Would Lucy have become a television icon no matter who played opposite? On one end, Vivian provided the perfect complement to Lucy's style of comedy. But on the other hand, one of the most iconic (https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/i-love-lucy-lucille-ball-didnt-love-fan-favorite-episode-lucy-does-a-tv-commercial-until-it-aired.html/) episodes of the series -- "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" (https://ilovelucyandricky.fandom.com/wiki/Lucy_Does_a_TV_Commercial) -- did not include Vivian (apparently, Ethel was in the original script but was cut), and Lucy continued to do very well in the ratings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucy_Show#Episodes) long after Viv left The Lucy Show.