Not one to turn down an Everything Quest, I figured I should node about one of the most famous boats around - The Love Boat!
The Television Show
The Love Boat ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986. Based on the novel, "The Love Boats", by Jeraldine Saunders, the show was actually a spin-off from an initial run of two made-for-TV movies of the same name.
Because the movies proved to be popular, the show was given a greenlight with producers Aaron Spelling and Douglas Cramer on board (no pun intended). The show took place on a cruise liner dubbed The Pacific Princess and was a melting pot of comedy, romance, and some overwrought drama.
In retrospect, many people look back at the show as a dumping ground for B-grade actors to guest star. Well, generally, that's a pretty good assessment. However, most people don't remember that none other than Andy Warhol appeared on The Love Boat! Yes, that's right...Andy Warhol appeared on an episode during the 1985-1986 season. Other than that, most of the guests were from other television shows of the time and that included Tom Hanks, Dirk Benedict, Melissa Gilbert, Heather Locklear, John Forsythe, Joan Collins, Robin Williams, and more. Oh, yeah...and Charo of that "cootchie-cootchie" infamy.
The show's regular castmembers included the following:
Other cast members joined in the latter part of the show's run and these included the following:
- Cruise Director Judy McCoy - Pat Klous
- Joined from 1984 to the end of the show's run in 1986 as a cousin to Julie after the departure of Lauren Tewes (rumoured to be due to a cocaine habit).
- Photographer Ashley "Ace" Covington Evans - Ted McGinley
- Joined from 1984 to the end of the show's run in 1986.
- Amy, Love Boat Mermaid - Teri Hatcher
- Joined from 1985 to the end of the show's run in 1986. Yes, she was hot but she didn't appear in the show a whole lot, other than to dance as part of the Mermaids troupe.
Throughout the show's run, the ports of call mostly centered around Acapulco or Puerto Vallarta. However, the crew also ventured to more exotic places such as Helsinki (Finland), Sydney (Australia), and Hong Kong.
Ah, yes, the famous theme song. Written by P. Williams and C. Fox, performed by Jack Jones (1977 - 1985) and Dionne Warwick (1985 - 1986). You know the lyrics...you know you do.
The Ship(s)
Even though the show was set on The Pacific Princess, it was actually filmed on two separate cruise liners, specifically The Pacific Princess and The Island Princess, both run by Princess Cruise Lines. Paying guests on regular cruises aboard these ships would end up as extras on the show and would be entered into a raffle for a grand prize to be given at the completion of shooting. This proved to be very popular and these two cruise ships were always booked solid for the ventures to the Virgin Islands and Alaska.
Both the Island and Pacific Princess ships were 553 feet long and weighed about 20,000 tons. Each of the ships would hold approximately 640 passengers. That's relatively small compared to today's standards - the average ship today can hold about 2-3 times more and weigh about 2-3 times more as well.
The Pacific Princess was built in 1971 and was refurbished in 1993. Total cabins on the ship came to 320 with 68 inside cabins.
The Memory
I remember watching this show religiously with my grandfather. For me, the show was like a good variety show, with the comedy and the rotating guest roll. Everything I need to know about life, I learned from The Love Boat.
As for my grandfather, I'm not entirely sure what he got out of the show - he didn't understand English.
Sources
- The Unofficial Love Boat Homepage http://www.asb.com/usr/indtvprd/loveboat/lbp1.htm
- Yesterdayland http://www.yesterdayland.com
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