The Love Boat

There were only three networks, and PBS, when it first came on.

Everyone thought it was stupid, and everyone watched it anyway!

It was comfort TV. That concept is gone.

It was actually nice.

Were there any other shows similar to Love Boat? Fantasy Island kind of, but I can’t think of anything like it.

Can someone explain if the doctor was supposed to be seen as sexy? Every time he shows interest in a lady I feel a sense of dread.

[quote] Were there any other shows similar to Love Boat? Fantasy Island kind of, but I can’t think of anything like it.

“Hotel.” But it was several years later and felt much more. The distinction between the 70s and 80s was huge despite it being only a few years.

I was laid off from my lucrative job in November 2021 and I spent an entire 3 months during the holidays at home watching this on repeat. It helped me.

It was what helped me to feel held and comforted and to go to sleep each night.

It makes no sense to me at this point, but it definitely was my main source of comfort at that time. I guess the familiarity/predictability/disco outfits.

Aaron Spelling knew what America wanted to watch.

Agents and execs loved the conveyor belt of guest stars. Everyone from ageing contract players to up-and-comers to Andy Warhol used that show for a buck and some screen time.

R7 This is why I’d rather just binge older shows that I know I love already, rather than investing hours into some mediocre new show.

[Quote] Aaron Spelling knew what America wanted to watch.

And yet he still cast Tori in 90210.

The special, two-hour special episode with Carol Channing, Della Reese, Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, Van Johnson, and Cab Calloway almost broke camp forever.

ABC has tried to sell its new series "Doctor Odyssey" as a contemporary "Love Boat."

I don't see it.

The Actors Studio went black the night Sandy Dennis appeared on the show.

It was successful because it was better than Love American Style.

All those ABC stars whacked out on cocaine.

I’ve tried to watch a few episodes recently on Pluto TV. Godawful — cardboard sets, bizarrely layered background and foreground actors, weird music cues, and makeup did not do those old-timer guest stars ant favors. But, like Murder, She Wrote it was a venue for older audiences to see past favorites and for the network to spotlight their less than charismatic contractees. I was in my 20s during its initial run and I used to wonder who the hell sat home on a Saturday night watching TV.

Mindless entertainment, dear. Something we desperately need more of.

Spelling hit on the "day for scale" model of getting a lot of guest stars with "Burke's Law". Mostly semi-washed-up people occasionally paying against type.

I loved the E! True Hollywood Story they did on the Love Boat years ago.

Gopher got severely burned in Brazil. They were riding around in a car and Julie was freebasing in the backseat and it ignited a balloon that was filled with hydrogen instead of helium.

Comfort food for the lonely hearts who didn't have a date or any socialization on a Saturday night. ABC knew what it was doing and where to schedule it on the primetime schedule (Saturdays, 9 pm). And the cruise industry certainly benefited from it.

I remember reading an article saying that the 'cruise ship industry' practically quadrupled in business when this show was on the air - all these single men and women booking a cruise for their vacations. (Hence the exploding popularity in the 80s and beyond). TLB was reaching a target audience the cruise industry couldn't reach via advertisements before.

My grandmother and I would watch it on Saturday nights when I was just a young gayling.

She liked that people dressed up every night. Even the people who were supposed to be average, middle class people had three Nolan Miller gowns and tuxedos to wear to dinner.

Three stories. One low-impact serious, one light comedy and one throw away interstitial nonsense story to bind it all together. I think the third kind gets cut down a lot for the Pluto versions.

It was essentially an "Introduction to Camp" class for my younger self. I'll always have a fondness for it.

R3 They’re still making comfort TV in Merry Old England

Midsomer Murders

Grantchester

Father Brown

That’s just the first 3 that came to mind

How are you doing now R7? Well I hope

This thread calls to mind one of my favorite DL exchanges, from the thread about bizarre deaths.

"R24: Albert Dekker. On May 5, 1968, Dekker was found dead in his Hollywood home by his fiancée, fashion model and future Love Boat creator Jeraldine Saunders. He was naked, kneeling in the bathtub, with a noose tightly wrapped around his neck and looped around the shower curtain rod. He was blindfolded, his wrists were handcuffed, there was a ball gag in his mouth, and two hypodermic needles were inserted in one arm. His body was covered in explicit words and drawings in red lipstick. Money and camera equipment were missing, but there was no sign of forced entry.

R25: I can see how an experience like that would be so horrific that it would cause you to create The Love Boat."

The bartender looked like one of the Village People.

Aaron Spelling doesn't get enough credit for delivering content to American audiences that they wanted. Were his programs the most intellectual? Nope. But the reason they worked it because he showed fantasy, hope, something to take people's minds off their daily mundane routines. He was the king of producing pop culture television. And, to date, he was one of the most prolific television producers of all time. Love Boat is a prime example.

intershtishial nonshenshe

I was too young to watch it first run. What you said, OP, people liked all the guest spots. It's a comfort thing. A simple idea of an exciting transformational vacation. It was corny but not hard to follow. Predictable, clear start/finish and it all happens in one place. Maybe it was glamorous enough...a lot fewer people had passports.

I kind of liked it as a little kid because it just seemed silly. I've been watching it some recently on Pluto too, and yes it's really bad -- it's fun to watch in small doses but after an episode or so, it really starts to grate.

That said, I watched one recently with Parker Stevenson and Kirstie Alley as a young couple. In one scene Parker was wearing a cashmere sweater/short shorts combo, and his legs looked fucking great.

The world moved slower. Love the slower pace of early 80s TV. I'd watch it again to trip out on the clothes and sets and questionable acting and dumb situations.

Andy Warhol was on LB - never saw it, but in his diaries he wrote about being a love interest for Marion Ross????

Is Dr. Odyssey the new Love Boat?

This thread brings back memories of an era. In Houston, in the 80s, a shyster named Michael Pollack shilled Colonial House apartments for swinging singles. I believe it was nicknamed VD House.

The Love Boat and this are such perfect time capsules of specific eras.

Captain Stubing had too much to drink on that last voyage...

Bernie Coppell as some hot on the prowl doc was hilarious miscasting.

R5, I think Doc was supposed to be seen as sexy but I could never understand why. To me he'll always be Don Hollinger's generic coworker.

