List of I Love Lucy episodes

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS. All 180 episodes aired on Mondays.

In total 180 episodes of I Love Lucy were produced, plus a pilot episode. The pilot, which was not made for broadcast and did not air as part of the show's original run, is generally not counted as one of the episodes and therefore listed separately for reference. It is, however, available on DVD and Blu-ray releases of the first season. Following I Love Lucy, a further 13 one hour-long episodes were produced under the title of The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (later and more commonly known in syndication as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour) with the same cast and later packaged as seasons 7, 8 & 9 under the I Love Lucy series.

Series overview

Series	Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Rank	Rating	Households (millions)
				First aired	Last aired
I Love Lucy	1	35		October 15, 1951 (1951-10-15)	June 9, 1952 (1952-06-09)	3	50.9	7.78^[1]
	2	31		September 15, 1952 (1952-09-15)	June 29, 1953 (1953-06-29)	1	67.3	13.72^[2]
	3	31		October 5, 1953 (1953-10-05)	May 24, 1954 (1954-05-24)	1	58.8	15.28^[3]
	4	30		October 4, 1954 (1954-10-04)	May 30, 1955 (1955-05-30)	1	49.3	15.13^[4]
	5	26		October 3, 1955 (1955-10-03)	May 14, 1956 (1956-05-14)	2	46.1	16.08^[5]
	6	27		October 1, 1956 (1956-10-01)	May 6, 1957 (1957-05-06)	1	43.7	16.99^[6]
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour	1	5		November 6, 1957 (1957-11-06)	April 14, 1958 (1958-04-14)	—	—	—
	2	5		October 6, 1958 (1958-10-06)	June 5, 1959 (1959-06-05)	—	—	—
	3	3		September 25, 1959 (1959-09-25)	April 1, 1960 (1960-04-01)	—	—	—

Episodes

Unaired pilot

The unaired pilot was kinescoped on March 2, 1951, and was considered lost until the widow of Pepito Pérez (the clown who appeared in it) notified CBS Entertainment President Bud Grant that she owned a copy, given to Pepito Pérez by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in gratitude for his performance.^[7][8] The pilot was first broadcast as part of a 60-minute special on CBS television stations nationwide on Monday, April 30, 1990, 39 years after it was originally filmed.^[8][9] The opening titles and the initial voice-over were damaged and/or missing; in the 1990 special, Lucie Arnaz read the beginning lines of the opening voice-over, which then segued into the surviving footage.

The original 2003 DVD edition of I Love Lucy contained the pilot with a reconstruction of the opening titles and voice-over that were missing from the Pepito Pérez version. The original 35mm kinescope of the pilot was later located in the CBS archives, and was released on the "Ultimate First Season" Blu-ray edition of I Love Lucy on August 4, 2015.^[10]

