“Here’s Lucy” ~ Season 5

A handy dandy guide to helping you find your favorite episode blogs here at Papermoon Loves Lucy. Click on the hyperlinks to be taken directly to that episode’s trivia, background, and bloopers!

“Lucy’s Big Break” (S5;E1) ~ September 11, 1972

“Lucy and Eva Gabor Are Hospital Roomies”  (S5;E2) ~ September 18, 1972

“Harrison Carter, Male Nurse” (S5;E3) ~ September 25, 1972

“A Home Is Not an Office” (S5;E4) ~ October 2, 1972

“Lucy and Joe Namath” (S5;E5) ~ October 9, 1972

“The Case of the Reckless Wheelchair Driver” (S5;E6) ~ October 16, 1972

“Lucy, the Other Woman” (S5;E7) ~ October 23, 1972

“Lucy and Petula Clark” (S5;E8) ~ October 30, 1972

“Lucy and Jim Bailey” (S5;E9) ~ November 6, 1972

“Dirty Gertie” (S5;E10) ~ November  13, 1972

“Lucy and Donny Osmond” (S5;E11) ~ November 20, 1972

“Lucy and Her Prince Charming” (S5;E12) ~ November 27, 1972

“My Fair Buzzi” (S5;E13) ~ December 4, 1972

“Lucy and the Group Encounter” (S5;E14) ~ December 18, 1972

“Lucy Is Really in a Pickle” (S5;E15) ~ January 1, 1973

“Lucy Goes on Her Last Blind Date” (S5;E16) ~ January 8, 1973

“Lucy and Her Genuine Twimby” (S5;E17) ~ January 15, 1973

“Lucy Goes to Prison” (S5;E18) ~ January 22, 1973

“Lucy and the Professor” (S5;E19) ~ January 29, 1973

“Lucy and the Franchise Fiasco” (S5;E20) ~ February 5, 1973

“Lucy and Uncle Harry’s Pot” (S5;E21) ~ February 12, 1973

“The Not So Popular Mechanic” (S5;E22) ~ February 19, 1973

“Goodbye, Mrs. Hips” (S5;E23) ~ February 26, 1973

“Lucy and Harry’s Memoirs” (S5;E24) ~ March 5, 1973

SEASON SUMMARY

• Regular Cast: Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)
• Recurring Characters: Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter), Vanda Barra (Vanda), Sid Gould (Sid)
• Celebrity Cast playing Characters: Lloyd Bridges (Dr. Paul Murray), Totie Fields (Poopsie), Eve Plumb (Patricia Carter), Ricardo Montalban (Prince Philip of Montalbania), Ruth Buzzi (Annie Whipple), Kurt Kasznar (Dr. Henderson), Don Knotts (Ben Fletcher), Bob Cummings (Robert Henning), Elsa Lanchester (Mumsie Westcott), John Davidson (Professor Kleindorf) 
• Celebrity Cast playing Themselves: Eva Gabor, Joe Namath, Petula Clark, Claude Wolff, Mayor Sam Yorty, Jim Bailey, Donny Osmond
• Guest Cast playing Characters: Alan Oppenheimer, Mary Wickes,

  Phil Vandervort, Susan Tolksy,

  Dick Patterson,

  Gary Morton, Jesse White, Herbie Faye, Tommy Farrell, Doris Singleton, Bruce Gordon, Reta Shaw, William Lanteau, Roy Roberts,  

• Live Animal Cast: Penguins in “Lucy and the Franchise Fiasco”; 
• Episodes Directed by: Coby Ruskin
• Episodes Written by: Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Davis, Fred S. Fox, Seaman Jacobs, Bob O’Brien 

• There were 24 new episodes

• Total Binge Hours: 12 hours (with commercials)
• Papermoon’s Full Moon Pick: “Lucy, the Other Woman” (E7)
• Papermoon’s Half Moon Pick: “Lucy is Really in a Pickle” (E15)
• Before filming of the season began, Lucille Ball broke her leg in a skiing accident and considered ending the series. She had the scripts re-written and performed in a leg cast and wheelchair for most of the season. 
• Season 5 was #15 in the ratings (down from #10) with a  share 21.9, the lowest rating to date of any Lucille Ball sitcom.
• “Lucy and Harry’s Memoirs” (E24) was intended to be the series finale, but during filming Lucille Ball was convinced to do one more season for CBS. 

• “Lucy and Harry’s Memoirs” (E24) was a clips show that included excerpts from “Lucy Runs the Rapids” (S2;E4), “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (S3;E1), “Lucy, the Skydiver” (S3;E2), and

  “Lucy the Fixer” (S1;E14).

• Season 5 was released on DVD on May 9, 2012