ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
roneysam
The idea that some reviewers came to an 80's slapstick comedy tv show looking for a work of art in acting and plot devices is laughable. Who TF cares?! Its a light hearted escape with a few giggles. That's all its intended as. If you were looking for great artistry, and ended up here, that's on you for being an idiot. Its just fun and stupid for no reason, and that's how its meant to be. Lighten up.
landrykkb
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.
hnt_dnl
The late 70s/early 80s is perhaps the last breath of purely fun, unapologetic entertainment in the annals of TV history! The anchor (pardon the pun!) of this breezy time period was THE LOVE BOAT! Starting out as a TV pilot in 1977 with a cast that thankfully didn't make it to any voyages for the actual 10 seasons with the REAL cast, THE LOVE BOAT sailed the high seas for a seeming eternity! The REAL cast was of course Gavin McLeod, Bernie Kopell, Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, and Lauren Tewes, one of the best, most underrated ensembles in TV history! Their interactions are as good as you'll see in any uber-acclaimed show on "serious" TV shows. They all had an easygoing appeal that really made this show work. You could NOT make a show like this today! Impossible! Just a function of the frivolity and lightheartedness of its time period. -McLeod was the paternal Capt. Stubing -Kopell was the lady-killing Dr.Bricker -Grandy was the lovable Yeoman Purser Gopher -Lange was the hip bartender Isaac -Tewes was the fresh and appealing JulieIn later years, of course as with any show, it would add/lose cast members, but for most of it's run, these 5 characters ran the boat! Jill Whelan would come on around Season 3 (I think) as Stubing's daughter Vicki; Julie left around Season 7 or 8 and her sister Judy (yikes!) would take her place, and of course the ever-reliable Ted McGinley would come on as photographer Ace! OK, no show is perfect! Each week on Saturday night as a kid, I used to sit back and enjoy the duo LOVE BOAT and FANTASY ISLAND. THE LOVE BOAT became so popular that they eventually started doing 2 hour shows for what seemed like every week in its later seasons! That would be unheard of today! Initially, for its regular cruises, the show would go sail from it's LA port to South American ports in Mexico, which we viewers strangely never got to see! Action pretty much stayed on the ship, but that was OK. Then in later years, for the 2-hour shows, they would go all over the world (Australia, China, Greece, Italy, France, you name it, the Pacific Princess went there!).It would usually be 3 main stories that drove the episode, with predictably neat resolutions at the end, but that was the fun of it: you KNEW everything was going to be OK, except of course for our beloved crew! They had to return every week, so of course none of their romances could work out! You'd be amazed at how many stars set sail on this show! An eclectic mix of thespians (from both film and TV), soap stars, musicians, even non-actors (game show hosts, celebrity cameos) would show up on the cruises! In retrospect, I think the laugh-tracked 1-hour episodes are more watchable than the 2-hour on-location episodes with no laugh tracks! In a way, it's good that you can't imitate shows like this anymore (at least not on purpose) because it's like a time capsule from a footloose and fancy-free period in TV entertainment that one can go back and wistfully recall!10/10 in my book!
withnail-1
are we talking about the same show here? THE LOVE BOAT was a foul piece of bile. stubing was pathetic, and i noticed no one mentioned his daughter, vicky. my lord, the girl was a disaster area. she alone would have ruined the show, had it not been beyond redemption in the first place.the only redeeming feature (other than laughing at all the has-been "stars" falling over themselves to hit on each other) was julie. when spelling stopped putting a bra in her changeroom with her costume, i guess she got the hint.but even this couldn't save the show.
