What is it with Lucy and all those god-awful production numbers?

I'm a big fan of Lucy, but I think her third series--Here's Lucy--is just horrible, and it got worse and worse with every painful season.

Besides seeing her wearing all those truly atrocious 70s outfits and ensembles, having Lucy fawn outrageously over the most minor of celebrities (Wayne Newton?) is just pathetic. I think I'd rather have my teeth drilled than see her going through that patented "schmooze," where she acts all embarrassed and says, "Oh, Mr. Newton, I'm SO thrilled to meet you!" all the while laughing and giggling. Brr. And speaking of Wayne Newton, didn't she realize how totally SQUARE he was, back then? No kid liked Wayne Newton. Just his name alone conjures up Las Vegas lounge acts and his "swinging" way of singing in that awful high-pitched voice of his. And for some reason, he pronounced every "s" as "sh," sho it'sh thish and that. Ugh!

But the worst, the absolute WORST, is when Lucy somehow finagles the guest star to be in a musical skit with her. As Lucy Ricardo, she always wanted to be in Ricky's show. In Here's Lucy, Ricky isn't there to stop her, and I really wish he was. Instead, we have her dancing and "singing" (more like croaking) big band songs or Broadway tunes. I have horrifying memories of Lucy in a grass skirt doing the hula or dressed like one of the Andrews Sisters (a really BIG act in the 70s!) or marching in some band and banging the drum and playing her delightful saxaphone. I think Lucy played that god-awful thing in every series she had, including Life with Lucy! And she did the "leader of the band" shtick, too, including in MAME!

Lucy was a comedienne and a damned good one. But for some reason, she also thought she was a musical star. Guess what, she wasn't. Instead of horning in on guests like Ethel Merman (the epitome of cool in 1973. All the kids LOVED her), she should've just stood in the sidelines and applauded. I don't want to see her dancing with Ginger Rogers or singing with Dinah Shore. Come on.

Now, looking at the old reruns, they're even more aged by Lucy's inability to carry a tune. Even with her augmented voice, she couldn't pull off a song. But apparently, she harbored dreams of being a musical comedy star, hence disasters like Here's Lucy and Mame.

"Hey, Look me Over!" indeed!