Season 1 (1951–52)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
1	1	"The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 15, 1951	October 15, 1951 (1951-10-15)
The Ricardos and the Mertzes agree to celebrate the Mertzes' wedding anniversary together. The girls decide on The Copacabana, but the men want to go see the fights. An old friend helps Lucy and Ethel play a trick on their husbands, but Ricky and Fred soon see through the ruse and turn the tables.
2	2	"Be a Pal"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 21, 1951	October 22, 1951 (1951-10-22)
Lucy thinks Ricky is losing interest in her. Ethel reads to Lucy a book full of advice on how to rekindle the flame, and insists that Lucy take up Ricky's hobbies. When that does not work, Lucy decorates the apartment with things to remind Ricky of his childhood in Cuba, and then she puts on a performance as Carmen Miranda.
3	3	"The Diet"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 28, 1951	October 29, 1951 (1951-10-29)
Lucy is determined to lose weight, and Ricky provides an incentive by telling her she can appear in his show at the Tropicana nightclub where he and his band perform, if she can fit into a size 12 dress.
4	4	"Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 8, 1951	November 5, 1951 (1951-11-05)
Lucy cannot put down a murder mystery novel she is reading, which features a man who kills his wife to remarry. When Ethel tells Lucy's fortune with a deck of cards and predicts death in the future, Lucy fears that Ricky is planning to murder her--especially after she overhears Ricky talking about "replacing" a girl (actually one of the dancers in his show).
5	5	"The Quiz Show"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 5, 1951	November 12, 1951 (1951-11-12)
Desperate to balance her household accounts, Lucy agrees to a quiz show stunt in order to win $1,000, and must introduce a stranger to Ricky as her "long lost husband." However, when Lucy mistakes a tramp for the stranger, things get confusing. Notes: William Frawley does not appear in this episode. Frank Nelson makes the first of eleven appearances on the show, three times as game show emcee "Freddie Fillmore".
6	6	"The Audition"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 12, 1951	November 19, 1951 (1951-11-19)
Ricky sends Lucy downtown for an errand to keep her away from his nightclub while he does a TV audition, but when a clown has an accident and cannot make it, Lucy shows ends up taking his place. Notes: This is a remake of the original unaired pilot. Vivian Vance does not appear in this episode.
7	7	"The Séance"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 19, 1951	November 26, 1951 (1951-11-26)
Lucy is on a superstitious kick, studying numerology and astrology. This hobby almost destroys Ricky's career, as Lucy tells an important talent agent, Mr. Merriweather, that Ricky cannot appear in a show because of his horoscope. That problem is resolved when Mr. Merriweather reveals that he is also interested in the occult. To please him, Lucy arranges a séance that evening in their apartment featuring "Medium Rhea" (Ethel). But when both Lucy and Fred pretend to be a spirit, things quickly get confusing.
8	8	"Men Are Messy"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 25, 1951	December 3, 1951 (1951-12-03)
Tired of Ricky's messy behavior, Lucy divides the apartment in half. He can be messy in his half, but not hers. However, when a photographer from Look magazine is set to come the apartment to take pictures, Ricky expects Lucy to clean up the whole apartment.
9	9	"The Fur Coat"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 9, 1951	December 10, 1951 (1951-12-10)
Ricky rents a mink coat for an act at the club, but Lucy thinks it is for her, and will not take it off. He arranges for Fred to pose as a burglar and "steal", it, but when a real thief sneaks into the apartment during the night, Lucy manages to hang on to it.
10	10	"Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 16, 1951	December 17, 1951 (1951-12-17)
Lucy dons a disguise and heads for the Tropicana, upset by a gossip column item that links Ricky with Rosemary, a dancer at the club. Notes: William Frawley does not appear in this episode. In an earlier version of the script Rosemary was a singer, not a dancer, hence the episode's title.^[11]
11	11	"Drafted"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 2, 1951	December 24, 1951 (1951-12-24)
Lucy intercepts a letter for Ricky that asks him to appear at local Army base Fort Dix. She becomes convinced that he has been drafted (although the base just wants Ricky to appear in a show to entertain the troops). When Ricky asks Fred to join him, Ethel thinks the same, and they begin knitting their husbands going away presents. Ricky and Fred, however, think the girls are pregnant and decide to organize a baby shower. Note: A short Christmas tagline segment was filmed that aired immediately after this episode that included the four main characters, dressed as Santa Claus, prancing around a Christmas tree in the Ricardos' living room before a fifth Santa appears and disappears.
12	12	"The Adagio"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 23, 1951	December 31, 1951 (1951-12-31)
When Ricky needs a dancer for the Parisian Apache dance number at the club, Lucy wants to be in it. But her Parisian dance teacher has more than dancing on his mind.
13	13	"The Benefit"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 30, 1951	January 7, 1952 (1952-01-07)
Ethel wants Ricky for her club's benefit show, but Lucy wants to be in it too. Note: This episode was edited together with the episodes "Breaking the Lease" and "The Ballet", along with twenty minutes of new footage to create the unreleased I Love Lucy movie in 1953.
14	14	"The Amateur Hour"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 7, 1951	January 14, 1952 (1952-01-14)
Lucy ends up performing on stage when she agrees to take care of young twin boys who are set to appear in an amateur hour hosted by Ricky. Note: William Frawley does not appear in this episode.
15	15	"Lucy Plays Cupid"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 13, 1951	January 21, 1952 (1952-01-21)
Lucy's neighbor, Miss Lewis, has a crush on Mr. Ritter, the grocer. Lucy tries to help, but Mr. Ritter thinks that Lucy's dropped hints mean that she is attracted to him. Lucy must make herself a little less desirable to scare Mr. Ritter off. Guest Stars: Bea Benaderet as Miss Lewis and Edward Everett Horton as Mr. Ritter. Benaderet was one of the original choices to play Ethel Mertz but was unavailable. Note: Neither Vivian Vance nor William Frawley appear in this episode.
16	16	"Lucy Fakes Illness"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 18, 1951	January 28, 1952 (1952-01-28)
Ethel tells Ricky that if he keeps refusing to hire Lucy as part of his nightclub act, then Lucy will develop a complex. Inspired by this, Lucy pretends to suffer from the "three stages" of one--amnesia, delusions of being Tallulah Bankhead and regression to childish behavior. Ricky soon learns of the trick and quickly turns the tables by inviting a "doctor" to the house to examine Lucy. Hal March appears as himself.
17	17	"Lucy Writes a Play"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 22, 1951	February 4, 1952 (1952-02-04)
Lucy writes a play set in Cuba. She has Ricky in mind for the star, but he refuses the part. So she changes her play from Cuba to England and has Fred take Ricky's spot. However, once Ricky learns that a famous producer will be in attendance, he decides to surprise Lucy and appear in the play... but with the wrong script.
18	18	"Breaking the Lease"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 5, 1952	February 11, 1952 (1952-02-11)
The Mertzes are having a fun music-filled evening with the Ricardos in their apartment, but when the Ricardos continue singing after Fred and Ethel go back downstairs to their own apartment, the Mertzes, as landlords, quickly grow tired of the noise. This leads to a feud between the couples, with the Ricardos trying to break their lease. Note: I Love Lucy was briefly a radio program and this episode, retitled "The Lease Breakers," was broadcast on CBS Radio on February 27, 1952. This episode was edited together with the episodes "The Benefit" and "The Ballet" to create the unreleased I Love Lucy movie.
19	19	"The Ballet"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 11, 1952	February 18, 1952 (1952-02-18)
Wanting to be in the new act at Ricky's club, Lucy practices as a ballerina, then has a lesson in burlesque with the routine "Slowly I Turned". Mary Wickes appears as the ballet teacher. Note: This episode was edited together with the episodes "The Benefit" and "Breaking the Lease" to create the unreleased I Love Lucy movie.
20	20	"The Young Fans"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 18, 1952	February 25, 1952 (1952-02-25)
A teenager (Janet Waldo) has a crush on Ricky. Lucy tries pairing her up with another teenager (Richard Crenna) by attempting to teach the boy to dance--but this backfires when he falls for her. Lucy and Ricky then decide to make themselves appear very old to scare off their admirers. Note: Neither Vivian Vance nor William Frawley appear in this episode.
21	21	"New Neighbors"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 25, 1952	March 3, 1952 (1952-03-03)
Lucy cannot resist snooping in the apartment of the building's newest renters. When she hides herself to avoid discovery, she overhears the couple talking about murdering her and Ricky, stealing their identities, and then blowing up the Capitol. Little does Lucy realize that the new tenants are actors and are rehearsing a scene for a show. Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens guest-star as the new tenants.
22	22	"Fred and Ethel Fight"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 30, 1952	March 10, 1952 (1952-03-10)
The Mertzes have a fight, and Lucy makes an attempt to patch up their marriage. While Fred and Ethel patch things up, Lucy and Ricky must now patch up their own marriage.
23	23	"The Moustache"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 8, 1952	March 17, 1952 (1952-03-17)
When Ricky grows a moustache, Lucy protests by acquiring a fake white beard and gets Fred to apply it to her face with what he thinks is spirit gum, but it turns out to be Bulldog Cement. As a result, the beard will not come off, and soon a movie agent decides to visit with Ricky at the apartment.
24	24	"The Gossip"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 15, 1952	March 24, 1952 (1952-03-24)
Ricky and Fred make a bet with Lucy and Ethel to see which pair can go longer without gossiping, but the guys make it harder for the girls by planting a phony story too juicy to pass up.
25	25	"Pioneer Women"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 22, 1952	March 31, 1952 (1952-03-31)
After growing tired of doing the dishes by hand, Lucy asks Ricky for an electric dishwasher, but he refuses. This leads to Ricky and Fred betting Lucy and Ethel that they cannot live the same pioneer existence as their ancestors. Note: This episode was colorized and aired on CBS on December 14, 2018.
26	26	"The Marriage License"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 28, 1952	April 7, 1952 (1952-04-07)
After taking another look at her marriage license, Lucy notices a spelling error in Ricky's name and is not sure if she and Ricky are legally married.
27	27	"The Kleptomaniac"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 7, 1952	April 14, 1952 (1952-04-14)
Ricky finds some extra money in Lucy's purse and expensive items in the closet and jumps to the conclusion that Lucy is a kleptomaniac. What he does not know is that they are just donations for a charity and when Lucy finds out what Ricky thinks, she decides to teach him a lesson by pretending to be a thief in front of him. Joseph Kearns guest-stars.
28	28	"Cuban Pals"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 14, 1952	April 21, 1952 (1952-04-21)
A visiting Cuban dance troupe asks Ricky to do a number with Renita Perez, a little girl he used to dance with in Havana. Lucy is supportive until she finds out that Renita is not little anymore. She takes Renita's place at the club, but Ricky switches numbers when Renita's real dance partner shows up to do a voodoo number.
29	29	"The Freezer"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 21, 1952	April 28, 1952 (1952-04-28)
Lucy and Ethel have a meat freezer installed in the basement and celebrate by buying two sides of beef (700 lbs), unaware of how much a side is. Now they must try to get rid of the excess meat before Ricky and Fred find out.
30	30	"Lucy Does a TV Commercial"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 28, 1952	May 5, 1952 (1952-05-05)
Ricky needs a girl to act in a commercial for his television debut. Lucy immediately volunteers, but Ricky denies her. Lucy goes to the set anyway, and ends up in the sponsor's "Vitameatavegamin" health tonic commercial. As the tonic is 23% alcohol, Lucy soon ends up completely drunk. Notes: Vivian Vance does not appear in this episode. In the April 9, 2020 episode of Will & Grace, Debra Messing as Lucy, Matt Cook as the director and Brian Michael Jones as Joe, re-enacted the commercial scene. In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #2 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.^[12] In 2009, it moved to #4.^[13] This episode was colorized and aired on CBS on December 23, 2015.
31	31	"The Publicity Agent"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 4, 1952	May 12, 1952 (1952-05-12)
Ricky becomes depressed when he feels that his publicity is waning, so Lucy dreams up a stunt which involves her posing as the "Maharincess of Franistan" at Ricky's club.
32	32	"Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 11, 1952	May 19, 1952 (1952-05-19)
Lucy is so impressed at Ricky's correct answers to a radio quiz show that she gets him on the show as a contestant. What she does not know at the time is that the show was a delayed broadcast and Ricky was at the radio station when the questions were being asked. She then schemes to get the answers from the radio station before the program airs.
33	33	"Lucy's Schedule"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 18, 1952	May 26, 1952 (1952-05-26)
After being late for dinner with his new boss Mr. Littlefield (Gale Gordon), Ricky is determined to teach Lucy the importance of punctuality, so he puts her on a rigid time schedule. This eventually leads to a dinner with the Littlefields that is extremely rushed. Note: Gordon was one of the early choices to play Fred Mertz but was unavailable. He later starred with Lucille Ball in each of her later series.
