I Love Lucy/Trivia

• Beam Me Up, Scotty: Ricky has never actually entered a scene with, "LU-CYYYY, I'M HO-OOOME!"
  • "Lucy... you got some splanin' to do!" was created by parodies long after the end of the show, although Ricky does say "Lucy! Splain!" in the episode "Charm School".
• The Danza: Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo. She did the exact same thing in her two new shows, despite being different characters. Vivian Vance (who played Ethel) was so sick of being called "Ethel" on the street that when she appeared on either of the spin-offs her character was always named Viv, Vi, or Vivian.
  • Cousin Ernie.
• Funny Character, Boring Actor: While Lucille Ball is known as one of the funniest women on television, she actually didn't think she was that good at improvisation, and would often rehearse a scene endlessly until she thought she had it just right.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Mrs Howell is a "Charm School" teacher.
  • Lucy suspects new neighbor Dr Bellows is a terrorist.
  • "The Young Fans" guest starred Janet Waldo (Judy Jetson) and Richard Crenna (Col. Trautman).
• Hey, It's That Voice!: George O'Hanlon as Charley Appleby. You might not recognize his name or appearance, but as soon as he speaks you'll recognize him as the voice of George Jetson.
  • Same goes for Arthur Q. Bryan as Mr. Chambers. You also might not recognize his name or appearance, but as soon as he speaks you'll recognize him as the voice of Elmer Fudd.
  • "The Young Fans" guest starred Janet Waldo (Judy Jetson).
• Missing Episode: The Christmas Special was not included in syndication packages in order to prevent the episode from airing out of season, and also because of a supposed lack of interest in Clip Shows.
  • The Pilot was not intended for public broadcast, but it might also qualify. After CBS approved the show, Lucy and Desi gave the only copy of the pilot to their friend Pepito Perez, who guest-starred. Since no one saw it afterward except for Pepito, his wife, and their friends, archivists spent decades assuming it got lost altogether. Pepito's widow finally brought it out of hiding in 1990.
    • Almost the entire plot was reused for an episode with Pepito replaced by a considerably less creepy clown.
• Real Life Relative: As mentioned, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz really were married for more or less the entire length of the series.
• Rerun: As mentioned, the show's creators invented this trope.
  • And made a damn fortune off it. The network didn't know how much money could be made off of the reruns, and so they gave all the rights to Lucy and Desi. Enough for them to run their own major studio empire and be the executives in charge of shows like Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, The Untouchables, and Star Trek. Lucille and Desi's family still makes royalties off the show, and considering it's never been out of syndication, well...
  • Lucy has been quoted to say "We figured we couldn't lose. We'd ether make money off the deal, or at least we'd have the best set of home movies in the world."
• Throw It In: The 1952 episode "Cuban Pals" features Ricky attempting to translate Lucy's questions for his Cuban friends. Desi Arnaz mistakenly translates one question in English, resulting in him almost doubling over in laughter onscreen for almost a minute.
  • Another is the scene in Hollywood when Lucy's fake nose catches on fire and she dunks it in a glass of water to extinguish it. It's notable because Lucille Ball was a very strict perfectionist who rehearsed scenes tirelessly, and that was one of the few times where a Throw It In moment wasn't thrown out.
    • It probably didn't hurt that reportedly Lucy was very concerned about the safety of a lit wick so close to her face, and figured better not push her luck with a second take.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Some unintentional examples really really scream "The Fifties":
  • The candy factory showing Lucy and Ethel working, handling food, without gloves. That would not happen today.
  • Almost any mention of money. Occasionally a joke simply doesn't work anymore thanks to inflation completely ruining the frame of reference. It's hard to understand Ricky getting angry at Lucy for spending so much money on something since, at this point, everything on the show sounds incredibly cheap.
• What Could Have Been:
  • "Lucy Goes to Scotland" would have aired in full color, if not for CBS' inability to afford color film. The episode was later colorized in 2007, as a bonus feature for a complete series DVD set of I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
  • After the Hollywood Arc was over Desi suggested a Spin-Off taking place in their Hollywood hotel with Bobby the Bellboy as the main character as he deals with guests, but nothing came of it. With this in mind, the episodes featuring Bobby could be considered a Poorly-Disguised Pilot.
  • Desi Arnaz asked William Frawley and Vivian Vance if they would have liked a Spin-Off after I Love Lucy's cancellation. Vance declined because of the hatred she and Frawley had for each other both on and off the set. Frawley, however, gladly agreed, sensing a very financially lucrative opportunity.
  • Lucille Ball originally wanted the roles of Fred and Ethel to be played by longtime friends and comic foils Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet. However, at the time, Gordon was already committed to play bellowing principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks, a role which he originated on the radio, while Benaderet was committed to play next-door neighbor Blanche Morton on The Burns and Allen Show. Another longtime friend of Ball's, Barbara Pepper, who later went on to play Doris Ziffel on Green Acres, was also considered to play Ethel. Unfortunately, however, by that time, Pepper had been drinking very heavily after her husband, Craig Reynolds, passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident. With Frawley, whose fondness for the bottle was legendary, already cast as Fred, Desi Arnaz felt he couldn't take the chance of having the responsibility of keeping two people in line.