Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Over 50 years ago during the early years of broadcast television, the very inspired talents of Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and her then husband Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) were showcased on their hilarious television show "I Love Lucy". TV execs had initially rejected the plausibility of the show because of Desi and because they intended to tape the shows. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of Lucille Ball and Desi's obvious talents, the show first aired in 1951 and quickly became one of the most successful TV shows during all six of its regular seasons. As Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy", Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were joined by William Frawley (1877-1966) and Viviane Vance (1909-1979) as their best-friends/apartment landlords of Fred and Ethel Mertz. The second season of "I Love Lucy" that aired between 1952 and 1953 has 32 memorable episodes: 1. "Job Switching": Lucy & Ethel get jobs at a chocolate factory, while Ricky & Fred try their hands at being "house-husbands" and cook up a large mess; a famous & very popular all-time favorite episode. 2. "The Saxophone": Lucy's talent (or lack thereof) of playing the saxophone is showcased when she wants to join Ricky on a band tour. 3. "The Anniversary Present": Lucy thinks Ricky is having an affair when he's really just trying to buy her a set of pearls. 4. "The Handcuffs": Lucy & Ricky get handcuffed in what they thought were fake handcuffs. 5. "The Operetta": Lucy writes an operetta for her woman's club to perform to raise money. Unfortunately, Lucy hasn't been very good managing the club's finances. 6. "Vacation from Marriage": Lucy & Ethel take a vacation from Ricky & Fred. 7. "The Courtroom": Ricky & Lucy purchase a new TV for Fred & Ethel's anniversary, but things go awry when the TV appears to need to be adjusted. 8. "Redecorating": Lucy thinks that she's won new furniture and decides to give their apartment a wallpaper makeover. 9. "Ricky Loses His Voice": Lucy takes advantage of Ricky's laryngitis to write a new show for Ricky's club. 10. "Lucy is Enciente": Lucy tries to find the right way to tell Ricky that she's pregnant. 11. "Pregnant Women are Unpredictable": Ricky tries to help Lucy in the house so that she can stay in bed. 12. "Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song": Lucy 'says farewell' to show business during a "gay-90's" review. 13. "Lucy Hires an English Tutor": Wanting their child to learn proper English, Lucy hires a tutor with the promise that Ricky will let him perform. 14. "Ricky Has Labor Pains": Ricky feels neglected. 15. "Lucy Becomes a Sculptress": Lucy takes up sculpting to provide an artistic environment for their coming child. 16. "Lucy Goes to the Hospital": Ricky, Fred & Ethel practice to make sure they get Lucy to the hospital calmly and efficiently, and Ricky also has a voodoo show to do. 17. "Sales Resistance": A salesman talks Lucy into buying a vacuum cleaner and Ricky is not very pleased. Lucy tries to resell it to "Mrs. Simpson" (Verna Felton, 1890-1966). 18. "The Inferiority Complex": Lucy develops an inferiority complex, so Ricky hires a psychiatrist for help. 19. "The Club Election": Lucy bribes a fellow club-member to be nominated for a coveted club position and ends up running against Ethel. 20. "The Black Eye": Ricky accidentally gives Lucy a black eye, but Fred & Ethel don't believe the real story. 21. "Lucy Changes Her Mind": Lucy has trouble making up her mind, including when dining out. 22. "No Children Allowed": A frequent "I Love Lucy" recurring character is introduced: Mrs. Trumble (Elizabeth Patterson, 1875-1966). 23. "Lucy Hires a Maid": Having difficulty taking care of the home & baby, Ricky tells Lucy to hire a maid, but who is really in charge: Lucy or the maid ("Mrs. Porter", played by Verna Felton again)? 24. "The Indian Show": Lucy wants to be in Ricky's Native American show. 25. "Lucy's Last Birthday": Lucy gets upset when she doesn't want anything special for her birthday and gets exactly that. 26. "The Ricardos Change Apartments": Ricky & Lucy move into a larger apartment to have a separate nursery. 27. "Lucy the Matchmaker": Lucy wants to help a friend find a mate, but Ricky doesn't want her to get involved. 28. "Lucy Wants New Furniture": Lucy gets a new sofa & coffee table without Ricky's permission, so she tries to economize to pay for it. 29. "The Camping Trip": Lucy goes camping with Ricky with Ethel's help. 30. "Ricky's Life Story": An article in "Life" magazine about Ricky makes Lucy want to resurrect her own show business career desires. 31. "Ricky & Fred Are TV Fans": Ricky & Fred are engrossed with a boxing match on TV and nothing that Lucy & Ethel do can change it; not even nearly getting arrested. 32. "Never Do Business With Friends": Ricky gets Lucy a new washing machine. so Fred & Ethel purchase their old one, but it doesn't work as well as expected. (One of my favorite all-time episodes.) Paramount Home Video did a superb packaging job of putting all 32 second season episodes on 5 DVD's, thus shrinking the overall packaging size and reducing the price from the first season set. Overall, I rate the "I Love Lucy: The Complete Second Season" DVD box set with 5 out of 5 stars!