Along with shows like Car 54, Where Are You,and The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy is one of those classic sitcoms that not only serve as excellent examples of the time, but also still hold up today. Aside from the occasional dated reference (and the unavoidable, yet thankfully sparse, negative depictions of marginalized people), these shows continue to make audiences laugh, thanks to sharp writing and superb performances. Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Fred Gwynne, and Lucille Ball continue to be heralded as masters of the form, with Ball serving as an icon for multiple generations of comediennes making some of the greatest shows of all time (via Rolling Stone). Also, modern screenwriting texts advise studying these classics in order better to understand storytelling structure, plot progression, and character. That’s how tightly written these “old” shows were.
I Love Lucy, though, is probably the best of the bunch. Not only is it legitimately funny, but the four stars are superb in their roles. Ball dazzles as the eponymous Lucy, equally deft at delivering punchlines as she is engaging in physical comedy. Desi Arnaz embodies the character of talented song and dance man Ricky Ricardo so well that it’s virtually impossible to decipher fact from fiction. As for their best friends Fred and Ethel Mertz, William Frawley and Vivian Vance share so much chemistry, it’s a shame they weren’t married in real life. There have been a slew of iconic moments on the show that everyone knows even if you haven’t seen the show. Many of them come from the ten episodes we’ve ranked below. So, if you’re considering checking the legendary sitcom out for the first time, or thinking of revisiting a few of your favorite episodes, these would be an excellent place to start.
10.Lucy Visits Grauman’s / Lucy and John Wayne
When Ricky gets cast in a big Hollywood movie, he brings Lucy and their friends Fred and Ethel along to Los Angeles. This leads to several episodes set in the city of angels, culminating in Lucy and Ethel stealing John Wayne’s hand and shoe prints from outside the historic Grauman’s theater. The second half of this two-parter is solely committed to the pair trying to find a way to return the concrete slab before the police find out who stole it. Unfortunately, the stolen property is shattered, and the task becomes finding a way to recreate it. This leads to a pretty impressive cameo from the Duke himself. Wayne gets roped into the scheme over and over because the new impressions he provides get continuously destroyed. It gets repetitive after a while, but the fact that they got such a huge star to play along is admirable and the various plans to get out of this jam become so ridiculous you can’t help but admire everyone’s ingenuity.
9.Lucy is Enceinte
This episode isn’t big on plot. Lucy isn’t trying to pull the wool over Ricky’s eyes. She doesn’t need to sneak in somewhere or pretend to be someone she’s not. She doesn’t even get herself into trouble only to spend the rest of the episode plotting a way out. The entire episode is simply Lucy trying and failing to tell Ricky that she’s pregnant. Although, based on the fact that she’s been gaining weight and feeling sick and wearing some maternity-looking clothing, it’s a shock she needed to consult a doctor at all. The golden moment of the episode is when Lucy tells Ricky while he is performing at his nightclub via an anonymous note. Singing “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” Ricky searches the audience for the author of the note, only to realize it was his own wife. He brings her up on the dance floor and serenades her in a touching and sweet moment of genuine love and affection. It isn’t funny, but it hits you where it counts.
8.Lucy Tells the Truth
Lucy’s life as a housewife is apparently so dull that the only way she can make it more exciting is to lie about herself at every opportunity. Finally fed up with this, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel convince her to make a bet that she can’t go 24 hours without lying. Lucy takes that bet and almost immediately loses it. Catching herself, she finds resolve and commits to only telling the truth. What’s so fun about this episode is the way in which it exposes all the little fibs polite society engages in to protect the feelings of their friends. When Lucy and Ethel go to play cards, Lucy is forced to admit that her friend’s new hat is atrocious. Soon, she finds that telling the truth is actually liberating, inspiring her to be even more direct. It’s a small piece of social satire that is smart and very funny.
7.The Great Train Robbery
While traveling by train, Lucy becomes aware of the fact that a jewel thief has also come aboard. She suspects that the man in the cabin next to her and Ricky is the thief simply because he looks like a bad guy from a movie and sets out to prove her hypothesis. The episode is very funny with Lucy repeatedly pulling the emergency stop, making the trip unbearable for most of the people on board, but the thing that makes it work is the twisting plot. None of the twists are all that shocking, but they keep your attention and draw you into the case of mistaken identity with every new development. The tension builds like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents with a broad sense of humor. The fact that it is able to manage the comedy the show is typically known for with more thriller and suspense sensibilities is remarkable.
