The BEST episodes of The Love Boat
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
American comedy/drama series set on a cruise ship known for its romantic charm.
#1 - His Girls Friday/A Wife for Wilfred/The Girl Who Stood Still
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/13/1982
A businessman takes his prissy secretary on a business trip. When he meets a dizzy blonde, his problem is how does he get his secretary to quit, so he can hire the blonde. Wilfred offers the crew $10,000 if they can find him a pretty wife. He's soon surrounded by five beautiful women, all fighting for his attention, and the crew trying to win a quick ten grand. When the crew find out Wilfred lied about paying the money so he can meet girls, the crew get the flower shop girl to pretend to be his wife. Two childhood sweethearts, separated since school, ...
#2 - Same Wavelength, The/Winning Isn't Everything/A Honeymoon for Horace
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/1982
Psychic Tess entertains passengers and meets Mike, who's separated from his wife. Merrill's friend Jack brags of his son Chip's accomplishments, but Chip has a secret. Elderly Horace worries about his honeymoon with wife Twinky.
#3 - Getting Started/Daughter's Dilemma/The Captain Wears Pantyhose
Season 8 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/16/1985
Two inexperienced friends mistake a pretty young woman for a sexy seductress, while a businessman happens to fall in love with someone whom his daughter disapproves of. Meanwhile, Captain Stubing mysteriously rejects a qualified woman who wants to be a ship's captain.
#4 - Doc Take the Fifth/Safety Last/A Business Affair
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/2/1982
Doc returns from his vacation and introduces Tania, his new wife of a couple of hours, to the crew. Don Adams is a safety inspector taking a vacation and finds danger around every corner on board the ship, but then falls in love with fellow passenger Alice. The president of a financial group comes aboard to talk his female VP out of resigning, due to untrue rumors about them having an affair.
#5 - Green, But Not Jolly/Past Perfect Love/Instant Family
Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/30/1982
A fellow believes he was married to a woman in a past life; Julie decides to change her hairstyle, which results in a shade of green; a high school coach is attracted to a woman with a hyperactive son.
#6 - Ace In the Hole/Uncle Joey's Song/Father in the Cradle
Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/28/1984
Captain Stubing hires a handsome new photographer who draws the attention of two sisters who were visiting Doc and Gopher. Then, a young man is shocked to meet his mother's (Lee Meriwether) new boyfriend, who is the same age as him. Finally, Isaac helps a children's performer make a little boy feel better following the death of his father.
#7 - Hong Kong Cruise: Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tales of a City (2)
Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/4/1984
A U.S. Presidential-hopeful Senator falls for a businesswoman who intends on opening a large casino in Hong Kong, as his aide tries to derail the affair for P.R. reasons; a woman who simply can't stop shopping bets her husband $25,000 that she can go the entire cruise without buying anything; Julie and Vicki double date, though Vicki secretly falls for Julie's date; an retired spy finds love in the form of a woman secretly hired to keep him safe from revenge-seeking former adversaries; Gopher and Isaac, trenchcoats and all, tail the former spy through Hong Kong and see all sorts of potentially evil stalkers.
#8 - Aerobic April/The Wager/Story of the Century
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/3/1984
April Lopez (Charo) returns and makes it her mission to get the crew in ship shape, while two wealthy brothers make wagers which one of them can avoid falling in love with a pair of fetching females. Plus, a reporter thinks he's on the trail of a career-making scoop.
#9 - By Hook or By Crook/Revenge With the Proper Stranger/Don't Get Mad, Get Even
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/17/1984
Gopher and Isaac are suspicious of Judy's new love interest. Meanwhile, a consumer advocate considers a new venture when his wife thinks about working for her best friend. Plus, a married woman accompanied by her husband insists on having an affair.
#10 - My Mother, My Chaperone/The Present/The Death and Life of Sir Alfred Demerest (2)
Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/24/1984
In "My Mother, My Chaperone" written by Hai Ackerman, a famous writer (Ms.Palmer) voices displeasure over her daughter (Ms. Alicia) having an affair with a married man (Stevens). In "The Death and Life of Sir Albert Demerest," written by Lan O'Kun, a son (Barton) suddenly learns from his mother (Ms.Dewhurst) that his father (Howard) is a famous actor who drinks too much. In "The Present", written by Howard Albrecnt and Soi Weinstein, a married couple (Ms. Swit and Holahan) learns more about their love when a sexy blonde (Ms. Oxenberg) is on hand for the husband's birthday. In "Welcome Aboard", written by Art Baer and Sol Veinstein, the cruise director (Ms. Klous) discovers that her vindictive ex-husband (Singer) is aboard.
#11 - Paying the Piper/Baby Sister/Help Wanted
Season 8 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/1/1984
A fed-up homemaker (Rue McClanahan) presents her unappreciative husband with a bill for services rendered, while a teen girl's infatuation with a young man leads to a revelation about her older sister. Then, Captain Stubing gives his friend's beautiful niece an internship aboard the Pacific Princess.
#12 - Love on the Line/Don't Call Me Gopher/Her Honor the Mayor
Season 8 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/26/1985
A shy woman pursues her selfish boss (Cesar Romero), while Gopher becomes self-conscious about his name when he runs into an ex-girlfriend. Then, a female mayor gets involved with her defeated opponent, which makes her campaign manager jealous.
