“Like no one before or since, she seemed a part of the family. … It i
s hard to imagine television without her.”That’s how PBS’ “American Masters: Lucille Ball – Finding Lucy” summed up television’s greatest comedienne. And now, for the first time, the entire six-season run of Ball’s top-rated sitcom arrives on DVD in HERE’S LUCY: THE COMPLETE SERIES. The 24-disc box set, filled with extras, will be released by MPI Home Video on March 25, 2014, with an SRP of $159.98.
A top 10 hit throughout its 1968-1974 run, HERE’S LUCY was the I Love Lucy star’s fourth sitcom for CBS, and her first to air in color for its entire duration. It received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
The legendary queen of television comedy is joined by her real-life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, her co-star from the earlier Lucy Show. Ball plays Lucille Carter, widowed mother of teenagers Kim and Craig. Lucy works for her brother-in-law Harry (Gordon), who owns Carter’s Unique Employment Agency, leading Lucy into endless predicaments and hilarious hijinks.
Ball was such a huge star that she could get other top Hollywood figures as guest stars on her series, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Andy Griffith, Joan Rivers, Danny Thomas, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Frankie Avalon, Eddie Albert, Milton Berle, Chuck Connors, Ed McMahon, Don Knotts, Donny Osmond, Eva Gabor, Joe Namath, Petula Clark, Ricardo Montalban, Elsa Lanchester and many more.
HERE’S LUCY: THE COMPLETE SERIES gathers all 144 uncut and digitally remastered episodes together for the first time and features a wealth of special features. They include: episode introductions; featurettes; “Let’s Talk to Lucy” lost interviews; special TV appearances and interviews; “Treasures From Lucy’s Vault”; special U.S. savings bond episode and public service film; slide shows; series production files; original CBS-TV network and syndication promos, and original sponsor billboards.