Marion Ross was playing a former Factory superstar turned respectable actress, if I remember correctly, r32.

At its height, "The Love Boat" dominated the Saturday 9pm primetime slot, beating "CBS Saturday Movie" and NBC's "B. J. and The Bear" in the ratings. It was a silly show, but it was mindless lite faire and we didn't have a lot of tv viewing options back then. And the producers were smart. Not only did they hire old-time stars of yore that the grandparents would know, they also brought in popular child/teen stars and idols of the day to draw in young audiences.

R29 - In the 1970's/1980's, approximately 5% of the US population had a passport.

By the way, in that time period, Pacific Princess cabin prices makes SIlversea/Regent/Seabourn look cheap.

1979 135 sq ft inside cabin for a week in 2024 dollars was was $13,000.

Of course, you can't tell the difference between Princess and Carnival today.

R40 the Pacific Princess would look like a river cruise boat compared to the mammoth size of today’s ships.

I was swell in it!

First, last and always it was all about Lauren Tewes and the blow...

R41, Yes, and the garbage trucks that go down my street are really big too, but at the end of the day, they're still garbage trucks.

It's a fun show to watch for all the disco era fashions. It was also a place to see some of the Old Hollywood dinosaurs in some of their last acting roles.

It was successful, OP, because it was exciting...and new.

The Love Boat episode guest starring Helen Lawson is still under lock and key and has never been re-broadcast after its initial showing. I've heard that you can find it on the Dark Web if you dare to venture into that kind of thing.

I watched it when it aired, r47, and definitely caught the infamous beaver flash.

What beaver flash R48?

Bless your heart, r49.

This was before anyone had been on a cruise, it was expensive and exotic. A neighbor of ours took the QE2 to England and a half a dozen neighbors, including me, went to see them off. We had guest passes to tour the ship before it departed. Imagine such a thing now.

I remember that as a kid too R51. To me, as a kid, it seemed so glamorous. A movie theater, a bowling alley!!!! On a ship!!!!

Sorry R50. I'm missing some context.

Was John Ritter in drag in one of the eps? I seem to remember him changing into women's clothing in a broom closet.

I wish Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn had guest starred on The Love Boat as a pair of old spinster sisters who were looking for one last chance at love.

[quote]r53 = Sorry [R50]. I'm missing some context.

Did you read r47?

It promised something for everyone and set a course for a new romance. It demonstrated that love won’t hurt anymore.

Can't see R47. **shrug**

Anyway, why so cranky R56?

“The Love Boat” and “Murder, She Wrote”, were the swan songs of many stars.

r24 I am better, thank you. I found a job (or they found me) in July 2023 with a nonprofit. While the pay isn't huge (only 69,300/yr), the work is rewarding because i'm not making anyone else rich and I'm helping the planet. Other aspects of life aren't great, but (shrug) I have come to expect through my 55 years of life that there will always be at least one major area of my life that will always be sad/drama-filled/lacking.

Incidentally, I went on my first (and so far only) cruise in June following my holiday season of despair/Love Boat. It was planned before my Love Boat holiday season. Perhaps my 24/7 viewing of Love Boat was my way of grasping the only hope and happiness I had to look forward to at that time.

I loved many of the gowns they wore to dinner and the Lido deck!

[quote]Were there any other shows similar to Love Boat? Fantasy Island kind of, but I can’t think of anything like it.

Spelling tried another one in 1981, but it only lasted 8 episodes. "Aloha Paradise" starring Debbie Reynolds as the manager of a Hawaiian resort. Steve Lawrence sang the theme song.

My question is how many of the people that were aboard could afford the double occupancy rate when they were cruising alone?

Or is that a more recent thing? I want to go on a cruise again at the end of the year, but I am single and really can't afford the double occupancy. Also, I really don't want to find a stranger to share my cabin.

[quote]Anyway, why so cranky [R56]?

I'm not cranky, r59. What comes across as cranky?

P.S. It was scheduled on Wednesday night against Diff'rent Strokes & The Facts of Life, which crushed it in the ratings.

I was a young kid when it was popular, I was easily impressed and thought Love Boat and Fantasy Island were big stuff. Now I would see the plotlines coming from a mile away.

My friends in college loved that show—a great mystery to me.

Mrs. Kate Lawrence of Holland Street, Pasadena did not approve of these type of low brow shows.

[quote] He was naked, kneeling in the bathtub, with a noose tightly wrapped around his neck and looped around the shower curtain rod. He was blindfolded, his wrists were handcuffed, there was a ball gag in his mouth, and two hypodermic needles were inserted in one arm. His body was covered in explicit words and drawings in red lipstick. Money and camera equipment were missing, but there was no sign of forced entry

No sign of forced entry might just mean he pre-lubed.

[quote] I’ve tried to watch a few episodes recently on Pluto TV. Godawful — cardboard sets, bizarrely layered background and foreground actors, weird music cues, and makeup did not do those old-timer guest stars ant favors.

A near-50-year-old program filmed in 480i and designed to be watched primarily on a 20-inch console TV is not going to look good on a contemporary 65” 4K HDR display. Especially not even remastered like on Pluto TV. 📺

But that’s actually part of the hazy charm.

That and “The Price is Right” channel make Pluto TV a must-have app.

During the pandemic I rewatched some TLB. I'd randomly pick an episode. It was exciting and new to watch the opening credits to see what forgotten 70s/80s stars would guest.

That was the most fun part, many episodes are a slog. One or two episodes at a time would hold me for a week.

Double anal won’t hurt anymore

Don't forget Finder of Lost Loves as an Aaron Spelling try at a multi-story guest star heavy weekly series.

Yes, on The Love Boat there were three storylines: usually a comic one that was just crew, one that was crew interacting with a passenger, and a more serious one with two passengers.

R70 Love Boat should look just fine if it were restored, it was shot on film.

The main cast, escapism, and the fabulous guest stars, who were all fully libated by the time they'd be filming. They were having fun being campy, and it makes you feel like you were included.

Reelz did a mini-doc about this show. Isaac completely changed the face of bartending with his facial hair. It wasn't acceptable to have facial hair if serving food/drinks. He was actually chided by a proper British bartender when the show took them abroad, within a year it was practically an industry standard to have that mustache.

