ComedyFamilyCBS

The Best Episodes of I Love Lucy Season 1

Every episode of I Love Lucy Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of I Love Lucy Season 1!

Binge this in 10h 8m·Peaking at 9.5/10
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons6

All123456

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 30 - Lucy Does a TV Commercial
    9.5/10(1180 votes)

    S1:E30

    Desperate to be in Ricky's new television commercial, Lucy makes every attempt to get her way; which eventually pays off. But her one-and-only chance flops when she is forced to test the sponsor's product over-and-over, a vitamin syrup called Vitametavegimin, which is 25% alcohol.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 29 - The Freezer
    9.0/10(575 votes)

    S1:E29

    Where's the beef? It's in Lucy and Ethel's new walk-in freezer (according to Lucy, the "human popsicle"). Of course, Ricky and Fred have a beef with their wives, because they paid $483 for it. The meat company won't take it back, and they can't sell it to customers waiting in the local butcher shop, so they're stuck with it. And speaking of stuck, Lucy gets herself locked in the freezer!

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 25 - Pioneer Women
    8.6/10(534 votes)

    S1:E25

    Having been bet by their husbands that they can't do without modern conveniences, Lucy and Ethel churn butter and bake bread from scratch-an eighteen foot loaf! But then Lucy demands that Ricky live as if it's the turn of the century for him, too.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 24 - The Gossip
    8.5/10(487 votes)

    S1:E24

    Ricky is disgusted by Lucy's obsession with gossiping about other people. According to Ricky, Lucy acts as if it is her ""life's blood."" Fred, too, is disturbed by Ethel's love of gossiping. The two girls then point out that both Ricky and Fred have been known to gossip, also. The boys then challenge the girls to a bet: They will see who can go without gossiping the longest, and the winners will receive breakfast in bed for a month. The bet commences, and everything is going fine until Ricky comes up with a plan to cheat so that he and Fred can win.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 33 - Lucy's Schedule
    8.5/10(483 votes)

    S1:E33

    Ricky puts Lucy on a rigid time schedule.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 35 - Ricky Asks for a Raise
    8.4/10(445 votes)

    S1:E35

    Ricky asks for a raise, but his boss (Gale Gordon) turns him down, prompting Lucy to prove just how popular a performer he is. Her scheme involves making a lot of bogus reservations at the club on the night that somebody else is playing, then show up in various guises(including Fred in drag) feigning indignation that Ricky's not performing--and leave in a huff.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of I Love Lucy

    READ
  7. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 18 - Breaking the Lease
    8.3/10(484 votes)

    S1:E18

    After a big quarrel between the Ricardos and the Mertzes, Lucy and Ricky decide that they want to move out. Ricky and Lucy become the most undesirable tenants ever so that they can break that lease, while the Fred and Ethel resist.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 19 - The Ballet
    8.3/10(495 votes)

    S1:E19

    Lucy learns that there is an opening in one of Ricky's acts for a ballet dancer as well as a burlesque comic.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 21 - New Neighbors
    8.2/10(501 votes)

    S1:E21

    Lucy becomes afraid that one of her new neighbors is threatening to kill her and convinces the others that the neighbors are trying to kill them...which gets them into big trouble.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 32 - Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio
    8.2/10(424 votes)

    S1:E32

    Lucy secretly books Ricky on a radio quiz show.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 34 - Ricky Thinks He Is Getting Bald
    8.2/10(474 votes)

    S1:E34

    Ricky fears that he is going bald, so Lucy takes it into her head to help him: she stages a "bald people's party" to show him that he's not so bad, after all. But when that doesn't work, she resorts to showing some new "hair treatments" (or "torture tactics" as Lucy calls them) to show Ricky how silly he's been.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 3 - The Diet
    8.1/10(612 votes)

    S1:E3

    To her dismay, Lucy finds out that she's put on twenty-two pounds since marrying Ricky. When one of the girls in Ricky's new show quits, she tricks him into promising, she can be in the show if she fits into the dancer's size twelve costume.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 4 - Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her
    8.1/10(687 votes)

