Last Updated: June 28, 1999 Written by: Ted Nesi Here is an episode listing of Lucy's first series, I Love Lucy. It aired on CBS, Monday nights at 9:00pm from 1951-1957. If an episode title is a link, the link will lead to a seperate page with information about that episode. The same characters and settings were later used in the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. |
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| Episode Number | Title | Date Filmed | Original Air Date | Guest Stars and Notes |
| 2 | The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub | September 15, 1951 | October 15, 1951 | |
| 3 | Be a Pal | September 21, 1951 | October 22, 1951 | |
| 4 | The Diet | September 28, 1951 | October 29, 1951 | |
| 1 | Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her | September 8, 1951 | November 5, 1951 | Although this was the first episode filmed, it was the fourth to air because the producers decided The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub was a better episode to premiere with |
| 5 | The Quiz Show | October 5, 1951 | November 12, 1951 | |
| 6 | The Audition | October 12, 1951 | November 19, 1951 | This episode is a lot like the pilot, filmed in March of the same year |
| 7 | The Seance | October 19, 1951 | November 26, 1951 | |
| 8 | Men Are Messy | October 25, 1951 | December 3, 1951 | |
| 10 | The Fur Coat | October 25, 1951 | December 10, 1951 | |
| 11 | Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer | November 16, 1951 | December 17, 1951 | (Though named Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer, in this episode Lucy was jealous of a female dancer) |
| 9 | Drafted | November 2, 1951 | December 24, 1951 | For this episode, a four-minute Christmas tag was produced, which was shown at the end of each episode airing closest to Christmas until 1956. |
| 12 | The Adagio | November 23, 1951 | December 31, 1951 | |
| 13 | The Benefit | November 30, 1951 | January 7, 1952 | |
| 14 | The Amateur Hour | December 7, 1951 | January 15, 1952 | William Frawley does not appear in this episode |
| 15 | Lucy Plays Cupid | December 13, 1951 | January 21, 1952 | Neither Vivian Vance nor William Frawley appear in this episode |
| 16 | Lucy Fakes Illness | December 18, 1951 | January 28, 1952 | |
| 17 | Lucy Writes a Play | December 22, 1951 | February 4, 1952 | |
| 18 | Breaking the Lease | January 5, 1952 | February 11, 1952 | |
| 19 | The Ballet | January 11, 1952 | February 18, 1952 | Bart Andrews claims that "Lucille Ball ad-libbed brilliantly when her foot accidentally got caught in the ballet practice bar." But Gregg Oppenheimer, son of Jess, says that the foot getting caught was part of the script |
| 20 | The Young Fans | January 18, 1952 | February 25, 1952 | |
| 21 | New Neighbors | January 25, 1952 | March 3, 1952 | |
| 22 | Fred and Ethel Fight | January 30, 1952 | March 10, 1952 | |
| 23 | The Moustache | February 8, 1952 | March 17, 1952 | |
| 24 | The Gossip | February 15, 1952 | March 24, 1952 | |
| 25 | Pioneer Women | February 22, 1952 | March 31, 1952 | |
| 26 | The Marriage License | February 28, 1952 | April 7, 1952 | |
| 27 | The Kleptomaniac | March 7, 1952 | April 14, 1952 | |
| 28 | Cuban Pals | March 14, 1952 | April 21, 1952 | |
| 29 | The Freezer | March 21, 1952 | April 28, 1952 | |
| 30 | Lucy Does a TV Commercial | March 28, 1952 | May 5, 1952 | Vitameatavegamin! |
| 31 | The Publicity Agent | April 4, 1952 | May 12, 1952 | |
| 32 | Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio | April 11, 1952 | May 19, 1952 | |
| 33 | Lucy's Schedule | April 18, 1952 | May 26, 1952 | |
| 34 | Ricky Thinks He's Getting Bald | April 25, 1952 | June 2, 1952 | |
| 35 | Ricky Asks for a Raise | May 2, 1952 | June 9, 1952 | |
| 39 | Job Switching | May 30, 1952 | September 15, 1952 | The Candy Factory! In 1997, TV Guide picked this episode as the second-greatest moment in TV history, only behind the moon landing in 1969. |