Why wasn't Charo ever given a romantic role? She was always some dizzy comic relief but was never set up as the love interest.

It was so exciting and new that that damned armistad maupin had to have a big story line about it in his books

Andy Warhol was on LB - never saw it, but in his diaries he wrote about being a love interest for Marion Ross????

Truman was watching that episode on Feud: Capote vs the Swans.

Spelling hit on the "day for scale" model of getting a lot of guest stars with "Burke's Law".

Burke's Law had a couple of guest stars, some only appearing in one scene. The top-billed guest had a plot arc.

This seems like as good as time as any to repost this:

R75 Charo was almost unapproachable. Her nervous wound up tighter than a drum energy plus her thick bullshit accent made her a poor choice for anyone

Two words - Pat Klaus

R75 Nobody could understand a fucking word she said. It wasn’t even a recognizable language most of the time

Sometimes the boat actually went somewhere and wasn't just a studio set. There was a two-parter with Alexis Smith which gave her a tour of Europe.

Isaac's finger guns defined Love Boat cheeze.

Noted narcissist, Oscar and Emmy winner and deserved DL target Jamie Lee Curtis appears along with her mother and Mr. Drummond playing her dad in a special two-part “Love Boat,” decades before she lost her mind and became insufferable.

I was in 4th grade when it came out, so old enough to stay up past 9 pm and too young to have a social life on Saturday nights. Sometimes my mom would watch with me, but mostly my parents spent Saturday nights reading in the living room after dinner if they were home. I don't believe my dad would have ever been able to watch a complete episode of such schlock but my sister and I loved it. We'd make popcorn with the West Bend electric pop corn maker with oil and drench it with butter and salt.

I've posted this before but I was 12 or 13 and my brothers cool friends were at the house while I was making popcorn before the show started. I told them, in the absolutely gayest way possible, that I've never missed an episode of The Love Boat. One of them said "Yeah, that's not something you want to be bragging about."

Similar to what someone stated above, watching TLB followed by Fantasy Island was a defining part of my formative gayling years. I feel the campiness of both shows really struck a nerve with me.

R87 it ignited your gay flame

r52, Exactly! A bowling alley! I was about 11 and I ran around every part of the ship until I was completely lost, the horn blew and I had a panic/fantasy that I would get stuck on the ship. I specifically remember wishing I had been better dressed and had a haircut. Thanks OP for making me remember this.

Amanda Lear's Disco Version of the "Love Boat" Theme...

R90. Worst lipsynching I've ever seen...

Didn't Carol Channing play a love interest for Captain Stubing at some point. Captain Stubing always read as gay, so Carol Channing seemed about right in terms of partners for him.

The Helen Lawson episode almost got Aaron Spelling kicked out of the Producers Guild.

Today's line-up

James Coco

David Doyle

Richard Hatch

Ruta Lee

James MacArthur

Cristina Raines

R83: Lisa Whelchel scored guest-appearances on TWO of the international cruises -- Germany & Greece -- and was paired romantically with Jack Coleman & Parker Stevenson, respectively. Not bad for your "summer job".

I can't recall who it was, now....but several years ago I saw an interview with an actor who appeared in a couple episodes. The first time he (or she?) was booked, they were super-excited: "Yay, free cruise to Mexico!" And then was informed by their agent, no, you'll be shooting at Warner Brothers in Burbank. Womp-Womp.

[quote]Captain Stubing always read as gay

Really?

[quote]The main cast, escapism, and the fabulous guest stars, who were all fully libated by the time they'd be filming.

I read Alison "Nellie Oleson" Arngrim's memoir (it's hilarious) and she talked about how boozy 70s the sets of tv shows were. On Little House On the Prairie the actors and crew drank all day and when the booze on the set was running low, it was an emergency. The production assistants were immediately dispatched to a liquor store to replenish the supply and bring it back to the set.

Sorry, that should've been "how boozy the sets of 70s tv shows were."

I cruised with the original cast.

Jealous, bitches?

[quote]Comfort food for the lonely hearts who didn't have a date or any socialization on a Saturday night.

Thelma Harper on Mama's Family, referring to Iola: "Lord, I haven't seen her this mad since they canceled The Love Boat."

So who was the musician bf who got Lauren turned onto drugs?

R101. Rudy Vallee

r99 - "They're warm and friendly...just like normal people."

R79 that left off Donna Mills, who was in an ep with David Birney, and they were a daytime super couple of the late 60's as Laura and Mark Elliott on Love Is A Many Splendored Thing.

My favourite episode was the one where the ship was chartered out for the “seminal” Atlantis Gay Cruise!

R104: To be fair, the creator of the video at R79 did say "Almost"...but it does seem like an egregious oversight given that both of them appeared in multiple episodes. Here's one from a different YouTuber that should be more to your liking.

R77 Warhol had an entourage in the episode, and one was clearly a very well made up , very thin man in drag.

Halston was in an episode too.

I'll never forget the episode Princess Margaret guest-starred in as herself. The Queen did a brief but significant cameo at the very end of the episode, welcoming the ship into Plymouth harbor.

Yes Love American Style was a hoot, my mom told us not to watch it, you're an old fucker if you remember it.

The Love Boat was a tv show for washed up actresses in the 1970's and 1980's just like LIfetime television was a channel for washed actresses in the 1990's and beyond.

It's odd because he's so forgettable but my god. I hate Gavin MacLeod with the intensity of a 1,000 suns about to go nova.

R54, Yes. John Ritter's character dresses as a woman to chase after the woman he loves, who is on board with her new beau. He ends up falling for his cabin mate, played by Tovah Feldshuh. Hijinks ensue when the ravishing La Ritter captures Captain Stubing's eye.

who were those ugly comedians that were so mean to Melisa Sue Anderson? They were like everywhere for five minutes.

[quote] who were those ugly comedians that were so mean to Melisa Sue Anderson? They were like everywhere for five minutes.

Their names were Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert.

And yes, they were quite ugly as well as mean.

no, no, no......these ugly bitches

I happen to know that Carol Channing woman was actually colored.

R114, Rhonda Bates, Lila Kent

R116, I am pretty sure the tall one was a semi-regular on CPO Sharkey. She dated Sharkey's dim witted (and very tall) assistant.

Yeah Rhonda.....they tried to make that dog a star.

