The 25 best episodes of 'I Love Lucy,' ranked

Lucy always has artistic dreams. Usually, it involves acting and being in Hollywood. This time, she’s, well, trying to get into sculpting. When being a “sculptress” doesn’t work out, Lucy gets creative and turns herself into a bust. It means having a bunch of clay on her head, but anything to get, ahem, ahead in art.

As with sitcoms today, a lot of I Love Lucy storylines involve bickering and competing within a couple. Often, it’s Ricky and Fred versus Lucy and Ethel. That’s the case in “Deep Sea Diving,” which sees the couple down in Miami Beach trying to catch the biggest fish. Both sides cheat, and both sides pay for it.

Remember, this show was shot in the 1950s. The things that became tropes were often popularized or even invented by I Love Lucy. So, when we say the premise of this episode is that Ricky and Lucy end up handcuffed together and don’t have the key, bear in mind when they did this story and don’t hold how often we’ve seen that since against them.

Lucy is crazy about showbiz and meeting celebrities. When actor Cornel Wilde moves in upstairs in the Ricardos' building, she will go to any lengths to meet him. That includes posing as a bellhop, a classic Lucy-style scheme.

Lucy is enthusiastic and chipper but perhaps a bit naïve. You know, the exact kind of person who would get taken in by a smooth-talking snake oil salesman. When that happens, it causes a lot of hassles for Ricky and money worries for the couple.

This episode has a pretty iconic plot. It’s the one where Lucy and Ricky divide their apartment in half and can’t go over the line to the other side. That’s a fun starting point, and it gets this episode into the top 20. They just don’t execute the premise as well as you might remember.

Lucille Ball was a tremendously talented physical comedian. It was a big part of what made her so popular. At a certain point, the Ricardos leave New York for the country in Westport, Connecticut. The Ricardos and Mertzes decide to get into chicken farming, but things turn chaotic when Lucy and Ethel end up with hundreds of baby chicks and nowhere to keep them but inside the house.

While the technology of the ‘50s feels quaint now, it was certainly more advanced than the norm back in the day. As such, Ricky and Fred could bet their spouses not to use any modern conveniences and have it still mean something. There are some good sight gags, including a famous loaf of bread straight out of a monster movie.

Lucy is usually the one doing loopy things and being an oddball. It’s nice when Ricky gets involved in the antics, too. The premise of this episode starts from a relatable place, as an offhand joke by Lucy leads Ricky to fear he’s losing his hair. That sends him down the path toward all sorts of ludicrous hair-growing ploys.

Why did the Ricardos and Mertzes decide to open a diner? Because it’s a good sitcom plot. The show justifies it a bit by having Ricky get burnt out on showbiz. In the end, it’s all about the couples' bickering and ending things with a giant pie fight.

It’s right there in the title. Lucy wants new furniture. The couple can’t afford it, but Lucy buys it anyway. Then, she has to hide it from her husband. When that fails, she has to make do with things like making her own clothes and doing her own perm. It turns out she doesn’t have those skills.

Do you know that guy from The Simpsons that says, “Yeeeeeessss?” He’s a parody of Frank Nelson. Nelson is best remembered for his recurring roles on Lucille Ball shows. His first appearance with her is on this, the fifth episode of I Love Lucy. He plays the host of a game show Lucy goes on in an attempt to win some much-needed cash.

It’s like the movie Liar, Liar but without magic or the sappiness. Lucy accepts a bet that she will tell the truth and not lie for 24 hours. That’s not exactly up her alley, especially when she has a big audition. It’s fun watching Lucy try and avoid losing the bet, and then there’s the sight gag of Lucy being in a knife-throwing act.

There are layers and twists to this episode. Lucy was pregnant on the show, which we will get to later, and she has a baby shower. Ricky is jealous of the attention and feels like he’s being forgotten. Layer No. 1 is that Lucy plans a “daddy shower” for Ricky. The second layer is when Fred turns it into a stag party. Add another twist to that because Lucy decides she needs to go undercover at the stag party to make sure everything is above board. It gets even twistier from there.

Lucy and Ethel get a break from Ricky and Fred in this episode, taking a trip to Palm Springs for the weekend. This was when the couples were in Los Angeles, by the way. They didn’t travel from New York to Palm Springs for the weekend. While there, the duo meets Rock Hudson, one of many Lucy meets a celebrity episode that happened over the show’s run.

Lucy says that she will get Superman himself, George Reeves, for Little Ricky’s birthday. That doesn’t end up happening, so Lucy does the next best thing: pose as Superman herself. She’s not a man (or woman) of steel, though, and is far from a superhero. As such, when she ends up locked out on the ledge, she can’t exactly fly to safety.

John Wayne isn’t exactly a beloved figure these days, but in the ‘50s, he was a major star. Seeing him in a sitcom poking fun at his persona was cool then, and it’s still enjoyable now. When Lucy gets to play off celebrities, it often works quite well.

Sure, when Lucy and Harpo do their mirror act, it’s completely taken from the Marx Brothers’ film Duck Soup. It’s not original at all. On the other hand, it’s still a good bit, and seeing Lucille Ball doing it remains entertaining.

The idea of Lucy being on a train with a jewel thief is quite broad. Broad isn’t always bad in a sitcom, though. They still have a lot of fun with it and make the plot hum. There’s also some excellent slapstick comedy from Ball.

It should be noted that, despite what many people say, Lucy Ricardo was not the first pregnant character on television. That being said, it was still rare and considered potentially inappropriate. However, Ball was actually pregnant with her and Ricky’s second child, and they had to work it into the storyline. They couldn’t use the word “pregnant,” but they still made TV history.

Of all the L.A. episodes, this is the best one. While it’s sometimes listed as being titled “Hollywood at Last," what matters is that Lucy gets to Los Angeles and immediately gets into trying to meet celebrities and have her big break. She runs into Eve Arden, also a sitcom star of the ‘50s, but this episode is best remembered for the appearance of William Holden.

Lucy and Ethel buy a walk-in freezer. Watching the episode now, it’s obvious the entire premise is building to Lucy getting locked in the freezer. And yet, the payoff is still great. The sight gag of a frozen Lucy is not exactly realistic, but it’s funny either way.

Talk about classic sitcom premises made famous by I Love Lucy. Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred decide to swap roles. That means the men doing housework and the ladies getting jobs. Everybody struggles. The peak of this episode is when Lucy and Ethel work at the chocolate factory. It’s one of the 10 most famous sight gags in sitcom history.

Man, the Ricardos sure traveled a lot. This time they go to Italy, bringing out the best of the show. Lucy gets an acting role. To research it, she decides to go to a winery to soak up “local color.” Mostly, she smashes grapes and gets in a fight with the other lady that smashes grapes. It’s brilliant physical comedy.

To this day, “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” is considered one of the best sitcom episodes. Even if you think this is an old show and can’t possibly still be funny, do yourself a favor and check out this episode. Lucy gets a TV ad. While filming it, she accidentally gets drunk off the product she’s selling. Doing good drunk acting and being funny can be hard. Ball absolutely nails it.