I LOVE LUCY
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
I’m of two minds about this one-hour special, which pairs and colorizes two old episodes of I Love Lucy for modern prime-time consumption. One mind, the TV historian and teacher, is happy for anything that keeps old television alive, for younger audiences especially. Besides, in addition to the “Lucy stomps grapes” episode, there’s also a Lucy Christmas episode which was never part of TV’s syndication package. So that’s all good. But the other mind – the one belonging to the TV critic and purist – hates the idea of colorization, along with editing of scenes, speeding up of frames, and anything else altering what would have been the original presentation. Say, wouldn’t it be great to see all those lush interiors of Citizen Kane in color? Answer to my own rhetorical question: No, it wouldn’t.