In an episode of the 1962 Lucy Show Lucy visits a TV shop to get some tubes tested, the "Shop" was pretty realistically detailed with several vintage sets, tubes and chassis.


The big empty cabinet fron appears to be just a prop but the Zenith Portholes in the background are real, as is the test equipment, the 21" CRT and misc Radios. and as shes leaving you get a glimpse of a 9" General Electric portable and some other portable that might be a Motorola.

There are several floor model with the same face plate, Lucy's home set has the same face plate but is a prop set, I don't know if it's an actual model or what type it might be, possibly Westinghouse since they were sponsors of Lucy at one time.

Great images! Thanks for sharing.

If I owned that shop, I wouldn't leave bare CRTs sitting around where the public could access them. Someone might bust the neck off, and cause an implosion, ...

Favorite quote: "Recapping an entire machine to solve a problem is like carpet bombing an entire city to find one terrorist!" --Fred Longworth.
But all wax caps are evil...

Eric-

I don't know how you got those screen captures (maybe from a computer running a program playing a DVD you bought?), but they are fantastic quality. NO ringing/edge enhancement of any kind, which plagues so many DVDs, of recent moves much less a 1950's TV show. Both your captures as well as the source of the show itself are quite impressive. Thanks for posting them.

Chris, the screen captures were made using Power DVD on the PC, you play the disc and click the Picture button whenever you want to grab a shot, very easy.
I edited them down to a reasonable size with Photoshop.

There's only one thing about that shop that doesn't seem realistic... it's unusually clean and organized. I've been to many shops, and don't think I've seen one that clean! Seems there's always stuff, parts, papers, meters, and chassis laying around... even in the area where the customer would be. Perhaps they were just more organized back in those days.

In an episode of the 1962 Lucy Show Lucy visits a TV shop to get some tubes tested, the "Shop" was pretty realistically detailed with several vintage sets, tubes and chassis.


What is the name of that episode? (Thanks!)

What is the name of that episode? (Thanks!)

It's Season 1 Episode 9 "Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna"

It's Season 1 Episode 9 "Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna"

Thank you.

Yeah, the shop is way too neat. When I look at my bench, I think, there's a neat person inside of me that wants to come out and straighten up that mess.

Reece

I've been in TV repair before I was a teenager. All but one shop I have worked in was a mess! I bought the clean, organized shop I was working in 11years ago.
Guess what... It's now a MESS!!
Makes me feel good!
(by the way, the previous owner of this shop said nobody could ever fix the electrostatic Motorola's. Mine came to life 20 years ago to his surprise)!

Ricky's gonna be peeved when Lucy brings those tubes back all mixed up and tries to re-insert them.

Ricky's gonna be peeved when Lucy brings those tubes back all mixed up and tries to re-insert them.

Reminds me of a Jerry Lewis movie, where he plays the part of a TV repairman, and his girlfriend? swaps the tubes around in her TV, to give a reason for him to come over. And of course, her father hates him... :yes:

Reminds me of a Jerry Lewis movie, where he plays the part of a TV repairman, and his girlfriend? swaps the tubes around in her TV, to give a reason for him to come over. And of course, her father hates him... :yes:

Is that the one where he fools around with a Theremin ?

In another Jerry Lewis movie, "The Disorderly Orderly", he goes to a hospital room when a patient complains of snow on the TV. He removes the TV's screen(!), and a blizzard of snow pours out...

That prop set looks like it might have been built for a "Lucy in the TV" gag, which I think I may have seen once

If I owned that shop, I wouldn't leave bare CRTs sitting around where the public could access them. Someone might bust the neck off, and cause an implosion, ...



Typically, a snapped neck would just reduce a potentially-good tube (or at least a rebuildable dud) to junk, but implosions from neck breakage are rare. A nasty cut from the broken edges would be the most likely danger. If the tube were knocked off the shelf so that the faceplate or rim hit the floor or wall, the tube would be VERY likely to implode.

Favorite quote: "Recapping an entire machine to solve a problem is like carpet bombing an entire city to find one terrorist!" --Fred Longworth.

But all wax caps are evil...

That's ONE reason why I typically troubleshoot a set as-found immediately after adding fuses, then replace all paper capacitors as a preventive measure once I've verified that all the vital components (CRT, power transformer, flyback, yoke, etc.) are serviceable.

There's only one thing about that shop that doesn't seem realistic... it's unusually clean and organized. I've been to many shops, and don't think I've seen one that clean! Seems there's always stuff, parts, papers, meters, and chassis laying around... even in the area where the customer would be. Perhaps they were just more organized back in those days.

Exactly! My bench is almost always littered with frequently-used tools, a pile or two of junk wax capacitors, and several clip leads. I try to keep all my new parts and tubes stored neatly away in their bins, boxes, or bags as much as possible. Then, on a slow day, I'll go on a cleaning spree, putting all the tools back in the toolbox, tossing the junked caps in the trash, and hanging up the test leads on wall hooks. In another day or so, it's back to looking like a disorganized mess.

A client picking up his restored '53 Buick radio this week remarked during the final demonstration of the serviced set that the shop looked like something out of a sci-fi flick. Someone else remarked that my shop looked like "Doc Brown's lab" from Back to the Future.