6.L.A. At Last
The Hollywood odyssey begins with the whole gang making the trip out west as Ricky prepares to shoot his movie. Immediately upon arriving, Lucy is itching to see some famous people. She brings Ethel and Fred to a restaurant that’s rumored to be crawling with movie stars. At first, this whole set up feels like it’s going to be nothing but a cavalcade of stars showing up for a line or two before walking off, requiring the viewer to have a working knowledge of 1955 Hollywood. There’s a quick cameo from Eve Arden, but everything changes once actor William Holden (Sunset Boulevard) arrives. Tired of being gawked at by Lucy, he turns the table and begins staring at her. She leaves the restaurant feeling embarrassed, only to run into him again later. Holden is phenomenal in the episode and Lucy’s attempt to disguise herself is comedy gold.
5.The Freezer
Lucy has her heart set on getting a freezer so she and Ricky can save money by stocking up on meat. When her husband refuses, she, of course, takes matters into her own hands and conspires with Ethel to purchase her uncle’s meat freezer at a steal. Inspired by all the money they’re saving, Lucy mistakenly orders over 700 pounds of beef. The rest of the episode is all about her trying to figure out a way to hide this enormous purchase from Ricky, and it’s great. The premise is delightfully simple, allowing the story to go in some wild directions, like Lucy and Ethel selling the meat at a deep discount at a local butcher shop, acting like drug dealers rather than beef slingers. Everything culminates with a hysterically cartoonish makeup job that won’t be spoiled here, but it does include the massive freezer and the key being on the wrong side of the door.
4.Harpo Marx
Another episode set during Ricky’s time filming a movie, this time Lucy has her old friend Caroline stopping by on her way to Hawaii. Instead of eagerly anticipating the visit, Lucy is pulling her hair out because she’s spent weeks bragging to Caroline about all the movie stars who pop in on the regular. At the same time, the legendary Harpo Marx (of The Marx Brothers) is staying in the hotel and spending most of his time chasing young women. The episode is mostly an excuse to let Harpo do his routine and has Ball parade in celebrity cosplay to trick her friend, but both elements are so well done that the light story is justified. Then, of course, there is the iconic moment where Lucy (dressed as Harpo) joins the Marx Brother in his mirror image routine and Ball proves she can hold her own against even the most gifted physical comedians of the day.
3.Lucy’s Italian Movie
You know this episode even if you’ve never seen it. The final act of the story has been referenced so many times it is virtually impossible that you haven’t come across it in some manifestation. While visiting Italy, a famous filmmaker asks Lucy to appear in his latest movie. Assuming she’ll need to play a native of Italy, Lucy does her best to soak up the local flavor. This leads her to working at a winery in the hills nearby. That thin premise is all set up for the moment when Lucy and another grape stomper get into a heated grape fight. It goes on for a while, but every second is worth it. Plus, the final tag at the end of the episode is one of the few times the show is able to pull the rug out from under the audience and the character simultaneously. This is a must-watch.
2.Job Switching
Far too often, I Love Lucy episodes are designed to put the title character through hell for no other reason than she wants so desperately to feel included or important in some way. Most of the time, she suffers a self-induced punishment as consequence of her many failed attempts to achieve those goals. In this episode, however, all four characters are put through the wringer when the husbands decide to swap responsibilities with their wives. Lucy and Ethel get a job at a candy factory while Ricky and Fred struggle to take care of the housework. Not only is the candy wrapping scene still funny today, but it’s also nice to see everyone learn a lesson for a change.
1.Lucy Does a TV Commercial
There is probably no I Love Lucy commercial more popular than this. Which is very interesting because not a whole lot happens. Lucy discovers that Ricky needs to hire an actress for a commercial, and she thinks she’d be perfect for it. Naturally (for some reason) Ricky refuses and Lucy cons her way into the production anyway. The product she has to sell is called vitameatavegamin, and it is absolutely loaded with alcohol. After several takes, Lucy gets hammered and is unable to deliver her lines. Lucille Ball is so spot-on and perfect in the sequence. She doesn’t miss a single note and watching it now still elicits deep belly laughs from viewers. It is a small, sparkling masterpiece – the jewel in the crown of this almighty pillar of TV comedy.