34	34	"Ricky Thinks He's Getting Bald"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 25, 1952	June 2, 1952 (1952-06-02)
Ricky is concerned when he feels that his hairline is receding, so Lucy decides to teach him a lesson by giving him painful scalp treatments.
35	35	"Ricky Asks for a Raise"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 2, 1952	June 9, 1952 (1952-06-09)
At Lucy's insistence, Ricky attempts to pressure his boss (Gale Gordon's second and final appearance as "Mr. Littlefield") into giving him a raise, only to get Ricky fired. Determined to make things right, Lucy, with the Mertzes' help, decides to book up every table at the Tropicana to make Ricky appear popular. Fred and Ethel then point out that they need to make it clear that it is Ricky the customers want to see. With the help of Fred's old vaudeville friend and his quick-change cabinet, Lucy, Ethel, and Fred don various disguises and pose as clubgoers who become irate and storm out when they hear Ricky has been let go. Note: This was Gordon's final appearance on the series; he would later appear in one episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Season 2 (1952–53)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
36	1	"Job Switching"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 30, 1952	September 15, 1952 (1952-09-15)
Ricky and Fred think doing housework is much easier than earning money. Lucy and Ethel feel the opposite. So the men try doing the housework while the women attempt to earn a living by getting a job at a candy factory. Ricky and Fred find that they are no good at being housewives as they cause a huge mess in the Ricardo's kitchen, while Lucy and Ethel find themselves fighting against a speedy conveyor belt of chocolates that they have to wrap. Elvia Allman guest-stars. Notes: In 1996, TV Guide included this episode as part of its "100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History", ranking it #2.^[14] In the 2013 Paley Center for Media television special TV's Funniest of the Funniest, the candy factory scene was ranked first among the 30 funniest moments in TV history,^[15] with only one moment eligible per TV series. In the April 9, 2020 episode of Will & Grace, Sean Hayes as Lucy, Debra Messing as Ethel, and Lucie Arnaz as their boss re-enact the chocolate factory scene.^[16]^[17] This episode was colorized and first aired on CBS on December 7, 2014.
37	2	"The Saxophone"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	June 6, 1952	September 22, 1952 (1952-09-22)
Lucy plots to join Ricky and his band on the road for a series of one-night engagements by trying to play her old saxophone. However, she can only play one song, "The Glow-Worm". Nevertheless, she gets advice from Fred on how to be a "hep cat" musician and tries to con her way into tagging along on the trip, much to Ricky's frustration.
38	3	"The Anniversary Present"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 9, 1952	September 29, 1952 (1952-09-29)
Ricky asks neighbor Grace Foster (Gloria Blondell), to help him surprise Lucy with an anniversary present of real pearls, but Lucy soon suspects that Ricky is seeing another woman.
39	4	"The Handcuffs"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 16, 1952	October 6, 1952 (1952-10-06)
Lucy's practical joke backfires when she and Ricky are locked together without a key in a pair of Civil War handcuffs that Fred had, which Lucy mistook for a pair of "trick" handcuffs.
40	5	"The Operetta"	Marc Daniels	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 23, 1952	October 13, 1952 (1952-10-13)
Lucy writes an operetta for her women's club and pays for the costumes and scenery with a post-dated check, leading to trouble the day of the performance.
41	6	"Vacation from Marriage"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	August 1, 1952	October 27, 1952 (1952-10-27)
Bored with married life, Lucy and Ethel decide that a few days away from their husbands would be a good way to change things up. However, Lucy and Ethel quickly grow tired of living together and attempt to make Ricky and Fred jealous by pretending that they have dates.
42	7	"The Courtroom"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	August 8, 1952	November 10, 1952 (1952-11-10)
The Ricardos buy the Mertzes a new television set for their 25th wedding anniversary. When Ricky tries hooking it up, the TV explodes. In retaliation, Fred runs up to the Ricardos' apartment and kicks in the glass of their own TV. The whole situation ends up with both couples in court.
43	8	"Redecorating"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	August 15, 1952	November 24, 1952 (1952-11-24)
Lucy enters a contest to win new furniture and is determined to stay by the phone so she does not miss receiving the call that she won. In order to get her out of the house to see the new Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Ricky decides to fool Lucy into thinking she has won, by asking Fred to call her posing as a representative from the contest. The plan backfires when Lucy sells all of their old furniture to a second-hand man (Hans Conried).
44	9	"Ricky Loses His Voice"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	August 22, 1952	December 1, 1952 (1952-12-01)
Ricky gets sick during rehearsals for a new show. He ends up losing his voice and has to stay in bed, prompting Lucy to stage the show herself. Arthur Q. Bryan appears as Ricky's new boss.
45	10	"Lucy Is Enceinte"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 3, 1952	December 8, 1952 (1952-12-08)
Lucy tells Ethel that she has been experiencing health problems lately, including weight gain and having low energy. Ethel suspects that she is actually pregnant, and a visit to the doctor confirms this. Lucy tries to prepare the perfect moment to tell Ricky, but she keeps getting interrupted. Eventually, Lucy anonymously requests that Ricky perform his song "We're Having A Baby" at the club. Ricky gets quite a surprise when he finds out who requested the song.
46	11	"Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 10, 1952	December 15, 1952 (1952-12-15)
With the baby coming, Ricky decides to make Lucy breakfast in bed and shower her (baby) with gifts. Lucy then gets depressed thinking that all the special treatment she is getting is only because of the baby.
47	12	"Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 17, 1952	December 22, 1952 (1952-12-22)
Even though Lucy will soon be a mother, she still wants to be in Ricky's "Gay Nineties" revue.
48	13	"Lucy Hires an English Tutor"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 24, 1952	December 29, 1952 (1952-12-29)
Lucy wants her baby to be raised hearing nothing but perfect English, so she hires a tutor (Hans Conried) to teach her, Ricky, and the Mertzes proper English diction. The tutor turns out to be an aspiring entertainer, and hopes that Ricky will give him a break.
49	14	"Ricky Has Labor Pains"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 31, 1952	January 5, 1953 (1953-01-05)
When Lucy's pregnancy cravings and preoccupation with a baby shower leave Ricky frustrated and overwhelmed, he begins to develop psychosomatic pregnancy symptoms of his own. A doctor advises Lucy and Ethel to give Ricky some special attention as a cure, so the women ask Fred to organize a men-only "daddy shower" for him. When Fred calls it a "stag party" in front of Lucy, curiosity gets the best of her and she must find a way to sneak into the event.
50	15	"Lucy Becomes a Sculptress"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 7, 1952	January 12, 1953 (1953-01-12)
Lucy feels that her child should grow up with artistic influence, so she takes up sculpting. When Ricky arranges for an art critic to arrive and judge her work, she ends up disguising herself as a bust in an attempt to fool the critic.
51	16	"Lucy Goes to the Hospital"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 14, 1952	January 19, 1953 (1953-01-19)
With the baby due at any moment, Ricky and the Mertzes carefully rehearse the trip to the hospital. But when the big moment actually comes, things do not go quite so smoothly. When they eventually get there, Lucy stays in labor for quite a while, so Ricky goes to do his new show at the club. He is in full tribal face makeup when the call comes from the hospital, and he rushes over still in costume. Note: This episode aired the same day Lucille Ball's son Desi Arnaz, Jr. was born. For the five episodes following this one, any scene featuring Lucy was filmed in advance to accommodate Ball's leave, with "flashback" opening scenes featuring only the other cast members filmed closer to the actual airdate.
52	17	"Sales Resistance"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	August 29, 1952	January 26, 1953 (1953-01-26)
When Lucy buys a new kitchen gadget called the Handy Dandy Kitchen Helper, Ricky complains that she has no sales resistance. When Lucy attempts to return it, her sales resistance fails yet again. Sheldon Leonard guest-stars as the salesman.
53	18	"Inferiority Complex"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 6, 1952	February 2, 1953 (1953-02-02)
Lucy develops an inferiority complex, so Ricky consults with a psychologist on how to cure her. Gerald Mohr guest-stars as "Dr. Molin" (aka "Chuck Stewart").
54	19	"The Club Election"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 12, 1952	February 16, 1953 (1953-02-16)
Lucy and Ethel each run for president of their club, the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. They soon discover that the deciding vote will be from their club's newest member, Ruth Knickerbocker. Lucy and Ethel's campaigns end up taking a nasty turn, while Ricky and Fred each campaign separately for the other woman to win.
55	20	"The Black Eye"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 19, 1952	March 9, 1953 (1953-03-09)
Lucy and Ricky are both engrossed in a thrilling novel, and decide to read it aloud to enjoy it at the same time. When Ricky tosses the book to Lucy for her to put it away, it accidentally hits her in the face, giving her a black eye. Trouble begins when Fred and Ethel overhear the dialogue from the novel and, seeing the black eye, fear the worst. When Ethel will not accept the truth, Lucy concocts a "juicy story" about her falling in love with another man, which only leads to further trouble.
56	21	"Lucy Changes Her Mind"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 26, 1952	March 30, 1953 (1953-03-30)
Lucy seems unable to finish anything without changing her mind. Ricky loses his temper over it, so Lucy tries to play a trick on him with an old, unfinished love letter to a beau from high school. However, Fred finds out from Ethel and warns Ricky of Lucy's plot.
57	22	"No Children Allowed"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 20, 1953	April 20, 1953 (1953-04-20)
The Ricardos' lease does not allow children, and their crying new baby Little Ricky causes neighbor Mrs. Trumbull (Elizabeth Patterson) to complain to Lucy and Ethel about the noise. However, she later has a change of heart. This episode marked the beginning of recurring character Mrs. Trumbull.
58	23	"Lucy Hires a Maid"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 27, 1953	April 27, 1953 (1953-04-27)
Ricky allows Lucy to hire a maid because she keeps falling asleep during the day from staying up nights with Little Ricky. However, the maid she hires has a cozy schedule, refuses to help take care of the baby, treats Lucy with disdain, and eats most of the Ricardos' food. Verna Felton guest-stars as the maid.
59	24	"The Indian Show"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 3, 1953	May 4, 1953 (1953-05-04)
Ricky is planning an Indian number for his nightclub act, and assumes that motherhood has ended Lucy's show business ambitions. However, Lucy still wants to get in on the act, and persuades the female vocalist in the number to switch places with her.
60	25	"Lucy's Last Birthday"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 10, 1953	May 11, 1953 (1953-05-11)
When it seems that everyone has forgotten Lucy's birthday, she becomes depressed and wanders around town. She meets the "Friends of the Friendless" in the park, and joins them. They all march to Ricky's club to protest, where a surprise party is waiting for her. Note: This episode features Ricky singing "I Love Lucy," a version of the show's theme song with lyrics.
61	26	"The Ricardos Change Apartments"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 16, 1953	May 18, 1953 (1953-05-18)
Now that they have a baby, Lucy thinks that she and Ricky need a bigger apartment, but Ricky says they cannot afford it. When Lucy learns that neighbor Mrs. Benson has an extra room now that her daughter has married, Lucy has the idea to swap apartments with Mr. and Mrs. Benson.
62	27	"Lucy Is Matchmaker"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 25, 1953	May 25, 1953 (1953-05-25)
Lucy tries to fix up her girl friend with a bachelor friend of Fred's, but soon ends up as an unwitting party in a love triangle. Hal March guest-stars.
63	28	"Lucy Wants New Furniture"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 1, 1953	June 1, 1953 (1953-06-01)
When Lucy buys a new sofa and coffee table without Ricky's permission, he says she will have to pay for it out of her allowance. To save money, Lucy attempts to make her own dress and gives herself a home perm.
64	29	"The Camping Trip"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 8, 1953	June 8, 1953 (1953-06-08)
Determined to prove to friends from her bridge club that she and Ricky have not grown apart, Lucy starts spending all of her time with Ricky. When she wants to join him and Fred on a summer camping trip, Ricky takes Lucy into the wilderness for a practice trip to make her hate camping, but Lucy and Ethel team up to thwart his plan.
65	30	"Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 22, 1953	June 22, 1953 (1953-06-22)
Ricky and Fred are excited about watching a lengthy boxing match on TV. While Ricky and Fred stay glued to the set, Lucy and Ethel are mistaken for thieves and taken to the police station, while their husbands do not realize they are gone. Frank Nelson and Allen Jenkins guest-star.
66	31	"Never Do Business With Friends"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 29, 1953	June 29, 1953 (1953-06-29)
The Ricardos sell their old washing machine to the Mertzes, where it breaks down in their possession. They demand that the Ricardos take it back, but then change their minds when they find out how much a repairman is willing to pay for it. Herb Vigran guest-stars.