#13 - Vicki's Gentleman Caller/Partners to the End/The Perfect Arrangment
Season 8 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/23/1985
When an older man gives Vicki attention, she thinks it's a sign of potential romance, but his advances aren't actually a sign of affection. Meanwhile, a bi-coastal couple learns that their relationship only works long distance. Then, a woman unintentionally comes between two business partners who are plotting an insurance scam.
#14 - Judy Hits a Low Note/Love Times Two/The Problem With Papa
Season 8 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/23/1985
A TV producer casts Judy in a singing commercial, unaware that she can't sing. Then, a husband tries to reconcile with his wife on a cruise, but finds himself attracted to her best friend instead. Plus, a caring daughter (Jessica Walter) worries her father is becoming senile.
#15 - Roommates/Heartbreaker/Out of the Blue
Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/7/1985
While Vicki and Judy's friendship is put to the test when they become roommates, a professional golfer (Jeff Conaway) discovers a disheartening truth about the woman he loves. Meanwhile, a multimillionaire traveling aboard the Pacific Princess promises to make everyone's dreams come true.
#16 - Ace Takes the Test/The Counterfeit Couple/The Odd Triple
Season 8 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/12/1985
One of Ace's old high school girlfriends, now married to an impotent man, wants an embarrassed Ace to father her child; Gopher falls in love with an older woman, while that woman's daughter falls for Gopher; two total strangers share the honeymoon suite because they independently bought their tickets from a couple whose wedding was cancelled.
#17 - Italian Cruise: Venetian Love Song/Arrangement/Arrividerci, Gopher/Gigolo (1)
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/2/1982
The crew goes to Italy to work on a cruise ship there. Among the passengers is a family whose patriarch and matriarch (Ernest Borgnine and Shelley Winters) originally came from Italy and accompanying them are their 2 daughters (Candice Azzara and Meredith Baxter) and granddaughter (Marie Osmond). Into the trip, the couple bicker to the point that they're considering separating. One of the daughters (Baxter) is meeting someone on a sort of blind date but, not known to her, is a gigolo (David Birney). And the granddaughter (Osmond), who's been promised to another guy back home, meets a local (John James) and is attracted to him. And Gopher meets a local woman (Christopher Norris), who says he reminds her of someone she knows. While on shore, the man, who's the spitting image of Gopher, kidnaps him and assumes his identity.
#18 - The Stimulation of Stephanie/The Next Step/ Life Begins at 40
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/1/1979
A sex researcher doesn't realize his assistant is in love with him. A woman helps her football star husband move on after he is cut by his team. A woman tries to find a husband just before her 40th birthday.
#19 - Rent a Romeo/Matchmaker, Matchmaker/Y' Gotta Have Heart
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 1/26/1980
Doc's plans for a rendezvous are spoiled when the woman's recently dumped (and extremely depressed) sister tags along on the cruise. Doc tries to get some privacy by having a playboy romance the sister. Vicki helps a young boy's efforts to reunite his divorced parents. A woman tries to keep her husband on a short leash, as he has recently undergone heart surgery and she fears he will drop dead at any moment.
#20 - Funny Valentine/The Wallflower/A Home Is Not a Home
Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/3/1979
A wallflower is secretly followed by a shy milquetoast; Stubing is charmed by a fortuneteller; two honeymooning retirees are unexpectedly joined by their overprotective children.
#21 - This Business of Love/Crash Diet Crush/I'll Never Fall in Love Again
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/13/1978
A reformed prostitute causes trouble between a one-time "John" and his wife; Captain Stubing re-encounters an old flame; a fun-loving older couple help bring two lovers back together
#22 - Never Say Goodbye/A New Woman/Trial Romance
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/3/1979
Capt. Stubing receives a letter from his daughter, Vicki. When he tries to call her, he learns that she has run away from her aunt and uncle's home. She shows up on the ship and reveals that she has read her mother's diary, and now knows that the captain is her father. She wants to stay with him, but he feels that it is best that he return her. Vicki's aunt reveals that she is getting a divorce and wants to send her children away for a while so that they won't be affected by the proceedings. Capt. Stubing and Vicki are thrilled by the chance to live together on the ship. Julie plays matchmaker for two shy, old-fashioned people who are unaccustomed to the workings of modern romance. A man is annoyed by the presence of the woman who deadlocked the jury for the attempted murder trial on which they both served, leading to a mistrial. They constantly argue about the case.
#23 - Not So Fast, Gopher/Haven't We Met Before?/Seoul Mates
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/9/1980
Gopher invites his widowed mother onto the ship in the hopes of cheering her up, but is hurt by her seemingly cheerful attitude, which he interprets as an insult to his father. A group of buddies takes a cruise. One of the men meets a woman who is a regular customer at the restaurant where he works. He lies about his identity because he thinks she would be put off by the fact that he is a waiter. A comic's romance with the reporter who is writing a feature about him appears doomed after she takes offense to his act.
#24 - The Caller/Marriage of Convenience/No Girls for Doc/Witness for the Prosecution
Season 3 - Episode 28 - Aired 5/3/1980
In this special 90-minute episode that guest stars theater icon Helen Hayes (and her real-life son), the actress' character navigates romance after becoming a widow. Also, a district attorney falls for the woman he has in protective custody, and Doc swears off his own romances for a while.
#25 - Isaac's Secret/Seal of Approval/The Curse of the Dumbrowskis
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/10/1981
Isaac tries to avoid his former English teacher; A man boards the ship with a seal that protests the man's romance with an attractive woman; A married woman, convinced that she has a short time to live, wants to pick the perfect wife for her husband.