by Michael Lyons
Summer vacations are a funny thing. We can plan and plan for a year, and still, it may never be perfect. A lot can go wrong.
Some of television's most famous sitcoms know that very well, and when the characters in those sitcoms have gone on vacation, funny things happen:
I Love Lucy, The California Episodes, 1955
For half the fourth season and part of the fifth season of I Love Lucy, Lucy (Lucille Ball), Ricky (Desi Arnaz), Ethel (Vivian Vance), and Fred (William Frawley) travel cross country from New York to Hollywood, California, as Ricky has been offered a part in a big studio movie.
There episodes focusing on the trials and tribulations of getting to California, including a stop in Tennessee where they meet cousin Ernie (played hysterically by singer Tennessee Ernie Ford).
Then, when they finally arrive in California, there is episode after episode featuring some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including William Holden, John Wayne, and Richard Widmark, playing themselves in some of the classic sitcom's most famous and funniest episodes.
The Odd Couple, Felix, The Calypso Singer, 1971
Oscar (Jack Klugman) books a Caribbean vacation to the island of "Hockaloma" with Nancy (Joan Hotchkis), but when she has to cancel at the last minute, he takes Felix (Tony Randall).
When Nancy is able to come, Oscar pushes Felix aside, and the guilt trip Felix provides Oscar is all of the fun, as is the disastrous location Oscar has booked for his vacation. "Who else would buy a package tour of Devil's Island?!" asks Felix of Oscar.
All ends well, including Felix singing a calypso song in the dilapidated resort that is a true earworm you'll be humming for days after.
The Brady Bunch, The Hawaii Episodes, 1972
Talk about a classic sitcom's most famous episodes - this three-parter where Mike Brady (Robert Reed) is sent to Hawaii on business and takes the whole bunch with him is one of the best.
While in Hawaii, the Bradys find a tiki idol that brings them bad luck, such as Greg (Barry Williams) wiping out in a surfing contest, a tarantula crawling into the hotel room and onto Peter's (Christopher Knight) bed, and Alice (Ann B. Davis) throwing her hip out while doing the hula.
The boys feel they have to return the idol to a cave to break the spell and encounter a mysterious stranger, played by none other than guest star Vincent Price.
This is oh-so-Hawaiian, oh-so-70s, oh-so-Bradys and oh-so-rewatchable, again and again.
Full House, The House Meets the Mouse, 1993
Never has there been a more innocent, unrealistic, and, yet completely entertaining visit to Walt Disney World.
Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) takes the whole "House" to Disney, and things don't go right, but they're still magical in this multi-part episode. Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) is dubbed Princess of the Day at Magic Kingdom Park, DJ (Candace Cameron Bure) thinks she sees her boyfriend Steve as Aladdin in the parade at the then Disney-MGM Studios (incidentally, Scott Weinger, who played Steve, was also the voice of Aladdin in Disney's 1992 animated feature) and Jessie (John Stamos) gets to sing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" in front of Cinderella Castle, after which Danny proposes to Gail (Vicky Larson) as the fireworks fill the sky.
"The House Meets the Mouse" is remembered fondly...make that beloved...by the generation who grew up with the series. And why not? It's full of such feel-good '90s Disney nostalgia. After watching it, you will immediately want to book your next Walt Disney World Vacation.
Hopefully, these episodes, and others out there, will help you prepare to enjoy your summer vacation this year. And, if all doesn't go as planned, well, as these sitcoms promise, you can always look back and laugh.
Looking for something to read or listen to on your vacation? Check out my articles, podcasts and books at Words From Lyons !
