I Love Lucy and Frasier

[zeldas_lullaby]

So I'm up too early this morning and I just caught the end of I Love Lucy. Her husband and best friends were threatening to sue her for libel because she'd apparently written a scandalous tell-all about them in which she referred to Fred as an old coot, etc. Then her publisher came over and explained that his secretary had been distracted and he'd signed off on the wrong book--he hadn't wanted hers.

"So long, book of the month!" she swore. "Now no one will benefit from my beautiful work of art."

Disheartened, and in true comic fashion, she ripped up all her copies and threw them away. Then her publisher called back and said he had a colleague who was interested in her manuscript. She had to dig through the incinerator and piece-meal her manuscript, and she stayed up all night retyping it.

Then she phoned her new publisher that morning, and he said, "I don't think this was made clear to you, but I want to use excerpts from your novel in a how-to book about writing a novel."

Lucy was thrilled, and told her friends. Then he said, "Your novel's excerpts are going to be in a section called 'Don't Let This Happen to You.'"

HA HA HA.

***** ***** *****

The episode of Frasier is even better. Frasier and Niles meet TS Houghton, a reclusive favorite author of theirs, who was famous for one book... he never published again. TS Houghton doesn't want to discuss his work and he's sick of people approaching them about it. He makes friends with their dad, Martin, though; because Martin just wants to hang out with him and catch a ballgame.

But when Houghton comes over to pick up Marty for the game, he accidentally leaves his writer's satchel with Frasier and Niles, who (of course) open it and read Houghton's entire second manuscript, fresh on its way to his publisher.

They love it. They're rapt. They're still trying to process it when Houghton and Martin return from the double-header. Martin is furious, but Houghton says, "No, it's OK. Someone had to read it first. So what did you think?"

Frasier and Niles become tongue-tied idiots and can't articulate a thing to save themselves. Houghton excuses himself to use the restroom, and by the time he's come out, Frasier and Niles are gushing about his book's reference to Dante's Inferno.

"You noticed that, did you?"

"Oh, yes. It was brilliant."

Mr. Houghton loses it. "That's it. That's what I was afraid of: I have nothing original left to say!" And then he hurls his only typed manuscript copy off the balcony.

Frasier and Niles are trying to comfort each other afterward (meanwhile their dad wants to kill them), and Frasier says, "If he couldn't handle our criticism, he wasn't ready to publish another novel."

And Niles says, "Yes, but what if..."

And Frasier says, "Don't go there."

"And that's why you're the big brother," Niles replies.

***** ***** *****

That's one of my favorite episodes of all time--it's just the way the actor says that: "I have nothing original left to say!" And then the document hurling. Anyone out there seen these, seen other shows similar, or have any comments?

[Ealasaid]

LOL. I have never seen the Frasier episode, but I tend to be a bit obsessed with I Love Lucy (I own the entire collection) so I knew what episode you were talking about before I even opened this topic. Poor downtrodden Lucy! I didn't think it was fair that the publisher made her give the check back - it was their mistake so they could eat their money. And Fred threatening to sue Lucy for calling him an 'old coot' is hilarious - Fred was the epitome of an old coot.

[gali]

I loved "I Love Lucy", though I don't recall this episode. .

[zeldas_lullaby]

HA HA HA!

To Gali: Yeah, I was never a big fan of Lucy, but when I wake up too early, it's on Hallmark, so I watch it. It's not bad.

To ealasaid: I completely agree, ealasaid, on all points! HA HA.

[KS Crooks]

I watched a few episodes of I Love Lucy, but sitcoms are generally not my thing. However I would like to acknowledge that without her Desilu studios we may have never been gifted with Star Trek. I have the entire original Twilight Zone series. To me still one of the best shows ever created, though hard to compare to others where you see the same characters each week. It is also a great place to see actors at the early stages of their careers. People like William Shatner, Elizabeth Montgomery, Telly Savalas, Robert Redford, Carol Burnett, Charles Bronsen, Peter Falk, Julie Newmar, etc.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Yeah, whenever I watch Murder, She Wrote, I pay attention to the names of the guest stars. And a lot of those names you listed, and people from that era, show up. It always gives me a little thrill to see a name on the screen that I can ID somehow!

[suzy1124]

Hahaha....another Lucy lover here....

My now adult kidlets were addicted to the Lucy shows, i've seen " re-runs of the reruns...

Many eons ago when i was a teen in high school i worked on an assembly line in a candy factory

My fave episode is Ethel and Lucy hilariously screwing up on their factory assembly line job...priceless!

[Ealasaid]

LOL, their drill sergeant boss was terrifyingly hilarious.

[ALynnPowers]

I loved I Love Lucy reruns on Nick at Nite! Never saw Frasier though... Sounds funny!

[zeldas_lullaby]

You've never seen Frasier??! Oh, you've got to. You'd love it. It's one of my all-tmie favorites.

-- 18 Apr 2015, 16:46 --

I mean, all-time favorites. HA HA.

[Gravy]

There was an episode of The Simpsons that fits this...
Marge wrote The Harpooned Heart

The Nanny also had the obigatory "wrote a book" episode, but it was Mr. Sheffield who wrote it.

Can't think of any more right now...but I'm sure I will

And I LOVE Lucy!!!

[zeldas_lullaby]

I guess it's one of those common sitcom themes with the old shows? I used to watch the Nanny, a long time ago, and I don't recall that one! Wouldn't mind to see it again, though! That show was a little over the top, but enjoyable all the same.

Yeah, I love her too!

[Gravy]

Golden Girls, when Blanche writes a book
I knew I'd remember another one

[zeldas_lullaby]

Ooh, ooh, I know that one! Isn't that the one where Dorothy gets Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? And Blanche gets rather manic from sleep deprivation? I LOVE that show!! I watch it and Frasier every night!!