https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxdqxQTeso
For the last few years, CBS has been colorizing episodes of I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show for the holiday season, and this year is no different. Thankfully! Each classic sitcom will get two episodes that will go from drab to fab on Friday, December 14th.
I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
Featuring two back-to-back episodes of the classic series, the colorized “The Christmas Episode” and newly colorized “Pioneer Women.” “The Christmas Episode” (first presented in black and white on Christmas Eve, 1956), finds the Ricardos and Mertzes decorating Lucy and Ricky’s Christmas tree and reminiscing about how their lives have changed since the arrival of the Ricardos’ son, Little Ricky. In “Pioneer Women” (originally aired March 31, 1952), Lucy and Ethel’s hopes of joining the posh Society Matrons’ League lead to a bet with their husbands over which sex – the men or the women – had it harder living in a bygone era.
THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT)
The two newly colorized back-to-back episodes of this memorable series were selected by series creator Carl Reiner as two of Dick Van Dyke’s best episodes. In “Where Did I Come From” (first presented on Jan. 3, 1961), 6-year-old Richie asks his parents the inevitable “where did I come from?” question, and they recall the days before his birth. In “Never Bathe on Saturday” (initially presented on March 31, 1965) the Petries’ romantic second honeymoon becomes a disaster when Laura’s toe gets caught in a bath spout.
Normally, I am not a fan of colorization, but CBS does such a great job with these timeless shows that live on in infamy or as we call it syndication. It shows them in a whole new light, a rainbow of colors to be exact.
Some people might say that the 1989 Oscars is the worst one in history (looking back at it, it was not that bad), but for Ricki Lake it was a dream come true. She got to take part in a song and dance number with several other up and comers like Christain Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Corey Feldman, Chad Lowe, Keith Coogan, Holly Robinson, Blair Underwood, Joely Fisher and Tracy Nelson to name a few.
The cherry on top was Lucille Ball and Bob Hope introduced them. But you might say it was a sour cherry because the I Love Lucy star was anything but full of love. Lake told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live yesterday that the legendary actress was “salty” because she did not want to be there. She did not do anything to the Lake directly, but she was not nice and was smoking in their small dressing room.
Less than a month later, she passed away and smoking was probably a contributor.
When it comes to Ball not being nice, that is not the first time I have heard that. But very few talk about it because she still is one of Hollywood’s most loved people.
To see that infamous dance number, then click here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wBZkSKlEjM
We might be days away from 2018, but CBS is turning the clock back over 50 years tonight. They will air two hours of classic comedies and these shows will do better than almost all the other shows did this week in the ratings. That is because no matter how much time has passed, I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show still feel fresh and make everyone laugh out loud.
At 8p, we get a retrospect Christmas episode of I Love Lucy that shows us some sweet moments for the Ricardos. Like the time when Lucy told Ricky she was pregnant and then when she went into labor. They are two moments that will forever be etched in television history, so to see them in color makes them even more special.
Then at 8:30p, Lucy left NYC for Hollywood and she wants to dress like a star. Ricky gives her $100 to buy a dress and she goes to a fancy shoppe to buy one. While she is there, she overhears that there is going to be a fashion show at the store tomorrow and the models are celebrities’ wives. Of course, Lucy finagles her way into the show and buys a dress. A dress that cost 5X more than she was allowed to spend. Ethel and her come up with a way that Ricky cannot get mad at her, but it comes at a cost. One that makes it perfect for a colorized version of the black and white classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoI4k41e1Hg
Then at 9p, it is time for The Dick Van Dyke Show to be seen in living color. I recently read that the classic sitcom was the last one to be shot entirely in black and white. Had it gone on another season, that one would have been filmed in color.
Anyways, in the first episode, Laura feels that her marriage to Rob might be in trouble and she needs to do something to save it. Millie tells her whenever she wants to spice up her marriage, she bleaches her hair. Laura gets some peroxide and goes blonde. Then Rob calls her and tells her he loves her as a brunette. She gets some hair dye to go back to her natural color, but Rob comes home early and she was only able to dye half of her hair. Seeing this moment in color makes a funny scene even more hysterical. Black and white just didn’t do it justice.
Just like the episode at 9:30p, when Sally goes to an art show and sees a painting of Laura naked. Now Rob and Laura have to come up with a way to make that painting go away before anyone they know sees it. Their biggest obstacle is that the now renowned painter doesn’t want to give it to them and several people have offered to buy it for more money than they can afford. Will they be able to get that painting before everyone in NYC sees it?
Back in the ’80s, Ted Turner tried to colorize classic movies and it was ugly. CBS has done such a beautiful job retouching these shows, you would never know that were not originally shot in color. Therefore, it is like watching these beloved classics, that we have seen hundreds of times, for the first time. What is a better Christmas gift than that?
Even though CBS aired an I Love Lucy episode yesterday that is over 61 years old, it still managed to beat a slew of new shows on broadcast television in the ratings.
Which makes you think the networks might be doing something wrong if people would rather watch something that is older than them than something that is shiny new.
Maybe they should focus on making TV shows like they used to and stop making shows they think we want to see that we really don’t.
What do you think?
Today is Lucille Ball’s 105th birthday and the town that she grew up in gave her a big present that she would’ve love. Her ugly bronze statue was replaced by one that looks exactly like her. Sculptor Carolyn Palmer captured her essence, so her spirit will live on forever in the hometown that she loved as a young girl.
Plamer spent 9 months creating the legendary comedian’s likeness and she hopes “that all the Lucy fans are pleased and that Lucille Ball herself would have enjoyed this image of her.” I know I love it, what about you?
