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| The Love Boat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Wilford Lloyd Baumes |
| Based on | The Love Boats byJeraldine Saunders |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "The Love Boat" sung byJack Jones, seasons 1–8; byDionne Warwick season 9 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 9 (+ 5 specials and 3 pilots) |
| No. of episodes | 250(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Running time | 45–52 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24) – May 24, 1986 (1986-05-24) |
| Related | |
| Love Boat: The Next Wave | |
The Love Boat is an Americanromantic comedy-drama television series created byWilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired onABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, threeTV movies aired before the regular series premiered and four specials and a TV movie aired after the series ended. The series was set on thecruise shipMSPacific Princess, and revolved around the ship's captain Merrill Stubing (played byGavin MacLeod) and a handful of his crew, with passengers played by guest actors for each episode, having romantic, dramatic and humorous adventures.
The series was part of ABC's popular Saturday-night lineup of the time, which also includedFantasy Island until 1984. The executive producer for the series wasAaron Spelling, who produced several television series forFour Star Television andABC from the 1960s into the 1990s.
The series was nominated four consecutive times for aGolden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy between 1978 and 1981, without winning any. Gavin MacLeod andLauren Tewes also received severalGolden Globe nominations for their roles in the series. In 1997, the episode with segment titles "Hidden Treasure", "Picture from the Past", and "Ace's Salary" (season 9, episode 3) was ranked No. 82 onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| Pilots | 3 | September 17, 1976 (1976-09-17) | May 5, 1977 (1977-05-05) | |
| 1 | 25 | September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24) | May 20, 1978 (1978-05-20) | |
| 2 | 27 | September 16, 1978 (1978-09-16) | May 12, 1979 (1979-05-12) | |
| 3 | 28 | September 15, 1979 (1979-09-15) | May 3, 1980 (1980-05-03) | |
| 4 | 28 | October 25, 1980 (1980-10-25) | May 16, 1981 (1981-05-16) | |
| 5 | 29 | October 3, 1981 (1981-10-03) | May 15, 1982 (1982-05-15) | |
| 6 | 29 | October 2, 1982 (1982-10-02) | May 7, 1983 (1983-05-07) | |
| 7 | 27 | October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01) | May 12, 1984 (1984-05-12) | |
| 8 | 27 | September 22, 1984 (1984-09-22) | May 4, 1985 (1985-05-04) | |
| 9 | 25 | September 28, 1985 (1985-09-28) | May 24, 1986 (1986-05-24) | |
| Specials | 5 | November 21, 1986 (1986-11-21) | February 12, 1990 (1990-02-12) | |
MacLeod, Kopell and Lange are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the TV series, the four specials as well as the last made-for-TV movie. Grandy appeared in every episode throughout the run of the series, but he did not appear in the four specials nor in the last TV movie, as he was campaigning for the first of his four consecutive terms in theU.S. House of Representatives. MacLeod was not the captain of thePacific Princess in the first two pilot TV movies and did not appear in them, although when his character was introduced, it was mentioned that he was the new captain; indeed, none of the series cast members appeared in the first pilot, which had a different captain and crew.[citation needed]
Among the series' attractions was the casting of well-known actors in guest-starring roles, with many famous film stars of prior decades making rare television appearances.The Love Boat was not the first comedy series to use the guest-star cast anthology format—Love, American Style had used the formula seven years earlier—but it had such success with the formula that future series in similar style (such asSupertrain andMasquerade) drew comparisons toThe Love Boat.[citation needed] The series was followed on Saturday nights on ABC byFantasy Island, which was also produced byAaron Spelling and had a similar format. In all, thirty-two past and futureAcademy Award winners guested onThe Love Boat, including theBest Actress from thefirst awards ceremony in 1929,Janet Gaynor.[1]
In the final season, a troupe of dancers who performed choreographed routines, often to current hits, was introduced. The Love Boat Mermaids were made up of Tori Brenno (Maria), Debra Johnson (Patti),Deborah Bartlett (Susie), Macarena (Sheila), Beth Myatt (Mary Beth), Andrea Moen (Starlight),Teri Hatcher (Amy) and Nanci Lynn Hammond (Jane).[2]
| Character | Portrayed by | Position | Pilots | Seasons | Specials | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [a] | [b] | [c] | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [d] | |||
| Merrill Stubing | Gavin MacLeod | Your Captain | Does not appear[A] | Does not appear[B] | Main | ||||||||||||||
| Dr. O'Neill | Bernie Kopell | Your Ship's Doctor | Does not appear[C] | M | Does not appear | ||||||||||||||
