CTVA US Comedy - "I Love Lucy" (Desilu/CBS) Season 5 (1955-56)

CTVA
The Classic TV Archive - US Comedy Series

<Previous          "I Love Lucy"                     Next>
Starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
Season 5 (CBS) (1955-56)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
references:
TV Guide /   Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive


################# I Love Lucy ################
############## season 5 1955-56 ##############
##############################################
A. C. Nielsen Rank: #2
CBS Monday Nights 9:00 ET, CBS

5.1 [128] I Love Lucy: LUCY VISITS GRAUMAN'S
Prod. no. 128 / 3-Oct-55 CBS
With only a week left in Hollywood, Lucy weeps about her lack of souvenirs.
Her collection already includes a tin can run over by Cary Grant's rear tire,
a napkin boasting Lana Turner's lip-prints, and a few other goodies. But
when Lucy discovers that John Wayne's concrete block at Grauman's Chinese
Theatre is loose, she decides to take home a souvenir to end all souvenirs.
(Note: This episode was the first written by Bob Schiller & Bob Weiskopf.)

5.2 [129] I Love Lucy: LUCY AND JOHN WAYNE
Prod. no 129 / 10-Oct-55 CBS
Lucy is spotted while attempting to "collect" a cement block with John Wayne's
footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater. To avoid publicity and keep Lucy
out of jail, Ricky enlists John Wayne's help in replacing the block. One
mishap leads to another, and the plot thickens -- as does the cement.
John Wayne guest-stars.

5.3 [130] I Love Lucy: LUCY AND THE DUMMY
Prod. no. 130  / 17-Oct-55 CBS
When Ricky refuses to entertain at a studio party, Lucy accepts in his place,
planning to do a straight dramatic role with a dummy. The audience pans her
performance, but the studio is eager to sign her up as a comedienne. In this
episode, Lucy Ricardo is offered what Lucille Ball once had in real life: a
contract with MGM.

5.4 [131] I Love Lucy: RICKY SELLS THE CAR
Prod. no. 131 / 24-Oct-55  CBS
 Ricky sells his car, and the Mertzes think they are being stranded in California.
Ricky buys train tickets for everyone, but a reservations mixup puts Lucy in an
apparently compromising position with Fred Mertz. Watch for Fred and Ethel
decked out in motorcycle gear and riding on a Harley.

5.5 [132] I Love Lucy: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
Prod. no. 132 / 31-Oct-55 CBS
Unaccustomed to train travel, Lucy is sure her trip to New York will be filled with
intrigue and romance. When she hears that a jewel thief is on board, she sees
herself as the possible heroine of the situation. Lucy finds all the excitement
she was looking for, but not where she looked for it.

5.6 [133] I Love Lucy: THE HOMECOMING
Prod. no. 133 / 7-Nov-55 CBS
On their return from Hollywood, Lucy has her hands full with Ricky when he is
hailed as a major celebrity. The Ricardos' neighbors join in for a grand homecoming
celebration in Ricky's honor. Even the Mertzes begin to see Ricky through new eyes
as adulation is heaped on him. When Ricky begins to succumb to the nonsense and go
"Hollywood," Lucy begins to worry.

5.7 [134] I Love Lucy: THE RICARDOS ARE INTERVIEWED (copyright title)
aka FACE TO FACE
Prod. no.134 / 14-Nov-55 CBS
Ricky Ricardo's new fame leads to an invitation to appear on the popular interview
program "Face to Face," and Lucy and Ricky consider moving. Ricky's agent arranges
an appearance for him and suggests that they stage a fight so Lucy and Ricky won't
have to stay. In the end the scheme falls flat while "Face to Face" is on the air.

 5.8 [135] I Love Lucy: LUCY GOES TO RODEO
Prod. no. 135   /  28-Nov-55 CBS
Ricky, scheduled for a radio stint, reluctantly turns down Fred's offer to appear in an amateur radio show.
Lucy volunteers to help out, and she and Fred whip up a Western act. Ricky then discovers
it's the rodeo, not the radio show, that he's booked for. With no time to prepare,
Ricky has to give Lucy a moment in the spotlight. This episode features "Lucille
McGillicuddy and Her Western Bell Ringers" performing "Down by the Old Mill Stream."

5.9 [136] I Love Lucy: NURSERY SCHOOL
Prod. no.136 /  5-Dec-55 CBS
When Ricky finds Lucy exhausted after a trying day with Little Ricky, he insists
that it's time their son attend nursery school. Lucy's protests are overridden,
and Ricky takes young Ricky to nursery school. But after the first day, the boy comes
down with tonsillitis. Lucy promises Little Ricky that she'll spend the night with
him at the hospital, and when hospital regulations prevent this, Lucy hatches her
own plot to circumvent the rules.

