Hoppla Lucy!

Although this show was weaker than "I Love Lucy" it was still pretty funny in its original form. The chemistry of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, as single mothers raising their children, made "The Lucy Show" work, especially its first season on the air. Despite some of the bizarre plotlines the two women were believable as two friends struggling in a largely manless environment. But with Vance's departure in 1965 it fell apart at the seams...Lucy became more of a cartoon character as the show became more shallow and relied too heavily on "guest stars," and Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft were weak substitutes.

Lucy probably should have pulled the plug on this one in '65.