Season 3 (1953–54)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
67	1	"Ricky's 'Life' Story"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	May 15, 1953	October 5, 1953 (1953-10-05)
Life magazine does a picture story on Ricky, but Lucy is not in it, leaving her feeling resentful of Ricky for not letting her have a career in show business. To teach Lucy a lesson that show business is not all just glamour and stardom, Ricky tells Lucy that she will be the star in his new show at the club, and works her very hard during rehearsals, with no intention of actually using her in the show. When Fred inadvertently tells Lucy about Ricky's scheme, Lucy decides to upstage Ricky during his "Lady in Spain" number.
68	2	"The Girls Go Into Business"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 11, 1953	October 12, 1953 (1953-10-12)
Lucy and Ethel buy a dress shop behind their husbands' backs, but soon find that they are not making the profits that they anticipated.
69	3	"Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 17, 1953	October 19, 1953 (1953-10-19)
Lucy and Ethel are going to appear on TV with their women's club, and choose to sing Cole Porter's "Friendship" together. In addition, Lucy manages to use reverse psychology to get Ricky to host the event. All is well until the two women buy the same dress for the occasion.
70	4	"Equal Rights"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 24, 1953	October 26, 1953 (1953-10-26)
Tired of Ricky and Fred's attitude towards them, the girls demand equal rights. Ricky and Fred turn the tables on them when, out to dinner, they call for separate checks. Since Ethel and Lucy have no money, they must wash dishes to pay for their meals.
71	5	"Baby Pictures"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 1, 1953	November 2, 1953 (1953-11-02)
The Ricardos have decided they are not going to brag about their baby Little Ricky. That changes when Carolyn and Charlie Appleby start to brag about their own baby, Stevie.
72	6	"Lucy Tells the Truth"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 8, 1953	November 9, 1953 (1953-11-09)
Ricky and the Mertzes bet Lucy that she cannot go twenty-four hours without telling a fib, thinking that it will be an easy win. They begin to regret their bet when Lucy starts being brutally frank with everyone.
73	7	"The French Revue"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 15, 1953	November 16, 1953 (1953-11-16)
After Lucy gets French lessons from a struggling entertainer, Ricky is inspired to stage a French Revue at his club and Lucy bets him fifty dollars that she can sneak into the act.
74	8	"Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 22, 1953	November 23, 1953 (1953-11-23)
The Ricardos offer to help the Mertzes redecorate their apartment, including painting the walls and reupholstering the furniture (with disastrous results).
75	9	"Too Many Crooks"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 29, 1953	November 30, 1953 (1953-11-30)
The police are looking for "Madame X," the mysterious burglar. Due to misunderstandings, Ethel suspects that Lucy is Madame X, while Lucy suspects that Ethel is the burglar.
76	10	"Changing the Boys' Wardrobe"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 5, 1953	December 7, 1953 (1953-12-07)
Ricky and Fred anger Lucy and Ethel by wearing their old clothes in public. The wives secretly sell their husbands' clothes to a second-hand clothes dealer. In the meantime, Ricky receives an honor as one of the best-dressed men in the country and wants to surprise Lucy with the news in public.
77	11	"Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 12, 1953	December 14, 1953 (1953-12-14)
After a visit to the eye doctor leaves Lucy's vision hopelessly blurred for the rest of the day, she decides to go through a jitterbug number at an audition at Ricky's club.
78	12	"Ricky's Old Girlfriend"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 19, 1953	December 21, 1953 (1953-12-21)
While taking a couples' quiz from a magazine, Lucy wants to know about Ricky's old girlfriends, so he invents one from Cuba named Carlota Romero. The next day, a singer from Cuba with that same name shows up in town.
79	13	"The Million-Dollar Idea"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 26, 1953	January 11, 1954 (1954-01-11)
Lucy has a salad dressing recipe that was given to her by her aunt Martha, and Fred tells her she should sell it. Thinking that they will become millionaires, they market the product as "Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing," but have priced the product so cheaply that it will cost them rather than make them money.
80	14	"Ricky Minds the Baby"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 3, 1953	January 18, 1954 (1954-01-18)
Ricky has a week off from the club, so he decides to take care of Little Ricky, who wanders into the Mertzes' apartment while Ricky is distracted. Finding Little Ricky, Lucy decides to teach Ricky a lesson that he will never forget.
81	15	"The Charm School"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 10, 1953	January 25, 1954 (1954-01-25)
After seeing Ricky and Fred give pretty girl Eve Whitney the eye during a party, Lucy and Ethel decide to go to charm school. Natalie Schafer appears as the charm school instructor.
82	16	"Sentimental Anniversary"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 17, 1953	February 1, 1954 (1954-02-01)
It is the Ricardos' wedding anniversary, and they plan to spend it home alone. The Mertzes however, have planned a surprise anniversary party for them.
83	17	"Fan Magazine Interview"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 7, 1954	February 8, 1954 (1954-02-08)
While being interviewed and photographed throughout the day by a reporter from a magazine, Lucy and Ricky put on their best manners and clothes. However, complications arise when Lucy finds a letter in Ricky's coat pocket, and thinks that Ricky is seeing another woman. In actuality, the letter is just part of a publicity stunt concocted by Ricky's agent Jerry. Note: This was Jerry Hausner's last appearance on the series.
84	18	"Oil Wells"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 14, 1954	February 15, 1954 (1954-02-15)
The Ricardos and Mertzes learn that their new neighbor owns stock in a Texas oil well. They decide to invest, until Lucy suspects he is a swindler.
85	19	"Ricky Loses His Temper"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 21, 1954	February 22, 1954 (1954-02-22)
Ricky bets Lucy that he can control his temper longer than she can keep from buying a new hat. However, while at the hat store, Lucy cannot help herself and orders a new hat. She then attempts to get Ricky to lose his temper before the new hat is delivered.
86	20	"Home Movies"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	January 28, 1954	March 1, 1954 (1954-03-01)
Ricky's TV pilot film that he plans to show for a television producer inspires Lucy and the Mertzes to make their own. When Ricky refuses to let them show their film, Lucy splices their footage into Ricky's film.
87	21	"Bonus Bucks"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 4, 1954	March 8, 1954 (1954-03-08)
After seeing Lucy and Ethel search their dollar bills for a newspaper's "Bonus Bucks" contest, Ricky finds out that one of his dollars is the winning bill, and decides to plant it in Lucy's purse to let her find it herself. After it inadvertently gets sent to the laundry, the Ricardos and Mertzes have to get it back before the contest is over.
88	22	"Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 11, 1954	March 22, 1954 (1954-03-22)
Ricky and his band get an offer to play in Honolulu. Lucy disguises herself an elderly mother and goes on a TV game show to try to win a trip to Honolulu for her and the Mertzes, but Ricky thwarts her fraudulent plan.
89	23	"Lucy Is Envious"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 16, 1954	March 29, 1954 (1954-03-29)
After Lucy and Ethel each accidentally pledge a five-hundred dollar donation to a charity run by Lucy's rich high-school friend, they must now earn the money to pay their donation. Herb Vigran and Mary Jane Croft guest-star.
90	24	"Lucy Writes a Novel"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 4, 1954	April 5, 1954 (1954-04-05)
Lucy reads about a housewife who makes a fortune writing a novel, so she takes a crack at it by writing her first novel, "Real Gone with the Wind." However, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred do not like the way Lucy has portrayed them and try to stop the book from being published.
91	25	"Lucy's Club Dance"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 11, 1954	April 12, 1954 (1954-04-12)
Lucy, Ethel, and their friends from the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League decide to raise money for their club by sponsoring a dance. They decide to form their own all-girl orchestra for the occasion, but they sound so terrible that Lucy convinces Ricky to give them some pointers, leading to unwanted publicity for Ricky.
92	26	"The Black Wig"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 25, 1954	April 19, 1954 (1954-04-19)
After Ricky forbids Lucy to cut her hair short in an Italian style haircut, Lucy dons a black wig at the beauty salon to try out the look. She then decides test Ricky's marital fidelity by pretending to be another woman and flirts with him. However, Ricky, having been tipped-off of Lucy's plan by the salon owner, pretends not to recognize her and flirts back. Eve McVeagh guest-stars.
93	27	"The Diner"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 18, 1954	April 26, 1954 (1954-04-26)
Fed up with show business, Ricky quits the club, and the Ricardos and the Mertzes buy a diner and run it together. The Mertzes struggle with all the difficult cooking, while Ricky and Lucy only serve as greeters. They soon decide to split the diner down the middle, with each couple running their own restaurant.
94	28	"Tennessee Ernie Visits"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 1, 1954	May 3, 1954 (1954-05-03)
Lucy's mother writes to inform Lucy and Ricky that her friend's roommate's cousin's son Ernie Ford will be arriving from Tennessee to visit them in New York. To the Ricardos' surprise, Ernie has no place to stay and must sleep in their living room since he cannot afford a hotel or a trip back home. Tennessee Ernie Ford guest-stars as cousin Ernie.
95	29	"Tennessee Ernie Hangs On"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 8, 1954	May 10, 1954 (1954-05-10)
Ernie is still living with the Ricardos, much to their annoyance. The Ricardos and Mertzes try different schemes to get Ernie to leave on his own accord.
96	30	"The Golf Game"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 15, 1954	May 17, 1954 (1954-05-17)
Ricky and Fred have taken up golf as their hobby, and Lucy and Ethel want to join them. To scare them off, the men invent complicated and bizarre rules for the game. Professional golfer Jimmy Demaret, appearing as himself, sets the women straight and helps them turn the tables on Ricky and Fred.
97	31	"The Sublease"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 22, 1954	May 24, 1954 (1954-05-24)
The Ricardos are taking a summer trip to Maine after Ricky's band is booked there, so they sublet their apartment for the summer. After the booking is canceled, the Ricardos need their apartment back, but the subtenant refuses to leave.

