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The Best Episodes of I Love Lucy

Every episode of I Love Lucy ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of I Love Lucy!

Binge this in 3d 3h•Peaking at 9.7/10

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    I Love Lucy Season 5 Episode 2 - Lucy and John Wayne
    9.7/10(511 votes)

    #1 - Lucy and John Wayne

    S5:E2

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. I Love Lucy Season 5 Episode 23 - Lucy's Italian Movie
    9.7/10(548 votes)

    #2 - Lucy's Italian Movie

    S5:E23

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. I Love Lucy Season 4 Episode 16 - L.A. at Last
    9.5/10(715 votes)

    #3 - L.A. at Last

    S4:E16

    Lucy arrives in Hollywood with stars in her eyes. She heads for The Brown Derby, a celebrity hangout, where she encounters Eve Arden and William Holden -- and inadvertently presents Holden with a custard pie in the face. Hollywood legends William Holden and Eve Arden guest-star as themselves.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. I Love Lucy Season 5 Episode 5 - The Great Train Robbery
    9.5/10(489 votes)

    #4 - The Great Train Robbery

    S5:E5

    Lucy gets mixed up with a jewel thief on a cross-country rail trip that marks the end of the series' Hollywood sojourn. That's not the only reason it's a bumpy ride. Another is that Lucy keeps pulling the emergency-brake cord.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. I Love Lucy Season 4 Episode 28 - Harpo Marx
    9.3/10(538 votes)

    #5 - Harpo Marx

    S4:E28

    Lucy promised Carolyn Appleby she'd produce some real Hollywood celebrities. Now she's got to deliver. Dressing up as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and other celebrities, she manages to fool the near-sighted Carolyn. However, the real Harpo Marx shows up only to discover Lucy dressed up as him.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 4 - The Handcuffs
    9.0/10(429 votes)

    #6 - The Handcuffs

    S2:E4

    After Lucy snaps a pair of antique handcuffs on herself and Ricky, they realize there's no key. A locksmith is found, but not before the Ricardos go to bed handcuffed together, and Ricky has to do a TV show with his "attached" wife trying to upstage him.

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

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of I Love Lucy

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  7. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 7 - The Courtroom
    9.0/10(414 votes)

    #7 - The Courtroom

    S2:E7

    The Ricardos give the Mertzes a television set for their anniversary, but Ricky's zealous tuning causes it to blow up. Fred retaliates by breaking the Ricardos' set (by kicking it!) The foursome end up in court, where they manage to destroy the judge's TV, too!

    Director:William Asher
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer

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  8. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 8 - Redecorating
    9.0/10(416 votes)

    #8 - Redecorating

    S2:E8

    Waiting to find out if she has won a home furnishing contest, Lucy won't leave the house, much to Ricky's annoyance. He tells Fred to call her and say that she's won. In her joy, Lucy sells all the old furniture, leaving Ricky with the job of buying it back.

    Director:William Asher
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer

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  9. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 10 - Lucy Is Enceinte
    9.0/10(543 votes)

    #9 - Lucy Is Enceinte

    S2:E10

    Lucy is delighted to learn she is pregnant-but how to tell Ricky? At lunch, he's too preoccupied with work to listen to her, then it's off to the club-where Lucy finds the right moment and just the right way to tell him.

    Director:William Asher
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer

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  10. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 16 - Lucy Goes to the Hospital
    9.0/10(501 votes)

    #10 - Lucy Goes to the Hospital

    S2:E16

    Ricky and the Mertzes rehearse for pregnant Lucy's trip to the hospital. It turns out to be predictably chaotic, but Lucy does deliver Little Ricky.

    Director:William Asher
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer

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  11. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 20 - The Black Eye
    9.0/10(383 votes)

    #11 - The Black Eye

    S2:E20

    Lucy misses catching a book tossed to her by Ricky, and winds up with a black eye that Fred and Ethel are convinced was intentional. Trying to patch things up for the Ricardos, Fred sends Lucy flowers, but inadvertently uses his own name instead of Ricky's.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 21 - Lucy Changes Her Mind
    9.0/10(384 votes)

    #12 - Lucy Changes Her Mind

    S2:E21

    Whether it's getting dressed or ordering dinner at a restaurant, Lucy seems unable to finish anything without changing her mind. Ricky loses his temper, so Lucy tries to play a trick with an old, unfinished love letter to a beau from high school. Fred warns Ricky of Lucy's plot, and Lucy is soon in over her head.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 22 - No Children Allowed
    9.0/10(368 votes)

    #13 - No Children Allowed

    S2:E22

    When a cranky tenant (Elizabeth Patterson, in her first appearance as Mrs. Trumble,) threatens to move because of Little Ricky's loud crying, Ethel makes it clear that her friendship with Lucy is more important than a rental agreement. But Ethel doesn't let the Ricardos forget her loyalty.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 26 - The Ricardos Change Apartments
    9.0/10(372 votes)

    #14 - The Ricardos Change Apartments

    S2:E26

    Now that they have Little Ricky, Lucy insists they need more room, and wants to change apartments with one of the other tenants (Mrs. Benson.) She convinces a reluctant Ricky by cluttering their apartment with baby things and assorted junk.