R40 has a point. The idea of taking a cruise in the 70's was considered luxurious - and it was expensive. Just like air travel. Most people had never been on a cruise - they didn't have the cheap cruise lines back then.

Second - it drew in a lot of 35-70 crowd as it was on Saturday night and there were new guest stars from years ago that would make an appearance.

I remember my mom always commenting on a certain guest - Cyd Charisse! or Robert Montgomery! - older stars that were no longer seen much. People wanted to see them.

And they did dress up in nice gowns and tuxedos - although people dressed up more back then - there was also a glamour element to it. Evening gown on a cruise - that seemed beyond reach for most people.

R120. They did it with Arlene Golonka.

My parents loved this show when I was a kid. I wasn't old enough to escape the house at the time. Fucking horrible. Loved Fantasy Island though. Can't remember the third program that rounded out the night. Bod though this show was just awful.

Dionne Warwick sang the theme song in it's final season (1985-86). The song was to be released as a single, but Arista scrapped that idea when it was left off her second studio album in 1985, 'Friends'.

This was after she sang the theme song for Spelling's other 'fantasy' show "Finder of Lost Loves" which ran for 23 episodes in 1984-85. She sang 'FoLL' with Luther Vandross on the TV series, then recorded it with Glenn Jones to be released as a single in January, 1985 off her album of the same name. The single was a moderate success on the AC chart, but the album flopped on the Hot 200 Albums (peaking at #106).

Someone I used to know from my health club had this show as his first job out of college. His responsibilities changed as the years went by, he was with Spelling for at least the entire term of the series.

He comes from old & very big money so I would imagine it was a slightly clumsy situation, being an assistant nobody at first and yet having more money (at least his family did) than practically anyone else in Hollywood at the time.

I can't remember his name, does any of this ring any bells?

When he was on I wish they had Milton Berle wear a speedo.

Like putting a rubber band on a cucumber.

R125 Yes - you're thinking of JFK, Jr.

It was lightweight and humorous. My mother used to watch it all the time.

One time my younger sister came into the living room and began actually shouting at my mother for watching the love boat, how moronic the show was, etc. While I didn’t disagree with my sister’s critique of the tv program, I came to my mother’s defense and told my sister to stop hectoring our mom. If she wanted to pass the time with a lightweight entertainment, it was her right.

My mother was a working claaa woman who had had a hard life. I didn’t begrudge her wanting to watch stories of people going on a cruise and finding romance.

Whatever happened to Cyb Barnstable?

The final season had DL fave Teri Snatcher as one of the Mermaids. It was beyond cancelation time at that point.

R14

OMG!

Season 9, Episode 9 (Saturday Dec 7, 1985)

[bold]”Roommates/Heartbreakers/Out of the Blue"[/bold]

“While Vicki and Judy's friendship is put to the test when they become roommates, a professional golfer (Jeff Conaway) discovers a disheartening truth about the woman he loves. Meanwhile, a multimillionaire (Harvey Korman) promises to make everyone's dreams come true, including those of a former teacher (Sandy Dennis)

Sounds trenchant and absorbing, r132.

[quote]R30 In one scene Parker was wearing a cashmere sweater/short shorts combo, and his legs looked fucking great.

Delta Burke wrote in her memoir that the off camera crew of THE LOVE BOAT always made the guests look good. It was like, “Well, the writing won’t be anything special, but my picture will look TERRIFIC in TV Guide.”

[quote]R43 First, last and always it was all about Lauren Tewes and the blow…

This ding-a-ling (plucked from nowhere) threw away a major TV career - if she’d stayed clean she could have soared from cheesy project to cheesy project, practically to this day!

Think of the Lifetime movies alone!

It was the closest to a real cruise most viewers would ever get.

R135. But then she wouldn't have found God!

R130 Teaching classes in modeling and TV commercial acting at Pierce College in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. Co-hosts The Barnstable Brown Gala with twin sister, Tricia. It has raised over 15 million dollars for Diabetic Research and generating more funds each Kentucky Derby Eve. Kellan Lutz studied acting with Barnstable for 2 years when he first came to Los Angeles.

R138. Good for her! I'm happy she's doing well and helping the community.

Amanda Lear's bad lip-synching is the least of her problems. She can't sing.

^^ thank you. I didn’t want to pick on her as apparently she’s some international gay icon) but…

An old friend of mine had a bit part as one of Barbi Benton’s friends on the love boat… but it’s always seemed like it would be a depressing slog to find her scene, as surely B-List Benton made a few.

I think Benton plays a model traveling with a group of other models on the episode (?) (Oh god - I feel exhausted just gathering basic info on it!)

Barbi was in 6 episodes.

OMG. I can’t….

It really is background, comfort-watching tv.

I watched it today while working from home fulfilling items for accreditation and also dealing with a financial levy assessed on me from a homeless period.

I got through it, and Love Boat helped keep me even-keeled.

Julie Harris had 5 Tonys and she still did this slop.

Jebus!!

Lillian friggin' Gish

Was the show ever nominated for an Emmy? Like, a single performer?

1978 Nominee Primetime Emmy

Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series

Will Geer For playing: "Franklyn Bootherstone". For episode: "The Old Man and the Runaway/The Painters/A Fine Romance".

It bothers me that her name is pronounced “Tweeze.” No one’s would figure that out in their own.

I’d think the spelling lends itself to “Toos” - as in “Tuesday”

^^ “figure that out ON their own” : (

Not IN their own!

It’s threads like this one that make me love DL. Some good gossip, pointless bitchery, and campy history.

Ruth Gordon and Patty Duke, both Oscar winners, did Love Boat episodes and I bet they were both wonderful!

My father watched it in syndication, with a bottle of whiskey in the pocket of his robe. I was embarrassed.

Did anyone else hate Gavin Macleod's portrayal of the Captain? He was a humorless bore with a giant fat ass.

Yes!

He also seemed like a eunuch.

The Love Boat / Charlie's Angels crossover (season 4 ep 1 of CA) "Love Boat Angels". This one introduces the world to Charlie's newest Angel - Tiffany Welles from Boston Massachusetts! The Angels aboard the Pacific Princess cruising from Los Angeles to St. Thomas, the US Virgin Islands.

