The essential episodes of The Love Boat

Watch these 15 in order and you've got The Love Boat — each pick states its reason.

1. 01

   S01E01 · Pilot · September 24, 1977 · 1h

   The Captain and the Lady / One if By Land / Centerfold6.3

   In "The Captain and the Lady," Bonnie Franklin appears as Capt. Stubing's infuriatingly sarcastic ex-wife who creates havoc aboard the Pacific Princess when she arrives for a cruise with her present spouse (Robert Symonds), the captain's boss. "One If By Land" stars Jimmie Walker and Brenda Sykes as a couple who have been living together in unwedded bliss, until the young lady decides that matrimony is a "must". To forget her unhitchable man, she escapes aboard the luxury ship where she befriends fun-loving Suzanne Somers, who helps her acquire a new outlook on life. "Centerfold" finds Ms. Meredith Baxter-Birney as a girl who once posed in the nude for a photographer. Now engaged to a political candidate (Shelly Novack), she is horrified to learn that the picture is the centerfold of a current magazine. She sets out to recover all copies aboard ship before her future husband sees the centerfold picture.

2. 02

   S01E06 · Season 1 peak · October 29, 1977 · 1h

   The Joker is Mild / First Time Out / Take My Granddaughter, Please6.5

   In "The Joker is Mild," has-been comedian Barry Keyes (Phil Foster) abuses his family tie with cruise director Julie in an astonishing attempt to make a comeback. Richard Kinon directed the script by David Ketchum and Tony Di Marco. Academy Award-winner Ruth Gordon plays Mrs. Warner, a lovable but pushy grandmother who wants to find a husband for her attractive granddaughter, Shirlee (Patty Duke Astin). Granny decides that Doc would be perfect for Shirl, but the young woman becomes smitten with Dave (Tab Hunter), a school teacher. Barry Blitzer wrote the script and Richard Kinon directed. In "First Time Out," Danny (Robert "Welcome Back, Kotter" Hegyes) has had virtually no experience with women, and his fraternity brothers (W.K. Stratton, John Mark Robinson and Meegan King) are determined to arrange a romantic liaison. But Danny meets Barbara (Maureen McCormick) and nature takes its course.

3. 03

   S02E16 · Top rated · January 20, 1979 · 1h

   Gopher's Opportunity / Home Sweet Home / The Switch7.5

   In "Gopher's Opportunity," written by Sue Masters and John Walsh, Gopher informs Capt. Stubing he is quitting his job after he is asked to become manager of a new resort hotel. In "Home Sweet Home," written by Ray Jessel and Natalie Schafer, a rich, gregarious widow has her furniture moved aboard, having booked passage for five years, and happily begins planning the lives of crew members, including a steward who is determined to retire to dry land. In "The Switch," written by Lan O'Kun, magician Al Breyer (Palillo) works the cruise in place of his magician-brother (Michael Gregory), who wants to avoid his assistant because she is getting serious about him.

4. 04

   S02E17 · Top rated · January 27, 1979 · 1h

   Like Father, Like Son / Don't Push Me / Second Chance7.5

   A charming widower (Robert Mandan of Soap') and his son (Randolph Mantooth) fall in love with the same girl (Cathy Lee Crosby); an easygoing bachelor (Roddy McDovali) becomes allergic to the idea of marrying his aggressive girlfriend (Tammy Grimes); and Isaac and an influential ex-shoplifter (Debbi Morgan of "Roots: The Next Generations") on the ABC Television Network's "The Love Boat," SATURDAY, JAN. 27 (8:30-9:30 p.m., EST). From the moment Woody Sillingsley (Mandan) is introduced to his son's new girlfriend, the two hit it off too well to suit young Billingsley, in "Like Father, Like Son," written by Jerry Winnick. In "Don't Push Me," written by Barbara Evans, Christine (nis. Grimes) surprises the bachelor by joining him on the cruise, then mistakenly believes he has proposed marriage. In "Second Chance,'' written by Lee Aronsohn, after Capt. Stubing has given the teenager a job in the ship's gift shop through a juvenile rehabilitation program, he sees her alone with earrings that later disappear.

5. 05

   S02E24 · Season 2 peak · March 10, 1979 · 1h

   Ages of Man / Families / Bo 'N Sam7.7

   Julie ends up in the middle of an unusual love triangle when the visiting 13-year-old son of the head of the cruise line develops a crush on her at the same time that she is trying to win over a charming older passenger. Two longtime acquaintances find their attempt at building a romance complicated by their parents' antagonistic relationship: her father is publisher of the newspaper where he works; and his mother is leading the efforts to unionize the workers. In honor of Capt. Stubing's fifth anniversary at the helm, the crew pays two men to build a wooden model of the ship. The builders are left scrambling to undo the damage after the present accidentally gets smashed.

