TV Show

I Love Lucy

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.

TV Show Stats +8%

6 seasons

180 episodes total

Status

Ended

First Aired

1951

Rating

TV Show

7.9/10

237 votes • HD

Season 1

35 episodes
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The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub
Episode 1

The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub

Episode 1 • Oct 15, 1951

An argument ensues among the couples when Ethel wants to celebrate the Mertzes's anniversary at the Copacabana while Fred wants to attend the fights. Ethel and Lucy decide that they will go to the club with dates.

7.2
23m
Be a Pal
Episode 2

Be a Pal

Episode 2 • Oct 22, 1951

Thinking Ricky is losing interest in her, Lucy follows the advice of a book Ethel gave her and takes up Ricky's hobbies.

8.0
23m
The Diet
Episode 3

The Diet

Episode 3 • Oct 29, 1951

To her dismay, Lucy finds out that she's put on twenty-two pounds since marrying Ricky. When one of the girls in Ricky's new show quits, she tricks him into promising, she can be in the show if she fits into the dancer's size twelve costume.

8.0
23m
Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her
Episode 4

Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her

Episode 4 • Nov 05, 1951

After becoming too involved in a murder mystery book, Lucy believes that Ricky is trying to murder her.

7.5
23m
The Quiz Show
Episode 5

The Quiz Show

Episode 5 • Nov 12, 1951

When Lucy needs to balance her household accounts, she decides to go on quiz show. To win the $1,000 cash prize, she has to introduce her "long lost first husband" to Ricky.

8.0
23m
The Audition
Episode 6

The Audition

Episode 6 • Nov 19, 1951

Ricky lands a TV audition at the club. When Buffo the Clown injures himself and cannot make it, Lucy takes his place.

8.0
23m
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Season 2

31 episodes
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Job Switching
Episode 1

Job Switching

Episode 1 • Sep 15, 1952

Ricky wants Lucy to try working for a week, so she and Ethel get jobs at a candy factory, where they are totally inept-especially at wrapping chocolates-due to a speeding conveyor belt that has them stuffing chocolates in their mouths, blouses, and hats.

3.0
24m
The Saxophone
Episode 2

The Saxophone

Episode 2 • Sep 22, 1952

When Lucy fails her saxophone audition for Ricky's band, she tries to stop him from going on the road by pretending there's another man in her life. Ricky gets back at her by hiring several "lovers," and hiding them in Lucy's closet. But Lucy gets the last laugh in the end!

0.0
25m
The Anniversary Present
Episode 3

The Anniversary Present

Episode 3 • Sep 29, 1952

Lucy thinks that Ricky is pitching woo with a sophisticated neighbor. The woman is actually a jeweler who Ricky has commissioned to fashion a pearl necklace to surprise Lucy with on their anniversary. Lucy takes to spying before the deal can go down and almost loses out on her big surprise.

0.0
25m
The Handcuffs
Episode 4

The Handcuffs

Episode 4 • Oct 06, 1952

After Lucy snaps a pair of antique handcuffs on herself and Ricky, they realize there's no key. A locksmith is found, but not before the Ricardos go to bed handcuffed together, and Ricky has to do a TV show with his "attached" wife trying to upstage him.

0.0
24m
The Operetta
Episode 5

The Operetta

Episode 5 • Oct 13, 1952

Lucy's women's club wants to stage an operetta, but they're completely broke. (Lucy, the treasurer, seems to have spent it all to pay her own bills.) Thus, Lucy and Ethel write and star in the musical, but when their postdated check bounces for the costumes and scenery, the rental company repossesses everything in midperformance.

0.0
24m
Vacation from Marriage
Episode 6

Vacation from Marriage

Episode 6 • Oct 27, 1952

The Ricardos and the Mertzes take a week off from their in-a-rut marriages. But each spouse misses the other too much, and despite a last-ditch attempt to make each other jealous, they all decide that they'd rather be in a rut with their mates.

0.0
25m
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Season 3

31 episodes
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Ricky's 'Life' Story
Episode 1

Ricky's 'Life' Story

Episode 1 • Oct 05, 1953

Lucy is upset because a 'Life' magazine feature on Ricky's home life didn't include a picture of her.

