The executive producer for the series was Aaron Spelling, who produced several successful series for ABC in the 1960s, 70's and 80's.
The sitcom was usually set about a cruise liner called the Pacific Princess, whose passengers and crew had romantic and funny adventures every week. Other ships used were twin sister Island Princess, the Stella Solaris (for a Mediterranean cruise), Pearl of Scandinavia (for a Chinese cruise), the Royal Viking Sky (for European cruises) and the Royal Princess (for a Caribbean cruise).
The series' attraction was in the casting of well-known actors in guest-starring roles, with many famous film stars of yesteryear making rare television appearances. Although it wasn't the first series to use the all-star cast anthology format — Love, American Style used the same device a decade earlier -- Love Boat perfected the genre and future shows in similar style (Supertrain and Masquerade to name two) were inevitably compared to Love Boat.
The series was also distinctive as being one of the few hour-long series ever made for American television that used a laugh track (Eight is Enough, on the same network and produced at the same time, being another example).
Another unique aspect of the Love Boat was its writing format. Each segment was written by a different set of writers. Each set of writers worked on one group of guest stars and their story of the week. So episodes ended up with ungainly titles like "Disco Baby/Alas, Poor Dwyer/After the War/Ticket to Ride/Itsy Bitsy: Part 1".
The show was based on the same premise as the 1956-60 television hit, The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh! Susanna).
A second TV series, The Love Boat: The Next Wave aired on the UPN Network from 1998 to 1999. It starred Robert Urich as Captain Jim Kennedy, a retired US Navy officer. Heidi Mark was cast as the cruise director. Several members of the cast of the original series guest-starred on one episode, where it was revealed that Julie and "Doc" had been in love all along.
In Germany, the TV series Das Traumschiff started in 1981 as a German-made version of The Love Boat. It airs as specials instead of a weekly basis, traditionally with an episode airing every December 26 on the ZDF network. In 2005, the 50th episode was broadcast.
In Pop Culture
The 1982 film Airplane II: The Sequel featured a bizarre gag where, as Ted Stryker (Robert Hays) is escaping from a mental hospital, we see Jack Jones, spotlighted, singing the Love Boat theme song.
A 1994 episode of Saturday Night Live featured a parody entitled Love Boat: The Next Generation, featuring host Patrick Stewart playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who, with his crew, gets involved in Love Boat-type adventures on a starship. Bernie Kopell made a surprise appearance, reprising his role as "Doc".
In the South Park episode "Red Hot Catholic Love", Randy Marsh, when told of an impending Church Cruise, fears for his child's safety and has a nightmare vision of The Catholic Boat, complete with a parody of the theme song and opening titles. Also, in the episode "South Park is Gay!" at one point, when they are watching NBC, the announcer says, "You're watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy! Coming up next is Will & Grace, followed by The Love Boat... with Men!
"Love Barge", a song by comedian Denis Leary, parodies the show and its theme song. The song is found on Leary's Lock 'N Load album.
During the 1991 Gulf War, US Navy hospital ships gained the nickname, "Love Boats," after several female sailors became pregnant while serving aboard the ships.
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