    S1:E4

    After becoming too involved in a murder mystery book, Lucy believes that Ricky is trying to murder her.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 7 - The Séance
    8.1/10(583 votes)

    S1:E7

    Lucy tells an important talent agent that Ricky cannot appear in a show because of his horoscope. The agent is also interested in the occult. So Lucy arranges a séance.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 8 - Men Are Messy
    8.1/10(535 votes)

    S1:E8

    Fed up with Ricky's messiness, Lucy divides the Ricardo apartment in a clean part for her and a messy part for him.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 9 - The Fur Coat
    8.1/10(523 votes)

    S1:E9

    Ricky returns home with expensive mink coat that he has rented for an act at the club. Lucy jumps to the conclusion that it's her anniversary present.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 2 - Be a Pal
    8.0/10(599 votes)

    S1:E2

    Thinking Ricky is losing interest in her, Lucy follows the advice of a book Ethel gave her and takes up Ricky's hobbies.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 5 - The Quiz Show
    8.0/10(618 votes)

    S1:E5

    When Lucy needs to balance her household accounts, she decides to go on quiz show. To win the $1,000 cash prize, she has to introduce her "long lost first husband" to Ricky.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 16 - Lucy Fakes Illness
    8.0/10(446 votes)

    S1:E16

    Lucy pretends to suffer from numerous psychological ailments so that Ricky will feel sorry for her and let her go into show business.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 22 - Fred and Ethel Fight
    8.0/10(519 votes)

    S1:E22

    Fred and Ethel have been going at each others' throats for the past few days now, and aren't talking to each other any more. (Fred: She called my mother a weasel!)To get them back together, Lucy comes up with a plan: She will invite Ethel to dinner, while Ricky will invite Fred. Neither Mertz will know that the other is coming, Lucy hopes that she can bring the Mertzes together so they can talk out their issues. Lucy commences with her plan, but during dinner, she and Ricky start to bicker. By the end of supper, the Mertzes leave the Ricardos' apartment as happy as larks, but Lucy and Ricky are now at each others' throats. It's now up to the Mertzes to bring the Ricardos back together.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 27 - The Kleptomaniac
    8.0/10(486 votes)

    S1:E27

    When Ricky finds a closet full of valuables that Lucy has collected for a bazaar, he mistakenly thinks that she's become a kleptomaniac. He secretly calls in a doctor to hypnotize her, but Lucy is wise to his plan and feigns recalling a notorious past.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 23 - The Moustache
    7.9/10(442 votes)

    S1:E23

    Lucy dislikes Ricky's new moustache. In order to take revenge, she glues a moustache and beard on to her face. Then, Ricky agrees to shave his moustache off, as long as Lucy gets rid of hers. Lucy tries to get the facial hair off, and is unsuccessful. They try to get a special substance to take the glue off, to find out that it is not made anymore.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 1 - The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub
    7.8/10(713 votes)

    S1:E1

    An argument ensues among the couples when Ethel wants to celebrate the Mertzes's anniversary at the Copacabana while Fred wants to attend the fights. Ethel and Lucy decide that they will go to the club with dates.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 17 - Lucy Writes a Play
    7.8/10(438 votes)

    S1:E17

    Lucy writes a play set in Cuba hoping to cast Ricky, But when he refuses, she has to settle for Fred and changes her setting to England.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. I Love Lucy Season 1 Episode 6 - The Audition
    7.7/10(516 votes)

    S1:E6

    Ricky lands a TV audition at the club. When Buffo the Clown injures himself and cannot make it, Lucy takes his place.

    Director:Marc Daniels
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr.

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Lucy Does a TV Commercial" is the best rated episode of I Love Lucy season 1. It scored 9.5/10 from 1,180 votes. Directed by Marc Daniels and written by Madelyn Pugh, Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr., it aired on May 5, 1952. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "The Freezer".