The Seance – I Love Lucy season 1, episode 7, originally aired November 26, 1951
In The Seance, Lucy’s superstitious nature gets the better of her. After first reading in the newspaper horoscope that Ricky should say ‘yes’ to anything, after he leaves Lucy realizes that she’s read yesterday’s horoscope and that nothing will go right for him today. In order to ‘save’ Ricky, she turns down a deal for him when a Mr. Merriwether calls, only to face Ricky’s wrath once he finds out what’s happened. Ricky insists that she go along with him to visit Mr. Merriwether and straighten everything out. Once they arrive at his office, they find out that Mr. Merriwether himself is as superstitious as Lucy, and is interested in a seance to contact his ‘beloved Tillie’ — which Lucy volunteers to provide.
In a classic ‘boys vs. girls’ pairing, Fred and Ricky decide to impersonate a spirit in the seance, to convince Mr. Merriwether. Unknown to them, the girls are planning the same thing. In the very funny ‘seance’ routine that follows, where Ethel pretends to be ‘Madam Ethel Mertzola’, afterwards Ricky and Fred are convinced that Ethel has really contacted the spirit of ‘Tillie’ (voiced by Lucy), and Lucy and Ethel believe that the spirit of ‘Adelaide’ was there (voiced by Fred). In the end, all is sorted out, and things are set right. It’s a very funny episode, and the ‘seance’ in the Ricardos apartment is absolutely hilarious.
The Seance is available as part of the season 1 I Love Lucy DVD collection.
Quotes from The Seance – I Love Lucy season 1
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): [Ethel enters] She’s a woman.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I guess so.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Well, thanks.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Maybe if you’re something besides 5 it will help our vibrations.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Lucy!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): What?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Dun’t you like the way I vibrate?
[Lucy tries to find Ricky’s perfect name.]
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): That’s the perfect name. Uh oh.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): What is it?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Genevieve.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): That’d be interesting. Of course, you’d have to buy towels marked hers and hers.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Why do you have that idiotic smile on your face?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I was just thinking of a perfect 16 I used to know.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Now go on. You feel free to say yes to everything today, no matter what it is.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Oh, boy, will I.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): You’re going to go down there on your knees.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Oh, won’t we get there faster if we take a cab?
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): I’m Scorpio.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): I’m Taurus.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I’m cooked.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): Oh, you study numerology?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Of course. I’m a 1.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): I’m a 3.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I’m a 5.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): We’re all odd, aren’t we?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Well, you never can tell. Before the evening is over we may see a spook.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Don’t tell me you invited your mother.
[Introducing Ethel as the medium]
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Introducing Raya, the medium. Well done, medium Raya.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Fred, is something wrong?
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): It’s my head.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh, aren’t we going to have fun at this seance?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): I guess so.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): You look seriously ill to me, Fred.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh, if it’s his head, he’s all right there’s nothing there to hurt.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Mr. Merriwether, I’d like to present Madame Mertzola. She’s going to be our medium tonight. She’s psychopathic.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Ethel to Tillie, Ethel to Tillie, come in, over.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): Tilly, that sneeze. Are you sick?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Sick? I’m dead.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Ow! I mean ow.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello) : What’s the matter?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): I burned myself. It’s very hot here.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello) : Oh that’s where you are!
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): Is that you, dear?
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Yes, darling.
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): Darling? That doesn’t sound like Adelaide.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Shut up, you worm!
Mr. Merriwether (Jay Novello): That’s Adelaide.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): My trance is wearing off. You better hang up now.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Ethel, you underestimate your transmitter!
Trivia about The Seance – I Love Lucy season 1, episode 07, originally aired 11/26/1951
- Like her screen counterpart, Lucille Ball was superstitious.
- Jay Novello’s first appearance on I Love Lucy