I hated him on the MTM show too.

Jaclyn Smith must have pissed Aaron Spelling off because her credit is name only and no face.

[quote]The only reason I can think it was a hit for so long was the chance to see old Hollywood stars again do something, and they were willing to do the show since it was so ridiculously lightweight and non-taxing.

Yes, you answered your own question. But also, there have always been lots of people drawn to silly or even stupid TV, either because (1) they are of low-level intelligence themselves, or (2) they are smart people who occasionally seek out silly entertainment that allows them to rest their brains.

I remember in the 80s and 90s, PLAYGIRL would do a short bio on their centerfolds. Often, if the model was an 'aspiring actor' they would mention that the model had made numerous 'appearances' on different TV shows, and 'The Love Boat' was always one of them. They never had a talking role - they were always 'eye candy' in the background, walking around in a swimsuit. (I remember these models always seemed to be making 'appearances' on Aaron Spelling shows back then - I wonder if his production company is what sent them over to PLAYGIRL ?).

The every guest star YouTube is a funny mix..some of the talent I have no idea. Carol Channing to Cyd Charisse to Charo is a wild trifecta. Mackenzie Philips looks high out of her mind.

yeah I remember the hot guys on Love Boat. You'd have all these prunes in muumuus then in the background these hot people. It was funny.

Some of the guests I don't know the name but I know the face!

I hated the laugh track. Like we believe they had a live audience on the boat.

I wasn't up on Matthew's Perry's backstory..wow his dad was all over the TV.

I remember when actor Ted Lange used to have 'freak-offs' on the set every week with the guest stars. Boy, you had to see all the baby oil he had delivered to the 'cruise ship'.

I'm old but I do remember Love, American Style as a kid as well as Room 222 and Julia.

I was molested on the Love Boat.

Ted Lange, who played the bartender, had the hottest ass.

Lauren Tewes popularized the haircut that Karens still wear today.

Lauren still fits into her uniform

Coke dealers must've made a fortune supplying all of these 70s tv shows.

Tha'ts hilarious R173 if you think that was her uniform on tv. That is a recreation, probably by a tent company.

Correct me if I'm wrong - but wasn't the ship doc, Bernie Koppel, portrayed as some sort of big ladies man? Which - c'mon - really?

Was he portrayed that way or, being young and not understanding, was it just a running joke that flew over my head?

Didn't seem like much of a panty dropper to me.

Ship's doctor AND the ship's Captain were both ugly as hell.

No clue why they would be objects of desire.

[quote]Correct me if I'm wrong - but wasn't the ship doc, Bernie Koppel, portrayed as some sort of big ladies man? Which - c'mon - really?

He also played a 'ladies man' on "Bewitched" when he played the apothecary on the ep 'Samantha's Secret Spell'. He played six different guest characters on the series over eight years - very funny in all of them.

R177 - I thought Gavin MacLeod was handsome with that deep tan and light blue eyes. Of course that's now in hindsight.

Ted McGinley was the default eye-candy in the early 80s for years. He really was beautiful, although thin lipped.

It's odd that McGinley isn't shirtless on the show much, R179. And they keep his hair that obivious triple-process blond throughout. It doesn't look sun-kissed, it just looks dyed.

Did MacLeod's old costars from TMTMS ever make it to 'The Love Boat' ? It would've been interesting to see Mary, Valerie, Cloris and Betty (as well as Ed and Ted) appearing on the cruise ship in different characters.

R181 - not that I remember - they all were having good careers after MTM and didn't need to slum it on TLB.

Michelle Lee made the most guest appearances on the show.

Michele Lee stole Michelle Lee's career.

R181: Cloris Leachman and Ted knight each made multiple appearances.

I would just assume that Georgia had.

It was popular in the UK, but some things fell flat. I remember watching it and being mystified by some of the guest stars who were totally unknown over here.

Joyce DeWitt played an actress with a secret retarded child who gets a tummy ache from too much ice cream.

R188 - I remember that episode - Suzanne Somers in pigtails with chocolate ice cream smears all over her mouth.

Robbed of an Emmy AGAIN!

R181, Valerie, Cloris, Betty, and Ted have all done "Love Boat." I don't think Mary and Ed ever have.

Lauen Tewes' coke dealer had his own reserved parking space on the 20th Century Fox lot.

On Lauren's ipod, on endless repeat...

Lauren Tewes HATES that that's all anyone ever talks about when it comes to her illustrious career.

R193 - tell me about it.

"Did Bonnie Franklin ever appear on The Love Boat?"

As a matter of fact, she did!

"Was she an annoying cunt on the show?"

As a matter of fact, she was!

Told ya...

There are certain constants in life R195. One is that Bonnie Franklin can always be counted on to be an annoying cunt.

R195 - wow - that was cunty with a capital F. You have to wonder if this was a Hollywood inside joke / dig at an industry big wig's wife. It HAS to be.

[quote]Correct me if I'm wrong - but wasn't the ship doc, Bernie Koppel, portrayed as some sort of big ladies man?

He was smashing pussies left and right on that fucking boat.

I remember an absolutely preposterous episode with Rich Little pretending to be a female entertainer (unconvincingly) and having to fend off a lusty Arte Johnson, while Julie falls madly in love with him outside of his drag persona, because, you know, Little is so irresistible, he attracts both sexes.

I wonder how many people have done The Love Boat and The Golden Girls?

I remember one real cruise director saying that the show was not believable because all of the cabins were seemingly large and spacious. They were smaller than they are today.

Lauren was the Joyce of the high seas.

Joyce was the Lauren of the Regal Beagle.

*

Threads like this are why I love DL.

Kathy Bates was on The Love Boat.

R151, Lauren seems rather slow in that clip, as if she's on Benzos, I wonder if this was to counteract any "manic" energy that might give the impression she was snorting the 'devil's dandruff'

Whatever floats your boat

As comment 206, I’d say The Love Boat had quite an impact one way or another.

I agree that’s it’s the perfect, cozy comfort show. It’s part of my Sunday afternoon routine; it plays while I do chores.

The boat’s dining room looks really drab and depressing @ R195

[quote]The boat’s dining room looks really drab and depressing @ [R195]

At least it isn't upside down.

