The Love Boat (1977)

Watchseries; I admit it, I loved the '70s. It was such a fun decade. The Love Boat is a time capsule of the late '70s. Not just the guest stars and the fashions, but the basic mood of the era.

It's very easy and even very trendy to put down this lightweight show from ultraprolific producer Aaron Spelling, the same way people denigrate disco music. But once put into context, it really wasn't all that bad. The period, after all, was the late '70s -- only three years after The Brady Bunch had left the air. TV's fabled last gasp of innocence had yet to be breathed. TV shows could still be expected to be fun and frivolous, like the Me Decade this was a part of.

Spelling was at the peak of his TV power, having already scored hits with The Mod Squad, The Rookies, Starsky & Hutch and Charlie's Angels, among other shows. His shows alone were taking up more than a quarter of ABC's prime time hours by the turn of the decade and it was said that he had produced more hours of television than anyone else. For several years, Love Boat was teamed with Spelling stable mate Fantasy Island, forming a two-hour escapist block on Saturday nights when viewers could escape on a tropical cruise then to a lush tropical island.

With The Love Boat, viewers could experience some of the better aspects of a cruise, without the drawbacks. Every day was sun-drenched and every night clear and crisp, sunsets were always brilliant, it never rained and we could all be home within a single hour. And heck, it didn't cost a cent! The Aloha, Lido, Fiesta and Riviera decks (or at least their names) become ingrained in memory through sheer repetition. Not to mention the ship's lobby where all the guest stars made their grand entrances. (The lobby of the real Pacific Princess, by the way, looked nearly the same but was in the center of the ship and had no such entrance doors.) And, of course, the Crystal Pool, which made an appearance in every episode, except when the crew took to other ships for cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska and even Australia. And what a crew it was. From fatherly Gavin MacLeod to pert and perky Cindy "Lauren" Tewes and everyone in between, there was a nice family vibe to the original cast, even if some fans felt it was disrupted by the addition of Jill Whelan. Just don't mention the subsequent cast additions and changes, by which time the show had overstayed its welcome.

The stories were simple and, for the most part, uplifting. Still, they were repetitive. But how many different plot variations can one expect about love? And then there was the oh-so-'70s theme song. Charles Fox wrote the music, having already made his TV mark in several hit sitcoms including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Love, American Style. Pity poor Paul Williams, who, despite other successes, once reportedly said even if he found the cure for cancer, he'd still be remembered only for penning the lyrics to this insidious ditty. As sung by Jack Jones, it was frothier than ocean whitecaps and a perfect match for the show. Both Williams and Jones, by the way, actually guest-starred on the show.

There's a story that Peter Graves was once asked about his appearance on The Love Boat. Graves jokingly demurred that everyone in Hollywood at the time guest-starred on the show. That's not far from the truth. The show featured a never ending parade of television stars, stars to be, stars that once were and would-be stars. Singers, dancers and once, the then-popular Dallas Cowboys Chee

I admit it, I loved the '70s. It was such a fun decade. The Love Boat is a time capsule of the late '70s. Not just the guest stars and the fashions, but the basic mood of the era.

It's very easy and even very trendy to put down this lightweight show from ultraprolific producer Aaron Spelling, the same way people denigrate disco music. But once put into context, it really wasn't all that bad. The period, after all, was the late '70s -- only three years after The Brady Bunch had left the air. TV's fabled last gasp of innocence had yet to be breathed. TV shows could still be expected to be fun and frivolous, like the Me Decade this was a part of.

Spelling was at the peak of his TV power, having already scored hits with The Mod Squad, The Rookies, Starsky & Hutch and Charlie's Angels, among other shows. His shows alone were taking up more than a quarter of ABC's prime time hours by the turn of the decade and it was said that he had produced more hours of television than anyone else. For several years, Love Boat was teamed with Spelling stable mate Fantasy Island, forming a two-hour escapist block on Saturday nights when viewers could escape on a tropical cruise then to a lush tropical island.

