I Love Lucy Season 3 (1953)
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I Love Lucy Season 3 Review
The third season of I Love Lucy is more of the same. It’s pretty much on par with its predecessor due to its uneven quality.
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“You mean to tell us that we have equal rights,
but you certainly don’t give us a chance to act like it“
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The first of the thirty one episodes is called Ricky’s “Life” Story. It’s the same old story of Lucy wanting to be in Ricky’s show, but it’s much better than others of its kind due to the excellent physical comedy on display by Lucille Ball. The Girls Go Into Business is an instant classic. In the episode, the women decide to start a clothes store business, but they get fooled into starting it by the previous owner, resulting in a lot of hilarity throughout.
Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress revisits the women’s library to familiar, but amusing results. Equal Rights is another great situational comedy full of terrific physical gags. The premise is fantastic, but the execution is especially strong as the episode constantly mounts to more memorable scenarios than the last. Baby Pictures deals with envy and competition between parents in a surprisingly honest, timeless way.
Lucy Tells the Truth turns the table on everybody when Lucy tells it all. It’s a very amusing episode. The French Revue is yet another Lucy wants to be in a show storyline. This one is uninspired and utterly forgettable. Redecorating the Mertzes’ Department is a furniture episode that is silly, but mostly a lot of fun.
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Too Many Crooks is this highly unique, superb situational comedy episode that reminded me of the best episodes from ‘The Flintstones’. I love these installments and this one is amongst the best as the mystery element was authentic and different for the show while the ending was hilarious.
Changing the Boys’ Wardrobe is one of those episodes that portray the two genders too differently for modern audiences, but again the story is still a lot of fun. Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined is honestly rather forgettable, but Ricky’s Old Girlfriend is a stellar episode about Ricky’s invented girlfriend that leads to all sorts of funny situations.
The Million-Dollar Idea deals with the two women starting a business together, but they miscalculate the cost, which ruins the whole enterprise. The best thing about this season in particular is the emphasis on the two girls being more proactive and independent, thus leading to a more modern season that did not age all that much nowadays.
Ricky Minds the Baby finally reminds us that the duo has a baby. The episode is just okay. I don’t know why, but the show simply could not do these baby episodes properly. The Charm School is perfectly solid, though not great. Sentimental Anniversary depicts just how strong the friendship between the two families is.
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Fan Magazine Interview is initially quite hilarious as it focused on Lucy acting too artificial for the magazine’s sake. I wished that the second half developed that story even further. Oil Wells is an outstanding business-oriented episode that again sees Lucy make a terrible mistake and cost the families fortune. Ricky Loses His Temper is so great. The rivalry between Ricky and Lucy was so well portrayed here while Lucy’s obsession with hats reached new comedy heights for Lucille Ball.
Home Movies is basically this rehashed filler episode that is not worth talking about more. Bonus Bucks is fine, but not as funny as it could have been. Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation is dated and again overly concerned with Ricky’s show. Lucy Is Envious is initially so good, but the whole Mars subplot toward the end was way too silly for its own sake. Too many episodes in this season abandoned one story in pursuit of another to middling results.
Lucy Writes a Novel is hilarious. Seeing the others’ reactions at Lucy’s depictions of them was the comedic highlight here. Lucy’s Club Dance is another one of those episodes that area all about Lucy sucking at music. The Black Wig is hilarious. Finally, we get a romantic episode that is all about flirtations and jealousy and it really worked. The Diner is overall strong, but the highlight was that final pie fight that represented the best of the show’s physical comedy.
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Tennessee Ernie Visits and Tennessee Ernie Hangs On are two episodes that are all about this ridiculous redneck cousin of Lucy’s. I found him to be a walking, unfunny stereotype and it’s a shame that the show struggled so much with adding new characters onto the cast. The Golf Game is pretty amusing throughout while the final episode called The Sublease focuses on the rivalry between the two families at first and then going into a business venture, all throughout being very entertaining.
Overall, the third season of I Love Lucy is pretty good. It’s on par with the previous season. It has some silly episodes and a couple of them don’t work. The baby needs more storylines and the new cousin added here was an unfortunate introduction. But the episodes that focused on the Ricardos and the Mertzes were mostly excellent with the highlight being the situational comedy storylines and the physical gags.
Worst Episodes: Tennessee Ernie Visits, Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation and Home Movies.
Best Episodes: Equal Rights, Too Many Crooks, Ricky Loses His Temper, Lucy Writes a Novel and The Black Wig.
