Lucy Decides To Redecorate

S2;E8
~ November 18, 1963

Synopsis

Lucy
decides she would like some remodeling done in her home, but Mr.
Mooney will only allow enough money for a few small jobs. Lucy and
Viv figure they can do the big repairs themselves.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Candy Moore
(Chris Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)

This is just the second episode in the series to only feature only the regular cast. The last time this happened was in “Lucy Buys a Boat” (S1;E30).

To
give the series a face lift and maintain viewer interest, changing the
look of the scenery was an easy solution. The first 22 minutes were
filmed before “The Lucy Show” went on summer hiatus after season 1. The last
scene showing the Carmichael home’s new look was filmed after
production resumed in September.

Lucy
refers to President John F. Kennedy’s fitness program. President
Kennedy
was assassinated four days after this show first aired. Next
week’s episode will be pre-empted for news coverage of his funeral. Lucy Carmichael met Kennedy in “Lucy Visits The White House” (S1;E25).

Lucy
wants a new lampshade, upholstery for the chair and ottoman, fixing
the springs in the sofa, and refinishing the coffee table – all of
which she estimates will cost $200. She plans on asking Mr. Mooney
for $500 for new wall-to-wall carpeting, but she knows she’ll need to
compromise. In today’s money, $200 would be like asking for $1,700.

Viv
compares their painting to that of Picasso. Pablo
Picasso (1881-1973)
is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential artists of
the 20th century. He is known for co-founding the cubist movement and
the invention of constructed sculpture.
Viv
previously mentioned Picasso in “Lucy Builds a Rumpus Room”
(S1;E11).

Viv
remarks that the living room would get the ‘Bad Housekeeping Seal of
Approval’ a joke about the Good
Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
In
1909, the magazine established the it to indicate that products
advertised in the magazine were tested by their research institute
and backed by a two-year limited warranty.

The
coffee table is full of cigarette burns, all of which have suddenly
appeared for this episode. Viv mentions her boyfriend Eddie Collins,
who was last seen in “Lucy Goes Duck Hunting (S2;E6). Viv mentions
that he is a cigar smoker. The character was played by Don Briggs,
who made his seventh and final appearance on that episode. The only
time smoking was featured on “The Lucy Show” was briefly in
“Kiddie Parties Inc.” (S2;E2) when a client lit up, not Lucy or Viv.

Seeing
the burn marks on the coffee table, Mr. Mooney asks if “Smokey
the Bear knows about you people?”
Smokey
Bear is
an advertising mascot
created
in 1944 to educate the public about the dangers of
forest
fires.

Lucy
says she got the idea to spray paint the sofa from Young Moderns
Magazine. This appears to be a fictional publication, named in order
to make an age joke at Lucy’s expense. There actually was a Young
Modern Magazine in the 1960s, but it was only published in Australia,
and was unlikely to be seen by Lucy or Viv.

Viv’s
car is a 1953 Ford Crestline Sunliner convertible. The vehicle will
turn up again in “Lucy, the Meter Maid” (S3;E7). The last time
we saw Viv’s car was in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (S1;E5) where she
owned a 1949 Packard Super Deluxe Eight convertible. This is the
first time we have seen inside the Carmichael’s garage.

Callbacks!

Desilu
had used redecorating as the theme of several episodes of “I Love
Lucy.” “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) also finds Lucille Ball and
Vivian Vance doing DIY home redecorating with dubious results.

Later
that season, Lucy and Ethel undertook “Redecorating the Mertzes
Apartment” (ILL S3;E8).

Trouble
with a paint sprayer was a comedic highlight of “The Celebrity Next
Door,” a 1957 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” where
guest star Tallulah Bankhead was the victim.

Blooper
Alerts!

Memory Lapse! When
Lucy and Viv can’t access their bedrooms because the stairs are wet
with paint, they forget that they rebuilt the basement as a rumpus
room in “Lucy Builds a Rumpus Room” (S1;E11).

Stumble! When
Jerry comes running down the stairs after the car crash, he falls to the
floor on the last step, but quickly gets up and joins the other kids.

Logistics! Backing through the living room wall imply that the
garage is free-standing and that it would be accessed from a driveway
with a turn in it. Not impossible, but unlikely.

Pantry Plot! The
final remodeling of the living room incorporates a shuttered service
window to the kitchen, very similar to the one the Ricardos had on “I
Love Lucy.” In the past however, those going through the doorway
to the kitchen had to pass through the pantry, which now looks to
have been eliminated.