I've always disliked the firefighter episodes of this series - they were poorly done. I'm making my way through THE LUCY SHOW for the first time since the '90s and this one was even worse than I remembered.
I know this is a comedy, but it's not funny to see the ladies looking like idiots when they're supposed to be dealing with a serious situation. This whole episode just rubs me the wrong way - at least the color firefighter episode had Alan Hale Jr. As the captain and it was fun seeing him pre-Gilligan. And a bucket brigade with paper cups? What were the writers thinking?? Desi must have been gone by the time they filmed this stinker.
In the opening act, Lucy is seen writing a letter to "Senator John R. Dodds". This was an in-joke as Vivian Vance at the time was married to publisher/agent John Dodds.
Lucy apparently refused to slide down the pole in the fire hall training sequence, so Carole Cook had to do it.
During the living room scene where the ladies do a dress rehearsal gearing up, there is a lot of loud audience chatter going on. When the alarm goes off and they panic, there is a huge audience reaction that seems totally overblown. Same thing when Lucy backs the fire truck into the wall. One male audience member can be heard guffawing loudly over and over.
It's odd that neither Mary Jane Croft nor Mary Wickes appears in this episode, but they should have been grateful to not be included in this stinker.
The more I write about it, the more I hate this episode.
I know this is a comedy, but it's not funny to see the ladies looking like idiots when they're supposed to be dealing with a serious situation. This whole episode just rubs me the wrong way - at least the color firefighter episode had Alan Hale Jr. As the captain and it was fun seeing him pre-Gilligan. And a bucket brigade with paper cups? What were the writers thinking?? Desi must have been gone by the time they filmed this stinker.
In the opening act, Lucy is seen writing a letter to "Senator John R. Dodds". This was an in-joke as Vivian Vance at the time was married to publisher/agent John Dodds.
Lucy apparently refused to slide down the pole in the fire hall training sequence, so Carole Cook had to do it.
During the living room scene where the ladies do a dress rehearsal gearing up, there is a lot of loud audience chatter going on. When the alarm goes off and they panic, there is a huge audience reaction that seems totally overblown. Same thing when Lucy backs the fire truck into the wall. One male audience member can be heard guffawing loudly over and over.
It's odd that neither Mary Jane Croft nor Mary Wickes appears in this episode, but they should have been grateful to not be included in this stinker.
The more I write about it, the more I hate this episode.