5.10 [137] I Love Lucy: RICKY'S EUROPEAN BOOKING
Prod. no.137 / 12-Dec-55 CBS
Ricky is offered a European booking which is too important to refuse, but he can't
afford to take Lucy with him. Lucy is furious at the prospect of being left behind.
When Ricky wants to take Fred Mertz along as the tour manager, Ethel, too, becomes
incensed. Finally Ricky tells the girls they can go if they can raise the money for
their passages.

5.11 [138] I Love Lucy: THE PASSPORTS
Prod. no. 138 / 19-Dec-55 CBS
Lucy and Fred are unable to produce their birth certificates to get passports for
the Ricardos and Mertzes' European jaunt. They both call their hometowns for their
birth certificates but discover that none exist for them. In order to get passports
to accompany Ricky on his European tour, they must find people who have know them
and their families for twenty years and can prove they were born. This proves to
be easier said than done, and Lucy decides to stowaway in a steamer trunk rather
than miss the boat.

5.12 [139] I Love Lucy: STATEN ISLAND FERRY
Prod. no. 139 / 02-Jan-56 CBS
 Fred's fear of becoming seasick threatens the Mertzes and Ricardos' plans for
Ricky's European band tour. To prove that Fred won't get seasick, Ricky takes
him down to the ship, which is anchored in the harbor. But Fred turns green and
becomes more firm about his not going. Lucy and Ethel test some new, improved
seasickness remedies on the Staten Island Ferry. The trial run leads to unexpected
complications when Lucy gets seasick.

5.13 [140] I Love Lucy: BON VOYAGE
Prod. no. 140 / 16-Jan-56 CBS
Ricky, Ethel, and Fred are aboard their ship to Europe when Lucy rushes down the
gangplank for one last goodbye to Little Ricky, who will be in Lucy's mother's
care while she is in Europe. The ship heads out to sea, leaving Lucy frantically
trying to catch up with it. Jack Albertson, from "Chico and the Man," guest-stars.

5.14 [141] I Love Lucy: SECOND HONEYMOON
Prod. no. 141 /  23-Jan-56 CBS
 Lucy looks forward happily to romantic evenings and daytime deck games as the
Ricardos and the Mertzes sail for Europe. However, she ends up looking on
lonesomely as everyone else on shipboard pairs off; Ricky's band is scheduled
to play practically every minute of the day and night. Finally Lucy enlists
Ethel's aid in a plan to get some time alone with Ricky. Listen for the classic
Ethel quote, "The love bug has bitten my Freddie."

5.15 [142] I Love Lucy: LUCY MEETS THE QUEEN
Prod. no.142 / 30-Jan-56 CBS
guest-star:
Nancy Kulp (Miss Hathaway on "The Beverly Hillbillies,")
Lucy is thrilled at being in London and desperate to see the Queen. She misses
the Queen at Buckingham Palace, where she gets involved in the changing of
the guard. Ricky is invited to meet the Royal Family when they attend a special
performance at the London Palladium. Lucy is not included in the invitation, but
she has no intention of letting it go at that.

5.16 [143] I Love Lucy: THE FOX HUNT
Prod. no. 143 / 6-Feb-56 CBS
Lucy is torn between spending a weekend fox-hunting and her jealousy of a
beautiful blonde starlet. She plots to get Ricky out of London and away from
the blonde by persuading Sir Clive Richardson, a movie producer, to invite the
Ricardos and Mertzes to his estate in the English countryside for the weekend.
Lucy is shocked to discover that the blonde starlet is Sir Clive Richardson's daughter.

5.17 [144] I Love Lucy: LUCY GOES TO SCOTLAND
Prod. no. 144 / 20-Feb-56 CBS
The Ricardos and Mertzes are on their way to Paris, but first Lucy wants to
go to Scotland to seek members of the McGillicuddy family into which she was
born. In a classic dream sequence, Ricky appears as Scotty MacTavish MacDougal MacCardo.

5.18 [145] I Love Lucy: PARIS AT LAST
Prod. no. 145 / 27-Feb-56 CBS
 Equipped with an English-French dictionary, Lucy sets out to see Paris and
"discover" an artist whose paintings will become very valuable -- she knows
she has "the eye." Lucy's first encounter is indeed with an artist -- a con
artist who changes her American money for French. Lucy's adventures land Lucy,
Ethel, and Fred in jail. Look for Lucy's classic first encounter with an escargot.

5.19 [146] I Love Lucy: LUCY MEETS CHARLES BOYER
Prod. no.146 / 5-Mar-56 CBS
While sightseeing in Paris, the Ricardos and Mertzes are sitting in a sidewalk
cafe that Charles Boyer is known to frequent. Lucy thinks she has spotted Boyer
and turns to jelly, but Ricky convinces her she's wrong. Lucy thinks that Ricky
is jealous. She enlists the help of "Pierre Smith," who looks enough like Boyer
to be him (and unknown to Lucy, actually is him). To convince Ricky that she
really loves him, not Boyer, Lucy intends to reject "Boyer's" advances.
Charles Boyer guest-stars as himself.

