A Problem With "I Love Lucy"

Okay, so how pointless is it for anybody to criticize "I Love Lucy".
It has been easily the most successful sitcom of all time.
And justifiably so.
It's certainly the only sitcom that has transcended the black-and white era.
Kids of all eras including this one know about it and watch it.
Even though it is in black-and-white.
There is no other sitcom that this can be said about.
Perhaps what I'm going to bring up will seem niggling.
But it bugs me every time they do it.

1- When Ricky is on his way home from rehearsals at the club, he'll stop off at the candy store right downstairs to let Lucy know that he's practically home.
This is done to put pressure on Lucy, who is always up to something at these moments.
And this adds to the pressure.
I mean, he's practically home.
Why would he do this?
Purely to accelerate the plot.
Sorry, this not nearly a good enough reason.
I always found this to be unacceptable.

2- Whenever Lucy wanted a new dress or a new hat, or a new whatever, Ricky's continuing mantra was always "We can' afford it!" 
This translates to "We can't afford it!"
According to Ricky, they could never afford anything.
They lived in a rent-controlled apartment in Mid Town Manhattan.
And Ricky worked as a big-time bandleader at the "Tropicana Clupp".
Later known as the "Clupp Babaloo".
It was always very successful.
He must have been paid pretty well.
So how come they could never afford anything?
He must have been making a pretty good living.
So where did the money go?
I have a theory:
The money went for hookers.
And maybe Lucy suspected it and simply didn't want to confront him about it.
Much like their actual marriage.
Although in life they never had trouble affording anything.

Other than these two things, I found the show adorable.

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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
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