0.0
25m
The Girls Go Into Business
Episode 2

The Girls Go Into Business

Episode 2 • Oct 12, 1953

Lucy and Ethel are all set to go into business when they buy a new dress shop. But what to call it? Ethelu's? Lucyeth's? Unfortunately, naming the shop isn't their only problem when they are unable to sell any dresses and must sell the shop.

0.0
24m
Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress
Episode 3

Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress

Episode 3 • Oct 19, 1953

Lucy and Ethel buy the same dress for the upcoming talent show for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. True, they'll be doing a duet, and their number is Cole Porter's corny "Friendship" but wearing the same dress isn't exactly what they had in mind. Meanwhile, Lucy needs to persuade Ricky to host the show, so she decides to use a little reverse psychology.

0.0
26m
Equal Rights
Episode 4

Equal Rights

Episode 4 • Oct 26, 1953

Lucy and Ethel demand equal rights for women. Okay, say Ricky and Fred at the restaurant: separate checks for the four of them. Thus begins Lucy and Ethel's careers as restaurant dishwashers. So they plot revenge: they'll scare their husbands by claiming to have been robbed.

0.0
26m
Baby Pictures
Episode 5

Baby Pictures

Episode 5 • Nov 02, 1953

The Ricardos and the Applebys always brag to each other about their little sons. But when Lucy's and Caroline Appeby's exchanges turn hostile and sarcastic, Ricky worries that it will jeopardize a TV job that's been offered to him by Caroline's husband.

0.0
26m
Lucy Tells the Truth
Episode 6

Lucy Tells the Truth

Episode 6 • Nov 09, 1953

Ricky and the Mertzes bet Lucy that she can't go twenty-four hours without telling a lie. The outcome? Lucy insults all her friends and has to admit her real age, weight, and hair color. But she nearly gets a part on a TV show, by telling the truth, more or less.

0.0
25m
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Season 4

30 episodes
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The Business Manager
Episode 1

The Business Manager

Episode 1 • Oct 04, 1954

Ricky hires a business manager, and Lucy finds him tighter with money than Ricky.

0.0
25m
Mertz and Kurtz
Episode 2

Mertz and Kurtz

Episode 2 • Oct 11, 1954

Fred's globetrotting old vaudeville partner, Barney Kurtz, shows up, so Fred says he's a real-estate tycoon (with a red-headed maid to prove it). Actually, Barney's a cook in the Bronx, but his grandson is coming for a visit, so it's on with the show.

0.0
25m
Lucy Cries Wolf
Episode 3

Lucy Cries Wolf

Episode 3 • Oct 18, 1954

Lucy cries wolf once too often when she decides to see whether Ricky would come to her aid in an emergency. He assures her that he'd rush home from the club "between the 'baba' and the 'lu' " if she were in danger, but that's not enough reassurance for her, and soon she's in a precarious position.

0.0
26m
The Matchmaker
Episode 4

The Matchmaker

Episode 4 • Oct 25, 1954

Lucy wants to nudge a shy couple to the altar. Lucy's idea: show them how wonderful her and Ricky's marriage is. Her plan: invite them to a quiet at-home dinner. A quiet dinner at the Ricardos'? Who ever heard of such a thing?

0.0
26m
Ricky's Movie Offer
Episode 5

Ricky's Movie Offer

Episode 5 • Nov 08, 1954

A Hollywood talent scout is coming over to the apartment to audition Ricky for a movie role. But Ricky won't be the only one looking to attract the scout's attention. (Who's that gal in the Marilyn Monroe getup?).

0.0
26m
Ricky's Screen Test
Episode 6

Ricky's Screen Test

Episode 6 • Nov 15, 1954

The term "helpmate" takes on a new meaning when Lucy appears on a Hollywood movie lot. The cameras roll for Ricky's screen test -- but when the big moment arrives, Lucy takes the cue.

0.0
25m
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Season 5

26 episodes
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Lucy Visits Grauman's
Episode 1

Lucy Visits Grauman's

Episode 1 • Oct 03, 1955

With only a week left in Hollywood, Lucy weeps about her lack of souvenirs. Her collection already includes a tin can run over by Cary Grant's rear tire, a napkin boasting Lana Turner's lip-prints, and a few other goodies. But when Lucy discovers that John Wayne's concrete block at Grauman's Chinese Theatre is loose, she decides to take home a souvenir to end all souvenirs.