5.20 [147] I Love Lucy: LUCY GETS A PARIS GOWN
Prod. no. 147 / 19-Mar-56 CBS
Lucy decides to go on a hunger strike until Ricky agrees to buy her a designer
dress. The plan works perfectly (even though Ethel has been smuggling food
to Lucy) and Ricky finally gives in and buys her an expensive outfit. But when
Ricky discovers what Lucy has been up to, he puts together a crazy outfit made
of burlap and passes it off as a Paris original.

5.21 [148] I Love Lucy: LUCY IN THE SWISS ALPS
Prod. no. 148 /  26-Mar-56 CBS
 When band manager Fred fouls up by sending the orchestra to Locarno, Switzerland
instead of Lucerne, Lucy tries to appease Ricky by suggesting a healthy hike in
the Alps. All goes well until an unexpected snowstorm forces the Ricardos and
the Mertzes into a deserted mountaintop cabin. Lucy slams the cabin's door and
sets off an avalanche, trapping the two couples for five hours. They are saved
from certain death by a Bavarian band playing "La Cucaracha."

5.22 [149] I Love Lucy: LUCY GETS HOMESICK IN ITALY
Prod. no. 149 / 9-Apr-56 CBS
Fred is conscience-stricken about the expense involved when he misrouted Ricky's
band. He books second-class train passage for their overnight trip to Florence
and a fourth-class hotel for their stay. Lucy wants to call home to see if
Little Ricky has received the birthday presents she sent him from London, but
the difficulties of calling from a fourth-class room almost prove too much for
her. In the end, Lucy invites an Italian shoeshine boy and his friends to
celebrate Little Ricky's birthday.

5.23 [150] I Love Lucy: LUCY'S ITALIAN MOVIE
Prod. no. 150 / 16-Apr-56 CBS
En route to Rome by train, Lucy is spotted by a famous Italian cinema director and
chosen to play a part in his new movie "Bitter Grapes." Lucy sets out to immerse
herself in the role. When she nonchalantly wanders into a vineyard inhabited by
a motley assortment of Italian-speaking women, she is dispatched to the wine-making
area to crush grapes with her feet. This episode has the classic scene of Lucy in the wine vat.
(Note: This is the classic episode that features the famous grape stomping  routine.)

5.24 [151] I Love Lucy: LUCY'S BICYCLE TRIP
Prod. no. 151 / 23-Apr-56 CBS
The Ricardos and the Mertzes are bicycling from Italy toward the French Riviera.
When they get to the Italian/French border, everyone but Lucy is permitted to
cross. Lucy realizes that her passport has been left behind -- but even when
the passport is found, it looks as if Lucy will never get across the border.
Look for Fred and Ethel on a tandem bicycle in this episode.

5.25 [152] I Love Lucy: LUCY GOES TO MONTE CARLO
Prod. no. 152 / 7-May-56 CBS
Ricky is working in Monte Carlo, but Fred goofs and negotiates too little money
for the engagement. Lucy and Ethel go to the casino to watch, and Lucy finds
a chip that someone dropped. She picks it up and puts it on the table. The
chip wins, and continues to do so, all by accident. Since Ricky warned Lucy to
stay away from the casino, she hides the money in Ethel's trunk. Ricky finds it
and thinks Fred has been holding out on him. "I Love Lucy" writer and recurring
extra, Bob Carroll, Jr., appears in this episode as the gambler wearing the fez.

5.26 [153]  I Love Lucy: RETURN HOME FROM EUROPE
Prod. no. 153 /  14-May-56 CBS
 The Ricardos and Mertzes need to return to the U.S. by plane instead of ship.
The 60-pound-per-person baggage limit taxes Lucy's ingenuity: she has bought
lots of clothes and souvenirs, including a 30-pound cheese. She boards the
plane wearing all the clothes at once and carrying the cheese as a "baby."

(Note: This almost became the final episode of the series. Desi, who was
very busy with Desilu Productions, wanted to end the weekly series but CBS,
offering a huge financial incentive, talked him out of it. Head writer/producer
Jess Oppenheimer left the show after this episode.)

################# I Love Lucy ################
############### end of season 5 ##############
##############################################

 Have you any comments, corrections, episode titles, air dates, production numbers, directors, writers, story/synopsis, guest stars, cast lists, etc?
Have you any old videos, or tv guides? Dust them off and let us know if you have any information on this series or any other tv series from the
Golden Age of TV, which is missing from any episode guides on the web. Perhaps a certain episode of a particular series coincided with a key
moment in your life, or in world events - and or has left a vivid memory of when it was shown. Let us know. Would you like to see any other
tv series guides on this site? If so please e-mail The Classic TV Archive - see Feedback below.
This guide may be distributed and copied freely, in its entirety, for personal use. All original author and copyright information must
remain intact. Any sales or other uses of this document are expressly forbidden, without the specific consent of the author(s).
Copyright © The Classic TV Archive. All rights reserved.
 

Return to The Classic TV Archive Home Page
Feedback  -  Comedy Forum