A Guide To I Love Lucy
Airs on Monday nights at 9:00-9:30 on CBS
Overview:
I Love Lucy debuted on October
15, 1951. The world was introduced to the Ricardos and the Mertzes for the first
time. And a television classic began.
During the first season, you could tell
that Desi and company were still working things out. Between different episodes,
the sets and props change, Lucy's hairstyle changes, and the crew is still
working with the makeup and the lighting. Plus, the actors are still adjusting
to their characters. The episodes seem to have a primitive, "beginning" feel to them,
which is understandable.
The show was still
uncertain about what directions to take, so many episodes of the first season were
rewritten from old scripts from the "My Favorite Husband" radio
series. Over half of the first-season episodes were based on "My Favorite
Husband" scripts.
The show was an immediate hit. Within four months, it was coming in at #1 in the
ratings. At the end of the season, TV shows' ratings were averaged out. And
I Love Lucy finished as the third-highest rated show of the 1951-52
season (behind Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and Texaco Star Theatre).
As the last episode of the first season was being rehearsed, Lucille Ball told
everyone that she was pregnant. This was a shock. What would the show do?
Jess Oppenheimer decided to have Lucy Ricardo
pregnant on the show too. After getting the network and sponsor to agree, they planned to
have Lucy Ricardo give birth next season. But now they had a problem. They had
to film enough episodes, and still leave Lucy with enough time to rest before
her baby was due in January. So they had to start filming the second season
episodes immediately.
1. The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub
First aired: October 15, 1951
Guests: none mentioned
It's Fred and Ethel's 18th anniversary. The girls
want to celebrate it by going out to a nightclub. But Ricky and Fred want to go
to a boxing match that night.
Songs sung: "Guadalajara" (sung by Desi
Arnaz in Spanish)
Real-life connections: "Guadalajara" was
a minor hit for Desi Arnaz in the late 40s.
2. Be A Pal
First aired: October 22, 1951
Guests: Richard J. Reeves (Hank), Tony Michaels
(Charlie)
Lucy thinks that her marriage to Ricky is growing
cold. She tries various ways to fix it.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Be Your Husband's Best
Friend". In this episode, Lucy does a Carmen Miranda
imitation. Before the filming, she got Carmen Miranda's permission to spoof her.
In fact, the real Carmen Miranda was in the audience during the filming of this
episode.
3. The Diet
First aired: October 29, 1951
Guest: Marco Rizo (pianist at the Tropicana Club)
One of the girls in Ricky's show quits. This leaves
an opening for a singer in the show. Lucy wants it, but the number requires her
to wear a size 12 costume, and she's too fat. Ricky says that if she loses
enough weight to fit into the costume, and loses it in time for the show, she
can have the part. So Lucy starts dieting.
Songs sung: "Cuban Pete" (sung by Lucille
Ball and Desi Arnaz)
Real-life connections: The "Cuban Pete"
number was taken from Lucy's and Desi's vaudeville act.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Iris and Liz's
Easter". The Mertzes' dog, Butch, never appears or is
referred to again.
4. Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her
First aired: November 5, 1951
Guest: Jerry Hausner (Jerry the agent), Hector and
His Dogs (themselves)
Lucy overhears a conversation between Ricky and
Jerry the agent. Ricky is actually saying that he wants to get rid of a girl
singer. But Lucy misunderstands it, and thinks that Ricky is trying to
murder her.
Notes: This is the first episode that was filmed.
It's based on an old "My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "The Wills".
5. The Quiz Show
First aired: November 12, 1951
Guests: Frank Nelson (Freddy Fillmore), Lee Millar
(radio show announcer) Hazel Pierce (Mrs. Peterson), John Emery (Harold, a
tramp), Philip Ober (Arnold, the "first husband")
Lucy owes Ricky money. To raise money, she appears
on a radio quiz show called "Females Are Fabulous", a show that pays
women to do crazy things. The show says that they will pay Lucy $1000 if she
will help them pull a practical joke on Ricky. They will bring in an actor who will
pretend to be Lucy's "long-lost first husband"!
Real-life connections: Guest Philip Ober (Arnold) was Vivian
Vance's husband in real life. He also played the supporting role of Captain
Holmes in the Oscar-winning movie From Here To Eternity (1953).
