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The Joy of Sets: Gavin MacLeod Steers The Love Boat to DVD
Gavin MacLeod by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
Love. Exciting and new.
You know what else is new? The Love Boat on DVD! That's right, baby, the classic is finally docking on a shelf near you and we have Captain Merrill Stubing himself, Gavin MacLeod, talking all about life on the Lido Deck. So climb aboard, we're expecting you!
TVGuide.com: OK, I've been a Love Boat fan since forever, so rewatching it on DVD... this show must have been so much fun to make!
Gavin MacLeod: Oh, it was a gas. Just wonderful. And the thing that was so wonderful was that every critic who had seen the pilot thought it would sink like the Titanic — that was the phrase — except for one guy! I forget who he was, but I knew all the critics from my Mary Tyler Moore days, and they all said, "How could you do this?" I did it because I liked it! I'm an average person and my wife liked it and some of our friends thought it was a good idea. So we thought if they put it on at the right time with the right people, it might go. And wow, did it go! I'm so glad you were a fan.
TVGuide.com: For the entire run. Even when they brought in those dancing mermaids....
MacLeod: [Laughs] Oh, yeah. That's great! Sometimes I do interviews, especially on those early morning-drive shows, and they're just there to take a knock at you, you know?
TVGuide.com: Well, I was an Aaron Spelling addict.
MacLeod: I was, too. He knew what the people wanted to see and how to put it together. He was a genius with all of that.
TVGuide.com: I still remember being baffled by The Love Boat being an hour-long show with a laugh track.
MacLeod: I know. I don't think that had ever been done before.
TVGuide.com: And every week, new guests. You got to meet the coolest people!
MacLeod: It was one of the thrills of my lifetime, to go to work every Monday and have a whole new crew of these big, big stars. Many of whom I wanted to be like when I was a little boy. That's one of the reasons I got into show business... because I wanted to be like them... and here they were. I mean, I fell in love with Mary Martin when I saw South Pacific at 16 years old. And 40-something years later, I'm holding her in my arms.
TVGuide.com: You also had a ton of stars at the beginning of their careers, like Suzanne Somers.
MacLeod: Suzanne Somers, John Ritter... how about Tom Hanks? And Teri Hatcher was one the [dancing] mermaids!
TVGuide.com: How much of the show was actually filmed on the ship?
MacLeod: We went out six weeks a year and we did that until the show went off the air. We went to Mexico for the first four years, and then someone realized that we needed to go to other places. [Laughs] So that's when we started going all over the world.
TVGuide.com: Not a bad gig.
MacLeod: Not at all. We went to Alaska many times, the Panama Canal... the last time I went through the Panama Canal, I was holding Anne Baxter. [Laughs] The captain held a lot of women in his arms. Then we started going to Europe, then Russia, Scandinavia, China. We were all over. When we did our European trips, that's when Telly Savalas and all the big names came aboard.
TVGuide.com: They all wanted the free trip.
MacLeod: They all wanted to go to Europe, you know it! It was fabulous!
TVGuide.com: And now you're like the ambassador to the ocean....
MacLeod: We ended in 1986, and the last show we did, Marion Ross and I got married. So we decided to go on the road with a play — Marion, my wife, myself and the guy who married us, a buddy of mine from college. We toured with Never Too Late and went all over the country. We wound up in Cape Cod, and I got a call from the head of public relations at that time and he said, "Gavin, we just had a meeting. How would you like to be the spokesperson for Princess Cruises?" And I said, "What a great idea!" It's been 21 years now and I go to Florida in three days for them, come back, MC a show and do an in-house movie for the line. From two little ships back in '86, we now have 16 megaships... with another one coming out in November!
TVGuide.com: So what took them so long to get the first season of Love Boat on DVD?
MacLeod: Beats me! You know I do all of these travel shows for Princess and meet all of these travel agents. They all keep saying the same thing: "When is it coming? When is it coming?" Now it's out, so we're really excited.
