My Top Ten "I Love Lucy" Episodes

I can't imagine television without "I Love Lucy." Even after all the other reruns of black and white shows disappeared from the airwaves, there was "Lucy," still playing in the same late morning slot on my local syndicated station the last time I was home sick. CBS will be airing a colorized version of the "I Love Lucy" Christmas special in a few weeks, but I can't wrap my head around the thought of the world's most famous redhead in color. So, this month's list is being dedicated to Lucy and one of TV's most fundamental sitcoms. As always, entries are unranked and presented in order of airdate.

The Diet - Lucy always wants to be part of bandstand leader Ricky's musical shows down at the club. Ricky always says no. However, in this episode Lucy gets awfully close to victory. Ricky makes a deal with her - if she can fit into a size twelve costume, and she can be part of the act. So Lucy crash diets and hits the steam room. The "Cuban Pete" number that they perform together at the finale is still one of my favorites.

The Ballet - Lucy again tries to be part of Ricky's new show, and learning that they're looking for a ballet dancer and burlesque comic, takes lessons for each. The ballet lesson portion of the show is a lot of fun, but the burlesque comedy routine is gold. "Slowly, I turned," existed long before "I Love Lucy," but was it ever deployed so well? The final act where balllet and burlesque clash is among the funniest moments in the show's run.

Lucy Does a TV Commercial - Still hoping to break into show business, Lucy tries a different approach. She wins the part of television pitch girl for a new health tonic called Vitameatavegamin. Of course, the main ingredient is alcohol. When it comes time to shoot the commercial, the tongue-twister name and awful taste cause Lucy to ruin take after take until the inevitable happens. As with the best "Lucy" gags, it's all in the execution.

Job Switching - Possibly the most famous "I Love Lucy" episode of all time. The men and the women clash about who has it harder, prompting Lucy and Ethel to try their hand at breadwinning while Ricky and Fred mind house. The men certainly contribute their share of the laughs with their domestic disasters, but nothing can top the immortal scene where Lucy and Ethel go to work wrapping chocolates at a candy factory.

Lucy Is Enceinte - You couldn't even say the word "pregnant" on television back in 1952, but the decision was made to work Lucille Ball's pregnancy into the show, so "I Love Lucy" broke all kinds of new ground with the Little Ricky storyline. However, the best part is how Lucy decides to break the news to Ricky, after trying and failing several times using more conventional tactics. It's easily my favorite Ricky Ricardo performance.

Lucy's Last Birthday - Lucy feels neglected after it seems that nobody remembered her birthday. Of course, Ricky and all her friends are planning a big surprise, but Lucy is so hurt that she joins up with a bunch of similar mopes called the Friends of the Friendless. The theme song gets lyrics as Ricky serenades his wife, and Lucy learns she's appreciated after all. Like most episodes, the story's simple but full of heart.

Mr. and Mrs. TV Show - Product placement isn't a recent phenomenon, but has been with television since nearly the beginning. In fact, shows created to shill products are satirized mercilessly in this episode, where the Ricardos are recruited to star in their own program, where the content is little more than advertisements for their department store sponsor. Of course, with Lucy being Lucy, that doesn't stay true for very long.

Lucy's Italian Movie - Much of the later seasons of "I Love Lucy" were taken up with trips out to Hollywood to meet famous stars and on the Ricardos' international travels. The most memorable of these was "Lucy's Italian Movie," the famous episode that puts Lucy in a wine makers' grape-stomping vat with a feisty Italian named Teresa during the Italian leg of their European tour. The grape fight always looked like so much fun.

The Ricardos Visit Cuba - We finally get to meet Ricky's family when the Ricardos travel to Cuba, and Lucy's very nervous about making a good impression on her in-laws. In typical Lucy fashion, she gets into some spectacular bungles, my favorite involving cross-dressing and cigar-rolling. In the end, it's Little Ricky who helps to mends fences, thanks to the most adorable musical number that the show ever produced.

Little Ricky's School Pageant - This is one of the show's silliest and most indulgent episodes, pretty much designed to get the cast into ridiculous fairy-tale costumes, but I can't resist. The Ricardos and the Mertzes take part in Little Ricky's school pageant, "The Enchanted Forest" which casts Ethel as a fairy, Fred as a frog, Ricky as a tree, and Lucy as a broomstick-riding witch.
---