Notes: Fred Mertz doesn't appear in this episode.
Freddy Fillmore the game show host would reappear in two later episodes.
6. The Audition Show
First aired: November 19, 1951
Guests: Pat Moran (Buffo the clown), Jess Oppenheimer
(TV scout), Harry Ackerman (TV scout)
Lucy wants to perform in Ricky's show. She asks
Ricky to let her be in his show, but Ricky refuses. "We've been over this
ten thousand times. I want a wife who's just a wife. I just want you to cook,
clean, and be the mother for my children." Later we learn that Ricky and
his band have an audition for a TV show. Ricky feels that if Lucy finds out
about the audition, she'll want to be in the act. So he tries to hide it from
her.
Songs sung: "Babalu" (sung by Desi Arnaz)
Real-life connections: Guest Jess Oppenheimer was a
writer/producer for the show. Guest Harry Ackerman was a CBS vice-president.
Notes: This episode is a remake of the original
pilot episode that Lucy and Desi made for this show. It includes the
"cello" routine and the "Professor" routine from Lucy's and Desi's vaudeville act. This episode marks the first
time that Ricky sings his trademark song, "Babalu", and the
only time in the series when he plays the song in its entirety. Ethel does not
appear in this episode.
7. The Séance
First aired: November 26, 1951
Guest: Jay Novello (Mr. Merriweather)
Lucy and Ethel become interested in numerology and
superstitions. Ricky thinks that it's silly. A horoscope says that today is a
bad day for Ricky. Then a Mr. Merriweather calls for Ricky about business. Lucy
mistakenly believes that Mr. Merriweather is Ricky's barber, and she says no to
him. Ricky is mad. So Lucy has to correct things.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Numerology". In that
radio episode, Jay Novello guest starred. Now here in this "remake",
he plays the same role.
8. Men Are Messy
First aired: December 3, 1951
Guests: Kenny Morgan (Kenny, the press agent), Harry Shannon
(Jim, the photographer),
Hazel "Sunny" Boyne (Maggie)
Ricky is being messy, leaving his things all over
the apartment, and Lucy is mad. She divides the apartment in half, so that Ricky
can have his messy side.
Songs sung: "Straw Hat Song" (sung by Desi
Arnaz)
Real-life connections: Guest Kenny Morgan (Kenny) was
the real-life head of Desilu's public relations department. He was also married
to Lucille Ball's cousin, Cloe.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "George Is Messy".
9. The Fur Coat
First aired: December 10, 1951
Guest: Ben Weldon (thief)
It's the Ricardos' anniversary, but Ricky forgets
it. Ricky brings home a fur coat that is to be used in
his nightclub act. Lucy finds the coat, and thinks that its Ricky's present for
her. When Ricky discovers what Lucy has done, he remembers that today is their
anniversary! Now what will he do? He can't let Lucy keep the coat, but he can't
tell her the truth. He has to find some way to get the coat back without hurting Lucy's
feelings.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Anniversary Presents".
10. Lucy Is Jealous Of A Girl Dancer
First aired: December 17, 1951
Guest: Helen Silver (Rosemary)
Lucy and Ethel read a gossip column that says that
Ricky is having an affair with Rosemary, one of the chorus girls in his act.
Ricky tells Lucy that the story is just a publicity gimmick (which is true). But
Lucy is suspicious.
Songs sung: "Jezebel" (sung by Desi Arnaz)
11. Drafted
First aired: December 24, 1951
Guests: none mentioned
Lucy opens a telegram addressed to Ricky. The
telegram is from the War Department, instructing him to be at Fort Dix. Lucy mistakenly
believes that Ricky has been drafted. The truth is, Ricky will be performing a
show at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He asks Fred to help him in the act, and Fred
agrees. Through a series of misunderstandings, Lucy and Ethel think that Ricky
and Fred have been drafted, while Ricky and Fred think that Lucy and Ethel are
pregnant!
Real-life connections: When Lucy reads the telegram
from the Army, it's signed "Maurice Thompson". Maurice "Maury"
Thompson was the name of one of the script clerks and camera coordinators on the
show.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "George Is Drafted-Liz's
Baby".
