“The Adagio”, Season 1, Episode 12, Filmed 11/23/51, Aired 12/31/51

For those of you who have sisters, you know how much you all think alike. My sister Ali and I are 6 years apart, however our humor is very similar. The older we get the more alike we become. Talking with her is always therapeutic, whether it’s talking about our lives or quoting “Family Guy”. She’s studying abroad in Paris and is having an amazing time so far. Thank goodness for Skype and Facebook, this way we don’t miss any laughs.
In “The Adagio” we once again find Lucy wanting to be in the show. Ricky is looking for Apache dancers. Fred tries to teach Lucy the ways of the Apache, however she wasn’t really learning. Ethel comes and saves the day by bringing Lucy “Jean Valijean Raymand”, a french man who knows how to do the Apache dance. Mr Raymand ends up falling in love with Lucy and wants to run off with her. Lucy throws him out and later that night, Mr. Raymand comes back and challenges Ricky to a duel. Once Mr. Raymand explains that he doesn’t really want to duel or run away with Lucy, he just thought that’s what americans wanted frenchmen to be like. Ricky plays a little trick to teach Lucy a lesson. Does she ever REALLY learn her lesson.
The actor who played Jean Valijean Raymand was named Shepard Menken and he was adorable. He continued on to do many other “I Love Lucy’s” then later on in his life worked a lot doing voiceovers for cartoons and cartoon movies. How fun is that? He did everything from Garfield to Bugs Bunny. I liked that this episode had to do with something French after talking to Ali in Paris. The Apache dance sounded interesting, one of the few kinds of dance I know NOTHING about, and after looking it up all I gotta say is WOWZA! “Apache is a highly dramatic dance associated in popular culture with Parisian street culture in the beginning of the 20th century.... The dance is very brutal to the woman, and sometimes said to reenact a "discussion" between pimp and prostitute. It includes mock slaps and punches, the man picking up and throwing the woman to the ground, or lifting and carrying her while she struggles or feigns unconsciousness. In some examples, the woman may fight back.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_(dance)) It looked more like fighting until they pull each other close and kiss. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s48wDOalMLw