TV SPECIALS

Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason, two giants of American TV comedy, combined in this single special which broke down into three separate situations depicting marital crises.

In the first vignette, Herb and Sally, Lucy and Jackie Gleason are a couple seeking to restore excitement in their marriage, they discover truths about one another after 24 years of marriage on a vacation to Rome. Lucille wears a black wig with silver highlights in a theme of an unloved wife begging her disinterested husband for romance and passion.

The second, Fred and Rita, Lucille and Gleason play a couple involved in adultery trying to decide whether they should tell their spouses. They find themselves in a tacky, hideaway nightclub with Lucille in an upswept blonde wig and feathers.

in the final vignette, Mike and Pauline, Lucille and Gleason play a couple involved in a Christmas family crisis as over-dominating parents forced to realize their children's independence. This is the longest of the three parts of the special. Lucille is wearinga honey-brown wig as she portrays an over-emotional mother who tries to manipulate her family, including her spouse.

Special Notes: Lucille previously worked with Jackie Gleason in the Here's Lucy episode, "Lucy Visits Jack Benny". This special is berated by the critics and the ratings are not as large as Lucille's previous specials. CBS is in panic that it will lose its number one place after more than twenty seasons at the top. This pretty much spells the end of CBS' confidence in television shows featuring Lucille Ball.