The Diet~Season 1

 First Aired: October 29, 1951
Season: 1
# Made: 4

Synopsis: Ricky promises Lucy she can be in a number with him at the Tropicana, but ONLY if she can lose enough inches to fit the costume.  Lucy's determenation & drive in this episode is an inspiration to all I Love Lucy fans.

Bloopers:
Hello??: This was only the 4th episode (5th including the Lost Pilot).  Ricky was still getting used to props.  Watch when Ricky goes over to the ringing phone.  He says 'hello' before he gets the reciever halfway to his mouth.  How could Jerry hear him?

Songs: Cuban Pete/Sally Sweet.  The musical number in this episode is actually from Lucy & Desi's vaudeville routine.  Desi also starrd in a movie called "Cuban Pete" in 1946.

Notes: The Mertz's have a dog name Butch in this episode, but he's never seen after this.

Lucy: I guess we're all auditioning for the same part, huh.

Girl Auditioning (In the picture above, the one on the very left): Can I give you a tip?

Lucy: Oh, yes!

Girl Auditioning: I've known Ricky Ricardo for a long time...you're not his type.
The Diet~Season 1

Be A Pal~Season 1

 First Aired: October 22, 1951

 Season: 1

# Made: 3

Synopsis:  In an effort to re-kindle her marriage, Lucy follows Ethel's advice & tries schemes such as being glamorous, playing poker & even dressing up like Ricky's Ma-ma.

Guest Cast:
Richard J. Reeves - Hank.  Other I Love Lucy episodes include:  Season 1: The Gossip, The Publicity Agent.  Season 2:  Lucy Is Enceinte, The Indian Show.  Season 3: Equal Rights, The French Revue, Tennessee Ernie Hangs On.
Other shows besides I Love Lucy include: "Adventures of Superman", "The Lone Ranger", "Maverick", "Bonanza".  He also appeared in more than 50 feature films. 
Tony Michaels - Charlie.  The only other I Love Lucy episode he was in was: Bonus Bucks in Season 3.

Songs: Carmen Miranda's song:  "Mama Yo Quiero".  Lucy had to ask permission to lip syncs to this song in the episode.

This is one of the very few episodes where Ethel has an idea that Lucy follows.  As we all know, in most episodes the red-head doesn't usually need help coming up with schemes.

Ethel: Well, is everything okey dokey?

Lucy: No, everything is inky stinky!

Be A Pal~Season 1

The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub~Season 1

Season: 1

First Aired: October 15, 1951

# Made: 2

Synopsis: It's the Mertz's 18th Anniversary, the boys want to go the fights (boxing fights that is) and the girls...you guessed it, want to go to a nightclub to celebrate.  So where does spying on the girls & hillbillies as dates fit in?  Get ready, get set, LAUGH!

Bloopers:

The Want Us To Meet Us?:  Like I've said before, there was hardly any "cuts" during the making of I Love Lucy, so even if there was a mistake in wording, it was kept in the episode.  In this episode while the boys are waiting for the blind dates, Ricky says, "I wonder why they want us to meet us here at the apartment."  I assume it should've been:  I wonder why they want to meet us here at the apartment.

Songs: Ricky sang a lot of songs during the course of the show.  In this episode he sang "Guadalajara"

Lucy: Ever since we said 'I do', there are so many things we don't.

The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub~Season 1

Lucy Thinks Ricky's Trying To Murder Her~Season 1

  Season: 1

First Aired: November 5, 1951

# Made: 1

Synopsis:
While reading a "flying" murder mystery book and having Ethel tell her fortune, Lucy thinks Ricky is planning to murder her.  What follows is a series of hilarious stunts Lucy pulls to "save" herself.

Bloopers:
Speedy Ricardo: When Ricky goes to the desk to answer the phone watch the upper right corner of the screen.  If you look closely you'll see a cameraman trying to scramble out of the shot, because Ricky walked to the desk too quickly.
Glimpse Of The Bedroom: When Ricky and Lucy are dancing (the same scene where Lucy and Ricky pull a switch-er-oo on the glasses) you can catch a glimpse of their "bedroom" set (on the left of the screen).

Which Glass?: Watch the glass Ricky slips the "mickey" in.  If you follow it closely you'll see that Lucy doesn't end up drinking the one with the sleeping powder, but somehow at the end of the episode feels the effects.

Alice or Yorkie?:  According to Ricky's agent Jerry the names of the dogs (in the show for the club) are Ann, Mary, Helen, Cynthia, Alice and Theodore.  But when we actually see the dogs at the end of the episode you hear their trainer call Alice by her real name...Yorkie.

