The Love Boat (TV Series) The Minister and the Stripper/Her Own Two Feet/Tony's Family (1978) User Reviews

Another great pop culture connection on The Love Boat

[ben-thayer · 8/10 · 20 June 2018]

The Love Boat wasn't known for highbrow entertainment, but it was a fun series that offered a respite from other, more gritty offerings of the day. And one thing that made the series so enjoyable was the pairing of actors & actresses who had a history together, or as we fans of the series say, they had "pop culture connections". This episode's pop culture connection was one of the best of the entire run of the series, the pairing of golden-age MGM contract players Van Johnson and June Allyson, who made six films together during the 40s and 50s. In the segment "Her Own Two Feet", Johnson and Allyson play Bert and Audrey Wilder, a married couple facing a debilitating crisis - the loss of a spouse's sight and descent into blindness. Audrey Wilder has lost her sight, yet she refuses to acknowledge her condition. Her husband Bert desperately wants to help her, but the love for his wife is such that he can't bear to force her to admit she can't see. The segment is wonderfully poignant, and Johnson and Allyson still have that same onscreen chemistry that made them such a successful pair at MGM. The cast in this episode is very good, with Allen Young, Larry Storch, Peter Graves, Roz Kelly, and one of 20th Century Fox's great WWII beauties, Vivian Blaine, who is best known for her role in "Guys and Dolls". The two additional segments (The Minister and the Stripper, Tony's Family) are entertaining as well. Reverend Peter Graves falls for stripper Roz Kelly to the chagrin of one of his congregation, and the crew helps chief engineer Larry Storch stay on board the ship by stowing away his very large family. But the real standout in the episode is the pairing of Van Johnson and June Allyson. Two big stars from the golden age of MGM musicals, together again in an extremely moving story. Who could ask for more from a Love Boat episode?

Larry Storch is, uh, Italian

[WalterKafka · 16 February 2024]

It's Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble. Larry Storch is Italian. Very Italian. More Italian than Julius Caesar. He's the Chief Engineer. To get him to stay on, Julie tells him he can bring his family aboard. Oops. That silly Julie. 'Aiding and Abetting stowways,' Gopher says. 'Grandma ain't too sure of this,' Storch says. 'She thinks we're sending her back to the old country.' Seeing a room full of people, Gopher says, 'This was funnier when the Marx Brothers did it.' 'Would you like to explain this chicken?' Captain Stubing asks. In another plot, you've got a man helping his wife deal with being blind. Alan Young is a compulsive gambler. 'They don't call me Lucky Phil for nothing,' he says. His wife is trying to hook up the Minister (Peter Graves) with a gal. Doc is hitting up Roz Kelly. She might be a better prospect for the Minister. By the pool, she's reading the American Vision by William Rusell. (I can't find any information on this book.) Oops. She turns out to be a stripper. 'I've always considered stripping an art,' the Minister says. Later, she quotes Polonius to Graves, not realizing that Shakespeare was being ironic with the character. Gopher reads 'The Poky Little Puppy' to the Italian stowaway. I love that book. Then Isaac tries his jive version of Godilocks. The Italian stowaway family plot carries the day, although Roz Kelly is fun. On Kafka's Love Boat Scale, this gets 3 * out of a possible 4 *.

Tony's family, not good enough?

[mastonthrust-1 · 4/10 · 8 January 2020]

An okay episode, but what I found disgusting and disturbing is the fact that Tony's family had to hide from the captain.

In what way could the captain decipher actual paying travelers, or a crew members family? Was it based on their nationality?

They couldn't be served food on deck? They had to eat leftovers in a small cabin?