Love Boat
| The Love Boat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
Sitcom Romance |
| Based on |
The Love Boats by Jeraldine Saunders |
| Developed by | W. L. Baumes |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "The Love Boat" sung by Jack Jones, seasons 1–8; by Dionne Warwick in season 9 |
| Composer(s) |
Ben Lanzarone Duane Tatro |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 9 + 4 specials |
| No. of episodes | 250 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Aaron Spelling Douglas S. Cramer |
| Running time | 45–52 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
|
| Distributor |
Worldvision Enterprises CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | May 5, 1977 – February 12, 1990 (plus specials in 1986–87 and 1990) |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage (1990) |
| Related shows | Love Boat: The Next Wave |
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship which aired on the ABC Television Network from May 5, 1977, until May 24, 1986; three-hour specials aired in 1986–87 and 1990. The show revolves around the ship's captain (played by Gavin MacLeod) and a handful of its crew, with several passengers – played by different guest actors for each episode – having romantic and humorous adventures. It was part of ABC's popular Saturday night lineup that included Fantasy Island until that show ended in 1984.
The original 1976 made-for-TV movie on which the show was based (also titled The Love Boat) was itself based on the nonfiction book Love Boats by Jeraldine Saunders, a real-life cruise director. Two more TV movies (titled The Love Boat II and The New Love Boat) would follow before the series began its first season in September 1977.
The executive producer for the series was Aaron Spelling, who produced several TV series for ABC from the 1960s into the 1980s.
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 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.The Love Boat ran for nine seasons plus four specials. A made-for-TV movie, titled The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage, starring four of the original cast members, aired on February 12, 1990.
Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, and Ted Lange are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the series, including the last three made-for-TV movies. Fred Grandy was in every episode throughout the run of the series, but was not in the last of the TV movies. MacLeod was not the captain in the first two TV movies, however. However, when MacLeod's character was introduced, there was mention of him being "the new captain."
Among the series' attractions was the casting of well-known actors in guest-starring roles, with many famous film stars of yesteryear making rare television appearances. It was not the first comedy series to use the guest-star cast anthology format—Love, American Style used the formula seven years earlier, but The Love Boat had such success with the formula that future shows in similar style (such as Supertrain and Masquerade) were inevitably compared to The Love Boat. The show was followed on Saturday nights on ABC by Fantasy Island, which was also produced by Aaron Spelling, and had a similar format.
...
Wikipedia