Who Loves Lucy?The other night, I was flipping through television channels looking for a program that would put me to sleep when I stumbled on an I Love Lucy marathon. Each episode was funnier and more raucous than the last -- I couldn't stop watching even though I've seen them dozens of times. Finally, at three in the morning, I had to turn off the TV and drag myself to bed or I'd end up dozing at my desk the next day. With so many fans worldwide, I'll bet everyone knows someone who just loves Lucy, so watching those familiar episodes inspired me to find some of my favorite gift items for Lucy lovers. Episode #39 was actually called "Job Switching", but most of us know it as the chocolate factory episode in which Lucy and Ethel get jobs at a candy factory. It's hilarious to watch the friends biting off more than they can chew while a surly supervisor who doesn't speak to them tries to show them how to keep up with the conveyor. (The supervisor was an actual candy dipper from the See's candy factory, and she didn't speak because she had trouble with the lines. It was a show business accident that created a magical comic moment.) With this set of two collector-quality Barbie® dolls, you can see the daffy duo in their chocolate factory costumes every day. Press a button and Lucy speaks four famous phrases from the unforgettable episode. This baby doll, inspired by the episode, was created using real baby photos of Lucille Ball. It's wonderfully detailed right down to the big blues eyes and pouty lips. She has movable arms and legs and holds a piece of "chocolate" in her tiny hand. How sweet! "Lucy Gets In Pictures" is one of my personal favorites. Lucy wants to be in a movie so badly! So she goes to the soda fountain at Schwabb's where she consumes 3 chocolate malts, 2 hot fudge sundaes, a pineapple soda and a banana split while waiting to be discovered like Lana Turner. Finally, she lands the part of a nightclub singer who's killed as she descends a staircase. But Lucy wobbles and weaves under the weight of a heavy showgirl's headdress and trips down the stairs. This lighted poster remembers that episode in glamorous detail. Mini twinkling LED lights are embedded in the photograph of Lucy, which shows her struggling to hold her head up and stay on her feet in the showgirl's costume. Lucy as your Vitameatavegamin Girl is probably one of the most remembered and funniest episodes ever -- fans voted it their favorite during a 50th anniversary special. Lucy is doing a commercial for a health tonic that is a combination of vitamins, meat, vegetables, minerals -- and 23% alcohol! She gets drunker and drunker during the rehearsal and finally can't even say the product name, telling consumers to get a bottle of "this stuff." Remember this classic episode with our "Happy, Peppy People" t-shirt with retro graphics or a travel mug that captures Lucy winking drunkenly at the camera. Or, take the episode with you wherever you go with our green enamel and silvertone cuff-style watch, which shows the lightheaded Lucy holding a bottle of the "delicious" energy drink while Ricky gives her his famous, "Lucy, what did you do?" look.I Love Lucy first aired in 1951. Over 50 years later, at any time, night or day, the show is being broadcast somewhere in the world -- and probably keeping people up into the wee hours of the morning, just like me. Your "Lucy Loving" Gift Guru, Linda Posted by Linda at
5:00 AM | Friday, August 14, 2009
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