Season 4 (1954–55)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
98	1	"The Business Manager"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	June 17, 1954	October 4, 1954 (1954-10-04)
Tired of Lucy being unable to pay the bills, Ricky hires business manager Mr. Hickox (Charles Lane), who only gives Lucy five dollars a month as an allowance. Since Mr. Hickox arranges a line of credit for Lucy to charge her groceries at the store, she offers to buy groceries for everyone in her apartment building, secretly charging everything on her account and keeping all of the cash for herself.
99	2	"Mertz and Kurtz"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	July 1, 1954	October 11, 1954 (1954-10-11)
To help Fred impress his world-traveling ex-vaudeville partner, Barney Kurtz (Charles Winninger), Ethel talks Lucy into posing as their maid. It turns out that Barney is not as successful as he had been letting on.
100	3	"Lucy Cries Wolf"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	June 3, 1954	October 18, 1954 (1954-10-18)
To find out how much Ricky loves her, Lucy calls him twice during his rehearsals and says there is a burglar in the apartment.
101	4	"The Matchmaker"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	June 10, 1954	October 25, 1954 (1954-10-25)
Lucy attempts to help her friend Dorothy get married by inviting Dorothy and her beau Sam to a romantic dinner at the Ricardos' apartment, hoping to present Sam with a positive example of married and parenting life. However, Ricky is not amused at Lucy's matchmaking attempts, and the evening does not go as planned.
102	5	"Mr. and Mrs. TV Show"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	June 24, 1954	November 1, 1954 (1954-11-01)*
Ricky has a chance to do an at-home TV show, and Lucy wants to be in it. Things go well until Lucy discovers Ricky only let her do the show because the sponsor insisted. *Note: This episode's original scheduled network broadcast was pre-empted. It eventually aired on Monday, April 11, 1955 with a newly-filmed opening segment with Lucy in her Hollywood hotel room on the phone, introducing the events of the episode via flashback.
103	6	"Ricky's Movie Offer"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 16, 1954	November 8, 1954 (1954-11-08)
A Hollywood talent scout (Frank Nelson) wants Ricky to audition for a movie about the life of Don Juan, and everyone wants to get into the act and audition.
104	7	"Ricky's Screen Test"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 23, 1954	November 15, 1954 (1954-11-15)
Lucy appears with Ricky in his screen test, with the hope that she will get discovered by a Hollywood executive.
105	8	"Lucy's Mother-In-Law"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	September 30, 1954	November 22, 1954 (1954-11-22)
When Ricky's mother visits, Lucy desperately tries to impress her. Note: William Frawley does not appear in this episode, but his voice is heard off-screen calling for Ethel.
106	9	"Ethel's Birthday"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 7, 1954	November 29, 1954 (1954-11-29)
Fred asks Lucy to choose something special for him to give Ethel for her birthday. However, Lucy's choice of a gift leaves her feeling insulted when Ethel does not like it.
107	10	"Ricky's Contract"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 14, 1954	December 6, 1954 (1954-12-06)
Ricky is still waiting for the results of his screen test, and his anxious attitude is worrying Lucy and the Mertzes. To calm Ricky down, Fred leaves a note saying that Ricky got the job, but the call still has yet to come. Note: This episode was, according to a CBS press release of August 14, 1954, to be broadcast in color, but ultimately plans to film it in color were abandoned.
108	11	"Getting Ready"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 21, 1954	December 13, 1954 (1954-12-13)
The Ricardos prepare for their road trip to California and invite the Mertzes to come along. However, when Fred is tasked with buying the car for the trip, he ends up buying a dilapidated antique.
109	12	"Lucy Learns To Drive"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	October 28, 1954	January 3, 1955 (1955-01-03)
Ricky trades in the antique car and buys a brand new Pontiac for the trip to California, but makes the mistake of teaching Lucy to drive in it.
110	13	"California, Here We Come!"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 4, 1954	January 10, 1955 (1955-01-10)
Lucy and Ricky are ready to start their trip to Los Angeles with Little Ricky and the Mertzes when complications develop: Lucy's mother decides to join them on their trip. Kathryn Card appears as Lucy's mother Mrs. McGillicuddy.
111	14	"First Stop"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 11, 1954	January 17, 1955 (1955-01-17)
After a long day of non-stop driving, the Ricardos and the Mertzes pull into "One Oak Cabins and Cafe," a run-down establishment near Cincinnati that has nothing to eat but stale cheese sandwiches. The proprietor (played by Olin Howland) offers the foursome accommodation in a single-room cabin with bathroom; however, the accommodations are far from restful.
112	15	"Tennessee Bound"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 18, 1954	January 24, 1955 (1955-01-24)
After Lucy gets lost while driving and ends up in Tennessee, Ricky races through Bent Fork in an attempt to avoid running into their friend Ernie Ford (Tennessee Ernie Ford), and gets fined for speeding. Lucy's defiant attitude upsets the town sheriff and he puts her in jail. Ernie soon arrives to help, and gets everyone in more trouble. Aaron Spelling has a bit role as a gas station attendant.
113	16	"Ethel's Home Town"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	November 25, 1954	January 31, 1955 (1955-01-31)
The Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Ethel's home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit and stay with her father. Lucy, Ricky, and Fred are shocked when the townsfolk and local media give Ethel a big welcome, as Ethel told her father she was the star headed for Hollywood.
114	17	"L.A. at Last"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 2, 1954	February 7, 1955 (1955-02-07)
Arriving in Hollywood, Lucy and the Mertzes go star-hunting at the Brown Derby restaurant. While there, Ethel has an interaction with Eve Arden, while Lucy annoys William Holden by staring at him from behind a potted plant and then accidentally getting him hit in the face with a pie. Ricky later meets Holden and brings him to their hotel room to meet Lucy, who must avoid being recognized.
115	18	"Don Juan and the Starlets"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 9, 1954	February 14, 1955 (1955-02-14)
Ricky leaves Lucy at their hotel and goes out to a movie premiere with four starlets. He then gets in trouble with Lucy when she thinks that he was out all night.
116	19	"Lucy Gets Into Pictures"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 16, 1954	February 21, 1955 (1955-02-21)
Since Lucy is longing to appear in a movie, Ricky arranges for her to appear as a murdered showgirl in a film from his studio MGM, but the role and the costume are more than she can handle.
117	20	"The Fashion Show"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	December 23, 1954	February 28, 1955 (1955-02-28)
Lucy is determined to own a Don Loper gown and winds up being part of a "Hollywood Wives" fashion show while having a bad sunburn.
118	21	"The Hedda Hopper Story"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 3, 1955	March 14, 1955 (1955-03-14)
Lucy's mother arrives in California with the baby, while Ricky's agent concocts a publicity stunt designed to land Ricky in Hedda Hopper's celebrity gossip column. They plan for Ricky to "save" Lucy from drowning in the hotel pool.
119	22	"Don Juan Is Shelved"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 10, 1955	March 21, 1955 (1955-03-21)
When Lucy finds out from a Variety article that MGM has shelved Ricky's film Don Juan, she schemes with her mother and the Mertzes to create public demand for Ricky's talent. However, producer Dore Schary informs Ricky that even though the studio is indeed shelving Don Juan, they want to keep Ricky on contract, and will star him in a film as soon as they can find the right one. Vivian Vance's then-husband, Philip Ober, appears as Schary.
120	23	"Bull Fight Dance"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 17, 1955	March 28, 1955 (1955-03-28)
Lucy blackmails Ricky to let her appear in his "Heart Fund" show. However, when Lucy's singing skills are not up to par, Ricky arranges for her to wear a bull costume for his bull fight number.
121	24	"Hollywood Anniversary"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	February 24, 1955	April 4, 1955 (1955-04-04)
Lucy and Ricky's wedding anniversary is approaching, and Ricky has forgotten the date, but he has a plan to convince Lucy that he knew it all along, telling her that he had planned an anniversary party at the Mocambo nightclub. She is elated until she learns that the entire party is a sham.
122	25	"The Star Upstairs"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 3, 1955	April 18, 1955 (1955-04-18)
Lucy poses as a bellboy to get a glimpse of Cornel Wilde, who is staying at the hotel. When this does not work, Lucy manages to get a bellboy's help to sneak into Wilde's hotel room. However, getting out of his room proves to be more difficult. Note: William Frawley does not appear in this episode.
123	26	"In Palm Springs"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 17, 1955	April 25, 1955 (1955-04-25)
Upset by a quarrel with their husbands over annoying spouse habits, Lucy, her mother, Ethel, and Little Ricky leave for a weekend in Palm Springs. While there, Lucy and Ethel meet Rock Hudson.
124	27	"The Dancing Star"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 31, 1955	May 2, 1955 (1955-05-02)
Carolyn Appleby, one of Lucy's friends from New York, is visiting and wants to meet some of the movie stars that Lucy has bragged about befriending, starting with Van Johnson, who is appearing at the hotel.
125	28	"Harpo Marx"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	March 24, 1955	May 9, 1955 (1955-05-09)
Before Carolyn leaves Hollywood, she wants to see all of the celebrities that Lucy claimed would show up for a get-together. Dressing up with masks of Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Durante, and other celebrities, Lucy manages to fool the near-sighted Carolyn. However, Harpo Marx shows up and soon discovers Lucy dressed up as him.
126	29	"Ricky Needs an Agent"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 7, 1955	May 16, 1955 (1955-05-16)
Growing tired of Ricky's constant publicity appearances, Lucy fears that MGM will never give him a film, so she pretends to be his agent and tries to bluff a studio executive (Parley Baer) into starring Ricky in a movie by telling him that Ricky has an offer on Broadway, only to get Ricky released from his contract.
127	30	"The Tour"	William Asher	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr.	April 14, 1955	May 30, 1955 (1955-05-30)
After Ricky forbids Lucy to join him for lunch with Richard Widmark at Romanoff's, Lucy and Ethel take a bus tour of movie stars' homes in Beverly Hills, and Lucy ends up picking a grapefruit from Widmark's backyard, where she gets trapped.