This episode first aired at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve of
1951. Even though this is I Love Lucy, I doubt that the ratings for this
episode were very good. Few people watch television at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
During this episode, Fred deduces that Ethel might be pregnant, and he actually believes that it
could be true. This is perhaps the only time in the series that implies that
Fred and Ethel are having a sex life.
12. The Adagio
First aired: December 31, 1951
Guest: Shepard Menken (Jean Valiean Raymond)
Ricky is looking for Apache dancers for his
nightclub act. Lucy plans to audition, but she doesn't know how to dance. Ethel
introduces her to a French dancer who could teach her. But the Frenchman
mistakenly believes that Lucy wants a romance with him.
Notes: This episode first aired at 9 p.m. on New Years Eve of
1951/52. Like the previous episode, I doubt that the ratings for this
episode were very good. Few people watch television at 9 p.m. on New Years Eve,
even for I Love Lucy.
13. The Benefit
First aired: January 7, 1952
Guests: none
Lucy's and Ethel's women's club is holding a
benefit. Lucy wants Ricky to perform at the benefit, and she wants to perform
with him.
Songs sung: "Shine On Harvest Moon" (sung by
Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley); "Auf
Wiedersehn" (sung by Desi Arnaz, with a little help from Lucille
Ball); and "Underneath The Bamboo Tree" (sung by Lucille Ball and Desi
Arnaz)
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Charity Review". In the scenes where someone plays the piano,
the person was only faking it. The actual piano playing was done offstage by
Marco Rizo, the pianist from Desi's band.
14. The Amateur Hour
First aired: January 14, 1952
Guests: Gail Bonney (Mrs. Hudson), David Stollery
(Timmy Hudson), Sammy Ogg (Jimmy Hudson)
Lucy buys an expensive dress without Ricky's
permission. When Ricky finds out, he tells her to take it back, unless she can
pay for it herself. So to raise money to pay for the dress, Lucy starts
babysitting.
Songs sung: "I'm Breaking My Back Putting Up A
Front For You" (sung by Desi Arnaz); and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe"
(sung
by Lucille Ball and guests David Stollery and Sammy Ogg)
Real-life connections: At one point in the contest,
Ricky mentions a "Little Willie Mae". Willie Mae Barker was the name
of the Arnazes' nanny.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Baby Sitting". Fred doesn't appear in this episode.
The actors who play the Hudson twins are not brothers, or even related. Guest
David Stollery (Timmy Hudson) later played Marty on the "Spin And Marty"
serials on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-59).
15. Lucy Plays Cupid
First aired: January 21, 1952
Guests: Bea Benaderet (Miss Lewis), Edward Everett
Horton (Mr. Ritter)
Lucy has a neighbor, an old maid named Miss Lewis. Miss
Lewis is infatuated with Mr. Ritter, a grocer. Lucy agrees to help her snare Mr.
Ritter, even though Ricky forbids Lucy to get involved.
Real-life connections: Guest Bea Benaderet had been
a co-star of Lucille Ball's on the "My Favorite Husband" radio series.
She was also Ball's original choice for the role of Ethel Mertz.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Valentine's Day". The Mertzes don't appear in this episode.
At the time this episode was filmed,
Bea Benaderet was playing
Blanche Morton on The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show. She was taking
time out from that show to guest star on Lucy. Benaderet would later
do the voice of Betty Rubble on the classic 1960-66 cartoon series The Flintstones, and she would
later star in the 1963-70 TV series Petticoat Junction.
Edward Everett Horton and Lucille Ball had appeared
earlier in the movie Top Hat (1935), although they didn't have any scenes
together. Horton had played a supporting role, and Ball had a small uncredited
role as a flower salesgirl.
16. Lucy Fakes Illness
First aired: January 28, 1952
Guest: Hal March (himself)
Ricky advertises for new talent for his show. He
lets Fred and Ethel audition, but not Lucy. Lucy is mad. Ethel warns Ricky that
some women have been get a complex when they are kept from doing what they
really want. Lucy hears this, and decides to fake insanity. Hopefully this will
convince Ricky to let her audition.
Real-life connections: Guest Hal March was a friend
of the Arnazes.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Liz Has The Flimjabs".
