Ep 18. Breaking the Lease

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz star in the classic sitcom I Love Lucy, which premiered in 1951. In season 1 episode 18, titled "Breaking the Lease," Lucy and Ricky come up with a plan to get out of their lousy apartment lease and move into a better home.

The episode begins with Lucy complaining to Ethel about all the problems with their apartment: leaky faucets, noisy neighbors, and a bathtub that doesn't drain properly. After Ricky comes home and hears Lucy's complaints, he suggests they move into a new, bigger apartment that he found for them.

There's just one problem: they're in the middle of a one-year lease on their current apartment. But Lucy isn't one to let a little thing like a lease agreement stand in the way of her dreams, so she and Ricky hatch a plan to break the lease.

Lucy's first attempt to break the lease involves staging a burglary. She hires a friend to break in and steal all their furniture, hoping that the landlord will be sympathetic and let them out of the lease. However, the plan backfires when the landlord assumes that Ricky and Lucy are lying about the burglary and threatens to sue them for breach of contract.

Undaunted, Lucy and Ricky come up with a second plan: to make the apartment uninhabitable so that the landlord will have to let them leave. They start by piling up all their furniture in the middle of the living room and covering it with a tarp. Then they bring in a bunch of chickens and let them loose in the apartment, hoping that the noise and smell will drive the landlord crazy.

The plan seems to be working at first, as the landlord does come to investigate the noise and smell. However, things quickly spiral out of control when the chickens start laying eggs all over the apartment and Ricky accidentally punches a hole in the wall while trying to catch one of them.

In the end, the landlord agrees to let Ricky and Lucy out of the lease if they can find someone else to take it over. Lucy and Ethel come up with a solution by placing an ad in the newspaper and pretending to be prospective tenants. When a couple comes to view the apartment, Lucy and Ethel put on a fake fight to make the place seem like a terrible place to live. The couple is so scared off that they agree to pay Lucy and Ricky $200 just to take over the lease.

With the lease problem solved, Lucy and Ricky move into their new apartment, which is much nicer than their old one. The episode ends with Ricky playing his conga drums and Lucy dancing along, happy to be in their new home.

"Breaking the Lease" is a classic episode of I Love Lucy, showcasing the zany humor and clever scheming that made the show such a beloved sitcom. Lucy's determination to get what she wants, no matter the cost, is both admirable and hilarious, and her chemistry with Desi Arnaz is as charming as ever. Fans of the show will love this episode, which is sure to make them laugh out loud.