While wearing one of her most Lucille Ball-type wigs, Eve (Eve Arden) decides to have her blonde wig serviced. To have fun with Roger (Roger C. Carmel), Kaye (Kaye Ballard) asks to borrow the blonde wig. He becomes very amorous, even nibbling her ear. At first, Kaye likes the attention. "Just relax and enjoy it," advises Eve. But, inevitably, Kaye wonders if he really loves "some blonde woman" and not her. Many episodes of "The Mothers-In-Law" recall earlier shows starring Lucille Ball. For this one, an "I Love Lucy" script may have been used as the story idea. In one Lucy show, the red-haired comedienne dons a wig to see if a dark-haired woman would tempt Ricky, with similar results...
Lucy and/or Vivian Vance also wore wigs to resemble Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren. One odd thing about this episode is the fact that Eve later wears a red-haired wig to startle Herb (Herbert Rudley). He says he married a blonde, but Eve's hair color seems more red than blonde; in fact, Eve Arden often seems deliberately styled to make her look like the Lucille Ball concurrently starring in her own sitcom. When Jerry and Suzie see Eve, they ask, "Is that you?" In the half-hour's funniest line, she replies, "It ain't Lucille Ball!" She looked more like Lucy without trying, in the opening scene. With a familiar touch, Desi Arnaz directed this wig tale. It's a little too derivative, but still amuses.
****** The Wig Story (3/3/68) Desi Arnaz ~ Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard, Roger C. Carmel, Herbert Rudley