Guest Hal March had just finished a year on The George Burns And Gracie Allen
Show playing Harry Morton. He would later become the host of the classic
1955-58 TV game show The $64,000 Question.
17. Lucy Writes A Play
First aired: February 4, 1952
Guests: Myra Marsh (club chairwoman), Maury
Thompson (stage manager)
Lucy writes a play for her and Ethel's women's
club, the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. The play about a tobacco picker
in Cuba. She wants Ricky to star in it. But Ricky isn't interested.
Real-life connections: Guest Maury Thompson was one of the script clerks and camera coordinators on the
show.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Liz's Radio Script".
18. Breaking The Lease
First aired: February 11, 1952
Guests: Bennett Green (bum), Hazel Pierce (jam session
guest),
Barbara Pepper (jam session guest)
The Mertzes complain that the Ricardos are being
too noisy. There is a fight, and the Ricardos plan to move out. The Mertzes
point out that the Ricardos would have to pay up their lease. So the Ricardos
plan to break their lease. They become undesirable tenants, hoping to be
evicted.
Songs sung: "Sweet Sue" (sung twice:
The first time is by Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley.
The second time is by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz alone.); "El
Cumbanchero" (sung by Desi Arnaz in Spanish); and "Mexican Hat
Dance" (instrumental performed by Desi Arnaz's band)
Real-life connections: The sequence with the
bedroom window was taken from the Arnazes' life. Lucy likes to sleep with the
windows open, and Desi liked them closed.
Notes: When the Arnazes were casting the roles for I
Love Lucy in 1951, guest Barbara Pepper was one of the actresses they
considered for the role of Ethel Mertz. Pepper is best remembered for playing
Doris Ziffel on the 1965-70 TV series Green Acres. This is probably the noisiest episode
in the series.
19. The Ballet
First aired: February 18, 1952
Guests: Frank Scanell (burlesque comic), Mary
Wickes (Madame Lamond)
Ricky is putting on a cavalcade of acts at the
club. Naturally Lucy wants in. Ricky tells her that the only parts available are
for a ballet dancer or a pair of burlesque comics. Lucy tries to prepare for
either part.
Songs sung: "Martha" (sung by Desi Arnaz)
Real-life connections: Guest Mary Wickes was a friend
of Lucille Ball's. When the Arnazes were casting the roles for I Love Lucy
in 1951, Wickes was one of the actresses they considered for the role of Ethel
Mertz. But Wickes turned it down because she was afraid the job might affect her
friendship with Ball.
Notes: The comedy sketch "Slowly I
Turned" is a classic vaudeville sketch. It was performed by the Three
Stooges in their comedy short Gents Without Cents (1944), by Abbott and
Costello in their movie Lost In A Harem (1944), and again by
Abbott and Costello on their early 1950s TV series.
At one point in the episode,
Lucy gets her foot stuck on a handlebar. Some sources say that this was in the
script. Other sources say that Lucille Ball did it accidentally during the
filming, and that she worked it into the episode.
20. The Young Fans
First aired: February 25, 1952
Guests: Janet Waldo (Peggy Dawson), Richard Crenna
(Arthur Morton)
A teenage girl named Peggy Dawson has a crush on
Ricky. She has even dumped her boyfriend, Arthur Morton, so that she can chase
Ricky. Lucy thinks that Peggy is getting a little too annoying. So she plans to
get Peggy back together with Arthur.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Liz Teaches The
Samba". The Mertzes don't appear in this episode.
Guest Janet Waldo would
later provide the voice of Judy Jetson in the classic 1962-63 cartoon series The
Jetsons. The funny thing is that she was actually 34 years old at the time
of filming, only one year younger than Desi Arnaz. She was also pregnant during the filming of this episode, but she wasn't
showing very much. Then the wardrobe covered her up to hide her pregnancy even more.
Guest Richard Crenna would later play Walter in the 1952-56 TV series Our
Miss Brooks, and Luke McCoy on the 1957-63 TV series The Real McCoys.
Much later in the 1980s, he would play Colonel Trautman in the Rambo
movies with Sylvester Stallone!
