One Episode Wonders

[Madame X]

Some of you may know that "I Love Lucy" is my favorite show and I have been watching for over 45 years, but things still bug me about it. Irene and I have talked about several things so far.

The writers add elements in the show just for a particular episode. Anyone who knows the show can see how fake the setups are.

Examples:

1. Palm Springs- they all have so-called "bad habits" that we've never seen before and it's the only time they're shown
2. Men are Messy- Ricky comes home and makes a mess in the living room for the first and only time
3. Little Ricky Gets a Dog- a clock is conveniently on the kitchen stove for the first and only time
4. Lucy Fakes Illness- there is a picture of Lucy on the mantel for the first and only time
5. Never Do Business with Friends- Lucy hangs laundry in the kitchen for the first and only time
6. The Ricardos Change Apartments- Lucy crams the apartment with dozens of toys. Where were they before, and where did she get the money to buy all the playground equipment?
7. The TV only appears in episodes that feature it. Where is it the rest of the time?
8. Changing the Boys’ Wardrobe- Ricky and Fred are dressed in old clothes that they claim are their favorites. This is the first and last time we see them
9. Lucy’s Last Birthday- she claims she always gets the hiccups when she cries-it plays into the bit on the park bench- we’ve never seen hiccups before or after and she cries a lot
10. Fan Magazine Interview- before the interview the apartment is a mess, dishes in the sink and Lucy and Ricky are frazzled. Every other morning in the entire series Lucy and Ricky are fully dressed, she’s fixing breakfast and the kitchen is tidy.
11. The Quiz Show- They have bottles of booze on the shelf between the kitchen and living room for the first and only time. (for the bum)
12. The Anniversary Present- there is a calendar hanging in the kitchen with a date circled for the first and only time

You get the idea!

[Ireneparalegal]

OMG!!!!! That is an awesome list. I am going to have to add to this list as I can think of them. Here is some:

We see the Mertzes kitchen once when the washing machine breaks down. We never see it before or after.

Lucy has a washing machine and it apparently is outside somewhere because we never see it in the apt.

We see the Mertzes bedroom once when the girls take a vacation from the guys. Lucy and Ethel sleep at Ethel's apt. while the guys sleep at the Ricardos.

Little Ricky apparently has a turtle and some fish as pets in the episode when Little Ricky wants to keep the puppy. We never hear or see abt these pets before or after.

[Madame X]

Those are good ones, Irene. That pet episode always bothered me. Where did they come from? The fish was seen later in one episode: Lucy Hates to Leave. That's the one where the Ricardos have to move in with the Mertzes because their move to the country was delayed. They piled all of their boxes in the Mertz' living room and Fred delivered one of my favorite lines when he walked passed the fishbowl. He says "Hello, Moby." That always cracks me up.

I haven't really thought about the California, Europe or Connecticut episodes. There are probably more one episode wonders there too!

[CyBr]

The main thing about the California episodes that always bugged me is how Lucy's mother (who I love, by the way) is conveniently absent so often. Is she off touring by herself while Lucy and Ethel have those adventures? She was obviously in Hollywood with them to act as a babysitter so Lucy doesn't have to have Little Ricky with her the whole time, but a lot of times I wonder where she is. Also, when she went with Lucy to nightclub celebrate her anniversary, they conveniently invented "Mrs. Anderson" (another hotel guest?) to babysit.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Madame X

Those are good ones, Irene. That pet episode always bothered me. Where did they come from? The fish was seen later in one episode: Lucy Hates to Leave. That's the one where the Ricardos have to move in with the Mertzes because their move to the country was delayed. They piled all of their boxes in the Mertz' living room and Fred delivered one of my favorite lines when he walked passed the fishbowl. He says "Hello, Moby." That always cracks me up.

I haven't really thought about the California, Europe or Connecticut episodes. There are probably more one episode wonders there too!

You are so right abt that goldfish and the bowl that we see when they are cramped in the Mertzes' apt. That came to me last night! LOL

We see Ricky's mother only once when she comes to visit and Lucy tries to impress her.

The trip to Cuba where we see Ricky's uncle who Ricky says practically raised him when he was a young boy in Cuba. We never heard abt this uncle before or after this episode.

When the Ricardos are trying to lease their apt. for the summer, they end up staying at the Mertzes while that man lives in their apt. and won't leave. Well, Ricky comes in at the end saying that his agent got him a gig in Del Mar, California for the summer. We never hear abt this trip ever! Also, if they did go to California for the summer, apparently the Hollywood trip was not the FIRST TIME they went to California. There is also another episode where Lucy mentions that she visited a Hollywood studio. Remember when she and the Mertzes are making that cowboy production in her living room for the talent scout? Well, Ethel asks how does Lucy know so much abt the filmining process. Lucy responds when she and Ricky were in Hollywood once and they viewed a studio set. So, according to this information, when Ricky went to Hollywood to be a star, this was their THIRD time going to California.

Ok, so what happened to Ricky's movie? We know there was a premiere in New York when they returned. What movie was it? In Hollywood the movie was apparently "shelved" and that another "project" was going to be done with Ricky. So, did he end up making the new movie or what??????

Why was $$$$ still tight if Ricky apparently made $$$$ from making this Hollywood movie?

[TV DVD Fan]

Continuity was never a main concern of Jess', according to one of the DVD's production notes feature. His main concern was to make it a good show; I don't think nitpicking was a thing of the 50s. According to people I know who were alive back then, just being able to SEE the shows on a real television set was the jackpot!

