LUCY’S VACATION
S3;E17 ~ January 4, 1971
Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs
Synopsis
Lucy wants to chaperone Kim on a trip to Palm Springs, but first needs to convince Harry to fire her. At the same time, Harry's psychiatrist tells him not to lose his temper with Lucy for a whole week, making getting fired difficult for Lucy.
Regular Cast
Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)
Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter) does not appear in this episode, although he does receive screen credit in the opening title sequence.
Guest Cast
Parley Baer (Dr. Sumler Cunningham) previously played MGM’s Mr. Reilly in “Ricky Needs an Agent” (ILL S4;E29) and furniture salesman Mr. Perry in “Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (ILL S6;E18). He made five appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He will return as Dr. Cunningham (alongside Sid Gould) in “Lucy's Bonus Bounces” (S4;E16). Baer is perhaps best known for his recurring roles as Mayor Stoner on “The Andy Griffith Show” and Doc Appleby in “The Dukes of Hazzard.” He died in 2002 at age 88.
His (unseen) secretary’s name is Miss Murdoch. He charges $50 an hour.
Kimetha Laurie (Jan) makes her ninth (and final) TV appearance with this episode.
Jan is Kim's friend. Her parents have a home in Palm Springs. It might be coincidental, but she resembles Jan Brady (Eve Plumb, inset), a character on “The Brady Bunch,” then in its second season on ABC.
Sid Gould (Mr. Hilliard) 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.
Mr. Hilliard is a window washer.
The cashier, waiter, and diners at the luncheonette are played by uncredited background performers.
This is the first episode of calendar year 1971. This year mark's Lucille Ball's second decade on television.
On the DVD introduction to this episode, Lucie Arnaz mistakenly says that Parley Baer played Dore Schary in “Ricky Needs an Agent” (ILL S4;E29) when in fact he played Mr. Reilly (above). Dore Schary was played by Phil Ober (Vivian Vance's husband) in “Don Juan is Shelved” (ILL S4;E21).
Harry keeps file cards of Lucy's excuses for her lateness and absence.
Paul Revere's birthday is January 1st (in the modern calendar), so it would be a holiday anyway. Flag Day is June 14th.
It is revealed that Kim does needlepoint.
Kim says that her Uncle Harry has fired Lucy 14 times!
When Dr. Chamberlain asks Harry to iterate all the things Lucy does to irritate him, he remarks that “at $50 an hour, even Howard Hughes couldn't afford that!” Howard Hughes (1905-76) was known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world. Later in his life, he was also known for his eccentric behavior. This joke gets a round of applause from the studio audience.
Although he waffles and mumbles quite a bit, Harry does say “...and then she had this ring stuck on her...” likely referring to when she got Elizabeth Taylor's priceless diamond ring stuck on her finger in “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (S3;E1). He then says “...and I was put in jail...” but nowhere in that episode (or any other) has Harry been jailed. Perhaps Gale Gordon is ad libbing and confusing Harry Carter with Mr. Mooney, who did go to jail once because of Lucy.
Back at the office, Harry asks for the Rylander file but Lucy brings him the Mosier file instead. This is the umpteenth mention of the names Rylander and Mosier by Gale Gordon in both “The Lucy Show” and “Here's Lucy.” Carole Cook played a character named Lillian Rylander in “Lucy, the Part-Time Wife” (S3;E14).
When setting off firecrackers in the wastepaper basket, Lucy says that in China it is the year of the dog. According to Chinese astrology, Lucy is correct, although it will change to the year of the pig three weeks after this episode was first aired.
Trying to goad Harry into firing her, Lucy uses the window washer's sponge to douse him with water. It wouldn't be “Here's Lucy” if Harry didn't end up soaking wet!
Kim and Jan talk about needing a chaperone to go to Palm Springs. Lucy Carmichael chaperoned her daughter Chris (and her friend Cynthia, coincidentally played by Lucie Arnaz) on a spring break trip in “Lucy is a Chaperone” (TLS S1;E27).
Lucy, Kim and Craig went to Palm Springs in the second episode of the series. In real life, Lucille Ball had a vacation home in Palm Springs.
Both Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael escaped to Palm Springs. In real life, Lucie Arnaz lives there today.
When Lucy gets up from the booth at the Luncheonette, she collides with a waiter carrying a tray that goes flying into the air, just as Lucy Ricardo did when at the Brown Derby in “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16).
In 1969, Lucy repeated the gag with Johnny Carson standing in for William Holden. In both cases the action was set at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Carson was covered in drinks instead of cream pies.
In this episode, however, the next booth is empty. Kim remarks:
“You see? You haven’t lost your touch!”
The luncheonette where Lucy meets Kim for lunch is the same one seen in “Lucy and Rudy Vallee” (S3;E12). In that episode, the luncheonette was owned by Vallee and he worked there to pass the time. Naturally, he is nowhere to be seen in "Lucy’s Vacation.”
Harry wears glasses for most of the episode. Previously, he only wore them when ogling a Playboy centerfold. With glasses, Gale Gordon resembles Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana, a character he played in two episodes of “I Love Lucy.”
Alphabet Soup! Lucy brings Harry the Mosier file, but she retrieves it from the file drawer marked “A-D.”
Props! There is a small blue vase on Lucy's desk with nothing in it that has never been there before. Probably Lucy was supposed to put the plucked orchid in it, but there was not enough stem for it to stay put, so Lucy just lies it on her desk.
“Lucy’s Vacation” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
This episode isn't terribly funny but it does have some minor joys. Gale Gordon gives one of his most interesting performances here and the interplay between him and Lucy is really good. It is also worthwhile for Lucy's outrageous outfit in the second half! The twist ending is not a surprise, but is fun.