Loving Lucy: My Favorite I Love Lucy Episodes

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this on my blog before, but I love Lucille Ball. This is no surprise considering I grew up watching I Love Lucy (which I still do everyday), so, naturally, I was so excited when I read about this blogathon on True Classics.

One thing I've realized over the last few days is that I had no idea what to write. So, I just decided to talk about my favorite episode from each of the six seasons (I didn't include episodes from The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, as I haven't seen as many episodes from it). Of course there are dozens that I love, but I've found these six to be the ones I watch/enjoy the most. I wasn't able to find full episodes online (except for the last one), but I did find a few clips on YouTube that I've included and also some trivia from TV.com. Listed in order by season and air date:

Season 1- Lucy Does a TV Commercial- (Original Airdate May 5, 1952)

I realize this is completely unoriginal, as this is probably the most popular I Love Lucy episode. But, it's popular for a reason- Lucy is absolutely hilarious (as usual), which is why it's my favorite. This also was reportedly Lucy's favorite episode, and it's easy to see why.

Trivia: Vitametavegimin is actually 23% alcohol. However, if you closely examine the labels on the bottles seen behind Lucy when she is rehearsing the commercial, they say Vitametavegamin is 11% alcohol. It was originally 11% in the script, but, changed to 23% on the spot because the higher percentage of alcohol sounded funnier.


When Lucy is showing Ricky that she can do the commercial, Desi Arnaz is clearly trying not to laugh.

Season 2- Job Switching- (Original Airdate September 15, 1952)

My unconditional love for chocolate has caused me to be unoriginal again. I think this was most likely the first episode I ever saw, so it plays a significant role for me in both introducing me to Lucy and making me realize how much I loved classic films and television. A close second from season 2 would be Lucy Goes to the Hospital.

Trivia: The candy dipper, Amanda Milligan originally had lines in her scene with Lucille Ball but these were cut because of Milligan being uncomfortable talking on camera. Amanda Milligan was a real life candy dipper who worked at the Farmer's Market in Hollywood. At the time of this episode, she had never seen an episode of "I Love Lucy" before because she watched wrestling on Monday nights. 

While the conveyor belt is speeding up, Lucy was too soon to eat one of the chocolates. And realizing her mistake, she quickly removed the candy and dropped it on the floor.

Season 3- Ricky Minds the Baby- (Original Airdate January 18, 1954)

The main reason I chose Ricky Minds the Baby is solely for the scene above, although I love the whole episode. I thought it was really sweet to see Ricky bonding with his son, as Little Ricky is such a sweetheart.

Trivia: In the scene where Ricky is telling Little Ricky the bedtime story, the camera cuts to show Little Ricky in his crib. If you look closely, the picture on the bumper in the crib is of a cartoon Lucy & Ricky kissing each other. 

Season 4- L.A. At Last (Original Airdate Febrauary 7, 1955)

My favorite season of I Love Lucy is definitely season 4, because I have a fascination with pointing out my favorite actors in the Hollywood episodes. This episode guest stars the wonderful William Holden in another iconic scene.

Trivia: Contrary to popular rumor Lucy's nose was supposed to catch on fire. There was a tiny candle wick under the clay. What was improvised was how she extinguished the fake nose. In the original script Lucy was supposed to take her fake nose off and dunk it in her cup of coffee, instead she dunks her nose into the coffee cup while it is still attached to her face. 

Season 5- Paris at Last- (Original Airdate February 27, 1956)

I enjoy the Europe episodes as much as I do the Hollywood ones. I was stuck between this episode and two others- Lucy's Italian Movie and Lucy Meets the Queen, but I decided I liked this one most out of the three. My favorite part is the scene included above, but I also like the scene where Lucy attempts to eat snails...

Trivia: Writers Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh are sitting at the cafe. Lucy toasts Carroll with a glass of wine but Pugh was frequently out of the film frame.

Season 6- I Love Lucy Christmas Show (Original Airdate December 24, 1956)

I don't really like the idea of colorizing I Love Lucy episodes (or anything that was formerly black and white), but this clip was the only thing available. I really love this episode for the sole fact that it's about Christmas and I also really enjoy the flashback's included, particularly the ones from Lucy Goes to the Hospital.

Trivia: Also known as 'The Lost Episode' or 'Jingle Bells'. Because this was a "special" and employed so many long flashback sequences, this episode was not included in the eventual syndication package. The last time even a portion of it was telecast was December 1981 on Rona Barrett's short-lived NBC series, "Television: Inside and Out." Today, most fans can find this episode available on video.

That's about all I have to share, except again to say that I truly love Lucy and what she was to the world. I hope we all take some time to remember her on her 100th birthday. Also a big thanks to Brandie, Nikki and Carrie for hosting this blogathon. It was a lot of fun, and I hope we bloggers can do this again in the future.