splainin'

The return home from Bermuda was greeted with an I Love Lucy marathon on the Hallmark channel. This was to celebrate what would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. There is just nothing funnier than an episode of this show. The episodes my parents and I were watching were made in 1955. A year before they were even born, yet the comedy was still just as funny in the year 2011. That's TRUE comedy. I remember growing up and during the summers  watching Nick @ Nites Block Party Summer which had marathon's of different shows each night. I couldn't get enough of Munster Mondays, Lucy Tuesdays, Bewitched Be-Wednesdays, Jeannie Thursdays and Brady Friday.I remember staying up late with my siblings, having popcorn or saltine crackers and drinking coke while laughing at these classics. The best things about these shows weren't just the humor, but the fact that they were never uncomfortable. You could watch with your parents and never feel awkward because they were making sexual references or discussing taboo issues. Watching this marathon was so refreshing because I didn't have to worry about those things--I love TV, as you probably know, but there isn't much I can watch with my parents these days.

Lucille Ball is just one funny lady. I have always loved the episodes where they are living in California and all the mishaps she gets into with her movie star ambitions. One of my favorite episodes came on last night. William Holden guest stars as himself, Ricky brings him home to meet Lucy, not knowing that she had already had a rather embarrassing encounter with him earlier in the day. To disguise herself she puts some sort of wax putty on her nose and then proceeds to light it on fire. It's just hilarious. I still laugh uncontrollably every time I see it. No one does facial expressions and physical comedy like she does! A true legend.

Marlo Thomas wrote a great article for the Huffington Post to commemorate Lucy's birthday. Here's an exert:

Her persona on screen was so winning because she was so vulnerable. But it was her off-screen toughness that made her great. And this, at a time when a woman was not applauded, appreciated or, most often, not even tolerated for being tough. That's when I got to know her -- when she was not only the queen of television comedy, but a very powerful woman, and a landlady to many comedy shows. There were a lot of divisive remarks about her at the time because she had such power. I had a bit of power myself, being the producer and star of my own show, so there was a joke that went around the studio. Whenever someone was looking for me, the line was, "She's having a meeting with Lucy in the men's room."

Read the full article here

I think we all will always LOVE Lucy.