I Love Lucy: The Complete Series Blu Ray Review (Paramount)

I Love Lucy is a 1951 television series written by Bob Carroll Jr. (Life with Lucy, Here’s Lucy, The Lucy Show, and The Tom Ewell Show) and Madelyn Davis (Life with Lucy, Here’s Lucy, The Lucy Show, The Mothers-In-Law, and Alskade Lotten). It was directed by William Asher (Bewitched, Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, The Bad News Bears, Alice, and Johnny Cool), James V. Kern (My Three Sons, My Favorite Martian, The Joey Bishop Show, and The Millionaire), Marc Daniels (Star Trek, Mr. President, Gunsmoke, The Goldbergs, I Married Joan, Planet Earth, Hogan’s Heroes, and Kung Fu), and Ralph Levy (Hawaii Five-O, The Beverly Hillbillies, Do Not Disturb, A Christmas Carol, and The Bob Newhart Show). The rerun was created during this sitcom. It was followed by The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, The Lucy Show, and Here’s Lucy. It aired on CBS until 1957, it lasted for 6 seasons. Zany redhead Lucy (played by: Lucille Ball from Chatterbox, Bunker Bean, Stage Door, Mame, Critic’s Choice, The Facts of Life, and Follow the Fleet) and her Cuban bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (played by: Desi Arnaz from The Escape Artist, Bataan, Holiday in Havana, Cuban Pete, and Too Many Girls) get into a variety of wacky situations. They experience everything from auditioning for television, mystery, radio, the night life, writing, and whatever else that pops up. Lucy tries so many different jobs while looking for the right gig. She dreams of showbiz and it’s endless possibilities. All their hilarious interactions with their neighbors Ethel (played by: Vivian Vance from The Great Race, The Blue Veil, The Red Skelton Hour, and The Secret Fury) and Fred Mertz (played by: William Frawley from Safe at Home!, The Lemon Drop Kid, The Witching Hour, Bolero, Public Enemies, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, and Rancho Notorious) always end up so interesting and it continues to keep their lives unique every single moment they spend together!!!! I Love Lucy is one of the greatest sitcoms ever made. It changed television and how everything was made after it. It’s the show that created the rerun and so many other original things that are still used today. The scripts were always sharp and hilarious, the famous couple was put in so many familiar scenarios that the audience could relate to. They just amp everything up to be beyond silly and over the top for this. Lucille Ball as Lucy is one of the most iconic female characters of all time. She demands your attention whenever she’s on screen. She looked amazing here. Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo is the smooth partner to the outrageous Lucy. He was all about her but he always got himself into some awkward and funny spots when it came to their relationship. These two were married in real life so their impressive chemistry was always organic. They might be greatest couple for the history of television. They made the simplest situations laugh out loud with their presence and excellent comedic timing. Fred and Ethel Mertz were a nice addition to the main cast for I Love Lucy. Vivian Vance and William Frawley really elevated the madness since they were the neighbors always involved with most of the couple’s business. Both of these duos completed each other in every possible way for the respected sitcom. The cameos for I Love Lucy included Michael Mayer, Joseph A. Mayer, Bennett Green (The Lucy Show), Richard Keith (The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour), Jerry Hausner (Paths of Glory), George Reeves (Adventures of Superman), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Richard Widmark (Murder on the Orient Express), Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Harpo Marx (A Night at the Opera), Rock Hudson (Giant), Richard Crenna (Rambo franchise), Bob Hope (The Ghost Breakers), William Holden (Damien: Omen II), John Wayne (The Searchers), Shirley Mitchell (The War of the Roses), and Doris Singleton (Angel). My favorite episode is when Superman showed up, it’s so random but it’s really cool. I Love Lucy has fantastic replay value to it. It’s a blast, it will always put a smile on your face and make you crack up, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and list all of the special features from Paramount Pictures! These 1080p (1.33:1) transfers on all episodes are a big improvement compared it’s previous DVD versions on home video. I love the way black and white displays itself in HD, it’s simple but visually it just works for something like this especially for it’s time. This is probably the best I Love Lucy is ever going to look. It has English: LPCM 2.0 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks for the first two seasons. The other four seasons for I Love Lucy plus the three seasons for The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks. The audio is solid but it’s nothing that’s going to put your home set up to the test. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the laughs are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. Every season has English SDH subtitles on all 33 discs. The first two seasons also have Spanish subtitles. It has the brand new and exclusive colorized “Lucy and the Loving Cup” episode. It has exclusive newly remastered “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” with missing footage restored. It’s presented as “The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show” like it was originally broadcasted from 1957 to 1960. It also includes original cast commercials. It has the exclusive “Original opening and closing credits”. Plus it features many original remastered cast commercials. It has the exclusive 3 remastered “flashback” scenes that were originally used to introduce selected repeat episodes that were long lost before this home video release. It has the exclusive portion of 1959 CBS fall preview special “Eye on CBS” which features both Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. It’s the very first time that it’s been available on home video. It has the “Original I Love Lucy Pilot” that’s been remastered from original 35mm kinescope. It has “I Love Lucy: The Movie”. It has a variety of “Audio Commentaries” on select episodes. It has “Lucy on The Radio Broadcasts”. It has “Flubs Slide Show” from the first two seasons. It has “Cast Bios” for the first two seasons. It has “Photo Galleries” for the first two seasons. It has “Production Notes” for the first two seasons. This complete series set is loaded with so many extras. It will keep any fans busy for a long time plus it has a real nice variety. Lots of exclusives that weren’t available before. It has that oversized DVD packaging for this blu ray collection. This is a must own for any I Love Lucy fan. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!