| Adam "Doc" Bricker | Does not appear | Main | |||||||||||||||||
| Burl "Gopher" Smith | Fred Grandy | Your Yeoman Purser | Does not appear[D] | Main | Does not appear | ||||||||||||||
| Isaac Washington | Ted Lange | Your Bartender | Does not appear[E] | Main | Does not appear | ||||||||||||||
| Your Yeoman Purser | Does not appear | M | |||||||||||||||||
| Julie McCoy | Lauren Tewes | Your Cruise Director | Does not appear[F] | Does not appear[G] | Main | Does not appear | G | Main | Does not appear | ||||||||||
| Judy McCoy | Patricia Klous | Does not appear | M | Does not appear | |||||||||||||||
| Vicki Stubing | Jill Whelan | — | Does not appear | G | Main | ||||||||||||||
| Ashley "Ace" Covington Evans | Ted McGinley | Your Ship's Photographer | Does not appear | Main | Does not appear | ||||||||||||||
| Your Yeoman Purser | Does not appear | Main | Does not appear | ||||||||||||||||
The original1976made-for-TV movie (titledThe Love Boat), that served as the pilot for the series, was based on the nonfiction bookThe Love Boats byJeraldine Saunders, a real-lifecruise director for a passenger cruise-ship line.[3][4] Saunders was also partly inspired by the German cruise shipMVAurora.[5] The pilot was followed by other two (titledThe Love Boat II andThe New Love Boat), all of which aired before the series began in September 1977.[6]
The one-hour sitcom was set aboardPacific Princess, at the time a real-lifePrincess Cruisescruise ship.[7] ThePacific Princess' twin sister vesselIsland Princess was also used for the show, especially if the show's schedule conflicted withPacific Princess's cruises or her annual drydocking. Based in theport of Los Angeles, the ship's regular ports of call werePuerto Vallarta,Acapulco andMazatlán. The series was primarily filmed on sets in southernCalifornia:20th Century Fox Studios for seasons one through five, and theWarner Hollywood Studios for the remainder of the series, and occasionally filmed aboard the actual vessels. Regardless of where the episode was filmed, the actual ship was extensively shown in theestablishing shots.
Along with use of the real-lifePacific Princess andIsland Princess, the series was permitted to use some iconography owned by Princess Cruises. For example, Princess' logo is frequently visible in the establishing shots of the vessels, in the backgrounds of sets and even on props, such as name tags for the ship's crew. However, the ownership of this fictional representation of thePacific Princess is never explicitly stated as being Princess Cruises; instead, characters would use terms such as "the line" or "the company" in reference to the entity that owned and operatedPacific Princess.
Episodes set and filmed inEuropean andEast Asian locations became more frequent instead of the usualwest coasts along thePacific shore ofNorth America as the show continued. They traditionally aired as season premieres or during thesweeps months of February, May and November. Ships used in these episodes were:SS Stella Solaris for aMediterranean Sea cruise,MS Pearl of Scandinavia for aChinese cruise,Royal Viking Sky forEuropean cruises andRoyal Princess andSun Princess forCaribbean Sea cruises. In 1981, P&O Cruises' lineSea Princess was also used for the two-hour episode "Julie's Wedding", set in and aroundAustralia.
The "star of the show", the now-world famousPacific Princess, after being renamed MSPacific and being sold then owned by another cruise line inSpain, wasscrapped inAliağa,Turkey in 2013 after no further buyer could be found.[8] Her sister ship, which was later renamedMV Discovery, was scrapped inAlang, India in 2015 after she too failed to find a new owner.[9] Both vessels' scrappings were controversial, but the previous owners justified it by saying that they were getting too old to continue operating.
Every episode contained several storylines, each written by a different set of writers working on one group of guest stars. Thus, episodes have multiple titles referencing its simultaneous storylines, e.g., the first episode of season one is "Captain & the Lady / Centerfold / One If by Land".
Each episode typically featured three storylines. Storylines focused on members of the crew, the interactions between passengers and crew members, a single passenger, or interactions between several passengers. The three storylines usually followed a similar thematic pattern: One storyline (typically a "crew" one) was straight-ahead comedy. The second would typically follow more of a romantic comedy format (with only occasional dramatic elements). The third storyline would usually be the most dramatic of the three, often offering few (if any) laughs and a far more serious tone. A common plotline focused on a romance that had gone sour, with the parties reconciling at the end of the episode.
On rare occasions, there were crossovers between stories. In one episode, actorsRobert Reed andFlorence Henderson, formerly ofThe Brady Bunch, guest-starred in separate segments. In one scene, the two bump into each other at a buffet table, exchange a questioning look, shrug, and continue on their separate ways.