| 40 | The Saxophone | June 6, 1952 | September 22, 1952 | |
| 36 | The Anniversary Present | May 9, 1952 | September 29, 1952 | |
| 37 | The Handcuffs | May 16, 1952 | October 6, 1952 | |
| 38 | The Operetta | May 23, 1952 | October 13, 1952 | |
| 41 | Vacation from Marriage | August 1, 1952 | October 27, 1952 | |
| 42 | The Courtroom | August 8, 1952 | November 10, 1952 | |
| 43 | Redecorating | August 15, 1952 | November 24, 1952 | |
| 44 | Ricky Loses His Voice | August 22, 1952 | December 1, 1952 | |
| 50 | Lucy Is Enceinte | October 3, 1952 | December 8, 1952 | Lucy's Having a Baby! |
| 51 | Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable | October 10, 1952 | December 15, 1952 | |
| 52 | Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song | October 17, 1952 | December 22, 1952 | |
| 53 | Lucy Hires an English Tutor | October 24, 1952 | December 29, 1952 | |
| 54 | Ricky Has Labor Pains | October 31, 1952 | January 5, 1953 | |
| 55 | Lucy Becomes a Sculptress | November 7, 1952 | January 12, 1953 | |
| 56 | Lucy Goes to the Hospital | November 14, 1952 | January 19, 1953 | Lucy Has a Baby! At the time this episode aired, it was the most watched television program ever. It beat out Queen Elizabeth's coronation and President Eisenhower's inauguration. When originally aired, the end of this episode contained this voice-over: "Yes, there's a new baby, a wonderful baby at the Ricardos'. And we at Philip Morris rejoice in the blessed event. We know that all our millions of friends join with us in extending congratulations and good wishes to the Ricardos. May their lives together be filled with as much joy and laughter and carefree happiness as they have brought all of us week after week. To Lucy, to Ricky, and to the new baby: love and kisses from Philip Morris and from all America." |
| 45 | Sales Resistance | August 29, 1952 | January 25, 1953 | This and the following four episodes had a flashback tag added to the beginning, saying how Lucy was in the hospital and remembering old times. Some other episodes showed reruns with flashback tags. |
| 46 | The Inferiority Complex | September 6, 1952 | February 2, 1953 | |
| 47 | The Club Election | September 12, 1952 | February 15, 1953 | |
| 48 | The Black Eye | September 19, 1952 | March 9, 1953 | |
| 49 | Lucy Changes Her Mind | September 26, 1952 | March 30, 1953 | |
| 57 | No Children Allowed | March 20, 1953 | April 20, 1953 | This was the first episode with Elizabeth Patterson as Mrs. Trumbull, the Ricardo's elderly neighbor. It was also the first new episode filmed since November 14, when Lucy began her maternity leave from filming. |
| 58 | Lucy Hires a Maid | March 27, 1953 | April 27, 1953 | |
| 59 | The Indian Show | April 3, 1953 | May 4, 1953 | |
| 60 | Lucy's Last Birthday | April 10, 1953 | May 11, 1953 | |
| 61 | The Ricardos Change Apartments | April 16, 1953 | May 18, 1953 | |
| 62 | Lucy Is Matchmaker | April 25, 1953 | May 25, 1953 | |
| 63 | Lucy Wants New Furniture | May 1, 1953 | June 1, 1953 | |
| 64 | The Camping Trip | May 8, 1953 | June 8, 1953 | |
| 66 | Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans | May 22, 1953 | June 22, 1953 | |
| 67 | Never Do Business with Friends | May 29, 1953 | June 29, 1953 | Why does Ethel need a new washing machine? Fred got her a new one just five months earlier (Sales Resistance)! |
| 65 | Ricky's Life Story | May 15, 1953 | October 5, 1953 | |
| 68 | The Girls Go Into Business | September 11, 1953 | October 12, 1953 | This episode was filmed the night of the "red scare," after Lucille Ball had been branded communist by Walter Winchell. The charges were proved false over the next few days. |
| 69 | Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress | September 17, 1953 | October 19, 1953 | This was the first regularly scheduled Thursday film date, nearly all previous episodes having been filmed on Friday. |
