I Love Lucy
By Review by Anonymous, Springfield, MA
The farewell of "Seinfeld" makes me think back to "I Love Lucy." They can be compared in many ways. Lucy had 179 episodes; Seinfeld had 180. Seinfeld had a huge audience watching his final episode; Lucy had a huge audience viewing the birth of little Ricky. In fact, more people watched that episode than watched the presidential inauguration the next day! Lucy and Desi revolutionized television. Desi pioneered the three-camera technique, which is used today in filming sitcoms. Desi and Lucy also taped their shows on high-grade film, so it could be used in syndication. If they had not come up with this, who knows if we would be able to watch all the "Seinfeld" reruns today. "I Love Lucy" was the most-watched sitcom of its time. In fact, it is still a hit.You can tune in and see Lucy on Nick@Nite, as well as other big hits including the "Dick Van Dyke Show," which happened to be filmed at Desilu studios (Lucy and Desi's production company). Every week, millions tuned in to watch their favorite redhead, Lucy Ricardo, get herself into all kinds of jams. She always wanted to be in Ricky's shows, and she would always try to convince Ricky to perform in her women's club shows. It is hard to believe that CBS didn't think audiences would believe Lucy was married to Desi (even though they were married in real life). Lucy was determined to prove CBS wrong, so she and Desi went on the road performing their show in clubs to see how the public would react. Lucy and Desi used their savings to make the pilot. Finally, CBS agreed to hire Desi as Lucy's husband, and so began what is now television history! .There is even a Lucille Ball website at: http://members.aol.com/luvlucy500/index.html
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