You’re stuck at home on a Saturday night back in 1979. What do you do? You could slide on a leisure suit and to enjoy your local disco floor blinking to a Village People beat. But what was the chance you’d be able to sneak past the velvet rope? Did you really want to stand in the cold and watch the beautiful people enter the faux Studio 54? For millions of Americans, they embarked on the original staycation by boarding The Love Boat while remaining on their sofas. The series allowed the homebound a chance to smuggle aboard a quick cruise along the Mexican coast. The pleasure cruisers included the familiar faces of fading screen stars, supporting TV actors looking to stretch and Aaron Spelling’s stars of tomorrow. Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two gives us a dozen cruises filled with romance, comedy and light drama.
“Second Time Around/The ‘Now’ Marriage/My Sister, Irene” allows us to meet Tina Louise (Gilligan’s lsland‘s Ginger) as one of Doc’s ex-wives. She hires Lyle Waggoner to play her fiance. Can she make Doc (Bernie Kopell) jealous that she’s hooked up with the guy from Wonder Woman? Fans of The Wizard of Oz get a treat as Ray Bolger (the Tin Man) rekindles a romance with Martha Raye. She was big in selling denture cream as The Big Mouth. The shocking role of this episode goes to Peter Marshall, beloved as the original host of The Hollywood Squares. He’s the author of a book about the swinging life. He lets his wife stay in the cabin while he goes cruising for fresh meat. This would have been funnier if Paul Lynde kept blocking him from scoring with the ladies. His wife doesn’t seem into the lifestyle. Can he read her like his own book? Remember that not every passenger ends up in love when they dock back in Los Angeles. “Gopher’s Opportunity/Home Sweet Home/The Switch” might make you a big queasy with the romance between the rich Nancy Walker (Rhoda) and boat crew member Abe Vigoda (Fish). Does their passion keep them fully clothed? Ron Palillo (Horshack from Welcome Back, Kotter is a bad magician. Can he trick a woman into his cabin?
“Disco Baby/Alas, Poor Dwyer/After the War/Ticket to Ride/Itsy Bitsy” is a two-hour special event movie. How can you tell it’s a special event? Because they shot on the actual Pacific Princess instead of remaining on the studio sets. Cruise director Julie (Lauren Tewes) hosts her class reunion on the ship. Raymond Burr is the drama teacher whose favorite pupils are Jack Daniels and Johnny Walker. Michael Cole (Mod Squad‘s Pete) wheels around as crippled Vietnam vet. John Rubinstein (Family) is nervous around Cole since he ran up to Canada to dodge the war. The highlight of the movie is your bartender Isaac (Ted Lange) busting out the funky disco moves.
“A Good & Faithful Servant/Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover” reunites the Mills family without having them play a family. John Mills takes his vacation while his socialite employer also enjoys her time on the boat. Hayley Mills (Parent Trap) is a super model that Gopher (Fred Grandy) adores. He wears her t-shirt under his uniform. He has romantic fantasies about their life together, but he’s a babbling fool in reality. Sister Juliet Mills also has a cabin. “The Decision/Poor Little Rich Girl/Love Me, Love My Dog” has Match Game host Gene Rayburn hook up with panelist Fannie Flagg over her smuggled dog. “Sounds of Silence/Cyrano de Bricker/Murder on the High Seas” wins the freak out casting award. Sonny Bono is Deacon Dark, a shock rocker who is like Alice Cooper and Kiss’ Gene Simmons. He’s got full face paint and a python around his shoulders. He even does an outrageous performance in the ship’s lounge. He wants to shed this Satanic image to become Barry Manilow after he falls for a deaf girl. In a bit of interesting trivia, both Bono and Gopher ended up in Congress. “Super Mom/I’ll See You Again/April’s Return” unleashes the forbidden passion between Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld) and Charo. Stiller is worn down by his real wife, Anne Meara and their numerous kids. Charo does a disco version of the show’s theme while wearing an outfit that could be used to alert planes in case of a shipwreck.What’s interesting is that Corey Feldman plays Jerry and Anne’s son. Guess Ben Stiller wasn’t good enough to play himself on the show.
The Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two has plenty of fine freakish casting moments. Who could imagine Peter Marshall as swinging guru? Why is Sonny Bono acting like Alice Cooper? How could Corey Feldman have gone from being a sweet kid to the nightmare at Michael Jackson’s funeral? These episodes give us the glory of the disco era before it became completely ironic to do the Hustle. The storylines are still not quite as good as Love American Style. It’d be nice if they’d also release the remaining four seasons of Love American Style in tandem with The Love Boat volumes. The Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two is a mindless pleasure cruise.
The Episodes
“Second Time Around/The ‘Now’ Marriage/My Sister, Irene,” “Gopher’s Opportunity/Home Sweet Home/The Switch,” “Like Father, Like Son/Don’t Push Me/Second Chance,” “Disco Baby/Alas, Poor Dwyer/After the War/Ticket to Ride/Itsy Bitsy,” “Dream Ship/Best of Friends/Aftermath,” “A Good & Faithful Servant/Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover,” “The Decision/Poor Little Rich Girl/Love Me, Love My Dog,” “Funny Valentine/The Wallflower/A Home is Not a Home,” “Ages of Man/Families/Bo ‘n’ Sam,” “Sounds of Silence/Cyrano de Bricker/Murder on the High Seas,” “Super Mom/I’ll See You Again/April’s Return” and “Third Wheel/Grandmother’s Day/Second String Mom.”
The video is 1.33:1. The transfers are good and as crisp as Captain Stubbing’s uniform. You’ll be able to tell when they are shooting on the open sea versus the recreated ship rooms on the soundstage. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono. The levels are fine. You’ll know when love is really crackling between the guests. Theres also a Spanish dub track. The subtitles are in English and Spanish.
Episodic Promos (1:00) let you know about the guest stars and their antics. This is good in case you cant remember if you saw the episode.
The Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two still is the perfect way to let your mind take a vacation. Pop in a disc and prepare to feel a sea breeze passing between your ears. The crews antics are completely unbelievable since all cruise lines have strict policies forbidding fraternization. The diverse cast of guest stars makes each episode a delight. For those who enjoy TV junk food, this is the perfect midnight snack.
CBS DVD presents The Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two. Starring: Fred Grandy, Lauren Tewes, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange and Gavin MacLeod. Boxset Contents: 12 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released on DVD: August 4, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