The series was also distinctive as being one of the few hour-long series ever made for American television that used alaugh track.[10]
The Love Boat theme song was composed byCharles Fox with lyrics byPaul Williams. It was sung byJack Jones in the opening sequence of the first eight seasons and, in a different arrangement, byDionne Warwick in the last season and the four specials that followed it.Charo, who had also recorded and commercially released the song, performed it within the show in one of her guest appearances. The opening sequence of the TV movies featured an instrumental version of the song without the lyrics. Instrumental variations of the song were extensively used throughout the series asincidental music.
The opening sequence for the series underwent three major changes over the years. From seasons one to eight, the opening sequence began with a long shot of the ship in dock before the camera slowly zoomed in onto its bridge area. This was followed by posing shots of the crew members at different points on the ship or the set, revealed with aweighing anchor graphic wipe. These posing shots were updated several times throughout all seasons due to cast changes. The long shot footage of the ship was used for the credits of the celebrity guest stars. For only the first season, the guest stars were credited by having their names appear on the screen while a radar/compass style circle with four hearts wrapped around them. Beginning with season two (and originally tested in the fifteenth episode of the first season), the compass was graphically put in place and at its center, the guest stars were shown posing for the camera on different parts of the set, the ship or on-location in special episodes, while their names appeared at the bottom of the screen. For the final season, the compass was replaced by a crescent wave and the long shot of the ship was replaced by a montage of the various locations traveled to on the series. At the center of the wave graphic, the guest stars were shown posing for the camera wearing their formal outfits against different colored backgrounds.[11]
The Love Boat aired in reruns onABC Daytime from June 30, 1980 to June 12, 1981, and from September 14, 1981 to June 24, 1983 at 11:00 a.m. EST/10:00 CST. The show entered thesyndication market in the United States in September 1983, withWorldvision Enterprises handling distribution. As an alternative for stations with tight scheduling commitments, Worldvision offered edited 30-minute episodes in addition to the original hour-long programs beginning in the fall of 1986 after the series completed its original run on ABC. It is currently distributed in syndication by its successorCBS Media Ventures. The series can currently be seen onMeTV Sunday afternoons at 5:00 PM ET/4:00 PM CT and on sister networkCatchy Comedy Monday through Friday afternoons at 3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM CT.[12][13] Catchy also has done occasional weekend binges of the show as well.The Love Boat is currently airing 24/7 on its own channel on Pluto TV under the "Classic TV" section, only airing the regular 9 season run.
CBS DVD (distributed byParamount) has released seasons 1–4 ofThe Love Boat on DVD inRegion 1. Each season has been released in two-volume sets.
| DVD name | Ep no. | Release dates | Bonus features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| Season 1, Volume 1 | 12 | March 4, 2008 | September 1, 2008 | April 10, 2008 |
|
| Season 1, Volume 2 | 12 | August 12, 2008 | September 1, 2008 | October 2, 2008 |
|
| Season 2, Volume 1 | 13 | January 27, 2009 | N/A | September 2, 2009 |
|
| Season 2, Volume 2 | 12 | August 4, 2009 | N/A | December 24, 2009 |
|
| Season 3, Volume 1 | 14 | January 17, 2017[14] | N/A | N/A |
|
| Season 3, Volume 2 | 14 | January 17, 2017[14] | N/A | N/A |
|
| Season 4, Volume 1 | TBA | October 2, 2018[15] | N/A | N/A |
|
| Season 4, Volume 2 | TBA | October 2, 2018[16] | N/A | N/A |
|
For its first seven years,The Love Boat was very successful in theratings. During that time, it usually ranked among the top 20, and sometimes even the top 10. However, the show fell out of the Top 30 during the 1984–85 season, and after falling out of the Top 50 during the 1985–86 season,The Love Boat was canceled after nine years on ABC, although four three-hour specials aired during the 1986–87 season.