You know, I don't know why I liked it so much. I was about 13 or 14 when it was on TV. I look at It now and think, what the hell did I like it so much for? But, I did enjoy it. My mom would tell me who some of the older actors were. It was like magic to watch it.

Well, Charlie’s Angels had even less going for it artistically than the Love Boat, and I adored that show when I was little- so who am I to judge r212?

The thing that was a downer about the Love Boat was you knew no matter what, barely anything was going to HAPPEN. It was a very mild show, almost like it was made for 10-year-olds. And if a crew member fell in love with someone you knew they’d never see them again because there were new guests each week.

It almost defined “low stakes.”

Exactly R213. Like it was made for 10yr Olds.

R169, Room 222 was a great show.

I forgot about Dionne singing The Love Boat theme song the last season. Her theme for Finders of Lost Loves was great. She also sang the theme song for The Bold and Beautiful for a short stretch of time in the late 1980s.

Today I did watch the episode where Gopher imagined that their ship was a WW II troopship. I was stationed overseas when it originally aired.

It was as bad as I expected it would be. Just rotten eggs bad!

[quote]R217 Today I did watch the episode where Gopher imagined that their ship was a WW II troopship.

Was he on LSD??

No r218 he was watching an old war movie with Captain and the Doctor and then awkwardly segued into this preposterous fantasy about the PACIFIC PRINCESS being a troopship. It had Charo and DL fave Stephanie Mills wearing a bad wig. Nazi spies showgirls entertaining the troops and even a torpedo which I believe was stopped by the spy who jumped into the water. Then they find out that Germany surrendered and Ms. Mills leads the cast in singing AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL. WHO DA FUK wrote this 💩?

Most of the junk on TV was dull crap back in that timeframe. The one show I can think of that somewhat compares is Love American Style, and it was a little better. TV was a vapid wasteland. Love Boat was my vision of 1 Foot in the Grave programming.

We had three channels. You had to take whatever crap they gave you.

R220 - What about Dukes of Hazard or BJ and the Bear? ChiPs? Buck Rogers in the 21st Century?

Actually - look at this list - whoobooy - it WAS a total crapfest!

Little House on the Prairie was excellent though!

Aaron Spelling was a smart man who made shows that appealed to the lowest common denominator. And it worked.

A funny story about Spelling is I guess he was in the business forever, and early on as a young executive he was at a dinner with Joan Crawford. His wife Candy was wearing a very… wispy pair of diamond earrings .

Crawford pulled Mr. Spelling aside and advised disdainfully, “Until you can buy your wife important pieces of jewelry, buy her nothing.”

[quote] Stephanie Mills wearing a bad wig

So, Stephanie Mills then

It's a fun show to watch for all of the late seventies and early eighties styles.

The men with their feathered hair and the women with their big curly hair that had been set with hot rollers, etc.

r222 I liked Buck Rogers in the 25th Century when I was a kid but as an adult I find it unwatchable. Holy shit was it bad.

R228 - yep me too - I also thought Princess Ardala was one bad ass bitch! Pamela Hensley was sexy - even for a young gay boy.

Dirk Benedict and Gil Gerard sandwich seems mighty tasty.

I just checked to see if DL legend Linda Lavin was ever on The Love Boat and unfortunately she never graced the show with an appearance. I'm sure if she'd been on it she would've DEMANDED a musical number be written into the script.

There was an episode with June Allyson and Van Johnson as husband and wife. June was newly blind and having a hard time adjusting. I waited for June to say - I am blind and I can still see you are gay!

R226 as much as I adore Stephanie, she was looking rough in this. And the camera didn’t stay on her; mostly she was shot from the side or obscured. Too much makeup, badly applied and a wig that looked like she had a badger on her head.

I hated the canned laughter.

R225, Aaron Spelling started out as a TV actor, and appeared on such shows as Dragnet and I Love Lucy, memorably playing Ernie Ford's cousin at the gas station.

Aaron was a good friend of Barbara Stanwyck but while he got her to do one Charlie's Angels she wouldn't do a Love Boat.

R235, guess that how he got her to do The Colbys.

[quote]Aaron was a good friend of Barbara Stanwyck but while he got her to do one Charlie's Angels

Wasn't that a possibility for a spin off.

R237, yes!

Barbara Stanwyck did Charlie's Angels but The Love Boat was just too lowbrow for her 😂

Halston, Bob Mackie, Geoffrey Beene, Gloria Vanderbilt: When Fashion Came to The Love Boat (1981)

This episode was a "back door pilot" for a spin-off series called "Toni's Boys", which would have been a male version of "Charlie's Angels". Had the episode garnered high ratings and/or sparked interest to executives of the network, then a green light could have been given to go ahead with plans for a series.

Toni's Boys

Sorry, I fucked up the link:

Halston, Bob Mackie, Geoffrey Beene, Gloria Vanderbilt: When Fashion Came to The Love Boat (1981)

One word bitches: SUPERTRAIN!

[quote] Barbara Stanwyck did Charlie's Angels

Yes, that old dyke tried to do them.

You can see Aaron Spelling in small acting rolls in 2 movies that frequently show up on the Movies!-TV Channel.

1. He is the switchboard operator at the building where sisters Jean Peters and Jeanne Craine had an apartment in 1953's "Vicki".

2. In 1954's "Black Widow" , starring Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, GInger Rogers, and George Raft. Aaron Spelling plays the witness who was able to provide a verifiable alibi for Van Heflin.

He’s so odd looking that he does have a good face for a character actor.

He couldn’t have been talented, tho… do you think? (I mean, nothing passed down to Tori!)

Aaron interview.

Aaron & Carolyn

R243, GV, such a nice woman, and Mackie, a sweetheart. I'd never seen that episode. Thanks for the post.

I seem to recall Aaron and Carolyn Jones did not end well. Aaron worked on June Allyson's 1961 TV show that Dick Powell produced and I think testified for Carolyn at her divorce hearing.

... I think June testified...

VICKI STUBING IS A FAT WHORE!

Love Boat was wonderfully of it's time. That era included the lingering Old Hollywood Guard and the up and coming new Hollywood types. Footage included pretty b-roll of sunsets, moonlight and open ocean to set the stage. Storylines were a light mix of romance, lessons learned and conflict that all resolved themselves in an hour. Remember this was pre home computers and cable. It was like a weekly bowl of ice cream that many remember fondly. Watching it for the first time now or rewatching through the lens of today is completely missing the magic. Sorry kids, this one is for us. You'll never get it. Stick to your own shows.

