Three stories, as usual. But it's not the typical two-comic and one-serious.
The one definite comic episode has non-actress Toni Tennille, newly freed from her Captain, in an odd-couple relationship with William Christopher. The complication: they bought the tickets before the split up. They can't stand each other, he being a neat-freak who would drive Felix Unger crazy, and she's a slob (a nice turnaround, since women are usually presented as the ones trailing after their hubbies with the Lysol). Each thought the other would turn in their tickets and they're shocked and offended that they have to cruise in the same room (the Love Boat is fully booked, as usual). Toni is game in her role and she earns kudos for trying, and some big acting wheels have been worse; but she's no great shakes as an actress. Christopher, in his high-pitched whine, seems to have reverted to amateur theatricals and overplays unmercifully. He uses his dialog against Tennille like a club and might appear threatening if his character wasn't such a wimp.
Then there's Vickie, meeting a child actress she adores. Hating Vickie's attentions (and most everything else in creation except herself) the actress wangles Vickie a job as her stand-in, leading to nothing but humiliation. Frankly, I can't stand seeing Hollywood trying to parody itself.
Then there's the prize of this episode. British actor Anthony Andrews, Hollywood's golden-haired boy after his success in "Brideshead Revisited" (the good one) boards the ship as an ape expert (he should sail more often as the Love Boat" had its share over the years). He "meets cute" with Julie (Lauren Tewes) and after cussing her out (the dialog at that point is drowned) decides he loves her (despite her apparently having too many teeth for her mouth) and tries to win her heart. Good luck!
Unfortunately, this episode has one of those season-ending cliff-hangers, leaving the story between Andrews and Tewes unresolved by the time the ship noses back to port.
Still, Andrews is a great actor and was, at the time, a genuine star and usually a pleasure to watch (though he made a hash of Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" for the BBC "Shakespeare Plays"--maybe they should have given Mercutio a couple of chimps).
If you're like me and fast-forward through some segments, or choose that time to pop into the kitchen to make a quick sandwich, the Vickie story is the one to miss.
The one definite comic episode has non-actress Toni Tennille, newly freed from her Captain, in an odd-couple relationship with William Christopher. The complication: they bought the tickets before the split up. They can't stand each other, he being a neat-freak who would drive Felix Unger crazy, and she's a slob (a nice turnaround, since women are usually presented as the ones trailing after their hubbies with the Lysol). Each thought the other would turn in their tickets and they're shocked and offended that they have to cruise in the same room (the Love Boat is fully booked, as usual). Toni is game in her role and she earns kudos for trying, and some big acting wheels have been worse; but she's no great shakes as an actress. Christopher, in his high-pitched whine, seems to have reverted to amateur theatricals and overplays unmercifully. He uses his dialog against Tennille like a club and might appear threatening if his character wasn't such a wimp.
Then there's Vickie, meeting a child actress she adores. Hating Vickie's attentions (and most everything else in creation except herself) the actress wangles Vickie a job as her stand-in, leading to nothing but humiliation. Frankly, I can't stand seeing Hollywood trying to parody itself.
Then there's the prize of this episode. British actor Anthony Andrews, Hollywood's golden-haired boy after his success in "Brideshead Revisited" (the good one) boards the ship as an ape expert (he should sail more often as the Love Boat" had its share over the years). He "meets cute" with Julie (Lauren Tewes) and after cussing her out (the dialog at that point is drowned) decides he loves her (despite her apparently having too many teeth for her mouth) and tries to win her heart. Good luck!
Unfortunately, this episode has one of those season-ending cliff-hangers, leaving the story between Andrews and Tewes unresolved by the time the ship noses back to port.
Still, Andrews is a great actor and was, at the time, a genuine star and usually a pleasure to watch (though he made a hash of Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" for the BBC "Shakespeare Plays"--maybe they should have given Mercutio a couple of chimps).
If you're like me and fast-forward through some segments, or choose that time to pop into the kitchen to make a quick sandwich, the Vickie story is the one to miss.