21. New Neighbors
First aired: March 3, 1952
Guests: Hayden Rorke (Tom O'Brien), K. T. Stevens
(Mrs. O'Brien), Allen Jenkins (Sgt. Morton)
New tenants, Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, move into one
of the other apartments in the Mertzes' apartment house. Lucy is a snoop, so she
spies on them. Unbeknownst to her, the O'Briens are actors rehearsing a scene
for a TV show. They play enemy spies. Lucy overhears their rehearsing, and
thinks that they really are enemy spies who are planning to murder her and
Ricky!
Notes: Guest Hayden Rorke would later play Dr. Bellows on the
1965-70 TV series I Dream Of Jeannie. Guest Allen Jenkins was one of the
Falcon's sidekicks in the "Falcon" movie series in the 1940s.
22. Fred And Ethel Fight
First aired: March 10, 1952
Guest: Hazel Pierce (soda jerk)
Fred and Ethel have a fight, and Fred moves out of
the building. Lucy and Ricky manage to get them to reconcile. But in the
process, Lucy and Ricky end up fighting, and Ricky moves out of
the building. Now Lucy has to get Ricky back.
Real-life connections: This episode is based on a
real-life dinner party that the Arnazes gave in 1944 that had similar
circumstances.
Notes: The show's sponsor, Phillip Morris
cigarettes, is prominently plugged in this episode. In one scene in a drug
store, there are no less than three signs in the background that say
"Call for Phillip Morris".
23. The Mustache
First aired: March 17, 1952
Guests: John Brown (Mr. Murdoch)
Ricky has an audition for a Hollywood talent scout.
This could get him a role in a movie! To impress the talent scout, Ricky grows a
mustache, and Lucy hates it.
Songs sung: "I'll See You In C-U-B-A" (sung by
Desi Arnaz)
Real-life connections: At one point, Ricky says
that he once appeared in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls". In real
life, Desi had appeared in that show in 1939.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Respective Mustaches".
Guest John Brown is best remembered for playing Digger O'Dell the undertaker on the 1952-57 TV series The Life Of Riley.
He had also briefly played Harry Morton on The
George Burns And Gracie Allen Show in 1951.
24. The Gossip
First aired: March 24, 1952
Guests: Richard J. Reeves (Bill Foster), Robert
Jellison (milkman)
Lucy and Ethel have been gossiping a lot, and Ricky
and Fred are sick of it. The wives protest that the husbands are also habitual
gossips. So they make a bet. It's Lucy and Ethel versus Ricky and Fred. They bet
to see who can keep from gossiping the longest.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Gossip". Guest Robert Jellison (the milkman) would
later play the recurring character of Bobby the bellboy during the fourth
season.
25. Pioneer Women
First aired: March 31, 1952
Guests: Florence Bates (Mrs. Pettebone), Ruth
Perrott (Mrs. Pomerantz)
Lucy and Ethel complain that they need dishwashers
to make their work easier. Ricky and Fred claim that the girls have gotten soft,
and couldn't possibly do the work that their grandmothers did before all these
modern conveniences came along. So the wives and the husbands make a bet of $50.
They bet to see if Lucy and Ethel can live without modern technology and live
like their grandmothers did in 1900.
Songs sung: "The Merry Merry Month Of May"
(sung by Desi Arnaz and William Frawley)
Real-life connections: Guest star Ruth Perrott had
appeared sometimes on "My Favorite Husband" with Lucille Ball.
Notes: For the scene with the long loaf of bread,
real bread was used. After the episode was done filming, the studio audience was
invited to have a piece of it with butter.
26. The Marriage License
First aired: April 7, 1952
Guests: Irving Bacon (Bert Willoughby), Elizabeth
Patterson (Mrs. Willoughby)
Lucy finds her and Ricky's marriage license, and
sees that there was a mistake written on it. Ricky's last name is misspelled as
Bacardi! She wonders if their marriage is legally valid. For a joke, Ricky gets
the man at the License Bureau to say that it isn't. He soon regrets pulling this
joke. Now Lucy believes that their marriage is not legally valid, and she wants
to redo it all over again. She drags Ricky back to the Byram River Beagle Club
in Connecticut, where Ricky had proposed to her the first time. She insists that
they go through the entire proposal and wedding a second time, with everything
just like it was before.
