The Love Boat is still “exciting and new” in these 12 star-studded episodes that complete its 1977-78 maiden season. The essence of comfort television, this decade-defining anthology series set aboard the Pacific Princess offered viewers a grand and glamorous escape as week after week Capt. Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), cute and capable cruise director Julie (Lauren Tewes), Yeoman-Purser “Gopher” (Fred Grandy), lecherous “Doc” Bricker (Bernie Kopell), and bartender Isaac (Ted Lange) found themselves entangled in their passengers' romantic crises. Each episode deftly interweaves stories—featuring an eclectic roster of familiar guest stars from movies and television—ranging in tone from silly (Gopher smuggles a monkey onboard) to sweet (two inexperienced newlyweds fail to, um, connect) to serious (an older man feels he must give up his much younger lover). Unlike envelope-pushing shows of the day such as Saturday Night Live and Soap, The Love Boat did not make waves: nudge-nudge and wink-wink jokes aside, viewers could sit back, relax, and bask in the knowledge that true love would win out (most of the time) before the ship docked (with rocky marriages saved, rutted relationships rekindled, and new romances begun). This set somewhat makes amends to collectors for splitting the first season by including The New Love Boat, the feature-length pilot that launched the series and introduced MacLeod's stern Capt. Stubing, whom Doc actually compares to Nazi Heinrich Himmler! Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
The Love Boat: Season One, Volume Two
Paramount, 4 discs, 644 min., not rated, DVD: $36.99 Volume 23, Issue 6
The Love Boat: Season One, Volume Two
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