I watched it growing up and now I cringe at it.

R254 - followed by the fantasy continuation of Fantasy Island, the spicier land version of the Love Boat.

Everyone getting off that small sea plane with the dancers with flowers and "smiles, everyone, smiles" while Mr. Rourke spills the tea to anyone in earshot about that guests' personal life and fantasy.

Mr. Rourke was a shady blabber mouth, and giving Tattoo all the opportunity to raise an eyebrow and throw side-eye throughout their stay.

More like The Sex Boat

Watching The Love Boat to see if you could tell if Lauren Tewes was wired in the episode was half the fun. I'm sure a significant chunk of their ratings came from teenagers doing just that, same with Mac Phillips on One Day at a Time.

Did Lauren ever trade sex for cocaine?

When didn't she?

The cocaine explains the sad perm years...

It was very glamorous to me as a gayling. I had heard of Acapulco but had no idea where it was on the globe. What is this place called Porta Vie Arta? So exotic! What exactly is this fancy place called a Lido Deck? I thought everything filmed was real. Until I read this thread. Even the sunsets!

R256 Loved Fantasy Island. Because it came on an hour later, it was more adult in theme and mood. It got mildly racy at times. Spicy, as you put it, is the perfect description. On Saturday nights, I had friends to spend the night often. We loved to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live or the Late Late Movie which we were convinced would show nudity if we stayed up late enough.

-R254

Was the man who developed "The Love Boat" for television gay? It doesn't appear that Wilford Lloyd Baumes ever found the right woman. It was once reported that he bought an old brick home from the 19th century in the historical district of Cincinnati known as Prospect Hill. From the description of what he had planned for it, It all sounded quite gay. The reporter mentioned his nearby nieces, but no children of his own. It was said to be his home away from home, which was on the West Coast. Now 84, he apparently still lives in Santa Barbara, California to this day. Mr. Baumes was also the producer of the TV movie "Alexander: the Other Side of Dawn" - always a popular title here on The DataLounge.

Mackenzie Phillips played a transgender character who was Gopher’s old school chum.

Mackenzie Phillips played a transgender character, on coke, who was Gopher’s old school chum.

Fixed it for you.

[quote]r263 Loved Fantasy Island. Because it came on an hour later, it was more adult in theme and mood.

FANTASY ISLAND paved the way for Cybill Shepherd’s grand 1980s comeback.

After her movie career dimmed she’d scurried back to Memphis with her tail between her legs and got knocked up by a car salesman. But then that (of course) proved to be boring so she descended on Hollywood again. A FANTASY ISLAND guest spot was the only thing she could get, but it proved she still looked great and that somehow the small screen suited her.

Next she got the series THE YELLOW ROSE which lead to MOONLIGHTING… but it was FANTASY ISLAND that threw Cybill the scraps she needed to survive!

Mackenzie Phillips played a transgender character on coke, pills, booze and heroin, and who also had an eating disorder, who was Gopher’s old school chum.

I fixed it again.

70s tv shows like The Love Boat are fun to watch because you can tell who'd been hitting the booze backstage between takes.

Mackenzie Phillips played a transgender character on pills, booze and heroin, and who also had an eating disorder, who was Gopher’s old school chum - but can't find her coke ANYWHERE.

"Why's everyone looking at ME?"

R262 “Porta Vie Arta?” … it’s just south of Porta de Toilet.

Didn't it wind up that Gopher found the trans character hot and slept with her and then found out she was trans and was furious?

I think Gopher hid the body in a steam chimney or something (?)

Later it was revealed he wasn’t the one to kill tranny Mack, though.

I forget who the killer was, but it turns out Ann Miller stole the coke!

Speaking of R262, what were the names of all the decks on The Love Boat?

[quote]I forget who the killer was, but it turns out Ann Miller stole the coke!

Honey, it keeps ya tappin'! I wouldn't have been able to go all those musicals at MGM it it hadn't been the good old nose candy. Hell, Judy and I were high as a couple of kites the whole time we made Easter Parade.

I just read Ted Bundy was married the day before he was sentenced to death… and the crazy broad had a child with him.

This could have made a great “Ripped from the Headlines” LOVE BOAT episode, showing the mother and tot sailing from America at full speed to flee the press.

I see Susan Strasberg and Tori Spelling as this doomed mother/daughter duo.

R276 - Observation, Sun, Officers (bridge), Promenade, Riviera, Aloha, Fiesta, Coral, plus 2 more crew/stores/engine.

Gopher was one of my early gay crushes

Did they try to pick an ugly crew? All of them were dogs.

r281 if this show were made today the entire crew would be gorgeous.

Actors in the 70s looked more like real people, not a bunch of plastic surgery aliens.

I don't have to turn on the TV to watch ugly people.

Mirrors everywhere, eh r284?

For some reason I never liked Vicki Stubing.

Vicki Stubing always seemed mildly retarded to me.

I called her ICKY. She was ugly.

I don't think it was an accident that after Lauren left the series and took her coke stash with her that little Vicky started packing on the lbs.

Vicki liked the buffet on the Pacific Princess.

And the idea that Vicki would be helping the cruise director check in passengers is just ludicrous…

I remember as a child thinking Vicki was such an ugly thing, yet somehow she attracted all the hot boys (Matthew Labyorteaux, Timothy Patrick Murphy, Patrick Cassidy, etc.). And then there was that episode where she tries her hand at modeling, and handsome photographer David Hedison tells her she has what it takes to be the next 'Monica Brandon,' played by Linda Evans!

That episode just aired on Pluto yesterday, r292!

Mmmmm...Timothy Patrick Murphy...lots of nights thinking about Mickey Trotter.

Helen Lawson tried to throw Vicki overboard.

R295 TRIED TO? Bitch had one job to do…one job!

I approve of child labor, like this Vicki girl working as the Love Boat janitor!

[quote]For some reason I never liked Vicki Stubing.

