Love Boat

I loved "The Love Boat"!! It was so 70's and that's what was so appealing about it. OK the story lines were predictable but who cares. It was light hearted entertainment. I was a teenager when it was on and all I wanted to do when I grew up was go on the Pacific Princess!!! The only thing I found annoying was that everyone seemed to be in a suite on the ship!!! and when did the Captain ever have time to steer the ship ? he was always wandering around the deck!! or having dinner with all the guests. I have been on numerous cruises and have only ever seen the Captain once.!! I also loved how they used to bring back all the old Hollywood stars. Lots of these people were national treasures and we won't see the likes of them again. I would love for it to run again on TV, at least it's better than all the death and violence we always seem to get now.

Spelling productions did not make Love, American Style. They took the basic concept of it, added places for the love to happen (on a Princess Cruise ship & in ports of call), a regular crew, & mass produced 10 years of the Love Boat. Part of the reason it worked was the ship as you could dream of being on a cruise & never leave your living room.

Each episode usually had 2 or three plot lines with different guests involved. Each one would involve the crew interacting with the guests. Each one would usually have a happy ending. Sometimes, episodes would even go 2 hours. Princess Cruises definitely got a lot of valuable promo from this series.

Like Love American Style, the love aspect would get by with a wink, a grin, & some subtle hints of the feelings that were really going on. The crew was a pretty talented ensemble. Gavin McCloud as your Captain became more of less the star of the show. Bernie Kopell as the ships playboy Doctor became a key factor a lot of times. Lauren Tewes was the supposed hot cruise director. Then there was Gopher & the bartender always around either when you need them or not around when you need them.

The guest stars would read like a whose who of 1960's & 70's actors & actresses. It was amazing how many folks would get drawn on board this ship. Realism, this show has little. Bubble gum for the brain, that is where this show comes from. "Come Aboard, We're Expecting you!"

"The Love Boat" is one of those old-fashioned, nostalgic and memorable TV series from the 70's and 80's. I used to watch it frequently when I was younger and I always enjoyed it. A great TV show and even unique. After all, this show takes place mostly in a cruise liner, where its passengers and crew live romances and adventures.

"The Love Boat" usually took place in the liner "Pacific Princess", but other alternative yet similar ships were used as well. That was the case of the "Island Princess", the "Stella Solaris", the "Pearl of Scandinavia", the "Royal Viking Sky" and the "Royal Princess".

This is a charming TV series which is also famous for its timeless and wonderful opening song, "The Love Boat".

Even though this TV series was very popular in its time, it seems to me that it has become forgotten and much less popular as the years go by. Besides, it seems to be largely unknown in our generation, a generation with eyes mostly for uninteresting, mediocre and crappy TV shows. However, for those who knew "The Love Boat", it remains alive in their memories and won't be forgotten.

I know this is my third review for this show, but I have one more thing to add. The regular characters are awesome! Captain Stubing,Vicki, Isaac, Gopher, Julie, Doc,etc. They truly were a family, and their talent added a great deal to the show.They are the reason this show was a success, and the revival flopped. The revival's cast had no talent! This comedy/drama is one of my three favorite shows of all time. (along with the corny, but always lovable "The Brady Bunch", and the beautiful "Once And Again".)

I have read the previous reviews and while I do realize that every episode of The Love Boat was predictable and cheesy in hindsight,were most television shows of that era or some even since any different?You got to also realize that Aaron Spelling specialized in the fantasy genre realm(Starsky & Hutch was a lot more reality based in comparison to this and his other offerings,mind you).It was escapist entertainment at its finest and Fantasy Island following it Saturday nights on ABC made everybody's night home who decided not to venture out.I even remember when ABC aired the reruns on their daytime schedule.By that time,they were on the air long enough to justify showing them daily.One knock against the show to me is that at least Fantasy Island had that moral-of-the-story element that The Love Boat didn't.