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The flawless reactions of Ricky, Ethel and Fred made Lucy's antics all the funnier. Desi Arnaz is one of the television's funniest (and most under-rated) straight men. His facial expressions reacting to Lucy's disembodied voice singing "Shoo fly shoo" from inside a steamer trunk as a strange old man dances around the room still makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. Vivian Vance is unparalleled as a second banana sidekick. We all knew every time we heard Ethel Mertz say: "Lucy, what are you thinking?" we were in for a great ride. And William Frawley as Fred Mertz is the still greatest of all TV curmudgeons, with an unbeatable delivery that is still imitated years later. Watch the reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. The character of Frank Barone was easily an homage to Fred Mertz. With the quality of her co-stars beside her, Lucille Ball couldn't help but raise her game. But I Love Lucy would not have worked with anyone else in the lead. Lucille Ball was intuitively funny, inventive, and natural. Not just because she'd honed her craft over a 20-year career prior to the series working alongside such comic legends as Buster Keaton, Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, Red Skelton, Bob Hope, and the Marx Bros. And not because she had all the best lines or gags. But because no matter how insane things got in the scripts, Lucy (the actress) committed 110 percent. She believed it all, so we did, too. She didn't wink at the audience or try to show us how funny she was. She was real, committed, and believable. And that's why she was funny. And that's why we still laugh. My second reason for loving the show is Madelyn Davis, Bob Carroll Jr. and Jess Oppenheimer. A writing staff of three (Mostly two, since Jess also produced the show and was not in the writers' room as much as Bob and Madelyn). They created perfect farces. Classic gags, classic set-ups, classic story lines, classic jokes, classic structures. No topical references. No "name" jokes to date the material. All the humor came from relatable marital situations. And even better, every episode was filled with love – it's even in the title of the show. A mind-blowing statistic to those of us who write for television today – the first few years the show was on the air, Bob and Madelyn wrote 39 episodes a year. By themselves. Yes, you read that right. No writing staff. In a present-day series, the script writing rotates throughout a writing staff of 12 or more. Madelyn and Bob wrote 39 a year. By themselves. With only a week off at Christmas. When I asked them why – for a TV special I wrote and produced – they answered, "Because nobody told us we had a choice." It's the main reason the show has such a strong voice. And their genius is why the show has become the template for every series that came after it. My third reason for loving Lucy is because of the Lucy character itself. Everyone identifies with Lucy. She did everything we all wanted to do but were afraid to try. Lucy just jumped into situations and then tried to figure her way out of them. She was adventurous, headstrong, and spontaneous. The rest of us may let opportunities pass us by. But not Lucy. Lucy was also childish, selfish, sneaky, scatterbrained, scheming, insulting, jealous, and mean-spirited – a nicely flawed character that we still rooted for – because at times perhaps we're all a little childish, selfish, sneaky, scatterbrained, scheming, insulting, jealous and mean-spirited, too. And besides, the heart of the character was so big, and her love for her husband and her friends was so real, it surpassed all the other imperfections. And finally, I love "Lucy" for the simple reason that, thanks to the rerun, Lucille Ball is still the funniest woman on television today. I still laugh at every face, every "ewww," every gag. I'll watch her stomp grapes in Italy anytime it's on. I'll routinely watch "The Operetta" where she plays the toothless Queen of the Gypsies. I learn from her every time I watch her work. And for real heart, I'll watch the episode when Lucy tells Ricky she's pregnant. Lucy is in a class by herself. There will never be another one like her. Maybe the kids from that current CBS show can tune her in and learn a few things. Lucky for them she's still on five times a day. Billy Van Zandt is a writer/producer of more than 300 hours of television comedy and one of the most often-produced playwrights in the world. He received an Emmy nomination for his TV special "I Love Lucy: The Very First Show."
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