6. 06

   S03E01 · Season 3 peak · September 15, 1979 · 1h

   Alaska Wedding Cruise: Carol & Doug / Peter & Alicia / Julie / Buddy & Portia (1)7.5

   The ship voyages to Alaska for the wedding of a wealthy heir and the granddaughter of a fiercely independent oil man. The Love Boat transports a wedding party to the site of the ceremony –Alaska. En route: 1. The groom's estranged parents (Ray Milland and Eleanor Parker) are reunited. 2. Their son (Mark Harmon) is wooed by a lifelong friend much to the chagrin of his  intended (Lisa Herman). 3. The bride's widowed father (Lorne Greene) falls for another member of the wedding party (Audrey Lindley). 4. Julie contemplates marriage to a former lover (Tony Roberts) living in Alaska.

7. 07

   S03E02 · Top rated · September 15, 1979 · 1h

   Alaska Wedding Cruise: Carol & Doug / Peter & Alicia / Julie / Buddy & Portia (2)7.5

   The engaged couple gets married despite numerous obstacles, and Julie encounters heartbreak upon surprising an ex-lover.

8. 08

   S03E04 · Top rated · September 29, 1979 · 1h

   Doc, Be Patient / Dance With Me / Going My Way7.5

   A doctor who had planned on taking the cruise as a vacation cares for Doc when he comes down with the flu. He is initially a difficult patient, but soon begins to fall for his physician. A former dancer who has now opened her own school tries to convince her ex-partner to come to Germany to teach for her. He is reluctant to give up his life with his much younger (and very talented) partner/girlfriend, even though he is putting his health at risk and holding her back from a potentially successful career. A free-spirited woman invites a cab driver along on the cruise after her boyfriend stands her up.

9. 09

   S04E12 · Season 4 peak · January 3, 1981 · 1h

   A Frugal Pair / Doc's Dismissal / The Girl Next Door9.0

   A couple takes a cruise to celebrate its 40th anniversary, but considers breaking up after the husband learns that his wife secretly invested money in the stock market for years. They are now wealthy, but he is furious because he could have retired much sooner. A woman tries to get her husband's attention by claiming that Doc made a pass at her during an examination. A man sneaks on the cruise because he doesn't believe the man travelling with his girlfriend is her brother. He convinces the passenger in the cabin next to theirs to let him stay by claiming to be with the CIA.

10. 10

    S05E14 · Season 5 peak · January 9, 1982 · 1h

    Good Neighbors / Captain's Portrait / Familiar Faces9.0

    In "The Captain's Portrait" written by Richard Albrecht and Casey Keller, a misunderstanding leads Capt. Stubing (MacLeod) to believe that the results will be too revealing when he poses for an artist (Ms. Merriwether) who is painting his portrait for the cruise line. When a gung-ho public relations man (Shroyer) spots a woman (Ms. Golonka) who is a neighbor in his apartment building, he does everything in his power to get her attention but she won't bend her strict rule against becoming involved with her neighbors, in "Good Neighbors," written by Tony Webster. In "Familiar Faces" a recently married couple (Butler and Ms. McDonough) is ecstatically happy until the groom sees a man (Henry Jones) with whom he had a dangerous encounter during his youth. When they meet, the outcome may destroy the new marriage.

11. 11

    S05E15 · Top rated · January 23, 1982 · 1h

    I Don't Play Anymore / Gopher's Roommate / Crazy For You9.0

    In "Gopher's Roommate," written by Ben Joelson and Art Baer, Gopher (Grandy) is sure he recognizes an attractive woman (Mackenzie Phillips). When Gopher finally places her, he and the ship's crew are quite surprised at the outcome. In "I Don't Play Anymore," written by Lan O'Kun, a well-known concert pianist (James MacArthur) suffering from a severe malady decides to come out of retirement at a wealthy couple's (Joyce Jameson and Pat McCormick) expense after he meets a lovely ship's maid who shares a secret with him. In 'Crazy for You,'' written by Christopher Vane and Jill Baer, a man (Dick Shawn) trying to claim worker's compensation for insanity goes crazy over the psychologist (Joanna Cassidy) who has followed him on board.

12. 12

    S06E22 · Season 6 peak · February 26, 1983 · 1h

    Abby's Maiden Voyage / He Ain't Heavy / I Like to Be in America6.5

    A judge is summoned to help a woman who is leaving the U.S. because she is afraid to take the citizenship test; A new steward locks horns with the son of a wealthy family; a young lady has problems meeting a man.

13. 13

    S07E06 · Top rated · October 29, 1983 · 1h

    Friend of the Family / Affair on Demand / Just Another Pretty Face8.0

    A couple accompanied by their daughter, soon find out she is in love with their best friend;  a progressive woman insists on helping her insurance mate find a romance when he claims having affairs is good for the heart; when the niece of a big wheel in the cruise line demands Gopher's services, havoc follows because he thwarts her advances.

14. 14

    S07E25 · Season 7 peak · May 5, 1984 · 1h

    Dreamboat / Gopher and Isaac and the Starlet / The Parents / The Importance of Being Johnny / Julie and the Producer (1)8.5

    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.

15. 15

    S09E25 · Series finale · May 24, 1986 · 1h

    Happily Ever After / Have I Got a Job for You / Mr. Smith Goes to Minikulu

    In "Happily Ever After," written by Paula A. Roth, Capt. Stubing can't seem to make up his mind about anything regarding his impeding marriage. Wedding coordinator Monica Douglas (Ms. Taylor) warns Emily that the captain may not be ready to take the plunge.