Lucy's Barbershop Quartet

Season 1, Episode 19, Aired
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Episode Summary

A member of the fire department's barbershop quartet is moving and Lucy wants to take her place. Desperate for a fourth member so they can compete in a big contest, the women are forced to let her join. Though Lucy talks loudly, they can barely hear her sing, so they call in a vocal coach to teach her how to project.moreless
8.3
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
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  • A pleasant episode that focuses on one thing only, as with other early episodes, could use some other characters.

    6.5
    "Fair"
    Lucy is desperate to learn how to sing so that she can perform with the "Four Alarms" at a big music competition.

    A standard episode in many ways, "The Lucy Show" usually featured one grand gag or guest star and either you really liked it or you didn't as much. This one was OK but not hysterical for me.

    Standard set-up, some opening banter between Lucy and her daughter about "modern" music and Lucy then wants "to join the show" when it becomes apparent that Viv needs one more singer to make up a "barbershop" quartet. After squabbles over the song to sing, Lucy is signed up for singing "bootcamp" with an eccentric teacher played by Hans Conried. And the lessons are the major draw here, filled with odd requests that let Lucille Ball make the most of her expressive face. The show finishes off with Lucy having severe stage fright in the hotel room immediately before the performance.

    A well-known episode, this one plays almost entirely in the living room of the Carmichael house. Good but not one of my favorites. Season 1 of this series is a little "house-bound" overall, I tend to like the following three seasons best.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: The quartet meets at the Vivian and Lucy's house to find a replacement. As Lucy runs across the room to grab the telephone, the shadow of the mic boom follows her across. Edit
    • Lucy auditions for the quartet by singing "Be My Little Baby Bumblebee". Edit
    • The Four Alarms sing "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" in the contest. Edit
  • Notes

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    • The scene of Hans Conried teaching Lucy to sing is seen again in the episode Lucy Teaches Ethel Merman to Sing. Lucy references the great vocal coach Dr. Gitterman who taught her how to sing and teaches Merman his technique.

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  • Quotes

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    • Thelma: (explaining to Viv that Grace is dropping out of their quartet) Oh, her husband's company's transferring him to California and he has to leave right away. Dorothy: And she has the never to want to go along with her husband and four children! Thelma: Leaving our quartet high and dry. Viv: I never knew a soprano you could trust! Edit
  • Allusions

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