It’s funny they added her to the cast to appeal to kids like me who were watching but I just thought she messed up the cast dynamic. Gopher was already childlike and sort of the Gillian of the crew. There was no need for an actual child

Whelan seems like a lovely person but as a kid she was like Scrappy Doo and Cousin Oliver to me

Dynasty cast in THe Love Boat:

^ that last high note is hilarious.

They forgot Grand Goodeve on the Die Nasty reel. The stylists really were great. All of the Die Nasty actors looked better getting the Love Boat treatment than they did on their own show. Especially Linda Evans. Her makeup was much more suited to her coloring.

The Love Boat did have excellent hair and makeup artists.

Al Corely looked especially good on after the Love Boat scrub down.

Who did John McCook play on Dynasty?

He played Fred. That's all I can get.

I’ll show you to your cabin for a little bump

[quote] Lauren was the Joyce of the high seas.

The James Joyce of the high seas?

Snort

[quote]Gopher was already childlike and sort of the Gillian of the crew.

The Gillian Girl?

Right now on Pluto the Love Boar channel is next to the LHOTP channel which is next to the Dynasty channel.

R304 R305

Re: Fred ... With Steven Carrington "dead," Sammy Jo leaves Denver (and baby Danny) to go to New York City to try to become a model. .. "Fred" is the guy she's hooked up with and living with in his penthouse there. Fred has told Sammy Jo that he has the connections to get her a modeling contract with a big cosmetics company.

One funny scene that occurs ... After Fred leaves to go to work, they show Sammy Jo picking up a copy of the National Enquirer. This is when she reads the headline about Steven being found alive. The funny thing is that this headline is above the tabloid's photo featuring a "sneak preview" for a television show ... whose cast should look very familiar to America.

No hurricanes for the love boat

WTF with Deborah Adair's hair in R299.

That hair shows why Debra Adare could not be excepted as Jill Foster Abbott!!

[quote] excepted

Oh, DEAR…

R315 If you knew BrendaD, you'd get the joke.

I'm 100% 50/50 that it's fair game to not expect people to remember 15+ year-old cult video inside jokes. I'm all for honoring classics but maybe it is time to find more material.

It was decidedly not aired in the Golden Age of Television, OP.

I often wonder if our lovely Ms Ickson reads here...

Didn't Beautiful but Show KILLER Ted McGinley end up there in the final season? Maybe he replaced Gopher??

Well he was no Pat Klous, R320, that's for sure.

Hi. I'm Marion Ross.

Marion Ross and Andy Warhol were in the same episode. Marion played a former Warhol Superstar. I shit you not. This really happened.

R319, your presumption that she can read is very, very generous.

OMG Nancy Mckeon's hair

R320, if I remember correctly he played Ace, ship photographer. I remember thinking it odd that the ship never seemed to have a photographer before him.

McGinley still works.

R327...at Subway.

I barely remember this show but Vicki was the ugly little scrunched up face, troll doll looking kid? How did she get a job in front of cameras?

I staggered through the two episodes of Doctor Odyssey and my friend, who works in the cruise industry, howled with mocking laughter, through it. Talk about fantasy.

Ted McGinley is in that religious show the Baxters with that odious fake religious cunt Roma Downey. The advertise it non stop on Prime. I'd rather dump hot coffee in my croth than watch that dreck.

Ted McGinley is kryptonite for any television series. Him and Eric Balfour.

Ted McGinley is a name for a serial killer.

r331 Haven ran for 5 seasons and Balfour was in a major role. So he's not QUITE as bad as McGinley.

I remember the 1993 reunion movie "The Love Boat: Love on the Rocks" when Julie, in a coked out haze, ran the ship aground off the coast of Italy and it slowly sank. Eileen Heckart and Buddy Hackett did a funny bit trying to get on one of the few lifeboats.

[quote]I barely remember this show but Vicki was the ugly little scrunched up face, troll doll looking kid?

She ended up being quite lovely, r329.

R335- She doesn't look lovely she looks

OLD

she either smoked a lot of ciggies or pole.

When Helen Lawson guest starred the crew referred to the show as "The Cunt Boat" the whole week of filming.

R336 I think Jill Whelan has aged well considering she's nearly 60.

We mustn't forget that this is the show where Joyce De Witt really showed her dramatic range as the mother of a retarded boy. It was highly-praised here on DL last year.

R341. Did she throw up her arms in exasperation, widen her eyes, and mug for the camera?

^^^^R340

Love Boat pairings were often odd at best.

Julie Newmar ending up with Don Knotts.

Beth Howland fucking Gopher after keeping him prisoner in her cabin.

Jimmie Walker and Telma Hopkins having a threesome with Suzanne Somers.

Helen Reddy and Tommy Smothers

I loved the episode where Merrill was the bottom at the Annual Pacific Princess Fiesta Gangbang!

[quote]Beth Howland fucking Gopher after keeping him prisoner in her cabin.

Suck it, Stephen King!

Helen Reddy as an alien. LOL

[quote] Jimmie Walker and Telma Hopkins having a threesome with Suzanne Somers.

Jimmie having sex with ANYONE makes me go urp 🤢

Mafucker is supernaturally ugly.

Is he still doing "commercials for senoirs?"

[quote]Jimmie Walker and Telma Hopkins having a threesome with Suzanne Somers.

He yelled "DY-NO-MITE!" when he came.

Is Wilford Brimley 200 years old by now?

I never watched one episode of that show, the tv commercials for it were more than enough.

Ethel Merman as Gopher's mother. It doesn't get much campier than that.

Oh really, R353...

How about Carol Channing as Julie's Aunt Sylvia?

And then there's Charo. Totally not campy! 🤣

Today...such the Star line-up!

Elizabeth Ashley

Anne Baxter

Stewart Granger

Michelle Johnson

Jared Martin

Menudo

Hayley Mills

Timothy Patrick Murphy

Linda Purl

Andrew Stevens

and

*Miss Lana Turner*

Does anyone else remember the Engelbert episode?

The cast list at r356 illustrates why Love Boat should be the Official TV Show of DL.

[quote]Didn't Beautiful but Show KILLER Ted McGinley end up there in the final season? Maybe he replaced Gopher??

He wasn’t a show killer. Happy Days, The Love Boat and Married…With Children went on for many seasons after he joined the casts.

[quote]Is Wilford Brimley 200 years old by now?

He's dead, honey.