Diane Morgan, Mandy, the biscuit factory sketch and the debt of honour comedians owe to Lucille Ball.

[Redheadedstepchild]

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz really did come up with some comedy firsts. I was watching the Diane Morgan biscuit factory skit and thought, "Where have I seen this before?"

It was Lucy and Ethel at the candy factory with the runaway conveyor belt. Then I thought of the grape tramping scene. Redone again and again. "The French Lesson" is Eddie Izzard's, "Ou est la plume de ma tante" almost word for word.

The out of control potter's wheel scenario - Lucille Ball.

Between herself and Desi - they really did invent the sitcom. The interlocking three set design, the live studio audience, the concept of the re-run.

The stick figure cartoons of Lucy and the gang gave Hanna Barbera their start. (Prototype Wilma Flintstone)

Clever person was our Lucille. Not to mention being very visibly pregnant onscreen at the age of 43! In those days! And writing the pregnancy into the script.

What a woman! She also produced Star Trek.

Just something I noticed. Might be better off in Telly Addicts or even Feminism but, y'know,

"I Love Lucy" And I hope you would like to at least get to know her work too.

Oh, I've gone over my editing time limit but just to add, she said, "No disability or race jokes" for the scripts of, "I Love Lucy."

Here's the chocolate/candy factory sketch by the way:

Not uproariously funny because it's slower than today's film editng but still good and an inspiration. She did master the art of physical comedy very well because her background was in vaudaville. Unusual to play a funny woman who wasn't conventionally the foil to a man.

Also Desilu sold contractual rights to air, "I Love Lucy" to Central and South American audiences because of the visually funny element.

Like Rowan Atkinson and Mr Bean. Which was a take off of Jacques Tati and Monsieur Hulot's Holiday

We'll be here all night...

They appreciate Lucille Ball much more in the USA, one of the Florida theme parks (Universal?) used to have a big show/section devoted to her.

Thank you OP, that clip made me giggle!

I suppose its like music. Influences show clearly.

I used to love watching I Love Lucy back in the olden days .
I cant bear Diane Moran when she is trying to be funny . I like her as an actress but the sketches are unbearable to me.

I love Lucy, too!

If I may say so, that's your loss

That's a very interesting point OP. It's true she was great.

Thanks for the video, it is very funny and similar to the sketch in Mandy.

remember seeing a few episodes of I Love Lucy when I was a kid and I would like to see more now.

The candy factory sketch is hilarious. It's the bit when they start stuffing the chocolates anywhere just to get them out of sight. Lucille Ball was a brilliant physical comedian. Don't know why no platform has picked up I Love Lucy for UK watching.

A nice blast from the past.

The Lucy Show is being shown on Talking Pictures TV Freeview 82 on Fridays at 11am,

That's probably because you are too young?

@Redheadedstepchild I used to watch I Love Lucy, and have seen Monsieur Hulot's Holiday.

I love Diane Morgan's Philomena Cunk. She is hilarious. Not keen on her other stuff though.

Here''s the bread making sketch that did Monty Python surrealist humour before they even knew it was such a thing. Also has a subtle reference to the cost of living, if you listen carefully to Ethel.

She wasn't a redhead. She was a natural blonde.
Most powerful woman in Hollywood in her day.

I agree with you,OP.

I lived in the US as a child so I saw a lot of I Love Lucy. She was way ahead of her time.

Her shows were very popular in the UK in the ‘60s and early ‘70s.

I loved her when I was a kid.

I reckon that ‘The Nanny’ - have only seen clips, though - owes her a great deal.

Devoted Trekkies will know the debt they owe Lucille and Desi.

I also love Lucy, she was amazing. And your post reminded me of Carole Burnett.

Maybe this is just an appreciation post but it reads to me quite disapproving and disparaging of people "taking off" or "redoing" things? I think there's a big difference between being inspired by something and copying something.

Had not heard of her - not sure if it was ever on British TV? Sketch that you posted was funny and I’ll look for more.

She was a tall, platinum blonde bombshell in a few of the Fred and Ginger films, she plays the friend of Ginger Rogers’ character in Follow the Fleet and she also had a small role in Top Hat.
I’d not seen that chocolate factory clip before, thank you OP. Very funny.

Some are inspired by, some are obvious steals. Mr Bean/Monsieur Hulot is to me in the inspired by category. That particular sketch of Diane Morgan's is so very close as to be a bit cheeky, I think, personally. In my opinion. Others may disagree.

It's like so many things. There's plagiarism and inspiration. I was just idly watching the Mandy sketch the other night and thought, "Damn it! What does this remind me of?"

Like sometimes you hear a new song and think, "I swear that's whatsit from ten years ago but speeded up/slowed down and with a few different words."

Other times you realise that it's got some similarities to something else but is a fine tune in its own right.

As for the sitcom format which really did get started properly with, "I Love Lucy" it's incredibly difficult to break out of and still be funny somehow, hence why so many Christmas Specials or the, "Let's put all the characters in a foreign country and make it half an hour longer" episodes of comedies are generally awful.

There's exceptions of course but they're rare. If a sitcom can really pull off an extended length Christmas Special then it's a masterpiece for all the ages, I would say.

Other things just become one of those things. Conveyor belts and potter's wheels for instance. They're just staples, somehow.

There was probably somebody doing a potter's wheel routine in Ancient Egypt.

She definitely was - I used to watch her shows with my mum and dad. I have a clearer memory of her later ones, after she and her husband split.