With The Love Boat, viewers could experience some of the better aspects of a cruise, without the drawbacks. Every day was sun-drenched and every night clear and crisp, sunsets were always brilliant, it never rained and we could all be home within a single hour. And heck, it didn't cost a cent! The Aloha, Lido, Fiesta and Riviera decks (or at least their names) become ingrained in memory through sheer repetition. Not to mention the ship's lobby where all the guest stars made their grand entrances. (The lobby of the real Pacific Princess, by the way, looked nearly the same but was in the center of the ship and had no such entrance doors.) And, of course, the Crystal Pool, which made an appearance in every episode, except when the crew took to other ships for cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska and even Australia. And what a crew it was. From fatherly Gavin MacLeod to pert and perky Cindy "Lauren" Tewes and everyone in between, there was a nice family vibe to the original cast, even if some fans felt it was disrupted by the addition of Jill Whelan. Just don't mention the subsequent cast additions and changes, by which time the show had overstayed its welcome.

The stories were simple and, for the most part, uplifting. Still, they were repetitive. But how many different plot variations can one expect about love? And then there was the oh-so-'70s theme song. Charles Fox wrote the music, having already made his TV mark in several hit sitcoms including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Love, American Style. Pity poor Paul Williams, who, despite other successes, once reportedly said even if he found the cure for cancer, he'd still be remembered only for penning the lyrics to this insidious ditty. As sung by Jack Jones, it was frothier than ocean whitecaps and a perfect match for the show. Both Williams and Jones, by the way, actually guest-starred on the show.

There's a story that Peter Graves was once asked about his appearance on The Love Boat. Graves jokingly demurred that everyone in Hollywood at the time guest-starred on the show. That's not far from the truth. The show featured a never ending parade of television stars, stars to be, stars that once were and would-be stars. Singers, dancers and once, the then-popular Dallas Cowboys Chee

The Love Boat watchseries. I enjoyed "The Love Boat" for the simple reason It was great to see all the Movie Stars from the Past that one never got to see anymore since Hollywood Is run by 20-year-old boys. Murder She wrote also had the same idea with guest stars And I enjoyed that show also... My favorite TV shows of all time would be The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Seinfeld,Cannon,I Love Lucy,Dark Shadows, Keeping up Appearances and Faulty Towers.... Love Boat is not in that group but it was still enjoyable to watch.

The Love Boat is corn on the high seas, but the dynamic of Captain Stubing, Dr Bricker, Julie, Isaac and Gopher represents the marvellous heart of the show which is buttressed by a cavalcade of guest stars, from the icons of old Hollywood, to future stars (Tom Hanks!), so who cares! The Love Boat is a show in which Charo can suddenly appear and run riot on the Pacific Princess, and where icons of dance such as Ginger Rogers can perform ultra-camp 'modern' routines to the delight of the various crew and cruise guests. The Love Boat, then, is a delightful return to a marvellous TV age, a series in which a dance teaching couple announce their intention at the end of one episode to open a Disco School and so secure a bright financial future at the end of the 1970s (D'oh!), where the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders routinely take the cruise and do their cheerleading thing (sans footballers), and where most of the female passengers must don a regulation bikini and parade them on every deck. Indeed, where else could one see Leslie Nielsen playing it suave, or Sonny Bono portray a 'Satanic' Alice Cooper-style rock star? The Love Boat, that's where! So, watch and see a young Mark Harmon, Billy Crystal, Teri Hatcher, Shelley Long, Janet Jackson and Jackie Earle Haley mixing with veteran luminaries such as Ray Milland, Vincent Price, Phyllis Diller, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, John Mills, Anne Baxter, Don Ameche, Cesar Romero, José Ferrer, Gene Kelly, Stewart Granger, and Debbie Reynolds (to name but a few!) to engage in all kinds of romantic hijinks. Sure, Dr Adam Bricker would be in for it these days due to his lascivious ways with female passengers, but The Love Boat still stands as a marvellous portal back to a better vanished TV time. As such, I say long may Yeoman Purser Burl 'Gopher' Smith get into zany misadventures! Long may Isaac Washington point in a cool two-handed style at the screen! Long may passengers meet, fall in, fall out, then fall back in love and get married - all in the space of two days! And long may The Love Boat sail, if only in the reruns!