| 70 | Equal Rights | September 24, 1953 | October 26, 1953 | |
| 71 | Baby Pictures | October 1, 1953 | November 2, 1953 | |
| 72 | Lucy Tells the Truth | October 8, 1953 | November 9, 1953 | |
| 73 | The French Revue | October 15, 1953 | November 16, 1953 | |
| 74 | Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment | October 22, 1953 | November 23, 1953 | |
| 75 | Too Many Crooks | October 29, 1953 | November 30, 1953 | The night this episode aired, Desi surprised Lucy was a thirteenth wedding anniversary party at Mocambo. A fictional but similar occasion occured in the "Hollywood Anniversary" episode. |
| 76 | Changing the Boys' Wardrobe | November 5, 1953 | December 7, 1953 | |
| 77 | Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined | November 12, 1953 | December 14, 1953 | |
| 78 | Ricky's Old Girl Friend | November 19, 1953 | December 21, 1953 | |
| 79 | The Million-Dollar Idea | November 28, 1953 | January 11, 1954 | |
| 80 | Ricky Minds the Baby | December 3, 1953 | January 18, 1954 | This episode was filmed without a studio audience so the babies would perform on cue without the distraction of the live audience. |
| 81 | The Charm School | December 10, 1953 | January 25, 1954 | |
| 82 | Sentimental Anniversary | December 17, 1953 | February 1, 1954 | |
| 83 | Fan Magazine Interview | January 7, 1954 | February 8, 1954 | This was Jerry Hausner's last appearence on I Love Lucy. He and Desi had a falling out during the filming. |
| 84 | Oil Wells | January 14, 1954 | February 15, 1954 | |
| 85 | Ricky Loses His Temper | January 21, 1954 | February 22, 1954 | |
| 86 | Home Movies | January 28, 1954 | March 1, 1954 | |
| 87 | Bonus Bucks | February 4, 1954 | March 8, 1954 | |
| 88 | Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation | February 11, 1954 | March 22, 1954 | |
| 89 | Lucy Is Envious | February 16, 1954 | March 29, 1954 | Jess Oppenheimer once said this is one of his least favorite Lucy scripts. |
| 90 | Lucy Writes a Novel | March 4, 1954 | April 5, 1954 | |
| 91 | Lucy's Club Dance | March 11, 1954 | April 12, 1954 | |
| 93 | The Black Wig | March 25, 1954 | April 19, 1954 | |
| 92 | The Diner | March 18, 1954 | April 26, 1954 | |
| 94 | Tennessee Ernie Visits | April 1, 1954 | May 3, 1954 | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 95 | Tennessee Ernie Hangs On | April 8, 1954 | May 10, 1954 | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 96 | The Golf Game | April 15, 1954 | May 17, 1954 | Jimmy Demaret |
| 97 | The Sublease | April 22, 1954 | May 24, 1954 | |
| 100 | The Business Manager | June 17, 1954 | October 4, 1954 | |
| 102 | Mertz and Kurtz | July 1, 1954 | October 11, 1954 | |
| 98 | Lucy Cries Wolf | June 3, 1954 | October 18, 1954 | |
| 99 | The Matchmaker | June 10, 1954 | October 25, 1954 | |
| 101 | Mr. and Mrs. TV Show | June 24, 1954 | November 1, 1954 | This episode was originally supposed to broadcast November 1, 1954, but it was pulled at the last minute when the Republican Party purchased I Love Lucy's time slot for a political message. It actually aired on April 11, 1955. |
| 103 | Ricky's Movie Offer | September 16, 1954 | November 8, 1954 | This is the very first of the episodes that will bring the Ricardos to Hollywood. |
| 104 | Ricky's Screen Test | September 23, 1954 | November 15, 1954 | |
| 105 | Lucy's Mother-in-Law | September 30, 1954 | November 22, 1954 | |
| 106 | Ethel's Birthday | October 7, 1954 | November 29, 1954 | |
| 107 | Ricky's Contract | October 14, 1954 | December 6, 1954 | |
| 108 | Getting Ready | October 21, 1954 | December 13, 1954 | |
| 109 | Lucy Learns to Drive | October 28, 1954 | January 3, 1954 | |
| 110 | California, Here We Come! | November 4, 1954 | January 10, 1954 | This was the first episode with Kathryn Card as Mrs. McGillicuddy |
