Lucy Is Enceinte

"I Love Lucy" episode
"Lucy Is Enceinte"
	Season 2, Episode #10 ; #45 in Series
Series:	I Love Lucy
Network:	CBS-TV
Air date:	December 8, 1952
Written by:	Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh & Jess Oppenheimer
Guest stars:	Bess Flowers; William Hamel; Richard Reeves
Directed by:	William Asher
Production code:	2x10 / 045
	Episode guide
IMDB	Lucy Is Enceinte
Episode chronology
"Ricky Loses His Voice"	"Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable"

Lucy Is Enceinte was the 45th overall episode of I Love Lucy, and the 10th episode of Season 2, which first aired on CBS-TV on November 24, 1952; Co-written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr. and Jess Oppenheimer, it was directed by William Asher.

"Lucy Is Enceinte"
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Synopsis[]

When Lucy learns that she's going to have a baby, she tries to find the right way to tell this to Ricky. Lucy feels strange, and tells Ethel. She responds by suggesting Lucy might be pregnant! Lucy laughs...but comes back from a doctor's visit and reveals that Ethel was right. Lucy tries to prepare the "perfect" moment to tell Ricky, but his business at the club keeps him away. Eventually, Lucy anonymously requests that Ricky perform his song "We're Having A Baby" at the club. Ricky gets quite a surprise when he finds out who requested the song!

Plot[]

Lucy is off to the doctor for a check-up. She tells Ethel that she's been feeling "dawncey" lately, a word her grandmother invented for "when you aren't sick but just feel lousy." When Lucy tells Ethel that she's been fatigued, unenergetic, and been mysteriously gaining weight, Ethel suspects that Lucy may be pregnant. Lucy can't believe Ethel would even suggest something so outrageous after Lucy has remained childless for all 11 years of her marriage. But when Lucy returns from the doctor, she is dreamy and floating on cloud 9. She happily tells Ethel that she is indeed having a baby, and that Ethel and Fred will be the baby's godparents.

Ethel runs off to tell Fred the good news. Lucy stops her and says not to tell Fred until Ricky hears the news. Ethel can't believe that Lucy hasn't told Ricky yet, but Lucy says that she's dreamt all her life about the very special way she would tell her husband they were going to have a baby. She wants to sit on Ricky's lap, put her arms around his neck, and say that all their blessings have been granted.

When Ricky comes home for lunch, Lucy tries over and over again to tell him the news. But she is continually interrupted by Ricky's eating, the telephone ringing, and Fred and Ethel coming over to see if Ricky had found out yet. Ricky thinks Lucy's acting very strangely and is cuddling up to him on his lap because she spent too much money or done something wrong.

Ricky goes to the club for rehearsal. Lucy travels all the way downtown to tell Ricky there. But Ricky tells the orchestra that he wants complete and utter silence- his wife has something important to say. Lucy gets all flustered and embarrassed, not wanting to reveal something so personal in front of a bunch of men she doesn't know. She pretends she came to the club to ask for the time, and she runs off all upset.

That night, Lucy goes to the Tropicana and slips the maitre'd a note. Ricky is given the note, which says how a woman in the audience hasn't yet told her husband that they're going to have a "blessed event." The woman knows Ricky has sung the number "We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me" before, and she hopes singing the song will help her break the news to her husband. Ricky goes around asking the women at every table if she's the one who is pregnant and wrote the note. When he gets to Lucy, he motions to her as part of the routine, and she nods her head "yes." When Ricky realizes that he is the expectant father, he excitedly runs over to Lucy, in total shock. The episode ends with the couple hugging and kissing after Ricky finishes singing to Lucy.

Did You Know?[]

Trivia[]

The title of the episode uses the French word for "pregnant," Ball's way to get around the network censor restriction at the time which barred the word "pregnant" from being spoken or referred to directly.
Lucy and Ricky are crying as the episode comes to a close; the tears shed by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were real.
Lucy was five months pregnant at the time this episode was filmed.
Desi Arnaz accidentally flubbed the "Rock-a-bye Baby" song when Lucy confirmed being pregnant. They were originally going to do another take, but because Desi and Lucy's reactions were so natural they decided to leave it alone.
CBS broadcast standards at the time refused to allow the word "pregnant" to be uttered by any of the characters, so they said that Lucy was "expecting" instead. While this episode title uses "enceinte", the French word for "pregnant", the following episode (#2.11) uses the forbidden word in its title.

Scene exceprt[]

Quotes

Lucy: [Sets food in living room; Rick enters] Oh, hi Ricky. Eh... I thought you'd never get here...
Ricky: [Check watch] Whaddya talkin' about? I'm ten minutes early.
Lucy: [Stares off dreamily] Oh... Uh h-hows everything darling.
Ricky: [Sifts through mail] Everything's terrible.
Lucy: [Smiles, unknowing what Ricky said] Oh, good.
Ricky: [pause] Good? I said everything was terrible.
Lucy: [Looks at Ricky] Huh? Oh, terrible?
Ricky: Yeah, terrible.

[Puts mail down]

Ricky: I don't think I'll put on another night club show as long as I live...

[Paces about the room]

Ricky: The lights are all wrong, the costumes are all wrong, *nobody* knows their number!

[Shakes his head]

Ricky: Nothing good happened today...
Lucy: Oh, it will, dear. Why don't you sit down.

[She seats Ricky on the couch]

Lucy: See? I made lunch in here, it's more... cozey and comfortable.
Ricky: [Smiles and reaches for platter] Oh, gee honey; that looks wonderful

Cast (in Credits Order)[]

Main Cast[]

Guest starring[]

Bess Flowers ... as Woman at table
William Hamel ...as Maitre d'
Richard Reeves ... as Lighting man at club