Songs sung: "I Love You Truly" (sung by guest
Elizabeth Patterson)
Real-life connections: The story of the Ricardos'
marriage was based on the real-life marriage of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Both the Arnazes in real life and the Ricardos on the show were married at the
Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut. Also, the name "Bacardi" is a
connection. Desi had an uncle who was one of the founders of the Bacardi Rum
Company.
Notes: This episode was partially based on two
radio episodes from "My Favorite Husband": "Marriage
License" and "Anniversary". Guest Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs.
Willoughby) would later play the recurring character of Mrs. Trumbull in later
seasons. Guest Irving Bacon (Mr. Willoughby) had played a corporal in the
classic movie Gone With The Wind (1939).
27. The Kleptomaniac
First aired: April 14, 1952
Guest: Joseph Kearns (Dr. Tom Robinson)
Lucy's club is holding a bazaar where things will
be auctioned off. Lucy is the chairperson of the bazaar, against Ricky's orders.
So she hides the treasury money and all of the items that will be auctioned off.
When Ricky sees her hiding everything, he mistakenly believes that she is a
kleptomaniac.
Notes: Guest Joseph Kearns would later play the
first Mr.
Wilson on the 1959-63 TV series Dennis The Menace.
28. Cuban Pals
First aired: April 21, 1952
Guests: Alberto Morin (Carlos Ortega), Rita Convy
(Maria Ortega),
Lita Baron (Renita Perez)
Ricky books some of his old performing friends from
Cuba at the club. Lucy meets the old friends, and one of them is a dancer named
Renita. Lucy gets jealous of Renita, and plans to replace her in the act.
Songs sung: "The Lady In Red" (sung by Desi
Arnaz and guest Lita Baron); and "Similau" (sung by Desi Arnaz)
29. The Freezer
First aired: April 28, 1952
Guests: Frank Sully (delivery man), Bennett Green
(delivery man), Fred Aldrich (butcher), Kay Wiley, Barbara Pepper, and Hazel
Pierce (customers in the butcher shop)
To save money, Lucy and Ethel buy a huge walk-in
freezer for the cellar of the apartment house. Then they buy two sides of beef,
thinking that that's not very much beef. But when the beef arrives, it turns out
to be a lot of beef, and it all costs $483! Lucy and Ethel can't return
the beef, so they pay the bill. But their husbands aren't going to like this,
spending $483 on so much beef. Now they are stuck with more beef than they know
what to do with. They try to hide it from their husbands.
Songs sung: "Mama Inez" and "Cielito
Lindo" (both sung by Desi Arnaz in Spanish)
30. Lucy Does A TV Commercial
First aired: May 5, 1952
Guests: Ross Elliott (director), Jerry Hausner
(Joe), Maury Thompson (script clerk)
Ricky is hired to host a variety show on TV. The
show will be sponsored by Vitameatavegamin, a nutritional tonic. During the
broadcast, there will be live commercials for the product, and the commercials
will be done by a spokeswoman. Lucy wants to be the spokeswoman for the
commercials, but Ricky says no.
Notes: This episode contains one of the most famous
sequences of the series: the scene where Lucy rehearses the Vitameatavegamin
commercial, and gets drunk. Lucille Ball said that it was the best thing that
she ever did, and one of the hardest. The liquid used for the Vitameatavegamin
in the show was actually apple pectin. Ethel doesn't appear.
31. The Publicity Agent
First aired: May 12, 1952
Guests: Peter Leeds (reporter), Bennett Green
(photographer), Richard J. Reeves (assassin), Gil Herman (assassin)
Ricky is sad because he doesn't seem to be in the
public eye. "Nobody's talking about me." So Lucy decides to help.
Without telling Ricky, she and Ethel start a publicity scheme, claiming that the
"Maharincess of Franistan" has come halfway around the world to see
her singing idol, Ricky Ricardo.