| 111 | First Stop | November 11, 1954 | January 17, 1954 | This was the first time the I Love Lucy crew went out of the stuido to film location footage. |
| 112 | Tennessee Bound | November 18, 1954 | January 24, 1955 | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| 113 | Ethel's Home Town | November 25, 1954 | January 31, 1955 | |
| 114 | L.A. at Last! | December 2, 1954 | February 7, 1955 | Eve Arden, William Holden; Lucy lights her nose on fire!. This is Jack Benny's favorite I Love Lucy episode - he even arranged a special screening for his TV writers. |
| 115 | Don Juan and the Starlets | December 9, 1954 | February 14, 1955 | |
| 116 | Lucy Gets in Pictures | December 16, 1954 | February 21, 1955 | |
| 117 | The Fashion Show | December 23, 1954 | February 28, 1955 | Mona Carlson, Don Loper, Frances Neal Heflin, Brenda Marshall Holden, Sue Carol Ladd, Sheila MacRae, Jeanne Biegger Martin, Marylin Johnson Tucker |
| 118 | The Hedda Hopper Story | February 3, 1955 | March 14, 1955 | Hedda Hopper |
| 119 | Don Juan Is Shelved | February 10, 1955 | March 21, 1955 | Dore Schary was originally scheduled to play himself but had to back due to surgery. He was instead played by Vivian Vance's then-husband Phil Ober, whom Schary said "would probably play me better than I could." |
| 120 | Bull Fight Dance | February 17, 1955 | March 18, 1955 | This was also a big plug for CBS Television City, the eye network's new West Coast broadcasting facilites. |
| 121 | Hollywood Anniversary | February 24, 1955 | April 4, 1955 | Desi really did surprise Lucy with a real-life thirteenth anniversary party at Mocambo on November 30, 1953. |
| 101 | Mr. and Mrs. TV Show | June 24, 1954 | April 11, 1955 | This episode was supposed to air on November 1, 1954 but was pulled when the Republican Party purchased ILL's time slot for a political message. |
| 122 | The Star Upstairs | March 3, 1955 | April 18, 1955 | Cornel Wilde; Van Johnson was originally going to be "The Star Upstairs" but due to a sponsor conflict (I Love Lucy was sponsored by Philip Morris, Johnson was sponsoring Lucky Strike). 28 days later he filmed the episode with him as a guest star, "The Dancing Star." |
| 123 | In Palm Springs | March 17, 1955 | April 25, 1955 | Rock Hudson |
| 125 | The Dancing Star | March 31, 1955 | May 2, 1955 | Van Johnson; Ray Bolger was originally to have been "The Dancing Star," but couldn't make it |
| 124 | Harpo Marx | March 24, 1955 | May 9, 1955 | Harpo Marx |
| 126 | Ricky Needs an Agent | April 7, 1955 | May 16, 1955 | |
| 127 | The Tour | April 14, 1955 | May 30, 1955 | Richard Widmark |
| 128 | Lucy Visits Grauman's | September 9, 1955 | October 3, 1955 | |
| 129 | Lucy and John Wayne | September 15, 1955 | October 10, 1955 | John Wayne |
| 130 | Lucy and the Dummy | September 22, 1955 | October 17, 1955 | |
| 131 | Ricky Sells the Car | September 29, 1955 | October 24, 1955 | |
| 132 | The Great Train Robbery | October 6, 1955 | October 31, 1955 | |
| 133 | Homecoming | October 13, 1955 | November 7, 1955 | |
| 134 | The Ricardos Are Interviewed | October 22, 1955 | November 14, 1955 | |
| 135 | Lucy Goes to a Rodeo | October 27, 1955 | November 28, 1955 | |
| 136 | Nursery School | November 3, 1955 | December 5, 1955 | |
| 137 | Ricky's European Booking | November 10, 1955 | December 12, 1955 | This is the very first of the episodes that will bring the Ricardos to Europe. |
| 138 | The Passports | November 17, 1955 | December 19, 1955 | |
| 139 | Staten Island Ferry | November 24, 1955 | January 2, 1956 | |
| 140 | Bon Voyage | December 1, 1955 | January 16, 1956 | |
| 141 | Second Honeymoon | December 8, 1955 | January 23, 1956 | |
| 142 | Lucy Meets the Queen | December 15, 1955 | January 30, 1956 | |
| 143 | The Fox Hunt | December 22, 1955 | February 6, 1956 | |
| 144 | Lucy Goes to Scotland | January 6, 1956 | February 20, 1956 | |
| 145 | Paris At Last | January 12, 1956 | February 27, 1956 | |