Season 5 (1955–56)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
128	1	"Lucy Visits Grauman's"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 9, 1955	October 3, 1955 (1955-10-03)
Ricky has completed his movie for MGM, but Lucy and the Mertzes convince him to let them stay in Hollywood for one more week. While sight-seeing, Lucy discovers that the cement slab with John Wayne's footprints and signature in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater has become loose. Lucy talks Ethel into helping her steal the slab to keep as a souvenir, and as they make their get-away, Lucy gets her foot caught in a bucket of cement. Ricky demands that they return the slab to the theater forecourt, but while trying to return it, Lucy and Ethel accidentally destroy it.
129	2	"Lucy and John Wayne"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 15, 1955	October 10, 1955 (1955-10-10)
The police have been called to investigate the missing cement slab of John Wayne's footprints and signature. Ricky gets Wayne to help by having him create a duplicate slab with his footprints and signature to replace it, but in the process they encounter several setbacks. John Wayne guest-stars.
130	3	"Lucy and the Dummy"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 22, 1955	October 17, 1955 (1955-10-17)
MGM asks Ricky to help entertain executives at a studio party. Ricky has plans to go deep-sea fishing, but as far as Lucy is concerned, "the show must go on." She performs with a dummy and ends up being offered a contract. Note: In the original broadcast of this episode, there was an additional scene at the studio party before Lucy comes on stage, in which the audience was given a preview of the musical number "Adelaide" from MGM's upcoming film Guys and Dolls.^[18]
131	4	"Ricky Sells the Car"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 29, 1955	October 24, 1955 (1955-10-24)
Ricky sells the car and buys train tickets for the trip back to New York, but he forgets about Fred and Ethel, leading to a rift between the friends. After Lucy informs Ricky of his error, he is able to buy tickets for the Mertzes, but not the same class of tickets.
132	5	"The Great Train Robbery"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 6, 1955	October 31, 1955 (1955-10-31)
Lucy gets mixed up with a jewel thief while on the train trip back to New York and develops a reputation for constantly pulling the train's emergency brake. Frank Nelson guest-stars as the train conductor.
133	6	"Homecoming"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 20, 1955	November 7, 1955 (1955-11-07)
Back in Manhattan, Ricky is surrounded by excited friends wanting to know about his movie. After being influenced by a reporter, Lucy starts treating him like a star too.
134	7	"Face to Face"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 20, 1955	November 14, 1955 (1955-11-14)
Ricky gets a new agent after signing a contract with Associated Artists. As a result, Ricky and Lucy are scheduled to appear on Ed Warren's (Elliott Reid) TV interview show, "Face to Face", from their home. But Ricky's new agent calls their apartment is a "dump," insulting the Mertzes in the process.
135	8	"Lucy Goes to a Rodeo"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 27, 1955	November 28, 1955 (1955-11-28)
Ricky is upset when he learns that he signed up to do not a radio show, but a rodeo show. When there are no acts available, he has to reluctantly turn to Lucy and the Mertzes since they are planning their own Western show for Fred's lodge.
136	9	"Nursery School"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 3, 1955	December 5, 1955 (1955-12-05)
Lucy is not happy about the idea of being separated from Little Ricky, but Ricky insists their son must start nursery school. Lucy then becomes worried when Little Ricky gets sick with tonsillitis and must be hospitalized.
137	10	"Ricky's European Booking"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 10, 1955	December 12, 1955 (1955-12-12)
Ricky's band gets booked in Europe, and Fred is recruited as Ricky's band manager. Lucy and Ethel can only go if they can come up with enough money to pay their own way. They run a raffle benefiting a phony charity and nearly get arrested for the fraud. Barney Phillips guest-stars as the District Attorney. Note: Ricky and The Pied Pipers sing "Forever, Darling" in the episode, the theme song of the upcoming Ball-Arnaz picture of the same name.
138	11	"The Passports"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 17, 1955	December 19, 1955 (1955-12-19)
Lucy needs her birth certificate in order to get her passport, but Jamestown has no record of her being born there. She devises a way to sneak to Europe with the others: hide in a large steamer trunk. While trying it out, she ends up locked in the trunk with the key in her pocket. Lucy ends up receiving her birth certificate in the mail from her mother, and learns from her childhood doctor that she was actually born in West Jamestown.
139	12	"Staten Island Ferry"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 24, 1955	January 2, 1956 (1956-01-02)
The Ricardos and Mertzes are all ready to leave for Europe, until Fred announces that he gets seasick, so Ricky suggests seasick pills. Charles Lane guest-stars as the passport office clerk.
140	13	"Bon Voyage"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 1, 1955	January 16, 1956 (1956-01-16)
After boarding the ocean liner SS Constitution, Lucy goes ashore just one more time to kiss Little Ricky goodbye, and misses the boat. As a result, she ends up hiring a helicopter to drop her off on the ship. Jack Albertson appears as a helicopter dispatcher. This episode inspired the later Desilu series Whirlybirds, with Kenneth Tobey. Note: Desi Arnaz claims in several interviews that this was the most expensive episode produced.
141	14	"Second Honeymoon"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 8, 1955	January 23, 1956 (1956-01-23)
Lucy plans to make the ocean voyage a second honeymoon, but Ricky has previous shipboard engagements with his band. When she has had enough, she devises a plan with Ethel to trap Ricky in the room.
142	15	"Lucy Meets the Queen"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 15, 1955	January 30, 1956 (1956-01-30)
Lucy and Ethel go looking for Queen Elizabeth II on their first day in London. Ethel manages to get a glimpse of the Queen, but Lucy misses seeing her. Eventually, Lucy finds out that she can be presented to the Queen if she is one of the performers in Ricky's show at the London Palladium. Nancy Kulp appears as a chambermaid.
143	16	"The Fox Hunt"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 22, 1955	February 6, 1956 (1956-02-06)
Lucy wants to spend a weekend on a British estate. With the Mertzes' help, she manages to get an invitation from Sir Clive Richardson, with whom Ricky is scheduled to talk business. Hillary Brooke guest-stars.
144	17	"Lucy Goes to Scotland"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	January 6, 1956	February 20, 1956 (1956-02-20)
In this Brigadoon-inspired episode, complete with musical numbers, Lucy dreams that she visits her ancestral village in Scotland. The villagers are delighted at her arrival, as it is once again the year when they must sacrifice a McGillicuddy to a man-eating, two-headed dragon (Fred and Ethel)--and until Lucy showed up, the clan was believed to be extinct. Lucy hopes that Scotty McTavish McDougal McCardo (Ricky) will be able to fight the dragon to save her life. (Goof: McGillicuddy is an Irish surname.)
145	18	"Paris at Last"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	January 12, 1956	February 27, 1956 (1956-02-27)
The Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Paris, and when a man outside the American Express office offers to exchange money for Lucy, she ends up in jail for passing counterfeit francs.
146	19	"Lucy Meets Charles Boyer"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	January 19, 1956	March 5, 1956 (1956-03-05)
Ricky has a luncheon engagement with Charles Boyer, and he wants to keep Lucy away from him.
147	20	"Lucy Gets a Paris Gown"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 16, 1956	March 19, 1956 (1956-03-19)
After Lucy is exposed for faking a hunger strike to get an original Paris gown from Jacques Marcel, Ricky and Fred decide to teach the girls a lesson by creating faux original gowns from potato sacks.
148	21	"Lucy in the Swiss Alps"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 23, 1956	March 26, 1956 (1956-03-26)
While in Lucerne, the Ricardos and the Mertzes go mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps, and are stuck in a cabin with little to eat after a sudden avalanche.
149	22	"Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 1, 1956	April 9, 1956 (1956-04-09)
Lucy, while in Florence, gets homesick for Little Ricky on his third birthday. To lift her spirits, she hosts an impromptu party for several Italian children who all claim it is their birthday too.
150	23	"Lucy's Italian Movie"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 8, 1956	April 16, 1956 (1956-04-16)
En route to Rome, an Italian movie producer offers Lucy a role in a color film called Bitter Grapes. Not realizing that it is a symbolic title, Lucy decides to take a job in a vineyard to do research for the role. She ends up stomping grapes and picks a fight with her fellow stomper. She then misses out being selected for the role due to being stained blue from the grape vat. In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #18 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.^[12] In the April 9, 2020 episode of Will & Grace, Megan Mullally as Lucy and Leslie Jordan as the Italian woman recreate the grape-stomping scene.^[16]^[19]^[20]
151	24	"Lucy's Bicycle Trip"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 22, 1956	April 23, 1956 (1956-04-23)
Lucy organizes a bicycle trip for her, Ricky and the Mertzes from the Italian Riviera to Nice. But when she cannot find her passport, the border guard refuses to let her through the checkpoint.
152	25	"Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 29, 1956	May 7, 1956 (1956-05-07)
Ricky has declared the Monte Carlo Casino out-of-bounds for Lucy, but she and Ethel decide to eat dinner there. When Lucy accidentally wins a fortune, she tries to hide it from Ricky, but soon Ricky finds the cash in Ethel's suitcase and believes Fred is an embezzler.
153	26	"Return Home from Europe"	James V. Kern	Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	April 5, 1956	May 14, 1956 (1956-05-14)
In order to make it home from Europe in time for Ricky and his band to perform at the Roxy Theatre, everyone must travel back to New York by plane. Lucy tries to get out of paying duties by disguising a twenty-five pound piece of Italian cheese as a swaddled baby, much to the frustration of Ricky. Frank Nelson and Mary Jane Croft guest-star.

