“Redecorating the Mertzes’ Apartment”

“From now on your channel doesn’t come in on my set.”

(S3;E8 ~ November 23, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed October 22, 1953 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: N/A

Synopsis ~ Ethel is embarrassed to hold the club meetings at her shabby apartment, so Lucy volunteers to throw the Mertzes a painting party to redecorate, not knowing it would cost her a promised mink stole.

Set designer Ted Offenbecker didn’t like the Ricardo’s sectional couch so replacing it was the inspiration for this episode. The writers also reasoned that if Fred and Ethel had some better-looking furniture, more scenes might take place in the Mertz apartment. This is the third and final living room set changes at the Ricardo apartment, but it is also the one that lasts longest. 

A year earlier, in “Redecorating” (S2;E8) Lucy also undertakes home redecorating (their home this time) with dubious results.  

Just a few months later, “Lucy Wants New Furniture” (S2;E28) again!  

The next redecorating project will be for their Westport home in season six. Lucy thinks her old furniture doesn’t fit in with their new Early American surroundings. 

A still photo from this episode of Lucy hugging Ricky tightly (showing her appreciation for his promise to buy her a mink stole), has been reprinted on lots of “I Love Lucy” merchandise, such as the above Hamilton Collection plate. Most often the still is called “The Big Squeeze” and does not reference the title of the episode.

At the start of the episode, Lucy is monopolizing the telephone bragging about her new mink stole to Caroline (Appleby) and Marge, someone Lucy frequently chats with on the phone. When Ricky forbids Lucy to tell anyone else about her mink and Ethel stops by, she takes it as an opportunity for a game of charades. This is something Lucille Ball did expertly and at every opportunity, most notably in “The Gossip” (S1;E24), which also opens with Lucy on the phone to Marge and follows up with a pantomime to communicate something to Ethel.

In addition to Marge and Caroline, others mentioned in this episode, but not seen include: 

• Marco [Rizo], Ricky’s accompanist and arranger.
• Mrs. Trumbull (Elizabeth Patterson), who always babysits Little Ricky for free.

Little Ricky takes his first steps in this episode. Before he does, Lucy hands off his toy to Ricky. Buzzy Bee, a pull toy, was made by Fisher-Price from 1950 to 1985. It also makes an appearance in several other episodes.

Little Ricky’s first words will also be captured on screen, albeit on expensive long distance telephone when the gang is in a Texas hotel on the way to “Ethel’s Hometown” (S4;E16). 

In a moment of product placement, Ricky reaches into the desk to get a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes from the carton.  

Lucy and Ricky are coming over to play canasta, so Fred puts on a tie!  Two episodes later, in “Changing the Boys’ Wardrobe” (S3;E10), Fred will again be reluctant to dress up for company. 

We hear Ethel sing a bit of “Lily of the Valley” from “The Operetta” (S2;E5) when she’s setting up to play cards with the Ricardos. This is something Vivian Vance did from time to time when called upon to hum or sing something. Since the rights were already owned by Desilu, no song clearances were necessary!

The trick lamp with the slowly lowering shade is a gag that will be repeated in the season closer, “The Sublease” (S3;E31). In that episode Fred is sitting under it at the time. 

The painting on the wall above the lamp is entitled “Roses with a Blue Tit by a Stream” by Jean Baptiste Claude Robie (1821-1910).   

Lucy gets the idea for the painting party from the October 1953 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. It gets plenty of airtime here because the writers felt they owed it to the magazine after their ‘Better Homes and Garbage’ joke in “Men Are Messy” (S1;E8).

Oops! Lucille Ball is supposed to suggest that they “paint the apartment and upholster the old furniture,” but instead she slips and says, “paint the furniture and upholster the old furniture.” Thanks to Desi Arnaz’s quick thinking and ad-libbing, the scene was able to go on without a re-take. 

Sitcom Logic Alert!  Although Lucy mentions the fading wallpaper in the Mertz apartment, she fails to realize that wallpaper cannot just be ‘painted over’ – it must be removed before painting, something that would be a large part of any redecorating project.  We never seen the wallpaper being removed, just the walls being painted. 

ETHEL: “That’s the most hair he’s had on his head in thirty years!”

Just to make sure audiences get the joke, there is a brief insert shot of Fred plugging in the fan in (what he says is) the kitchen.  When the cord catches on something and the fan suddenly stops, naturally the blades keep turning for a few moments.  William Frawley knows that if he puts the fan down too quickly, it will start blowing the feathers and kill the big joke, so he stalls for a moment or two. Still, when the camera cuts to the side view of the fan pointing toward the open window, the blades, which were slowly rotating in the previous shot, are now completely still.  

Architectural Anomaly! In order to facilitate this gag, there’s a window on the left wall of the Mertz apartment. 

In “Lucy Wants New Furniture” (S2;E28), there is a door in that wall that leads to the kitchen and back door, although every other time we see the Mertz living room, the kitchen door is on the right, not the left. 

At the end of the episode, the redecoration is such a disaster that the Ricardos end up giving the Mertzes their furniture and buying all new for themselves.

Oops! A stray feather from the previous scene wafts down over Lucy’s shoulder during the epilogue.

ETHEL: “What happened to your mink stole?”
LUCY: “We’re sitting on it.” 

FAST FORWARD!

The feathers fly again when Lucy Carmichael hosts her son’s football team for a  sleep over in a 1962 episode of “The Lucy Show.” 

Lucy Carmichael also decided to redecorate her Danfield home in a 1963 episode that was actually shot over two seasons. The first 22 minutes of the show were filmed before the summer hiatus after season 1 and the last scene (right) showing the home’s new look was filmed after production resumed in September. Instead of Better Homes and Gardens, Mrs. Carmichael was inspired by Young Moderns magazine.