| 146 | Lucy Meets Charles Boyer | January 19, 1956 | March 5, 1956 | Charles Boyer |
| 147 | Lucy Gets a Paris Gown | February 16, 1956 | March 19, 1956 | |
| 148 | Lucy In the Swiss Alps | February 23, 1956 | March 26, 1956 | |
| 149 | Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy | March 1, 1956 | April 9, 1956 | |
| 150 | Lucy's Italian Movie | March 7, 1956 | April 16, 1956 | Lucy stomps grapes! |
| 151 | Lucy's Bicycle Trip | March 22, 1956 | April 23, 1956 | |
| 152 | Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo | March 29, 1956 | May 7, 1956 | |
| 153 | Return Home from Europe | April 5, 1956 | May 14, 1956 | Desi Arnaz had wanted this to be the last episode of the series, and then revert to a new monthly hour format (which would come along in 1957) but he was persuaded to stay on for another season. Even so, this episode has many lines that give a sense of closure. It was, however, the last Lucy episode involving Jess Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer would later sue Desilu after the premiere of The Lucy Show, saying that Lucy Carmicheal was really Lucy Ricardo with a different last name. |
| 154 | Lucy and Bob Hope | June 5, 1956 | October 1, 1956 | Bob Hope; This was Keith Thibodeaux's debut as Little Ricky. |
| 157 | Little Ricky Learns to Play the Durms | June 28, 1956 | October 8, 1956 | |
| 155 | Lucy Meets Orson Welles | June 14, 1956 | October 15, 1956 | Orson Welles; This episode aired on I Love Lucy's fifth anniversary. |
| 156 | Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright | June 21, 1956 | October 22, 1956 | |
| 158 | Visitor from Italy | September 20, 1956 | October 29, 1956 | |
| 159 | Off to Florida | September 13, 1956 | November 12, 1956 | |
| 160 | Deep-Sea Fishing | September 27, 1956 | November 19, 1956 | |
| 161 | Desert Island | October 4, 1956 | November 26, 1956 | Claude Akins |
| 162 | The Ricardos Visit Cuba | October 18, 1956 | December 3, 1956 | |
| 163 | Little Ricky's School Pageant | October 25, 1956 | December 17, 1956 | |
| Special | The I Love Lucy Christmas Show | November 22, 1956 | December 24, 1956 | This special episode featured flashbacks to the baby episodes and isn't included in the CBS syndication package. It is, however, available on video and was shown on CBS a few times in the early '90s. |
| 164 | Lucy and the Loving Cup | November 1, 1956 | January 7, 1957 | Lucy gets a loving cup stuck on her head! |
| 166 | Lucy and Superman | November 15, 1956 | January 14, 1957 | Superman (George Reeves) |
| 165 | Little Ricky Gets a Dog | November 8, 1956 | January 21, 1957 | |
| 167 | Lucy Wants to Move to the Country | December 6, 1956 | January 28, 1957 | |
| 168 | Lucy Hates to Leave | December 13, 1956 | February 4, 1957 | |
| 169 | Lucy Misses the Mertzes | December 20, 1956 | February 11, 1957 | |
| 170 | Lucy Gets Chummy With the Neighbors | January 10, 1957 | February 18, 1957 | |
| 171 | Lucy Raises Chickens | January 17, 1957 | March 4, 1957 | |
| 172 | Lucy Does the Tango | February 7, 1957 | March 11, 1957 | This episode had the longest laugh ever recorded in I Love Lucy history - sixty-five seconds! |
| 173 | Ragtime Band | February 14, 1957 | March 18, 1957 | |
| 174 | Lucy's Night in Town | February 21, 1957 | March 25, 1957 | |
| 175 | Housewarming | February 28, 1957 | April 1, 1957 | |
| 176 | Building a Bar-B-Q | March 14, 1957 | April 8, 1957 | |
| 177 | Country Club Dance | March 21, 1957 | April 22, 1957 | Barbara Eden, who would later gain fame as Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie appeared in this episode. She was 22 when it was filmed. |
| 178 | Lucy Raises Tulips | March 28, 1957 | April 29, 1957 | |
| 179 | The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue | April 4, 1957 | May 6, 1957 | Desi Jr. appeares in this episode, in the crowd during the final scene. Ethel asks him, "Are you having a godd time, honey?" |