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I Love Lucy S02 E14 – Ricky Has Labor Pains

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Original Air Date: January 5, 1953

We’re at 1953! Another year, another round of progress we can undo over 60 years later. 

Note: this week’s episode is listed as Episode 19 on Hulu because facts are dead. It’s actually Episode 14, but that’s only according to every major TV archive and film site. If you FEEL like it’s episode 19, congratulations. You’re our new Secretary of Lucy. 

We open on Ricky, talking with Fred on the phone. Fred wants to come up and watch the game with Ricky, but he’s worried Lucy might mind because she’s getting further in her pregnancy and might not want company.

Let’s pause here and mark this moment as the first time Fred has ever been the most considerate man in the room. Fred is fucking Feminism 101 compared to the shit Ricky pulls in this episode. 

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I Love Lucy S02 E06 – Vacation from Marriage

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Original Air Date: October 27, 1952

We open on Lucy sitting at the table dreaming of a better life, or at least a better apron.

I Love Lucy S02 E6 Lucy in apron

“Take off the housedress underneath and we’d have a make it work moment.” — Tim Gunn

She’s going through a deep existential crisis: she’s bored with her predictable routine. In fact, she tells Ethel, she can predict everything Ricky will do every morning. It’s “tragic,” she calls it.

Gay people and interracial couples in the 1950s are like LOL yeah must be the worst.

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I Love Lucy S02 E02 – The Saxophone

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Original Air Date: September 22, 1952

Happy New Year, Ballers!

We open this week on Lucy in her hoarder’s closet. We all have one. Mine looks like Christmas and Hanukkah had a baby and no one cleaned up the afterbirth.

So yeah. Apparently Ethel and Fred have an attic. They’re clearly rolling in money, because these days that Upper East Side crawl space would make a “cozy 2-bedroom steal at $3200/mo.”

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I Love Lucy S02 E01 – Job Switching

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Original air date: September 15, 1952

We’re on Season 2! OMG OMG!

We open on:

Ricky: LUCY!
Lucy: Is that you, sweetie pie? Gee, I’m glad you’re home!

Ricky’s mad and Lucy’s in love. He just doesn’t deserve her.

He’s pissed because she keeps overdrawing her account. That’s because in the second season we delve into Lucy’s addictions to hookers and blow.

S02 E01 Ricky Mad at Lucy

I feel the same as Ricky whenever I see people dressed in a shirt as ugly as Lucy’s.

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I Love Lucy S01 E35 – Ricky Asks for a Raise

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Original air date: June 9, 1952

Sup ballerz!

Today we look at the Season One finale! As I was watching this one, I could tell Lucy and Desi had an especially great energy. I knew she was pregnant at this point, but it turns out she found out the week they filmed this!

So they’re on a high about the baby, I’m on a high that we’re one season down, and you’re hopefully just high. (It helps the jokes seem funnier.)

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I Love Lucy S01 E33 – Lucy’s Schedule

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Original air date: May 26, 1952

We open on Ricky pacing around in a suit, fidgeting while Lucy takes her sweet-ass time in the bedroom.

Lucy keeps saying, “I’ll be ready in a minute, dear,” which means an hour because she’s got to put on her makeup, hair products, fake eyelashes, etc. Underneath all the beauty treatments, Lucille Ball was inspiration for The Walking Dead.

“I’ll be ready in a minute, dear.”

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I Love Lucy S01 E32 – Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio

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Original air date: May 19, 1952

We open on Lucy doing her nails while Ricky reads LOOK. (as in LOOK how bored I already am). Thankfully Fred and Ethel show up to watch TV.

The gang is well-prepared for this ritual. Ethel even has a popcorn passer! One thing you can say about the 1950s: even with all the racism and homophobia, they sure invented lots of great stuff for television watching.

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I Love Lucy S01 E31 – The Publicity Agent

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Original air date: May 12, 1952

We open on Ricky playing cards in the living room. Lucy just finished doing all the dishes, but somehow it’s Ricky who’s in a shitty mood. He doesn’t want to hang out with the Mertzes and doesn’t want to play cards.

He’s your average six-year-old at the end of summer.

Lucy: I’ll get you a gun, you can shoot yourself.

Well, that escalated quickly.

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I Love Lucy S01 E29 – The Freezer

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(Or: The One with the Meat Jokes)

Original air date: April 28, 1952

As I said on the WTF Lucy Facebook page, we have now entered the high holy days of I Love Lucy. This week, we celebrate “The Freezer” — one of the best written sitcom episodes ever. I actually studied this episode in my first TV writing class.

Next week we’ll observe the most sacred Lucy day of the year: the day “Lucy Does a TV Commercial.” You may know it best as the Viteameatavegamin episode. However you traditionally celebrate, here’s wishing you and your families a very happy holiday. Save me some leftovers.

We open on Ricky and Lucy in the kitchen, where Ricky is once again unhappy with his breakfast.

Ricky: Just two eggs? Where’s the bacon?! They look absolutely naked!
Lucy: Well look the other way when you eat them.

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I Love Lucy S01 E21 – New Neighbors

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(Or: War is a force that gives us meaning)

**More WTFacts are at this week’s Episode Watch Party.**

We open on the living room window, which we’ve never seen before. Lucy and Ethel are snooping on the new neighbors moving in while Ricky demands his breakfast. I’m not sure which is ruder.

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