Yawns Are Contagious: At the end of the episode when Lucy and Ethel go down to club, Lucy yawns...but she's not the only tired girl.  To the right of Lucy, Ethel is standing and (though it wasn't scripted) can't help yawning as well.  I guess that just goes to show...yawns are contagious.

Guest Cast:

Jerry Hausner: Jerry, Ricky's agent.  Made his debut I Love Lucy episode in the Lost I Love Lucy Pilot.  Other I Love Lucy episodes include:  Season 1: Lucy Does A TV Commercial (This is the only episode where he doesn't play Ricky's Agent)  Season 2: Lucy's Showbiz Swan Song, Ricky Has Labor Pains, Lucy's Last Birthday.  Season 3: Changing The Boys Wardrobe, Ricky's Old Girlfriend, Fan Magazine Interview. 

He was also the voice for crying "Little Ricky" in the show.

Hector and His Pals: Hector and his pals were never in anymore I Love Lucy episodes, BUT they were "famous" even before the show.  They were the dog act featured briefly in Easter Parade with Fred Astaire & Judy Garland.  (Right after Hughes & "Juanita's" first performance.  'Don' says "Next time we should get some dogs in the act.")

Notes: This was the only episode that was filmed with four cameras instead of three.  Desi Arnaz was afraid the audience would get bored during film reloading delays, so he wanted to I Love Lucy to be performed without interruption, like a one-act stage play.  With four cameras three would always be running while the fourth could be reloading.  I'm not sure why they stopped the four camera filming, probably to save money, but the audience was kept entertained by Desi's orchestra.

Ricky: Lucy's acting crazy

Fred: Crazy for Lucy or crazy for ordinary people?

Lucy Thinks Ricky's Trying To Murder Her
~Season 1

The Lost I Love Lucy Pilot

If you buy the DVD pack of Season 1 you'll be able to see the Lost I Love Lucy Pilot.  If you never get the chance to see it...don't worry, the storyline and almost everything that happens is same as The Audition (which I'll talk about a little later.)  Besides this pilot was never made for broadcast.

Differences:
An Announcer: Since it is the pilot after all there is an announcer voice over introducing the Ricky & Lucy Ricardo.  Ricky (according to the announcer) is a morning person (as he bounds out of bed).  Lucy is not.  I will be talking about this in the Bloopers section....
The Apartment: The set for the apartment is way different...they don't really have a kitchen.
Who's At The Door?: In The Audition Fred Mertz comes to the door to tell Ricky that there's a TV audition down at the Tropicana that night.  In the pilot it's Ricky's agent Jerry.
Who's Clowning Around?: In the Lost I Love Lucy Pilot the clown's name is Pepito.  In The Audition, the clown's name is Bobo (and is a different clown altogether).  I personally think Pepito is funnier, but don't worry, you can see his same routine in Season 2.  Lucy's Showbiz Swan Song.

Bloopers:
Now for my favorite part...the bloopers.  The director hardly called for any "Cuts" during the filming of the show.  Which is why you see a lot of bloopers and mistakes in the episodes.  Personally I like that...it doesn't make the show seem too rehearsed...just natural.

Who's The Early Bird?: This really isn't a blooper I guess...it's just an inconsistency.  Above I mentioned that the announcer explained that Ricky was a morning person.  Just off the top of my head I can think of 3 later episodes that proves this point very wrong.  The biggest would be Vacation From Marriage, in which Ricky staggers into the kitchen "looking like a zombie".  Then says, "I could've slept day".  In Ricky Loses His Temper, it shows Ricky getting home in the early morning...so i don't really see him bounding out of bed in 4 hours.  And lastly in The Anniversary Present, Ricky is just waking up as Lucy all dressed (and obviously having been up for a while) comes walking into the bedroom with a tray of breakfast for the painters. 
Now of course I'll let this inconsistency slide, because the pilot was never made for broadcast.

Lucy: I'm lookin' for a feller named Risky Riskerdo.
Ricky: I'm Ricky Ricardo.
Lucy:  Glad to ya.  Now do you know where I can find Risky Riskerdo?
The Lost Pilot &
The Audition~Season 1

Calling All I Love Lucy Lovers

ATTENTION I LOVE LUCY LOVERS!!!

Come one come all and read my journal as I recount every single I Love Lucy episode ever made.  I'll be sharing synopsis', interesting tid bits of information, guest cast bios, my personal favorite...bloopers and MORE!

Please comment, vote on polls and enjoy my I Love Lucy Journal!!