Songs sung: "I Get Ideas" (sung by Desi Arnaz);
and "Cielito Lindo" (sung by Desi Arnaz in Spanish)
32. Lucy Gets Ricky On The Radio
First aired: May 19, 1952
Guests: Frank Nelson (Freddy Fillmore), Bobby Ellis
(office boy), Roy Rowan (radio show announcer)
The Ricardos and the Mertzes listen to a radio quiz
show, "Mr. And Mrs. Quiz". Questions are asked about American history,
and Ricky guesses the answers. He gets all the answers right! Lucy is impressed,
and thinks that Ricky should go on the show as a contestant. Later, Ricky
confesses to Fred that the reason he knew all the answers was that the show was
not presented live. It was actually prerecorded. Ricky had been in the audience
when the show was taped, and he heard the answers. To be truthful, he doesn't
know anything about American history. Meanwhile, Lucy arranges for her and Ricky
to appear on the show as contestants!
Notes: Frank Nelson makes his second appearance as
game show host Freddy Fillmore. For some reason, he doesn't seem to recognize
the Ricardos from when they appeared on his earlier game show in "The Quiz Show".
33. Lucy's Schedule
First aired: May 26, 1952
Guests: Gale Gordon (Alvin Littlefield), Edith
Meiser (Phoebe Littlefield)
Ricky's club, the Tropicana, has a new owner, Alvin
Littlefield. He is Ricky's new boss, and he is a stickler for punctuality. One
evening, the Ricardos have a dinner date with Mr. Littlefield and his wife. Lucy
causes her and Ricky to be late, and they are embarrassed. Ricky is mad at Lucy.
At Mr. Littlefield's suggestion, he puts Lucy on a schedule.
Real-life connections: Guest Gale Gordon had been a
co-star of Lucille Ball's on the "My Favorite Husband" radio series.
He was also Lucille Ball's original choice for the role of Fred Mertz.
Notes: This episode was partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" radio episode, "Time Budgeting". Gale
Gordon would
later play Mr. Conklin in the 1952-56 TV series Our Miss Brooks and the
second Mr. Wilson on the 1959-63 TV series Dennis The Menace, and he would
later co-star with Lucy again in her TV series The Lucy Show (1962-68) and
Here's Lucy
(1968-74).
34. Ricky Thinks He's Getting Bald
First aired: June 2, 1952
Guests: Milton Parsons (Mr. Thurlough)
Ricky thinks that his hairline is receding, and
he's worried. Lucy tells him that it's all in his imagination, but it doesn't
help. Ricky becomes overly obsessed with his fear of getting bald. Lucy has to
find a way to help him.
35. Ricky Asks For A Raise
First aired: June 9, 1952
Guests: Maurice Marsac (Maurice, the headwaiter at
the Tropicana Club), Gale Gordon
(Alvin Littlefield), Edith Meiser (Phoebe Littlefield)
We meet Ricky's boss, Mr. Littlefield, again. Lucy
pesters Ricky to ask for a raise. Ricky does so, but Mr. Littlefield says no. So
Lucy tries to help. Without telling Ricky, she tells Mr. Littlefield that Ricky
has received higher-paying job offers from other clubs (which isn't true). But
the plan backfires. Mr. Littlefield decides not to stand in Ricky's way. So he
fires Ricky!
Real-life connections: The name of the quick-change
artist, Hal King, is the name of Lucille Ball's make-up artist.
Notes: We see Fred in drag. Also. it was while this
episode was being rehearsed that Lucille Ball told everybody that she was
pregnant.
After the last episode of the season aired, I Love Lucy stopped airing for the summer. It didn't air reruns or anything during the summer. It just stopped airing completely, and a summer series aired in its place. (This was a common practice in 1950s television.) The summer series was a sitcom called My Little Margie. It was a rip-off of I Love Lucy, about a young woman named Margie Albright (played by B-movie actress Gale Storm). She lived in an apartment in New York City with her widowed father Vern (played by former silent movie star Charlie Ruggles). She got into crazy situations just like Lucy did. She also hatched crazy schemes, and was sometimes aided by her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Odettes. The critics hated the show, but the audience loved it. The ratings for the show were so high, that when the summer ended, My Little Margie was moved to a different timeslot, and became a regular series on the fall schedule. It lasted until 1955.
After the last episode of the season aired, I Love Lucy stopped airing completely. During the summer, original episodes of Those Whiting Girls (their summer replacement series from 1955) aired.
Season One (1951-52) Season Two (1952-53) Season Three (1953-54)
Season Four (1954-55) Season Five (1955-56) Season Six (1956-57)