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S3 E13 Million Dollar Idea

Comedy

TV-G

26m

Jan 10, 1954

Out of money, and in need of a million dollar idea, Lucy goes into the business of selling salad dressing. Marketing her salad dressing on TV, Lucy elicits Ethel's help with the advertisement.

Season 3, 31 Episodes

Ricky's Life Story,

Life magazine does a photo layout on the Ricardos and the only part of Lucy visible in the shot is her elbow. Lucy insists on getting a part in Ricky's act so that she can make a name for herself.

The Girls Go Into Business,

After watching two women walk out of a local dress shop with $200 in purchases, Lucy and Ethel decide to buy the shop and go into business for themselves. The first signs of trouble begin when they can't agree on a name for their store.

Lucy and Ethel Buy A Dress,

The annual talent show for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League is going to be televised this year, and Lucy and Ethel are going to perform a duet. Everything is going well as Lucy gets Ricky to emcee the show and help her and Ethel prepare.

treated as if they were men. Later on, when the two couples go out to dinner, Fred and Ricky follow the ladies' instructions.

Ricky's friend Charlie Appleby and his wife Caroline are coming over for dinner at the Ricardos. Charlie is going to have Ricky emcee a TV program he's working on and so Ricky wants to make a good impression at dinner.

Lucy Tells The Truth,

Ricky, Fred, and Ethel don't believe that Lucy could go one day without telling a lie. To prove their point, they bet her $100 that within 24 hours she'll be fibbing up a storm.

The French Revue,

The Ricardos and Mertzes have a close encounter of the French kind when they go to a bistro and have no clue how to read the menu. Later on, Lucy and Ethel decide to brush up on their French in order to get into the show.

Redecorating The Mertz's Apartment,

Ethel complains about how shabby her apartment is. She's ashamed of holding a meeting for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League at her place where women will be donning minks.

Too Many Crooks,

It all started with the good intention of getting Fred a new suit for his birthday. Lucy needed to "borrow" an old suit of Fred's for the correct measurements, but there was a witness to her burglary.

Changing The Boys Wardrobe,

Lucy and Ethel are sick of their husbands dressing like slobs when they go out together in the evenings. After one particular outing, the girls get fed up and give their old clothes to a second-hand store.

Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined,

Lucy gets another shot at being a star when a talent scout for the movies comes to town. Casting for the production agrees to audition Lucy after she gives him an impromptu performance of "There's No Business Like Show Business" with the Mertzes.

Ricky's Old Girlfriend,

A magazine test has gotten Lucy into a tizzy. Lucy and Ricky take a test called "How to Rate Your Marriage." One of the questions in the quiz asks about old flames. When Lucy rattles off a list of old boyfriends, Ricky feels the need to compare.

Million Dollar Idea,

Out of money, and in need of a million dollar idea, Lucy goes into the business of selling salad dressing. Marketing her salad dressing on TV, Lucy elicits Ethel's help with the advertisement.

Ricky Minds The Baby,

Lucy plays the dominant parent role in their son's life. Realizing that he needs to spend more time with his son, Ricky agrees to spend his vacation at home to care for little Ricky.

The Ricardos are hosting an evening with friends. When the last guest to arrive introduces his date—all the men at the party fawn over her. Disgusted by the men's behavior, Lucy and Ethel begin to doubt their own feminine wiles.

Sentimental Anniversary,

Lucy and Ricky's thirteenth anniversary is rapidly approaching. In an outward show of affection, they buy each other gifts—golf clubs for Ricky and fur for Lucy.

Fan Magazine Interview,

The Ricardos are being interviewed for a "day-in-the-life" magazine article on happy married couples. The interviewer arrives at 7 AM just in time to encounter Lucy making breakfast in a frilly lace apron, while Ricky walks in wearing a smoking jacket.

The Mertzes get a pair of new tenants. Sam and Nancy Johnson are from Texas and reportedly have inside knowledge of a certain oil stock that is about to shoot through the roof. Lucy and Ethel are excited by the prospect, but Fred and Ricky have doubts.

Ricky Loses His Temper,

How long can Ricky Ricardo go, without losing his temper? When Lucy buys a new hat for $49.50, Ricky goes ballistic. To make a point, Lucy bets Ricky the cost of the hat that he'll lose his temper long before her next purchase.

Hurt that no one seems to care for his home movies, Ricky declares that he will never show them another feature of his...not even the TV pilot he's creating. Jealous of his project, Lucy enables the help of the Mertzes and creates her own musical western.

Ricky scoffs at his wife and Ethel when they adamantly participate in the hunt for the "Bonus Buck" that will win them prize money from a newspaper contest. Later, Ricky discovers one of the lucky bucks in his own wallet.

Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation,

Lucy desperately wants to accompany her husband on his concert tour of Hawaii, but Ricky can't afford to bring her along. Unsatisfied, Lucy decides she'll win a trip for herself and neighbors, The Mertzes, by entering a television game show contest.

Lucy Is Envious,

In an attempt to compete with her wealthy friends, Lucy pledges $500 (that she doesn't have) to charity. Luckily, Ethel spots an ad in Billboard magazine willing to pay $500 to anyone willing to perform a stunt to publicize a new movie, Women From Mars.

Lucy Writes A Novel,

Lucy wants to be a published author after hearing about another housewife who made a fortune doing it. Ricky and the Mertzes don't like it when they discover Lucy's book plays too close a resemblance to real life including anecdotes from their own lives.

Lucy's Club Dance,

Lucy organizes an orchestra among her girlfriends, but it plays so horribly that she asks her bandleader husband, Ricky, to come to a rehearsal and give them some advice. His direction does little to help.

Lucy decides to try a new look, despite her husband Ricky's objections. She borrows a black wig from her hairdresser Roberta, who tells Lucy it makes her look like a whole different person. With that in mind, Lucy decides to play a little trick on Ricky.

Ricky becomes interested in a diner that is for sale so the Ricardos and the Mertzes all buy it together. Right away, Ethel and Fred feel they are doing all the work while Lucy and Ricky have all the fun.

Tennessee Ernie Visits,

Lucy's mother writes to ask if she and her husband "Xavier" would be so kind as to entertain "a friend's roommate's cousin's middle boy, Ernest" when he visits New York.

Tennessee Ernie Hangs On,

Lucy and Ricky, tired of the extensive visit by their cousin Tennessee Ernie, try to get rid of the likeable character by pleading poverty. Ernie then tries to help his gracious hosts out of their fiscal desperation.

Golf pro, Jimmy Demaret, visits Lucy and Ethel on the green to show them how the game is really played after they're misled by Ricky and Fred. Lucy and Ethel decide they'll learn how to play golf to spend more time with their husbands.

Ricky books a two-month summer job in Maine and decides to take Lucy and Little Ricky. For the summer, they want to sublet their apartment at a profit, but their friends and landlords, the Mertzes, are not in favor.

Details

I Love Lucy

Comedy

TV-G

6 Seasons

23m

This classic sitcom centers around the hilarious adventures, and misadventures, of Lucy Ricardo and her bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo.

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