Those are some good one episode wonders though! But about the "Fan Magazine Interview" nitpick, what if the Ricardos' were just having a bad day? I'm sure most of us are on a schedule that can be thrown off track occasionally. Let's face it, we're only human, it has to happen once in a while!

[Ireneparalegal]

In "Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying To Murder Her", Ethel states she learned how to "read" cards. She never mentioned this ability again.

We never see before or after the neighbors, Miss Lewis and Mr. Ritter, the old couple who Lucy is trying to get together. Also, where the hell did Lucy get all those kids from????

When Lucy fakes amnesia, she is wearing a full length fur coat. We never saw it again.

The Ricardos buy the Mertzes a television set for their anniversary. Do we ever see it again?

For the life of me I can't think what episode it is, but there is an episode where the Mertzes smoke with the Ricardos...this is the only time we see cigarettes in their mouths.

[tdr]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

The Ricardos buy the Mertzes a television set for their anniversary. Do we ever see it again?

Perhaps they [the ILL PTB] 'have you' on that one. Remember the ep where Lucy knows all about her 'surprise baby shower' and Ricky can't watch the ball game on his television at home? He goes to the Mertzes and watches it there with Fred. But true; we don't actually SEE it again.

[Madame X]

Great additions! The episode where they all smoke is the first one, "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub." It is so bizarre to see Fred and Ethel with cigarettes. They don't really smoke them, but they look so awkward holding them, especially Ethel.

Irene you're right about the California thing. Lucy did mention she went through a Hollywood studio, and now you've got me wondering about the "movie" Ricky made after Don Juan was shelved!

I can put up with the far-fetched ideas like the starch vat, the freezer, and the loving cup, probably because they are unrealistically ridiculous, but the one-time setups bug me.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Madame X

Great additions! The episode where they all smoke is the first one, "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub." It is so bizarre to see Fred and Ethel with cigarettes. They don't really smoke them, but they look so awkward holding them, especially Ethel.

Irene you're right about the California thing. Lucy did mention she went through a Hollywood studio, and now you've got me wondering about the "movie" Ricky made after Don Juan was shelved!

I can put up with the far-fetched ideas like the starch vat, the freezer, and the loving cup, probably because they are unrealistically ridiculous, but the one-time setups bug me.

I agree with you. Those crazy things like what you mentioned are hilarious and it's like "who cares" it's funny. But it's true how things were just set up for one particular episode. It is annoying.

Thanx for the reminder of which episode it was when Fred and Ethel smoked. God, you are so right, Ethel did look awkward smoking. It didn't make sense for them to be smoking anyhow, what purpose was that for?

Yep, I am to this day wondering abt the movie. I could never figure that out. I mean, they did mention Don Juan back in New York, so you figure, that was the movie that ended up being made, but why was it shelved in Hollywood? Why did they say Ricky would be doing another project?

in The Diet episode, we see Butch, the Mertzes' dog. Never heard of him since that episode. Also, Fred stated to the Ricardos abt the NO PETS clause in the lease when Little Ricky brought home the puppy.

In some episodes Ethel can play the piano beautifully, however, in the one episode abt the girls and their Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League want to have a benefit dance, Ethel can't play for sh*t. LOL
Also, when they are in Connecticut, she also says she can only play one tune, COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN. Lucy says, "Can't you play Sweet Sue?" Ethel says "no." But remember that episode when the foursome were singing at the piano having a good time, Ethel was playing Sweet Sue. Later, they all got mad at each other for the loud noise the Ricardos were making (Breaking the Lease).

Lucy also stated in the Connecticut episode that she could only play Sweet Sue on the saxophone, but in an earlier episode, she played GLOW WORM.

In The Camping episode, Ethel can drive. In the California episodes, she can't.

[Coffeecup]

In the Palm Springs episode the only habit that carried well was Ethel's
She always was an eater. In many episodes she's a gobbler. In one episode Ricky Said she's a growing girl, to which Fred said Yeah but she growing sideways. Yes there were episodes where you said, Where did they get everything. Just last week was Richardos changed apartments and I wondered where the toys were stored before. Lucy had a bike for a 10 year old lined up in the apt. She had enough stuff for the boy til he reached 10. oh well I still love lucy. My problem now is where to find her. I was seeing her at 5am but now I bump into Little house on the praire. Help.

[Lodee]

In the episode where they buy the car Ethel doesn't know how to drive, but in the Camping episode she drives to the campsite.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Lodee

In the episode where they buy the car Ethel doesn't know how to drive, but in the Camping episode she drives to the campsite.

I stated that in my last post. It's the last item.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by Madame X

...
7. The TV only appears in episodes that feature it. Where is it the rest of the time?...

LOL, we noticed that as kids in the 70s, watching I.L. Lucy... we asked ourselves the same question, "Didn't they have a TV set?"... we wondered if maybe the shows aired out of sequence and therefore some episodes took place before they got a TV and some took place afterwards...

Great observations on your list!

[Madame X]

How about this one?! When Lucy wants to switch apartments, she and Fred and Ethel move EVERYTHING (both apartments) in half a day and the new apartment is all set up. Then the movers move things back (both apartments) the same day and everything is in its place. How do the moving men know how to set up the apartment? Any time I had to move it was weeks of agony!

Then in "Lucy Hates to Leave," there are hundreds of boxes crammed into the Mertz' apartment. How did the three of them move all that stuff before and organize it?

You're right, Coffeecup. We still love Lucy!