The WORST episodes of The Love Boat
Every episode of The Love Boat ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Love Boat!
Passengers find romance aboard a cruise ship.
#1 - The Shipshape Cruise
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/21/1986
Doc marries a younger woman only to run into his ex-wife while on his honeymoon. Meanwhile, a voluptuous diet doctor hires a svelte fitness instructor to impersonate her, and a man has to tell his partner their relationship may be over.
#2 - Who Killed Maxwell Thorn?
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/27/1987
After secretly gifting six strangers a cruise, a billionaire goes missing, and Ace suspects one of the six is a murderer. Meanwhile, Mrs. Stubing wants to feel she's more than just the captain's wife.
#3 - The Christmas Cruise (2)
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/25/1986
While the new Mrs. Stubing wonders what to get the captain for Christmas, a comedic Santa suffers from depression. Then, a couple reunite after a long time apart, and a mother-daughter con-artist duo prey on passengers.
#4 - Hippies and Yuppies/ Frat Wars/ Return of the Lambdas
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/25/1986
Two rival college fraternities wage war during a reunion held on the ship. At the same time, two old college buddies reunite and discover one of them hasn't moved beyond their hippie days.
#5 - Dreamboat/Gopher, Isaac & the Starlet/The Parents/The Importance of Being Johnny/Julie and the Producer (2)
Season 7 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/5/1984
A movie director (Ben Vereen) filming a musical aboard the ship tries to keep his star (Juliet Prowse) happy at Doc's expense; Julie is pursued by the lookalike brother (Dean Jones) of a man she almost married; the Captain falls for the mother (Alexis Smith) of a self-doubting rock star (Jimmy Osmond) on his first acting job.
#6 - Dreamboat/Gopher, Isaac & the Starlet/The Parents/The Importance of Being Johnny/Julie and the Producer (1)
Season 7 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/5/1984
A movie director (Ben Vereen) filming a musical aboard the ship tries to keep his star (Juliet Prowse) happy at Doc's expense; Julie is pursued by the lookalike brother (Dean Jones) of a man she almost married; the Captain falls for the mother (Alexis Smith) of a self-doubting rock star (Jimmy Osmond) on his first acting job.
#7 - Mothers Don't Do That/Marrying for Money/Substitute Lover
Season 5 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/15/1982
Divorced Marian reunites with her son Danny, who reads her diary and avoids her. Gopher and Isaac think Lola is trying to kill husband Orville to inherit his money. Bert is taken with Marla and pretends to be her pen pal.
#8 - China Cruise: The Pledge/East Meets West/Dear Roberta/My Two Dumplings (1)
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/1/1983
The crew and passengers are embroiled in intrigue when "The Love Boat" sets sail for the ancient palaces and splendors of China in a special two-hour premiere. Romance comes to an international fugitive (John Forsythe) when he meets a beautiful woman (Ursula Andress) with a secret.
#9 - The Captain's Crush/Out of My Hair/Off-Course Romance
Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/19/1983
The captain rekindles an old flame with a glamorous celebrity. A woman must decide between her wealthy fiancé and a passionate lover. Two men compete for one woman.
#10 - The Reluctant Father/Don't take My Wife Please/The Worlds Greatest Kisser/Mata
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/26/1983
A jilted fiance hires a Mata Hari (Elaine Joyce) to find the crew member that ruined his wedding plans; a junior executive (Parker Stevenson) suffers in silence while his boss (David Doyle) lusts after his bride.
#11 - The Prize Winner/Dee Dee's Dilemma/Julie's Blind Date
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/3/1983
Julie's blind date turns out to be an overweight, uncouth misfit whose advances drive her crazy, that is, until he rejects her; a woman travelling incognito to avoid testifying at a trial falls in love with a man on board, while when disguised in a wig and a childs' dress she tries to avoid that same man's flirting son; a prize-winning author is blackmailed for love by his secretary, who is travelling with him and his jealous wife.
#12 - The Christmas Cruise (1)
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/25/1986
While the new Mrs. Stubing wonders what to get the captain for Christmas, a comedic Santa suffers from depression. Then, a couple reunite after a long time apart, and a mother-daughter con-artist duo prey on passengers.
#13 - The Family Plan/The Promoter/May the Best Man Win/Forever Engaged/The Judges (2)
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/1/1980
Vicki tries to play matchmaker for Capt. Stubing and Emily, whose husband still plans on winning her back. Gopher lands in a Curacao jail after Doc sends him on a wild goose chase so that he can get cozy with the marriage-a-thon judges. Carl and Mary Ann decide that they were wrong to interfere with their kids' wedding plans; Mary considers calling it quits with Tom. Emily accuses Marv of treachery after her fiancé suddenly reappears in Curacao and denies that he planned to leave her.
