The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub

"The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub" is the second filmed episode of I Love Lucy but the first one aired. Originally, "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her" was supposed to have been aired instead, as it was the first one filmed, but numerous production problems kept Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and others, who had a stake in the success of the program, from airing it until the problems had been fixed. Instead, it was determined that "The Girls Want to Go to the Nightclub" was a better product to introduce the American public to their program.[1][2] It debuted on CBS on Monday, October 15, 1951 at 9:00 pm.

"The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub"
I Love Lucy episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Original air dateOctober 15, 1951 (US)

Plot summary

It is the Mertzes' 18th wedding anniversary, and they and the Ricardos want to do something to celebrate. However, the gentlemen and the ladies have different ideas about what to do. Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley) want to go to a boxing match, but Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) want to go to a nightclub. They argue and are unable to come to an accord. Finally, Lucy announces that she and Ethel will find dates to take them out. The men go downstairs to Fred's apartment where Ricky expresses concern about "what might happen" when the girls go out with other men. Fred agrees it would be a good idea to get dates themselves and go to the nightclub to keep an eye on their wives.

Lucy tries calling up old boyfriends, but most of them are busy, married or, in one case, babysitting a grandson (Lucy explains that when she had dated this fellow, he was an "interesting older man"). Meanwhile, Ricky is in a similar situation, having burned his "little black book" upon marrying Lucy (she had told him that doing this was an American marriage tradition). Finally, Ricky decides to phone a friend, Ginny Jones, who has connections to all the women in town. She agrees to set them up. Lucy also remembers Ginny's connections and phones her for the same reason. Ginny lets Lucy in on the husbands' scheme, and Lucy has an idea. She tells Ginny to arrange dates for Ricky and Fred—but with Ethel and herself. The evening comes around, and Ricky and Fred are anxiously waiting for their dates. The doorbell rings, and it's Lucy and Ethel, dressed in stereotypical hillbilly attire, and calling themselves "Eunice" and "Ma," respectively. Ricky and Fred are shocked and don't realize it is their wives behind the costumes. Ricky is eventually tipped off when Lucy gives herself away by knowing exactly where the cigarettes and matches are. Ricky takes Fred aside, fills him in, and they turn the tables on the women by being overly amorous. Lucy realizes that Ricky knows what's up, and the charade is over.

Later that evening finds the couples out celebrating the Mertzes' anniversary—at the fights. "Happy anniversary, Ethel", Lucy sighs. "Thank you, Lucy", Ethel sighs back.[3]

gollark: Why did states happen in the *first* place if they aren't good and there's a stable alternative?
gollark: > Collectivization will take place naturally as soon as state coercion is over, the workers themselveswill own their workplaces as the capitalists will no longer have any control over them. This iswhat happened during the Spanish Revolution of 1936, during which workers and farmers seized andmanaged the means of production collectively. For those capitalists who had a good attitude towardsworkers before the revolution, there was also a place - they joined the horizontal labor collectivesUm. This seems optimistic.
gollark: > "Legally anyone can start their own business. Just launch a company!”. These words oftenmentioned by the fans of capitalism are very easy to counter, because they have a huge flaw. Namely,if everyone started a company, who would work for all these companiesThis is a bizarre objection. At the somewhat extreme end, stuff *could* probably still work fine if the majority of people were contracted out for work instead of acting as employees directly.
gollark: The hierarchical direct democracy thing it describes doesn't seem like a very complete or effective coordination mechanism, and it seems like it could easily create unfreedom.
gollark: I disagree with this PDF, for purposes.

References
  1. Horowitz, Susan (1997). Queens of comedy: Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and the New Generation of Funny Women (Studies in Humor and Gender) Rivers. Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 978-2-88449-244-7.
  2. Tucker, David (2007). The women who made television funny: ten stars of 1950s sitcoms. McFarland & Company. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7864-2900-4.
  3. "I Love Lucy – The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub". Livedash. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
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