 68th street episode as great as "Ethel's Birthday" that followed it. Just my opinion, of course.
Thoughts?
Well, I think I'll forego rehashing our old argument where I suggested that Lucy's choice of those "checkerboard britches" was passive aggressive on her part! lol Great episode anyway.
I would rank "California, Here We Come" right behind it. Of course it IS part of the California arc. But it has the delightful Katherine Card and her plans to tag along. Ricky has a fit, Ethel eavedrops. Ethel gets angry. Ricky yells some more.
Lucy: "How could she NOT hear? With your big mouth and her big ears!"
The Mertzes get insulted. The trip gets called off. And Mrs. MacGillicuddy typically has no idea about the trouble she caused.
The episode is pointing towards Hollywood, but for the time being it's another episode about the two couples and their tangled and comic relationship.
I agree this is a great episode, just as strong as "Ethel's Birthday", but, again, it's about Hollywood. My point is, I can't think of one more GREAT episode in the apartment setting that's as strong. Certainly the ep where the two couples are interviewed - after a nasty fight - is almost as good, but, again, it's about their trip to Hollywood. "Off to Florida" is hilarious, but it's a road-trip episode.
I think Little Ricky going to the Hospital, or learning to play the drums are good eps, just not great ones.
And, no, I think Lucy really thought the hostess pants were cool. She was genuinely offended by Ethel's dislike of them, and sincerely loved her friend enough to want to buy her something special, even under the guise of Fred. (I also think that if Ethel loved the pants, she would've disclosed to her that it was she who picked them out, not Fred).
I do agree that there weren't any more GREAT apartment episodes which weren't about Hollywood. I looked hard and ended up cheating a little. I considered the interview episode. That was a great one too. But yes, it was about Ricky's movie.
Yes, I suppose Lucy did think the hostess pants were a great choice. Lucy was not passive/aggressive, just clueless.
I've also been the recipient of gifts that the giver thought was a great idea. But it wasn't what I wanted. When I moved into my house, I hinted and hinted that I wanted a slow cooker. So what did my mom get me for Christmas? A microwave! I wanted a crockpot. lol Years later and it's still in the original box in the kitchen closet.
Of course if Lucy did get the toaster, the episode wouldn't be funny.
It's too bad the gals couldn't have buried the hatchet sooner...but again, we'd have no episode. I love the way Lucy and Ethel are making such a ruckus, yet it's Lucy who lets out with, "Will you PWEASE sit down and stop making so much noise", lol!
shareI like the way they bicker over the armrest and Fred's opera glasses. For two grown women , they could be so darned childish!
shareI do like the episode where they are preparing to move to the Country and Lucy keeps taking stuff back for the people taking over their old apartment because they plan on changing it some way that Lucy didn't like. Then the scenes in Fred and Ethel's apartment is funny where they keep meeting where one has to back up to let the other get through.
shareWe finally found out what happened to Ethel's pants in this episode. Harry Styles wore them to the Grammys last night.
shareI no longer watch the Grammys, or any award shows for that matter. Stiles is talented, but I'm tired of tatted, nonbinary "its" who can't make up their minds on which gender they are and their PC-laden rhetoric. And I'm a LIBERAL!
shareLOL Whiny celebrities who use the awards shows to spout their personal views annoy liberals too!!
I stopped watching award shows many years ago. It was way before the term "nonbinary" made it into the popular lexicon. Sometimes I truly wanted to see if one of my favorite performers got an award. But I couldn't sit through celebrities ( with marginal intelligence) hijacking the shows to spout off on their latest cause du jour.
I didn't even want to hear celebs with whom I agreed!