Season 6 (1956–57)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
154	1	"Lucy and Bob Hope"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 5, 1956	October 1, 1956 (1956-10-01)
Sighting Bob Hope at Yankee Stadium, Lucy hopes to persuade him to appear at Ricky's club (now named Club Babalú) unaware that Hope has already agreed to appear. She ends up joining Hope and Ricky in performing at Club Babalú. Richard Keith makes his first appearance as Little Ricky, who is now depicted as four years old.
155	2	"Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 28, 1956	October 8, 1956 (1956-10-08)
Little Ricky's non-stop drum playing threatens the Ricardos' and Mertzes' friendship.
156	3	"Lucy Meets Orson Welles"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 14, 1956	October 15, 1956 (1956-10-15)
Lucy wrangles a job as Orson Welles's assistant when he appears at Ricky's club. He is doing a magic act, but Lucy is doing Shakespeare.
157	4	"Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 21, 1956	October 22, 1956 (1956-10-22)
Little Ricky gets stage fright before his first school music recital. Howard McNear guest-stars.
158	5	"Visitor from Italy"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 24, 1956	October 29, 1956 (1956-10-29)
When a Venetian gondolier (Jay Novello in his third and final appearance) that the Ricardos and the Mertzes met in Europe shows up in New York, a series of mishaps result in Lucy working at a pizza parlor.
159	6	"Off to Florida"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 13, 1956	November 12, 1956 (1956-11-12)
Driving to Miami to meet their husbands after Ricky's band is booked in Florida, the girls share the drive with a strange lady (Elsa Lanchester) they suspect is an ax murderess. Strother Martin appears as a store clerk.
160	7	"Deep-Sea Fishing"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 27, 1956	November 19, 1956 (1956-11-19)
While in Miami, the boys bet the girls that they will catch bigger fish on a planned deep-sea fishing trip. To win the bet, the men and the women each buy large tunas to pass off as their catch. The only problem is hiding the fish from their spouses.
161	8	"Desert Island"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 4, 1956	November 26, 1956 (1956-11-26)
Still in Miami, Lucy and Ethel's scheme to prevent the boys from judging a bathing beauty contest leaves the Ricardos and the Mertzes marooned on a desert island. Claude Akins guest-stars as himself.
162	9	"The Ricardos Visit Cuba"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 18, 1956	December 3, 1956 (1956-12-03)
Lucy is bent on impressing Ricky's family when they leave Florida and visit Havana, Cuba, but she cannot seem to say or do anything right.
163	10	"Little Ricky's School Pageant"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	October 25, 1956	December 17, 1956 (1956-12-17)
Back in New York, the Ricardos and the Mertzes sign on as extra cast members in Little Ricky's school play, "The Enchanted Forest".
164	11	"I Love Lucy Christmas Show"	James V. Kern (Flashback Segments directed by William Asher)	Madelyn Pugh Davis, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf (Flashback Segments written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll, Jr.)	November 22, 1956	December 24, 1956 (1956-12-24)
Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel reminisce (via flashbacks of previous episodes) as they trim the tree on Christmas Eve. The flashbacks, all from season 2, include Lucy telling Ricky about her pregnancy in "Lucy Is Enceinte," Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel singing in a barbershop quartet in "Lucy's Showbiz Swan Song," and Ricky, Fred and Ethel frantically preparing for Lucy's impending labor in "Lucy Goes to the Hospital". Because this was a "special" episode, it is not included in the syndication package. In 1989 and 1990, CBS rebroadcast the episode in prime time during the holiday season. On Monday, December 18, 1989, it aired with the full episode in its original black and white format. On Monday, December 10, 1990, it aired with the wrap-around (non-flashback) segments in color and the flashback segments in black and white. The episode did not air again until 2013, but that year CBS started pairing it with a newly-colorized episode from the series. On Friday, December 20, 2013, it was paired with "Lucy's Italian Movie" (from Season 5). On Sunday, December 7, 2014, it was paired with "Job Switching" (from Season 2) with an encore presentation on Wednesday, December 24, 2014, exactly 58 years after the original black and white episode first aired. On Wednesday, December 23, 2015, it aired fully colorized for the first time and was paired with "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" (from Season 1). On Friday, December 23, 2016, it was paired with "Lucy Gets Into Pictures" (from Season 4). On Friday, December 22, 2017, it was paired with "The Fashion Show” (from Season 4). On Friday, December 14, 2018, it was paired with "Pioneer Women" (from Season 1). On Friday, December 20, 2019, it was paired with "Paris at Last" (from Season 5).
165	12	"Lucy and the Loving Cup"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 1, 1956	January 7, 1957 (1957-01-07)
Lucy jokingly dons a loving cup on her head that Ricky is supposed to present to jockey Johnny Longden, but then she cannot get it off.
166	13	"Lucy and Superman"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 15, 1956	January 14, 1957 (1957-01-14)
Lucy promises to produce Superman (George Reeves) for Little Ricky's fifth birthday party, but must make alternate plans when he is unable to attend. She hastily tries to impersonate Superman herself, but gets locked out on the ledge of the apartment. Note: George Reeves did originally receive voice-over screen credit for this episode, although it was subsequently cut from the syndicated version. After the closing credits, the disclaimer appeared on the screen that said: Superman Character, Feats and Narrative Copyrighted by National Comics Publications, Inc., 1956
167	14	"Little Ricky Gets a Dog"	James V. Kern	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 8, 1956	January 21, 1957 (1957-01-21)
Little Ricky's new puppy prompts complaints by a grouchy new tenant. June Foray plays the Voice of the Dog.^[21]
168	15	"Lucy Wants to Move to the Country"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 6, 1956	January 28, 1957 (1957-01-28)
Fed up with city life, Lucy yearns for the suburban life. Ricky buys an old Colonial house in suburban Westport, Connecticut as a surprise for their anniversary.
169	16	"Lucy Hates to Leave"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 13, 1956	February 4, 1957 (1957-02-04)
The Mertzes rent the Ricardo's apartment to a young newlywed couple named Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Lucy and Ricky decide to sell their furniture to the Taylors, but when Lucy finds out that the Taylors plan to make alterations the furniture, she buys all of it back from them. Then when the Ricardos find out that the Connecticut house's title search has been delayed for two weeks, they find themselves, and all their belongings, living with the Mertzes while they wait to move into their new home.
170	17	"Lucy Misses the Mertzes"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 20, 1956	February 11, 1957 (1957-02-11)
Lucy and Ricky miss the Mertzes so much that they decide to take the train to New York to surprise them. But Fred and Ethel have the same idea, and are on their way to Connecticut.
171	18	"Lucy Gets Chummy With the Neighbors"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	January 10, 1957	February 18, 1957 (1957-02-18)
Lucy's new neighbor, Betty Ramsey, talks Lucy into buying all new furniture, and it all ends up costing over three thousand dollars. When Ricky finds out, he demands that Lucy return it. However, she is too embarrassed to admit to Betty that they cannot afford the new furniture, which leads Betty to assume that Lucy thinks that she has bad taste. Eventually, the Mertzes arrive and help clear up the misunderstanding, and Betty's husband Ralph gives Ricky a job on a television show that pays thirty-five hundred dollars, which will be enough to pay for furniture. Frank Nelson and Mary Jane Croft make their first appearance as Ralph and Betty Ramsey.
172	19	"Lucy Raises Chickens"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	January 17, 1957	March 4, 1957 (1957-03-04)
Lucy and Ricky decide to raise chickens and sell their eggs to help make ends meet. They hire the Mertzes to help and let them live in the guest house. Soon the Ricardo's house is overrun with a flock of baby chicks, on the day a photographer from House & Garden magazine is due to visit.
173	20	"Lucy Does the Tango"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 7, 1957	March 11, 1957 (1957-03-11)
Lucy and Ethel try to boost egg production by buying several dozen eggs and pretending they are homegrown. But their plan to hide them in their clothing to sneak them into the hen house goes awry when Ricky asks Lucy to rehearse a tango number. This resulted in one of the longest sustained audience laughter sequences in sitcoms.
174	21	"Ragtime Band"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 14, 1957	March 18, 1957 (1957-03-18)
Lucy promises that Ricky will play at a local benefit, but he refuses. So she and the Mertzes put together their own combo—featuring Ricky Ricardo, Jr.
175	22	"Lucy's Night in Town"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 21, 1957	March 25, 1957 (1957-03-25)
In Manhattan for dinner and a hit Broadway show ("The Most Happy Fella"), Lucy discovers that their tickets were instead for the matinée performance. Joseph Kearns has a minor role. Desilu Productions owned a large portion of the show, and was cross-promoting in this episode.
176	23	"Housewarming"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 28, 1957	April 1, 1957 (1957-04-01)
Ethel is jealous of Lucy's friendship with Betty Ramsey. But when Betty reveals that she is from Ethel's home town of Albuquerque, the two become fast friends, and now it is Lucy who feels left out.
177	24	"Building a B-B-Q"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 14, 1957	April 8, 1957 (1957-04-08)
In order to keep Ricky busy while he is on vacation, Lucy and Ethel get him and Fred to start building a backyard barbecue. Things go wrong when Lucy cannot find her wedding ring and decides to take apart the entire brick barbecue when she thinks that it might have fallen into the cement used to build it.
178	25	"Country Club Dance"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 21, 1957	April 22, 1957 (1957-04-22)
At a club dance, Ricky, Fred, and Ralph Ramsey shower attention on a sultry young blonde (portrayed by Barbara Eden), much to the chagrin of their wives. Frank Nelson makes his second and final appearance as Ralph Ramsey.
179	26	"Lucy Raises Tulips"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 28, 1957	April 29, 1957 (1957-04-29)
Lucy is determined to beat Betty Ramsey in Westport's "best-looking garden" contest, and she accidentally runs over Betty's tulip garden with a lawn mower.
180	27	"The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue"	William Asher	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	April 4, 1957	May 6, 1957 (1957-05-06)
Ricky has been chosen to dedicate a new Revolutionary War statue in the Westport Town Square. But there is a problem: Lucy has accidentally destroyed the statue. Desi Arnaz Jr. appears as an extra in the episode's final scene, his only appearance on his parents' series.^[22]

