Editing I Love Lucy (section)

===Opening===
{{More citations needed|section|date=October 2018}}
[[File:I Love Lucy original.png|left|thumb|Shot of the opening animation used in season one's first 20 episodes, one of at least 13 opening animations<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lucyfan.com/ontheball2.html|title=On the Ball: Views and Reviews|website=www.lucyfan.com|access-date=December 16, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080616/http://www.lucyfan.com/ontheball2.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>''I Love Lucy: The Complete Series'' (disc four). 2015.</ref>]]

The opening familiar to most viewers, featuring the credits superimposed over a "heart on satin" image, was created specifically for the 1959–67 CBS daytime network rebroadcasts and subsequent syndication. As originally broadcast, the episodes opened with animated matchstick figures of Arnaz and Ball making reference to whoever the particular episode's sponsor was. These sequences were created by the animation team of [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]], who declined screen credit because they were technically under exclusive contract to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] at the time.

The original sponsor was cigarette maker [[Philip Morris USA|Philip Morris]], so the program opened with a cartoon of Lucy and Ricky climbing down a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes. In the early episodes, Lucy and Ricky, as well as Ethel and Fred on occasion, were shown smoking Philip Morris cigarettes. Lucy even went so far as to parody [[Johnny Roventini]]'s image as the Philip Morris "bellhop" in the May 5, 1952, episode, "Lucy Does a TV Commercial". Since the original sponsor references were no longer appropriate when the shows went into syndication, a new opening was needed, which resulted in the classic "heart on satin" opening. According to a 2003 interview conducted by the Television Academy Foundation with optical effects specialist Howard Anderson Jr., Anderson’s studio handled the post-production of the “heart on satin” title cards used in syndicated rebroadcasts of I Love Lucy. The original design of the heart motif and its typography was created by Verdun Philip Cook, an African American typographer and animator who collaborated with Desilu Productions during the show’s original run.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-22 |title=Howard Anderson, Jr. |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/howard-anderson-jr |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Television Academy Interviews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A' Design Award and Competition - Interview with Philip-Michael Weiner |url=https://competition.adesignaward.com/designer-interview.php?profile=222824 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=competition.adesignaward.com}}</ref> Other sponsors, whose products appeared during the original openings, were [[Procter & Gamble]] for [[Cheer (brand)|Cheer]] and Lilt Home Permanent (1954–57), [[General Foods]] for [[Sanka]] (1955–57), and [[Ford Motor Company]] (1956–57). The later ''[[The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour|Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show]]'' was sponsored by [[Ford Motor Company]] (1957–58) and [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse Electric]] Corporation (1958–60), as part of the ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]''.

The original openings, with the sponsor names edited out, were revived on [[TV Land]] showings, with a TV Land logo superimposed to obscure the original sponsor's logo. However, this has led some people to believe that the restored introduction was created specifically for TV Land as an example of [[kitsch]].

The animated openings, along with the middle commercial introductory animations, are included, fully restored, in the DVDs. However, the openings are listed as special features within the disks with the "heart on satin" image opening the actual episodes.

The complete original broadcast versions of Seasons 1 and 2, as seen in 1951–1953 with intros, closings, and all commercials, are included on their respective Ultimate Season Blu-ray editions.