I Love Lucy (TV Series) Lucy Raises Tulips (1957) User Reviews

Underrated classic

[kellielulu · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

Zany and competitive Lucy is in full display here. She's competing with Betty Ramsey for having the best Tulips. Betty is a three time winner and they get pretty snippy with each other. Ethel gets the beauty of the tulips without the work buying wax ones.

Lucy pushes Ricky to mow the lawn and he does with Ralph Ramsey power lawnmower but he and Fred fight over who's turn it is ! By the time Lucy and Ethel get back from town Ricky and Fred have taken Little Ricky to Yankee stadium! With the lawn unfinished Lucy takes a crack at it and she can't control it! She ends up all over town with a lot of houses with half mowed lawns! The exchange between Ethel and Lucy describing what happened is one of those rare exchanges that goes beyond the writing it first class chemistry and acting from both women. Nothing too bad overall happened except for one thing - Lucy plowed through Betty's garden! She feels bad and thinks Betty will believe she did it on purpose. She can't give her hers as Ethel suggested because Betty's are yellow and Lucy's are pink. Lucy says she couldn't fool Betty ( thank goodness Lucy said) . Ethel responds they are like the yellow wax ones she bought. Lucy decided to replace them with wax ones. Ricky feels bad and tries finish the job in the dark and guess what Lucy's tulips are going to be wax too! What happens from there you can see coming but it doesn't take away from the amusement.

What Made Them Professional

[richard.fuller1 · 10 February 2006]

Now what I have always found remarkable about this episode, when Lucy is stuck on the out-of-control rider mower, is after she gets it to stop, she and Vivian Vance engage in one of the most brilliant exchanges of what transpired, but we have to rely entirely on Lucy's vivid description, nothing else.

Vance manages to ask each question, allowing Lucy to follow thru with the next response. Neither lady misses a beat. No doubt, by this time, they were masters of their craft, but I always envisioned this Lucy Ricardo stunt, then I finally realized there was no stunt, just writing and two comedic performers.

I suspect it may be difficult to catch today, as if it is shown in reruns on TVland, some of the dialogue may be edited, which is a shame, and I imagine that my own memory is embellishing the exchange somewhat considerably as well.

Still, I did enjoy it.

Ethel hears a crash. Lucy enters.

Ethel: Lucy, where have you been?

Lucy: Where haven't I been? I've seen parts of Connecticut I didn't even know existed.

E: Was there much damage?

L: Well, every lawn between here and town is half-mowed.

E: Did anyone see you?

L: The way people came running out, you would have thought I was Lady Godiva riding by.

E: You poor thing.

L: Then we got on the Boston post road. -- Against traffic all the way!

E: Oh, no, why did you do that?

L: It wasn't me, that beast has a mind of its own!

E: Were you scared?

L: Was I scared? If I skipped my next henna rinse, my roots would come in snowy white.

E: Well, how did you get it to stop?

L: Remember that hedge we were thinking about getting rid of? You don't have to worry about it anymore.

E: Was the mower damaged?

L: No, not a scratch on it. That thing is indestructible.

In truth, Lucy's adventure on the mower would have made a much better plot than the actual plot; a flower show in which the real tulips are replaced with wax ones that then melt in the hot sun.

Or maybe keeping this stunt as a supporting device made it so much more memorable.