Love Boat

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.

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.

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 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.

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".)