This Day in History January 19, 1953

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Okay, I know, I wasn't even born yet, and this was way before my time.  But I watched I Love Lucy reruns as I was growing up, and I continued to watch them well into my adulthood.  My daughter loves them.  I don't like to watch them now because my dad loves them, and I can't stand watching anything with him.  He acts like a 2-year-old as he watches the same episode he has seen many times.

On this date in 1953, "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" aired for the first time on television.  They chose this date so that it would coincide with her planned Cesarean section of her real-life child.  It was the most-viewed television show up to this date--at least 68% of American TV's were tuned to this episode, but some estimate the number should be 75%.  More people watched this than the inauguration of President Eisenhower.  This episode was watched by somewhere around 44 million viewers.

I hadn't realized that a few months later, Desi Arnaz, Jr. (the real child of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) was featured on the cover of the very first TV Guide magazine.  This caused that new magazine to skyrocket in popularity as you can well imagine.

I always loved this episode, and if you don't know the history surrounding it, the show did something that had never been done during this time.  Lucille Ball was pregnant, and instead of hiding it, they wrote it into the show.  They didn't have to, but I will tell you that those were outstanding episodes.

I often miss good shows like these old sitcoms.  I hardly watch any current sitcoms, and if I watch anything, I have to be so careful of the content when my daughter is around.  It is such a shame to see what we watch for entertainment nowadays.



For more information, check out these sites:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/blog/?p=1065
http://everythinglucy.blogspot.com/2007/01/happy-birthday-little-ricky.html