0.0
25m
Lucy and John Wayne
Episode 2

Lucy and John Wayne

Episode 2 • Oct 10, 1955

Lucy is spotted while attempting to "collect" a cement block with John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater. To avoid publicity and keep Lucy out of jail, Ricky enlists John Wayne's help in replacing the block. One mishap leads to another, and the plot thickens -- as does the cement. John Wayne guest-stars.

10.0
25m
Lucy and the Dummy
Episode 3

Lucy and the Dummy

Episode 3 • Oct 17, 1955

Lucy thinks she may have finally gotten her big break in Hollywood. It all centers on a posh party attended by studio execs. Ricky was invited to attend but begged off. But Lucy will fool ’em. She has a lifelike rubber replica of Ricky’s head, which she’ll attach to a dummy body — and she’ll dance her way to stardom with “Raggedy Ricky.”

0.0
22m
Ricky Sells the Car
Episode 4

Ricky Sells the Car

Episode 4 • Oct 24, 1955

Ricky sells his car, and the Mertzes think they are being stranded in California. Ricky buys train tickets for everyone, but a reservations mixup puts Lucy in an apparently compromising position with Fred Mertz. Watch for Fred and Ethel decked out in motorcycle gear and riding on a Harley.

0.0
25m
The Great Train Robbery
Episode 5

The Great Train Robbery

Episode 5 • Oct 31, 1955

Lucy gets mixed up with a jewel thief on a cross-country rail trip that marks the end of the series' Hollywood sojourn. That's not the only reason it's a bumpy ride. Another is that Lucy keeps pulling the emergency-brake cord.

0.0
25m
Homecoming
Episode 6

Homecoming

Episode 6 • Nov 07, 1955

Ricky returns from Hollywood as a celebrity, and even Lucy gets in on the hero worship. Can Ricky stand her brand of hero worship?

0.0
26m
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Season 6

27 episodes
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Lucy and Bob Hope
Episode 1

Lucy and Bob Hope

Episode 1 • Oct 01, 1956

Ricky is opening a new club, and he wants Bob Hope to appear at the grand opening. Lucy fears Hope won't appear because of her widespread reputation for monkey-wrench throwing, and wants to reassure him that this time she's butting out.

0.0
26m
Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums
Episode 2

Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums

Episode 2 • Oct 08, 1956

Little Ricky gets drums and the Mertzes get headaches. So do Lucy and Ricky, but they're not about to evict themselves.

0.0
26m
Lucy Meets Orson Welles
Episode 3

Lucy Meets Orson Welles

Episode 3 • Oct 15, 1956

Lucy tries to get in a skit with Orson Welles at Ricky's club, thinking it is a Shakespearean play that he will be doing. When Orson Welles tells Lucy she can be in the show, she calls her old high school drama teacher to tell her the news. Lucy's old teacher sends her whole drama class to Club Babalu to see Lucy perform. But poor Lucy! It turns out Welles only wanted her to be his assistant for a magic trick.

7.0
26m
Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright
Episode 4

Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright

Episode 4 • Oct 22, 1956

Little Ricky is scheduled to play the drums in a children's orchestra. Although his parents and their friends the Mertzes are overcome with nervousness, Little Ricky seems calm until his big moment arrives; then he goes to pieces. His next performance is six months away, but Lucy feels she must do something about his stage fright now.

0.0
26m
Visitor from Italy
Episode 5

Visitor from Italy

Episode 5 • Oct 29, 1956

Mario, the Ricardos and Mertzes' gondolier in Venice, comes to New York to surprise his brother Dominic, but turns up at the Ricardos' apartment when he can't find him. Lucy is sure Dominic is in San Francisco and sets out to help Mario raise the bus fare. Her earnest efforts pay off in a surprising way.

0.0
26m
Off to Florida
Episode 6

Off to Florida

Episode 6 • Nov 12, 1956

When Lucy misplaces two train tickets to Florida, she and Ethel consult the classified section, hoping to share a ride with someone driving south. They team up with a peculiar middle-aged woman, Mrs. Grundy, who's bent on getting to Florida in record time.

0.0
26m
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