| Season | TV season | Rank | Rating | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1977–78 | #16 | 21.9 | [17] |
| 2 | 1978–79 | #17 | 22.1 | [18] |
| 3 | 1979–80 | #24 | 20.6 | [19] |
| 4 | 1980–81 | #5 | 24.3 | [20] |
| 5 | 1981–82 | #15 | 21.2 | [21] |
| 6 | 1982–83 | #9 | 20.3 | [22] |
| 7 | 1983–84 | #17 | 19.0 | [23] |
| 8 | 1984–85 | #34 | 15.3 | [24] |
| 9 | 1985–86 | #62 | 12.7 | [25] |
In 1997, the episode with segment titles "Hidden Treasure", "Picture from the Past", and "Ace's Salary" (Season 9, Episode 3) was ranked No. 82 onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list.[26]
In 2014, Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin McLeod, Cynthia Lauren Tewes, and Jill Whelan became godparents (the passenger ship industry's equivalent of navalship sponsors) of the Princess Cruises shipRegal Princess.[27]
On May 23, 2017, the original cast (MacLeod, Kopell, Grandy, Lange, Tewes and Whelan) reunited onToday,[28] where it was announced they would be receiving a joint star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for their contributions to television, sponsored by Princess Cruises.[29]
| Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | - | Nominated | [30] |
| Best Actor – Television | Gavin MacLeod | Nominated | ||
| 1979 | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | - | Nominated | [31] |
| 1980 | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | - | Nominated | [32] |
| Best Actor – Television | Gavin MacLeod | Nominated | ||
| 1981 | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | - | Nominated | [33] |
| Best Actor – Television | Gavin MacLeod | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress – Television | Lauren Tewes | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Episode | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series | Will Geer | "The Old Man and the Runaway" | Nominated | [34] |
| Outstanding Art Direction for a Comedy Series | Paul Sylos, Eugene Harris, Bob Signorelli,John McCarthy Jr. | - | Nominated | [35] | |
| Outstanding Cinematography in Entertainment Programming for a Series | Lloyd Ahern | "The Inspector/A Very Special Girl/Until the Last Goodbye" | Nominated | [36] | |
| Outstanding Film Editing in a Comedy Series | Norman Wallerstein, Robert Moore | "Masquerade/The Caper/Eyes of Love/Hollywood Royalty" | Nominated | [37] | |
| 1983 | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Bob Sweeney | "The Dog Show" | Nominated | [38] |
| Year | Category | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Favorite New TV Comedy Program | Won | Tied withThree's Company | [39] |
The 1979 two-hour season premiere ofCharlie's Angels —another Aaron Spelling series— that introducedShelley Hack as new angel Tiffany Welles was titled "Love Boat Angels" and its characters attempted to recover stolen museum artifacts while aboard thePacific Princess on a cruise to theVirgin Islands with all ofThe Love Boat regulars having cameo appearances.[40]
A 1994Saturday Night Live sketch featuring guest hostPatrick Stewart mergedThe Love Boat withStar Trek: The Next Generation. Stewart played the captain while caricatures ofDeanna Troi andGeordi La Forge played the cruise director and bartender, with Kopell having a cameo appearance as Doc.[41]
A two-part 1997Martin episode, "Goin' Overboard", had the main characters going on a cruise and encountering Isaac, Julie, Doc, and Vicki.
A revival of the series, titledLove Boat: The Next Wave, aired onUPN from 1998 to 1999 for two seasons and twenty-five episodes. Set aboard the cruise shipSun Princess, the series starredRobert Urich as Captain Jim Kennedy, a retiredUnited States Navy officer,Phil Morris as chief purser Will Sanders, andHeidi Mark as cruise director Nicole Jordan.[42] Several members of the original show's cast guest-starred on a reunion-themed episode in which it was revealed that Julie and Doc had been in love all along.[43]
In March 2022, both CBS and Australia'sNetwork 10 (bothParamount-owned networks) commissionedThe Real Love Boat, a reality dating competition series to be produced byEureka Productions. The series features single contestants on a luxury Mediterranean cruise as they participate in challenges and dates to stay on the boat in the hopes of finding love, with those unsuccessful being progressively dumped from the cruise. As contestants are dumped, new contestants come aboard the cruise. In the end, the last couple remaining wins the series and is awarded a large cash prize as well as a cruise from Princess Cruises.[44]
TheAmerican version is hosted by married actorsJerry O'Connell andRebecca Romijn.[45] This version briefly aired on Wednesday nights at 9/8C onCBS starting on October 5, 2022, before being moved toParamount+.[46][47][48] TheAustralian version is presented byDarren McMullen.[49] This version also premiered on 5 October 2022 and aired on Wednesdays and Thursday nights on 10.[50]
CNN reported industry experts credit the show with increasing interest in the cruise industry, especially for those that were not newlyweds or senior citizens, and for the resulting demand to spur investment in new ships instead of conversions. The influence was particularly notable forPrincess Cruises, a line that partnered with the series and received a great deal of attention as a result.[51]
Princess Cruises has embraced its connection to the series in its marketing. Actor Gavin Macleod was appointed the line's global ambassador in 1986 and appeared in television advertisements and other campaigns for Princess for over 30 years.[52] Actress Jill Whelan is currently Princess' Celebrations Ambassador and has appeared in online videos promoting the line.[53] The series' primary cast were named the godparents for and participated in the christening of two Princess Cruises ships, theDawn Princess in 1997 and theRegal Princess in 2014.[52] Members of the cast have participated in themed cruises honoring the series, most recently in 2022 and 2024, with another cruise scheduled for November 2025.[53]