    Director:William Asher
    Writers:Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Jess Oppenheimer

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  15. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 27 - Lucy Is Matchmaker
    9.0/10(361 votes)

    #15 - Lucy Is Matchmaker

    S2:E27

    Lucy plays matchmaker when she meets a friend of the Mertzes (Hal March, as Eddie) who happens to be an eligible bachelor. His line of work? He's a lingerie salesman, a fact that just might get her (and Ethel) into trouble when her matchmaking efforts inevitably backfire.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 28 - Lucy Wants New Furniture
    9.0/10(371 votes)

    #16 - Lucy Wants New Furniture

    S2:E28

    Lucy tries to hide some new furniture she bought without Ricky's permission in the kitchen. Discovering his wife's extravagant purchase, Ricky insists that Lucy pays for it from her allowance.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 29 - The Camping Trip
    9.0/10(390 votes)

    #17 - The Camping Trip

    S2:E29

    Lucy fears that she and Ricky don't have enough in common, so she decides to pursue one of his interests: camping. Ricky and Fred don't want her (or Ethel, for that matter,) horning in on their summer retreat, so Ricky decides to take Lucy on a "trial run" in the woods and make her life miserable. But Lucy is wise to his plan, and guess whose life is made miserable in the end?

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 30 - Ricky and Fred are TV Fans
    9.0/10(401 votes)

    #18 - Ricky and Fred are TV Fans

    S2:E30

    With Ricky and Fred glued to a TV fight, their wives go to the local cafe, where service is so slow that Lucy makes change for herself at the cash register and the girls are arrested. They finally prove their innocence and get home to husbands who didn't know they were gone.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 31 - Never Do Business With Friends
    9.0/10(384 votes)

    #19 - Never Do Business With Friends

    S2:E31

    The Ricardos sell their old washing machine to the Mertzes for $35. When it breaks down the next day, the Mertzes want out of the deal. A tug-of-war ensues, however, when the Mertzes want the machine back after a repairman offers them $50 for it.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 3 - Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress
    9.0/10(367 votes)

    #20 - Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress

    S3:E3

    Lucy and Ethel buy the same dress for the upcoming talent show for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. True, they'll be doing a duet, and their number is Cole Porter's corny "Friendship" but wearing the same dress isn't exactly what they had in mind. Meanwhile, Lucy needs to persuade Ricky to host the show, so she decides to use a little reverse psychology.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 4 - Equal Rights
    9.0/10(397 votes)

    #21 - Equal Rights

    S3:E4

    Lucy and Ethel demand equal rights for women. Okay, say Ricky and Fred at the restaurant: separate checks for the four of them. Thus begins Lucy and Ethel's careers as restaurant dishwashers. So they plot revenge: they'll scare their husbands by claiming to have been robbed.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 6 - Lucy Tells the Truth
    9.0/10(433 votes)

    #22 - Lucy Tells the Truth

    S3:E6

    Ricky and the Mertzes bet Lucy that she can't go twenty-four hours without telling a lie. The outcome? Lucy insults all her friends and has to admit her real age, weight, and hair color. But she nearly gets a part on a TV show, by telling the truth, more or less.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 9 - Too Many Crooks
    9.0/10(380 votes)

    #23 - Too Many Crooks

    S3:E9

    Lucy sneaks into the Mertzes' apartment to borrow one of Fred's suits so that she can order him a custom-made tweed suit for his birthday. This leads Ethel to think that Lucy is the notorious neighborhood burglar, "Madame X", and she goes spying on her friend to prove it.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 13 - The Million Dollar Idea
    9.0/10(393 votes)

    #24 - The Million Dollar Idea

    S3:E13

    The Ricardo household budget is in shambles (as usual) after Lucy decides to put her salad dressing on the market. Her plan? To market it on a TV morning show on the station her friend Caroline Appleby's husband runs. Home economist Mary Margaret McMertz (Ethel) will invite "an average housewife," (Lucy) to taste the dressing on the air.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. I Love Lucy Season 3 Episode 15 - The Charm School
    9.0/10(398 votes)

    #25 - The Charm School

    S3:E15

    It's time for charm school for Lucy and Ethel when their men eye a pretty woman at a party. But Ricky and Fred are anything but charmed by the results.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Lucy and John Wayne" is the best rated episode of "I Love Lucy". It scored 9.7/10 based on 511 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/10/1955. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Lucy's Italian Movie".