Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer

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Plot

When Lucy finds a piece of dancer Rosemary's ripped costume inside of Ricky's jacket, she immediately thinks he's been fooling around. Lucy sneaks into the act to get a closer look at what's going on between the orchestra leader and his dancer.

Trivia

• This is one of the earliest instances of Ricky saying "'splain'" for "explain." But contrary to popular belief, the often-quoted phrase of "Lucy, you've got some 'splainin' to do!" was never said once in the show's history. While Ricky has told Lucy to "'splain'" many times, and Lucy said that she had "some explaining to do to Ricky" in "The Quiz Show," the exact words of the popular quote never were uttered by Desi Arnaz.
• The writers had to be careful when creating lines that made fun of Ricky/Desi's English, because Desi was very sensitive about his accent in real life.
• In this episode, arroz con pollo was said to be Ricky's favorite meal. (It also was Desi's favorite meal.) Later in the series, Ricky will also say that roast pig is his favorite dish.
• The original kiss Lucy and Ricky share at the end of the episode was considered too long and "steamy" to be broadcast more than once. So, the syndication version edits it down considerably. The DVD restores the original long kiss.
• This episode was rerun in season 2. Its new "flashback" intro had Ethel and Fred questioning Ricky on a publicity-stirring article in the paper that made it sound like every musician in town could be having an affair. Ricky says that Lucy's not the jealous type, and this leads in to the flashback. Fred hilariously says that, whenever Ricky merely looks at another girl, Lucy "turns as green as a $2 watch."
• Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, author of The Lucy Book, notes that, on the original script, "singer" in the title was changed to "dancer." But nobody calls this episode by the changed name. Furthermore, it is never said why this title is grammatically odd. Why is Lucy "jealous of girl singer," not "jealous OF A girl singer"?!
• In this episode, Ricky performs the haunting "Jezebel," danced by the equally haunting Helen Silver (as Rosemary) and four dancing girls, before a brunette Lucy arrives onstage to bring the number to its hilarious climax. (Note, in particular, the back-scratching and offstage crash!!)
• The torn costume, it appears, is never fixed or addressed again. Did Rosemary perform that night in the original sarong with the torn bottom missing, or a replacement that we never see introduced?

Quotes

• Lucy: Ricky is trustworthy, fine, honest, and loyal.

Ethel: Well, if he were brave, clean, and thrifty, he'd be a Boy Scout.

• Ricky: I'm as faithful as an old dog.

Lucy: Yeah, Old Rover!

• Ricky: (struggling to explain costume in pocket) And that's Rosemary's black lace...

Lucy: (sarcastically) Blue jeans?