Loving Lucy for 60 Years

This past weekend Hallmark Channel was showing the “I Love Lucy” 60th anniversary marathon. I could not let an opportunity like that pass me by. First it’s cool to know that the show has been around that long it’s like the most classic of all the classic reruns. Also I have not actually seen all the episodes multiple times like some other shows I will see the popular ones on marathons but not all the random episodes that get less press because of this most of the ones that were on this marathon I had never seen before so even if the show is 60 years old the episodes were new to me. Another interesting thing about watching the show or anything that old is the glimpse in to the past that it gives us. I roll my eyes at the twin beds and am slightly annoyed by the 50s style gender roles because they are outdated now. When I was in high school and watching another marathon I remember my dad pointing out that the show was considered progressive at the time because Lucy and Ricky are an interracial couple. A show being around for that long also means it gets referenced a lot by other shows. There’s a specific “Golden Girls” episode where Blanche and Rose are watching a marathon of course that was probably just for the 40th anniversary. The show has staying power due to its quality there are plenty of shows that have come since that don’t stand the test of time and things that are much more recent but try to hard to be current so their references are harder to understand. Older shows did not really make that many references to the pop culture of the time or if they did the things they were referencing became as classic as they are and no one wonders about them. The jokes on the show are mostly based on the situations and not depended on insults and dialog like some modern shows. Also in some instances the crazy situations are more realistic then things that occur in more modern shows. Some of the themes transcend time. Like the husband and wife relationship which has changed in details over the years but the idea of fighting and scheming for each to try to get their own way remains a theme in a lot of shows. Also spending a lot of time with you best friend is a theme the started with Lucy and Ethel and continued to the future in most shows the female lead has a close girlfriend she can have on her side. So even after 60 years everyone still loves Lucy even those of us who have only been around for half that time.