TV We Love: The Love Boat, on CW

Star Trek had two pilots, which was unusual. This show had three. That was almost unheard of, but in the late 1970s, Aaron Spelling had some serious clout. Of course, the show became a hit and an economic driver, largely creating the cruise ship industry as we now know it. Surviving cast-members and critics remember the good times (which really were quite a party behind-the-scenes) in The Love Boat episode of TV We Love, premiering tonight on CW.

High art The Love Boat was not. However, it is interesting to see it get the nostalgia treatment instead of the usual suspects. There is no denying its novelty, especially since it is considered the only successful hour-long sitcom, even to this day. It made a lot of money for a lot of people, including the senior Golden Age Hollywood stars, who took their swan songs and victory laps as guest stars—in what for many became their final screen credits—like when Lana Turner taught Menudo how to play soccer—of course they include those clips.

Comparing the numbers for the cruise lines before and after The Love Boat are like night and day. It also launched the career of sensible four-term Congressman Fred Grandy, who played goofy Gopher. He and Ted Lange (Isaac Washington, the bartender) are probably the two most prominent voices in the interview segments, for good reason. However, there is no discussion of Grandy’s political career or his tenure as a radio commentator, perhaps because his warnings against radicalization continue to go unheeded.

Regardless, revisiting The Love Boat unleashes waves of memories, both fond and ironic. Yet, there is one important point that goes unexplored. One of the keys to the show’s success was its perfect pairing with Spelling’s Fantasy Island on Saturday nights. The Love Boat was always upbeat and optimistic, depicting how love and understanding could solve all the passengers’ problems over the course of a cruise.  Yet, Fantasy Island then followed, teaching visitors the ironic, O. Henry-esque lesson to accept their ordinary lives, when their fantasies inevitably turned out much darker than they anticipated. The two series undeniably developed a ying-and-yang symbiosis that worked.

There are not a lot of deep dives in this episode of TV We Love, because it is not that kind of show. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Teri Hatcher was also unavailable to discuss her stint as one of the singing-and-dancing Love Boat Mermaids. Years later, it still feels like a guilty pleasure, so in a way, the show must hold up. Recommended for Gen X memories of our childhood TV gone by, The Love Boat episode airs tonight (10/27) on CW.