When I was a wee one, like really little, I was OBSESSED with the damn Love Boat. I couldnt walk great or better yet even talk well, but damned if I didnt know what time the Love Boat was coming on tv. If you asked me then what I wanted to be growing up, it 100% without a doubt was probably "Ship Mermaid" or "Ship Director". No one in my house watched it, so My Mum & Dad could not figure out how/why I loved this damn show soo much. I would be camped out in front of the tv right on time, trying to ask for "The Ship Show." My Dad thought I was cursing, until they figured out what I was really saying. Soo for my 4th birthday, my party was at Chuck E. Cheese's. All of my friends came from my Pre-K class, and also a few of my cousins & neighborhood kids, etc. I actually made my Mom send out invitations, handwritten from Me, of course - to The Love Boat crew (c/o the tv station) Gopher, Capt. Stubing & his Daughter, Isaac, the Doc, the whole freakin' gang....Needless to say, not one of them showed up. :'-( Well, I was sooooo pissed off, I went and hid in the ball pit, all by myself & I cried my little weirdo heart out. (I don't really remember all of this story, but my Parents filled me in on alot of it. LoL)

This is a TRUE STORY (Here comes the good part) : 2 days later, I received the most humongous package in the post. I didnt know what was going on, my parents included. Turns out, THE ENTIRE LOVE BOAT CAST & CREW SENT ME A HUGE AUTOGRAPHED FRAMED PICTURE WITH OF ALL OF THEM standing on those winding steps!!!! It was huge, & soo beautiful!! Omg, it was (to this day) the best present EVER.

Let's face it, it was not the best of shows but not the worst either. It had lots of wonderful guest stars who livened up the show. When I finally took a cruise to Alaska, I was expecting a love boat scenario but that's not what I got. Love Boat is indeed fantasy with a great theme song sung by Dionne Warwick and a decent cast that included Gavin McLeod, Jill Whelan, Lauren Tewes, Fred Grady, Bernie Kopell, and Isaac (what is his real name?). Anyway the scenario was usual about a three day cruise to Mexico and back to Los Angeles with guest stars that included several of Hollywood top stars and the ones that were not on top. For a while, I think the Love Boat provided a great service of keeping the B-list guest stars working. I won't name names but we know who they were and we don't care. Love Boat is a comedy mixed with a little bit of drama. They never did anything serious or offensive. Of course, it was a Spelling show which meant that it was eye candy, sugar and sweet, and everything nice.

I just commented on "The Love Boat", but I just realized there is so much I forgot to say about it. There are so many great episodes that have touched my heart. I was reminded of this when one of my favorites came on TV Land tonight. In it, a young girl (Maureen "Marcia Brady" Mc Cormick) falls in love, and then learns she may only have monthes to live. It is exceptional, real entertaiment that has a wonderful life lesson attached to it. There is another one where the crew is critical of an apparent relationship between an older man and a younger woman that turns out to be not what they imagined at all. Also, there is an episode that features first love between a pair of teenagers (Scott Baio and Kristy Mc Nichol) that rings true. I also enjoy the episode where Vicki's T.V. idol (Alison "Nellie Oleson" Arngrim) comes on board,and turns out to be not what she appears, either.

The series is exceptional in that it was able to deal with serious, sometimes even controversial themes, and balance it out with good, old fashioned screwball and sophisticated comedy. Contrary to many people's belief that the show's quality went down as it matured, I would have to disaggree. I have enjoyed every episode of this show I have ever seen, early or late in the series. And I find Charo to be adorable and funny.

"The Love Boat" has a permanent place on my favorite shows list, and a permanent spot in my heart, as well.