#14 - Message for Maureen/The Acapulco Connection/Gotcha
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1977
A wheelchair-ridden tennis star rekindles a romance with a critical sportswriter. A Mexican woman with singing aspirations stows away on the ship. A man annoys his wife and other passengers with his incessant practical jokes.
#15 - The Baby Alarm/Tell Her She's Great/Matchmaker, Matchmaker Times Two
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/29/1980
An unwed mother's infant son has an unusual way of showing his disapproval to men who try to romance her. Isaac gets the crew to bolster his stagestruck aunt's ego, which turns her into an outrageous prima donna and upsets his uncle. Two sets of parents go overboard trying to spark a romance between their respective children.
#16 - Lost and Found/The Understudy/Married Singles
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/1977
A boy befriends a couple who recently lost a young son. A trainee schemes to steal Julie's job. A bickering married couple takes the cruise and stays in separate cabins.
#17 - Ace Takes a Holiday/The Runaway/The Courier
Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/9/1985
Ace suffers an injury that leads to a romance with a pretty passenger, while Gopher attempts to fill Ace's shoes as a photographer. At the same time, a young woman frets over telling her mother (Florence Henderson) that her stepdad is a womanizer. Plus, a courier has his loyalties tested by an attractive woman.
#18 - Scandinavia Cruise: Girl of the Midnight Sun/There'll Be Some Changes Made/Mr. Smith Goes to Stockholm (2)
Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/2/1985
In "Girl of the Midnight Sun", written by Ray Jessel and Cynthia Thompson, an American (Ms. Norris) pretends to be Swedish in order to become a spokeswoman for an American executive (Davidson). In " There'll Be Some Changes Made" written by Donald Ross, a woman (Ms. York) discovers women's clothes in the closet of an American (Klugman), and believes his recent Stockholm surgery was a sex change operation. In "Too Many Isaacs," written by Mike Marmer from a story by Sid Morse, a scientist (Savalas) uses a beautiful woman (Ms. Jackson) to involve Isaac (Lange) in a scheme in which a look-alike robot steals an expensive racehorse. In "Mr. Smith Goes to Stockholm," written by Richard Goldman, Gopher (Grandy) gets ready to leave the ship for the good life when he falls in love with a wealthy socialite (Ms. Barnes).
#19 - Scandinavia Cruise: Girl of the Midnight Sun/There'll Be Some Changes Made/Mr. Smith Goes to Stockholm (1)
Season 8 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/2/1985
An American woman pretends to be Swedish when she meets an executive who's searching for a company spokesperson. Meanwhile, a woman mistakenly believes a man (Jack Klugman) has undergone a sex change. Plus, an untrustworthy scientist (Terry Savalas) uses an actress (Janet Jackson) in a scheme to stage a heist. Finally, Gopher finds romance with an affluent socialite.
#20 - No More Alimony/How Do I Love Thee/Authoress Authoress
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/7/1984
A man bound by alimony wants to make sure his ex (Michelle Phillips) goes through with her marriage; Julie's Aunt Sylvia and her pal Betsy try to interest a publisher in Betsy's memoirs. Carol Channing, Betty White, Cesar Romero, Rue McClanahan, Dick Van Patten.
#21 - Julie and The Bachelor/Intensive Care/Set Up for Romance
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/19/1983
When Julie falls for her idol (played by Engelbert Humperdinck), he's forced to tell her what's really going on between him and his secretary. At the same time, a grouchy man interferes in his nurse's love life. Plus, a young man (Mark Harmon) meets up with a co-worker and learns the truth about his boss.
#22 - The Mallory Quest/Julie, the Vamp/The Offer (2)
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/15/1980
As the search for Mallory's nephew continues, a mysterious man begins following Gopher, Marvin, Peter, and Marcia and trying to thwart their efforts. Peter grows suspicious and forces Mallory to come clean about his real reasons for wanting to track down his nephew. A suddenly repentant Mallory tries to make amends with his wife. Peter and his brother's fiancé grow attracted to each other. Capt. Stubing considers taking the job offer so that he can set aside more money for Vicki's college education. Julie's college friend and his crazy girlfriend continue to make her life difficult.
#24 - Help, Murder/Isaac the Groupie/Mr. Popularity
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1977
A woman gets the wrong idea from her husband's secretive behavior and fears that he is plotting to murder her. Isaac begins a whirlwind romance with an internationally known singer. A couple suspects that a painfully boring passenger is actually a wanted jewel thief.
#25 - Miss Mom/ Who's the Champ/ Gopher's Delusion
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/1986
As Hulk Hogan guest stars, two pro wrestlers vie for a spot in the ring, but things get out of hand when one of them romances the other's sister. Meanwhile, Gopher has been hypnotized to believe he's the captain. Finally, a woman has to decide whether she should tell the man she's dating that she recently become pregnant via artificial insemination.