Ultimate I Love Lucy Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Previous episode: The Girls Go into Business         Next episode:Equal Rights

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/CoPrez.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/FriendshipRehearsal.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/SameDress.jpg

Plot[]

The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League is putting on a variety show. Lucy falsely promises to get Ricky to be the emcee, as a way for her to get elected chairman. Lucy eventually uses reverse psychology on Ricky to get him to agree to be in the show. Lucy and Ethel plan to sing "Friendship" together during the show. All is well until they find out they've both bought the same dress to wear. They each agree to take the dress back, but both secretly keep it and wear it the night of the performance. They end up fighting during the song and pulling apart each others' dresses.

Trivia[]

  • This is the first time since "The Club Election" that we ever see Lucy and Ethel serving as co-presidents of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League.
  • A good portion of the beginning part of the club meeting was deleted for syndication. The DVD restored the whole scene.
  • Ethel got her dress at Macy's; Lucy got hers at Gimbel's.
  • A puzzling part of the episode is why Lucy and Ethel don't understand the value of each girl wearing the same dress. Fred and Ricky both think that's a great idea- they're doing a sort of sister act, so why not dress alike?
  • In this episode, we learn the first of what will be Ethel's three different middle names. Her middle name is "Louise" in this episode, an inside joke, having been named after William Frawley's hated ex-wife.
  • In season 3, wardrobe designer Elois Jenssen joined the cast. This was her second episode to work on, but it was her first big challenge. She had to make a dress for the "Friendship" number that was both realistic but able to easily be pulled apart. She ended up doing a great job.
  • The wrap-around blouse Lucy wears during the club meeting (and in many other episodes) was one of Lucille Ball's favorites and made Elois Jenssen's designs an instant success with Lucy. She really liked the design to wear after her second C-section, and she often wore the blouse in real life.
  • At the end of the final "Friendship" number, right before Ricky and Fred comes to pull the girls off stage, watch closely as Vivian Vance pulls on flower vines at the top of Lucy's dress. She was tugging so hard that she nearly exposed Lucy!
  • We learn that Carolyn Appleby's husband, Charlie, is the manager of a local TV station.
  • Ethel is the first to start pulling things off the dress on the TV show.
  • We never know the final lineup of the TV show other than Lucy and Ethel singing "Friendship," Ricky singing "Vaya con Dios," and Carolyn most certainly getting to have a role, but the original brainstorming session about activities for the show was Louanne Hall playing piano, Jane Sebastian doing bird calls, Carolyn doing her Bette Davis impression that Lucy thought was an impression of Lionel Barrymore, and Rosalyn McKee reciting "Trees."
  • The desk and piano switch positions for this episode, the desk being in the bay window and the piano out in the open to allow Desi to play it while facing the camera for the friendship number.

Quotes[]

  • Carolyn: So, I said, "Charlie, how about letting our women's club put on a show during that half-hour?" And he said... Well, never mind what he said.
  • Lucy: What time did [Charlie] agree to give us, Carolyn?

Carolyn: Next Monday, from 12-12:30.

Ethel: Oh, that's a fine time. That's right in the middle of the day when everybody's home.

Carolyn: Well, everybody's home, alright, but it's not the middle of the day! It's 12 midnight!

  • Lucy: Madame Co-President, at this point, may I ask you to take over?

Ethel: Why?

Lucy: Well, it's not fair for me to be President at this moment. For what I have to say, I 'd rather be a civilian.

  • Lucy: But will the general public know who Marion Strong is?

Marion: Well, you can tell them at the beginning of the program, you know!

Lucy: The program would be over before we could say, "senior shenanigans of the Rappahannock School for Girls"!

  • Fred: Is this week's meeting of The Claw and Cackle Club over?
  • Ethel: Say, you don't think we could get along without Carolyn [in the show], do you?

Lucy: Her husband manages the station.

Ethel: Who follows Carolyn?

  • Lucy: Well, I'm the President!

Ethel: Well, I'm the CO-President!

Lucy: Well, I'm the chairman!

Ethel: Well, I'm the one who knows how you got to BE chairman!

  • Ethel: Isn't that a wonderful idea?

Lucy: Well, no, 'cause, that way, I don't get to sing alone.

Ethel: That's what makes it a wonderful idea!

  • Lucy: I'm gonna use my head [to make Ricky agree to be in the show].

Ethel: What are you gonna do? Beat him with it?

  • Lucy: Listen, Ethel- next to sugar, Cuba's biggest export is ham!
  • Ricky: Well, it's none of my business, but [Dan Jenkins] doesn't even have a voice.

Lucy: Well, he plays a musical instrument.

Ethel: Sure! Tissue paper and combs!

  • Fred: Why take either one of [the dresses] back?

Ricky: Yeah, I think it's kinda cute. You can do, like, a sister act.

  • Lucy: (whispers) I thought you said you were gonna take your dress back?

Ethel: (whispers) I thought you said you were gonna take YOUR dress back?

Lucy: (whispers) You big stinker!

Advertisement