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour episodes

Main article: The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour

After season six, the series was renamed The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for its original broadcast run and rather than airing as weekly half hour series, hour-long episodes were produced to run occasionally during the year. There were thirteen hour-long shows. The first five were broadcast as specials during the 1957-58 television season. The other eight episodes were broadcast as part of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse from October 6, 1958, to April 1, 1960. The series was subsequently broadcast in syndication as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and We Love Lucy. This show had the same cast as I Love Lucy, employed many of the other same actors, and featured many famous guest-stars. Of the original I Love Lucy cast, besides the principals, only Lucy's mother appeared in any Comedy Hour episode. She appears in season 3, episode 2 'The Ricardos Go To Japan' as Little Ricky's babysitter.

Season 1 (1957–58)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
1	1	"Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana"	Jerry Thorpe	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 28, 1957 (1957-06-28)	November 6, 1957 (1957-11-06)
Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper wants to know how Lucy and Ricky met. In a flashback to 1940, Lucy McGillicuddy and her best friend Susie MacNamara (Ann Sothern whose character makes a crossover appearance from her CBS show Private Secretary) are cruising Havana, where they encounter two tour guides, Ricky Ricardo and his friend, Carlos Garcia (Cesar Romero). Second honeymooners Fred and Ethel Mertz and crooner Rudy Vallee are along for the ride. Note: This was originally shown as a 75-minute episode. All repeats were edited to an hour's length, with the original opening and closing sequences (featuring Hedda Hopper) deleted, replaced by Desi's brief narration at the beginning and end. This is the only episode where the celebrity guest stars (with the exception of Hopper and Vallee) do not portray themselves.
2	2	"The Celebrity Next Door"	Jerry Thorpe	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 27, 1957 (1957-09-27)	December 3, 1957 (1957-12-03)
Tallulah Bankhead moves in next door to the Ricardos. Once Lucy discovers that a celebrity is in her midst, she tries to win her friendship by inviting her to an elegant dinner party—with Fred and Ethel posing as hired help. Before long Lucy has gotten Ms. Bankhead and Ricky and the Mertzes involved with a local PTA show. Note: Bette Davis was originally booked as the next-door celebrity, but suffered a horseback riding accident. Bankhead was the producers' second choice.^[23]
3	3	"Lucy Hunts Uranium"	Jerry Thorpe	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	November 15, 1957 (1957-11-15) (Studio portions)	January 3, 1958 (1958-01-03)
Ricky and his band have been booked to play at the Sands Casino in Las Vegas, and Lucy hopes the trip will allow her an opportunity to go uranium hunting. Fred and Ethel are keen on the idea but Ricky forbids it, until mysterious headlines put the entire town in a uproar. Soon the Ricardos, the Mertzes, and Fred MacMurray set out together to strike it rich. It soon becomes a race to see who can get to the claims office first. (Also appearing in this show is MacMurray's wife, June Haver.) Note: This is the first episode that Lucy sports a new short haircut that she will keep for the remainder of the series.
4	4	"Lucy Wins a Racehorse"	Jerry Thorpe	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 1957	February 3, 1958 (1958-02-03)
Lucy wins a race horse for Little Ricky. In order to keep the horse, Lucy enters the horse in a race at Roosevelt Raceway with the help of Betty Grable. Harry James, Betty's husband, also appears.
5	5	"Lucy Goes to Sun Valley"	Jerry Thorpe	Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	February 1958	April 14, 1958 (1958-04-14)
Lucy and Ethel go to Sun Valley without Ricky and Fred. While in Sun Valley, the girls meet Fernando Lamas and Lucy hatches a scheme to make Ricky jealous enough to join them. Note: Several days of location filming for this episode had to be reshot after the initial footage was misplaced after shipment from Sun Valley to Los Angeles. The lost film was found several months later in a Desilu studio vehicle.

Season 2 (1958–59)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
6	1	"Lucy Goes to Mexico"	Jerry Thorpe	Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf and Everett Freeman	June 16, 1958 (1958-06-16) (Completed)	October 6, 1958 (1958-10-06)
Lucy and the Mertzes go with Ricky to Mexico, where he is scheduled to appear in a show with Maurice Chevalier. Meanwhile, Lucy ends up finding herself in a bullfight.
7	2	"Lucy Makes Room for Danny"	Jerry Thorpe	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 19, 1958 (1958-09-19)	December 1, 1958 (1958-12-01)
The Williams family from The Danny Thomas Show (Danny Thomas, Marjorie Lord, Rusty Hamer and Angela Cartwright) rent Lucy and Ricky's house because the Ricardos are going to Hollywood. When the Hollywood trip is cancelled, the Ricardos end up staying with the Mertzes in the guest house. Gale Gordon also guest-stars, as a civil court judge. Note: Ball and Arnaz subsequently appeared as the Ricardos on an episode of The Danny Thomas Show ("Lucy Upsets the Williams Household") which aired on January 5, 1959.
8	3	"Lucy Goes to Alaska"	Jerry Thorpe	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	December 19, 1958 (1958-12-19) (Completed)	February 9, 1959 (1959-02-09)
The Ricardos and Mertzes go to Alaska, where Lucy does a show with Red Skelton. Lucy repeatedly falls out of a hammock in their overcrowded hotel bedroom, and panics while flying a small bush airplane with Skelton.
9	4	"Lucy Wants a Career"	Jerry Thorpe	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	March 6, 1959 (1959-03-06) (Copyrighted)	April 13, 1959 (1959-04-13)
Lucy does not want to be a housewife any longer and appears on Paul Douglas' "Early Bird Show" as his "Girl Friday." Note: This episode mirrored life for the Arnazes in the 1940s, as Lucy would meet Desi at the train station as she was leaving for work at a movie studio, while Desi would be headed home after working at a nightclub.
10	5	"Lucy's Summer Vacation"	Jerry Thorpe	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	May 5, 1959 (1959-05-05) (Copyrighted)	June 8, 1959 (1959-06-08)
Lucy and Ricky go on a vacation and end up sharing their cabin with Howard Duff and Ida Lupino.

Season 3 (1959–60)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Film date	Original air date
11	1	"Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos"	Desi Arnaz	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	June 1959	September 25, 1959 (1959-09-25)
Lucy tries to let Milton Berle work on his book in peace while he is at the Ricardos' house.
12	2	"The Ricardos Go to Japan"	Desi Arnaz	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	September 1959	November 27, 1959 (1959-11-27)
Lucy, Ricky, and the Mertzes visit Tokyo, Japan and meet Bob Cummings. Meanwhile, Lucy wants to buy some real pearls. When a mix-up occurs over the real pearls and some fake ones, Lucy and Ethel find themselves disguised as geisha girls.
13	3	"Lucy Meets the Mustache"	Desi Arnaz	Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf	2 March 1960 (Completed)	April 1, 1960 (1960-04-01)
Ricky is depressed because he has not been getting any TV offers lately, so Lucy, Fred, and Ethel try to cheer him up. Ernie Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams guest-star. Note: This is the final episode of the show. Ball filed for divorce the day after the final episode was filmed, on March 3. Ball and Arnaz divorced two months later.

References

1. "TV Ratings: 1951–1952". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
2. "TV Ratings: 1952–1953". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
3. "TV Ratings: 1953–1954". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
4. "TV Ratings: 1954–1955". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
5. "TV Ratings: 1955–1956". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
6. "TV Ratings: 1956–1957". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
7. "Love That 'Lost' Lucy". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
8. "On This Day: 'Long-Lost' Pilot of I Love Lucy aired in 1990". Outsider.com. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
9. "I Love Lucy: The Very First Show". imdb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
10. "I Love Lucy Ultimate First Season on Blu-Ray". Retrieved August 21, 2023.
11. Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion, edited by Tom Hill, copyright 1996 by Viacom International, p. 246: "the title of the episode reflects an earlier draft of the script where Rosemary was a singer rather than a dancer."
12. "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997.
13. "TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes". Rev/Views. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
14. TV Guide June 29-July 5, 1996. pg. 66.
15. Hughes, Jason (2013-09-02). "Betty White Counts Down 'TV's Funniest Of The Funniest': Who Came Out On Top?". The Huffington Post.
16. Rice, Lynette (2019-11-25). "Will & Grace to air a special I Love Lucy-themed episode". ew.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
17. "Jack and Grace Reenact I Love Lucy's Chocolate Factory Scene". NBC. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
18. ""Lucy and the Dummy"". papermoonloveslucy.tumblr.com. June 11, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
19. "Karen Reenacts I Love Lucy's Grape Stomping Scene". NBC. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
20. "Will & Grace: Scenes From I Love Lucy". Yahoo. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
21. Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion, edited by Tom Hill, copyright 1996 by Viacom International, pp.295-296; this book numbers episodes of I Love Lucy in the order in which they were produced, not aired and this episode is therefore listed as Episode 165
22. Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion, edited by Tom Hill, copyright 1996 by Viacom International, p. 300: "two little kids standing with Little Ricky...[a]re actually little Lucie and Desi Junior, in the only appearance the Arnaz children ever made on I Love Lucy."
23. Kanfer, Stefan (2003). Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 198. ISBN 0-375-41315-4.

Further reading

• Andrews, Bart (1985). The "I Love Lucy" Book. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-19033-6.
• Edwards, Elisabeth (2010) [2001]. I love Lucy: Celebrating 50 Years of Love and Laughter. Philadelphia: Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-3983-6.