CBS in recent years has acknowledged the enduring and seemingly indestructible power of I Love Lucy, packaging two episodes together, colorizing them and running them as occasional (and very successful) primetime specials, usually around Christmas and Easter. The network will do so again on Friday, December 22 with its annual presentation of The Christmas Episode (pictured at top), first telecast on December 24, 1956, and The Fashion Show(pictured below)-- first seen on Feb. 28, 1955.
In The Fashion Show, Lucy (Lucille Ball) convinces Ricky (Desi Arnaz) to allow her to spend up to $100 on a dress at a fashionable salon Beverly Hills. When an opportunity arises for Lucy to participate in a fashion show featuring glamorous movie star wives, she winds up spending five times that amount (big bucks back then)! Lucy hopes that if she gets a mild sunburn, Ricky will feel sorry for her and forgive her for spending so much.
Those I Love Lucy classics will be followed by two episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, both colorized for the first time. They are packaged as a holiday special, but they also serve as a loving tribute to CBS superstar Mary Tyler Moore, who passed away earlier this year. The Dick Van Dyke Show creator Carl Reiner chose the two episodes because he considers them two of Moore’s best.
In My Blonde-Haired Brunette(pictured above), first presented on Oct. 10, 1961, Laura dyes her hair blonde when she fears the romance between Rob and her is fading. In October Eve (pictured below), first seen on April 8, 1964, a painting of Laura returns to haunt her: Although she posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) took the liberty of undraping her.