Waaaaahhhhh!!!

If you haven't ever injured your back, I highly recommend it---IF...you enjoy feeling like a turtle flipped on his back, that is. Which was not enjoyable for me. How did I hurt my back you ask? Meh, the usual manner, lifting something too heavy in the wrong way. Not from mind blowing sex---like an injury of mine should be. I had never had a back injury before so, for me this was a new experience. And painful. So, for a few days I lived on a little island, also known as my sofa. Making small painful trips from time to time, to bring everything I needed within arms reach. After two days, I could get around well enough (without having to lean on everything) to go back to work but, it took many more days before I started feeling normal again. The good part about staying home was watching marathon episodes of "I Love Lucy." When I was a kid having a sick day home from school, I always knew I could watch a hour of Lucy reruns to help me forget my troubles. And once again Lucy was back to see me through my new injury.

What can I say about "I Love Lucy" that hasn't already been said? It was a funny, groundbreaking show, that set the standard for almost everything that came after it. Lucy, Desi, Vivian and William were amazingly talented actors---Vivian and William HATED each other in real life but it never showed onscreen. Now, that's acting, people!

Lucy, of course, was the star. With her expressions/reactions in scenes, physical comedy, beauty and timing. In real life she wasn't at all funny---she couldn't tell a joke. But, if you gave her a script---she could make it work. Not a problem. The show had amazing writers. They're work has stood the test of time. And you can find plots borrowed in various forms in shows like "the Nanny," "the Cosby show," "Three's Company" and even "Hannah Montana."

Desi Arnaz was incredible in front of and behind the camera. In front for his looks, his band, and eye popping reactions to all of Lucy's messes. And behind the scenes he was responsible for using the 3 camera filming technique for the show---which is still the industry standard for taping and capturing all the action at once to edit together later. He made the choice to shoot on film using his own money because CBS wouldn't pay for it at the time--because it was too expensive. Being shot on film made the show look great and the film survived aging better than video. In agreement for paying for the film, Desi secured the rights to own the episodes after they're original airing. The industry hadn't heard of reruns yet. And Desi, after a few years, started running the shows in reruns, making himself and Lucy a fortune. And after that, every studio discovered the power of reruns.

And let's not forget that Lucy and Desi were smart enough to have Superman as a guest star. Not George Reeves the actor--but Superman. The writers wrote the episode in a way to never reveal to the kids at home that Superman was just an actor, yet still allowing for George to play himself and not his character, and be heroic and funny at the same time. It was very well done. Anyway, "Lucy" was and still is one of the best shows ever made. And for me, is my go to show for when I need a laugh when life gives me lemons. I highly recommend getting the dvd sets---they're loaded with extras. And the shows are brilliant to watch.