There was so much to like about the 1950s: poodle skirts, drive-in cinemas, and, naturally, I Love Lucy. The legendary sitcom aired on CBS for six seasons, making a total of 180 episodes. While many of them were entertaining, there were a few that fans preferred over others.
Here are the top five greatest I Love Lucy episodes, chosen from a total of 180.
Top 1: Lucy Does A TV Commercial
The Season 1 episode had the most excellent rating of any I Love Lucy episode. Lucy has made her way up to become a pitch girl for Ricky’s special. She’s requested to showcase Vitameatavegamin, a trendy pharmaceutical.
Despite Lucy’s belief that this is some bizarre health product, it’s simply a boozy drink. This prompts her to become inebriated on the set, resulting in a slew of mishaps.
Top 2: Hollywood At Last
The gang finally arrives in California in Season 4’s “Hollywood, At Last.” Lucy goes to the Brown Derby for lunch in the hopes of spotting celebrities, and there she spots the legendary Bill Holden.
Lucy, star-struck, glances at the man, only for him to turn it around and shame her. The real trouble begins when Ricky stumbles into him separately and invites him to see Lucy, oblivious of the past event. As a result, she engages in some major stalling.
Top 3: Job Switching
Fred and Ricky are fed up with Ethel and Lucy’s frivolous spending, while the women had enough with the lads for believing housework is simple. As a result, the gang switches places for the whole week.
The ladies find themselves at a candy factory, where they work on an out-of-control conveyor belt. Meanwhile, the boys are destroying the kitchen. As it turns out, each prefers their own roles far more.
Top 4: Lucy’s Italian Movie
Lucy strikes gold on a train ride to Rome when she’s cast as an American tourist in a film directed by Vittorio Felipe in Italy. The film’s title, Bitter Grapes, is taken literally by Lucy. She travels to a small town to master the art of winemaking to prepare for her part.
This results in a lot of old-fashioned grape crushing. Tragically, Lucy’s purple stains cause Ethel to take over her position.
Top 5: The Great Train Robbery
Lucy is taking a relaxing train ride back to New York. That’s until she learns that there is a jewel thief aboard. When she discovers that a man nearby has a large amount of high-quality jewelry, she suspects he’s the perpetrator. He’s just a jeweler, as it turns out.
The actual jewel thief tries to assist Lucy in framing the jeweler and has Lucy steal some gems.
Aside from these five best episodes, here are five more worth mentioning:
Lucy And Harpo Marx
Lucy later starred alongside Harpo Marx in Season 4. The mime artist and comedian is best known for being a member of the famed Marx Brothers comedy show, which ran from 1905 until 1949. Marx did what’s known as the Mirror Routine in the 1933 film Duck Soup. However, he revived it with Lucy in 1955. This occurs after Fred and Ricky inform Harpo Marx that he must visit Lucy’s flat.
In the meantime, Ethel and Lucy try to persuade their pal Carolyn (also called “Caroline” by some) that they know many famous people. When Lucy can’t find her glasses and see who it is, she assumes numerous personas for Carolyn.
Lucy And John Wayne
The Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood has a problem: John Wayne’s footprints were taken. Ricky has an even bigger dilemma: one of the many suspects has the same voice as his wife.
Ricky is promised that if the footprints are recovered, no charges will be brought against him. As a result, he commissions John Wayne to create a fresh set of prints. Unfortunately, they are constantly trashed when Lucy and Ehtel destroy them by accident, and Little Ricky ends up playing in the still-drying cement.
Lucy And Superman
Carolyn and Lucy had a birthday fight in this Season 6 episode after scheduling parties on the very same day.
Ricky informs Lucy that Superman is in the neighborhood, so Lucy attempts to recruit him for Little Ricky’s Party to bring a larger crowd. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, as Ricky is likewise unable to persuade the hero to appear. As a result, Lucy takes up the responsibility. Fortunately, the actual Superman ultimately intervenes.
Ethel’s Hometown
Lucy and the crew made a special trip to the hometown of her closest friend, Ethel, in this Season 4 episode. When Lucy arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she is drawn into an intricate ruse in which she convinces the locals that she is the star of a Hollywood film. Her spouse Ricky, it turns out, has been offered the role.
Despite this early miscommunication, Lucy and Ricky decide to work together. What is their goal? They will sabotage Ethel’s grandiose performance.
The Freezer
In the first episode of Season 1, Lucy and Ethel choose to save some money by purchasing a walk-in freezer and stocking it with beef to protect themselves from rising meat prices.
The issue arises when the women order far too much beef and must work out how to hide everything from their husbands. It doesn’t help when Lucy accidentally locks herself inside the freezer and becomes trapped in ice. Thankfully, a soup and electric blanket can help with this.