“I Love Lucy” Friday: The Christmas Episode!

This is the one and only Christmas episode from the series and it was not aired in syndication. But several years ago, it emerged on video and parts of it are colorized.

The I Love Lucy Christmas Show, originally aired on Christmas Eve in 1956, and it’s actually a themed clip show.

As Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethyl get things ready for Little Ricky’s Christmas, they share memories (and clips) about the events that led up to his birth, from the classic episode where Lucy told Ricky she was pregnant (not that they could use the word “pregnant” on TV in 1956) to the episode where he’s born.

The framing sequence is where all the Christmas content is, and it’s really good, with Fred struggling with the Christmas tree and Lucy struggling to defend her singing ability… then we get a surprise guest-star at the end.

Here is the episode – colorized – in its entirety: