I
LOVE LUCY debuted on CBS in 1951 and quickly set a new standard for
situation comedy with its well-crafted plotlines, live tapings, multiple
camera angles, and one of the finest ensemble casts in television
history. Centered around the domestic life of zany redhead Lucy Ricardo
(Lucille Ball) and her Cuban-born husband Ricky (Lucy's real-life spouse
Desi Arnaz), the series also broke cultural ground by featuring an
interracial marriage and a female lead that was less than the perfect
housewife. Indeed, it was Lucy's neverending quest to muscle in on her
husband's show business career--often with the help of meddlesome
next-door neighbors Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian
Vance)--that provided the show its main comedic thrust and continues to
lend it a timelessly classic appeal. This collection presents the "lost"
pilot plus all 35 original episodes from the groundbreaking first
season, including "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," "The Freezer," "The
Ballet," "The Fur Coat," and many more.