“I Love Lucy” ~ Season 1

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“The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub” (S1;E1) ~ October 15, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 15, 1951 at General Services Studios. Rating: 38.7/56

“Be A Pal” (S1;E2) ~ October 22, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 21, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 40.3/60

“The Diet” (S1:E3) ~ October 29, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 28, 1951 at General Services Studios. Rating: 37.9/56

“Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her” (S1;E4) ~ November 5, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 5, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 36.5/56

“The Quiz Show” (S1;E5) ~ November 12, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed October 5, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 38.0/60

“The Audition” (S1;E6) ~ November 19, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed October 12, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 41.9/62

“The Séance” (S1;E7) ~ November 26, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed October 19, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 44.9/64

“Men Are Messy” (S1;E8) ~ December 3, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed October 25, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 42.1/65

“The Fur Coat” (S1;E9) ~ December 10, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 9, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 44.1/67

“Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer” (S1;E10) ~ December 17, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 16, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 41.4/62

“Drafted” (S1;E11) ~ December 24, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 2, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating not available. Includes the first “Christmas Tag” scene.

“The Adagio” (S1;E12) ~ December 31, 1951

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 23, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 46.2/7

“The Benefit” (S1;E13) ~ January 7, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 30, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 51.6/72. One of three edited together for the unreleased “I Love Lucy” Movie.

“The Amateur Hour” (S1;E14) ~ January 14, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed December 7, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 50.1/72

“Lucy Plays Cupid” (S1;E15) ~ January 21, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed December 13, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 51.8/73

“Lucy Fakes Illness” (S1;E16) ~ January 28, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed December 18, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 57.4/77

“Lucy Writes a Play” (S1;E17) ~ February 4, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed December 17, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 55.6/75

“Breaking the Lease” (S1;E18) ~ February 11, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed January 5, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 53.4/73.

One of three edited together for the unreleased “I Love Lucy” Movie.

“The Ballet” (S1;E19) ~ February 18, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on January 11, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 53.9/73. One of three edited together for the unreleased “I Love Lucy” Movie.

“The Young Fans” (S1;E20) ~ February 25, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed January 18, 1952, at General Service Studios. Rating: 56.5/76

“New Neighbors” (S1;E21) ~ March 3, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed January 25, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 58.0/78

“Fred and Ethel Fight” (S1;E22) ~ March 10, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed January 30, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 59.5/61

“The Mustache” (S1;E23) ~ March 17, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on February 8, 1952 at General Service Studios.

Rating: 58.6/81

“The Gossip” (S1;E24) ~ March 24, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed February 15, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: Not Available.

“Pioneer Women” (S1;E25) ~ March 31, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed February 22, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 66.0/86

“The Marriage License” (S1;E26) ~ April 7, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed February 28, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 70.4/90

“The Kleptomaniac” (S1;E27) ~ April 14, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 7, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 63.3/85

“Cuban Pals” (S1;E28) ~ April 21, 1952

Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 14, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 64.5/86

“The Freezer” (S1;E29) ~ April 28, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 21, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 60.4/87

“Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (S1;E30) ~ May 5, 1952

Directed by James V. Kern. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 28, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 61.1/88

“The Publicity Agent” (S1;E31) ~ May 12, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 4, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 64.7/89

“Lucy Gets Ricky On The Radio” (S1;E32) ~ May 19, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 11, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 57.9/85

“Lucy’s Schedule” (S1;E33) ~ May 26, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 18, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 51.7/81

“Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald” (S1;E34) ~ June 2, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 25, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 56.0/90

“Ricky Asks for a Raise” (S1;E35) ~ June 9, 1952

Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed May 2, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 54.2/83

SEASON SUMMARY

The season ended #3 in the ratings with an average 50.9 share.
The highest rated episode was “The Marriage License” (E26).
The lowest rated episode was “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her” (E4) confirming their instinct to move this first-filmed episode to fourth.
There were 35 new episodes, more than any other season of “I Love Lucy” or any other Lucille Ball sitcom.
This season included attempts to create a movie and a radio version of several episodes, both unsuccessful.
An average of 7,500 feet of film was shot per episode, for a total of 262,500 feet of film for season one.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were paid $4,000 per episode and retained rights to the original films. Both Vivian Vance and William Frawley earned $350 a week for this initial season. Famed cinematographer Karl Freund agreed to work for scale – $200/week. Director Marc Daniels received $500 a week. For his two appearances as Jerry Hausner (Jerry the Agent) was paid $70 each with an additional $70 for announcing and audience warm-ups.
This season was sponsored by Philip Morris, a tobacco company.
In 2009, TV Guide ranked “Lucy Does A TV Commercial” (E30) as #4 on their list of “TV’s Top 100 Episodes of All Time,” down two spots from their poll in 1997. This episode is consistently cited as a fan favorite, alongside “Lucy’s Italian Movie” and “Job Switching”.
Episodes Vivian Vance (Ethel) is absent from this season: 4
Episodes William Frawley (Fred) is absent from this season: 4, but not the same ones as Vivian Vance!
Papermoon’s Prime Pick: “The Séance” (E7)
Papermoon’s Poor Pick: “Lucy Plays Cupid” (E15)
Colorized Episodes: 2 – “Pioneer Women” (E25) & “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (E30)
Total Binge Hours for Season One: 17 ½ hours (with commercials); 14 hours (without commercials), not including the pilot.
2 episodes were broadcast out of filming order: “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her” (E4) and “Drafted” (E11)
Due to airing on Christmas Eve, “Drafted” (E11) added a special “Christmas Tag” that was repeated annually until a full Christmas episode was created in season 6. An episode (“The Adagio”) also aired on New Year’s Eve with no recognition of the occasion. This was the last time an episode would be aired on New Year’s Eve.
After the wrap of the season one, Lucille and Desi were committed to performing live in New York (at the Roxy) and London (at the Palladium) for a fee of $57,000 plus a percentage of any gross over a hundred grand.
Season One first appeared on DVD on July 2, 2002, in four-episode per disc installments.