The Lucy Show is full of fantastic episodes but this is probably my favourite. I've always loved episodes that focus around Lucy working or going into business like this one which sees Lucy, Viv and her boyfriend launching a company called "Crazy Crunch", selling Viv's delicious caramel popcorn which, of course, manages to go wrong in the end. There is nothing I can falt with this episode, it moves along quickly, is very entertaining and has all the comedy you could want from a Lucy episode. Overall, a very funny script that benefits well with Lucy and Viv's great physical comedy abilities. Always a favourite of mine - 10/10.
2 Reviews
One of Season 1's Best
kgraovac29 October 2023
This episode is one of the strongest showings of Season 1 yet is always overlooked in discussions of Lucille Ball's work. So, I guess you could call this a "sleeper" episode. I would definitely place it in the Top Five for the season.
When Viv's beau Eddie raves about her homemade caramel corn, the ladies decide to go into business selling it as Crazy Crunch. They set up shop in the kitchen and begin production. It's nice to see the kids involved in the venture instead of their normal routine of showing up, reciting a few lines, then disappearing.
Lucy and Viv perform a jingle for their product; there is audience applause and Chris calls it "Marvy", which was teenage slang at the time - short for marvelous. The problems begin when they start getting more orders than they can handle. It's like the candy factory episode of I LOVE LUCY but on a smaller, slower-paced scale I guess.
When the kids are sent off to buy more supplies and Viv takes a phone call from a local reporter, Lucy is left to take charge of the whole operation by herself and disaster ensues. One big question is why Viv gives the reporter her secret recipe. Wouldn't that undermine their whole enterprise? Lucy really milks this scene, begging Viv repeatedly to get off the phone. It could have been annoying and repetitive, but her desperation here is real as well as comedic, and Ball really sells it.
When they expand into the living room, complete with barbeque and a commercial-sized popcorn machine, Eddie bursts in announcing the cops are on the way to arrest them for breaking the zoning law. This scene has great comedic tension. Viv gets in a funny line about Crackerjack but the piece de resistance is Lucy trying to obscure the barbeque by sitting on it, visibly uncomfortable, until she literally becomes a human popcorn machine. The final sight gag with the closet is very similar to a DICK VAN DYKE SHOW stunt that aired a week before this one.
When Viv's beau Eddie raves about her homemade caramel corn, the ladies decide to go into business selling it as Crazy Crunch. They set up shop in the kitchen and begin production. It's nice to see the kids involved in the venture instead of their normal routine of showing up, reciting a few lines, then disappearing.
Lucy and Viv perform a jingle for their product; there is audience applause and Chris calls it "Marvy", which was teenage slang at the time - short for marvelous. The problems begin when they start getting more orders than they can handle. It's like the candy factory episode of I LOVE LUCY but on a smaller, slower-paced scale I guess.
When the kids are sent off to buy more supplies and Viv takes a phone call from a local reporter, Lucy is left to take charge of the whole operation by herself and disaster ensues. One big question is why Viv gives the reporter her secret recipe. Wouldn't that undermine their whole enterprise? Lucy really milks this scene, begging Viv repeatedly to get off the phone. It could have been annoying and repetitive, but her desperation here is real as well as comedic, and Ball really sells it.
When they expand into the living room, complete with barbeque and a commercial-sized popcorn machine, Eddie bursts in announcing the cops are on the way to arrest them for breaking the zoning law. This scene has great comedic tension. Viv gets in a funny line about Crackerjack but the piece de resistance is Lucy trying to obscure the barbeque by sitting on it, visibly uncomfortable, until she literally becomes a human popcorn machine. The final sight gag with the closet is very similar to a DICK VAN DYKE SHOW stunt that aired a week before this one.
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