The Loophole in the Lease

S2;E12 ~ December 23, 1963

Synopsis

When
Sherman accidentally leaves the bathtub water running, the kitchen
ceiling is damaged and needs re-plastering. Lucy insists that Viv pay
for all the repairs as it was agreed upon in their lease. But a
loophole in the lease would allow Viv to take possession of the home.
Mr. Mooney suggests that they steal the lease from Viv before she
acts on the clause.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Ralph Hart
(Sherman Bagley), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), and Jimmy Garrett
(Jerry Carmichael)

Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode.

This episode was directed by Jack Donohue. It was written by Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Martin, Bob Weiskopf, and Bob Schiller. This was the 42nd episode to be filmed. It was filmed on September 12, 1963 in color, but initially aired on CBS TV in black and white.   

The
episode was originally scheduled to air on
November 25, 1963, but was preempted for news coverage of President
Kennedy’s funeral.  

This
is the first scene set in the newly remodeled kitchen. A glimpse of
it was seen through the service window in “Lucy Decides to
Redecorate” (S2;E8).  

Handyman Mr.
Peterson would have charged Lucy $40 to re-plaster the kitchen
ceiling. This would be the equivalent of nearly $350 today.
Lucille Ball’s step-father’s surname was Peterson.  

The
boys go to the ‘Y’ to play with their toy submarine. The toy was made
by Linemar
Toys in Japan and was a tin Polaris Atomic Submarine.
Danfield’s new YMCA was first seen in “Lucy Digs Up a Date”
(S1;E2) and has been mentioned in several other episodes.  

The boys’
enthusiasm for submarines was hinted at in “Vivian Sues Lucy”
(S1;E10), when one of the boys leaves their US Navy submarine
lunchbox on the counter. 

In
1966 Lucy Carmichael will wreak havoc underwater in “Lucy and the
Submarine” (S5;E2).

According
to Lucy, she and Viv have been living together for almost five years.

This
is the second time a portion of the kitchen ceiling is shown. An
insert shot of the water-damaged plaster was also seen in “Lucy and
Viv Put in a Shower” (S1;E18).  

This
is the third time we have seen Viv’s bedroom, and each time the
layout has changed. In “Lucy Waits Up for Chris” (S1;E1) there
was no roof below Viv’s bedroom window. In all three episodes,
however, Viv has the same headboard. Before the remodeling in “Lucy
Decides to Redecorate” (S2;E8) the painting above Viv’s bed was
located on the living room wall.  

This
is the second time we have seen the roof of the Carmichael home. Both times the outside of the house was a matte painting, a Hollywood technique frequently used in the days before computer effects. 

The
first time was in “Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna” (S1;E9, above). This
time, however, the configuration of the rooftop is slightly
different. 

Before
casting his line into Viv’s bedroom window, Mr. Mooney says a little
prayer to Izaac Walton for forgiveness. 

Izaak
Walton
(1594-1683) was an English writer known for The
Compleat Angler (1653),
a
prose and poetry celebration of fishing.

MR. MOONEY: Congratulations. You just caught the season’s first bifocals.

It is revealed that Viv talks in her sleep, a common comedy trope.  

In “The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24) Ricky pretended to talk in his sleep. In this episode they’d made a bet about whether or not Lucy and Ethel could go without gossiping, so he started to mutter “Grace Foster is running away with the milkman” so that she’d have something particularly juicy to tempt her.

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Callbacks!

Viv
snidely accuses Lucy of being just a “landlord” and Lucy nastily
accuses Viv of being just a “tenant”.  

This is the exact reverse
of Ethel Mertz and Lucy Ricardo, who also had a couple of arguments
over their lease, most notably in “Breaking the Lease” (ILL
S1;E18).  

Lucille
Ball and Vivian Vance have done many episodes of “I Love Lucy”
and “The Lucy Show” where they engage in DIY home improvement
projects that go awry.  

Most memorably, they wallpapered Lucy’s
bedroom in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8, above).  

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Blooper
Alerts!

The Sky Is Falling! After
Lucy comes down the ladder a chunk of the wet plaster falls to the
floor. Both Viv and Lucy look over to see what fell, but continue
with the dialogue as written.  

Magnetic Viv! In
a close-up of Viv in bed, you can see that small magnets have been
glued to the top edge of her  eyeglasses so that Mr. Mooney’s magnetic fish line will hook them.  

“Loophole in the Lease” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5