Angel

the 1960-61 season was and is know today as the first prime time TV season were America's Favorite TV couple (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez) were absent from. the Lucy and Desi show was cancelled and sooner or later,they were nowhere to be found. That same season, CBS proposed and aired two replacement shows, the first show was a spin off of December Bride called Pete and Gladys, it starred Harry Morgan and Cara Williams and the show contained a somewhat similar premise to I Love Lucy (not to mention it originally aired on Monday Nights, The Same time I Love Lucy originally aired).

the Second replacement show that aired during that same season came from Lucy creator Jess Oppenheimer called Angel. it starred Annie Farge who played the french female lead who decides to Marry American male lead Marshall Thompson, but once that happens, a big culture clash occurs.

Sounds familiar? well if you think about, Angel is pretty much I Love Lucy in reverse, instead of having a male Latino Man marrying an American Female woman, you have a french female woman marrying an American Man, in which a major culture clash occurs in both situations. Of course there are some major differences (Angel not being a bandleader where as Desi Arnez is) but for me to compare Angel with I Love Lucy would be pretty unfair. I think Angel still has it's own unique charm, despite the fact it didn't do very well (it only lasted for one season) and I Love Lucy is to this day considered a historically important classic. If Angel will ever get released on DVD, it will either find a new Audience with Hardcore Lucy fans or it would dismissed by them because they'll think I Love Lucy's better (which just might happen, that is if it get's a DVD release).

After many years of obscurity, Classic Flix will be releasing the first thirteen episodes of Angel on DVD in the U. S. in December 2024. I can't wait to see what these rarely seen shows look like after all these intervening years. There are so many guest appearances by well-known actors of the early 1960's. It's interesting to compare this show to its predecessor I Love Lucy. But actually, the star, Annie Fargé, lends her unique talents to make the premise of the show seem fresh and original. There are many comic moments to had here. Taken on its own merits, Angel is a completely serviceable time capsule of an innocent era of TV. Here's hoping that it finds a new audience after so many decades of absence.