The Lucy Show: The Official Fifth Season

I have the five seasons released up to this point and season five has in my opinion the most inferior episodes. Too much celebrity and dance episodes along with sub standard writing rank this at the bottom for me in terms of episodes. Having said that there still are some funny episodes and the picture quality along with the extras would make this a worthwhile purchase by itself. But there is one very pleasant surprise on Disc two that really makes this a great purchase. Its the Lucy in London one hour special along with the commentary on making this special by various people involved.

This one hour special was beautifully shot entirely on location in London. Apparently it was only seen once on TV and remained in the CBS vault for over 45 years. It features a song written and sung by Phil Spector, The Dave Clark Five performing a dance number and various other great scenes. I can't say enough good things about this special. There are some very unique scenes such as Lucy running through live London traffic to get to the other side of the street and Lucy at some very famous London landmarks. It wasn't written like a normal Lucy episode. Very few sight gags or one liners.This special and the commentary along with it alone is worth the price of this release.

The Lucy Show-The Fifth Season(66/67),is Paramount's official release of,I think,the best season of the series since its first season.The show started to wane with Vivian Vance on it,she departed,which left a hole that the writers couldn't successfully fill until this season.Everything seems to be swinging in high gear.This season finds the likes of John Wayne,Don Rickles,Carol Burnett and George Burns dropping by to heighten the proceedings.Of course John Wayne's appearance harkened directly back to the I Love Lucy series,when Wayne appeared in two classic eps with Lucy and Vivian "messing up" his footprints in cement.Even Vivian Vance was a welcome sight this season in her return for an ep.
The unexpected highlight of this set however is the Lucy in London hour special.I had not seen it since its original airing and was gobsmacked to see it added into the set.I recall it as kind of an odd duck,so far as Lucy was concerned.It was as if she was trying to appeal to the younger crowd and show them how "hip" she could be,which she needn't have had to do.It also smacked a little of a psychedelic film with Lucy suddenly bursting into a dance routine in the park or on some steps,with fast edits and cuts for emphasize.To add to the `hipper`Lucy image,Lucy was dressed to the nines in the appropriate Mod outfits direct from Carnaby Street.Phil Spector wrote the theme music and the Dave Clark Five appeared,to add some street cred to the proceedings.There is a featurette on the making of this ep and you will see the makers talking of their "wise" decision to use the "talented" Anthony Newley as the basis around which everything else was shot.Unfortunately their choice of Newley as their centerpiece was a mistake to a certain degree.As creative and talented as Newley was,the hottest act,selling millions of records and the hottest ticket around,The DC5,were underutilized;not one song did they perform.Well technically speaking,they did help Lucy and Anthony sing London Bridge while performing a dance routine with them,but that was as good as it got.Otherwise they were in and out,only involved in these weird dance montages.They even let Newley do a little routine and sing a few of his signature numbers on a stage,which made it obvious then,and it remains so today,that as "hip"as the producers wanted to make it all seem,they were still old school.Why didn't they get the DC5 to play just one number;and as this was a "feel good" kind of thing,the DC5 could have played one of their big hits Because,right to Lucy,as she sat watching it.It would have been hip and sentimental at the same time showing even England loved Lucy!Well the special is what it is,and at the time got razzy reviews from TV critics(who could really understand it),but it is still really nice to have it out there once again for all to see.
Paramount,again,has done a fantastic job of remastering these eps which are crisp and clear.And as always the extras are to die for,as they include:"Lucy In London","Lucy In London Revisited" (Documentary),clip From 1967 Emmy Awards,clip From 1966 Affiliates Presentation,clip From "Victor Borge Comedy Theatre","25 Years of Savings Bonds",bloopers,rare promos,vintage openings & closings,guest cast bios,production notes and photo galleries.
This series was not I Love Lucy by any stretch,but it still shows pro Lucille Ball doing what she did best,and that was making people laugh.She was ably supported in this season by Mary Jane Croft as her neighbour,and the ever brilliant Gale Gordon as Mr.Mooney.The writing and skits seemed to flow the best in many a season and Lucy finally got an Emmy for this years work;which she deserved.Highly recommended.

I won't make this one of those lengthy reviews that include a full episode guide for the season, or detailed background information. I will say that the best thing about Season Five of "The Lucy Show" arriving on DVD is that it FINALLY renders all those terrible public domain releases obsolete!

If you already own all of those inferior releases and are asking why you should dump them and spring for this set here's the scoop. Every official CBS/Paramount release of "The Lucy Show" so far has featured eye-popping, beautifully restored prints and a bounty of bonus features and this one is no exception. (NOTE: See the screen grabs in the Images section of this product). The fact that the 1966 "Lucy In London" special will be included is reason enough. Even the infamous rare "jack-in-the-box" intro is here and it was aired only once and then replaced because Lucy hated it so much. My favorite of the bonus features is short and sweet: Lucy's 1967 Emmy win where she actually gets teary-eyed and thanks the voters by saying "I love my work. Thank you for giving me this for it". It's a great moment that speaks volumes about Lucy. Also short but hilarious is the blooper reel, worth watching to see Mary Wickes get accosted by a randy elephant!

I have to admit the script quality was still deteriorating at this point, but there are still a few keepers this season. Carol Burnett makes her first of many appearances on a Lucy series in a two-parter; there's a charming and memorable musical number in "Main Street USA"; and best of all Vivian Vance returns in my favorite episode of the season. "Viv Visits Lucy" has the two donning psychadelic costumes and hitting Sunset Strip to rescue a wayward teenager. It's a hilarious script with many memorable lines and the two veterans knock every one of them out the park.

The rest of the season is hit-and-miss but CBS' fantastic presentation has always managed to allow these episodes to provide me with much more viewing pleasure than I thought they would.

Useless trivia: This is the season that Lucy won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series beating out Marlo Thomas, Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead.