LUCY AND THE GROUP ENCOUNTER

S5;E14
~ December 18, 1972

Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs

Synopsis

Lucy
and Harry can’t stop bickering, so Mary Jane suggests they join her
at her group therapy. The doctor in charge asks Lucy and Harry to
play some games to improve their communication skills, culminating in
a day of role reversal at the office.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter)

Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter) does not appear in this episode nor does she receive screen
credit.

Guest
Cast

Kurt
Kasznar (Professor
Henderson) was born in Austria so it is fitting that he was nominated
for a 1959 Tony Award for originating the role of Max Detweiler in
The
Sound of Music.
It was his twelfth Broadway show. In 1959, Kasznar did an episode
of “The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” hosted by Desi Arnaz.

Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ”
She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy
is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and
Evelyn Bigsby in “Return
Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy
Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the
actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her
episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing
Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in
1999 at the age of 83.

Reta
Shaw (Rita
Forrester) started
her career on the stage in such hits as Picnic (1953)
and The
Pajama Game (1954),
for which she also did the film versions. She is best known for
playing maids, such as in Disney’s Mary
Poppins (1964)
and TV’s “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” (1968-1970), which she
filmed concurrently with her first appearance on “Here’s Lucy.”
She made three appearances on “The Lucy Show” and she will
make one more on “Here’s Lucy.”

Rita
Forrester runs Forrester Publications. Shaw is using a form of her married name, Reta Forester. She was married to actor William A. Forester from 1952 to 1962.

Romo
Vincent
(George, the Mailman) was
a Broadway performer from 1942 to 1959. He played an airline
passenger in “Lucy
Flies to London” (TLS S5;E6).
This is his second and final episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Sid
Gould (Hippie
at Group Therapy, uncredited) made more than 45 appearances on “The
Lucy Show” and nearly as many on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born
Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary
Morton.

Vanda
Barra
(Hippie at Group Therapy, uncredited) makes
one of over two dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy” as well as
appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV movies “Lucy Gets Lucky” and “Three for Two”. She was
seen in half a dozen episodes of “The Lucy Show.” Barra was
Lucille Ball’s cousin-in-law by marriage to Sid Gould.

Mary
Jane’s handsome Group Therapy partner is uncredited.

This
is the last new episode of calendar year 1972. The series resumes on
New Year’s Day 1973.

The
night this episode first aired “Here’s Lucy” had some
formidable competition on NBC titled “The
Snoop Sisters”
starring Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick. Hayes had guest-starred on
“Here’s Lucy” at the very start of 1972. The Snoop Sisters”
also starred Kurt Kaszner, who is also on this episode of “Lucy”
at the very same time! Iggie Wolfington, another stage star like
Hayes and Kasznar, also starred and two weeks earlier was featured as
a minister in “Lucy and Her Prince Charming” (S5;E12). “The
Snoop Sisters” was not a regular series and would not be seen again
for a full year.

Starting in the fall of 1972, group therapy was also explored on “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-78) which aired on CBS on Saturday nights. In 2014, Newhart performed in Jamestown as part of the Lucy Town Half Marathon and 5K weekend.

When
Lucy accidentally sews Harry’s jacket to her skirt, he says “would
you kindly remove the stitches or should I call in Dr. Marcus Welby.”
“Marcus
Welby M.D.”
(1969-76) was a hour-long medical drama on ABC starring Robert Young.
Both “Welby” and “Lucy” filmed their shows at Universal
Studios in Hollywood.

Lucy
says that if she were stranded on a desert island she would want
Clint
Eastwood
to be there. Eastwood will be mentioned on two future “Here’s Lucy”
episodes. In mid-1972 Eastwood released the western film Joe
Kidd.

This
episode seems to incorporate some specially lit medium shots of Lucy
and Harry.

In
a word association game led by Professor Henderson, Lucy associates
‘wolf’ with ‘money’ because Clifford
Wolf
is the person at the bank who calls her every month to tell her she’s
over-drawn.

As
“Harry”, Lucy dictates a letter to The
Jerry Clifford Company,
1831 Truxton Avenue, Bakersfield, California. This is a real
business at a real address but today is known as The Clifford Family
Trust. It was a real estate property management company. It is
possible that Lucille Ball Productions (LBP) did business with the
firm and rewarded them with a mention on the show.

An
Austrian therapist (Elliot Reid) also conducted an age regression
experiment on Lucy Carmichael, Viv Bagley, and Mr. Mooney in “Lucy
the Stockholder” (TLS S3;E25). Sid Gould was also in the episode.

Role
reversal (Lucy as the Boss) was also explored in “Lucy Takes Over”
(S2;E23) when Harry believes an old IOU means he owes Lucy a large
sum of money and gives her control of The Unique Employment Agency.

These
Boots Were Made for Hiding!
Although ambulatory, Lucille Ball’s white go-go boots seem to be hiding that
her leg is still wrapped from her skiing accident at the beginning of
season five.

Pencil
Pushers! As
Mrs. Forrester and Lucy are leaving the office, a pencil starts to
roll off the desk. Reta Shaw puts her hand out to stop it, but it
falls on the floor. She leaves it there and goes off with Lucy.