TVGuide.com: I bet people freak out when they see Captain Stubing on their cruise.
MacLeod: Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I don't wear the uniform. [Laughs] Most people do when they know I'm there. But the ships are so big now, it's wonderful. You can be anonymous, put on sunglasses and a hat and nobody knows who you are.
TVGuide.com: Do you keep in touch with the old crew?
MacLeod: I spoke to Bernie [Kopell, who played Doc] last week, and [this month] I'm going to do a morning show with Lauren [Tewes, Julie], and [I have] interviews all day long pushing the DVD. Ted [Lange, Isaac] and I were in New York doing a talk show together and Jill [Whelan, Vicki] was there. Oh, yeah, on occasion we'll all get together. We all have very diversified lives now, but the love is still there.
Aye, aye to that, Captain!
Buy The Love Boat: Season One, Vol. 1 on Amazon.com
Next week: More shows that should be on DVD.
Until then, don't hog the remote! — Damian Holbrook
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Mar 5, 2008 2:51 PM
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loves me some Murray/Captain Stubing!
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Mar 6, 2008 3:12 AM
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I'd love to ask Gavin - or someone - where seasons 5, 6, and 7 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show are on DVD.
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Mar 6, 2008 10:04 AM
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Love Boat was so enjoyable (okay-not all the "mermaid" stories were good-but Teri Hatcher was fun!)
I especially liked some of the European ones-like the bittersweet Ursula Andress/John Forsythe episode...great old movie takeoff!
Can hardly wait until all the seasons are out!
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Mar 6, 2008 10:16 AM
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Guiller, you're not the only one curious about that!
The most recent thing anyone's said on the subject is here, which is really about Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, but mentions MTMS as facing similar issues with a studio (Fox) which doesn't seem to know what they want to do with those remaining seasons of Bob and Mary. This despite a big retailer (Amazon) telling Fox there's a demand (at least for Bob, which is the focus of the story at that link).
It might be an interesting read for anyone interested in such matters.
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Mar 6, 2008 10:16 AM
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Andy Warhol.
Best. Love Boat guest. Ever!
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Mar 6, 2008 12:04 PM
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God bless Gavin MacLeod!
And great interview, Damian. It really is nice to read an interview done from the perspective of a true fan!
I'm also a HUGE Love Boat fan, and am so happy that this is finally on DVD!
I haven't had a lot of time to watch this since getting it Tuesday, but what little I've seen is really bringing back the memories!
Some of my favorites from this set -- from a nostalgic point of view, because I loved them as a kid -- are the Scott Baio/Kristy McNichol story (gotta love Hermione Baddeley!) and the poignant Sandy Duncan/Jim Stafford story.
Also of note are Charo's first of eight appearances as April and episodes featuring real-life couples Bill Bixby & Brenda Benet (married at the time) and Jaclyn Smith & Dennis Cole (who had met on Charlie's Angels earlier that year and would marry the next year).
Also, Florence Henderson, who appeared in more episodes than any other guest star, makes her second appearance of nine total (including the first TV movie).
Stuff I'm looking forward to on future DVD sets: the jewel heist episode (the first of numerous two-hour editions) and any of Ethel Merman's appearances as Gopher's mother.
Stuff I'm NOT looking forward to on future DVD sets: Pat Klous.
One of my favorite things about Love Boat was the music. Of course, the theme is a classic, but what fantastic incidental music this show had! I noticed the other night that one episode's music was by none other than Nelson Riddle!
And -- here's where I show just how big a Love Boat geek I am -- if you listen to the music over the end credits for the third episode (the one with Baio/McNichol), you'll see that it features a slight variation on the usual end theme.
(Curiously, the font and color of the end credits also go through several changes during these first twelve episodes.)
It's so great to finally have this show on DVD.
My only complaint: This set (which is only half of the first season) doesn't include any of the three TV-movie pilots. I hope they'll show up on subsequent releases.
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Mar 6, 2008 8:53 PM
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